my new book is out!
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TIGHTROPE WALKER
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my new book is out! * TIGHTROPE WALKER *
SACRED & RITUAL ART
CREATIVE & THERAPEUTIC EXPRESSION
A personal Glossary, pertinent to my offerings:
ART: skillful, soul-filled, devoted creation in service to Beauty, in its widest, highest, even holy sense. My Art has been one the shapes of my Devotion…
BEAUTY: in the deepest sense, not only pleasant to the senses or mind, but a spark of remembrance of one’s Divinity. To me, Beauty is a doorway, to Devotion, hence “only Beauty can save the world”…
SACRED: pervaded with, or devoted to the Divine, approached with respect, love & reverence.
SACRED SPACE: a safe place, time, occasion, heartfully held for the purpose of healing, sharing, witnessing, devotion, prayer, etc.
RE-SACRETING I am making up an antonym to “desecrating” (treating a place or anything with violent disrespect), so this means bringing back the sacred. Let’s re-sacrate. All.
RITUAL: any actions, even simple, daily, imbued with ceremony and meaning, in-tending of the Sacred. A tool of re-sacreting.
PSYCHEMAGIC: “Magic”, as intentional manifestation; I’ll add “kindly respecting others’ free will”. Psychemagic then, is the art of using poetic ritual and beauty, to lovingly impress your own psyche, inviting your soul’s longings into matter.
ALTAR: an area devoted to the holy, linked to your spiritual paradigms & practices, where you place symbolic objects, deities, etc. What is sacred to you.
SACRED BUNDLE: Loving and artful Psychemagic. Intentional prayer parcel, for the purpose of Gratitude, Healing, or Manifestation.
RELIQUARY: tangible memorial containing a “relic” (traditionally, remains or a belonging from a person passed), of sentimental or holy value, to be kept in honor and reverence.
TALISMAN: in the spirit of Psychemagic, this would be an object to be imbued with your loving intentions, to carry this energy as a symbolic embodiment and reminder. It can have a Protection quality as well.
Maybe you just want to write. Or make craft/art. Or both, Say + Make.
Maybe you need to weave strands of creative expression, to find the voice that went missing. Or to assist with healing, the processing and integration of those holy occasions when “Life happened”, and nobody witnessed...
Maybe you have a specific aim or intention.
If you visit my gallery, you may sense in my artworks a certain quality of the sacred, you may hear my soul speaking… Some of my art, I consider “altar pieces”, as they all are in a way, embodiments of the sacred, to me.
I was never interested in purely commercial art, or anything that was to be produced mechanically, intellectually, for the sake of attention, shock, or fame seeking… I couldn’t. I can’t, do anything that doesn’t involve heart & soul…
It had/has to pour out of me, even if carried by my own blood, …pervaded by the perfume of soul. And it is this same quality that I offer in my healing as well. A reverence.
But you don’t need to be an “artist”.
Perhaps you simply want to make room for Beauty, and the Sacred in your life. To literally give it a place at your table.
To partake in the delight of heartfelt/bellyfelt Devotion, naturally stitched through the fabric of existence, surprising you everywhere, even in the most unforeseen nooks of your daily life. To re-sacrate your existence.
Perhaps you are midwifing yourself through a transition. A divorce, a new partnership, retirement, relocation, illness, challenges, or changes of any kind, …even those deemed positive!
Are you molding the clays of grief between achy hands?
Shedding a skin like a proverbial snake?
Emerging from ashes after a life’s bonfire?…
Or you are wanting to honor, commemorate, or simply celebrate in joyous gratitude.
Whether is the passing of a loved one, or the invocation of a dream, or the celebration of a personal achievement or milestone, you are in need of a soulful rite of passage.
One that offers a creative container for the paradoxical dance between Ending and Beginning. No more a Bud, not yet a Bloom… You might be standing still, on shifting ground, half scared, half excited, in that middle of nowhere place called In Between. Not mentioned in maps.
My aim is to offer you a safe and intimate Sacred Space where contemplation, tender healing, and the rhythmic unfolding of soul, can occur. I will provide a palette of creative tools, tailored to your needs, from Collage and paint, to natural elements, to printmaking and mixed media… we will use what feels most appropriate at the time, for easy visual and written expression, of anything that arises from the ink well of your heart…
Here, the emphasis is in the delicate process*, rather than a product; the focus is the pulsating voice of the soul, and the unhurried trickle (or outpouring?) of your essence.
See my Sacred Art offerings below.
“Cadaster of Spent Prayers (for Rosalia)”, mixed media, prayer rolls, bones, etc, on canvas
“- …I was a bit nervous (inner critic, lol!), but I’m soooo glad I added ‘Sacred Art’ to the Tuning sessions. Mighty combo. This is better than therapy, seriously!” -
- M.P. / Soul Chiropraxis package
POETEA
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STREAMWRITE
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WORD RIVER
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FREEFLOW
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POETEA ~ STREAMWRITE ~ WORD RIVER ~ FREEFLOW ~
SAY! :) WORD RIVEr
THERAPEUTIC WRITIng: LIVE JOURNALING / POE-TEA
As we say in my homeland “Did you forget something in the inkwell?”… -
Let’s find it! :)
Free your heart, and find your voice, through meditative hand-writing. Go get your favorite pen!
A fluid stream of words, with mindful prompts.
Easy, relaxing, process oriented*. NO experience or “special talents” required.
What is arising? …a story? a memory? a dream? ...a surprise to yourself?
Bathe in your words. Drink the wine of your own voice.
Be received and witnessed, One on One.
Glean pearls, of healing, of wisdom.
Ever had Poe-tea?… share poetry over infini-tea.
Includes light Somatic + Vibro-Acoustic approaches.
For creativity and fun, calling the Muses, stress relief.
Supports any healing/creative endeavors.
Next, you may want to explore a Visual Creation? :) MAKE!
a MAKE + SAY mixed media experiment ;)
I’ve had a love and hate relationship
with words...
I savor them in my tongue,
as pieces of exquisite candy
…but might spit them into the void
of poems destined to oblivion…
I’ve written them in walls,
with urgency and haste,
and burnt them down, merciless
without keeping the ashes.
I’ve gnawed on the unspeakable
and swallowed up the bitter ones,
while getting lost in translation
more often than I’d care to say…
Now, drunk on the sound
of my own muffled voice,
I will pluck them from the sky
while I also bathe in silence…
A spontaneous Word River, or free-write from today :) …polished a word only!
* COLLAGE! * printmaking? * MOSAIC... * paint!
* COLLAGE! * printmaking? * MOSAIC... * paint!
MAKE! :) FROM COLLAGE TO MIXED MEDIA
THERAPEUTIC “arting”: VISUAL EXPRESSION
Collage? Something about tearing, and cutting PAPER.
So… soothing. Aaaahhh... so satisfying. Is it the sound? the textures, colors, shapes?…
From paper to pebbles; easy print-making, stitches, unorthodox mosaics…
…piece by piece, peace by peace…
Gratifying visual expression through old fashion, but NOT cookie-cutter, “analog” crafts.
Process oriented*, NO experience or “special talents” required.
Upgrade to other advanced mediums at your own pace.
Share and be witnessed One on One. Free your heart, uncover your beauty.
Broken heart? ...bring the pieces!
Inner children welcomed, …as long as they don’t run with scissors! :)
Includes light Somatic + Vibro-Acoustic approaches.
Recommended for: creativity and fun, stress relief, sensory awareness/embodiment.
Supports any healing/creative endeavors.
NEXT, you may want to SAY something about your creation, in a WORD RIVER session! :)
During my decades of experience as a professional artist, I’ve explored a wide variety of media. From photography (darkroom and all!), to mixed media; from mosaics to metal sculpture. I’ve done guerrilla murals, fleeting, clandestine installations in nature, …and (official) Public Art!
Always with a certain awareness of the healing role of Beauty. Eventually, the Healer and the Artist merged, and I became further impressed as to the therapeutic power of creativity.
Shy? no experience? …ferocious inner critic? no time? …artist block?
A good starting point can be easy & relaxing, good old COLLAGE.
Why? it’s one of the simplest ways of getting creative, and materials can be as minimalistic as your recycle. I feel the immediacy and ease of the medium, its non intimidating nature, lends itself for fluid expression of that which otherwise would be forgotten in the “someday pile”.
No performance anxiety! yay!
So there’s therapeutic value for both beginners, and seasoned artists. From there, a universe of possibilities…
Come on, go get the scissors, the glue, that pile of old magazines, wrapping papers… Exquisite? sure, bring the Japanese papers too. :)
* Other Mediums & techniques are available, tailored to your needs, and particular aim.
* PRAYER * INTENTION * ALTAR * BUNDLE * RELIQUARY *PSYCHEMAGIC
* PRAYER * INTENTION * ALTAR * BUNDLE * RELIQUARY *PSYCHEMAGIC
MAKE IT SACRED: ALTAR, BUNDLE, RELIQUARY, talisman
SOULFUL “arting”: PSYCHEMAGIC & INTENTIONAL CREATIONS
*See above my personal Glossary for these words.
You made crafts, you made Art. Now you want to take it a step further, or go deeper.
Perhaps you want to create a Sacred Space in your home, and build an Altar?
Or are you wanting to honor and commemorate, a loved one, an event, a stage of life?
Or perhaps you are intent in invoking a dream, a deep longing of the heart?
Or you are simply seeking to celebrate in gratitude?
Are you molding the clays of grief between achy hands?
Shedding a skin like a proverbial snake?
Emerging from the ashes after a life’s bonfire?…
Make it Sacred.
Includes light Somatic + Vibro-Acoustic approaches.
Recommended for: soulful living, sensory awareness/embodiment, rites of passage.
Supports any healing/creative endeavors.
NEXT, you may want to SAY something about your creation, in a WORD RIVER session! :)
“Reliquaries”, mixed media installation I had a few years ago in San Diego, CA.
So perhaps you want to create an “Altar”. A holy nook in your home where you tend to the sacred. Where you re-sacrate Life.
And then, reverently and prayerfully, you may want to make a “Sacred Bundle”, or a “Reliquary”.
So many crucial moments in our lives remain unacknowledged. Holy thresholds and passages (sometimes even the departed), lacking the honor they deserved.
Give them voice, give them words, shape, color, texture, space… Sacred, space.
Within deep processes, as when dealing with Grief, these creative explorations, albeit therapeutic on themselves, can be added to therapy, and further supported by Vibrational Medicine.
WHAT IS “PROCESS ORIENTED”?
THIS MEANS The emphasis is on “making”, rather than IN THE “result”. As children do! :)
when harnessing the therapeutic value of a technique, we care about the experience.
WHILE the result of YOUR EXPRESSION may assist or inform your journey and growth, THE PROCESS AND HOW IT BLOSSOMS is valuable on itself!
Want the Magic without the work? …To simply get yourself a one of a kind treasure? :)
Visit my Artifacts Gallery , then use the “CONTACT ME” form at the footer.