The Art of Letting Go through Art
When I was invited by Shiloh Sophia to be a part of Color of Woman Teacher’s Training for 2017 she told (warned) me that I would be embarking upon a Vision Quest. My conscious mind, the one who “thinks through things” and has knowledge heard her loud and clear, but there is no knowing until there is knowing, living, practicing. She told me it was an initiation into the depths and I would come out the other side able to teach and hold other women while they explore their edges without letting them go over them.
As I sit in my studio reflecting on the enormity of this process, looking at the 5 very large paintings that are adorning my studio, all of which helped me to bring my stories to light, release them, and re-write them all under the guidance of the Muse. All of them have a different message and tell different bits of my own story, and the stories that are yet to come for myself and my vision to assist others. I knew the work of Intentional Creativity would be deep internal work, and I am no stranger to deep internal work, I have been working through the layers of my soul and my consciousness for years. I embarked on this in January; no process has transformed me in this amount of time like the act of Intentional Creativity, the act of putting the stories on a canvas and listening to what they had to say, and also not worrying about what the Inner Critic had to say about my art and whether it was perfect or not. Because it is perfect for me, as your art will be perfect for you.
The biggest gift of this process is truly learning the art of releasing and letting go. I talk about doing this work with my clients and my students. When I work on a canvas, the first few layers are the old story, the wounds, the things that never came to pass and there they are right there on the canvas for me to acknowledge without judgment, thank those experiences for the wisdom they provided, and release the rest. Truly release it; not just say in my head that I release it, but cover it up, paint over it no matter how beautiful I think the original “art” was, say goodbye to it, and most importantly put it on the canvas so it no longer takes up space in my head. Some of those moments of letting go and covering it up were not easy, I was clinging to the beautiful mess, even though I knew something even more beautiful would emerge.
When we go through this process, we open up to receiving new information because the old is no longer reigning over our decisions. This is what I hope for you, and why I am training in this work. I believe every woman deserves to create her own beautiful new creation, and to have a meaningful process and way to release what is no longer useful in creating her Divine life. I want to be the one to hold that space and teach that going to the edges does not have to be scary and that it is a beautiful process.