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.

Being creative

I grew up in an artist's house. My mom was always making things...for the PTA fair, the church bazaar, the Girl Scout Troup, and later for her art classes. So I was surrounded by stuff to make stuff, and I watched stuff being made. Naturally I had to get into the act. When I was 11, I made a shield and played at being a knight. In high school, I did lots of stagecraft for the many plays we put on. I think I must have painted about three miles of scenery flats! All through collage, it was the art classes that helped me to survive all the academic work.

So I had the good fortune early on, to understand that imagination + stuff + technique = manifestation. I call myself a poly-crafter because I've gone through so many types of media. Embroidery, sewing, wood working, wire bending, ceramics, graphics, and on and on.

There are some things in life that we simply can not NOT do, and for me, being creative is one of those things. I bring it to everything. When I was in the mortgage business, I used it to help restructure our department. As an alumni committee chair, I used it to create a long range planning process. As a therapist, I create workshops and exercises for my clients. And as an artist I'm currently using it to make multi-media jewelry.

Now dear readers, I'm using it in this blog. How do you use it?