Intuitive Painting Class Give-away!

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MARCH, 2016

Astronomy
Life
Society

“Often, the fear of not knowing what to do or the fear of doing something wrong stops us in our tracks and keeps us from starting.  If we let go of this fear, we can open ourselves up to a much larger world of expression, a world where anything is possible.  I believe that there are no mistakes in the creative process.  Everything that happens along the way- every dab of paint, every emotion that arises, every brave new choice- is an important ingredient in the final offering.  Working from this perspective leaves no room for fear to slip in… there is no wrong way.  There are no mistakes.  There is only a wide-open playground beckoning your artistic muse to come out and play”- Flora Bowley

On February 10th, I’m beginning artist Flora Bowley’s “Bloom True” online painting course.  You may recognize her art on Papaya products (especially if you’re from Philly and shop at El Quetzal).  I would love for you to join me in this course!  I’m giving away a voucher to take the class FOR FREEEEEE (worth $273USD).  All you have to do is comment on this post and share why you would like to take it, and how you think it could help you live your passion.  Those who respond will have their name (literally) placed in a hat, from which my boyfriend will pick the winner.

My Tree

It’s all online, and you can do the exercises on your own time, at your own pace.  Check out http://braveintuitiveyou.com/offerings-workshops/e-course/f-a-q/ for more information on the course itself.  I’ll be selecting the winner on Saturday, February 8th, sometime in the afternoon (so there’s still time to pick up painting supplies if you need ’em), so submit ASAP!

My first time intuitive painting was with Damini Celebre, who holds intuitive painting classes in the Philadelphia area.  This was during a time in my life filled with big, challenging changes and tons of uncertainty.  I was working at a very high-stress job where I had to maintain emotional stability for the sake of my clients, and wasn’t really allowing myself to think about my troubles, let alone feel what was going on internally.   Damini had us lay on the floor before painting, and she began to play a drum while leading us through a meditation to connect to our intuition.  She encouraged us to listen to intuition, not the mind, and pick colors based on impulse, not detailed planning. The first round of painting was channeling water, and the second was air.  I found myself making very conscious decisions, deciding that it had to be “tree-like” and working to “correct mistakes”.

I can’t remember exactly what Damini said to me, but something made me realize I was being way too disconnected from my instincts.  For the next element, fire, I left go more, let myself feel the colors I wanted to bring forth.  After painting for a while, she came up to me and asked, “Does it feel complete?”  In my mind, there was a resounding, “no”! I took a big paint brush, dunked it in black paint, and began to streak it on the canvas, blending some, but letting some drip down. I began to fling paint on.  I felt extremely satisfied by this.

I don’t know that I would have come to this realization through words.  Color and spontaneous allowed for a much more unconscious discovery; it brought forth things that my conscious, verbal mind was very good at encrypting.  We ended with a closing ceremony honoring ourselves and our innate wisdom.  I’m very excited to begin the intuitive painting process again, and I hope you’ll join me!

The final element, earth, was where I really connected.  As I was painting, my motions became very rhythmic, my brush flowing, blending waves of different color together.  Damini asked me what I was doing, and I told her, “I have to make it blend”.  She smiled, and asked me why they had to blend, and what part of my life that might reflect.  I then had a “HOLY SHIT!” realization moment- my life was so uncertain and chaotic, that I desperately wanted to smooth out anything that I could control-I wanted everything to be in sync, and harmonious.  I was trying to correct it: the colors, and my life. I then began flinging more paint of varying colors at the canvas, diving into the experience of chaos.  I ended, however, by painting a big, black line vertically on the paper.  Everything was nuts all around it, but this big, stable pillar was holding something up.  My mind? My sanity? The stripe was, and is, incredibly soothing to me.  I realized I needed more grounding in my life, and made an intention to make time to take better care of myself.