Creative Soul Juice

"Throw your dreams into space like a kite, you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love..." ~Anais Nin Its been a while. Life has been busy! Fall has been a whirlwind and now its almost Winter. Hot soup, warm socks, sprinkling of snow, twinkling of lights. The things dreams are made of.  In a long discussion about love and soul mates, a good friend of mine told me he had dreamed his soul mate came to him in a dream. He said he felt a kiss in his dreams and when she kissed him, she moved right through him. I knew I had to draw that, so this illustration comes from that conversation.  "I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of stars makes me dream." ~Vincent Van Gogh I am no expert in dreams, and I don't often dream that I can remember. However, I do daydream a lot. And I believe that day dreams and night dreams hold much for us if we pay attention. In my daydreams, I see big adventures, deep love, high aspirations, a...

We are each of us angels with only one wing and can only fly embracing each other. ~ Luciano de Crescenzo Recently I have been very conscious of the people who I consider my "tribe" - my friends, family, and partner who surround me with their thoughts, support, guidance, and love. When I am away from them, I ponder their words and am grateful for their presence in my life.  We are advised to surround ourselves with people who lift us up, who support us, possibility thinkers, the best folks we can find, those who believe in us. Having a "tribe", a circle of influence, a network of support is the new extended family. So, how's your tribe? How do we nurture our tribe and allow our circle to nurture us? What can do to cultivate a closer and more meaningful relationship with those who are so important to us? How can we give to those we care so much for? Do we nurture our relationships as well as we could? When we so carefully choose our tribe, what are ways that...

Two of my favorite magazines are participating in the Southern Women's Show  this Thursday, October 13th-Sunday the 16th in Orlando.  The  demonstrators include some of my bookmarked artists - LOVE their work : Kathy Cano-Murillo –   The Crafty Chica   – and   ILovetoCreate ; Cindy Cloward and Jina Barney of   Riley Blake Designs ; Leigh Standley of  Curly Girl Design ; and Shea Fragoso and Debbie Murray and   A Gilded Life .  If you check out this website , there is an awesome giveaway with some cool swag that you can blog, tweet, and facebook about to win.  Visit the Southern Womens Show website:   http://www.southernshows.com/wor/   and see EVERYTHING that will be part of the 4 day show.  

Life is a glorious banquet, a limitless and delicious buffet. ~Maya Angelou My cross country trip last year was a feast of travel with delicious experiences. I spent a few days at Hatteras, NC, in the Outer Banks, which I had been longing to do for some time. A few days later, I embarked on my "Eat Pray Love Tour" across our beautiful country. As the trip came to a close, a visit to a wonderful farmer's market gave me the inspiration for the first of many coloring book pages which I have now compiled into a coloring book and journal. The ripe, luscious fruits and colorful vegetables energized my creative juices and I started drawing with passion. One of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou came to mind as I finished the last details of the illustrations.  Eating, Praying, Loving When I first began planning my trip across the country, a friend encouraged me to listen to the book on tape by Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love . Ironically, the movie would be coming out durin...

“Two people have been living in you all of your life. One is the ego, garrulous, demanding, hysterical, calculating; the other is the hidden spiritual being, whose still voice of wisdom you have only rarely heard or attended to.” ~Sogyal Rinpoche in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Have you taken a good look at your wonderful self? I don't mean looking in a mirror, but a long deep look inside yourself. Way down in that dark tangled space between your visible self and your true self. Have you held your own hand? Wrapped yourself in your own arms? Cradled your heart and nurtured your soul?  We gaze in the looking glass and see our exterior, the carefully painted face when we are dressed to face the world, the flaws which become so painfully obvious when we are feeling low, the glance in the rear view mirror while waiting in traffic, an up and down perusal in the dressing room, a quick reflection in the window while strolling down the mall. But who is it inside that we rarely hea...

According to Wikipedia, mandalas are used for focusing attention, as spiritual teaching tools, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid to meditation. Mandalas have been described as diagrams that recall our relationship to the infinite, which extends both beyond and within our minds and bodies. I discovered the art of creating digital mandalas a few years ago, and I enjoy using artwork to create mandalas. For me, it is another extension of a painting or a sketch... even photos.  In this Blue Woman mandala (left), the colors of blue, magenta and green are used as inspirational colors. Blue represents trust in myself, my intuitive nature, exhilaration. Magenta & purple are indicative of creativity, spirituality, and transformation. Abundance is represented by shades of green. Orange red flames are symbols of passion and a burning desire to create, to express the "wild soul." The colors in this first mandala are from my painting "Blue Woman" and are symbo...

Here's a video I created on Living Your Passions.  I bought a children's board book at Goodwill, came to my studio and pasted images and blank paper over the pages in the book and added some handwriting about following your passions. A little book to remind us that when we choose in favor of our passions, it becomes easier to do the things we love first, not last, or never. Whatever you give your attention grows stronger in your life. Be clear about what you want. Stay open to the messages that arrive. Have integrity - with yourself as well as others. Follow your heart. Be persistent. And make a commitment to what you are passionate about. First. That's the Soul Juice for today!

"Something opens our wings. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness." ~Rumi What is arriving at the door of your imagination this fall? Does the change in season bring an emerging awareness of change in yourself? A deeper understanding of self? A new passion to explore? A new relationship or a change in one you already have? A new level of closeness? As we prepare for the cooler weather and feather our nests for the winter, we may bring a gathering of internal harvest. What has shown up in your life recently that you may have not fully embraced? Too busy, too much to do, ignoring an urge, avoiding intuition... have you been afraid to come to the edge? to truly soar? Read the words by French poet Guillaume Apollinaire: “Come to the edge, he said.
 They said: We are afraid.
 Come to the edge, he said. They came.
 He pushed them and they flew.” When wings arrive at our door, and change comes on the wind, do we resist flying? It is difficult...