Intuition, Art, & the Right Brain with Jennifer Lee
May 13th, 2010, 6 Comments
I'm so thrilled to be able to share my chat with the fabulous, Jennifer Lee! Jennifer is an amazing coach, writer, artist, and author of a soon to be published book. And she's my dear friend!
Listen in as we talk about the process of Intuitive Painting, how you can try it out for yourself, and how the right brain and intuition interact. Click below to listen here or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.
Jenn's Right Brain Business Plan e-course is starting up again on May 17th and I highly recommend it for any creative entrepreneurs out there who want to put a creative spin on a task that can feel a bit intimidating. Jenn is a great guide and coach and the plans her students have created are so cool!
You can find out more about Jenn on her website and blog. And you can also find her on Twitter @artizencoaching.
Thanks, Jenn!
Intuition amongst the Trees
May 11th, 2010, 22 Comments
One of my favorite places to connect with myself and my intuition is in Nature. I love going through walks through the woods, perusing local neighborhoods and sitting near bodies of water. Sometimes just by myself, sometimes with an ipod, sometimes with a sketchbook to write or draw in, and sometimes with a camera. Oh, and trees, which I love to draw and paint, strike me as great growing souls with their own personalities. I love being amongst the trees when I need to get in touch with that still, small voice inside.
I was thinking about all this as I finished up this tree swing painting yesterday. Makes me want to get on a swing sometime very soon.
Where do you go to connect to your intuition? Do you have a favorite spot? Could you make some time to go there this month?
Creative Every Day: May 10 – 16
May 10th, 2010, 28 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign up for the 2010 Creative Every Day Challenge anytime! Find out more and fill out the sign-up form here to join in!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 5/10/10 - 5/16/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for April's theme is Intuition. I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month and you can feel free to use it to inspire your creations, follow your own muse, or do some combination. You can find out more about this month's theme and some prompts to get you started with it here.
Happy Creating!
The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself. ~Alan Alda
Talking Intuition with Bridget Pilloud
May 7th, 2010, 7 Comments
I had the pleasure of speaking with the fabulous Bridget Pilloud this week and I'm so thrilled to be able to share it with you! Bridget is an Intuitive, Healer, Teacher, Writer, and all around awesome person.
Bridget has some great tips and tools to share about how to connect with your intuition in your everyday life and also as you create art! I especially loved her suggestion to "let your brain take a back seat" as you create. And of course the impromptu visit from Leo the cat was fun too! 
You can listen to the interview below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.
Bridget is planning an exciting year-long Field Expedition to the Energetic Body to start in June! Keep up to date with this and all the other amazing things Bridget is up to at her blog, Voila and follow her on Twitter @intuitivebridge.
Tapping into Your Intuition through Art
May 5th, 2010, 16 Comments
One of my favorite ways to tap into my intuition is through making art. There's something about the fact that it's non-verbal for me, which helps me to get in tune with the part of me that speaks in dream-like imagery and is more in touch with what's going on under the surface. When I'm creating in this way, I feel better able to go with the flow, to listen to and trust my inner guidance.
When I led the "Art from the Heart" workshop at wishstudio's wish*full Virtual art retreat last weekend, I taught tools that required letting go of control. Yikes! I have a little bit of control-freak in me at times, so letting go can be difficult. But I think that's another part of why creating intuitively is simultaneously scary and exciting. And when I'm able to let go, that's when the images flow out, the choices seem to make themselves, and I can create from a deeper well within.
It makes me think of the lantern and lighthouse imagery I've used a lot, as I think these images are great metaphors for intuition. There's a light within each of us, always ready and willing to guide you, if you can tap into it.
Ways to tap into your Intuition while you create:
Get into your body: Ground yourself through meditation, movement, or simply a few deep breaths. Getting into your body helps you get out of your head and into a mode where you can make choices guided by your intuition.
Be Willing to Be Wrong: I think it's easy to doubt yourself when you first try creating from your intuition, so take the pressure off by being willing to be wrong, to make mistakes, to do it badly. Let go of expectation and let yourself play freely. It's a lot easier to be in a state of flow when you're not worried about doing it perfectly.
Don't Stop to Think: I like to move quickly when creating intuitively. I act on instinct before my talky-talky brain can get involved and cause me to doubt myself. Don't let your thinking brain get in on the action, at least not in the beginning. Give yourself some time to create without thought. After some time creating, you can step back and think about things. But having some time to create without judgment is a great thing!
Be Willing Not to Know: Often when I create intuitively, I have no idea where a piece is going. An image may start to appear and it may make no sense at all, logically. It can be a wild ride, not knowing where a piece is going (so much like life, yes?), but when I can let go and allow the story to unfold, interesting images come from it. Later on, while looking at these images, I find that they nearly always have messages for me about what's going on with me.
Step Back: After some time creating, I need to step away from the piece. Sometimes I put it across the room and stare at it for awhile. Other times, I put it across the room and work on other things, occasionally glancing up. Getting a little distance can often help you find what the next step is. Or it may let you know it's complete.
How do you let your intuition guide you as you create?
p.s. The image above is titled, Lighthouse. Prints are available here.
Creative Every Day Check-In: May 3 – 9
May 3rd, 2010, 30 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign up for the 2010 Creative Every Day Challenge anytime! Find out more and fill out the sign-up form here to join in!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 5/3/10 - 5/9/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for April's theme is Intuition. I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month and you can feel free to use it to inspire your creations, follow your own muse, or do some combination. You can find out more about this month's theme and some prompts to get you started with it here.
Happy Creating!
Visuals = the language of intuition. ~Eileen M. Clegg
Whale Dreams
April 30th, 2010, 11 Comments
My latest painting is called, "Whale Dreams" and somehow it feels just right for the transition into May's Creative Every Day Challenge theme of Intuition. I think it's because whales come up quite a bit in art that I do intuitively. I finished up this painting on the day of the full moon and although it wasn't originally going to have a moon in it, as it came to life, it definitely wanted a moon.
I hope you all have a beautifully creative weekend! I'm planning to enjoy the wish*full art retreat at wishstudio, where I'm leading a workshop, the gorgeous weather, and getting my toes painted with my bff.
If you're looking for more sensory inspiration before the month of Senses comes to an end, check out this post from last Spring about an Intuitive Painting class where I was led through an exercise using my sense of smell. Very cool.
And also be sure to put on your dancing shoes for Jamie's annual Shyne Like a Star Virtual Dance Party tomorrow!
One Theme Flows to the Next
April 28th, 2010, 13 Comments
Wow, what a fun time of year to focus on the senses. I think my senses are already on high alert in Spring, especially as I've gotten older. Summer has always been my favorite month (I love the warmer weather, my b-day is in July, and summer used to mean vacation!), but in the last few years, I've been especially enamored with Spring. I can't get enough of its young, green, flirty ways. I've been especially loving the flowering trees all around this new neighborhood I'm living in, the young birds visiting our yard (cardinals, blue jays, robins, and a woodpecker, among others), and just being outside. When I was feeling a bit funky on Monday, I took a long walk through the woods and snapped these pictures. Doesn't the path look mysterious? And then below, another mysterious looking picture of the sun reflected in a bog. It felt like I was looking into the moonlit sky, a through-the-looking-glass kind of image.
The senses theme this month also seems to lead perfectly into the theme of Intuition for May. A bunch of people mentioned Intuition or their sixth sense in the comments this month, so I sort of hinted about the upcoming theme here and there. I could barely contain myself from shouting, "Yes, you're right on the money, Intuition is next!" Hehe. I'm terrible at keeping secrets.
I love the way one theme has flowed seamlessly to the next this year. But really, getting in touch with your senses is a great way to tap into your intuition. And speaking of Intuition, today I have a guest post about creating sanctuary to help discover your purpose over at Intuitive Guide, Bridget Pilloud's fabulous blog. I've taken a Chakralicious class from Bridget and think she's just awesome. And I'll be sharing much more about Bridget next month, so stay tuned!
Creative Every Day Theme for May: Intuition
April 26th, 2010, 21 Comments
At the end of each month I will announce the totally optional theme for the following month. May 2010's theme will be: Intuition.
As always, this month's theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge is totally optional. Use it if it sparks you, continue being creative every day in your own way if it doesn't, or do something in between.
I'm thinking of this theme in terms of exploring your intuition in creative ways, writing about it, and making intuitive art. There are endless ways you can play with the theme and I'm open to any interpretation.
I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month on the blog to help keep you inspired. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Explore what following your intuition has meant to you in writing.
- *Let the your intuition be your guide as you choose materials for a collage.
- *Try intuitive painting.
- *Follow your gut as you make choices in your day.
- *Notice if you have any intuitive nudges to try a new medium and then go for it!
- *Let your body move intuitively to music.
- *Do some drawings with your eyes closed, open your eyes, and notice what you see in your scribbles.
- *Begin a creation with no plan in mind. Let your intuition guide you to the medium, the first stroke, the next step.
- *Spend some time getting still to re-connect with your still, small inner voice.
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving. Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
And have fun with it!
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us. ~R.W. Emerson
p.s. The art above was adapted from my painting, "Lantern" which is available here.
Creative Every Day Check-In: April 26 – May 2
April 26th, 2010, 26 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign up for the 2010 Creative Every Day Challenge anytime! Find out more and fill out the sign-up form here to join in!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 4/26/10 - 5/2/10.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for April's theme is The 5 Senses. I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month and you can feel free to use it to inspire your creations, follow your own muse, or do some combination. You can find out more about this month's theme and some prompts to get you started with it here.
Happy Creating!
Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements. ~Marcel Boulestin
