Lyrebird or Seahorse?

First up, thank you.

I express gratitude.
Gratitude that in spite of all that is going on in the world right now, I am in the lucky place of being able to sit at a computer in a cosy room in Sydney, Australia, the planet and share my creative musings with you.
Gratitude to YOU for engaging with the space of Art and Soul.

Thank. You. Here. Now.

Who knew?

The Watergrass Urn of Love and Holding
Sally Swain

Art and Soul playshops have been taking place in the Zoomosphere.

Who knew that a playshop on this platform could be

so friendly, so warm, intimate, heartful, authentic and comfortable.
And….dare I say it?

Brimming with

actual,

feel-it-in-the-chest-region

LOVE.

Please peruse the little paintings that I created during the Zooms, while participants were

arting during Soul Bricolage

or Nourish and Flourish,

or writing during Heartwrite.

Leaf Woman
Sally Swain

You might think that making art during a group means I’m paying less attention to the participants, cos I’m caught up with my own art. But no.

It’s the OPPOSITE.

Engaging in this type of small, light Response Art helps me be more present. I am tuning in even more deeply to the energy of the group, the essence of the client, the nature of the relationships between and amongst us. Art-making can help me Zoom in on an intuitive level just below the rational, trying-to-figure-it-out-linearly mind.
It’s all about Intention. If I am making art in the service of the clients, I will not disappear into my own Zone. If I do notice my attention starting to head towards my own art interior and away from Being With the clients, I quickly correct my path.

What are your thoughts on this? As a potential client? As an art therapist or creative facilitator? Do you make art while attending to others?

As Yet Unnamed
(what do you reckon a title could be?)
Sally Swain

So yeah. I share with you the joy, depth, beauty and connection of the Art and Soul Zoomospheric playshops to date, plus four little pictures they have sparked.

Lyrebird or Seahorse?

Or some other life form?

What do you see in the image below?

Lyrebird or Seahorse or…?
What do you see?
One Art and Soulie saw a lyrebird; another a seahorse. I love both those perceptions. They hadn’t occurred to me at all. I was just seeing a plant. Do you notice the word HEART is in amongst it all?

with love, art and soul
from Sally

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Lichen Love. (Like n Love?) The Mindful Kindful Texture Walk

How to bring yourself into the present, even for a microsecond? And feed your creativity at the same time?

One approach is to go for a texture walk. What’s that? If I happen to be walking anyway, I attempt to find a tiny space of light amidst the VeryClutteredBrain by practising specific mindfulness. It helps to focus on a something.

 

Paperbark texture

Paperbark
(Melaleuca)
I love the texture of this messy, soft, papery Australian tree

I might say to myself: 
From where I am (here) up to that park bench (over there), I’ll bring my attention to textures. Or shapes. Or light and shadow. Or colours.

It’s not unlike playing ‘ Continue reading

How to Access Your (Already Abundant) Creativity 5

A Flower Power Point Presentation

to be viewed one blossom at a time

Part Five:

It Takes Two to Tango

Tango is a passionate, red and black dance. Tango is dramatic, with flair and flourish. It involves two people subtly, finely attuning to each other’s every move.

Sally Swain art

The Sauce of Life
Sally Swain © original art

Creativity can be a

Continue reading

How to Access Your (Already Abundant) Creativity

Part three of

A Flower Power Point Presentation

to be viewed one blossom at a time

Paintbrush Flower Sally Swain original artwork

‘A Paintbrush was Sacrificed in the Making of this Picture’ (long title, little picture)
Sally Swain © original art

Flower Power Point Three

Play with the Materials at Hand

CG Jung said, The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.
Play is an essential part of creativity. You can explore, try out different perspectives, respond to what happens when it’s not going the way you planned…in painting or in life.

You had a fully-

 

formed picture of a waterfall in your head, but you have absolutely no idea how to represent it and your painting looks like a mushy blue stripe. This is where creative play kicks in. You could turn the picture into a whole host of mushy blue stripes, full of life and vigour, informed by essence of waterfall. You could rip the page into morsels and reassemble them in a rhythmic collage. There are lots of options.

‘Lila’ is a lovely Sanskrit word meaning ‘Divine Play’.
Check out a slice of Lila in POG

It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.

Let us play.

(so said a sign I saw years back in the wonderland Nimbin Museum, northern NSW, Australia)

Divine play

and thank you, Lemonia Cafe, for this particular PLAY reminder

 

How to Access Your (Already Abundant) Creativity

A Flower Power Point Presentation

to be viewed one blossom at a time

(adapted from the creativity guide I wrote for the 2015 Divine Feminine Conference)

Sacre Fleur

Sacre Fleur

Flower Power Point Number One

You are Already Creative

You might have heard this before. You might not feel creative. You might think your friend, your sister, your child is creative but you are not. The truth is, we all are creative. Who says

Continue reading