Tree's on my mind.... The Tree of Life...

This Sunday we are facilitating our yearly Fall Equinox Illuminated Mandala Retreat Day, at my studio behind my house.  By we, I am referring to myself and my good friend Patricia Waters, who is also a Mandala Facilitator of the late Judith Cornell's wonderful mandala process.  

Our focus for this workshop is the Tree of Life... and just thinking about it has really stimulated me and has made me pay more attention to trees, as well as the trees that have unconsciously emerged in my art over time.  Again and again, the tree becomes a central motif for me.  

  As I reflected on trees, my love of them and how important they are to me, I remembered that my earliest drawings as a child, were of trees.  I would spend hours and hours drawing trees with limbs that turned into little rooms and then created little magical areas in the roots systems, where little people could live.  There was always a knot hole at the bottom where the people, or elves or gnomes would enter the tree and journey to their little apartments under the ground.  Shamanic journeying.... as a child my imagination was fertile ground and I was always looking for a safe and magical place to reside.  How I wish I still had some of those drawings, nevertheless they popped up in my imagination as I started reflecting on drawing a Tree of Life Mandala this Sunday, and I realized how deep the tree roots were in my life.

Then I began googling tree of life drawings....and was astounded to see my Tree Mandala's all over the place online, on different peoples blogs, as graphics for articles and in many other settings, most of them gave me credit for the image, but many didn't.  It felt odd, to be so out there, and yet a bit invasive as well.  But that is all part and parcel of having my images on flickr, here and in the many shops I have online.  None  the less, I wished people would give to who drew the original image, let alone contact info, and dare I even mention copyright user fees.    The biggest issue, was when someone told me that this image was included in a Mandala Greeting Card Coloring Kit on Amazon. Now that is a different story.  So, it leads me to being much more aware of what I pull off the web and giving credit where credit is due.  

I am very excited to gather with others this week and dive into the Autumn and my unconscious and will post the photos from the workshop here for others to see.   Until then, here is a  quote to leave you with.

The Tree of Life is a universal symbol found in many spiritual and mythological traditions around the world. In various cultures it is known as the Cosmic Tree, the World Tree and the Holy Tree. The Tree of Life symbolizes many things, including wisdom, protection, strength, bounty, beauty, and redemption. This wise and holy Tree is like the Creator as it sustains creation with its abundant fruit, protection and generativity.                                                            From http://www.treeoflifeteachings.com/tree-of-life/

                               And some beautiful healing redwood trees from Fort Bragg California....


By the way, if anyone out there is interested in any of these mandala's I sell matted prints of them on my store on etsy, SoulArteEclectica, and I have  cards and all kinds of interesting products made with these mandalas on them on my zazzle store   ArteEclectica,  so please do check them out, the holidays are fast approaching and they can make great inspirational gifts.......there I did my promo.  Ciao. Caterina

As Promised a Few more Pocket Shrines to see...

And so, without further ado, here are some more photos of pocket shrines that members of the Medicine Art Group made.  Weeks ago I promised to post these.  Since it has been about a month since the time that we made these, we are now onto new directions and art processes.  As a natural evolution we are exploring themes in cigar boxes, dream boxes, intention boxes, dia de los muertes altars and...who knows where it will go..

When those are completed I will share them as well.

Enjoy these little gems~

Each one has a story to tell......

                                                        As well as an intention or focus......

              And some were made just for the pure fun of embellishment and decoration......

I am now off to cleaning and reorganizing my studio once again, to get ready for a SoulCollage® workshop on this Friday morning and then our Seasonal  Fall Equinox Mandala Retreat day on Sunday, which this time is focusing on the Tree of Life.. What fun ...until next time.   Ciao..Caterina

The Soul Picture Story Continues- The Fuse of the Possible

Here are two recently made SoulCollage® cards of mine.  I love how this process takes on a life of its own and becomes a feedback loop of images, so to speak.  Playing back the storyline of the inner mythic characters that are up in my life at that moment.  The cards become alive and take on a life of their own.

This first card is one that I did on one of  the citra-solve altered, National Geographic Backgrounds.

I am the one who travels through the imagination.  Who flowers as she reads, traveling the world without leaving her home.  I am the one who loves to read a good book, lose herself in a story that unfurls and circumnavigates the breadth of the cosmos.  I am always happy when I have a stack of good books waiting to be read.

I am the one who becomes enchanted when I draw, or do any kind of art.  I am the one who looks deeply, who pierces the vail of reality as my dreams draw themselves.  I take the time to really look, and carefully render the magic of what is right in front of me.  I am an artist.  I am the one who loves to tell a story through pictures.

The fuse of the Possible is lit by the imagination.”

Emily Dickenson

Fun Making Pocket Shrines

I facilitate an ongoing women's expressive art group, which has come to be called the Medicine Art Group. The name comes from art therapist, Shaun Mc Niffs's book, "Art as Medicine"  Over time the name as morphed and changed, it was once called the Art Spa fondly by group members.  Medicine Art has not only become the official name, but also now seems to  also refer to all the groups that I offer at the studio, being part of the Medicine Art Series.

The idea being that doing art is healing on a deep level, whether it is process or product oriented, whether one likes the tangible outcome or not.  All art making is healing, because we move into the moment, become more aware and our brain waves shift and we move into a deeper, healing awareness.  Art therapists call this approach Art As Therapy, not necessarily art therapy.  But to me and to participants in all these groups, it is one and the same.  ART is MEDICINE.   

 This past Friday in this ongoing group, we began to make pocket shrines.  Creating small containers to hold a specific energy, thought, intention or honoring.  Whether playful or deeply meaningful, the experience was fun and filled with energy.    

We started altering a various of sizes  of tin containers, although any container can do.  We used lots of altoid tins and small candy containers.  Altering is the name of the game here.  We painted, collaged and filled them with pieces, papers and items that moved us, in the moment, for whatever reason that emerged spontaneously.

 Everyone really got into it, to say the least.  These are some of the shrines that emerged during the group.

 Many of us were not complete and are going to continue on with this process the next time we meet in 2 weeks.

 So here are some of the small, portable shrines that emerged that day, for your viewing pleasure.

 I truly love show and tell, which is what this blog has become for me, showing off what emerges in my groups as well as my own personal art process.

                                       Aren't these all so wonderful, charming and magical?

                                 Each with deeply personal meaning for the shrine maker.

                                            This last one is mine, which is till in process.

After continuing to work on my pocket shrine after the group ended, I moved into another personal shrine.

A dear woman to me, who was my fathers girlfriend for many years, recently, and in many ways was another mother figure to me, recently died.  Interestingly enough, she shared the same name as my mother.

So, I took a holy card that I received the other day in mail from Addie's memorial service and an old tin nichio that I have been wondering what to do with and created another shrine,
honoring Addie, my mom and all the mother figures in my life.

My Deck continues to Grow...

"I am the one who steps into the healing pool and 

is renewed and energized."

Here is the SoulCollage® card that I made last week, using the Citra-Solv page as a back ground.

At first it was too spacey looking for what I was trying to convey in the card, but with some white pen and gold markers, I grounded her in the healing waters and sent light and healing to her from the sun.

I really look forward to using these amazing abstract pages for more S.C. cards as well as in other mixed media art processes.  Wonder how these would work with encaustic, saturated in beeswax?

Hmmmmm?

MORE CARDS

 Now I have 2 SoulCollage® groups going a month, and I am excited that my deck is continuing to grow.  I am also facilitating readings with friends  as well, and am amazed at how potent and powerful they can be.  So this new endeavor, which pulls together all the elements I have used before in my art therapy practice, but in a succinct and structured format, takes on a magical energy when all put together.

Here are 2 more cards that I made last Friday in my Inner Muse Card Making Group.

" I am the one who soars towards my dreams, with childlike enthusiasm.  I am the one who holds the foundation for these dreams to become a reality.  I move towards the light as I follow the path of my life and my right livelihood to the unknown."

"I am the storyteller, the weaver of images and fantasy.  I clear the Open Meadow of your mind to allow the stories to emerge.  I encourage your Inner Child to play in that field of plenty.  I am your grandfather, telling you stories of the old country, making doll houses and murals and stirring the seeds of creativity in you, that will last throughout your life."


More to come....until next time... Ciao.

Citra Solv - Wowie Zowie

I have been thinking about playing around with creating collage paper with Citra-Solv for a while now, but since I have begun leading SoulCollage®  workshops, I have been cutting out background images for the groups obsessively as of late.  The other day I finally got together all the supplies and spent an afternoon, outside under a tree, playing with National Geographics and Citra Solv.

 Oh my goodness, did I have fun, there is a bit of a learning curve getting started, but talk about Easy Peazy...it really is a no brainer.  National Geographics....I used both older and newer and both worked.

 Rubber gloves, and newspapers outside  in the fresh air, and to prevent messes.

 Vibrantly colored images that have lots of contrast...

 Concentrated Citra Solv, a tin pan to pour it in and I used a rubber brush, but a sprayer or any brush will do.

 Dribble, brush, spray, drop or splatter  the citra solv    onto the page, move it around

 Smush the pages onto each other and leave them for a little while

 Pull up the paper as it dries, brush around a little more...or blend in areas with a brush

 and walla, absolutely stunning results....

 Some of these can stand on there own as works of art.

 Perfect for collage backgrounds, as well as SoulCollage® card backgrounds to say the least.

they are gorgeous, absolutely stunning

 So I decided to post them here, just because I am enamored with the results

 The smell is quite strong, but not unpleasant and lasts for days on the pages

 But the results are beyond belief.  Try it if you are intrigued.

I will show the  SoulCollage® card  that I used a citra solv  background in, the next time I post here.
What a blast, absolute joyful creative play, just what the doctor ordered!  Try it, I bet you'll like it as well.