Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Soul's Process

This month, Kristi Zevenbergen made a presentation at the NWPCG meeting. We saw slides of her work as it has developed over time. She talked to us about how she incorporates her life and psychological processes into her jewelry making process. It's great to listen to someone who is so aware of how who she is, is expressed in what she does.

It sparked me to consider how I might facilitate this process for myself and others. I've used guided meditations for my students to access images of a deep self in my mask-making workshops. A good question can guide a productive writing/sharing session. They are all ways to access that visual and symbolic part of our brain where so much wisdom resides...if we can learn how to understand it.

I believe that the soul speaks a language that differs from the one I'm using to communicate to you. An image that appears in a dream may have line and color, but it can also have a sort of taste or aroma, and a woven emotional presence. It can have so much within it that understanding all it contains may take years. I've been inspired by Robert Bosnak, the Jungian analyst who wrote A Little Course in Dreams. In it, he talks about how you can begin to decode the language of the dream.

Our art can use the images of dreams, the images from the soul. Kristi's work shows her soul -- and she knows it. Here's a wish that the work you do today will show your soul.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you Pat - for your words and sharing your blog with me. My intention when I speak and teach is ALWAYS to encourage people to find the "self" that resides in each of us. It can be a comforting place to live. I'm excited that anything I said the other evening might seep into exterior crevices and begin (or continue) the journey toward self discovery, understanding and acceptance. When I first began teaching I was mistaken that I was only teaching people how to make physical objects. After a couple of years, I noticed how empowered women were when they learned they could make something that they had previously beleived they could not. It wasn't the object at all - but rather the confidence and process that was important. Thank you so much again for your words.

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