Quiet Girl Gallery

Farewell, Quiet Girl

2010-08-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

Quiet Girl Gallery began as the blog for my written and artistic musings. Today I say goodbye to Quiet Girl, as I have merged my two blogs (Quiet Girl and The Healing Nest) and moved them to WordPress Land. You can find my new blog here: http://healingnest.wordpress.com/

I'm still working out some of the kinks in WordPress, but this is my new home for bloggerhood. I will be posting art pieces, writing and art prompts, personal essays, wellness and healing articles, and more!

Quiet Girl is still part of me, though she is much more empowered than she used to be. She is speaking her mind and expressing herself more than ever -- more than the quiet child she used to be. I feel it's time that she reveal her strength. Strength can come in the form of silence or quietude, and it has taken me years and years to realize this. Words are important, silence is important. It's nice to have a balance.

The art piece above is a panel from a large mixed media piece I created in college called This is the Apartment Where the Quiet Girl Lives. Quiet Girl, the part of me who was timidly quiet growing up, will always be a part of me, and there will always be a part of me who champions those Quiet Girls out there, telling them, "It's okay to wait before you speak! It's okay to be quiet! It's okay to be more contemplative than outgoing!" And I also say to that Quiet Girl inside of me, "Your voice matters! Speak if you want to! You are strong!" Both messages can exist at the same time and I embrace them both. A little yin, a little yang.

Thank you all for your visits and comments to this blog and I would love it if you moved along with me to The Healing Nest on WordPress.

Much love,
Courtney

To Stay or Not to Stay

2010-06-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

I need your advice. I'm thinking of retiring this blog and just keeping one blog for all my musings. Here are my considerations:

FIRST.
Currently, I have two blogs (this one and my Healing Nest blog), plus a website and a presence on Facebook. All of my blogs feed into Facebook.

SECOND.
My Quiet Girl Gallery blog and Healing Nest blog are starting to feel more and more the same to me. Bodywork + art + writing + healing + self-expression + personal growth.

THIRD.
It's a bit of a job to keep up two blogs, although I love my initial intentions for each. The Healing Nest was to be an extension of my Rising Bird Healing Arts business. Quiet Girl Gallery was to be my own expression in art and writing. More and more these are meshing together. My journey is your journey is our journey.

So what advice do you have for me? What if Quiet Girl became part of Healing Nest?

Thank you for your feedback!

Courtney

Metamorphosis

2010-06-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

I spent an afternoon with my friend Karen playing with plaster at her wonderful studio in Ballard the other day and created one piece, with several layers underneath. This last piece is the "final" version (or the latest one, anyway). Where once there was a typewriter, there is now a bird and egg! My art pieces are often like this, but I usually don't take pictures of my works-in-progress along the way so you can see what's underneath. And truth to tell, I rather like knowing a little secret about my art. Sometimes I sell an art piece and only I know that someone is not only leaving with an encaustic of a bird in a tree, but that there is a heart underneath and perhaps some scattering of letters or words. I like knowing that my process, my invisible mark, still lives.

This dynamic is similar to the layers of human beings. What parts do we wish to show to people? What layers do we only share with a partner, a companion animal, or a best friend? What aspects of ourselves do we keep absolutely private, hidden under all the other layers? What layers do we find ugly or displeasing and which layers do we take such pride in and want to share?

The Journey Turtle

2010-06-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

The Journey, 8" x 10" encaustic

I have been commissioned to create just a few art pieces in my life and this piece above is the most recent one. I said goodbye to The Journey today and hope that this piece is a sign of more commissioned pieces in my future -- as well as more art-making in general in my life. (Oh, and more blogging about art-making and creativity, too!)

I finish teaching this Tuesday, and then after the tornado of grading, I'll be a bit more freed up to spend more time with the art materials that seem to call to me on a daily basis. (I swear, my encaustic wax is humming and my paints are shaking!)

May summer bring creative abundance to all of us -- and may we take the journeys that allow us to find our way to the things we love.

Acceptance of Feathers

2010-05-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Accepting Life's Feathers, mixed media collage, 8" x 10"

On May 10 and 17, my friend and colleague Natalie Serianni and I co-facilitated a continuing education workshop at Cascadia Community College called "The Healing Process: How Art and Writing Can Help Us Heal." We had five creatively engaged participants for our inaugural workshop, and the whole experience proved to be healing for all involved, including me.

On the second day of the workshop, we played with art materials as we engaged with the theme "living in the present moment." The art piece I created is above and deals with all of the feathers I am holding in my life right now. I've been trying to transform the feeling of overwhelm in my body into a feeling of abundance. This art piece has helped me acknowledge all that I am doing and allowed me to "drop a few feathers" in the process of holding too much. It's okay to drop a few feathers, for we can't carry them all. A wind blows and poof, those feathers take off in the wind.

How might you depict all of the responsibilities, tasks, and doings in your life right now? In your art piece, would there be a lot of space and room to move? Or is it cluttered and filled to the brim? How might depicting these responsibilities in visual form transform how you relate to the stress or overwhelm you may feel?

Art Sale Saturday, May 15th!

2010-05-14T23:10:00.001-07:00

I'm hosting my art sale this very Saturday, May 15th (that's tomorrow as of this writing). I'm taking a break from all the prep to post a little ditty about the event, which is becoming quite spectacle in art spring cleaning.

I'm taking over the now vacant Pop Tots/Bump Maternity store in my neighborhood and I'm filling the place with my art.

Here are the details:
When: Saturday, May 15, 2010; 10am-4pm
Where: Pop Tots store: 6405 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle
What: Super-Duper Art Sale! (cash, check, or credit/debit card payments are accepted)

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, I invite you to attend my Art Sale at the Pop Tots/Bump Maternity store (now empty, for they're moved to Bellevue) just up the block from me on Roosevelt Way. The store is nestled between The Sunlight Cafe and Hoa nail spa on the west side of Roosevelt Way and just north of 64th street.

I will be selling mixed media and encaustic art framed, un-framed, matted, un-matted -- all at affordable prices. Not only will you view finished and framed art on the walls, but you may search through bins of un-framed art for sale. I will also be selling prints and cards of my work, too.

Here's a little video my partner Walter took of the space tonight after I hung most of the art. Enjoy the preview!

Time Enough for Questions

2010-05-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

Time Enough for Questions, encaustic, 12" x 12"

This piece lives with some good friends of mine and they were gracious enough to allow me to photograph it when I visited them today. Occasionally I will forget to photograph or scan my art before an art show (do any of you artists out there become rather frazzled and brain fried before a show like I do?) and this was one of those pieces. Thankfully, I now have electronic copies and will now share the piece with you!

Here are some close-up shots from the piece:

I purchased these watch pieces at Zenith Supplies in my neighborhood of Seattle. My friend Karen said that you can also purchase great objects like these at the Sunday Fremont Market.

A bird, of course!

Roots: my symbol for strength, resilience, and personal growth.

Creative Process Vlog!

2010-04-28T22:04:00.000-07:00

Hello, Creative Carnations!

I'm entering the world of video a bit more and adding to my collection of "one-take wonders." Right now I don't have the patience to re-do or edit my videos, so you get the uncut, uncensored versions! I hope you don't find this painful!

In this video, I explore getting creatively unstuck using three strategies: 1) creating for yourself, 2) creating quickly, and 3) following your intuition. Enjoy!

Turbo Art after Turbo Tax

2010-04-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here are six visual journal pieces I created in a relatively short period of time after I completed my taxes. After number crunching madness, I had to work with words and images! As I have mentioned before, sometimes art-making feels like a physical urge -- one which is certainly connected to an emotional and spiritual need.

Life hasn't been easy lately. Art keeps me afloat. So does writing, but sometimes I don't seem to have the words.

Does art or writing keep you afloat during difficult times? I know I am not alone here, but it is always good to know that there are others sitting at their art desks in moments of sadness or stress or grief or frustration (or even joy and inspiration) using their creativity as a salve for the soul.

(Click on an image to see it in a larger view.)

Art Sale at Rising Bird Healing Arts in May!

2010-04-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

Save the date: Saturday, May 15, 2010: 1-4pm!

I admit to having a bit of spring cleaning fever. I feel I must make way for new art in my life. To do so, I have decided to relinquish much of the art I currently own in order to make room for new creations, new ideas, and bigger artistic dreams. In all, I am ready to let go of many art pieces and I am willing to do so at very reduced prices. That's where the "sale" concept comes in. Many of my pieces will be offered at 1/2 price! Of course, there are pieces I just cannot part with, so those won't be for sale, but much of the art I've created in the last five years will come out of the depths of my closet for this special event.

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, I invite you to attend my Art Sale at my home business in the Roosevelt District. I will be selling mixed media and encaustic art framed, un-framed, matted, un-matted -- all at affordable prices. Not only will you view finished and framed art on the walls, but you may search through bins of un-framed art for sale. I will also be selling prints and cards of my work, too.

Here are the details:
When: Saturday, May 15, 2010; 1-4pm
Where: Rising Bird Healing Arts: 6316 9th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98115
What: Art Sale! (cash, check, or credit/debit card payments are accepted)

Feel free bring family members and friends!

The Latest Three

2010-04-03T14:05:00.001-07:00

I've been reading a lovely little book called The Couple's Tao Te Ching by William Martin, and the relationship Tao poems are lovely and full of heart-centered wisdom. These art pieces are inspired by or reflections of my explorations of love Tao philosophies.

For the Cats in my Life

2010-03-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

Mountie: The Heart of a Luminous Moon Emanating with Your Eyes

Selkie: Zen Cat Meditates in the Stillness

(click on images for an up-close-and-personal viewing)

Be Yourself and Regrow

2010-03-19T10:31:00.001-07:00

Be Yourself, mixed media visual journal

Regrowth, mixed media visual journal

Visual Journals: February Four

2010-03-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

"I want to sing like birds sing / Not worrying who hears or what they think." (Rumi)

"Listen. Make a way for yourself inside yourself. Stop looking in the other way of looking." (Rumi)

"The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that are alive." (Thich Nhat Hanh)

"It does not matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." (Anne Sexton)

Beginning Again and Illuminating the Darkness

2010-03-02T19:43:00.001-08:00

Begin Again, mixed media

Prettify Each Gray Day, mixed media

Visual Journals: Sacred and Sacrament

2010-02-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Sacred Bond

Writerly Sacrament

(click on images for a larger view)

Visual Journals: Blossom and Bulb

2010-02-25T09:10:00.001-08:00

Some January Visual Journal Entries

2010-02-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

(click each image to see in a larger size)

Art Journaling in a Day Planner

2010-02-15T14:18:00.001-08:00

I love opportunities to create art in unusual, creative, or surprising places. My latest art journey has taken me to the pages of a beautiful bird-themed day planner I received from my friend Nedra. With it's large size (very long pages) and bird imagery quotations sprinkled throughout, I couldn't help myself: I had to start collaging and painting and drawing on the pages. (Click on each image for a larger view.)

Above I'm showing the last week of 2009. I've been trying to keep up on the weeks, but I'm not quite into February yet. But I plan to post my visual journal entries here for a while since my art life is a little bit on hold due to my teaching gig. What's so lovely about working on these entries is that I can do them quickly when I have a burst of inspiration; I can be messy; and I can express myself in potent ways by tapping into my right brain's artistic lair.

How is your right brain's artist lair these days? How can you find quick ways to integrate image-making into your life?

Returning Home

2010-01-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

I love how art can become reincarnated. I created this piece above with Ms. Artist B at her home studio many months ago and now it reappears with some new elements for a new purpose.

Creating art has been a back-burner activity for me lately because I am teaching a community college reading and writing class this winter quarter. It has been a blast teaching this class -- challenging yet invigorating. I bring aromatherapy to every class, have my students move their bodies so they can learn and write better, and pretty much put on a one-woman show. Who knew I could do this?! Not me for sure.

With little time or room for art making these days, I still try to carve out time for a gesture of artiness here or there or a spontaneous collage right before bed. The piece above, though, reflects an assignment I recently gave my students: to create a visual depiction of/response to an essay from This I Believe II (our text for the class).* I told them I'd create an art piece, too. As soon as I agreed to participate, my body felt a little lighter and my heart said "Courtney, you get to create art!"

So I resurrected a piece I made in Ms. Artist B's workshop and added elements that reflected themes from the essay. To even play with an old art piece gave me such pleasure!

Try this:
Resurrect an old art piece that doesn't feel "done" yet, or doesn't seem to have a purpose. Give it a new intention for a new life, letting go of what it once was (this part can be challenging if you feel emotionally attached), and play with its colors and textures, images and gestures, until you have given it a new way to be in this world. And maybe you'll feel somewhat renewed, too.

*If you're curious, the assignment was to respond to this essay.

Art as Salve for the Soul

2010-01-15T21:31:00.000-08:00

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning, mixed media, 6" x 8"

Sometimes art cannot be helped. It relieves a deep ache. The salve for this ache is color and image; the analgesic is paint-stained fingers and sharp-edged paper scraps. Messes create an opening for breath in the chest, make room for self-forgiveness.

Tonight, I sit beneath the dining room's water-cracked ceiling as I create. I watch for water to drip from the tiny cavern of slit drywall and apply the antiseptic of art over my heart. I hear a thrum-hum inside me calming the tendrils of loss just a bit, just a very little bit.

Catching Your Own Eggs (Or Listening to Your Own Hunches)

2010-01-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

Egg Catcher, 6" x 8" encaustic

"While others may be able to offer and interesting and even insightful perspective on the possible meaning behind your imagery, it is still only their perspective. If what someone says about your imagery or artwork doesn't feel right to you, then trust that it isn't. Your own instincts will be your best guide when it comes to understanding the messages your imagery carries. Remember, your body-mind wants you to know what it has to say, and it will give you the answers, if you ask for them, in the form of intuitive hunches and flashes of insight. Just trust the notions that come to you as you ask your body-mind for the answers."

--Barbara Ganim, Art and Healing: Using Expressive Art to Heal Your Body, Mind, and Spirit

Stepping Inside the Painting

2009-12-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

Solstice Prayer, encaustic, 11" x 14"

I encountered these two quotations after creating the piece above and both speak to my artistic process for this encaustic specifically:

"When you start a painting, it is somewhat outside you. At the conclusion, you seem to move inside the painting."
- Fernando Botero

(I created this piece the day before my December 4th art show. I was very much outside of the piece, uncertain of my purpose or direction. Then the roots arrived and I climbed into the painting to explore. And the flower suddenly grew and the moon glowed and the bird landed on a branch. And then boom! (or bloom!) I tasted the title in my mouth.)

"A color vibration is sensed not only through vision, but in many other ways. Every color vibration has an impact on all physical systems and organs in the body, which respond to these frequencies." - Charles Klotsche

(These hues of blue and orange are new to me. I may have used them separately, but not together. And at first I wasn't sure I liked them as partners on the canvas. But I felt a vibration inside me, maybe a fluttering in the bird's wing and in my belly that said, "Yes, we are different, but we absolutely belong together.")

Roots Roots Everywhere

2009-12-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

New Beginning, encaustic, 9" x 12"

I've been fixated on roots lately. My latest encaustics depict flowers or trees with roots. I even created a figure of myself with roots emerging from the base of me.

In my massage practice, I often guide people through a little meditation at the end of my sessions in which my clients imagine their feet as the roots of a tree, placed firmly in the earth. I remind my clients that even when the wind blows us about, we stay safe and secure with our feet in the earth, our roots grounding us. I realized tonight after giving a Reiki session that when I give this meditation, I am telling my story of love, loss, and strength.

Roots have become a symbol of strength for me. My version of strength. I like the fact that roots are malleable -- that they grow and move, yet remain strong. I've been searching for how to go on in life without the boulder strength my dad exuded with every gesture, breath and word. I had been playing with images of rocks and stones in my art, thinking that those hard structures would be my grounding force for strength. Like my dad, I thought I would let the river water smooth me, as he smoothed during his months with cancer, when he became like the river itself, always glistening with water at the edges of his eyes. But still that abiding river rock, his presence strong.

But then I realized that I am not my father (seems an easy thing to realize, but grief creates tear gas for the psyche). I realized that I am not a boulder of strength like my dad. I dig deep like roots. I am wet and messy. I become tangled easily. When I hit an obstacle, I don't crush it, I wrap myself around it, almost as an embrace. I am fibrous and may lose parts of myself and regrow them again.

I like to imagine my father as a stone in the earth that I encounter as I follow my rooted path to water and nutrients. I like to imagine finding him there among the rich detritus and wrapping one of my tendrils around him, holding him firmly as he becomes my anchor for the next big storm.

Sunning Flower

2009-11-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

Winter Sunflower, encaustic, 6" x 8"

I am like the head of a sunflower these days, following the sun whenever it decides to burn a hole in the thick gray comforter in the sky. On those days when it appears I turn to it, pale face to fiery face, and declare my allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the sun and the way it warms my bones, may it penetrate my eyes, those longing, yearning rods and cones.

New Stuff on Cafe Press Store!

2009-11-19T19:52:00.000-08:00

I spent a few hours today renewing the content on my Cafe Press Online Store! It's gray here in Seattle. And very wet. And today I was missing my dad quite a lot. My eyes have been as leaky as the rain. So to add some levity to my day, I wanted to immerse myself in some color. I went online and created prints and cards and magnets and buttons and coasters and canvas bags and posters of my art on Cafe Press.

Feel free to check out the new items here: http://www.cafepress.com/quietgirl

Wishing you all comforting fall days and a reminder to allow yourself to "be" with your feelings on hard days. And find some light and color somehow, somewhere...

Eternal Birthday Celebrations

2009-11-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

64th Birthday Celebration with Buddha and Son, mixed media collage, 4" x 8"

The is the second year I have created an art piece to celebrate my father's would-have-been birthday. I honor him today and feel how he lives through me and my family and all those who knew him.

Words and Birds

2009-11-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

Worded Birds, mixed media collage, 3.5" x 5.5"

"A thousand birds are in my grove,
Melodious from morn to night;
My fruit trees are their treasure trove,
Their happiness is my delight.
And through the sweet and shining days
They know their lover and their friend;
So I will shield in peace and praise
My innocents unto the end. "

- "Bird Sanctuary" by Robert Service

Altering Photographs Workshop This Weekend!

2009-11-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

Dad's Return, mixed media altered photograph

I'm so looking forward to facilitating my "Transforming Loss: Altering Photographs" art workshop this Sunday, Nov. 8 (1-4pm).

I do have a few spots open in case you'd like to make last minute plans to join the transformative, creative play!

Jaunt on over to The Healing Nest for more details and to register.

How to Bloom in the Dark Months

2009-10-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

Fruits of my Abundance, encaustic, 6" x 6"

Sometimes it's hard to think of ways in which nature might provide abundance as we fall into autumn and winter. I do miss the "fruits" of spring and summer. The blooming and new growth help me feel that I am growing and blooming, too!

The other day when taking a walk with my friends J and her little D, we walked through crunchy leaves and the sun even graced us with its soothing rays. That walk felt fairly fruitful as it so happens. And while the leaves on the sidewalks were in a sense "dead," they represent renewal as they will decay and help the soil for the spring. Fruitfulness to come! After the walk, I began to think of the ways in which I was going to create a sense of abundance even now, in the midst of fall. How can I bloom without a certain amount of sunlight? I'll create inner light, I thought. Hmmm...now how to do that is the next phase of my process.

How do you experience or manifest fruits of abundance during these cooler, soggy days?

Going BIG!

2009-10-17T20:49:00.001-07:00

I had an itch today. This itch would not be satisfied without my attempting to create a large art piece. I guess this desire is reflecting a current feeling inside of me. I'm feeling like I want to be a bit larger these days, too. I want to take up more space, feel expansive, reach out in all directions, arms spread wide.

I tend to work small and small-ish. Today, though, I pulled out a large-ish rectangular canvas and painted with arcylic and then coated it in encaustic wax. Here are the results of my BIG efforts (click on each image for a closer view):

Leaves, Booms, and Roots, encaustic painting on canvas, 15" x 30"

Here are some close up shots for more detail:

Be bold, be big, be expansive! See what happens when you take up space in your art and in your life!

Postage and Post Stage

2009-10-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

Post Stage Discovery, encaustic, 6" x 6"

The First

It arrives five days early

with a sunflower on the front,

and inside, my name, a comma,

"Happy Birthday" bolded

(with exclamation point),

and just below, in tight cursive letters,

ink thick from pressing hard,

lines slanting up to the right:

I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

I don't know why you had to leave

my grandson

and break his heart,

but I wish you well.

Rose.

12/1/2004

Manifesting Abundance

2009-10-09T23:21:00.000-07:00

Above is the lid to my abundance box for motivation. I created this box with the intention of enhancing my motivation for tackling certain challenging obstacles in my practice. In this box I have placed words, phrases, and objects which represent what I wish to accomplish. I've also placed little cheer-leading phrases to help me along, too: little bits of inspiration which remind me why it is that I want to do what I want to do. (BTW, isn't it funny how we often need motivation to do things that we WANT to do? Sometimes what we want is a little scary or challenging or there are difficult steps in the way of the desired end result.)

So I've just introduced you to an abundance box -- a box to represent what it is you wish to manifest in your life. I have created several of them throughout my life, particularly during transitions -- changes in jobs, relationships, etc. I've created a relationship box, a creativity box, a spirituality box, and a wealth box to name a few. All of these boxes have helped me to clarify my ideals, visions, priorities, and goals. I've also noticed that these boxes have helped healed some old wounds because they focus on positive intentions and not old, negative patterns or events.

I believe that one key way to attracting what you want is to identify what you want, set a positive intention for getting it, and creating a symbolic representation of your desires. An abundance box does just that: it becomes a receptacle for your dreams. The process of decorating the box and placing meaningful words and objects inside can also be revealing in and of itself. Perhaps we don't realize what it is we want until we explore our desires through art-making. For the box above, I began by creating a prosperity box for my business and then I took an interesting turn. The word motivation came to me full-force, like a crisp autumn wind, and I felt my body say a resonant "yes, I need motivation in order to get prosperity." Ah-ha. Who knew that's what I needed!

If you are at all interested in exploring the art of abundance box creation, please join me on October 17 for an afternoon of setting intentions, dreaming big dreams, and playing with the laws of attraction. I'd love to see what you wish to manifest!

Intentional Desires: An Abundance Box Workshop
Saturday, October 17, 1-4pm

For more information about this workshop, please click here.

Saying Yes to Cone Bras

2009-10-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

Actualizing Yes, mixed media collage on paper, 6" x 13.5"

Sometimes it's hard to say yes. I mean, sometimes it actually hurts to do it. My body is saying yes please!, but my mind is saying no way! and I'm stuck in the middle of a steaming puddle of doubt. I ask myself, can I really do this? am I really smart/talented/gifted enough to be an artist/healer/writer? don't I need to prove my worth before I take action? I have many more questions, and if you ever feel doubt like I do, I'm sure you can add your own questions here, too. And please do.

Today I've been reflecting on the fact that I have so many chances to say yes to myself in that confident, Madonna sort of way. Just the other day I was recalling with some friends how Madonna used to wear that cone-shaped bra during her performances. She wore those cones in front of millions of people, launching her breasts into the world, her voice belting with such assurance and conviction. To me, that is an example of saying, YES, in all caps, just like that. Yes to my vision, yes to my body, yes to my power, yes to my creativity, yes to my self-confidence, yes to not caring what others think.

So I was thinking about buying one of those cone-shaped bras--really considering it--but then I realized that I can probably say yes to myself with out it. I mean, I bet that thing is uncomfortable, and really, who wants a massage therapist with pointed breasts? Please don't answer that question.

I created the art piece above in my 6" x 13.5" landscape sketch pad while at my family cabin in the mountains this summer. I had just finished the piece (just glued on that Y-E-S, in fact) before the power went out, before my family sat in front of the fire telling stories of my dad, all of us missing him terribly. There were stories I hadn't heard before and many stories that I had heard many times before, yet I wanted to absorb them into my skin like lotion so they would become part of me. Apparently, my dad laughed a lot more than I knew. The kind of laughter that makes your stomach heave and your jaw lock in that open, gasping position. We spent three hours telling stories and laughing ourselves, holding our innards in tact and wiping away tears.

So, I expect that you are wondering what the art piece, memories of my dad's laughter, and a cone-shaped Madonna bra have to do with each other, let alone saying yes to myself more often?

As I see it, saying yes involves letting go, like blowing milk out of your nose because you can't contain your laughter. For many years, I was sure yes meant holding on tightly. In order to say yes I had to be absolutely sure. I had to plan things out in advance, know all the pros and cons. In essence, I had to wait. In that steaming puddle of doubt. Until I was absolutely sure that saying yes wouldn't kill me. Because saying yes means being visible to yourself -- and how many of us really want to see ourselves so vividly all the time? It's scary! It's like wearing that cone bra every day and knowing that people are staring.

But I've been beginning to ask myself, "So what?" I never really said that as a teenager and was rarely rebellious, so perhaps I am just coming into my so-what teenage powers now, but I'm finding it profound. Saying yes to yourself means letting go of constraints and those critical voices and worries about what others will think, and it means stepping into your eighth grade Converse High Tops, staring at the worried adult inside you, and saying, "So what!" Sometimes, when saying yes is concerned, back-talk is needed. And then laugh in surprise at the affection you suddenly feel for your self. Take that affection as a sign that you are saying, yes I am worthy, yes I am capable, and yes, oh yes, I am going to love the hell out of myself for a while.

Unexpected Healing

2009-09-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Cat with the Hand of a Healer,
mixed media encaustic on paper, 6" x 8"

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." (C.G. Jung)

I was surprised when a cat entered this piece. After all, I am known as the bird woman--the artist who places a bird in virtually every art piece. But the other day when playing art at my friend Karen's, this cat jumped into the wax and wanted to show itself as a healing force.

This is not unlike my own cats -- Selkie and Mountie -- who have given me comfort and healing many times over. Once during a panic attack, when I was shaking in bed, burning on the inside, having a hard time breathing, Selkie came to me, settled right on my stomach and chest, his paws placed over my heart. He stayed there while I trembled and until I calmed myself finally and fell asleep.

What images have appeared in your art in a surprising way, as if you didn't choose them -- as if they chose you? And what life experiences have influenced your inclusion of certain images in your art? Do tell!

Elephants on Parade

2009-09-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

The other day my friend Kristen and I went to Ms. Artist B's house for a day of art-making! On this creative adventure, we used Ms. B's shiny new press to print, emboss, and imprint images onto paper. We then added mixed media elements and our own flare to the pieces.

Here are two of my creations (more to come in later posts!):

Blue Kanji Elephant, mixed media on paper, 4" x 6"

Eternal Summer Elephant, mixed media on paper, 4" x 6"

Writerly Opportunities Coming Your Way

2009-09-17T15:09:00.001-07:00

Tweet Typing, collage, 3" x 3"

Here's another little update on writerly endeavors for which you may wish to partake!

My friend Ann Teplick is offering writing workshops for kids at The Richard Hugo House:

Hugo Classes for Kids:
Writing Honor and Admiration for El Dia de los Muertos
Come and write beautiful poetry on the theme of El Dia de los Muertos--The Day of the Dead, honoring and celebrating those whom we have lost and admire, as well as those who have fought for social change. Through poems, short prose, dramatic monologues and dialogues, we will tell our stories of remembrance and gratitude. An alter of our work will be assembled and put on display at the annual El Centro de la Raza's Day of the Dead exhibit.

Instructor: Ann Teplick
Writers: grades 3-6
Date/time: Tuesdays, October 6 - December 8, 4-5:30 p.m.
Location: Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave. on Capitol Hill)
Tuition: $50 per session, pay-what-you-can

About the Instructor:
Ann Teplick is a poet, playwright and prose writer. She works with young writers in schools, through Coyote Central and with The Pongo Publishing Teen Writing Project.

To register, or for more info, please contact Richard Hugo House:
youth@hugohouse.org or call 206-322 7030

There are a couple of spots still left in my friend Corbin Lewars' "Getting Published" class!

Tuesdays, 6-8:00 pm • September 29th- October 27th • $120 • Ballard

This workshop is designed for those of us who want to be published, yet seem to find 101 other things to do instead of submitting our work. The class will begin with identifying suitable publications for each participant to query. We will craft enticing query letters, strengthen a current piece or create a new piece of writing, and explore DIY options for publishing. Class size will be limited to eight people in order to provide everyone with individual attention. By the end of the five week workshop, all participants will have a solid proposal and several options of editors to submit to. The only thing left to do will be to push the "send" key!

For more information contact Corbin at corbinlew@clearwire.net.

My mom's memoir Full Moon at Noontide: A Daughter's Last Goodbye is coming out this October. To learn more about the book, including release dates and future readings, feel free to become a "Fan" on Facebook here.

And I have a secret to tell: my mom is going to be my guest artist for my Fall art show in my home studio this November or December! I'll be showing my art and she'll be selling and signing her books! I am so delighted about this!

Manifest Nest

2009-09-15T20:16:00.001-07:00

Manifest Nest, 8" x 8" encaustic on 1" board

I keep searching for my nest--
the one that will appear
between the storm-parted branches
or Fall's gravitational pull.

Until then, I keep my head up,
skyward, where my father's eyes live,
between the cirrus clouds, deep into the blue.

Home is somewhere between sky and branch,
in that place where I manifest my life without
him. So I wait for a nest to emerge
as the leaves release their grip on summer
and accept their flight to earth.

- Courtney Putnam
9/15/09

Flying Coffee Grounds!

2009-08-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Enlightened Feline, encaustic on wood w/embedded coffee grounds

I always make a mess when I add coffee grounds to my encaustics, but I love the effect. The most accurate and tidiest way to incorporate coffee grounds into wax paintings is to glue them to the substrate first and then add the wax.

However, what I do is paint a layer of wax, gather a handful of coffee grounds (I love the feel of those earthy crumbs in my hands) and rub them into the warm wax, making my hands smell like beeswax-coffee heaven. Then I drip more wax on top or sacrifice a clean paintbrush and get it full of grounds by painting wax directly on the coffee. Then I fuse the layers of wax and grounds with a heat gun and the non-adhered grounds go flying everywhere, making a huge mess.

I mention all of this to come out as an imperfect, messy, inaccurate artist. I tend not to follow directions and instead follow my intuition. I'm also very impatient. Wait for the coffee grounds to dry on the glue first?! That will take forever!

I will admit to wanting to be more patient and to try following directions more often. I don't think my house (or my partner) can take much more artistic chaos. And I do want more balance in my creative life. So, perhaps next time I will use the glue technique. Perhaps.

How do you create? Are you a messy-pants like me or do you have a clear, clean organized way of creating? Somewhere in between? Do tell!

Guardians

2009-08-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

Guardians of Peace, encaustic, 10" x 12"

Acceptance

Before my shower this morning,
I slip off my t-shirt, leaving
it to uninhabit me on the bathroom floor,
then slough off my bright orange underwear
and blue-striped pajama bottoms,
watch them as they slide down
my hips, past the yellowing bruise
on my left thigh, the mosquito bite
aglow on my left knee, and the black bird
tattoo perched on my right ankle, leaving
them at my feet like an extra layer of shed skin.

Through the shower’s foggy glass,
I spot my night self heaped in a pile,
and think of last night’s nightmare,
of my father dying all over again,
the adrenaline sweat’s sickly sweet
stain left on my clothes--
and then I spy my cat approaching,
sniffing the pajama puddle.
He circles twice before settling
in the center, then begins to knead
the little heap with his claws, rubs
his nose into my shirt’s armpit,
and sleeps right there, in the remnants
of my terror, content to be in it,
for I am comfort and he can smell it--
beneath the taste of panic’s tang,
despite the nighttime tremors
that sometimes shake him right off the bed,
I am still the one who he adores,
I am still the one who smells of love.

--Courtney Putnam, c. 2009

Finding Illumination

2009-08-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

Illuminated, encaustic, 10" x 14"

Where do you feel most illuminated, when the world--and your life on it/in it--becomes clear as moonlight shining on a cloudless night? Is there a place you like to be to find this clarity? Or do you turn inward to find it?

When I was a teenager, I used to to go to "ferny land" to find peace and clarifying thoughts. This ferny land was a little mound of earth in my front yard where many sword ferns grew. I had created a trail through ferny land and also a clearing so I could visit often. This was also the place where we buried my childhood dog, Kippy, my best friend. When I needed illumination, I ventured to this ferny spot to sit next to my dog's burial spot and I allowed the arms of the ferns to give me strength. Often, I ventured outside when there was a full moon, so even in the dark, I could see my own body illuminated as I sat in the dirt with soft fern fingers reaching out to me, seemingly holding me up.

Now where do I go when I need illumination? I go to my journal and I write, allowing my heart to fire up my thoughts. I heat up my wax and I paint, feeling the energy of beeswax buzzing around me. I even take walks through Ravenna Park and enjoy the ferns who, like those of ferny land, line the trails like generous companions.

Where do you go? What do you do?

Makeda Art Show

2009-08-18T17:01:00.001-07:00

Last Friday, August 14, I entered the world of the Greenwood-Phinney Art Walk by participating in the opening of my encaustic art show at Makeda Coffee.

Makeda is vibrant and colorful, cheerful and comfortable, and it is a perfect place to showcase my art for the next month. (So if you weren't able to make the opening and would like to keep my waxy pieces company for a bit, you have more time!)

Makeda's chocolate-colored walls make my encaustics "pop" off the walls.

Many beautiful souls attended to look at art, to re-connect (a spontaneous high school reunion took place!), to partake in Makeda's refreshing refreshments, and to purchase art, art prints, and greeting cards.

Prashanthi Reddy, owner of Makeda, poses with our dear friends and their cutie-pie.

Friends who haven't seen each other in years reconnect & enjoy art.

What made this show extra special was that I was joined by the talented Corbin Lewars, also known as Reality Mom, who sold her fantastic zines and added warmth and creative energy to the evening. Corbin joined me for the evening because my art is featured in her zine -- and will be included in Reality Mom for a whole year. Thank you, Corbin! (If you'd like to subscribe to Corbin's zine, it's only $12/year for four issues and you can subscribe using PayPal if you visit her blog or website! Corbin is also looking for moms to contribute their writing to her issues, so email her at reality_mom@yahoo.com if you have a story to tell.)

Walter, master of art ceremonies, helps Corbin set up her zine booth.

Corbin and I pose for a late night picture.
We're both a bit tired and hot, but happy nonetheless.

For this show I said goodbye to Coming to an Understanding, Touched by 34 Suns, and Nature's Fireworks. I wish you well in your new homes!

Your 34 Suns

2009-08-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

Touched by 34 Suns, 10" x 12" encaustic

A writing prompt:

Pretend you have 34 suns inside you, burning bright. Can you name them? I know somewhere inside of me lives "solar panic," "pelvic glow," "sunflower center," and "passionista." What suns live inside of you?

One Year to the Day

2009-08-12T09:13:00.001-07:00

My Father Rows Away to Peace, encaustic, 8" x 10"

First Lesson

Lie back daughter, let your head
be tipped back in the cup of my hand.
Gently, and I will lie out on the stream
and look high at the gulls. A dead-
man's float is face down. You will dive
and swim soon enough where this tidewater
ebbs to the sea. Daughter, believe
me, when you tire on the long thrash
to your island, lie up, and survive.
As you float now, where I held you
and let go, remember when fear
cramps your heart what I told you:
lie gently and wide to the light-year
stars, lie back, and the sea will hold you.

Philip Booth

(Thank you, Angela, for giving this poem to me after my father died last year. Yes, the sea is holding me, even with the currents thrashing so.)

Summer Art Show at Makeda Coffee!

2009-08-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

(click image above to see the poster in larger size!)

Please join us this Friday, August 14 (6-9pm) for an artful evening!

Makeda Coffee: 153 N. 78th St, Seattle (Greenwood neighborhood)
http://makedacoffee.com

Corbin Lewar's Reality Mom Zine Blog: http://realitymomzine.blogspot.com

Letting Everything Go...

2009-08-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

As it Goes, encaustic, 6" x 6" on panel board

This is a week for letting things go as they go. It takes some strength and clear intention to let go of control. I'm noticing how much I want to control how I feel this week, as this week is the one-year anniversary of my dad's death (or my dad "moving to another state" as my friend Karen likes to call it).

I am trying to embrace the idea that what I feel is what I feel. How it goes is how it goes. Wednesday will come and it will go and I will mark the day with my family. We will be however we will be. Creating too many scripts feels exhausting (and truth to tell, my dad would be embarrassed by too much fanfare, too much planning and troubling ourselves). But there will be ritual and there will be intentional moments. I am just learning to let go of how it all turns out. I am learning to let go of perfection. I am learning to let the universe hold me in its arms. I am learning to breathe in what is.

Is there something in your life that you'd like to just let go as it goes? A feeling your having? A relationship you're in? A creative project? What can use a little less of your control? What could use a bit more letting go?

The Rhetoric of Green

2009-08-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

So I have a magnificent friend named Sarah Slaone, author of the amazing and insightful The I Ching for Writers, who made it possible for me to have my first paid (!) art piece for the cover of a publication.

Above is what the publication is going to look like. My encaustic piece, Family Gathering, became the main scene for this Colorado University system college reader, which has a circulation of about 1,800.

Pretty groovy! And a big thank-you goes out to Sarah for championing my work!

What's Underneath

2009-07-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

Undercurrent, encaustic w/coffee grounds, 10" x 12"

In college I had a writing professor, who, knowing my self-consciousness about my quietude, said to me, "Courtney, still water runs deep. That's how you are." It was such a gift for her to re-frame something that I used to agonize over. (I even created a performance art piece about my being quiet, which ended up becoming a "coming out" of sorts for my quietude. In a way, during the performance, I was the loudest I had ever been, and it was quite the breakthrough).

So this piece honors the depths of me, the undercurrent of my life, the things that I hold deep inside and show the world when I feel safe and sure.

What do you hold in your own personal undercurrent? What depths do you hold within you? And when do you feel you are able to show these depths--these gifts to the world? What symbols represent what runs deep with in you? When do you feel free to reveal what's underneath?

Art Show Loveliness

2009-07-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (July18) my friend Patricia Catherine and I had an art show together in her home studio. It was a lovely affair with colorful art, refreshing refreshments (it was a hot day!), and may lovely discussions and connections were had.

In addition to the general merriment of the event, I said goodbye to two pieces: Just Barely Emerging and Manifestation in addition to several cards and prints. Ah, there they go out into the world....

Patricia's studio is beautifully lit (skylights above and windows surrounding) and each time I see her space I drool just a bit more, hoping that someday I will have a studio space that I can keep arty (and messy).

Thank you, Patricia, for collaborating with me and for sharing your creative space with all who attended! (And once again, thank you Walaka, for your expert help with set-up, clean-up, and overall art show management guy duties.)

Here are some colorful pictures from the event (click pics for larger views):

My wall of encaustic paintings.

Patricia's home with her oils and pastels in the background.

Patricia talks with art viewers (her incredible studio is in the background).

My friend Nedra and I discuss my piece On a Wire.

* * * *
My next show: Friday, August 14, 2009 at Makeda Coffee for the Phinney/Greenwood Art Walk. Stay tuned for more details...

Some Writerly Goodies

2009-07-15T19:42:00.001-07:00

Writing Goddess, mixed media collage, 8" x 10"

Some writerly opportunities have blown my way recently and I want to share them with those of you creative types who also dabble in writing as well as visual art.

As I began compiling this list, I realized how lucky I am to know these women. Boy do I have some talented friends!

My friend Corbin Lewars is facilitating a workshop this fall called "Get Your Stories off Your Computer and Into Print" (Tuesdays, 6-8:00 pm October 6th-November 3rd in Ballard/Seattle). For more information about her workshop, visit Corbin's website here. And for some witty, authentic stories about motherhood, visit her Reality Mom blog here.

My friend Kristen Bergsman will be teaching a FREE class at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore on August 19th. "Sticks, Stones & Animal Bones: Creative Nature Journaling" is open to adults and kids (ages 8+). The class size is limited to 16 people, and registration just opened. Class and registration info are available here. For more information about Kristen, visit her Laughing Crow Curriculum website here.

My friend Tatyana Mishel is a writer and life coach, who has a website and blog that will knock your socks off and make you want to take positive action in your life. Visit Write Now for a taste of Tatyana's no-nonsense, compassionate, and motivating approach.

My friend and grad school classmate Antionette Brim is publishing her first book of poetry, Psalm of the Sunflower. I am so delighted for her! Check out her website here, and learn more about her new book!

My friend Kara Jones over at 1,000 Face of Mother Henna Blog has a cool video up now on how to make a 16-page mini-book. Check out Kara's blog and websites for all of her creative prompts, inspirations, and healing activities.

My friend Clea Danaan has a new book out called Voices of the Earth: The Pathway to Green Spirituality. Check it out here on her website. You can also check out her thoughtful, earthy Intuitive Gardening blog.

Art Show and Open Studio THIS Saturday!

2009-07-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

This very Saturday, July 18, my friend Patricia and I will be having an art show in her home studio in the Wedgwood neighborhood of Seattle. She will be opening her home from 1-4pm and we'll be showing our latest original art -- as well as selling prints and cards of our work.

To see more information about the event, including Patricia's address, click the image above!

(BTW, This show coincides with the popular Wedgwood Art Festival, and Pat's home studio is just a few blocks away from the hub-bub of activity on 35th Street -- music, vendors, art, and more!)

If you're able to make it, consider dropping by. I'd love to see you!

Alone Yet Connected

2009-07-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

Together But Separate, mixed media collage, 4" x 5"

Tonight I was working on some logo ideas for my friend's new website. As I was collaging away upstairs, I had this strong feeling of connection to my partner who was one (or two) floors down involved in his own creative activities.

And then I began to realize how often he and I make room for creative energy in our home--and how, together, we go about our writing and arting and reading separately. Together but separate. We may meet on the middle floor to share or ask questions (mine is always, what does my art piece actually mean?) or check in, but we feel connected in our separate activities.

[For those of you who might appreciate some technological geekiness, we sometimes even use iChat to check with one another, so we talk to each other on the computer screen and set a time to "meet up" live.]

I feel content but inspired. Alone yet connected. Free and yet always somehow tethered to my partner's heart, knowing he is accepting of my artistic messes and creative bursts at 10:00 at night and my seeming inability to end one project before starting the next. And he knows that I forgive him for being able to fall asleep in two seconds after a night of creating when I am wide awake with swirls of ideas.

My artistic process requires a great deal of aloneness, yet I love to feel that I can connect or collaborate if I wish. Having a three-floor townhouse helps cultivate separateness for sure, but I also think that we've created permeable boundaries--boundaries that we constantly shift as we change the way we wish to create.

Tonight I am appreciative. And I thank you, W, for your understanding--no, championing--my creative process every day.

Try this:

Think about how you create. Alone? With others around? With distraction? What do you like about your creative environment and about those who may share space with you? What might you like to change about your creative circumstances, if anything? What do you appreciate about the way you create and how do you acknowledge this appreciation to yourself and to those who share space with you?

Nature's Fireworks

2009-07-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Nature's Fireworks, mixed media, 5" x 5"

This weekend some friends and I headed to the mountains for Independence Day. In lieu of Seattle fireworks displays, we opted for nature's wonders and sparks. I brought a few art supplies with me and sat in the sun by the American River, soaking in the sound of rushing water, and created a few little pieces.

Butterfly Birth, mixed media, 5" x 5"

Nature provides quite the display of color and sound and surprises. And with the hordes of ants, the starry sky, the wildflowers, the river's frigid splashes, campfire sparks, chipmunk squeaks, and the fleeting elk we spotted, I'd say I had quite the exciting Fourth of July.

Girl-Bird Mimicry, mixed media, 5" x 5"

And in the process, I let my body and mind relax, as I embraced time away from technology and the usual creature comforts of home. There's nothing like a morning splash-bath or head-dunk in 40-degree river water to wake the senses and make me feel ALIVE!

Solid Like a Buddha, Free Like a Bird

2009-07-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Now, encaustic, 9" x 12"

"Your personal symbols may already lurk in your artwork. Observe the images that show up frequently. Ask yourself, 'Which of these things stand for other things?' What animals are you drawn to? What stories do you want to tell over and over? Your symbols may be there on the canvas right now, but maybe you haven't noticed them or identified what they are there to say. Choose one, and listen to it. Ask yourself what story fragment is being told by that apple or those wings, then see if you can follow a similar thread of meaning through your other artworks and in your dreams."

- Suzanne Simanaitis, "Personal Symbols Found & Made," Kaleidoscope: Ideas and Projects to Spark Your Creativity

Buddhas and birds. Wings and feathers. Leaves and branches. Scribbles and doodles. Words and letters. Chakras. Blooms.

I just did a mental scan of my art and these symbols came to the forefront of my mind. The most significant seem to be Buddhas and birds. I am drawn to them so strongly. When I flip through my collage materials and encounter these bronze statues and feathered friends, I get a feeling in my body, as if something in the center of my belly begins to buzz.

I am asking myself Simanaitis' questions about the meaning of these symbols. What do birds and Buddhas have to tell me? Why are they such frequent visitors? In the above piece I turn the Buddha into a winged creature. So not only do I use these symbols individually and together, but I also fuse them, merge them, marry them. I want my Buddhas to fly. Interesting that I find Buddhas so grounding and bird just the opposite. Perhaps I am trying to manifest a integration of opposites in my very own self: a combination of groundedness and sacredness like the Buddha with the freedom, lightness, and release of a bird. It's the balance of yin and yang. The symbols are like trees: rooted in the earth, but flexible and free in the branches and leaves.

What are your symbols? What images are you drawn to again and again? Take a little time to ask yourself, as I just did, what these images might mean to you? See where this investigation takes you. Perhaps you will revisit an ideal or philosophy you hold dear or you'll surprise yourself with a totally new insight.

Manifestation Cross-Post

2009-06-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

Manifestation, encaustic, 6" x 6"

To read my post related to this art piece above, cross on over to the Healing Nest for some of my exploratory musings on the essence and power of manifestation.

Endless Wire

2009-06-26T09:05:00.001-07:00

On a Wire, encaustic, 6" x 6"

The wire in this piece isn't a usual wire, attached at both ends by telephone poles. As I was creating I realized that I had constructed an endless wire. See how it reaches up into the sky, through the clouds? Where does it go?

Imagine your dreams are like this: limitless. Imagine that they can travel without the laws of physics. Imagine that YOU are limitless. What then? What then?

Understanding

2009-06-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

Coming to an Understanding, encaustic, 6" x 6"

UNDERSTANDING

Understanding and love are not two things, but just one. Suppose your son wakes up one morning and sees that it is already quite late. He decides to wake up his younger sister, to give her enough time to eat breakfast before going to school. It happens that she is grouchy and instead of saying, "Thank you for waking me up," she says, "Shut up! Leave me alone!" and kicks him. He will probably get angry, thinking, "I woke her up nicely. Why did she kick me?" He may want to go to the kitchen and tell you about it, or even kick her back.

But then he remembers that during the night his sister coughed a lot, and he realizes that she must be sick. Maybe she behaved so meanly because she has a cold. At that moment, he understands, and he is not angry at all anymore. When you understand, you cannot help but love. You cannot get angry. To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you understand, you cannot help but love. And when you love, you naturally act in a way that can relieve the suffering of people.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step

A Different Sort of Father's Day

2009-06-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

It is officially midnight. Father's Day is now here (at least that's the way I visualize how my birthday begins each year).

Father's Day has such a different meaning for me this year as many of you know. I have been leaky for the last few days, weeping at the site of babies, old men, bagels, Elmers glue, photos of my dad, blue-eyed people, small mentions of my father. Sometimes nothing at all. My cat yawned and there I was blubbering again. Sigh.

Tonight I remembered something that I took from my father's things: a book I made him in 1996 for Father's Day. It's a book of photographs of me and my father through the years -- along with my mom and two brothers. I adorned each page with a smattering of painted designs and used gel medium to make the whole thing glossy. I also bound the cardboard pages with white string.

I made this when I was about 20 years old, a college student piecing together my life -- and counting on my dad's strength, grace, and wisdom.

I scanned in each page and made a little slide show in honor of my dad today.

May all those who have lost your fathers feel their presence in some way today and may any tears that flow remind you of your ever-present connection.

An Offering

2009-06-18T15:02:00.001-07:00

Offering, mixed media collage, 8" x 10"

I touch him where it hurts--
his back, sore from 35 days hammocked in a hospital bed--
rub lotion into the dry patches chemo has left,
and with my hands massaging the taught tender
muscles of his trapezius, I search for that one elusive thing
that neither of us can name.

I feel it in my own body, thumping behind my sternum,
a little fist inside with a fight song beat.
So I lay my hands on my father's back, pressed behind his heart,
and with each beat I feel in my chest, I send him jolts
of this unspeakable thing: hope, my hands transmit,
hope, here is hope.

from a poem in progress called Hope Transfusion

**

Try this:

Think about an offering you have given recently. Perhaps it was to a person -- or maybe it was an animal or to the earth. An offering isn't simply a gift or a gesture. There is an intention of sacredness implied with an offering. Perhaps you can explore what this memory of an offering (or the meaning of offerings in general) means to you through writing and/or art. And please feel free to share in the comments box.

Sunset Art

2009-06-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Maui, Hawaii (May/June 2009)

I can take no credit for the composition, color, and overall beauty of this sunset. It was just the old digital camera's shutter action taken at the right time.

But even so, I see my heart in there, somewhere in that scattering of clouds, diffused with fading sunlight. So my "brush stroke," so to speak, is in this photo, known only to me (and now you), becoming part of this moment. My heart is half-full, half flattened. Half-remembering, half trying-to-forget. But mostly just beating. Beating. My do I miss this magical place.

Try this:

Find yourself in a photo you've taken. The catch: you are not actually (physically) in the photo at all. Feel free to post in the comments box and link to your photo w/a statement of how you are "in" the photo.

Header Under Construction

2009-06-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling the need to re-new my Quiet Girl heading so tonight, at 11:00pm, just as my eyes are getting droopy and the screen is getting blurry, I'm calling it a night. I'm working on something fun and vibrant for the header--perhaps this parrot, perhaps not--but something new will be here soon.

So pardon the strange layout in the meantime.

And if anyone out there knows how to get this Blogger template to center an image in the rounded-corner header, I would love to know! Blogger likes to shift the images to the right -- and right off the header background.

Mahalo!

Courtney

Shining Through

2009-06-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

Shine Through, mixed media, 6" x 7"

You can see:
the light will shine through.

-or-

The light will shine through--
you can see.

Which version most resonates with you?

To Fly

2009-05-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

Flying to Find Herself, mixed media collage, 5" x 8"

The other week I was having a deep conversation with a dear friend of mine who is going through a major life transition. She asked me about my major life transition (which happened, oh, about five or so years ago) and I told her that through the turmoil and pain, I began to fly. At first I felt little feather wisps of air. Then, my feet felt lighter on the earth--and so did my heart. Then, I lifted up and up and saw my life from above. I saw what it could be. I began to do things that resonated with me to the core. Suddenly, I was actualizing, doing, becoming, being entirely myself.

So this above piece is dedicated to her. There are many ways to fly in this world. Sometimes all we need is a dream. Other times, we need a flower and fish and some surf to ride on. In any case, may we all remember our potential to fly. May we discover what lifts us up, fills us. Think of the power of a deep breath staying full in the body for a long time. That is how we fly. We chose to take a leap or ride a wave and follow where it takes us. We find we meet ourselves on our journey and say, yes, I recognize you, you're that woman who lifts up, lets go, and flies.

Limitation = Freedom?

2009-05-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

Opening to Healing, mixed media, 9" x 12"

I can hardly believe that I am actually suggesting that limitations might be (gulp!) a path to freedom. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

I first felt the odd feeling of limitations (boundaries, parameters, white picket fences, etc.) in grad school when writing poetry. I usually wrote poetry in free verse (organic form) and then started experimenting with traditional forms. I was resistant at first. A villanelle? A pantoum? A sonnet? Oh, how can I say what I need to say while following a formula? It will be like doing math! I need space and freedom!

To my surprise, writing in form opened me up. Working within constraints allowed me to think differently and surprising combinations of images and language arrived on the page. Because of the form. Thank you, Ms. Villanelle! Thank you, Mr. Pantoum!

So while here in Hawaii, my limitation comes in the form of art supplies. I am working with kiddie paint brushes and water colors and tourists magazines. No encaustic wax and thrift store books and acrylics and string. Oh, and I miss my very large supply of bird images.

The above piece is my first attempt at creating within the parameters of my supplies. I haven't watercolored in years! And I'm sure that those vibrant colors are inspired by the flowers here in Hawaii. Boundaries, specific environments, and limitations can free you up. Not all the time. Sometimes I need to push down doors and smear paint on the wall (figuratively, most of the time).

What limitation can you add to your creating life for a little trial run? One thing I sometimes do is spread out my collage images on a table, close my eyes, and pick seven images. I will use those seven images in my art. My mind and body usually figure out how to connect the images in meaningful ways. And there are always surprises.

Enjoy the play that comes with boundaries. You may discover that you actually burst through the boundaries while you work with them...

Aloha Mahalo,

Courtney

Anticipation

2009-05-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Aloha from Hawaii!

I am here on Maui with my mom on a trip of restoration and healing, and just having experienced our first full day here (yesterday), I can tell you that there is something powerful about this place. While swimming in the ocean yesterday, I felt my heart lighten, my spirits lift. And last night my mom and I had a wonderfully powerful session of talking and crying about the loss of our dad/husband. The tears felt like warm tropical rain.

I plan on doing some writing while I'm here -- as well as art. I forgot to bring art supplies this trip, so yesterday I headed to the Longs Drugs in Lahaina and purchased some inexpensive art supplies (see picture above).

And I have been collecting tourist magazines for collage-making. Stay tuned for some pieces, but for now I leave you with this photograph. Maybe it will inspire your own art.

What path are you on? What path would you like to be on? Where does the path in this photograph take you?

Revisiting the Quickie

2009-05-23T11:08:00.001-07:00

The Listening Effect, mixed media collage

Remember the quickie from my last post? Well, I revisited this 15-minute piece and decided to push it to the edge, risking ruining it, hating it. That's the key for me. To experience full creative freedom, I have to feel okay about making something ugly. (BTW, my safety net for this letting go process comes in the form of technology. I have a digital copy of my first piece, so my first effort is never lost.)

So I added more paint colors and drew and scribbled and outlined and wrote all over this piece. At one point in the beginning of my altering process, my partner said quite alarmingly, "It looks like he's in jail!" "Horizontal jail?" I asked. "Well, I guess now he looks more like he's in a book," he said. Ah-ha! So, I wrote all over the piece using my partner's observations for inspiration. And in another 20 minutes or so, here we have version number two, which I now call The Listening Effect.

If you feel like your quickie need a bit more attention, feel free to embellish with wild abandon, not worrying one inch about whether or not this version is "better" or "worse" than the first version. Move quickly and follow your gut. Your body will guide you.

The Quickie

2009-05-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

How Listening Can Be Heard Round the World, mixed media collage

Today I was in the mood for a quickie. I gave myself 15 minutes to create an art piece. This time limit included finding materials/images and creating the piece above. I wasn't methodical or precise, and I didn't focus on meaning or composition in a conscious way. I just let my body and intuition guide me.

During these 15 minutes I said to myself (mostly in my head, but occasionally aloud to my cats) things like, "yeah that feels right" and "okay, that works," and "uh-huh, yes." My body said yes: yes to letting go of a particular result, yes to not understanding, yes to going with the flow, and fittingly, yes to listening to myself.

Body-based art-making can be tremendously powerful. I would say that I create most of my art in this manner: I don't know where I am going with my creating, but I end up following a path that my intuition sets out before me. For those of you who are more precise and methodical with your art, but get stuck in your process now and then, this "quickie" exercise is a great way to burst any restrictive or self-critical bubbles you are encountering.

Set a timer and go! When the timer dings, you are done. Let yourself sit with your art just as it is, just as you might sit with yourself in meditation, listening to your breath, feeling the gurgle in your stomach, noticing the breeze against the back of your neck. Let your art piece be entirely itself without judging it. The piece represents one moment in time. Perhaps later you can revisit it to do your tinkering. But for now, it just is.

Here is your list: you, 15 minutes, and some art supplies. Go for it.

Art for Inner Wisdom

2009-05-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

Inner Wisdom, mixed media, 8" x 10"

I created this piece in connection to an essay I wrote over in The Healing Nest blog land. To check it out, click here.

Morning Celebration

2009-05-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Celebrate, encaustic, 8" x 10"

Birds do it every morning: they celebrate the coming of morning by tweeting away, almost as an invocation.

Here is my interpretation of their chirps: "It's morning! It's morning! It's light! Check it out! A new day! Let's eat bugs and worms! Find puddles to bathe in! My voice! My voice! I can hear it! Isn't it beautiful? Wake up! Good morning!"

Most mornings, I hear myself do this: Ugh. Oh. Ewugh. Ugh. Creak. Sigh.

Not terribly celebratory.

During the summer when I was about 16, what used to get me out of bed was the soap opera Days of Our Lives (shh, don't tell anyone). I recall one morning in particular when my mother entered my bedroom and declared, "Courtney, you must get up now. Marlena may not survive the exorcism." I burst out laughing as I un-cocooned myself from my comforter.

My childhood dogs were wonderful wake-up companions. My dog Kippy's flatulence often gave me a reason to get out of bed and my dog Alex's tongue bath on my neck tickled me awake.

I remember many mornings as a child in Hawaii (my family went on several trips to Hawaii throughout my childhood), when the ocean's morning ebb and flow made me rise from bed and walk to the beach to touch the new smooth sand.

And even more memorable were the mornings that my father sneaked me out of our Hawaii condo in the wee hours to take me out for coconut pancakes at the Lahaina Broiler (he treated me and my brothers to this secret outing, each on our own special morning). My father and and I drowned our pancakes with coconut syrup as we watched crabs climb up the side of the restaurant from the ocean.

Not so long ago, my partner went through a phase of placing cucumbers on my eyes in the morning during my wake-up process. Sometimes he even brought me a cup of hot lemon-chamomile tea.

All of these memories feel like celebrations of a new day. Celebrations of life.

My challenge these days is to find the moments of celebration even on mundane days, gray days, sad days -- days when I am missing my father and wish he would just tap me on the shoulder and say, "Courtney, time for coconut pancakes."

What can stand up to that coconut pancakes feeling? That's a tough act ot follow.

This spring the birds are reminding me that celebration can come in the morning--even if I am feeling confused or exhausted or sad. As Thich Naht Hanh writes, "Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me."

I am making a concsious effort to celebrate these brand new hours by finding something pleasurable in the morning--something that engages my senses. One morning I smelled my sweet orange essential oil bottle as soon as I woke to get a fresh scent of citrusy, sunshine energy. This morning, I played some disco tunes and did a wobbly, sleepy dance on my way to the shower.

It's a new day every day. A day with new possibilities. What do you do to celebrate?

Eating Serenity Like Pie

2009-05-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Seeking Serenity, encaustic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Metaphorical musing for the day:

If you could cut a slice of serenity like a pie and devour it today, what would be its characteristics? As you digest these perfectly serene qualities, how does your body feel?

A Horse, of Course!

2009-05-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

Powerhorse, encaustic, 8" x 10"

During my art show** last Friday, a friend noted that this piece above included no winged creatures. So many of my art pieces (the majority of them) include birds, human or non-human figures with wings, or wing-like gestures. Powerhorse, though, is all about groundedness. No flight here. Just power, empowerment, strength, and endurance.

I've been needing this energy lately, which is why I think I created this piece. Do you find in your creative process that you create what it is that you need?

**BTW, here's a little slideshow I put on my Facebook page of my art show.

The Boy Inside the Old Man Inside the Boy

2009-04-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

Transcendent Age, encaustic, 10" x 12"

(click image for a larger view)

How old do you feel you are? I like to think of the digits that tick away the years as "literal age." But there is something I like to call "transcendent age" that is malleable and amorphous. It changes based on how you feel and what you are doing in your life.

Sometimes I feel like I am twelve and other times like I'm seventy. The funny thing is that I rarely feel like I'm thirty-three, my literal age. Lately I've been toggling between fifty and seven. Curious.

How old are you today?

An Art Show to Bloom About!

2009-04-26T13:55:00.001-07:00

Blooming Day, 6" x 6" encaustic

I'm gearing up for my next art show at Rising Bird Healing Arts, my home business here in Seattle. My encaustic day on Friday sure spurred some spring-themed pieces (like the one above) and I look forward to sharing my other new pieces at my show on Friday! If you are in the Seattle area, please stop on by. I'd love to see you!

Here's the scoop on the event:

Date/Time: Friday, May 1, 2009; 6-9pm

Location: Rising Bird Healing Arts (6316 9th Avenue NE, Seattle)

This spring, I will be joined by gifted aroma artist Carol Walter of Solace Essentials. Carol will be selling her Solace Essentials products: chakra-specific lotions, creams, and shower salts. She will also be offering aromatherapy readings using Aromatherapy Insight Cards ($15/reading)!

Highlights of the event:

* Courtney's spring-inspired mixed media & encaustic art (originals & prints) for sale!

* Carol's Solace Essentials products for sale!

* Aromatherapy readings!

* Enter to win a free massage!

* Enjoy some delectable refreshments!

Please join us!

About Courtney Putnam
Courtney is a massage therapist, Reiki practitioner, writer, and visual artist. She runs her home-based business, Rising Bird Healing Arts, offering holistic healing and bodywork sessions, as well as mind-body and creativity workshops. It is here in her home where she creates her mixed media collages and encaustic art. In her work, she often explores the human-animal connection, blurring the lines between human and non-human animal forms. Birds are frequently central to her creations because they are gentle yet powerful creatures; they are also so light and fragile, yet profoundly symbolize freedom, release, creativity, and transformation. As an artist, writer, and healer, she sees her work as embodying these characteristics. Visit her website at http://www.rising-bird.com.

About Carol Walter
Solace Essentials was founded in 2005 by Certified Aromatherapist Carol Walter, after a 25-year health misdiagnosis, exacerbated by career burn-out and sudden loss of a relationship. Carol turned to natural remedies, including essential oils, to heal her body and soul. After experiencing unexpected physical healing of the mysterious medical condition accompanied by personal growth, she decided to further her knowledge and help others. Her certification in Aromatherapy—an ancient art and science that unlocks the natural healing energy of essential oils—is from the East West School for Herbal and Aromatic Studies (www.theida.com). Through her practice, Solace Essentials, she offers her healing expertise to you with custom Essential Oil Healing sessions, 100% organic essential oils, and unique, natural bodycare products that nurture both your skin and soul. To make an appointment please call 206.851.3233 or visit http://www.solaceessentials.com.

Back to the Earth

2009-04-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on encaustics for eight hours! My friend Eric joined me for a day of waxy play, which was just the ticket to keep me going and keep me focused (as opposed to my getting distracted by bills and dishes and naps). Thanks, Eric!

Here are two of my earthy delights from today:

Unearth, encaustic, 6" x 6" (there are coffee grounds in this piece!)

Grounding Force, encaustic, 6" x6"

A Nest Becomes Art

2009-04-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

My neighbor and good friend Juliet gave me this abandoned nest she found. It has been sitting in my yard for a couple weeks as I wasn't sure what to do with it. (I also wondered if another bird might scoop it up and re-use it. Do birds do that?)

Then I realized that my black bird statue, the one that guards the entrance to my massage space, was a little lonely with nothing to look after. So I gave my rusting bird the nest.

And I decorated the nest with some ribbon. I also set in some white stones I had collected at my friend Nedra's house and added a little hope for good measure.

My black bird seems to like this new situation, don't you think?

The Sweetness of Spring

2009-04-19T12:59:00.001-07:00

Sweet, mixed media collage, 5" x 6"

The spring energy flowing all around me motivated me to update my Cafe Press online store. I've uploaded new spring-inspired art. Feel free to check it out!

Three Selves

2009-04-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, April 12 I hosted "You, Yourself, and You: A Self-Portrait Workshop" and (lucky me!) I created art along with my wonderful participants.

For four hours, we explored our past, present, and future selves (or aspects of these selves) by creating mixed media art. We used found images and objects, fabric, encaustic wax, glitter, and paint to visually represent ourselves in three parts.

What a powerful, artful day!

Jenna poses with her beautiful self-portrait triptych.

Carol Jo and her three pieces make the room shine.

I decided to focus on my empathy and the way this gift/challenge has impacted (and continues to impact) my life. Here are my three pieces:

Past: Nature Child, Protector of Birds and Critters

Present: To Touch and to be Touched

Future: Radiating Empathy in a Field of Strength

A Mess to Behold!

2009-04-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

I have been itching to create. But I have had many other things to attend to, including my doing my taxes and cleaning my closet. I already have too many messes. So I was hesitant tonight to create yet another mess. But images of cherry blossoms, deep green leaves, and henna-dyed paper lanterns were calling! I cut out images, leaving piles of paper debris all over the floor (too bad my cats don't eat paper!).

And when my art piece just wasn't coming together, I decided to make the arting messy (see picture to the right: purple fingers!). I smeared paint and layered images and bleeding tissue paper (sounds rather nasty, doesn't it?) and added traces of metallic pen. I decided not to stop when I thought I was done. This time, I told myself to take the piece further. Even if I didn't like it, I wanted to take it past the end point (or the "safe" point I tend to rely on).

Do you ever find yourself "playing it safe" with your art, not wanting to risk making a piece ugly? I have discovered a great technique for ceasing to worrying about making a piece ugly: try to make it ugly! Push it to the edge. When I let go of the feeling that my art must "look right" or "be pretty," I actually produce some interesting work. And something shifts inside me; it's like I've created a little opening for creative growth. So if you're feeling stuck, make it ugly! Go ahead, ruin it! I bet you'll create some fascinating work.

Behold, mixed media collage, 8.5" x 11"

You, Yourself, and You: A Self-Portrait Workshop

2009-03-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

I am excited to be offering a workshop all about YOU on Sunday, April 12. Really, it's all about you!

In this workshop you'll create three mixed media self-portraits. These self-portraits can be as literal or symbolic and you want them to be. There are no rules, just your openness and willingness to explore and play! Think collage images, wax, paint, string, feathers, glitter, found objects, and more!

If you know of someone who may be interested in this workshop, I would be grateful if you passed this blog post along! Thank you!

You, Yourself, and You: A Self-Portrait Workshop

When: Sunday, April 12, 2009: 1-5pm
Where: Rising Bird Healing Arts
Cost: $60 (cash, checks, and credit cards accepted)
To Register: Email Courtney at cputnam@rising-bird.com

In this hands-on art workshop, we will explore the self in three parts: past self, present self, and future self. Using mixed media collage as our medium, we will cut and paste together meaningful images to reveal who we once were, to celebrate who we are now, and to imagine who we might become with some nurturing and encouragement. Feel free to bring meaningful images you’ve collected. Otherwise, all art supplies provided! Light refreshments provided.

Space is limited, so register early!

Authentic as the Iris

2009-03-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Radiance and Authenticity, mixed media collage, 6" x 8"

With some stellar help from Mlle. Mishel over at Eat Dirt and Write, I have been exploring my authentic self -- the self that radiates Courtney-ness without self-consciousness and worry. This self just is. An image that seems to embody this feeling of authenticity for me is an iris (at least for now -- it could change at any moment).

What I didn't know about irises until I did some searching was that an iris has three large petals called "standards" and three outer mini-petals (or sepals) called "falls" (see iris diagram in background of art piece by clicking on image for larger view). I wonder if my life is a bit like these standards and falls. Sometimes I feel vibrant and visible (I'm still working on this one) like those prominant petals and often I feel like I am peeking out from behind my life like a little fall.

In what parts of your life do you feel more like a bold standard and when do you feel like the subtle and delicate fall? What would happen if you played with these aspects of yourself a bit? What if you stepped back to observe more in a situation in which you are usually leading the show? Or what if you took a risk and flared your colorful petals at the world with one of your hidden (or at least not so visible) gifts?

A Wee Bit of Sharing

2009-03-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

In my latest issue of The Healing Nest Newsletter, you'll find lovely art pieces by two amazing women artists and bloggers. I want to highlight them here so you can see for yourself how fantastic they both are.

First I'll introduce you to Karin Bartimole of the Beyond Words blog. Karin creates her art in a journal and posts her powerful creations daily.

This art piece to the left is Karin's Feb. 16, 2009 entry.

Alberta McCullen, of the Amusing Muses blog (a blog she maintains with her sister Ava), creates vibrant, soulful art that ignites the imagination.

This piece to the left is Alberta's Awakening Strength, Compassion, and Wisdom.

Alberta and Karin: thank you for sharing your beauty, creativity, and strength with me.

Please visit these two inspiring blogs!

Shining

2009-03-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

Shine, mixed media collage, 4" x 5"

I've been thinking a lot lately about my relationship to shining. I am perfectly comfortable feeling the sunshine on my skin and surrounding myself with shiny, sparkly things, but I am not so sure how comfortable I am with being the shining one. I have always known I wanted to be influential in some way, but right now I am feeling confused about the idea of being in the spotlight.

For instance, what is that feeling I get right before my art shows, when I look at my partner and say, "Wait. You mean I have to be here for this?" Ah, the spotlight.

How do you feel as the shining one? Do you feel comfortable with the idea of being known, even well known? What about right-out famous? Do tell me: do you prefer to be behind the scenes, in the shining spotlight, or somewhere in between?

Bring on the Tweets!

2009-03-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

TWEET!, mixed media encaustic, 6" x 6"

I am ready for the tweet-tweety-tweet energy that comes with spring! It has never bothered me that birds like to wake up so early (and thus wake me up). I like to know that the birds have such open throat chakras. Sometimes I chirp back to them and say, "Yeah, you say it, bird!" and "Yes, tell me all about it!"

It's gray in Seattle today. Extra gray. Super-saturated gray. So here's a little lively spring energy for this monotone day: Chestnut-backed Chickadee (click on listen button).

Vernal Tricks

2009-03-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

Vernal Tricks, mixed media encaustic, 8" x 10"

We're in this season of vernal tricks: simultaneously, hail pelts the earth and the sun warms the sidewalk. Frost hardens garden beds and the green heads of daffodils open their tongues to the sky. It is the time of year where I feel like an acrobat, tightrope walking the edge of winter, fearing I'll fall back into its depths, and hula hooping my way into sexy spring, my hips loose and uninhibited. This in-between time is a tad erratic, a smidgen hopeful, and certainly confusing.

How are you feeling as we roll into the season of green?

Hope and Feathers

2009-03-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

And Baby Makes Three, mixed media encaustic, 6" x 6"

For L & J and the hope that they're giving to a beautiful baby boy.

Uncover

2009-03-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

Uncover, mixed media encaustic, 8" x 10"

Look closely. Deeply. Sift through the moist earth. Listen to your heart's thumping echo. What do you uncover when you scratch for letters, dig for images, travel through the tangled roots of your life? Who is singing? What messages are waiting to be held in the light?

Just Barely Emerging

2009-03-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

I worked on encaustics for a good, solid span of four hours today (here's my trick: this is what I do when my business is a little slow!). I worked on several pieces, and I seemed to be playing with the image of spring--spring emerging, spring dormant, spring hopeful, spring elusive, and so on. I clearly have spring fever or spring-itis or restless spring syndrome (RSS!).

With my mask strapped on and my heat gun in hand, I took over the kitchen and made a royal mess (sorry, Walaka!). Here is one of my creations from today:

Just Barely Emerging, mixed media encaustic, 8" x 10"

Genius

2009-03-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

My friend Tatyana shared this video of Elizabeth Gilbert's speech, and I want to share it with every creative person I know! Do you resonate with Gilbert's sense that our creative impulses are not held tightly inside us, but are energies/entities we encounter?

Incubating Possibility

2009-03-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

Incubating Possibility, mixed media collage, 4" x 6"

Inter-being with My Cup

2009-02-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

Filling My Cup Half Full, mixed media collage, 6" x 7"

"Nothing can exist by itself alone. It has to depend on every other thing. That is called inter-being. To be means to inter-be. The paper inter-is with the sunshine and with the forest. The flower cannot exist by itself alone; it has to inter-be with soil, rain, weeds, insects....

A glass can be empty or full of tea, but in order to be either empty or full, the glass has to be there. So emptiness does not mean non-being, and it does not mean being either. It transcends all concepts. "

Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear

Pain, Panic, and Transformation

2009-02-20T18:48:00.001-08:00

Pain and Panic, mixed media collage, 3" x 5"

As a therapeutic art exercise today, I decided to create a piece that reflects some of what I have been experiencing lately with my anxiety. Ms. Anxiety Pants has been making daily visits and I am trying to form a dialog with her, ask her questions, soothe her. Perhaps making her a visual entity like the piece above will let her know that I see her. She doesn't need to shout so loudly anymore.

Transformation, mixed media collage, 2.5" x 6"

The second part of this therapeutic art session today involved creating a piece that reflects what I want to see for myself. It's supposed to be a positive vision--one of growth and transcendence and change. After creating this piece I was tempted to strap on some butterfly wings and plant myself in a pot. With some good nurturing and a feeling of safety, who knows what could happen!

A Valentine

2009-02-14T10:30:00.001-08:00

Act of Giving, mixed media collage, 5" x 6"

(I want to give a thank-you to Ms. Juliet for giving me fabric scraps the other week. The red behind the Buddha is from you! Thank you, generous J!)

Harmony

2009-02-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

Peaceful Co-existence, mixed media collage, 5" x 7"

Art Card Winnings!

2009-02-08T19:05:00.001-08:00

Today is the day for art card winnings! View the video below to find out who the winner is!

Congratulations to the recipient of the 6-pack of assorted greeting cards! As I stated in my video, I have decided to give all ten of you prizes, so I will be sending you each a couple of my cards as well. I just need your mailing addresses! Please email me at cputnam@rising-bird.com with your full name and mailing address and expect a pretty package soon.

Art Card Give-Away!

2009-02-05T11:00:00.001-08:00

I'm itching to give some of my art away. I think this 29 Gifts in 29 Days Challenge has got me in quite the lovely state of giving. It's contagious! I wake up each morning wondering what I will want to give. This morning I woke up with the feeling that I have an abundance of art. Why not share it?

An assorted six-pack of my art print cards could be yours! Just post on this blog and mention something that you are grateful for. That's all you have to do! I will draw the winner's name this Sunday, February 8.

Good luck!

Courtney

Returning

2009-02-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

Return, mixed media collage, 4" x 6"

What would you like to return to? Return is also re-turn--turning again, turning to face something you have experienced before, a place or state where you've been before.

Is there something you've put on the back burner that you'd like to bring forward? Is there a state of mind or a feeling you'd like to bring to the surface? Is there an activity that brings you joy that you'd like to engage in again? Perhaps this is a good time to return to yourself if you've been focusing on others' needs more than your own.

If you need permission to return to something, I hereby give it to you! Go on, return and prosper!

Deer of Potential

2009-01-21T17:58:00.000-08:00

4" x 6" mixed media collage

Sometimes I am drawn to particular images when creating and I'm not quite sure why. Does this happen to you? Why the deer today? Why is yellow such a prominent color? I understand the egg and the wings -- two very strong symbols for me representing possibility, growth, and transformation.

I was going to name this piece Possibility or Potential, but I'm not sure either of those are "it." After all, there is that deer with a bird on its antlers and something is about to happen. But what is it? The deer is looking up--up at that flowery orb above her. Hmmm....

The creative process is such a mystery for me. I am not one of those artists who has a clear idea of what she is trying to create when sitting down to work. I have a more intuitive approach, I guess I'd say. I find myself drawn to certain colors, textures, and images and I piece them together, adding layers as I go. Put in another way, I am trying to tell a story in my art (usually the story of things/people/animals/ideas in relationship), and yet I'm often not sure what the story is. I taste a hint of it by the time I finish a piece, but my work tends to develop for me like a Polaroid picture. I have to live with it for a while before I understand.

How do you create? Do you sit down and sketch an outline of what you are going to do or do you jump into the big hole of creative mystery? Maybe your approach is a combination of those two approaches or something else entirely.

And what do you make of this deer piece? Any ideas for titles?

Creative Bursting

2009-01-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

Trusting Myself, encaustic, 6" x 6" (SOLD)

It's a new year (thank goodness!) and I have several creative ideas up my sleeve. The hard part, though, is to know which ones to follow. I don't want to spread myself so thin with a jumble of half-actualized ideas. I need to focus. And trust my intuition, trust myself (hence the encaustic piece above). As part of my musing process, I thought I would ask you all what you think about a few of my ideas.

My first idea was inspired by the beautiful artist Bridgette Guerzon Mills of Contemplating the Moon. On her website, Amanobooks, she has a page for sending virtual cards (unfortunately, the link to the virtual cards page is broken at the time of this writing). She has 6-8 art pieces that you can send as e-cards. I love this idea! I've already started thinking about what art pieces might work well for this, and my brother Chris has agreed to work on the web development end of things. Are there any card ideas/messages you'd like to see for such a page, like "I miss you because you make me want to break dance" or "go get 'em, tiger"? I'd love your input on this.

My second idea requires a bit of boldness (see my blog post at The Healing Nest for more information about my burgeoning boldness): I aspire to facilitate more workshops. Over the past year I have given three workshops: two "Abundance Box" art workshops and one "Writing from Your Body" workshop. All of my other workshop attempts were canceled due to lack of participation. Sigh. Double sigh. But because I so love to plan for workshops, all of my energies were not wasted. I now have some tasty kernels to work with if I chose to give these workshops in the future.

But back to my current question: what workshops should I propose to the universe (okay, the Seattle area)? Based on your knowledge of me and your interests, what would you like to see me offer? A friend of mine mentioned to me that she wants to create art, but she doesn't quite know where to start. Another friend showed interest in learning encaustic techniques. I'd love to hear your ideas!

I want to move boldly into this new year, and I would love your scintillating ideas. Thank you!

Woof!

2009-01-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

I was delighted the other day when I walked over to my trusty Whole Foods Market and purchased my very first BARK Magazine. In this January/February 2009 issue (which includes an article about Emmylou Harris' dog sanctuary -- go, Emmylou!), my brother Robb is featured in the Art Section.

The article is called "Lost & Found—Robb Putnam talks about his misfit mutts." Unfortunately, BARK doesn't show the full article on its website, so I have no article or pretty pictures to show you, but you can visit my brother's website for images of his creations: http://robbputnam-art.com/home.html

I have two very talented brothers and draw so much inspiration from both of them. I feel so lucky to have been part of such a creative family growing up. My brother Robb has been creating art since, well, kindergarten and my brother Chris is an amazing poet who often reads in the Seattle area. Chris does a lot with mixed media creations (word, sound, & image) and his works can be found on his website: http://www.pisor-industries.org/about.php

Go, big brothers! Keep inspiring me!

Together

2009-01-03T12:11:00.001-08:00

Together, mixed media collage with wax, 4" x 6" (SOLD)

When Together Is Actually Alone

Today I took myself to the cafe,
squared my body on the hard seat,
and asked my hands to lift the steaming chai
to my lips for several long and silent sips.

1/3/09