Red Thread Circles

  I first met Rosie and Olivia when I journied to California for our Color of Woman graduation in 2015. Rosie - coming from New Zealand -booked our stay in a lovely lodge on the Russian River!  In 2025, Rosie is coming to the states again, and will connect with SiStars along the way too co-facilitate classes in our respective states, and i n Oregon, Olivia and I will be her co-hosts! It's crazy to think it's been a decade since we meet (& 4 years since I offered a painting class in person.) In the Still Room - 1st Apothecary   For our theme, Rosie suggested we offer  Apothecary, a process of ' alchemizing our access to inner knowing, using creativity as the path and vessel.'   We will   set out to explore how each of us gains access to this inner knowing, and uses it to transform old stories into healing elixirs . Early this week, Olivia and I met at the lovely Milieu Gallery at Bridgeport, where many of her amazing paintings are on display...

  Happy WIP Wednesday - what are you creating? Recently we've been having fun creating cards, or painting stones, or .... for brightening someone's day.  We began offering Virtual Circles as a pivot from the in person gatherings early in the summer of 2020, and an early circle was Thinking Cap .  Some of us had done the process during a Guild members call, and we chose it for our August virtual   Red Thread Circle  offering. Thinking Cap 2020 What image comes with the phrase "put on my thinking cap?" How do you access information and your intuition - do you have different access channels? Are there different caps for different purposes? What feels unique?  What similar to others? I love our circles - we've had women from nearby Oregon, to Florence, Italy, Ireland, England, NZ, and even India! It is always a treat to see how our muses interact and inspire each other.  For Thinking Cap, we began with a couple of readings from my co-host   Linda Alle...

  When someone joins our circle for the first time, it can be for many reasons - but generally there's a sense of wanting to meet with others ( especially in these times of limited personal interaction!) They may have felt the call to set aside time for creativity, may have lots of art supplies, or just pens and paper! Some are very experienced with arts and crafts - others are new explorers - All are welcome! Can we do a RT circle Grammie? The blurb on our MeetUp group reads, " We are a group of women who meet to access our own internal guidance system through Intentional Creativity®, a process which incorporates writing, visioning, sketching and painting to help us each develop a deeper sense of self awareness. Event hosts are graduates of Color of Woman, Motherboard or RT Guide programs, and o ccasionally we will have a guest host from another mindful creative practice. We each bring our personal medicine basket of practices and experiences; our gatherings and offerings r...

  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,...

Toward the end of October, I was introduced to Neurographica by my creative sistar  Karen Dawn , whom I met in the Dancing Entrepreneur online course last spring. So Fun!  And rather additive!  I am enjoying adding it to my medicine basket of daily  practices.  Creativity  is an awesome way to access information from our whole being, and integrate it more deeply.  studies show translating  ideas  into  action  is more likely to occur when combined with creative practices. Since that introduction, I've been creating  Neurographic  doodles, and engaged in a November Gratitude practice. Researched and developed by a Russian psychologist, Pavel Piskerev. I am reminded of our Intentional Creativity community's Metacognative drawings, and interested to see how the two will interface.  Gratuitie Neuro-noodles Gratitude practice, Day 1 The week of Vivid  community gatherings and Legend painting journey Spending time with...

When asked if they are creative, 95% of young children say 'YES!' ... by middle school, that's dropped to about half, and by late teens, only about 5% see themselves as creative! What changes?  Often, it's a thoughtless comment, criticism, or a comparison with someone more 'talented.' Unfortunately, that comment is often made by an "expert," a teacher or a "more talented" friend. In reality, Creativity is the birthright of  all humans !  With Intentional Creativity, the process is more valued than the 'product,' though chances are you - yes YOU - can create something that brings you and those around you pleasure and joy, and looks good to boot! And like any other 'muscle,' the more we create, the more skillful we become.  And ... then there's Intention!!  Time out of mind, people have combined setting an intention with creative process. Knitting a sweater for someone? We think of how we want them to be cozy and warm! Cooki...