Pink Coyote

Blog Tour: With Maya Donenfeld

My soulsister, Maya Donenfeld recently birthed her first book, called Reinvention: Sewing with Rescued Materials, (Wiley, 2012). In the process, she discovered a few lil gold nuggets...

Pour some tea and eavesdrop on our chat?

Maya, I wanted to share some aspects of you with my spirited readers who may not be acquainted with your magical ways. Reinvention shares so much of your fine work and innovation, and I appreciate your designs infinitely. However, the deeper synchronicity of your work are what have moved me most. This book is filled with behind the scenes alchemy which few will know about until they meet with you in one of your workshops.

I had always dreamed of writing, but this book took on a life of its own and continues to shape me in ways that I could never have imagined.  I've discovered that the very same way that I listen to rescued materials to discover what they want to become, is key to understanding how to connect with my own strengths and challenges to actualize my true potential. There are so many deeply moving metaphors in the world of textile manipulation and design. I began to recognize that the ripping of seams to reconstruct a pair of jeans into a hammock was not so unlike the transformation that was taking place inside me as I went from dream seeker to dream maker.

Mmm, I love that. There's a shift that happens when we manifest a creative project, and it's not limited to the new entity that now exists. It's like our cells literally change when we're aligned on our path of growth.

I see you as a luminous teacher: women come out of your classes lit up and chanting the names of their projects, which I've heard when working next door to you! What are some of your brightest memories of teaching your designs? Which experiences have left you illuminated? Tell us a story, if you can.

I love hearing that... that is my greatest hope when I teach- that folks will leave full and glowing from their own handiwork. At the beginning of each new class, many walk through the door with some sort of anxiety about their abilities or their lack of experience in one area or another. We all know that feeling of vulnerability... that tender place we go to when we desire something new so badly, but don't trust that we are capable. My goal is to meet these fears head on, by creating a space where there is so much love and acceptance that self-judgements don't have a place to land... they simply fly out the window. One of my favorite moments when this played out was with a lovely woman who seemed confident in every way, but was terrified at the thought of sitting down at a sewing machine. The day before our sewing workshop she confided in me that she had decided she just wasn't ready and was going to drop the class. And since she had intentionally not brought supplies, it seemed in her mind "meant to be" to not come. I listened and invited her to come anyway and just watch. No pressure. I had more than enough material for her if she changed her mind. The next day I could see how much courage it took for her to walk through the door. As she watched me do a demo, she asked "is this like baking (precise science) or cooking?"  I told her the way I sew is definitely like an improvised meal. From that point on she was ready to jump in... she was ready to get cookin'! By the day's end, she was blissfully creating with fabric and calling herself a sewer. Feeling capable is quite powerful.

That you create such a safe space for women to explore, improvise and fall into a trance seems unusual for a sewing workshop! This is why your students connect so deeply with you, Maya. You make it safe for them to bring their emotions in the door, come as they are...and see what happens. You know I'm all about this. Textiles stirs a lot of history for me, and for others, I've seen.You midwife your students so gently, and the book has the same kind of gentle care and encouragement-some sewing books don't draw me in-they can be a bit...precise. What I love about your book and your workshops is how well they lend themselves to not just the beginner, but to she who is just setting out on her heart-meets-hands journey.

Your aesthetic is impeccable, it goes without saying. You've become known as a rescuer, and yet, your designs come across as very refined (even those Tyvek pouches, which will be my first project from Reinvention). Has it always been this way for you? When did you commit to your love affair with repurposing?

I've always loved the alchemical process of taking something humble or useless and giving it new life. My family was extremely creative and resourceful, so this was my model as a child and teenager. It seemed only natural to continue repurposing for own family... for both economical and ecological reasons. As far as my aesthetic, having a mother who is an artist definitely shaped my desire to create lovely surroundings... even the artful arrangement of everyday objects. She showed me that it is precisely those items that we use and see all the time that should prove to be inspiring, as well as useful. My aesthetic has grown out of that desire for simple, utilitarian beauty.

I am so grateful for your work, for your beautiful light in the world, for your passion for the Earth and her creatures, and for the blessing of calling you friend. Seeing this book come to life from the sidelines, and witnessing your process, has been a magnificent honor.

See where Maya has been previously on her Blog Tour, and where she's going!

5/1- sew liberated
5/2- Craft
5/3- Resurrection Fern
5/4- Apartment Therapy

5/7 Whip Up
5/8 elsie marley
5/9 Poppytalk
5/10 Annekata
5/11 Pink Coyote (you're here!)

5/14 Betz White
5/15 Etsy
5/16 Sew, Mama, Sew!
5/17 Made
5/18 Wiley Craft

******

Visit Maya at mayamade.com

Yuks in the City

Thank you all so very much for your sweet comments and shares last week over the loss of my cat. It was a very difficult time and I had to key into my intuition in a way that makes me pretty uncomfortable until I'm certain that it makes sense in the end. This is that part of trusting the journey that I get to practice a lot. I've been sensing him around us and it's heartening to know that his extreme loving energy is still at work from the other side. I've been snuggling up to his brother and sharing my thoughts with him, which is nice. It is wholly strange to be a one cat household for the first time in almost 16 years.

Last week I joined an enormous group of freinds in New York City to celebrate a friend's showcase at American Songbook in Lincoln Center. Jonatha Brooke played for us in an intimate theater with Dar Williams and we were all able to get together in one place afterward for some communing, which did my heart so much good. It was a whirlwind trip, but so worth it to be able to support Jonatha's big moment sharing tracks from her tribute to Woodie Guthrie. She is our songbird of Squam Art Workshops and it's been a highlight of attending and teaching there to hear her cathartic tunes these years. Her words and voice move me to tears every time I have the blessing to see her.

The very best part of rooming with and seeing some of my favorite girls is that we laughed, laughed and laughed more than I really believed possible.

I left for the city not feeling altogether humorous, which is one of my best defenses for the crabby-gloomies, and I came home feeling released and clear.

 

Silly Swirly.

Sweet friends.

Beautiful Madison Park.

Always in motion.

Always memorable.

 

And...it's so good to be back home...

Yuks in the City

Thank you all so very much for your sweet comments and shares last week over the loss of my cat. It was a very difficult time and I had to key into my intuition in a way that makes me pretty uncomfortable until I'm certain that it makes sense in the end. This is that part of trusting the journey that I get to practice a lot. I've been sensing him around a lot and it's heartening to know that his extreme loving energy is still at work from the other side. I've been snuggling up to his brother and sharing my thoughts with him, which is nice. It is wholly strange to be a one cat household for the first time in almost 16 years.

Last week I joined an enormous group of freinds in New York City to celebrate a friend's showcase at American Songbook in Lincoln Center. Jonatha Brooke played for us in an intimate theater with Dar Williams and we were all able to get together in one place afterward for some communing, which did my heart so much good. It was a whirlwind trip, but so worth it to be able to support Jonatha's big moment sharing tracks from her tribute to Woodie Guthrie. She is our songbird of Squam Art Workshops and it's been a highlight of attending and teaching there to hear her cathartic tunes these years. Her words and voice move me to tears every time I have the blessing to see her.

The very best part of rooming with and seeing some of my favorite girls is that we laughed, laughed and laughed more than I really believed possible.

I left for the city not feeling altogether humorous, which is one of my best defenses for the crabby-gloomies, and I came home feeling released and clear.

 

Silly Swirly.

Sweet friends.

Beautiful Madison Park.

Always in motion.

Always memorable.

 

As always, it's so good to be back home...

 

OMG She Stole My Life!

Something I give a lot of thought to, consciously and abstractly, is the phenomenon of women comparing themselves to others. Do men do this? Honestly? It seems like nothing blows a hole in a nicely rolling tire more than the feeling that someone else is doing it better than us. Or, ever get that false sense of confidence from thinking you're doing it a bit better than at least one other person, so that carries you a mile or two, until they ride up on your ass and pop a hole in that flimsy theory, too?

There are so many things to stop a woman. Too many.

I remember picking up Spilling Open by Sabrina Ward Harrison when I was in my late twenties, (headed back to art school) and upon devouring it, thinking, "This young and beautiful artist stole my life! Tart!"

I don't know that I really believed it, because though I have stumbled over my perceived inadequacy many times, seldom have I been stuck in a creative quagmire for long. In the end- not long after reading Sabrina's works, whom I'd erstwhile fashioned a graven image of- I discovered that, indeed, she did not steal my life, and that my very own life and expression of it was waiting for me just up around the bend- and that I could feel free to meet it whenever I was ready to face that my expressive arts weren't really going to look like the work of those I admired. The whole process was going to be a bit rougher, more informal, messier, tattered around the edges, fumbling, frustrating, sometimes even foolish.

I am blessed to create what I create, to birth what I birth, to hold a safe container for others' messy processes to wriggle out into the world. My extremely original writerly comadre Marybeth told me that it's the midwife's job to sit on her hands and sing songs in the other room, while all-the-while trusting that mama can do it, that baby can do it, and that all will come into being just as it is meant to. I'm so grateful to her for this metaphor.

Sometimes we have to do this for ourselves. Ego and Personality can sit, godparentlike, in the other room, singing sacred and holy favorite hymns, while true path is born from the unconscious into the conscious realm. Shamans laugh at this reality we live in, calling it the illusion, while the inner realms- journey and transparent contact with higher dimensions-THAT is reality. It is that very transcendent place which birth occurs from.

No one can touch what happens in our dreams, in our journeys, our active imaginations, and meditations. The sacred realm is ours alone. And though we are all connected beyond space and time there, unified, spirit-wise, what is very deep within us comes forth when we make the journey inward to meet it.

What I mean to say, really, is that we can strike an agreement here. We can agree that we are not afraid of each other. We can agree to trust that my baby will not look or act like your baby once born. We can agree to do the innerwork to the best of our abilities in order to honor our one precious life and the expressions that beg to be birthed. You can do this, and so can your sweet, creative lovechild.

I'll keep the fire burning and the songs singing in the other room while you labor.

 

************************

Desire to Inspire winners are Laura and Joanna. Email me with your addresses, lucky ones.

Desire-able Giveaway and Live Lodge Day

Did anyone see the Moon last night? I can't recall such a Cheshire smile in a long time, if ever. Mischievous, full of rhetorical questions, and philisophical pontifications, I felt her nudging me into the new year as I sat under her. Are you feeling the nudge to take any risks in the new year? Broadening your vision and deepening your connection?

Maybe one of them is coming to Berkeley on Saturday, January 28th for a live-Lodge journey circle with me :) Teahouse Studio has graciously offered to host us for the day: catering our lunch and providing a cozy space for us to journey and unearth the little pieces of gold that will carry us through each season of 2012. It will be a relaxing day of communing in circle in beautiful Northern California. Here is a list of local hotels and distances from the event, as well as directions, if you want to make an easy weekend of it. Email me if you have questions about anything at all.

I have two copies of Christine Mason Miller's DESIRE TO INSPIRE on my desk, just waiting to land in one of your hands. The first chapter being, A Force of Good: When We Care for Ourselves We Care for the World, and one of my very favorite chapters, number seven: Plenty of Room for Everyone: Understanding Our Unique Place and Purpose. I was very lucky when I started my very first real business in 2000, to have a mentor teach me that I need never be frightened of any person of company imprinting my ideas or creating similar vibes or products as me.

He told me (bless you Drew Bernstein, pioneer of clothing for Fashion Freaks) that all I needed to focus on was staying true to me-that if my vision was what I alreay do and who I already am, I wouldn't ever have to worry about what anyone else is doing, in fact, I could freely help them-which is what he did, and what I learned to do and still practice. For those of you who are considering taking a leap with your art, your written words, whatever it is that is pulling to you-get some fortification under you so that you can feel confident that your expression is truly yours and impervious to being duplicated. Our visions are as unique as our DNA.

Two copies are ready for sending out. Tell me what the Cheshire cat is smiling about, or that you will take a chance on yourself in this upcoming year which I'm certain will set the record for Creative Fire. As women, just about everything we do can be a creative act. Taking a chance doesn't have to be externally big, risking it might look as simple as loving the Truth more than anything else, Trusting deeper than the Ocean, Loving, no matter what scares you about Love.

I'll select winners on Monday evening here in the wild West.

I hope to sit with you in Berkeley and see what comes to you: what peace, what comfort, which allies, what beautiful surprises are within you...

Finding Self by the Baba Yaga

Thorns and Thistles, Kelly Louise Judd

Sometimes it can be very difficult for me to receive a compliment. I wave my hand and make an oh-come-on-it-was-nothing face, just like my mother does. Go silent like just my Grandmother does, and look away not knowing what to say, then change the subject. I'm learning to just say *thank you* without qualifiers. I am not one who requires validation, (that sounds so weird to say, eh?) so I just keep plodding along on my path, trusting that the right road will keep rising up to meet me. We've been down this road before, you and me.

I read this today, and am sharing it with permission. It was written by an Elder who attended SouLodge this Autumn with a friend. I am always extremely humbled when a Grandmother enjoys anything I have to offer; I have always made my most longlasting friendships under the wise ones' wings. 

I feel proud.

My hope is that the Mystic Vixen will step and in remind me what was said about the effect western Woman would have on the world (if she will only learn to receive a compliment...)

This is me trying.

***

Finding Self

In this whole wild world of paths and streets and avenues and roadways we can easily become lost. I created this account a full cycle of flying around the sun ago.

Much has come and gone, been seen and heard and tasted and touched in that time.  And then I took some time and space for me and discovered this wonderful kindred spirit Pixie Campbell.

Pixie provides a space for wild women to truly howl and growl and re-member their whole true selves. A space of teaching and “permission” for journeying and communing with a circle of sisters within the context of nourishing our spiritual selves as well as companionship on this walk.

The path for a solitaire may seem rocky and untravelled but when we walk with others we see that the path is actually well lit and there are rest places for weary travellers along the way. Stories are shared at the fire, songs are sung, and sisters bring cups of warmth that strengthen and soothe our weary bones.
There are places along the route that feature huge brambles, that when you travel with others their eyes see the berries among the thorns. The thorns may rip at your hair and scratch your flesh, but the berries heal and soothe those wounds as they open your heart and eyes to their beauty and enchant your tongue with their flavour. You may feel that there are roots to trip you up and boulders that impede your path, but with companions there is always a hand to help you up from the ground or a foot well placed to provide the necessary “kick in the pants” to get you over the boulder.

Yes, SouLodge is a sanctuary for wild women who dare to be who they are, truly are, and it is also a place to find yourself in the company of others who are ready for the adventures of the path we have chosen to walk this time round.

***

Thank you, deeply, Baba. We also sometimes need a swift kick* of a reminder to receive a compliment with grace.

Additionally, thank you to all of you who have come over from SouleMama to have a peek around. I am so honored to have you here around the fire. Amanda's beautiful book, The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder Through the Seasons, is about to be well-worn around here, thanks to Santa.

A Week for the Books

This is the week of all weeks. I'm pleasantly stunned by all that is being released around here and in the ripples that surround me.

This Friday, December 16th, is the day I'll be sharing the beautiful video made by twelve women and I to share with you as an offering for the Winter Solstice. The Mother of All Releasings Ceremony feels so big. There are so many women, tribes, and families who are stepping forward, lighting a fire and tossing in the un-needed, most of which is hinged on FEAR. This week I'll be baring my soul, making my request of the Universe, asking all women to open up and LET GO. If you are hosting a Solstice party or gathering this weekend, the video will put some swirl in your skirt and bring some sacred to your space in preparation.

I will also be giving away two passes to Winter SouLodge on Friday. You heard me right. Class begins January 16th. Tee hee.

This Thursday, I'll be attending the official launch party, with an enormous collection of my friends and community, to celebrate the release of Christine Mason Miller's book Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World. THE WORLD. Putting our creativity to work and living our vision has the power to CHANGE THE WORLD. Yes, it does. I'm so proud to have shared writings and a project in this book.

 

Christine and I have been friends for eleven or more years, when she was manufacturing a greeting card line (Swirly) and I was manufacturing sleepwear (Napcake). We collaborated on pajama designs then and I knew I would want to work with her for as long as she'd have me on her team. At the time, my mission was to create a beautiful permission to rest and Christine totally got it-we were taking big leaps of creative faith at the same time. Jennifer Louden, another super-shero from back in the day, has interviewed Christine at her blog, and reading it reminded me how far it's possible to come in such a short time. From artist to visionary doesn't take long when you line your head up with your heart.

Also on Thursday, the new Squam Art Workshops website is going live. Oh, yes. That is all I can say.

I've created a foundation course for SouLodge, which will be available as a PDF e-Lodge this weekend. Wheeeee and awrooooooo! I've been feeling called to do this since the Summer session ended, and because we covered so many wondrous basics, that I thought it would be really helpful to those just coming in, and answer many questions that come up around what's helpful to know while waiting for a session to begin, or to work the lessons in solitary before coming into the community fully present and accountable. For all of you who have asked for this, thank you. You push me to keep my muzzle to the grindstone, and birth what is ready to be received.

I'm also taking a really huge leap of faith. I will tell you about it when the time is right, but please hold a light for me as I release something I didn't think I was going to, and embrace something I thought I was going to let go of. I am clearing the way for something I once thought impossible. Crazy risky. But crazy good.

I have so much passion for this community, this sacred women's circle. I have a vision in my mind each time I come to this space: I see women with babies on their backs, bread being kneaded, water being carried, the sun drawn down, poetry sang to the rising moon, the fire in the center of it all, skirts swirling, women trusting, letting fly with the spiral dance...this vision comes to me every time I come to write here, and I feel flooded with gratitude every.single.time.

photo by Christine Mason Miller

 

Operation Tiny House: An Inside Job

The B-53 beckons with it's 777 square feet of petite beauty.

I'm pretty sure that my post entitled Little House has been the most read of everything I've ever put up in six years here. Before Jay Schaffer wrote a proper book on the subject, his tiny house offerings were little bitty hand-stapled pamphlets, which I ordered all of, after seeing a post up at Keri Smith's blog. It was so long ago I can't even remember when it was.

It's at least how long I've been itching to jump in my car, hook up my vintage Beasty trailer and beat a trail out of whatever two bathroom spread I was living in. The time has come to start walking my talk. As we search each week for homes, my sights keep focusing into smaller and smaller spaces. Ironically, it's expanding me.

A friend of mine is selling her small house in Austin, if you are one such Texan who doesn't need your home to be as supersized as your state. How in the heck did living spaces become so large?? And the expectation to fill it up with stuff has hit what seems like an all-time high.

Attending Squam Art Workshops really broke this issue open again for me last week. Any last reservations I had about giving up luxurious space were set free on the lakeshore breeze, and the path between a wee house in nature and the mystical powers of the Universe was cleared.

The RDC cabins are little and warm (once the fire's been lit) and when I'm there I yearn not to leave because it's a place where there is so little to tend to and so much creativity to be explored, especially outside those cabin doors. It was on the dock, under the illuminated ceiling reflected on the lake that I discovered I was ready to say it out loud. I didn't really know I was saying it, but I was. I did. Nothing else made sense.

I am open to receive a clean, smallish dwelling in Ojai with land enough for my tipi, the trampoline, three dogs, two cats, two fish and oh yes, one seedling daughter and a sapling son.

Now, how in the hell am I going to get two children in one room to share a bunkbed, you ask? Give up my dishwasher, my custom walk-in closet? I don't know yet how it's going to work or feel, but I can say that it's going to happen, and that we're going to have to push through it to rebirth a new way of thinking about HOME.

I got a letter last night from the firetender at the sweat lodge I attended a couple of weeks ago. In it he explained that the work we most have to do for the Earth is on the inside of us. In my own words, it's about shifting our perspectives as the Hanged Man would teach, healing our old wounds, dancing with our shadows until we can make a conscious agreement with them about how to let them express.

One of my shadow expressions is fear of confinement, that there will not be enough: enough of me, enough time, enough money, enough space. I think that these concerns present as obstacles on my path to being at peace with what is. Fear keeps us from connecting with our true needs, and so an entire lifetime can be spent living in the illusory future, hoping and waiting for that blessing of experiencing real abundance. Building bigger and better hasn't always proved to be better.

Radical downsizing isn't going to create vast amounts of extra time because I'm cleaning less. It's not going to be instant peace-I expect a period of agitated adjustment from the little roommates. But seeing as how I've been manifesting this change for about two years, it will be an interesting test to put myself and my family to. A challenge to rework my life in a way that is in accordance with my values.

It's humbling, too. Guests will have to sleep in the the Beasty or in the tipi on the ground. Oddly enough, this is what I have asked for. To let ego step down and take a rest from trying to protect me from not having enough, appearing enough, offering enough. My focus will hopefully shift to simply being, and doing what I do, instead of trying to be enough and doing what depletes me. Existing in fear of lack of anything sends a confusing message to the Great Mystery, which seems to respond when we clear out the fear boulders and trust the road in front of us with our whole hearts.

I think the firetender was right. The real work is on the inside.

 

 

Squam Snapshot

I'm home...ahhhhh. And determined to try my very dangdest to allow this one to be *gentle*.

There'll be PLENTY more to say about what was the most transformative SAW of all for me-as the week goes on, I'll spill over out of my cup some of what filled me up about this magical gathering. Plentiful art, heartful breakthroughs, new language, dancing on the frontiers of ideas...I'm full. Full up. Pardon my fragmented run-ons, as it all swirls.

If you attended Squam this Fall, and need to know how to access the SAW Animal Totem Workshop, email me! I'll get you all set up.

Here are a few gushy teasers I can't hold back, however, and must be paraded through town now. I'm going to shamelessly name drop, because Squam is so about a whole bunch of awesome people in one beautiful wood, and the interconnectedness of ALL of us.

Having happy birthday sung to me by over a hundred hot artists as I walked up to the Longhouse for group photo.

Speedboating out to Rattlesnake Island with Maya Hackett of urbanorganica, my comrade in shedding of old skins and massive *whoa mama* rebirth.

The staff are the very best and most helpful people in the world. I want to bring them all home with me because I fear I may never see some of them again.

Lying on the docks and jumping in the frigid lake with Flora Bowley. I had no idea I was going to fall so deeply in love with this woman. She altered my cellular makeup.

Learning so much about The Care and Keeping of Artists from my roommate extraordinaire, Jen Lee. I need to tattoo the entire content of the book up and down my arms.

Not cooking or cleaning. I never take that one for granted for a minute.

Laughing my ASS off with my second-time roommate, Maya Donenfeld. If I told you about our shenanigans, I'd have to kill you. She's wild under that burlap exterior, in the most honest and funny way. Plus, she's one of the most nurturing and caring women I've ever had the pleasure of being separated from at birth.

The fires. Something about the woodfires and the lake ice in the old iceboxes makes me feel like I'm at camp in the twenties. Everything my eye sees is picture-perfect and timeless.

Eating, dancing, conversing and simply being near Misty Mawn. It's like being in the company of an angel. She's an archetype all her own.

The Fox that ran through the wood right next to the building I taught in. It had a wee critter in it's mouth and was on a serious mission to dine. I wanted to grab my camera, but it was one of those moments that I would have missed had I tried to immortalize it. She was grey and beautiful and gave me much food* for thought for the remainder of the weekend. Partly because of this.

Generosity! I received so many unexpected surprises, some birthday related and some not.  I love the cycle of giving and receiving. It feels so good to send abundance around the circle, doesn't it?

I'm going to have to talk about my students later. Because they are a blessing that need their very own post. The women. The women!! I'm always blown completely away by what takes place in these workshops. Metamorphosis. Honoring. Rites of passage. Stepping out of fear and into power. I LIVE for this.

Elke said:  "I wanted to thank you again for the amazing experience of being in your presence, under your guidance and in your support.  You are such a grounded, wise, and inspiring woman.  And an excellent teacher to boot!!  You glide between inspiring us, to challenging us, to supporting us, to kicking us in the pants!  It was perfect".

So much to share. Such very big movement and gentle waves to ride it on. 

Wild News

There is so much wild seed flying out on the wind right now! An incredible spirit of creation and manifestation is taking place. This is just a little sample of what's fallen onto my path this weekend. Please share your finds in the comments and let's have a free-for-all!

I love Connie's new video AND she has two more sessions of BIG:: A Fearless Painting Adventure offered this year. She is a creative force to be reckoned with.

Stephanie Levy, the uber-talanted multi-tasker behind Artists Who Blog, has just launched Creative Courage, a comprehensive course in building your creative confidence, featuring twelve special guests (ahem) and a virtual trip to Venice, Italy. I'm so excited to see how Stephanie executes this- if anyone can do it, she can!

I might be a little late to the party, but I was very excited to flop onto the sofa at my parent's house, flip through a Land of Nod catalog, and see Marisa Haedike's piece, The Buddy System, jump off the page at me!

If you dig the rebellious work and spirit of Keri Smith as I do, you'll be happy to get out of your own way and Wreck This App.

If you tweet, you may know about Kinfolk Magazine. All I know is  that if Molly Wizenberg has her hand in the mix, I'm buying. She's got the magic gift of aesthetic and tasty eats.

I just downloaded Seeing in the Dark, by Dr. Estes, and would love to know if you've listened, and what you think. Clarissa P. is causing my weekly drives to Ojai to be another opportunity to ponder the mysteries of our shadows. Plus her voice is like a fairy godmother's, and who doesn't need that?

Postscript: Seeing in the Dark is much more about seeing with the eyes of a wisewoman, enlightened vision! Even better!

Open It

A doorway is a gift. We never know what we'll find on the other side of it. A threshold is a journey into the East, into a new beginning, the energy of Eagle. I'm finding these years that less and less does fear-of-what-might-come presents an issue. When fear subsides, trust flows in. When the river is undammed of obstacles, abundance flows in.

What is your deepest human intent? Does it require that you show up fearlessly? Open a door of sorts, come what may? What help do you need?

(Explore these questions and more in the SouLodge)

(More on taking risks, and walking through Doorways here)

(Thank you Susannah for Owl City's Introvert mythbuster)

(So no one can pull the but-I'm-an-introvert card)

(((supportive hug)))

(Don't forget to howl up this beautiful, pregnant Capricorn moon-the biggest moon of the year)

 

Wilderness Home Companion

Tonight I'm sitting up in bed and setting out to do some writing on a project that is very dear to my heart and a long time comin'. I washed my feet and pampered them with lavender sugar scrub (jarred up by a writerly friend) to ground myself. I smudged with white sage. I gathered my companions, an old journal, a new one, and a notebook from a most inspiring friend. I called out for Hawk, who has shown up to guide me through this process- taking a necessary dose of my own medicine. I brushed my teeth and put in earplugs. I kissed my babies goodnight and now here I am...

In the silence with my heartbeat. Facing the blank canvas. Soft paws ready to do some trekking into unknown territory. I'm beyond feeling trepidation about these sorts of things. My concerns tonight are with the distillation process, will I have access to the place of intuitive wisdom? I've enjoyed helping others to access it for themselves, as I experienced at SAW, but now it's my turn to head down into the hazy, sparkling goldmines. I'm excited.

Light a candle for me down there if you're walking this extraordinary path, too. I'll do the same for you.

First Moments at Squam

I'm home! And what an unbelievable time at SAW this year.

I'll be posting in great detail this week about what came up, what the workshops were like, what JUNE was like (!) because there are some differences between the Spring and Fall sessions. I have some announcements about other classes I'm teaching here on the west coast, and I'll share those really soon as well. Okay, here's a teaser. But I'll tell more. Soon. I just need to catch my breath and snuggle some babies up.

The feeling I came back with is one of such deep gratitude. Of course there'll be a list about that coming, too.

Enjoy this photo tease, in the interim. The snapshots are from my first blissful couple of hours there.

I pulled up to my cabin and fell immediately in love.

Then I walked inside and fell in love with our screened in porch.

Then I came home from setting up my classroom and fell in love with my roommate.

It's so good to be back!

Whale Medicine

Did I mention that when I go to Squam next week, I get to room with Maya? I'm um....SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. Er, I've had a girl crush on her for a couple of years (she and her barn) and so this is kind of like a dream come true for me. I'm taking wine and Fearless Chocolate because our cabin (which is called Shelter, by the way) is going to exude fearlessness. And because I want to impress her with my knowledge of such things.

I've been thinking a lot about my own creative offerings here lately. It's important to me that I try as hard as I can to keep my work as original as possible. It means I have to glance into a reference book when I'm making a medicine bundle, but that I slam it shut after a few minutes so that I can try to create something that is really about my experience in communication with these elements and not about what has already been written about them. It can be very tough, especially if I'm worn out and busy-headed. My creative process is something I intend to sit down to with sacredness in mind-I want to honor the time and the process and not regurgitate what the experts already know best.

Today Ivy jabbed a bobby pin in her ear about twenty minutes after I sat down, stones and herbs in hand, and so I basically threw everything into the air and ran to beat her Dad into the bathroom. This is only one of the kind of distractions I face many times per day. Every mama I know has the same story, so, no pity please.

My question is how do we keep our visions and projects really authentic?

I was working on a Whale bundle tonight and I read in Animal Speak that “Creativity for creativity's sake is not what Whale teaches. It awakens great depths of inspiration...”

Right away what struck me is that I don't do very much playing/playing around when I sit down to get creative. I like to make a mess, but I'm very focused, even when I paint. If I'm not in somewhat of a trance state, I don't feel like I'm pulling up those reserves, which are so full of ancient information and archetypal goodness. Yet, it's very easy with an ocean of distractions surrounding me to get stuck and sit here creatively constipated and stalling, while I try to get back on track.

When I'm witching it up in the kitchen, it's a whole different ballgame. I can chew up a spiky root and spit it into a glass of vodka like a Yankee pitcher- it's intensely fun and I can integrate play with it. But there is something about painting and making bundles that makes me all serious-like. I think my chin scrunches up even. I can't multitask very well during those times.

I don't have a spelled-out answer for how to keep your work truly authentic, serving your deepest human intent. I don't know if I could ever name that intuitive process that you likely have felt, too, the ones where you feel your soul infusing the piece of art, music, food, etc. These often become our "favorite" pieces, right?

Nevermind that I'm going to teach this very thing at Squam next week. How to tap the intuition, how to get to the bottom of the ocean where the Oracle Muse lives to share her stories with you so you can bring them to life. I trust that as a class, we will find our wild way together... and alone.

Whale is about going deeeeeeeeeeeeeep. I can hear her sounds bouncing off of the ocean floor as she communicates those sacred messages up. I hope you enjoy her- I felt really honored to be working with her. She is so lovingly intolerant of fear and stuckness! Flowing big and bold with the currents...

WHALE: Stepping Into Vibrant Potential

This bundle is about allowing your true colors to come forth and be expressed. It promotes vitality, longevity, and fruition of creative vision. It is about tuning into YOUR authentic offerings that are unique to YOU, and trusting that deepest voice that speaks only truth. It is about discovering the courage to share that song with the world.

Colorful Bornite is an iridescent mineral that captivates attention with it's reflective magentas and chromatic blues. Stone expert Melody says, “This mineral can bring freshness and newness to one's life. It stimulates the inner spirit to seek further heights and substantiates ones ability to enjoy happiness in the moment". It is a very positive and supportive stone which is experienced energetically as a loop that circles around transforming negativity into what she calls “pure beneficial energy”. When I read this, I immediately thought of the sonic waves whales send out, and how that mimicks the ripple effect we experience traveling outward when we're doing the work that serves our divine human intent. This stone speaks of heart and harmony, which is akin to the contract we make when we commit to our creativity and the soul-nourishment it provides. It is also known to stimulate adrenaline, which is a rush often felt when on the right path. Bornite provides energy to move towards vitality in life.

Kelp is included for it's protective qualities on the immune system and it's ancient healing properties. Kelp contains iodine, necessary to good health, but often forgotten from the diet. Kelp feeds many species of undersea and seaside communities, providing essential nutrients to the body and protection from free radicals, including those caused by nuclear radiation. When our creativity is under attack from the doing and thinking-too-much mentality so common in patriarchal societies, it is not unlike fallout. Reaching our full potential can feel impossible. Kelp is a swaying reminder, deep in the waters of the Earth's womb that growth is not only possible, it can also be all the nourishment we need.

Pansy is here to bring cheerfulness, love and beauty to the magic of this bundle. It is commonly associated with “loving thoughts”, required when embracing the potential that lies ahead. It is ever important not to turn on the Self when discouraged, and Pansy is here as a heartsease, (one of it's common botanical names), to offer comfort and protection when facing obstacles. Pansies re-seed themselves, thus they are prolific. They seldom have problems with disease and insects, which tells us that they are hardy and tolerant, despite their delicate appearances. Beautiful Pansy is used medicinally to treat afflictions of the skin, and as soon as I read this I thought about how sometimes we're “itching” to share ourselves and feel fully expressed, yet we lack the trust in our own voice to speak it out and take those risks. Pansy is also used to induce labor, which, when used as a tonic, strengthens those notions already within us.

Whale is the Mother within the Great Mother. She is a magnificent and feminine songstress of the sea, using her ultimate gift of sensitivity to sound to communicate and “sing” to, and with, her tribal pod. She does not hold back, breaching out of the water and showing her shiny skin to the Sun, rejoicing in the vibrancy of life by sharing that which she has discovered down in the deep blue. Whale does not re-enact what others are doing. She is brave in tapping her own vast intuitive resources for inspiration. Whale is a creature of great depth, reflecting that we each have the power to swim down into the unconscious for strength and life-enriching nutrients that are seasoned with what is most true for the individual. She teaches us how to TRUST our own voice and not look to others for too much direction. Whales communicate with sonar, and can perceive themselves and those around them authentically and without projection. Whale does not get caught up in that which does not serve her deepest intent. She has perfected the art of knowing what her gifts are and is unafraid to breathe them up into life for the Earth and Sky to receive.

 

Beltane Getaway and Interview with Stephanie Ladd

I'm off again to the central coastlands of my native California, this time as a magical group of eight to celebrate the season of Beltane, which begins May 1st and marks the mid-point between Spring and Summer. Light your own mighty fire for fertile prosperity and I'll tell you all about my adventure when I return.

The Goddess Maia, Queen of May.

I've interviewed someone precious to me to hold you over until I come skipping down the lane, flower garlands and maypole streamers clinging to my gown. I digress.

What I love most about Stevie Ladd, of Owl and Crow, is that she has fearlessly created something she'd always had in her. Her book, In the Lap of the Goddess: Connecting with the Divine Feminine, contains the meaty questions we've all been faced with-the ones that seem to come up again and again, but she takes you down into the deeper levels for new insights. I'm so proud to share her with you.

Enjoy!

 

What inspired you to create your SoulWork book, In the Lap of the Goddess: Connecting with the Divine Feminine?

Since I moved from California to North Carolina almost 3 years ago, I was determined to find a more creative way to do my work as a psychotherapist. I wanted to open up more as a writer and artist and find a way to bridge the two.

Both you and Leonie Allen have inspired me in the way you have built a strong following through your blogs and have created your art and other products that are so tied into who you are and your evolutionary process. It's so fun to watch and be a part of. I ordered Leonie's Creating My Goddess Year e-book and got inspired to write my own e-book about my favorite subject from an archetypal psychology point of view.

So I designed this book to be interactive, to help women plumb their own depths and find their way into the lap of the goddess by doing soul work.

Can you tell me more about what you mean by soul work?

I mean the deep questioning and exploration of our psyches, our purpose, life's meaning, our past, present and future. Ultimately, it is the work of connecting to our Self, with a capital S. And our higher Self is but a reflection of the divine feminine--the goddess of your choosing, or the goddess that chooses you.

I love the idea that a goddess figure would choose me to work with her. Which one called to you first as you went about beginning this book?

Well, when I got to North Carolina, I kept meeting Yemaya. Rob (my husband) had brought back a handmade Yemaya doll from New Orleans about 10 years ago and she had been packed away for a long time. I put her on my altar in my studio in North Carolina, surrounded by shells and other things I found at the ocean.

Yemaya is a mermaid and I kept being drawn to mermaids. At the same time, I was feeling this oceanic, watery energy calling me to create and flow. I made several dolls, SoulCollage® cards, and a shadow box, all with mermaids. I started looking into Yemaya's qualities and realized she was a Creator archetype and that's what was being activated in me. I started this book with her guiding me, acting as a muse. I feel I have gotten to know her quite well and have a relationship with her that helps me feel guided and protected.

What other goddesses make appearances in the book, and what drew you to them or them to you?

Kali was actually the first goddess I did a chapter on because I needed to clear out some old garbage before I could move forward with Yemaya and the book I had started. I had gotten stuck and needed help.

Remember how our teacher, Irene, used to say that when she created her retreats, whatever theme she chose she had to go through it herself, as she was preparing to teach it? That's what happened with me. I had to face some old creative blocks, so I worked with Kali, the Destroyer goddess, and she helped me burn up these fears and let go of some old ways of seeing myself and my work.

I've been exploring the Triple Goddess since I got here, too. I chose the Greek triple goddess represented by Persephone, the Maiden, Demeter, the Mother, and Hecate, the Crone because I love their story. The maiden and mother have been strong with me as I have watched Chloe (my daughter) transform from a 12-year-old girl when we first moved here, to a young woman of 15. There's been a little grieving involved with that, and I've revisited and healed some more of my own relationship with my mother in the process.

And then I've got one foot in the Mother and one foot in the Crone since I had Chloe late in my childbearing years. So Hecate has helped me own the wild woman and the wise woman. I love her magical, witchy, medial nature. She is truly the dragoman of the Soul.

What do you hope women will come away with by doing the exercises in your workbook?

I hope they will have an experience of how the goddess lives within them. I offer suggestions for rituals, totems, and altars so they can work with the goddess not only internally, but externally. It's important to create and surround yourself with likenesses of her when you work with goddess energy to make it a richer, deeper experience.

I've used a lot of pictures in the book because images are the language of the soul. Metaphor and archetypes allow us direct access to the soul as well. So I'm hoping women will have fun exploring some themes of feminine psychology through the goddesses presented in these pages. It's really a stepping stone, a way in. They can then take the relationships they develop as far as they want. I hope to expand on these goddesses more over time.

Who is likely to get the most out of your book? What does this reader look like? If I may be so bold to ask.

I think fearless women who like to journal and create will especially enjoy getting to know themselves better through these goddesses, and those who want to discover or explore their inner yearnings and their own divinity.

I'm starting to feel like Oprah here. How do we get the workbook? Because I want it now. It's Kali the Destroyer my inner wild woman needs to hang with. I've already been chosen! I know my wild self is tied to experiencing Kali as a creative-destructive-creative superhero, embodying the Life-Death-Life cycle I write about so much here.

It's available for download as a PDF on my blog, on the order page for In the Lap of the Goddess. You can buy single chapters, or the whole book to download and print.

I'll have copies ready to mail by May 20, and accepting preorders now, but if you order it before then, it's $22 instead of $24.

And there are 3 free audio versions of the guided journeys in the book that anyone can download and listen to available on my blog.

Ooh, I'm exploring your order page now-well done. Easy. I love it. I'm so excited about this book, and I'm loving that you're offering it as a PDF. All I need is more paper around here. Thank you for doing that-being as green as can be. I may want to print some of the goddesses images and hang them about, however. What else can you share with us?

I would love to know how women use the book, and what they get out of it, so feedback is welcome.

And thank you, my dear friend, for featuring me on Pink Coyote and sharing my book with your wonderful circle of wild, creative and fearless women.

Yip! Awroooooo!

Stephanie Anderson Ladd is a Marriage and Family Therapist, SoulCollage® Facilitator, and an amazing, awakened wild woman living her creative life in Chapel Hill, NC. I call her Stevie, as all of her sisters do. All I needed to know about trust, relationship and communication began with our longs talks and mountain walks, during what seems like a lifetime ago. Everyone needs a Stevie. I know I do. I hope you'll be as inspired by her work and stories as I am.

MayaLove & the Ramblins of a Night Owl

I sit down here at night, (after the buzz has settled into a quiet drone) and I've marked black lines through everything I could cram in. Then I try to think of something meaningful to share here with you.

Well,  there are more medicine bundles listed in my shop than ever before. I've tried to include every one possible since the requests are rolling in each day and I seem not to be able to keep them well organized. And there are plenty of BEAR to be had-I've replenished stock on what I need to keep those flowing because, my stars, mama Bear and her love of her beautiful body is a popular one.

I'm scaling back on doing custom work for a bit just until I can restructure to handle the load and find my own feet again. Oh, there is a Grandfather Bear that I am woking on for a client and so a version of that will appear this week. It does seem like so many of the bundles have a feminine angle, and so this might speak to the elders or the men whom I seemed to have neglected a bit.

There is always SO much to share. But I'm so wasted at the end of the day, it sits untold. Let me begin with Maya.

I LOVED taking Maya Stein's Quick and Dirty Poetry e-course.

She sends out easy email prompts and recommends no more than thirty minutes be spent on writing-which means five for me because I didn't know where to pull the time from when I signed up, I only knew that I love Maya and her ways, and I needed to grease the ol' pen up. I'm literally, as I sit here with very little energy, SO EXCITED to share the best part, which is the way this woman gives feedback. Oh my god. It's like she went to artwritingcritique school and got her freaking master's degree! Not only was her feedback thoughtful and really succint, but I felt very seen for my particular style of writing and also for what I was able to crank out in literally five minutes on the days I was able to participate. Here is one of my poems:

underneath it all there is a molten core
of light and shining colors,
of poetry, and that
life force of passion for which
there is no name in the western world.
of layers slathered on i say that
it takes a lifetime to peel them away
from my gentleness that got lost.
of skins added for armor and protection
they now wish to slide off down
the muddy chute like the one in romancing the stone
when kathleen turner seemed much more feminine
than she does now.

and here is Maya's feedback:

"I keep thinking about those 5 minutes you talked about. And how wonderfully free your writing feels, even in this tight-packed stolen-ness of this time. There's a glee here, too - I feel it underneath it all (hah!). A real sense of self, of knowing, surety. Maybe glee is a funny word, but that's the one that came to me and I'm sticking to it. I don't know, it's just that I feel such wholeness in your writing, like a deep-down understanding that underneath it all (hah again), you know exactly what moves you, and you continue to be electrified by that, energized, revived again and again. It's like some base element keeps replenishing itself with each discovery, and there's a glee in that, a kind of energetic nourishment. It might be too late at night to be using words like these, and maybe I've stopped making sense, so forgive me if this sounds oblique and weird. But I suspect I will re-read note tomorrow and agree with myself all over again."

I mean, who says these things?! Someone who takes care of her students and cares about their writing very much. She's just the greatest teacher. What I find most astounding as I fan myself at her flattery and Aw Shucks her approval of my use of very limited time and energy, I know that what she is saying is true. That I do know what moves me and there is a consistency coming forth which is very me and it is energized. And it is what so many of us are seeking...to know a bit more about our own ways, to have our gifts seen, how deep they run inside of us.

And so basically, it's been the most life- and path-affirming ninety dollars I ever have spent. Go where she is. She knows how to see what is at the core, she has that gift of reading between the lines and a colorful language to show you what she sees in YOU.

This is my share for the night. There is so much more to tell, vlogs to upload, postcard decks to tell you about, personal growth things I'd like to rattle on about, so many gifts that have been pouring in my door-physical gifts I want to photograph and share with you, gifts of connection that I want to describe to you...I will get to these things and more. Plus! Fancy, distracting, shiny things I keep noticing in my Etsy Circle friends' favorites that have me drooling while my photos and listings upload...colorful baubles that keep me up past my bedtime scrolling and wishing. Like this:

Loom-beaded bracelet by daughterofthesun.

Amy, who makes these bracelets and more beautiful and amazing adornments (oh my goddess, the earrings...) is shown on her blog page in full yogic headstand while her gorgeous baby Naia sneaks a suckle! I'm smitten with her already. What wonderful work she and her peeps are doing with community and lovin' in Kauai.

Early Birds Catch the Nests and Fairies

It's not to early to shop for Mother's Day, seeing as how it falls right on the heels of Easter, right? Here are some of my favorite items I want to pimp for the occasion. I'm betting you'll see more here in the coming weeks.

Mamanest necklaces by Wendy Cook. Last I checked, there were only five of these rustic beauties left. She will include any amount of eggs that you like, in pearl or turquoise. Funds raised benefit her magnificent Mighty Girl Art Camp, an empowerment day camp for girls in the D.C. area. Wendy's vision is something I truly believe in. I love the sacred way she conducts motherhood and her art camps. And I can't wait to wear my Nesty!

Erin Darcy's ethereal Faery Mama card sets are so soft and goddessy. Erin and her angelic baby Claire have become my sweethearts and I'm in love the work that Erin creates.

Both of these wild women are close to my heart. I love sharing their work with you.

 

 

I Virtually Love You

Blurry and imperfect, me and Nina Beana in Portsmouth New Hampshire for ETA last Fall.

It's been a while since I've ranted frothily here, so in the spirit of intimacy, I'm going to give it a go.

I have crushed on many bloggers and artists since my capacity to virtually love increased one millionfold six years ago. And the subject has come up among peers again and again, the notion that how someone appears online is never who they really are. I don't want to spoil anyone's lofty vision of anyone else, because I believe there is a purpose in idolotry to a certain extent. It helps us strive to claim that power within us that they seem to personify and reflect back at us.

[Insert random thought] If it wasn't late at night, I would go snapping photos of how imperfect my own life is to demonstrate. Baseboards undusted for ....er... months? Laundry heaped up. Gunk on fridge shelves. A checkbook with gaps between entries for things I know I've forgotten and need to check online banking to decode. Piles. More piles. Half finished supplies orders. Children's toys all over the floor of my studio. My studio space is appearing extremely un-sacred in this moment. Nine large post-its of to-do's. In a world where so many of us value that one has one's proverbial shit together, I am earning about a C minus. But still, I feel valued, adored even, in this space. Which perhaps goes to show that the gunk doesn't matter as much as the heart, but still. I know because I'm guilty of it, too: we project perfection. But I digress yet again.

Here's my beef, and it has nothing to do with comparing our weaknesses to what we perceive a virtual acquaintance's strengths to be. What is disheartening is that I've experienced with several real life friends a false sense of intimacy with me because they follow my blog or tune into my feeds at social network sites. Even my own mother is guilty of it. (Hi, Mom.) Twice in a month I've lost touch with a couple of friends that do not have the online presence that I do. When I've shared with them that I feel disconnected, both of them explained that they have felt connected to me because they read my blog or posts, etc.

This leaves me sad. The reason is because a virtual experience is no substitute for really knowing someone or checking in with them to connect, at least voice to voice, if not face to face. While life is full of busy challenges that I can more than relate to, I just want to point out-not that I want more from these folks-but that it isn't the same. Appreciating the work Misty Mawn does (one of my artistic heroes) is not the same as telling her so in a personal email (at very least). Seeing my grieving friend pour out her heart on her blog about loss is not the same as calling her and asking if she wants to cry in my ear. Admiring my cousin's new baby on Facebook is not the same as making time to meet her or hear her cooing on the other end of the phone line.

I'm asking myself to take a deeper look at how much I rely on technology to keep me connected. I'm happy to report that I have dates to camp with an amazing close group of warrioresses at the end of the month, catch a show with a friend I have a mostly virtual relationship with, help another one pack to move to her dream home, and sit in sacred ceremony with a handful of local medicine people mid-month. If not for these "dates" on the calendar, I think I'd be feeling very out of balance.

Blessed we are to have this space to connect to each other online, but I am also responding to a wild, deeeep yearning within to get my arms around those I hold dear, kiss their babies, take them food, send them on their journeys, see them loving their partners, and touch their art in person.

Because I'll be at June and September SAW and October SERENDIPITY, I will be face-to-face with many of you. And that's how I like to connect best. I like to hug and cuddle, what can I say? Blessed, blessed, blessed. We are so blessed.

The Mystic Vixen formerly and affectionately known as Blue Poppy,
Elizabeth Macrellish, and I, Squam Art Workshops Vendor Night, 2009.

Springtime Goodness

There are still a few spots open in my Friday Muse as Mask class at Squam AND the Medicine Shawl class. Jump on board and return from the northeast forever inspired.

Loving this Cherry Blossom Essence offering from my friend MaryBeth and Three Sister's Alchemy. It's the perfect, Keep Me Present and Grateful in This Moment elixir. Thank you, Goddesses, for your magic and your positive energies.

Absolutely flipping over the relaxing power of chocolate. Yes, I did say relaxing. Lisa Reinhardt, of Wei of Chocolate, sent me a tube of passionflower and bird of paradise-infused organic RELAXED chocolate and the kids and I are HOOKED. I'm also over the moon about JOYFUL. Thank you, Lisa, for your generosity and for creating chocolate that heals, when I seriously thought chocolate couldn't get any better.

When women honor their ability to make magic, my heart soars. It seems Springtime is bursting open all around with mystical, intuitive healers popping up like fresh daisies.

 

One Sweet Cat

Thank you, Cat, for this tribute. I feel honored.

Left My Soul There

 

January and February are my favorite months to visit Big Sur. I've been retreating there alone and with friends for many years and I always feel such excitement when I start to pack my bags. For one thing, it combines the warm sand of our southern beaches with the vibe of an enchanted fairy garden, redwoods, tons of art, cozy canyon cafes, and funky, beatnik rooms.

In a nutshell, it's heaven on earth for my soul. I can feel myself reconnecting as I wind the car up the Pacific Coast Highway, into the hairpins that overlook the turquoise water with seals bobbing their heads up and down. I've done a lot of healing on those cliffs, and so I go there full of gratitude for what it is offered me in respite and soulfulness and open to what it's magic will impart this time.

I'm going with a friend to work, which basically means: play with cameras, brainstorm our dreams out loud, and drink wine. I can already feel that fluttery feeling of my soul calling up joyfully, knowing that soon we'll have our toes in the sand and the rest of the world behind us.

In my stead, I have an interview up at Katrina Dreamer, which I'm quite proud about, because I admire so much the work that Katrina has done and is doing. I had the good fortune of retreating with her in 2006 and it's been a beautiful sight to witness her courageously claiming her voice as a teacher and nurturer of the Earth.

I also really loved this blog entry by Lisa Field-Elliot, there is a raw truth burning in there that's stayed with me all day since I read it, which I'm still turning over on the flame.

Rachel, of 6512 and growing, is someone whom you will love reading, especially if you're a mom. She is hilarious and can turn the most mundane sequence of events into a tea-spitting, howling occasion. She's a gardening, homesteading and stovetop inspiration to shame even Mary Jane Butters, as well.

And if you don't quite feel as outdoorsy as you'd yet like to, check out the soulful experiment in communal living at Tipi Village, which I found after much time spent reading the archives at Ande's and Kayla's Rogue Dwellings blog. Take a look at the sewing machine they assemble their tipis on!

 

 

soul

+ 

wild woods

+

crashing waves

and maybe

a beer with the ghost of Henry Miller

=

my kind of weekend

Valentymes Giveaway Spectacular

Winners chosen for the giveaway using www.random.org.

Nicole Knavel-greeting cards

Maria Norcia-earrings

Stephanie Ladd-earrings

Darlene Kreutzer-head wrap

 

Congratulations to you all! Please email me with your mailing addresses so that your goodies can be shipped to you. Thank you for playing :)

**You should know that Julie Keefe is running a Valentine's Sale, through February 14th, while supplies last, on the little red earrings AND if you use coupon code PIXIE, you will receive another 10% off of your entire order.

Yip yip awrooooooooo!

 

 

I am feeling mucho amor from the comments, emails, facebookage, etc., about my recent vlog and entry about living the inspirited* life of a creative mama. Thank you all, I'm so grateful for this beloved community of readership.

And now, time to give something back. Leave a comment and if you win one of the four giveaway items, I'll contact you for your mailing address. Winners will be drawn Thursday afternoon. Good Luck!

From me, one winner will receive a set of two greeting cards, including the Lightseeker:

Another lucky winner will receive one of Julie Bartel's awesome hair wraps! I exclaim this because I happen to be a big believer in this hair accessory. Julie puts her blissy yoga mojo into them and this energy is precisely why I love sharing her artisanship with you.

 

Seen here on the delicious Terri Fischer:

 

And two lucky contestants will have the good Chinese New Year fortune to win a pair of Julie Keefe's* earrings! Again with the shouting because I was lucky enough to win a pair of Julie's earrings with the superior closures during her holiday giveaway. They are so comfortable and my hair doesn't snag the hooks up and out. No more lonely, lost earrings. The best thing, however, about Julie's work is that she is an energetic healer and knows her stone people very well. She, too, infuses her work with the best in her heart and positive vibrations. Read below to learn a little bit more about the woman behind Jakk's Magic Beans of Life.

 

 

Julie Keefe of Jakk’s Magic Beans Workshop may seem like a typical suburban wife and mom in Ohio, but rocks have been whispering their ancient stories to her since she was a little girl.  Now long grown, a Reiki teacher, Master Crystologist, and, like you, a traveler on life’s journey, she has a deep appreciation for the abundant blessings and tools that the mineral world and all of nature so generously offer to support our well-being.  Crystals and gemstones have taught her that this need not be such serious business … there’s plenty of room for playfulness, too, because you just never know what may serve as the catalyst to a positive shift.  Julie is honored to be of service to you through her arts, be they creative, healing, or both.  You can visit her Etsy shop at http://jakk.etsy.com and her blog, Jakk's Magic Beans Life, at http://magicbeansworkshop.blogspot.com.  She welcomes your e-mails at [email protected].

 

the root women

the healers

the elders

the curvy hooked backs

the one with the spark in her eye

the old and the craggy

the worn and the weary

the digging ones

the smoking guns

the one with the magic that you can buy

the stirring the pot one

the leathery stout one

she with hair growing out of her chin

the one who remembers

the one who surrenders

the one who says back! when the devil comes in

the one all alone

the one that's called crone

the one on the top of the mountain.

 

Telling Stories to the Trees, Rima Staines.

 

 

Alive

People say that what we are all seeking is the meaning of life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive.

-Joseph Campbell, in an interview with Bill Moyers

You Are...

Happy Birth of a New Year to you, Dearest Awakened Readers. You inspire me, encourage me, and fill my world with the thoughts and love I strive to surround myself with. I am so grateful for all of you. 1/1/11 sounds like the perfect string of enlightened numbers to begin a magical new year with fresh, open eyes, a clear voice, and the curious beauty of the Fool. I'm so happy to step foot over the threshold with you...

Love and blessings to you, Important Ones.

Pan de Cielo

Being with real people who warm us, who endorse and exalt our creativity, is essential to the flow of creative life. Otherwise, we freeze. Nurture is a chorus of voices both from within and without that notices the state of a woman's being, takes care to encourage it, and if necessary, gives comfort, as well. I'm not certain how many friends one needs, but definitely one or two who think your gift, whatever it may be, is pan de cielo, the bread of heaven. Every woman is entitled to an Allelujia Chorus.

-Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves.

Eleventh Hour Wishlist

It's here, and truly at the Eleventh Hour! As I've anticipated Christmas this year, I've felt increasingly less stuff-oriented. That being said, there are still some fun and beautiful things I want to share with you. Wishing you an enchanting, magical season of giving...

Coyote Solstice is a book we love as much this year as we did last. Coyote is tricked by a drifter of a girl who takes him to the mall. He goes crazy with shopping and returns to his senses at the checkout stand. It's a fun way to teach children about overconsumption. Coyote returns to his home in the woods for a cozy meal with his friends..and the tricky girl.

A Little Lark has been a great resource for gifts all year and I love giving them my business. I particularly love their letterpressed cards and journals. But I'm showing you the baby, because...well, he's so much cuter than cards.

Felted Wolf and Lamb Baby Slippers by Little Hill Woolworks. Are these the cutest things ever?

 

Picnic, which is wrapped under the tree for Miles, but wondering if I'll be more excited to play it!

 

Wooden Sword and Shield for knighting about and learning how to play fair and act a bit chivalrous-like.

 

This Baba Hut found it's way to my inbox this morning and I have to say that I think it is the COOLEST stuffed thing I've ever seen. Can someone really be this clever?

Mother Nature, by Terri Windling.

 

The amazing vibrational healing talismans of Lilla Jizo.

 

The Top Hat, seen in my banner, can be found at Gentleman's Emporium, home of all your steampunk needs.

My favorite goodie of ALL TIME, by Next Organics, combines organic fruit and high quality chocolate. I've only had the cherries and the coconut so far, and could eat an entire bag by myself if left to my late night devices. Their website sells by the case, but I found individual bags at our local Whole Foods-like health food store. Find them at Amazon, too. It's the sort of treat you might be tempted to hide from loved ones, but so good you can't help but share...a few. Consumable gifts are really my favorite to give.

Aroma Naturals have been my first pick in candles for a very long time. Their Soy Vegpure line is now my uber-fave. We gave Peppermint Vanilla to Mile's teacher, but it's also offered without the whimsical Snowman for year-round burn. So much better than those stinky, synthetic Yankees.

 

 

Deer Flask, by Shoot From the Hip is almost outlaw enough for me to carry. I love the stitching up the back of this beauty, which will hold your cheer safely through the chilly season.

I'm loving This Warm December, the holiday album from Brushfire records featuring one of my three favorite Jacks, and also sweet little Zee Avi, among others on the label. It gets a frequent spin this year, sandwiched lovingly between Ten from the Galley and Hotel Cafe's Winter Songs.

 

And last, but not least, for the wild love on your list...

 

Happy Holidays...

Awroooooo!

 

 

 

 

Interview with Polly of Pixie Mama

Shining Pixie Polly has interviewed me on fear, find it here.

Let's talk some more about what fear is doing to you today. What won't you allow it to do?

Outside the Box

Animaris Umerus walking - June '09 from Strandbeest on Vimeo.

 

Innovators, just like you, are thinking it up

Creating possible from the impossibile

Dreaming it true

Releasing fear

Birthing it to life

 

Up now, and MAKE.

Make it yours.

Make it wild.

Rest Well

The Omnipotent Thief

 

Time is the universal thief,

So imperceptible his pace.

He steals my very youth and then

Leaves lines upon my face.

 

He saps the strength that he once gave,

He fogs the fertile brain,

That only withered sinew and

Dim memory remain.

 

He takes the sight from aging eyes

He once did freely give.

He takes it all 'til finally

He takes your will to live.

 

He steals 'til there is naught to steal,

Which seems to be his goal,

Then for his final plunder

He steals your very soul.

 

So youth, while time is giving these,

The things which I now lack,

Enjoy them, use them wisely,

Someday he'll take them back.

-Ron Langley

My grandpa was a quiet poet and a dreamer. He made the biggest difference in my life when he gave me the gift of seeing me and accepting me when it seemed no one else in my family could-at a time when I really needed it.

Arriving in Central California during the Dust Bowl days, he educated himself. School was not an option for long, but he didn't let that stop him from penning hundreds of amazing poems-his legacy in our family. He entertained me with folk songs and stories when I stayed over with he and my grandma. I think that what he'll be remembered for most is his cleverness with words and rhythm. He sang, danced, whistled and created a musical out of his life.

I'm honoring his crossover in my own quiet way, privately. Losing two patriarchs in eight months, I'm also pondering the release of some masculine aspects, and asking any overidentifications, stucknesses and old ways that wish to transform to speak up. The alchemy of loss and appreciation, grief and ceremony, love and the lifecycle, inspires me evermore to lift my own life up into the light... and let go.