Courage Kindled

On To New Ground

Sometimes my voice may be as a toddler, standing up, falling back on its behind, wobbly, but always pressing on, striving to walk and giggling with joy when it does.

My voice may become rebellious and say NO! Not that. Yes! This! My voice will never give up. It comes to me from the deep well, the river, the source. It is more powerful than I can imagine.

New Rhythm

Sometimes my voice is a tree, standing tall, firmly rooted, limbs reaching for the light. Assuredly "being" without question, knowing it is Tree.

Sometimes my voice may be as a venerable old one, richly lined and weathered, with a knowing wisdom to share. I sit at her feet and listen.

Gray Promises

Sometimes, more often than I would like, my voice may seem silent, as a bear in winter hibernation. I may cast about in the snow, looking and searching, but I only have to wait for the thaw which will come as surely as the spring.

Sometimes my voice will want to run for the joy of running and feeling alive. I run with it, and see where I go.

Courage Kindled

In week five of the Seeking Your Authentic Voice group and I am feeling my energy for creating expand and become more sure. A little braver...and I'm ready to gesso the large panels that wait in the studio. What an adventure it will be!

Continents Forming

These words came to me one early morning this past week. I honored the gift by writing them down, and now I am sharing them with you. After all if my voice gives me words, I need to accept the gift!

Each of these pieces is a small collage on paper, which have come together in the past couple of weeks. Several more are in the works. Fun.



How is your creating going?

Artful Conversations

Breeze At Dawn
Leslie Avon Miller

The artist fills space with an attitude. The attitude never comes from himself alone.
~William de Kooning

One of the things I enjoy about the blogging community is all the conversation that goes on in the comments sections. The topics of Authentic Voice and Language of Intuition have been especially interesting. Here is a sample of the conversation with examples of the artist's work.

Book of Reliquaries

Judy Wikenfeld

If I don't use my authentic voice then nothing happens, no art, no inspiration - blank canvas as it were. ~Judy

Strabo
Robert Kingston

I always noticed an awkward, clumsy mark or move that kept showing up in my work and I felt that if I could just get rid of that my work would be so much better. No matter what I tried though that clunky thing kept popping up again and again! It took me years until it finally dawned on me that that odd goofy thing was actually me! Everything else was just me putting on other people's clothes. Now I try to embrace who and what I am although Its still so easy to forget and to fall into emulating the flavor of the month. ~Robert

Bare Bones
Jo Reimer

One can riff off another's voice, sort of like jazz musicians do. ~Jo

I'll lean on you and you lean on me and we'll be okay.
~Dave Mathews Band

Ralph Bohnenkamp

I am always looking for the authentic voice. ~Ralph

When you do things from your soul,
you feel a river moving in you, a joy. ~Rumi

Beyond Form
Bridgette Guerzon Mills

I experienced that weeping for joy the last time I was in my studio and was working on the last painting I created for 2010. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it is a spiritual moment, I think. It's such an amazing and uplifting feeling. I wish I could carry it with me all the time...well, I try. ~Bridgette

Inner City Found Object Assemblage
Don Pezzano

Without our true voice we are just bumping into things with a paintbrush in our hand. ~Don

Seedpod of the Leopard Tree
Sophie Munns

I will never cease to be amazed at how one can view the work of another and almost feel you want to be there doing that....and yet it can be a long way from what lives in oneself to do. I've found it quite mysterious at times to feel I'm drawn to a certain fields of work quite powerfully and consistently yet that is not what I'm about at the end of the day....I have to stay true to what issues forth from myself even if it doesn't always make sense!
Being authentic no matter what is the stronger pull. ~Sophie

Mansuetude

So often voices sound homogenized, and I can't tell who is speaking and from where--and then when you find authentic sound your heart hears it, knows it! ~Mansuetude

The landscape listens and we hear it call our own name.
~Emily Dickinson