Do you Believe in Magic

Do you believe in magic?

I do
I choose to believe in magic
I seek it out
I look for it in the many places it hides and I find evidence of it daily
and when I don’t find it I make it

Art is magic
It allows me to both make magic and collect evidence of it
It’s alchemical
It’s transformational
Art making is magic making

As artists we take things, raw materials, an idea, a hope, a dream and we transform them into something new:
Clay from the earth becomes a vessel to hold someone’s prayers,
a canvas becomes a roadmap for somebody’s journey,
a piece of metal becomes a talisman for someone’s deepest dreams,
some digital pixels become someone's most precious and fleeting memories, a few marks on a page become a love letter to the beauty of this world.

Roald Dahl said “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”
Being an artist ensures I find it again and again for those unlikely places are the pieces of our daily lives and the moments that make it up, the absolute and complete beauty of life.
Art allows me to be in GreatFullness for it

David Whyte says that “beauty is an achieved state of both deep attention and self forgetting” and the poetry of art reminds me of this through the contemplation and consideration of life and I experience the world with deep listening enabling me to step beyond myself and at the same time
returning me home to myself.

Being an artist means I am a magician, an explorer, a pilgrim, a storyteller, an archetype archaeologist, an alchemist, a cartographer of possibilities, a shadow gardener of the psyche, a dreamer for the planet, a poet.

Being an artist reminds me to always look with glittering eyes of wonder
and being an artist allows me to engage with the intersection between the imagination and the world
William Blake said “Imagination is not a state, it is human existence itself”
Being an artist allows me to fully embody, fully live this human existence and dance with the brilliance of my imagination
I believe being an artist is our birthright as humans on this planet
It has allowed us to dream up and then manifest all the glorious things we have created.
It allows us to really pause and appreciate the beauty and perfection of nature, of the world around us, of the moment. It allows us to find our way.

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”  Mary Oliver

Being an artist brings me home to myself and allows me to sink into my experiences, a life worth living, a considered life, a life of deep meaning, an artful life full of daily magic both simple and grand. “Through the imagination we tap into our highest human potential and encounter that which is more human in us, that which is divine.”? Sally Kempton

Being an artist allows me to tap into that divinity within and beyond and it reminds me of my place in the family of things, my connection to all. I am a unique and multifaceted snowflake and I am you.
As maestro Picasso said “ Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” and we all need a bit of that in our lives to remind us of the beauty and sacredness of life.
Art making is a playground for possibilities, it is an exploration, an invitation, a dialogue with oneself, with the muses, with spirit, with those who have been before, with the ideas floating around in the ethers, with possibilities.
That we dream, that we love that we desire that we strive, that we wonder, that we wish, that we are human makes us artists.
I will leave you with these words from Clarrisa Pinkola Estes, “An artist is an artist before they have ever produced a single thing. The production of something is not what makes a body an artist. It is the soul that makes an artist, the core of the psyche that fills the person, the creative fire inside a person that make them an artistAnd if that person has the soul of an artist, that is they have the burning as each and every individual does, then they are an artist, they are entitled to the title artist, we are all entitled to the title artist before we have produced one single thing."

Art is magic

The Creative Practice- always exploring, always learning

“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.”

— Vincent van Gogh

Galia Alena's take on the lessons by Micki Wilde, Andrea Gomoll, Toni Burt, Jeanne-Marie Webb and Mystele Kirkeeng

One of the joys of a creative practice is exploring new ideas and trying new things, especially as a mixed media artist. So, of course, I'm was not surprised to see many of the teachers from the Creative Retreat weekend, also showing up as students and diving into the lessons from the other artists. Its part of the practice- taking inspiration, learning new things and incoroporating new things into your own practice and style.

Kimberley Heil's take on the lessons by Shiloh Sophia, Mystele Kirkeeng and Micki Wilde

Naturally I couldn't resist sharing some of those here- perhaps they'll inspire you to continue to always be a student, perhaps they'll inspire you to continue again with the lessons, perhaps they'll inspire you to show up to your own creative practice, after all, it is a practice, and it requires practicing :)

Fonda Clark Haight's take on a few lessons combined, Jeanette House and Pia Rom

And I've loved seeing all the work that continues to be shared in our Facebook group, along with the wonderful aha moments, the break throughs- its so good when something you've been struggling with finally falls into place, or you discover something new that opens up new avenues to explore in your practice, or that creative block is smashed. Lots of these moments were shared in our group and we applauded each one.

Jeanette House's take on lessons by Fonda Clark Haight, Galia Alena and Toni Burt

You can also check out some of the other work created by students over HERE & HERE  on Instagram.

Pia Rom's take on the lessons by Mystele Kirkeeng, Galia Alena, Fonda Clark Haight and Kimberley Heil

& you can still join us for the Ongoing Retreat if you wish to keep going with this creative practice.

Give Away Time

Woot woot- it's Give Away Time- we are less than 2 weeks out from the {Free} Online Creative Retreat Weekend and to celebrate I'm giving away 2 spaces in the Ongoing Creative Retreat!!

To Enter just share this Giveaway on Facebook

& be sure to tell me in the comments here on the blog

I will announce the winners on the 3rd of July

For extra entries (be sure to let me know in the comments):

     ☆ share this competition on other social media places such as your blog, twitter, pinterest, google, or other social network platform & leave me a comment.

    ☆ comment on this post HERE (and like our facebook page while you are there :) ).

 Good luck ☆☆

And don't forget to join us for the

Free Online Creative Retreat Weekend Event

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Botanical Mandalas

Combine the Healing Power of Nature with the Meditative Process of Mandala Making

Louise Gale was one of our inspiring Art Is Magic teachers in 2017 and taught our community how to draw flower motifs and turn them into clay mandala blooms! I am so excited to share this interview with her as she launches her new book ‘Botanical Mandalas’ which is all about Creating Expressive Mandala Art Inspired by Nature! We also have a special giveaway at the bottom of this post!

GA. Louise, so lovely to have this opportunity to chat to you.…congratulations on your book being published. Can you tell us about it?

LG: Hi Galia, great to be here and thank you! My new book ‘Botanical Mandalas’ \ is essentially a guidebook that is part-inspiration and part-art instruction. Inside the book, I talk a lot about the healing power of nature and why it is so important for us to reconnect back to the natural world, so there are a lot of exercises and inspirational tips on looking at the world around you, observing the beauty in nature and capturing it through your camera or sketchbook.

We then use the inspiration we find in nature to draw what I call Botanical motifs, these can be flowers, leaves, seedpods and all sorts of botanical items we may discover in our local area. Once we have drawn out our motifs, I teach you how to use mandala frameworks to then design beautiful botanical mandalas in watercolor, pen, inks and mixed media!

The process really is so beautiful and I have already received so many emails from people saying how the book has helped them relax, spend more time in nature and open up a whole new world of creativity for them!

GA: That sounds so magical, and you know we are all about the transformational magic of art and creative play over here! What inspired you to write it?

LG: The book has been a few years in the making for sure! I had been creating mandalas for a few years as I found it was a great way to relax and I just loved the meditative feeling I got from drawing and painting them. I had been on a healing journey when I first moved to Spain and I found that combining what I would call the healing powers of nature with drawing mandalas really helped me and so this is essentially what inspired me to write this book. I also felt a pull to inspire others to spend more time in nature and use this amazing process as a creative practice so this is how the idea of the Botanical Mandalas book was born!

GA: I’d love to hear more about your healing journey….

LG: Well, I lived in New York City for 8 years, which was a fantastic experience, but I certainly felt the effects of spending too much time on technology and craved a more quiet, simple life by the sea! A few serendipitous stories later….. I found myself moving to Southern Spain!

So when I first moved to this new life by the sea, I felt a huge shift and after a short while of feeling quite unwell, I found that I was essentially detoxing from being around so much electricity and technology for many years! In Spain, I did not have wifi or any mobile technology at all, very rare these days! So I found myself walking on the beach everyday with my barefeet in the ground. I would then sit with my journal doodling mandala designs and also created mandalas out of found objects on the sand.

I soon found that this was making me feel so much better each day and the ‘charged’ feeling I was having was dissipating. It was a process that took several months, but it really made me realise just how powerful being in nature everyday was. So I dedicated a whole chapter in this book on reconnecting to nature, being inspired by it and why it is so important for us to spend time grounding ourself to the energy of mother earth.

I cannot spend a day without the soles of my feet touching the soul of the earth wherever I may find myself around the world.

GA: That sounds so inspiring! What are some of the creative practices you teach in the book?

LG: There are so many! In the connecting with nature chapter, I inspire the reader to slow down, spend time in nature and observe its beauty. This means taking the time to look at a single flower, its shapes, colors and how different it appears when you hold it at various angles. This is what inspires our motif drawing. I also include exercises on keeping a sketchbook, collecting natural found objects, flower pressing and then chapters on motifs, drawing mandalas and then using mixed media to create mandalas too!

GA: Sounds like the book is jam packed with so much goodness!

LG: It is! I really wanted to include so much so this book can be referenced for many years! I also have a Book Club that comes with the purchase of the book. So everyone who buys the books can also get access to a members area on my website which includes video companions to many of the projects inside the book, downloads, coupons for online classes to dive deeper into botanical mandalas and lots more!

GA: Beautiful Louise! Thanks so much for sharing more about your beautiful book.

LG: Thank you so much dear Galia!

So lets do the giveaway!

This Giveaway is now closed. The Winner is Tracey who said: "Louise, the book looks beautiful! It would be perfect for me right now as I am seeking my path to reigniting my creative practice in alignment with my love and awe of Nature and her healing power. Thank you for the opportunity! 💕🌸"

Louise is giving away one copy of her beautiful book Botanical Mandalas, so here is how to enter:

1. Visit Botanical Mandalas HERE to watch the video about the book and have a peek inside.

2. Follow Botanical Mandalas on Facebook HERE: or on Instagram HERE

3. Share this giveaway- Facebook, Instagram, Google+ Pinterest

4. Come back to this blog post and leave a comment letting us know you have followed the social media accounts and shared the giveaway then let Louise know why this book would be perfect for you right now (click here to leave a comment).

The lucky winner will be announced on the 12th of June, '18

Thanks so much everyone!

Connect with Louise here:

Websites: louisegale.com | botanicalmandalas.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LouiseGaleArtandDesign/  | https://www.facebook.com/botanicalmandalas/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisegale/ | https://www.instagram.com/botanicalmandalas/

Sacred Arts- Gather

“
Life is sacred. Life is art. Life is sacred art.
”

— Gabrielle Roth

When I got the first whispers of in*Spiration to create this workshop Sacred Arts, Mixed Media Dialogues with the Divine Feminine, I had no real idea how it would unfold, what form it would take and what it would offer. What I did know is that I was being called to create something at the intersection of my art making, my mixed media practices and my work as a mist walker with the Goddess Circles. And I knew that I wanted to be just as much a participant in this as a teacher/guide, so I invited some Sister Keepers to join me bringing the gifts of their own magic and I invited the Muses to lead the way, allowing things to unfold in process, as given, and to allow it to be a circle, a creative circle.

Participant Work

Heather McCarthy Bradley

Fonda Clark Haight

Frieda Tärn

Dawn Gettig

Kerry Paar Hensen

Shanti Ines Kassebom‎

Lucy Bradley-Springer

Denise Stensland

Now that we are a few mOOns into our 13 mOOn journey together, it feels more like the painting at the top here,
a gathering,
a creative circle,
a sacred space,
a blessing,
than a mixed media workshop. And yet, as you can tell by the gorgeous participant's work being shared here it is that as well- so much beauty is being created so much deepening and listening, so much support.

It is Both & And...

And the "work" being created and shared in the group just blows my mind, fills my soul with beauty and makes me smile. It is good medicine,
 

Participant Work

Mariette Herbert

Cary Timpanaro‎

Lynne Furrer‎

Fiona Knox

Deb Weier

Diane Boyd

Barbara Fuller

Each mOOn we gather to explore a new theme, a new dialogue, a new conversation with the Divine Feminine and I show up to the work with all my particular conversations and try to present as the hollow bone as best I can.
And I listen.
And I lean into the Creative Process.
And I listen.
What comes through is unplanned, nonlinear, highly synchronicitic and completely supported by life and the Sister Keepers who help hold this creative space of exploration along with the women who are drawn to the circle, who create the circle with me. In this way it is true creation- allowing the universe to dream through us. It is a merging with and a partnership. It is more than anyone of us is alone. It is the inhalation and the exhalation and it is the pause between. It is the creation that comes through the stillness and the listening. It is the place of true creation.

“And what we can see if we look deep within is that the authentic self is the Soul made visible. Do not try to remake yourself into something you’re not. Just try making the best of what God(ess) made. The sacred art and craft of nurturing our souls and the souls of those we love is Simple Abundance soulcraft. ”

— Sarah Ban Breathnach

And what I know now, is that I still don't know, but what I do know is that it is needed, we needed it, I needed it. And so I allow it to continue to unfold as given.

You can see more of the beauty and wonder being created in this workshop here #sacredartsworkshop

Forgiveness

“We can change, evolve, and transform our own conditioning. We can choose to move like water rather than be molded like clay. Life spirals in and then spirals out on any given day. It does not have to be one way, one truth, one voice. Nor does love have to be all or nothing. Neither does power. What is positive and what is negative is not, absolute, It does not have to be one way”

— Terry Tempest Williams

I’ve been working with Forgiveness for months now… as I told Galia the other day I think I have PFF or post filming fatigue lol.  But I thought it would be useful to talk about what I’ve learned, what I’ve shifted, what’s been transformed and what hasn’t. In working on this class I pulled from a lot of traditions and belief systems, but these statements from a course in miracles made so much sense,  in the long run,  that I wanted to share them with you here….

“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT ANYTHING IS FOR. We think we understand our lives, what we experience and ourselves. The truth is until we forgive ourselves and everyone our perspective of life is slightly skewed.
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING I SEE. I now know that no matter what we can see with our physical eyes, there is always something bigger, better, more profound and divine going on that we cannot see.
I AM NEVER UPSET FOR THE REASON I THINK.  This is one of the most profound lessons we must all learn. Think of it this way; if every feeling we have ever experienced is still planted somewhere in our body, what we respond to today and how we respond to it has roots in ancient or historical emotional energy we are holding somewhere in our being.
I SEE NOTHING AS IT IS NOW. More often than not everything we see and the perceptions we have today, are grounded in past knowledge, past experience and often, past upsets. 99.0% of the time we view our lives and experiences through a filter colored by the past. This means, we see nothing as it is right now.
ABOVE ALL ELSE I WANT TO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY. Forgiveness supports us in learning to see ourselves, our lives, our experiences and everything we have ever experienced from a difference perspective, with a new set of eyes." A Course in Miracles

 I found that forgiveness is not easy and not for the reasons I expected.  It’s not easy because we are used to keeping the wound alive.  Those wounds and grievances are comfortable and it makes up a part of our story.  It’s actually part of our identity.  You start wondering who you will be if you don’t have that story. It leaves you feeling as if the breath has been shocked out of you. At that point, the biggest fight, the fight with your ego, has begun.  It’s epic, I’m not gonna lie.  And it is continuous.  But slowly you begin to feel… I don’t know… lighter, more clear, healthier.  You don’t need those heavy stories, the breath that is caught in your chest along with grief and sorrow.  You don’t need it, and you begin to want to put it all down.  And once you begin to feel that…. it’s easier than you might believe.

I’ve found in this journey of self- inquiry that forgiveness is both an art and a practice. As an art, it begins with connecting to the subtle nuances of your feelings and experiences in the Down deep, and as a practice, it involves learning vital skills, skills we often weren’t taught as children. And it involves putting those skills into practice, minute by minute.
 
In Forgiveness you will learn some of the practices that have worked for me in finding clarity and resolution with those experiences that I encounter working in the Down Deep.  This is a class about finding and connecting with your true self thru your art practices and the processes I’ve outlined, about the transformation of your story, your journey towards wholeness.   
You are not broken.
You are not unworthy.
You are not lacking anything.
You are complete.
You are whole.
You are sacred.
No other story is true. How do I know that?  Because if it’s true for anyone, it’s true for you. You, your art, your expression as a human in this world is sacred.  
True story. XO

Fonda Clark Haight

Sister Love Giveaway

Giveaway- Sacred Arts

In celebration of the beautiful connections, friendships and sisterhoods ignited and nurtured in creative circles, we are giving away 2 pairs of seats in Sacred Arts. Tells us of a dear beloved friend who inspires and supports your creative journey, nominate a soul sister, and both you and she could win a place in our creative circle.

We would like to hear of the women out there who hold your heart to the light and shine deep wisdom into the world, creating magic as they walk, inspiring, supporting and radiating their truth in majestic or quiet ways. Tell us of who you would like to sit around the fire, tell stories with, weave magic with and create new things into being.

To nominate someone, tag them in the comments and share some love about them, shine a little love and gratitude their way. We will randomly select two sisters, along with the women who nominated them, to join our creative circle.

For extra chance share this giveaway on your social media and swing back and let us know in the comments (Facebook, Insta, blog, etc etc). Another random winner will be selected from these to join us.

(If you win and have already signed up then a refund will be sent your way Xx)
See you in class/circle <3
Truly madly deeply

☆☆☆

And if you would like to join us you can learn more here or sign up now.

13 mOOns- $166

Giveaway- Celebrating Spring & Autumn

In my corner of the world Spring is upon us with the last of the sweet smelling winter bulbs and the soft folds of blossoms lacing the branches of the trees. For many of you autumn's golds and rich reds will dance one last time before winter sets in.

To celebrate such magical shows that mama nature is putting on, I am giving away two place for In the Garden- Flower Studies with the Masters.

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This Giveaway is now closed, the winners are Esme Windwalker and Katrin Kubbe (please email me so that I can add you to the classroom :) )

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To enter share about this workshop on your social media and pop your name in the comments below

I will announce the winners on the 7th of September

     ☆ share this competition on your blog, twitter, pinterest, google, facebook page or other social network platform & leave me a comment.

    ☆ like our facebook page (or invite some friends to)

    ☆ subscribe to this blog

For an extra sweetener, and more chances to win, share with me your favourite poems, or quotes from poems that celebrate flowers, spring or autumn, I would love to read them :)

And for your delight, here is one I absolutely love by Dominique Christina:

☆☆☆

And if you would like to join us you can learn more here or sign up now.

 $88