At the first of the year I discovered Galia Alena, a New Zealand based mixed media artist with a deep understanding of the creative spirit. She and I were in the Fly Tribe Word Hop, sharing our words for the year. Her offering was mesmerizing. It was a video chronicling her journal process for exploring her word. I loved it especially for its invitation to let intuition guide the process. This is how my art usually evolves and I could appreciate witnessing that on her video.
So when I got an invitation to participate as an instructor in Angels In My Studio 2013 and saw she is part of the gathering of teachers with me, I was thrilled!
This weekend, she posted her Journal as Sacred Vessel Summer Solstice video. It is lovely. I watched it Friday and have been letting it percolate. Tonight I visited my journal as time would allow. Here is where I am…
I see a woman emerging.
What the journaling brought up for me….
I have had a weekend filled with introspection. I feel very connected to the world inside, and somehow to the world of symbols, metaphor, and stories that exist in the reality where imagination, intuition, creativity, and spirituality bloom.
Summer Solstice in South Texas is the beginning of a very intense time. I think we often associate the Winter with a time to go inward, but I believe that is completely subjective. We wrestle with extreme degrees in the heat of Summer that send us looking for shade. It has already begun.
That going inward has made Grandmother Bear show up in some of my sketches. For me the bear in an introspective creature, extremely fertile, birthing, feeding, nurturing….all while in a slumber. She creates in a dream-like state.
The words I wrote beneath the painting helped remind me that I should balance movement and rest and that the movement should be gentle and flowing. This mirrors the insight I felt about Bear. She is active in an inactive way. I also got in touch with the importance of water (birth water and the consumption of water) to help relieve the fiery nature of the season. I even felt like the foods I would pick should be more water based….fruits and veggies, light soups, smoothies, fresh juice, lighter proteins.
I still have several layers to add to my journal entry for the Summer Solstice. I don’t mind not getting it done in one sitting. This will be a great project to let simmer on a slow burner.
Special thanks to Galia Alena for her seasonal journal offering. I will leave some links below, including a guest post she wrote for The Amulet Magazine that I enjoyed finding when I was looking for links. It is a jewel for sure!
Journal as Sacred Vessel Summer Solstice Video
Angels In My Studio 2013…. where you will find us BOTH!
