What does it mean to be truly brave in your creative process?
I just found out. And, there are images to prove it!
Dear Creative Being,
I thought I would share a BRAVE creative process with you!! The class I co-led with Flora Bowley last week was very unexpected and exciting ~ In the painting class we held for over 150 women worldwide ~ we both wanted to go to our edge. To somewhere we hadn’t already been before. As a teacher, showing demonstrations can often make it hard to navigate ~ as you are trying to make your process available to your students, which, can have the impact of making your paintings fit a form. Well. All that ended the moment Flora Bowley, our guest teacher here from Portland, said. Let’s switch paintings more than half way through. ((((((gulp)))) Below you can see the paintings, as well as the writing that came from my painting (right below)
The message above comes from my painting, which ‘ended up’ being a story of access + integrated grief + unknown future. I didn’t start with an intention but journeyed wonderfully free in Flora’s powerful teaching space.
This is also a reminder that Color of Woman applications, close tomorrow at midnight as the bell chimes in whatever time zone you are in!
In Intentional Creativity the painting becomes an oracle.
You listen to what it has to say, the story it is telling…
Are you blocking yourself from feeling?
Bracing yourself against sensual experiences?
Afraid of what will happen if you let it all in?
Are you afraid if you let the emotions flow, they won’t stop?
You aren’t alone.
Let’s create the context together that it is safe to feel how we feel.
That blocking ourselves from feeling is more dangerous
to our soul health than letting it all out.
At first we will be overwhelmed.
We may cry. We may become angry. We may melt down. We may ‘lose it’. Sometimes we have to lose it, to find it.
We find ourselves after losing it.
I don’t want to look away. I want to see you.
I want to love you as big and wide as my heart will allow.
I don’t want my fear of loving and what might happen to stop me.
I want to feel everything.
~ Shiloh Sophia
To share the poem and the image you can click here.
Above is where we ended up. Below is right when we switched. I have hers and she has mine. My painting with the writing above was after I turned it on the edge and kept going late into the night. We lost most of each other’s work, but like Flora says, it’s in there ~ completed works are below!~
WATCH THE FREE HOUR LONG TALK OR JOIN US
What an amazing painting journey/ritual/sister creative revolution in BRAVE Intuitive painting!!!
I LOVED working with Flora and all these amazing collaborations with PCTV Season One: FIERCE! And hope we can collaborate again – I thought you might enjoy seeing our process ~ so I shared it with you. I went to my edge –
Wherever you are in your creative process I hope you can set yourself free. The point is not to get it right, make it good or impress others or hang it on the wall. The point is to create. And create, we shall.
You can find all our classes, everyday, at
www.cosmic cowgirls.com
The creative process is just that – a process.
It invites discovery into hidden worlds
that would otherwise not be seen….
