WHIMSICAL OWLS

Here I am in my studio looking at my inspiration board and knowing that these are not the owls I paint. I paint the idea of an owl within a playful, layered, mixed media process. I’m always surprised at the decsterity and variety of owls and thlayful curiosity that extends through those amazing eyes. This idea of an owl is not about creating anything ideal but of capturing the feeling that I gain from there beautiful energy.

I developed my Whimsical Owl, intuitive mixed media workshop to continue to explore these wonderful creatures in different ways. I love sharing the simplicity and joy of creating these playful owl images with layers and simple shapes.

BIRO PLAY AND POSSIBILITIES

This owl focus has led me to my little owl drawing series in black giro that I can do anywhere. They are an A5 size so very easy to carry with me in my bag. They may end up as paintings further down the track but for now I love the line play and the joy of them. As I continue to draw and paint these images, they take on their own form and keep evolving. Some of the more recent owls have become far more quirky. Who knows what new adventures they will take me on but I’d do hope that you will join me and explore for yourself. I will add some free owl drawing resources to the ‘Things I Love’ page. Right now I’m just working out the best way to scan the images as I want to add more of my drawings to the PDF booklets.

Owls never cease to inspire the imagination with their quirky head contortions, their beautiful feather patterns and their quizzical expressions. This Whimsical Owl adventure and the inspiration and intuitive play continues to expand with each new piece and I often feel surprised by the owls that emerge on the page.

GUIDANCE

I have 7 animal guides as I have one for each chakra. The owl is my third eye chakra which is all about wisdom, connection and intuition. This seems appropriate as I develop ways of sharing Whimsical Owls through intuitive mixed media art workshops.

So many possibilities…

BEGINNINGS

Beginnings – Owl wisdom: animal guide and teacher
If you are reading this post I’m assuming that you have a connection to owls in some way. I have always loved owls and fondly remember the joy of winning an award for my small painting is an owl in year 9 at high school. I wasn’t an academic award child as I’m dyslexic so words tended to be out of my reach at that stage of my but gifted me with this heightened visual preference. I’ve kept wondering and exploring and my brain has caught up with me as I teach art, English and EAL to students in a secondary school setting. Many of these students come from areas of crisis from areas of crisis across the word and continually challenge me to step into something more to give them the support they need. I love the plasticity of the brain and how it grows as we feed it, question, explore, wonder and become more of who we truly know we are.

QUESTIONS

Owls are my guide to help me look inside for the answers and ask the ‘what if?’ questions that lead me to more questions. In fact if I was to draw a symbol for an owl it would look like this:
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This is the way the owl wisdom teaches me to look at the world and how I have progressed through each learning challenge. It is the way I have always made sense of the world. I like to think of myself as the ’50+ question girl’ as this is what saved me from the trap of believing in lack and giving up. This owl wisdom has taught me to question everything and to think big picture as I explore every possibility and play beyond the edges of what I know now. I failed English at year 12 but now teach English up to year 10 level. I teach students who need extra help and remember that this was me. Owl wisdom has taught me that there is no ceiling on what I can achieve if I can find the right question. I keep finding new questions and refining them with more questions until I’m where I aimed to be.

Owl image

In grade 2 I decided to teach art when the world told me that this was impossible but I was tuned into my inner guidance and the world had no business in shaping my dreams. I am a dreamer who has always dreamed big and not accepted no as the answer. I do believe in the idea of failing forward and taking small imperfect actions as nothing happens unless you are willing to commit to an action

WONDERINGS + MORE QUESTIONS

I was wondering what big dreams you have imagined for yourself? Have you kept asking questions that have taken you closer to your dreams or have you dismissed it as impossible. I see these soul sparks as heart wishes that we are being guided to explore.

KEEP ASKING…

What is your biggest heart wish? (We usually have more than one.)

Are you moving closer to your dreams or is it a hazy desire that you ignore?
What small action could you take to move towards it today?

What would be the next small action and by when?

Share your heart wish in Wild Soul Creativity Circle (Facebook).

Love owls, ❤️ love this post …share the ❤️ and join us in the Wild Soul Creativity Circle or if your a Melbourne local come to a Whimsical Owl Workshop. Online whimsical owl workshop coming in November 2017.

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Joyful intuitive play

Do you long for space to breath and connect with you? Join me in a two-day intuitive painting workshop adventure as we explore and connect with whimsical owl dreaming and connect with our inner wisdom. This is a time to playfully connect, explore and paint as you remember what it feels like to trust your inner guidance and make space to explore your own creativity. A small group of 10 women is invited to join with me to explore their desire to create and awaken their artist muse through a heart-centered intuitiveWIlld Soul Creativity process. Explore the joy of mixed media layers, mark making and color in this playful space as you develop your own unique owl paintings.

Using art as a process to explore our inner worlds you will learn simple techniques to connect with your heart center and your guides. We will set our circle of shared intention for our creative adventure within a sacred space as we explore, paint and playfully connect with our owl wisdom through this connected process. This is a time to nourish your soul and give yourself the space to breath and find your center once more. As we learn to listenand connect to, our inner guidance, and listen as your owl takes form on your canvas.

When your whimsical owl painting is complete, together we will explore simple techniques to receive intuitive angel guidance to connect with your inner wise self. The lovely process of stepping into your artwork and reading the story is a powerful part of this healing art process. The simple techniques that you will learn allow you to bypass your conscious mind so you can connect with your truth and allow the soul messages to come through.The day will end with a final sharing of our beautiful owl creations as we celebrate our connection and techniques we have learnt.

What to bring: Materials

All materials will be supplied. Bring along any extra brushes or special materials you love to work with and an iPad or phone for photo reference. Please wear clothes that you do not mind getting paint on or bring an old short to cover you. Also, I advise that you get a plastic sheet from the $2 shop to place in your car to protect it from any wet artwork at the end of the day.

Wild Soul Creativity

All work shops by Cheryle Bannon use the 5 easy step Wild Soul Creativity cycle as we go around the circle steps of connect play, layer, dreaming and celebration. All workshop attendees will receive a 5 email weekly series to inspire your creative muse and playfully introduce you to this simple 5 step cycle with some easy art doing prompts.