So many stories

We are all made of so many stories woven together to create a beautiful whole. Stories shape our world as the experiences and learning held within every moment.

Big picture stories

My own big picture story story is one of a ministers daughter who

dreamed of becoming an art teacher so I became one. As I grew my story became intertwined with the dream of teaching and being, so a new story formed. There is the central story of family and all that has happened with two beautiful children quickly becoming adults and discovering their own worlds.

Of course, there are millions of smaller stories that are woven through this story tapestry and held within every thread. The dyslexic child story or the sick mother story are big stories that shape my smaller stories. These become the inner stories that direct many of our actions. Within each story, we shape our beliefs about the world and who we are within it. What if we could find hidden parts of our stories through art. What if art was the doorway that leads to the inner room where your story tapestry hung. This is the room where you can connect to the individual stories woven into the tapestry of you.

We all have stories

We all have so many stories inside us that are waiting to come to life. We have lived so many stories and every moment adds to the stories that shape our world.

Do you want to know more of the story of you or do you believe that you don’t have any stories or that your stories are just not interesting enough to tell? Your stories are personal and unique to you and only you get to choose which story you will explore. Whenever I settle into a creative play date, I set the intention of a story that I want to explore. The big picture stories are a great starting point as they open us to connect to the smaller story voices that we hold. I created a storyteller as my intention was to create a painting and poem that were about my inner storyteller.

Trust and intention

I don’t know where the intention will take me or how the story will unfold. I have learnt to trust whatever comes and to be open to possibilities. When I allow myself to trust those inner voices, I create images from a space that opens me up to new ideas and connections that my conscious mind does not have access to.

I know that you will be surprised by the stories that you connect with. Your stories are waiting within your unconscious mind to be triggered by a spark of memory, the suggestion of a form, a leap into your imagination as the possibilities are revealed through the layers and your story takes shape.

What are your stories?

Write your own list of big picture stories as these are the beginning place of all the inner stories that shape who you are.

Soul stories

These soul stories that you have held in your heart shape you and create your path forward. There are so many stories within you that you will never stop discovering new ones once you begin to look for them. This story creating is a mindfulness, spiritual connection and intuitive process. The stories that emerge in images and words are the adventure and the finished art piece is another part of a much bigger story of you.

As you explore your own stories and create intuitive mixed media paintings, you will connect to many stories that you hold within and learn to use listen to those intuitive nudges as your inner wise self guides you. Those ideas that seem to pop into your head or that knowing of what you need to do next will become something that you begin to pay attention to. This is not about being psychic or woo woo. Intuition is simply a way of connecting to your own inner wisdom and learning to trust yourself as you act on your own inner voice as you create.

Connecting

There are easy ways to connect with your story and it always seems to start from a playful space of exploration. I will often start words that roam intuitively across the page but sometimes the starting point is the playful remains of a pallet from another painting. I Preah the paint randomly and spray and let t drip. Then I keep adding to the layers until an image. Connection appears….a lot like the childhood game of cloud dreaming really. Sometimes I may begin with collage layers the become the base…or with a scribble that takes away the fear of the blank canvas and back into a playful space. It doesn’t matter where I start, but it does matter I begin and the easiest way is always to begin from a playful heart.

Whatever story comes up is what is needed right now. Currently, I have started painting hares and so I’m exploring their symbolism but I already know they are magical, strong and transformative, associated with the moon and show up in a number of feminine myths. I also learnt that they were about balance which I definitely need now as I recover from a fractured wrist and surgery. This is a playful story that could be anything. Their us the very focused story of my mum or the story of the girl with flowers in her hair but they are all interwoven parts of my storry.

Story Spaces

I’m a 70s child and I really did use to wear thin plats with bush daisies threaded through them. I love all things feminine and see my art as being about awakening the feminine within each of us. There is such amazing gentle strength and wisdom in the imagery of women stepping into their own spaces and exploring their world. The idea of gentle strength is integral to who I am so that is part of the feeling that comes through. This space of wanting to know our own inner world and being willing to explore who we are from a playful, connected space is how we step from the space of surviving to thriving.

Whether it is my story, your story or another artist’s story is not important. The reality is that each painting becomes a space that you can step into and find the story you connect with, within the layers, When a painting is completed by an artist it is the artist’s story. As soon as someone else connects to the parts inside themselves that are attracted by the art image…a new story begins to form. This is where you, as the observer get to choose…heart or head.

Step into your story

The Art Inside-Out process is about choosing to be guided by your heart centre as you step into the small part of the art piece that calls to you. This is not the focal point but could be a section of pattern in the background, the glint in her eyes, the playful red flower in the bottom left of the painting…Whatever draws you in is about a connection space to your own inner stories.
Sometimes the idea of an image pops into your head or sometimes it starts with a word but I always start with an intention. Intentions are wonderful as, unlike goals they have a sense of flexibility.

My intention to start a new canvas came from a Peter Pan quote that kept spinning around in my head so I let it playfully come out onto the page and merge with my own stories. I wanted to continue exploring the idea of story and awakening the feminine. This sense of intuition is something that is traditionally thought of as feminine. I remember the story of Baba Yaga and Vassili’s intuition doll that her mother gifted her to keep her safe and guide her on her path. I love this image as you see Vaisillie go out into the world and step into her own adventure with the wisdom of her intuition doll guiding her every step of the way. This doll is one we all have and is passed down through the generations. Some refer to it as instinct but it is a deeper soul connected guidance that keeps us true to our path and the person who is most truly ourself.

Do you want to know a story?

As you look at an art piece and connect with what attracts you and you now know what calls to you,  This is a small section and not the obvious big focal point. It is the area that sparks your curiosity or makes you smile or ask an inner question. This is where you decide whether you will explore the story from the inside out from within your heart space or stay in that analytical headspace that keeps the story at arm’s length.

This is the choice to suspend disbelief and imagine stepping into the part of the painting and becoming that part of the painting. From within the painting you can explore your own stories that are waiting for you. Using I am sentence starters to connect to your storyteller voice, you will begin to write as that part of the painting. This is where the surprises bubble up to the surface as you are writing from a heart space and the story fragments flow out as you create your own story poems. You could then choose to write more about this story part of you that you have connected to. For me the poem is usually enough but sometimes the story poem can lead to another painting or I may choose to write from a different part that attracts me from within the painting.

An Invitation to Create a Story

This is a lovely, safe way to explore your own stories as you playfully connect. Connect with me and register for the waiting list or enquire about a group booking. Small groups sessions where I bring the art to you as a Circle Art Storytelling Event. Send any questions or wonderings as I love to connect.

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