International Soul Art Day Gallery

What Inspired you to do a Soul Art journey?

I did this journey last year and found it remarkably transformative. This is the second year I’ve done it and I love where it challenges me, although at first I don’t feel that way! This year was particularly triggering, but I used the tools provided to move through it. I feel as if I’ve had a major breakthrough personally, both spiritually and with my art.

How would you describe your creative process?

I like to do ceremony when I create anything. I burn some incense and invite my spirit helpers in to share space with me. I invoke the ancestors. I’ll light a candle and because I’m a painter who uses acrylic paint, I like to use blessed water when I paint, so I mix my own holy water. The spaces where things get quiet are places of deep listening, where the spirit of the painting begins to speak. It tells me what it wants next and it often feels like a collaboration.

What insight did you receive from your Soul Art?

My process focused on what family is to me, which was hugely triggering because my family of origin has been both neglectful and abusive. This was an invitation to go deeper, to uncover the raw emotions that were there, to see where the pain has been and to soothe it on all sides. It took me days of circling the canvas before I could move through it. Now that I’m on the other side, I’m filled with gratitude for this process.

What is the most important thing you would like to share about your Soul Art experience?

Anything worth doing is going to be a little challenging. There were intense moments of frustration, procrastination and avoidance. I left my canvas in my bedroom so it would be the first thing I saw in the morning and the last thing I saw when I went to bed. I became friends with it. I allowed it to speak and I learned that I could move through something that was hard for me and come out with something I really love.