Love Letters to Creative Souls

Hello All You Beauty-Filled Beings!

I am now sending my "Love Letters to Creative Souls" out via Mail Chimp.

If you would like to be part of my mailing list, please just drop me a quick line at info@LisaKirk.ca and I will gladly add you! I promise not to give your address out!

Thank you for your interest!

Kind Regards,

Lisa

Reflections from the Palace of Pure Possibilities (P.O.P.P.) (aka my new office space) and how renos keep teaching me things…

Happy New Year to You All,

I hope you all had a replenishing Holiday and are ready to invite in 2016! I had a very full Holiday with many family visits and am just finding my way back to my studio as we speak. It was a much needed break after a very intensive 3 ½ months of work.

I write to you from my newly renovated office/den that sat for months unfinished as I prepared for my Christmas show at Blue Moon Winery. It is mostly finished with a bit of tweaking needed.

I have re-named it the Palace of Pure Possibilities (POPP) cuz it is where I create classes, communicate with most of you, and generally open, unfold and reflect about creative possibilities. And why not call it a Palace, even though it is the smallest room in the house!? Hubby says (tongue-in-cheek), “of course you would call it a palace; it is fit for a Queen!” He may be right - the Queen of Colour.

Interestingly enough, part of the reason the room sat here for so long was I could not decide on a colour for the walls. Yep, me, the Queen of Colour was stumped.

Some of you already know this, but strangely enough I settled on white!!!!

Anyone who has been to my house knows how out-of-character this may sound. And I have to admit, painting it on the walls had me not feeling the colour charge and got me second guessing myself.

But, no worries I told myself, I had my heart set on a second hand IKEA cherry coloured loveseat that would punch colour into that white room. And, I actually found a second hand one (or my friend, with the Eagle Eye, did). Perfect I thought, except it needed a fresh new cover. No problem, we were going to Vancouver over the Holidays. The Queen of Colour had it all planned out how it would look.

So off I trot to Ikea with my friend with the Eagle Eye, a list of things in hand. We planned to be there for a few hours. I start off all excited and find a few odd things as soon as we step foot in the place.

All goes well…for a while. However, part way through the IKEA maze, my eyes start to glaze over. I begin to wonder where we are…and where was that thing I saw an hour ago that maybe I do wish to purchase?

I am beginning to feel overwhelmed, disoriented, and not sure what I came for. It was so clear before…

Have you ever been to IKEA? If you have, you may know what I am talking about, and, if not, well I am not sure it is something you want to experience.

We forge onward, I am enamored with a light fixture my friend points out to me, but am unable to decide. I think to myself, I can circle back if I want it…

We continue on, looking for the sale section that they have moved near the tills. My friend spots a beautiful leather couch with an excellent discount and no seemingly apparent things wrong. She sits down on it. Takes some time to relax.

Not me, I keep searching…for what I am not sure. I find a cover for the loveseat in the discount bin. But it is not cherry red, it is grey. She thinks it is lovely and ¼ of the cost. I am not sure, but hang onto it. She arranges to purchase the couch. This takes awhile.

I go in search of the cherry red cover I am perseverating about. It is out of stock. Not there. This cannot be possible. I search some more. Nope. Nada. Some swear words may have been uttered. Maybe, most probably.

I go back and report to her. She simply suggests anther colour scheme for my office (not yet named the POPP). I screw up my face and am visibly irritated. She shrugs, just a possibility, I think she might have said. She sees my mind is clearly closed.

The Queen of Colour had a vision of what it was to look like and a grey cover was just not in it. However, her suggestion of grey and turquoise blue pillows puts a splinter in my brain. Just a sliver of another option that irritates the perfectly crafted vision… and what about the grey with cherry red accents…I am now overwhelmingly confused.

We finally get the couch delivery organized and wrapped up in numerous layers of plastic and I am still unable to sit down. We have not yet seen the top floor!

My friend with the Eagle Eye was hurt on a horse some months previous and understandably has had enough walking. We borrow a scooter for her (yes, IKEA provides those!!). You would think this would have had me cackling with her as she takes off at lightning speed through the store. Nope.

I am STUCK in my head. STUCK with what The Queen of Colour thinks is the best idea. STUCK and unable to see outside the box. Unable to open my mind to the possibility of Another Way. I feel time pressured as I have another commitment that evening.

And I am unable to reason with this STUCKEDNESS, except recognize how irritable, and unhappy I have become, like a petulant child not getting the thing they want. I am stuck in a corner with my very unhappy self.

We finally leave, me with my discount grey cover and some other things. We were there so long the sun is no longer out, it is pitch black out and we are both late for other engagements.

I still cannot see myself and what has happened.

I get back to the place Dan and I are staying at. I remember I have not eaten or drank for 7+ hours. It is only now I feel starving and oh-so-tired. I get some sustenance in, and begin to feel different. My breathing deepens. I rest and we go out.

And the next day it all starts to fall into place.

Another Lesson in Letting Go.

Another Lesson in NOT getting attached to the final outcome.

Don’t I teach this stuff, I think to myself?!

I cannot believe I did not see it. These are the words I am always telling my classes…

You can have a vision, but as you work, let go of that vision so you can be open to what new possibilities might show up.…

I was so attached to my idea of what I thought my new office would look like, I could not see the new possibilities.

I call my friend with the Eagle Eye who has fallen off the horse and apologize for my grumpy behavior. I share my insights with her. She totally gets it…and has some other kind insights. She still loves me.

Morals of the story~ what you learn in Pure Painting can be applied to real life too (see above Lisa-ism). And don’t forget to eat. And drink. And sit down once in a while. And most importantly BREATHE! (Yes, all those that have taken my classes, know that one off by heart!)

Yep, I am really happy in this new space where my desk faces out the window. I saw a heron flying by as I was writing to you all. It feels like a really good way to start the New Year and a re-newed way of being open to possibilities!

How about you? What new possibilities are you welcoming in this New Year?

I had wanted to send you out a Christmas email, but alas, with all that was happening it just did not happen.

I am learning not to beat myself up about what I didn’t get done and celebrate what did get done. Someone recently mentioned the shift from the “to-do list” to the “could-do list”. I really like that.

And, as you have read above, I am reminded that I have a choice in shifting how I talk about things (especially in my head) and how I use my language. This shift in languaging can change how you feel. Yes, this shift does not happen overnight as we would all like to wish, but is an on-going process of observation. (Isn’t everything a “process”…maybe I am just a bit biased since that is my line of work!)

Well, Creative Beings, if you got this far, I applaud and thank you for reading! May you keep on creating in whatever way feels good for you!

Kind Regards,

Lisa

P.S. I am waving my Magic Wand for you from the Palace of Pure Possibilities. And yes, please do make a wish!

P.S.S. I thought the office reno was over, but as I finish writing Dan has taken up residence in here drilling holes in walls and hammering. Almost there, the Queen Mutters….

"Between Two Worlds", (the painting to your left) aptly titled by the dear soul who is purchasing this. Interestingly enough, I began this piece at my art retreat and was the first piece I finished when I returned home. it is exactly how I am feeling as I sit writing this to you...

This past August, I had a transformative experience. I took a week long art retreat with Jeanne Bessette at Pearson College, 45 min outside of Victoria on Vancouver Island. The retreat began the day after my 57th birthday, and it was the best birthday present to myself, ever.

Because I am often asking those in my classes to challenge themselves beyond their comfort zones, (and this can sometimes look like just signing up to come to a new art class), I chose to walk my talk…and do just that.

Suffice to say, because I felt so terrified to do this, I knew I was on the right track. Or as the Wise Fabeku Fatunmise has so recently taught me, that was just my smallness speaking by telling me I was afraid. There were days, weeks actually, before I finally committed, that it took everything to not listen to the smallness trying to talk me out of it. But I am tired of fear and smallness running the show.

The retreat did not disappoint. And neither did my Bigness. Once there, I jumped in with everything I had, and it was lovely for me to experience what I hope I offer to my own participants…holding space for the unfolding of the creative process.

For a week, I felt held in a creative space from morning to night, where I could expand myself with other souls on the same path, and feel safe. I remembered what I discovered when I was 29yrs old and first unfolded the creative seed that had been buried in my soul for so long. That seed was waiting patiently to remind me I had come home to myself.

The week spent at the retreat, I wept many tears as I painted. Tears of joy rediscovering my true love and tears of sadness that I had still been holding back and not fully giving myself over to this love.

It has taken me a month to begin to integrate what happened and I am sure there is more yet to process. Many at the art retreat asked me about my tears, seeing me painting, dancing and weeping all at the same time, and then being held in Jeanne’s arms as I let it all wash over me.

Yes, I have been creating and painting all these years, but at this retreat there was a real affirmation, perhaps on a deeper level, another layer of trusting that said to me, “Yes, yes, this is what you are meant to do with your life… what have you been waiting for?”

The paintings that I created there were a series of heads that felt like my tribe, my advisors, that were showing themselves, whispering to me, sometimes shouting at me with their intensity and their presence. They certainly got my attention, and that of some other lovely souls who chose to take them home.

Jeanne and I chuckling (or was it snorting?!) with "WTF My Hut", my first head I created at the retreat!!!

I am very grateful to Jeanne for holding space for me to do this work. I am also thankful to the other beautiful artists that attended and opened their hearts and to Cheryl Bakke Martin, who organized bringing Jeanne to Vancouver Island from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

Here are the "Painted Heart Sisters" all donning our moustaches (minus P.D. who was having a massage when this was taken!). Yes, we had a lot of laughs!!!

May you find the joy of coming home to yourself!

Big Hugs,

Lisa

Happy Summer!!

Fairy Dresses on Canvas (with easels), each one 4" x 4", $40-

I hope you are enjoying your Summer, despite waking to the orange sun and the fog of smoke that is hovering above us. My heart goes out to all of those displaced people and wildlife, as well as the wonderful Beings who place their lives at risk fighting these fires.

Despite all this, Summer always feels like the season of hope, bounty and abundance.

As I map out our Summer ahead I am filled with gratitude as to all the opportunities that are flooding my way. I am not painting at Music Fest this year, which I will miss.

However, what I am coming to understand is that letting go of one thing, always opens up another.

I have just hung a rather unexpected art show at Sweet Surprise Gluten Free Bakery and Café, in Courtenay, which makes the most yummy sweets as well as savory things….and you would never know they are gluten free!!

At the bakery you will be greeted with the Golden Clothesline Series (yes, there are some new dresses!), Happy House series and some Star Drawings. I am slowly loading them on my website and I hope to have it done soon. In the meantime, I hope you will pop by the bakery for a look-see. The show will run until the end of August.

Dress of Transformation

Mixed Media Collage on Wood Panel, 8" x 8", $80-

It seems this year has been one of letting go of the old skins. I am reminded of a snake skin I found a little while ago in our garden….ah the shedding! Perhaps letting go is just part of our life process, not just a one stop thing. I am beginning to think that I need to shift my perspective on it and feel grateful for its arrival in my life. The thing is, often it is uncomfortable being in that part of the process, so I push it away, resist it. I wonder what would happen if I just accepted its presence…?

Trust Lives Here

Acrylic on Wood Panel, 8" x 8", $75-

Let me share with you a little of my letting go process both in my Life and in my Art, because I believe our art process echoes our life process. What we learn through the creative process can be applied to our life, and vise versa. So I hope you will stay with me while I give you a wee glimpse into my life these last months.

As I prepared for the art show, the usual companions of fear, resistance and judgment sat at my knee murmuring away to me. Some days it took all I had to drag myself to get things done. I have come to see that despite these voices, I need to “keep doing the work”. Steven Pressfield’s book, “Do the Work” comes to mind.

I need to let go of allowing myself to be dragged down into their small box thinking; see those voices for what they are, acknowledge them, and then, most importantly, shift my focus, putting one foot ahead of the other.

Patience Lives Here

Acrylic on Wood Panel, 8" x 8", $80-

For me, that involves not getting overwhelmed with the big picture, instead just seeing what needs to be done today, or this moment. As many of you have heard me say in art class, just focus on the blob of paint at the end of your brush….or the thing that needs to be done at this moment.

So this Spring, a different kind of letting go began when we needed a new bed and chose to pull up our flooring not just in the bedroom but in the dining room, living room and hallway!!

It was literally and metaphorically speaking, layers of letting go. In a couple of rooms, four layers were removed. To our delight, we discovered the original fir floor.

Through that process, we decided to part with a family piano. I did not realize how emotional that would actually be until the day came for it to leave. The connection to that piano threads back to my Granny. Granny kindly sent it across the country (from Montreal to Vancouver) to my Mom, who was single at that time. I was just a girl. I took lessons on it, and eventually Mom sent the piano to us here in Courtenay and my daughter took lessons too.

However, as I let these sad feeling move through, and spent some time with them, there was great love and appreciation for how the piano has served my family all these years.

The Power of Love Shared

Pen and ink on paper, 11" x 14" framed, $125-

Now, the piano has gone to live with the kindest of souls, who appreciate it with all their hearts and will play it. They have told me they will be the “stewards of this beautiful treasured piece of our past, present and future!”

The gratitude I feel helps me to move beyond to the opportunity this offers to see things with openness of heart instead of a closed fist.

Since we have been letting go of many things, so many things have been unexpectedly gifted to us—the lawn guy donated his services because Dan is a teacher, the Mary sculpture whose head was broken off and glued back on (I love the metaphor of this so much!), our flooring guy who created inlaid flowers in our front hallway, raspberry canes and flowers gifted to us by kind hearted gardeners, a wee nest that came to visit us, an accountant that rescued us at the last moment, a fellow who stepped up and paid for my small purchase at the re-store…these are just a few of the many gifts that came our way in these past months.

Letting go has been one of my life lessons and not an easy one at that. I am coming to trust that when I surrender and release with gratitude, something beautiful happens, often unexpected. It opens me up to possibilities.

And if I pay attention, there is often synchronicity involved in all of it. The older I get, the more I understand how everything is connected; how we are all connected.

I believe what shows up in our outer world often connects to what shows up in the art process.

In the creative process, we need to learn to let go of the outcome, to trust that we will be taken where we need to go. Sometimes we become attached to what it’s going to look like, or has to look like, and that catches us up, keeps us trapped in an old way of being, of creating.

Letting go, opening to the mystery of what might unfold, what might show up, allows Universal flow to happen with ease. It invites a new layer to be uncovered, discovered, and re-covered.

Another opportunity and chance to let go personally and creatively has opened up to me as well this year. I have chosen to take a week long art retreat in Victoria this summer and am very nervous. It is completely outside of my comfort zone. Since I am continually asking those in my classes to step outside their comfort zone, I thought it was time I did a little of it myself. Letting go of certainty, of what I think I know, being open to something new is scary. However, I know it is here I will grow.

She Spread Her Wings and Flew

Pen and Ink on Paper, 11" x 14", framed, $125-

I always am honoured by the participants who come every week, open and ready to let go, to shift, to transform their old beliefs into another way of seeing. It is all of you who give me courage to take this retreat and I will think of you every day I am there, knowing if you all are willing to risk it then so am I! So thank you for that push!!

Looking forward to seeing you in the Summer! Keep in touch…

And thank you for reading and supporting the work I do. It is because of all of you, I keep on creating…in all the many ways my heart guides me.

I encourage you to do the same...Keep on Creating in whatever way makes your heart sing!

May your day be filled with the sweet feeling
of releasing your hold on the old
and opening up a path of arrival
of something new and unexpected.

Kind Regards,

Lisa

Dear Creative Tribe,

Firstly, I want to thank all of you for faithfully following my emails, classes, and art shows. I really appreciate all of you out there. Some of you I see regularly, and others, just a few times a year, and others drop me a note here and there....and others I have never met.

I know I am a teacher/facilitator/ artist but I hope you all know how much I learn from you. Thank you for being there, guiding and teaching me in many different ways.

What has come up for me in the last year, in teaching, creating, and in publishing the book, The Light Within, with my dear friend and illustrator Sandra Lamb, is that when we ask ourselves the question “What would Love do?” everything shifts. (A wise person taught me this question last year, and I continue to return to it again and again.)

When we ask, “What would Love do?” there is a softening that happens, clarity can come, and, at other times, we realise a fierceness is needed. It seems that asking this question awakens compassion for ourselves and others. It shows us the way, when before the way appeared blocked or uncertain.

For those of you who are unaware, we launched the soft cover copy of our book, The Light Within, in December at my art show at Blue Moon Winery. Thank you to so many who showed up and purchased the book...and also to those who bought art. It was such a memorable day!

Also, many of you who were unable to make the show, have contacted us to purchase the book-thank you!! You can also find us on Facebook-“The Light Within-book”. If you do not live in the Comox Valley, you can order the book on-line now at www.SmallCandlePublishing.com .

Writing and publishing the book, has been a real lesson in trusting the process, and in just accepting and loving what is at the time. It was truly a labor of love as it took so many years ( I say 10yrs, Sandi says 7yrs!) to fully come to fruition. There were many stops and starts on its journey. Sandi and I each had things we needed to confront, look at and choose how we wanted to move forward. When I look back, each time, I believe we chose Love as a way to move forward, each accepting where we were at and trusting the time would be right to take the next step. This took alot of courage on both our parts as this is not a “normal” book that fits into a certain genre. And, funny thing, that is the message that comes through. “Love is always within you. And you can choose to open or close the door to your heart.”

Often when we paint or create, our biggest judges come to roost and natter away at us. This is where Loving ourselves more, wherever we are at in our Creative Process, can shift things. Even if we feel blocked, or frustrated, or unhappy with our results, loving ourselves at whatever place we may be at, softens everything. It can bring non-judgment in, acceptance, and some space to work through whatever it is that feels blocked. When we consider moving forward from a place of Love, it re-arranges things. This re-minds us of what we are here to do, which ultimately is to Love ourselves, be ourselves.

It is from this place of self-love that we can more deeply and authentically Love others. It is so much easier to Love others first-our children, parents, friends and others, putting them first on our list (at least it has been in my case!). However, if we do not Love ourselves, ultimately we burn out, we grow restless, tired, irritable, unhappy, disinterested in life. We have lost touch with our deeper selves and what we truly desire in our lives.

For me, to be creative is one of the most important ways I can give the gift of Love to myself. It fills my heart in some way and from there I can Love More.

I wonder, dear Reader, what things you can do in your life to Love yourself More? Consider bringing some of those things into your daily practice and see how it shifts things for you.

Loving ourselves more means extending that into every avenue of our daily lives.

I wonder what it would look like for you to extend more love towards yourself in the stuck places?

How might that shift things?

It only makes sense to me to continue this exploration of Loving More in the painting classes. For those of you who might be new to Pure Process, know that wherever you at in your creativity, it is welcomed into the group. It is always lovely to have new energy brought in. And for those who have painted with me recently, you will be familiar with this as we have touched a little bit on this before. In this session, I would like to dive deeper with you all in this, taking the challenge to see just how Loving ourselves can support this Life Journey we are on.

May your 2015 be filled with Love and Light. I hope our paths will cross soon.

Kind Regards,

Lisa

Hello Creative Ones!

Happy Fall. It has been an incredibly rich and varied Summer filled with the plethora of colours and joy of art and creativity, the love and graciousness of family and friends, and the abundant beauty and grounding of nature.

I am wondering what treasures your Summer has been filled with?

With art, I found myself working most of June and July towards my Garden art show in August which was a definite highlight of my Summer. The day was one filled with joy, love, and a huge amount of gratitude to all of you who ventured here to visit. Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing your lovely souls here and filling the day with such beauty!

Lovely connections with old and new friends were made strolling our wild garden and many pieces of art found loving homes to travel to. Many of you shared with me how the show had touched you and that meant so much to me. One lovely woman made my day by sending me this~

"I was blown away by your show, as was my friend. It is true that there was a treasure around every corner. I was hesitant to go to a show when I had to work in the afternoon, but no regrets here. For some reason we missed a spot which we came across on our way out, and there was my favorite - Releasing the Hold of the Old. I went back to the table to get a card and found one with that painting printed on it. Thank you for the beauty and the encouraging messages in your work. They are truly inspiring." Kathy D.

On the actual day of the show itself, I learned many valuable lessons. It taught me about keeping connected to Unwavering Faith despite fear, despite second guessing myself, and, not knowing how things may turn out. This involved visualization, trust, letting go, and being open to the synchronicity and beauty life has to offer. When we can root ourselves in our heart place, step into the Bigness of who we are and move from our passion, the Universe responds with abundance.

Through the process of preparing for my show I learned the importance of Vision and continual Art Practice. As much as I could, I worked a bit every day and in doing so opened the creative door and what I believe to be a creative brain pattern that I began to crave. When I could not fit in some kind of Creative Practice, I did not feel right.

This was an interesting shift for me, because often, with teaching, I have not worked on this type of schedule. Instead, I have worked in longer stints, maybe on the weekends for longer hours at a time or a day during the week and I have always felt that was the way I worked best. Now I am questioning that.

I do believe there are many different ways to be Creative and sometimes we just need to be creative about that and do what we can, when we can. I never like to say there is one way to do it. We are all different and our Creative processes can be too. Perhaps because of the type of art I have been creating, which needs to be done in stages, this newer way led me to this.

What I do know is this~ something felt right inside.

And it is simple as this~ I was happier creating every day.

So now after that missive of how I was creating art every day--I will be honest.

Since my show, I have not carried on with the practice. In fact, I have not had "time" to do much at all (and yes, I know what some of you are saying about that!), other than the odd drawing.

This is what I have observed~ I am just not as happy. Something feels like it is missing and yet it is hard to put my finger on.

This is what I am learning~ the importance of a Creative Practice.

The last few nights I hauled out my journal and began to draw again. I really cannot tell you why it is that making something with my hands feeds me but it does. Recently, some close friends shared that knitting, gardening, sewing, cooking and putting up food for the winter "feeds" something inside of them.

I wonder, dear Reader, what feeds your Creative Soul and what Creative Practice(s) can you bring into your life?

I am loving the warmth of these Fall days. There is something so special about being able to walk out my back door, pick one of the almost last peaches on our tree (what a harvest we had this year!), saunter to the back for an apple and along the way, find the odd blackberry to sweeten my tongue. I walk back to our new garden boxes to watch our wee sprouts of radishes, kale, lettuce, carrots and spinach grow incrementally each day in anticipation of a Fall harvest. Then, for supper, I pick a ripe, juicy tomato or two, nibble on the last of the green beans, or harvest some kale.

This is what I am discovering ~simple things bring me such joy.

I am a sensory or tactile person. These tastes, the colours of Nature, the ever so slight scent of Fall in the air, the sensation of the sun on my back and the feel of the dewy grass beneath my feet ground me and bring me a sense of everything is alright in the world.

When I begin to find myself overwhelmed, there are a few places I head to--the garden, my studio and/or my journal. In these places I find I can breathe a little easier, and I know all will be well.

Where do you go, to ground yourself and re-connect with your Center?

May this Fall bring you back to your Creative Center if you have gone astray. Find the Practices that bring you there, that ground you, that bring you joy or a sense that all will be well.

I hope to see you there as that is where I am traveling too, Dear Reader.

I believe we are all here to discover our Creative Center and the abundance that is waiting for us, if only we trust our whispering hearts.

Thank you for reading and sharing this Creative Journey.

I apologize as this has taken me awhile to post but here it is-Part 2 of the article for Life As A Human (which, BTW, is a very cool human interest on-line magazine).

Part 2 tells my story of how I discovered art can guide you on such a deep level. These articles read better if you start with part 1 and then read part 2.

Here is the link: How I Found the Way of the Brush: Part 2- Drawing Forth What is Within.

I was asked to write an article for an on-line magazine, LIFE AS HUMAN. When I sat down to write it, I was not sure what I was going to say. Then, the story of how I came to art unfolded onto the page. It is a kind of homage to the artists that guided me on my path and how I came to believe that art is healing on so many levels. Here is the link: How I Found "The Way of the Brush": Part 1~Drawing Forth What is Within. Part 2 will be published in mid-July.

Hello Art Lovers,

I thought I would send you a few of my new Art pieces that have been flowing off the paintbrush lately.

I seem to be influenced and guided by all the planetary changes that have been going on! These paintings are certainly connected to my past series, "In the Realm of Possibility" and the "Across the Universe" paintings. Lots of spheres and circles showing up.

I am working hard at getting out to my studio regularly and enjoying The Process. I have been returning to my love of acrylic paint and mark making (not that I ever left it as it always found its way into the collage!). I will be wandering back to my collaging soon but for now, immersing myself in the texture and colour of paint has been a joy.

I find myself visiting some of the elements of art--Shape, Colour and Line. As you all know I am a Process Painter, allowing things to "show" up and responding to those things as they arrive. So it was a surprise as I wrote this little Love Letter to you, to discover the thread of these elements in my work, and my love for them. They have appeared as if by Magic....and there have been many moments of Magic showing up lately. How has magic been showing up in your life?

I have been asking myself lately what I love to delve into most when I am creating...and the answer has been clear---Colour and Line. And yet Shape has shown up loud and clear....

This return to the Shape of the sphere or circle (and the occasional egg shape) is intriguing. I have come to believe that we all have our own symbology we use in our art. Often people in my classes will return to the same shapes or images they have painted before...it is like their own secret language or signature. I just love watching that unfold with people.

I have certainly seen this with my own work over the years. For me, the shape of the circle feels very big ( Universe or planetary) and yet small at the same time (cellular). It makes me feel the connectedness with each other across our own Universes. At times, we can feel so alone, and yet we are always connected....of course I could go into physics and the mystery of the Universe but I will leave that one for you to unfold! The egg shape feels full of potential, birth, mystery....

I wonder what your personal symbols are? What symbols are significant for you and keep showing up right now in your life? Check out your doodles...you might notice repeating shapes, patterns, lines or images. I wonder what message they would have for you of they could talk?

I guess you could say I have a love affair with Colour; it informs me each and every day. My house is filled with it and I find it healing to be surrounded by it. Depending on how I am feeling, I am drawn to different colours. One particularly difficult year, I found myself painting my living room a creamy white. I just need the peace of that white. One Summer my dining room was painted magenta. I still love sitting in that room. How are you influenced by Colour?

If you were a Colour right now, what Colour do you feel like? (Those in my classes know all about THIS question!)

As for Line...well that is more of a searching thing for me. Some of you may not know but one of my original loves was drawing and mark making. I often find that I will begin with making marks onto the paper or canvas and then see what unfolds from that. Some of the lines get covered in paint, some of them uncovered through scraping back with the end of my brush and some of them are added later. How does Line weave its way though your art or your life?

So if you were a Line right now, what kind of Line would you feel like? A squiggly line, zigzag, spiral, horizontal.....I think I feel like a spiral right now.

Check out some of these pieces under "New Work" in my Gallery here. You will also find a new Portrait Series (12 so far) on paper that I have had alot of fun creating....each of them has a personality of their own!!

I hope you enjoy this feast for your eyes....

If you are Facebook, come and find me and Friend me! Would love to see you there and I often post my art and class updates, and artsy stuff!!
https://www.facebook.com/lisa.kirk.5623

If you are interested in purchasing any art and/or visiting my art studio, please feel free to contact me. I always love to see and hear from you!

Thank you to everyone for supporting the arts. And thanks for following me along in this Creative Journey!

Kind Regards,

Lisa

Hello Creative Ones (yes, that means YOU!),

Below you will find my Spring Blog post. I really don’t like that word "BLOG". It is so bla... and boring.

Since I am writing this and I can be Queen of this "blog", I will from now on call this my "Love Letter to Creative Souls".

Yes, this is my Love Letter to You from Imagine-Land. Yep, it is kind of long, but since I am only writing them about four times a year, they can be a bit longer.....here it goes...

This Spring has been intense for many of us, but for me it has been in a good way. I feel like things are shifting deep inside my being, incrementally things seem to be changing. I have started to clean out my house and get rid of things I have held onto for a long time. I am making choices in my art, based on what feels right for me and creating from a place of connectedness. I am working on getting my work out into the world, and wanting it to find wings to reach those who truly love it and find joy in it. (Yes, feel free to contact me for a studio visit and/or visit my website to view art...but it is always SO much better to see the actual piece.) And if you want a good read about planetary influences go here:The Sky is Not Falling Even Though it Feels That Way

I am noticing what brings me joy and leaning into those places. I am being more aware and observing my choice of language and how by shifting just a few words, it shifts how I feel about things.

Yep, it feels like stepping up to the plate, my plate, and owning my life. Embracing my life, and living it the way I choose. For many years, I spent life living it for everyone else. I am not blaming anyone, I am observing, and that was a choice I made.....a choice made with little awareness.

Now, I want to be aware, I want to be awake to my life....to all it brings. It is in this awareness that I can then make more conscious choices. Sometimes those choices are bang on and sometimes not so much. Then I can choose again and see if I hit the mark or not. Sometimes it takes practice, patience and noticing how I feel about those choices. And this can be applied to the art making practice as well. Everything I learn in life can be applied to my painting...and visa versa. Perhaps that is what I love about the Creative Process so much.

If there is one thing we have in life, it is CHOICE. There is something liberating in that. Now some of you might say, well, when I was a child I did not choose to have such-and-such happen. And I get that, really I do. There are many, many things I did not choose to have happen either.

However, now I can choose how I want to respond to those things. Whether I want to keep carrying them (see: Rut or River Stories below:Winter 2014) or whether I am choosing to move forward and learn (yep, there is always learning=Life Lessons), to step up to the plate, to own my Authentic Swing (Re:Steven Pressfield`s book, The Authentic Swing); to put everything I have behind it and aim for the seats....or better yet the stars. I love the stars; they glitter, they shine and twinkle and smile down on me. Even if it is cloudy, I know they are there; a beacon of Light in the darkness. Yeah, I am gonna aim for the stars. Cuz I know my angels and guides are up there cheering me on, celebrating that I am stepping up to the plate.

We were born to be Bold, folks. How do I know this deep in my bones? Well, every week I watch people come to my studio and paint. They dig deep into their stories and their souls and pull up colours and shapes and images that speak volumes. Each week, every person that comes through my door, who is willing to enter that magical painting process with all their heart, is given a gift.

Imagine a gift given to you every week through your paintbrush? And, all you gotta do is show up, open your heart and trust your brush (yep, I will guide you through this part until it comes easy). I watch this gift being born each week, and it asks the painter to embrace the Boldness of their lives, the beauty of the pain and the joy; the journey of Life. It asks each of us to Step Up, Be Bold, and to Love and Celebrate ourselves. I watch as these people who come through my studio door, gather momentum, courage and the strength to make changes in their lives. Every week I am in gratitude for this work I have been blessed with and those of you who enter this space.

Watching all of you has taught me something. How can I ask you all to step up and not do it myself? So, I am going to stretch myself too. I am choosing to step into my Boldness. Why not? Yep, it scares the bejesus out of me some days but what have I got to lose?

So you ask, what does that look like, Lisa? Well, I would say it is different for each of us, depending on your zone of comfort. I am reading “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks and he talks about moving into your “Zone of Genius”. He talks about reaching a point where we hit our “Upper Limit Problem” and this keeps us from stepping into our “Zone of Genius”. Have you ever reached a point in your life where something amazing is about to happen and then...oops something gets in the way--illness, accident, a more pressing matter? Oh yeah, and did I mention Fear....the thing that creeps up on us and takes us down? Well, folks, this book is excellent. I ordered it from the library first and have since bought the book.

So back to that thing that creeps up....I have fear too, lots of it. We all have it. We may hide it well, but it is there. And guess what? We can use it as a guide. What you say, “a guide?” Yep, it can be used (in the right situation, of course) to ENERGIZE you. Fear and anxiety are a sliver away from Excitement. If any of you like to ride the roller coaster (not me), you will know what I mean. And those who like roller coasters get very excited waiting in line to get on. Imagine yourself in line with your Fear/Excitement. Your heart is racing a bit, your palms are sweaty, some of us may be thinking we want to bail, but we are stuck in line now. We have committed. So we have to step up, step on, step into our Boldness and just do it.

The key is, are you letting fear drive you in the wrong direction—away from your Boldness? Think of shifting gears into Excitement about what you are doing. IMAGINE for a moment taking one of the fears that is preventing you from doing something amazing (and maybe scary) in your life and shifting it into something that feels Exciting? Just wander around in that imagine-land for awhile. Listen to your languaging and try this on for size (thank you Jo Pillmore--she is a life coach and language shifting guru (ie mindset coach)): “I am afraid to.... “ and shift it to “I am excited to....”, see how that feels different? Feel the energy shift? That is where I am aiming for. You want to come with me on this?

If you do, you know where to find me. Classes fill fast and are small. Any level of experience is welcomed....all you need is the willingness to dig deep, trust the process, and are open to sharing within the group. Believe me it is a powerful process. Are you willing to step on that roller coaster? You will not be alone, we will cheer you on and support you through whatever Bold choices you make, whether it is just signing up for the class, actually riding a roller coaster, climbing Mt Everest, or traversing the many paths of life. Hope to see you soon in Imagine-Land.

Kind Regards,

Lisa,

Goddess of the Boldness of Colour, Imagine-Land