Reclamation

'Reclamation' explores the concept of roles in life being an integrated whole instead of fragmented pieces.

Hello readers and welcome back!

I apologize for my website being under construction for so long, thank you for your patience! As you can see, I’ve been making a lot of changes around here! I have decided that each iteration of my business is an expression of art in and of itself. At least that’s the story I’m telling myself to feel better about changing the business name so many times! Finding myself, my identity, and the way art ties into it has been a PROCESS! A lot of soul work, reflection, healing, mindset shifts, etc. After a lot of meditation, contemplation, and exploration, I have arrived to a place in my work that feels really good.

Answering the call to create art can be a difficult one…a mind game even…in a society that is capitalistic and devalues the arts…especially textiles and other mediums that have historically been made by mostly women. My logical brain and intuition have been at odds with each other since I began this (unexpected) journey of art making. I’ve been involved in the healing arts for the past two decades, so in the beginning art felt so out of place. I kept asking Spirit…”Why this? Are you sure? What about the financial part of it all? What about this and what about that?” Being the anxious person I am that often has a hard time allowing life to just flow, I wanted the answers upfront, lol. But letting go of the answers and just diving in has been a healing process in and of itself. I’ve started to see the entire art making process as inherently spiritual.

I see myself as more of the Creatrix archetype. The Creatrix differs from the artist in the way that the participant is also involved in the spiritual as an integral part of their art making process. I like to work with the seasons and cycles. When the weather began to warm this spring, all I wanted to do was paint and work with the soft, flowy medium of watercolors. Now that we are approaching Mabon and beginning to descend into the colder months here in the Rocky Mountains, I am ready to get back to my loom and weave again. The textures of wool and yarn feel comforting as the weather cools and the days shorten. I feel as though my own creative cycles are synced with the earth herself.

I have recently started to explore the concept of prayers/intentions/spells being woven into the piece; in my case I mean that quite literally since weaving is one of my mediums of choice. Most witches know that you can cast spells with cord and thread…numbers, colors, specific fibers, etc. can all act as unique medicine on the loom and adds to the intentions in their own unique way. Weaving is quite literally a way of practicing magick. For me it’s that, and also a form of storytelling and record keeping. Women have been using textiles for magick and storytelling for eons, and I feel connected to my female ancestors and the history of womankind when I am creating with them.

Another topic I’ve been exploring recently is the concept of the Divine, or God, (or Spirit or nature or whatever you choose to call it) as a Woman. There’s evidence of many ancient societies that worshipped the goddess. When we look at the divine in this way, the practice of art making becomes a direct interaction with the Great Creatrix herself.

Creating has become as much of a spiritual practice for me as spells, prayer, rituals, or anything else. And really, it’s all of those things along with a form of personal soul retrieval, nervous system healing (it gets my brain into that flow state), and a tether that helps me descend into my body and the earth. As someone who tends to be anxious and often feeling ungrounded, this has helped me immensely. Art helps me feel connected to seasons, cycles, land, kin, spirit, and self. All are reflections of the Divine Mother.

My pre-art making ritual often includes sacred cacao, sound medicine, incense, prayer, and meditation.

I often begin a creating session the same way I would begin any other spiritual practice. I cleanse my space, light incense and candles, bless my tools, drink sacred cacao, and ask my spirit guides to lead the process. This has led to such an enriching practice! It’s soul-nurturing and also sometimes really hard. Sometimes grief is waiting for me at the loom or the paint brush. Or fear, feelings of inadequacy, or other unpleasant emotions. But I allow them to be and let the stories come up that want to be expressed. I can feel the emotions moving out of my body as I alchemize them into what I’m creating.

Art also helps me express ideas or concepts I see spiritually. I am clairvoyant and psychic, and often information comes through to me in images. And when I start to form the images with art material, the messages from spirit tend to come in simultaneously. It’s channeling in a material form.

Each bead sewn on represents my roles as artist, mystic, writer, mother, wife, and matriarch.

‘Reclamation’ was such a joyful piece to make. I love any excuse to break out the bead cart! As I was weaving, I was contemplating the fact that I don’t fit in a box. I think capitalism and hyperindividualism try to squeeze us into one role at a time when it comes to careers. But I have accepted that I am many things…an artist, mystic, writer, and ever curious human along with my roles to kin and community that have to be balanced with it. It’s a woven prayer for permission to explore what it feels like to be an integrated whole.

Some of the art I share on here will be simply a way of sharing and storytelling without the intention of selling it (although I’ll still have art up for sale, too). This piece is a personal one I plan on keeping, and I have it hung above my altar where I allow it to be a sacred spiritual tool just like any other. A visual story and intention.

I have decided that I like to work on collections, but collections that are categorized and created over time. I tend to come back to similar concepts often (soul-retrieval, spirituality, land, kin, seasons, etc.). Sometimes I feel called to write about the piece, so some art will have a blog post attached to the picture in the art gallery. I don’t fully know what I’m doing or if this is how you’re “supposed” to do art collections, but that’s what feels good for me so I’m just going with the flow. All of the art that is currently for sale will be in the ‘Art Shop’ section. Watercolor prints and more weavings will be listed there soon!

Thanks so much for reading and being here on this journey with me!

Blessed be. ~

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Harnessing The Energy Of Late Spring In Our Creative Practices