Red Thread Circles

Often times when we are creating, and blithely engaged in our dialogue with the Muse, the critic sneaks up on us!  Ack ! The critic is likely to appear, wearing her current favorite hat!  "I'm not artistic" - the Tyranny of Talent!  Comparison Queen -  your painting looks better! "I just  don't like  my painting!"  And on ... She's too pale, now she's too dark, ... Circle Altar When the critic appears in a class, I often thank the student, and mention that they are likely speaking for others in the group as well. It's long been her job to keep us safe for a long time, and may get uncomfortable when we try something new/different.  I give some options, she can count rocks in the parking lot, or shall we set her up with a drink by the pool? She can hold the map and help navigate, but we won't let her drive!  As we listen to her, we may identify her voice - who along the way is she parroting?  What if there was nothing we could get wrong? It

What do you do when your nosey, noisy Critic pipes up and tells you why you can't ___? You know the things she likes to taunt us with -  " I can't do that!"  "I'm not creative, ____ is the creative One!" "I'm too ___ (old, out of shape, uncoordinated, not educated...) "I never learned...."   "I never have enough time!"    "I'd love to do my art, but I don't want to end up a starving artist" .. .   "I can't afford__" Shh!!      One of my favorite ways of quieting her voice, shifting her rhetoric and countering the Old Stories is crafting  Soul Compass Cards  to point the way. Many of us have written affirmations! Douglas Bloch,  author of 'Words that Heal ' suggests going a bit deeper - writing an affirmation, then processing "what comes up ;" and asking ourselves,  "who told you that?" "Do you believe it's true?"   ... With Story cards, we identify the

Last April, after the start of our  Artist in Residence time , Shiloh Sophia and her own business coach Amy Ahlers offered a creativity based business class called Dancing Entrepreneur. While most gals were from our creative community, several other creatives joined us. Posts which really caught my eye were of  Karen Dawn 's Visual Planning system , and I joined her Beta Test group on crafting similar systems of our own! I love Karen's creative approach to planning! (Her  blog  includes some of these teachings! She also introduced me to Neurographica!) Vision Plan Board My visual planner is on a foam board left over from a vision board class, and holds my Medicine Basket, one of the Dancing Entrepreneur action cards, a couple of Neuro-Noodles plus - pockets. Who doesn't love these little pockets? The clothesline is a ribbon, and I simply taped the ends to the back of the board using painter's tape! You can use nails or eye hooks to tack the lines directly on a wall - so

 Our theme for our December Red Thread Circle was Shine Your Lïght.  In the Northern Hemisphere, night comes earlier, and light and warmth feel extra precious. Since humans began using fire, tending and keeping it has been a sacred task. In Denmark, the word Hygge is used to denote a cozy, comfortable atmosphere, which often includes firefight, candles, soft and fuzzy fabrics.  This last summer, with hot winds from the east and dry forests,  Oregon and the NW had many wildfires - there is a fine line between safety and danger! Some inquiries to ponder: what encourages you and brings you light and hope? Where do you struggle? What encourages you, and gives you hope? What beings feelings of safety? Shine Your Lïght Take a moment to center, pour a cup of tea, light a candle, tug your Red Thread Work on paper, canvas, your Smashbook or art journal Write several Light words - qualities you hold for yourself and for your community Choose images for these qualities: stars, candles, a hearth o

 This fall many of us have been enjoying learning about, and beginning to do  Neurographica .  This way of creating helps  "Balance the mind, inspire creativity, and explore different approaches to problem solving."  " From the first rounding of intersections and angles, there is a sense of recreating wholeness, of softening the edges of harsh thoughts; of merging with our greater intentions and better knowing. Of being whole and letting go of fear, of opening to unlimited possibilities." The basics: Think of your intention or a concern Draw random lines (not an even zigzag!)  Or begin by sketching an object or tracing around your hand, a leaf... R ound the intersections  Circles bring harmony  Observe how your body feels as you draw, as those intersections soften. C olor - 3 or more colours, color in at least three segments with one color  Through November I drew and colored a number gratitude cards, and some centered around handprints or leaves. Neuro-Noodle Labyr

Last spring, out Intentional Creativity® Maestra Shiloh and her biz coach Amy Ahlers offered Dancing Entrepreneur for both Color of Woman students and the general community. We created the folded Vision Plan books (one of the CoW assignments) plus a set of 16 cards to support moving forward with our plans.  We connected with others in the class (a weekend workshop or 5 week class) and used the momentum of the class to bring ideas into action or products. I developed my virtual Red Thread Circles, and collaborations with other students and IC teachers. Some of the posts in our group that caught my eye were of  Karen Dawn 's Visual Planning system, and I joined her Beta Test group on crafting similar systems of our own! I love Karen's creative approach to planning! (Her  blog  includes some of these teachings!)  Vision Plan Board Mine is on a foam board from a vision board class I offered, and has two of the  Dancing Entrepreneur  action cards, a little vision board we created wi