February Moon Paintings

New Moon in Pisces 2-20-23

Full moon in leo 2-5-23

The full Moon at the beginning of February found me feeling all the energies of all three of these symbols: the groundhog, the owl and the heron. Hibernating a bit, living beneath the surface, I still found myself also peering above the rim of daily life seeking balance and stability—and seeking wisdom. By new moon, I find myself stepping off the edge, I guess! Into the unknown I go!

I’m enjoying learning about the Moon and it’s cycles in the yearlong Moonshine class I’m taking with Effy Wild, creating Moon paintings each month (goauche on watercolor paper) for the new and full moons.

I have a lot more to learn still about the Moon, and one good source I recommend is Moonology by Yasmin Boland. You might want to check it out. I appreciate how Boland explains that physically, the moon travels around the earth, the earth travels around the sun and it’s consistent change in shape from a sliver in the sky to a full circle to a sliver again is caused by the changing angles between the three—which I think we all understand.

What I find interesting is that humans have long studied the energies of this repeating “light-play of the lunar cycle”—for eons—and we noticed that, as living, connected beings of the universe, we follow the same patterns in the cycle. We are all at least subconciously aware of it!

With the new Moon, we tend to be action-oriented. We set intentions and then as the Moon waxes—gets larger—we set forth to manifest what we set out to do. Two weeks of this and then we’re at the highest point of this monthly cycle—and that’s when emotions come to the surface. Whatever has happened for this cycle has happened. We often feel anxious (I have often literary felt like howling at it, especially in my pre-menopausal days!), and we have to face what is unresolved—instinctively knowing that whatever hasn’t manifested won’t come to be in this cycle.

And then in the next two weeks, as the moon wanes—gets smaller—it’s a time of letting go —to feel gratitude for what is, to relax, accept and prepare for the next cycle.

It’s fun to paint and express where I’m at at each lunation this year, but honestly, it’s reconnecting with the Moon that I’m most excited about. Right now as I write, for example, the Moon is waxing and will reach its fullest point on March 7th—which happens to be my birthday, in the zodiac sign of Pisces.

Apropos to the moon’s cycle I’m currently moving forward creatively and personally with a good amount of energy. I set down some solid intentions to free myself from some of that inner judgemental chatter and I’m moving toward acceptance. Maybe I’ll talk about that more next week. But in the meantime, I’ll leave you with this lovely passage from the book:

“Watching the Moon from month to month and year to year will put you in touch with her cycles and rhythms—it will help you to remember that we’re all a part of something much bigger; that we’re kids of the Universe. We’re stardust. We’re so much more than people who struggle to get to work on public transport and, once there, compete with others for promotions.

“We’re makers of magic on a journey towards enlightenment. We’re at one with the skies and the heavens and all that lies beyond, and even if we can’t observe the heavens fully, or even give too much time to contemplating nature, connecting with the Moon reconnects us with the Divine—with our Divine selves and with the cosmos.”—Yasmin Boland, Moonology

If you want to reconnect to the moon, too, I highly recommend reading more about it, but also it’s simply a matter of paying attention to the phases of the moon, watching it when you can, and maybe thinking about where you are are in the cycle that month. Not a bad practice, right?

Follow the Leader 52 Cards Project #2

Portrait of my Spiritual Self

Creating this week’s card for my 52 Card Project flowed out of me as I completed my experience of the weeklong Hoffman Process in Petaluma, California, last week. If you don’t know, the Hoffman Institute is renowned for its transformational experience and I’ve been on the wait list to attend for over four months. I It’s hard to put into words what the Hoffman Process is or does—so I’ll give you the surface description from Hoffman itself:

“The weeklong process provides a safe, supportive environment in which participants identify and begin healing negative patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving in any kind of relationship. It’s an “inward bound” journey from head to heart."

It really was an inbound journey and the healing first began in relationship with myself. I can’t yet articulate in words how I feel changed and how my entire perspective has shifted, but as I sat with myself after I left the institute, I could capture the essence, visually, of what I now know: Follow the Leader.

This week’s card is a portrait of my spiritual self heading up the road of the rest of my life. She’s leading—and I am following her because she knows what is true and good.

I know I won’t always follow. In moments, I will forget. But she is there, always, and I will also remember over and over again.

That’s all I can really even say right now. But as I made this week’s card and as I sit here now, looking at it, I feel present, I feel trusting and I feel open. And I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to see my life so much more clearly, to have this life, and to be home.

What does earth and spirit have to do with art?

EARTH LOVE does MATTER

You might notice that I’m dedicating my blog to my three passions—art, spirit and earth—but it seems that mostly and so far, I talk about art.

You might suspect there’s some kind of struggle going on with me—and you wouldn’t be wrong.

So here’s the truth. I LOVE to draw and paint and creatively problem solve and share my creative life. Which is what I do every chance I get—online and off. I’ve mentioned this journey several times lately—I love art making and I’m all in. That metaphorical plate is spinning in the air.

As a multipotentialite, however, there are more plates.

I love to read fiction, for instance, I love story and I enjoy writing. And I love animals. I love to hike and be in nature, in and near water. I’m deeply concerned about the climate crisis. And I’m equally fascinated by the science and the spiritual elements of life.

In short, I want to spin more plates in the air.

But you know, time and focus and attention and energy—all the challenges—sometimes bring those plates crashing to the ground.

My “earth” interest is one example. I’m taking small actions in my own life to more closely align with my love for the earth and to do my part to reduce my own impact on it. I’m on a personal journey to become more aware about both the real problems and the real solutions to solving the climate crisis. And to align my life to support those solutions.

But I also want to do more. Global warming, mass extinction, ocean acidification…this is a crisis in our lifetimes, but a crisis we can solve if we all get behind the solutions.

So I have made attempts to share what I learn about the climate crisis over the last several years. I wrote about the climate crisis on my website.

I also started a drawing project a few years ago called It’s Possible and posted a series of drawings on Instagram about the need to see that we’re not doomed yet.

Finally, in January of this year I started an earth-focused instagram account called earthlove.matters. where I made drawings and paintings about climate crisis issues.

In all three cases, however, I am sorry to report, that it didn’t take me long to lose momentum and become overwhelmed. In all three cases, I started and then stopped. And I have to say this did not feel good. Cracked plates at my feet, to continue the metaphor.

So where am I now?

I’ve learned that I can’t sustain a project that solely focuses on creating art about the climate crisis. Not only does this project take so. much. time—but it requires singular devotion. Working full time. And the truth of the matter is that I don’t believe that’s what I’m supposed to do.

Earth love DOES matter. The more we LOVE all of life on this planet, the more we will protect it. The more we will see ourselves in the fabric of all existence. Art. Spirit. Earth. All of it. Connected…

Love, I think, connects it all

…My own personal journey to love the earth more. My love of art. My love of reading. And loving up my animals and all of nature…life! I have to follow ALL of my interests.

Art AND Earth AND Spirit…

And that’s where I’m going. I intend to write here about my art and creative life, about the earth and my own place in it, and yes, about spirit (because in fact, spirit is not another spinning plate, but part of it all). No big commitment to Big Projects, for now. Just creating and sharing, here.

So that’s where I’m headed now. I’m putting another plate back on the tip of the rod and giving it a good, fast spin.

I invite you to my creative, learning life

I have to tell you, I’ve started blogs before, but I failed to sustain them. I don’t want that to happen again.

So I’ve been thinking . What will it take to DO this over the long term? It’s really important to get super clear about what I want—for you and me—out of this blog, and why.

I know what I don’t want

I don’t want to feel pressured to churn out posts in order to please any algorithm to get more views.

I don’t want to worry about “getting” anything—certainly not readers. Not approval, either.

I don’t want to feel obligated.

I don’t want to sacrifice making art in order to make this blog.

I don’t want to feel like it needs to be perfect and polished—just real. I don’t want this to be a job.

And I don’t want to bore people. I’d rather they were uninterested and move on.

What I DO want?

I want blogging to be joyful and fun. Something I look forward to doing each week.

I want it to be as nourishing as writing in my journal, where I write to think and gather all the thoughts. Something that propels me forward with renewed energy.

And I want it to be as nourishing for others as well—giving inspiration, learning and renewed energy too.

Finally, I want—I hope—that what I create here will somehow help me connect with an engage with other readers, writers and/or artists of all kinds.

Other humans who love to learn and discover and create treasures.

I’m not sure how that’s going to work, but I’m putting it out to the universe and we’ll see. To begin, I’m going to show up and fill this blog with what I learn about what I’m passionate about—art, spirit, nature.

I’m going to write because I know I have so much to share and I need to share it—but I’m not in control of who wants or needs to receive it.

Sharing is enough.

(My new mantra.)

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And here I go...

If nothing else, 2020, the year of pause, gave me clarity about what is important and what I want to focus on creatively and personally. I posted my first picture for 2021 on instagram today. It kind of feels like a send off as I enter into the new year with clear intention and three passions:

Art

Mixed media artist Kelly Rae said recently on her blog:

“When I create, I’m at peace. I feel brave. I feel healing on all levels. I feel connected with Spirit, and to my own light. From that place, so much is born. Joy! Abundance! Community! Purpose!”

Yes.

I have been on a creative journey that began a decade ago when I gingerly stepped into visual self expression with art mediums I’d never used before. This interest soon flared into this full blown passion for color and line and form—and all things art supplies. And then before I knew it I had an art studio where I taught art journaling and mixed media.. and then this passon again transformed into a drawing obsession—art that will take the rest of my life to explore.

Earth

I am most fortunate to live and spend time in mountains and beaches. I have done so all my life. As I witness the growing effects of the climate crisis both in my own California and around the globe, and study the science of what’s to come if we don’t alter our disconnected, industrial war on the planet, I commit to change.

I step into my deep love for nature, our planet and all living beings and I will share what I love and learn about what we can all do to protect this most sacred world.

Spirit

When I talk about nature and art, I can’t help but refer to spirit. Because, of course, they are all connected. In nature and in our own creative impulse, we get closer to understanding and connecting to the mysteries of the universe. To the love and connection that binds us in innumerable ways to the earth, to each other—and to ourselves.

More and more I try to be conscious and present to not just the material forms, but the spiritual web inside and out, within, between and among us. This is also my work—our work. The work of our lifetimes.

And so I step into the portal.

Let’s hold hands and go together.