melting, thawing, breaking open

happy almost spring! i haven't been updating here as much in the past month or two because i've been focused more internally. winter is good for that. i also don't make much art in the winter, all of my creative energy manifests in the spring and summer. i have been up to some fun things, though. i am now offering custom gem essences and synergy 12 gem essences! there will be detailed information about them up soon, but for now if you're interested you can check out my facebook page or send me a message. in february i went on my first silent meditation retreat at the insight meditation society. my retreat was lead by lila kate wheeler and howard cohen. they were wise and hilarious and generally awesome. it was a really amazing experience, and i'll definitely be going back in the future. in the meantime, i'm really excited for spring! i've been thinking about soil and seeds and sunlight. we're almost there.

this is a gem essence i made for myself and a friend called golden blue. its focused on the solar plexus, heart, and throat chakra. its got a lot of crystals!

this is the synergy 12 essence!

tibetan tektite, tanzanite, herderite, moldavite, petalite, scolecite, natrolite, brookite, phenacite, satyaloka quartz, danburite, and azeztulite. i just recently finished collecting all 12 stones and i'm still working with their energies and learning what they're all about. i intend to write a separate post about them eventually.

this was a beautiful wooden quan yin statue at the insight meditation society. i loved walking past her every day. i felt quan yin's presence strongly the whole time i was there.

this is a tetrahedrite! its basically a bunch of metals that form together and make pretty patterns. it feels so strong and fierce, but also really gentle. i love this crystal.

so sparkly!

may all beings be liberated.

part of my desk altar. blue jay feather, self-reliance card from the fairy oracle deck, hermit card from the  collective tarot, quan yin card from the goddess oracle, big quartz point, rose quartz, himalayan salt crystal, druzy quartz, amethyst whale. 

and here's bruiser being dreamy. what a little lovemuffin.

tarot spread for all of us in this new year

last week i pulled a few cards for the community, the world, and all the energy that is shifting around right now. i want to share the messages i received, may they resonate outward.

first, the one of disks jumped out of the deck! it has been on my altar since the full moon in cancer and seems to represent some key energy that is coming into fruition. this is a time of birth. we must remember this in all moments. we are being born together and we can choose to be very gentle about it. there is potential for profound planetary healing, if we make that choice.
then the spiritual leaders card and two of swords jumped out of the deck while i was shuffling more. they are telling us to bring our different viewpoints together for the best of every being. the healing of this planet is like a big puzzle and we all have different pieces that are necessary to see the whole. we must honor these differences and see them as assets to the whole, not as separation. now is a time of spirit, we must find the spirit within each of us and let that be our compass. when we are living in our hearts anything is possible!
then i drew the card on the bottom of the deck and it was the healer of disks. healing the planet. this is what we were made for, no task is too much for us. we were born into this time and place for a reason. you have the potential for profound healing, even if you don't know it yet. its time for each of us to step into our highest power, align with our heartflame, and remember that we are all connected. we are all dancing love energy and we can choose to embody that in any moment.

(the deck used is the tarot of transformation by willow arlenea)

rainbows, fire, and transformation!

happy new year!! i hope you all had a wonderful time. december was full of intense transformational energy for many people. the solstice was especially powerful for me, i was able to be in an amazing sacred space of love with many members of my community. we prayed together, played music, danced, and sang together, meditated together, wove our visions together, and stayed up until dawn. it was so refreshing and wonderful to be in such a positive intentional community. between the solstice and the new year i did a lot of work releasing old energy and patterns that were no longer serving me.

weaving rainbow dreams, visions, and intentions on the solstice. my two oldest quartz crystals, set of 5 special golden lemurian crystals, and my angel phantom quartz crystal in a shell given to me by aphrodite in a vision, then found on the beach. 

on new years eve i did my first firewalk!!! it was absolutely incredible. it was lead by stephanie foy of dimensions in healing in a beautiful space in vermont. stephanie is an amazing person and led the whole ceremony with strength, grace, and open hearted presence. there were about 16 people there from all different places and backgrounds. i was shy when i first got there, because i didn't know anyone, but by the end of the night we all felt so connected and recognized the divine spark of love and light in each of us. 

we all put our intentions into the wood, piece by piece. hopes and dreams for the future, things we wanted to release, and things we wanted to invite into our lives. our fire tender, charlotte, built a wood pile, then we all took turns pouring oil over it and giving voice to those things inside of us that were really tough and needed release, integration, or just more mindfulness and countering them with affirmations.

then we all lit it on fire!!

and it was so beautiful.

while charlotte stayed with the fire as it burned down to coals, we all went back inside to prepare for the walk. one of the things that we did was an arrow breaking ceremony. this powerful ritual was originally created by peggy dylan, founder of sundoor international firewalking school. the whole idea is to move out of our fear response and into our power, breaking through whatever is holding us back and stepping forward into embodying our highest selves. this is one of the most powerful and healing things i've ever done in my entire life and at the time i was absolutely sure i couldn't do it. i watched everyone else breaking their arrows on the first try and i just couldn't imagine myself actually breaking the arrow. then i got up to do it, even though i still didn't believe i could. stephanie had me place the arrow at my throat.  it was time to step forward through my obstacles, and break the arrow, but i still didn't believe i could do it. and the arrow didn't break! it felt impossibly solid and all of my negative beliefs grew stronger. we tried it one more time and i felt closer, but still couldn't break the arrow. stephanie told me to take a minute and breath, so i did. she said that i could always break it over my knee, but i knew that to fully release i my old fears and negativity i had to break this arrow against my throat. so we tried one more time with the whole group chanting "forward". i took three deep breathes, lunged forward, and broke the arrow!! it was a truly transformational moment. up until the very last second i did not believe that i could do it, not until the arrow snapped and everyone cheered. with the breaking of the arrow i felt all of my beliefs about myself shift and all of the old negativity fell away. it was amazing, and i'm so grateful to stephanie and everyone there for holding that space so that transformation could unfold.

close to midnight, it was time to walk the coals!! we all went out to the fire, a few people set up drums, and stephanie and charlotte raked out the coals into a path for us to walk. as the path was done and we were ready to walk, it became 2013! we started drumming and chanting and lined up to walk the fire. it was so wonderful to see all these people, who had been strangers hours before, stepping up and making to choice to walk across a bed of 1200-1500 degree coals in there bare feet. everyone there was truly inspiring. i walked a bunch of times and it was so fun! i have always wanted to do a firewalk, so i wasn't ever scared of it. i knew there would be pain, that is part of the experience. i walked the fire with pure joy, and felt so free and clear and open. it was a space of intense love and connection and i'm so grateful that i got to be there and share that with all the lovely people i met there. what i great way to start the year!!

these are coals from the fire. they feel especially powerful in this glass pyramid. as soon as i got home i knew it was the perfect vessel for the ashes from my firewalk. the crystal top was a perfect moment of serendipity. i was thinking about what i could use as a top and i had a few crystals on my desk so i picked one up and tried it out. it was a perfect fit! and it happens to be a really amazing crystal because it has two portals, or little windows, as you can see in the picture below.

that diamond shaped face is a portal, sometimes called a time-link. there is another one on the other side of the crystal.

so, that was all pretty amazing. i started this new year feeling light and free, feeling open and connected to my heart center. and i still feel it! i did so much release work in december that i opened up all of this space and potential inside of myself. i feel my energy flowing freely and strongly. i especially feel connected to rainbow light energy. this new phase of rainbow light energy started with a vision that i had on the solstice. as time has past since then i've been able to integrate this energy, play with it, and learn about it. now, whenever i do energy work the energy that comes is this pure rainbow light that pours easily from the universe through my heart center. i am so excited to share this energy and spread the rainbow love all over the planet!

and here is a picture of bruiser because he's adorable. :)

crystal visions

hello! it's been quite a busy fall! between school, work, and life, i haven't had much time to stay up to date on the internet. now that's its winter, though, i've got a little more time to stay in and get caught up on things. over the past few months i've been creating and tending to lots of little altars, working with some amazing new crystals, having a few adventures, and doing a lot of internal work. my dreams have been vivid and informative and now, more than ever before, i've been feeling very connected to all of my spirit guides and ancestors. right now i'm very inspired by the dynamic tension created between opposite forces. polar unity. duality is an illusion we create to keep things separate and manageable. what does it look like behind the illusion? i've got some exciting new art pieces in the works that are almost done. i'm also very engaged in my energy balancing work. i'm excited to announce that i'm now accepting clients at a space on main st. in downtown northampton! you can find more information on the energy balancing page up at the top. there is a lot of shifting happing right now, especially around the solstice, and i wish everyone smooth transitions, love, and light.

bleeker street

golden lemurian seed crystals

green apophalite with scolecite

altar to dreams, ancestors, and starbeings. golden lemurian seed crystals, shell, amethyst, and postcard of From the Far Away, Nearby by Georgia O'Keefe

altar to temples, bees, and butterflies. golden temple calcite, cavansite, smoky quartz, aqua aura quartz, amethyst, bee, dried honeycomb, butterfly, painting by Michael Crigler

crystal pouch that i made out of an old vintage leather handbag and rose quartz bead

"soon you will be sitting on top of the world" red candles with gold lemurian seed crystals

golden temple calcite

optical calcite

shell altar honoring the ocean, the ones who came before, and the ones yet to come

middle of shell altar

beach findings

my vision board for school. ancestors, angels, transformation, depths, fire, water, the moon, the heart, and most of all gratitude.

close up of vision board

close up of vision board

cosmic rose

today i made another painting in the portal series! this one has been brewing for a while. i woke up today very restless and knew that the only thing i could do was paint. luckily i had the time and space to do that, otherwise i would have been pretty cranky all day. this is called cosmic rose. its inspired by a lot of the energy work i've been doing in the past month, the night sky, the upper chakras, quartz crystals, higher dimensions, cosmic information, and star people.

setting up my work space, charging the paint with golden lemurian seed crystals.

this cluster has been in my family for two generations (maybe more?) it was very helpful in focusing the energy into the painting.

cosmic rose

cosmic rose detail

flower and crystal moon projects

last week on the new moon i made a gem essence and started some flower infused honey. it was so fun! i intend the honey to be a face wash, but i'm sure i'll eat lots of it too. it has calendula, rose petals, lavender, and a big chunk of rose quartz. i never knew how easy it was to infuse herbs in honey! all i did was pour the honey and flowers (about half as much flowers as honey) into a glass jar together and let them sit for one moon cycle. i turn the jar about twice a day so that the flowers really get to all the honey. and thats it! pretty awesome.

ingredients

flower honey! ready to hang out on my windowsill for one whole moon cycle. it'll be done on the next new moon.

gem essences are also surprisingly easy to make. i chose the crystals and made sure that they were all safe to put in water that i'd be drinking. if you want to make an essence out of a water soluble or semi-toxic stone just put it in a sealed preferably glass container and put the container in the water. that way the water doesn't touch the stone, but still takes on its energy. so, i put filtered tap water into a glass bowl (crystal is ideal, but i don't have that.) and added the stones. i meditated over the water, stating my intentions and asking the water to accept the energy of the stones.  then i covered it with saran wrap and placed it outside in the moonlight. i made one on the last full moon and one on the last new moon, but you can also make them in the sun. i left mine out all night, but i've heard that you can leave them for just a few hours in the sun. when i brought the essence in i tasted it and it was awesome!! i added brandy to it (half parts brandy, half essence) to preserve it and seal in the energy, then i bottled it! done. i've been adding them to my water every day and its such a cool way to experience the energy of the crystals. i also put a small piece of lapis in my water to charge the water throughout the day.

the safe heart essence that i made on the new moon. it includes tangerine quartz, rose quartz, smoky elestial quartz, blue lace agate, rhodochrosite, unakite, owyhee blue opal, chrysoprase, and snowflake obsidian.

bottled gem essences! safe heart new moon essence and open mind, open heart full moon essence. i made open mind, open heart to help me out in school. my intentions were to help focus, take in new information and retain it, not get overwhelmed by the energy of the classroom, and to remember to be confident and have fun. it has aventurine, citrine, lepidolite, rainbow fluorite, smoky quartz, sodalite, and tibetan black quartz.

new painting in the portal series!

yesterday we had a half day at school so i came home and painted! this is called stem. its inspired by plant spirits, flowers, green apophyllite crystals, heart chakra opening, feathers, new growth, and photosynthesis.

stem

stem detail

the whole time i was painting i was listening to xavier rudd's most recent album, spirit bird. its really really good, i would definitely recommend getting a hold of it and listening to it, i actually can't turn it off. here's one of my favorite songs:

april art-a-day

this past april i tried to make a piece of art every day. i knew it would be very challenging, but i wanted to push myself and see what would happen. well, i almost finished it! i think i just had about a week left of work that i didn't finish. its ok, though, because in the last week of april i started massage school and that's been time consuming in the best way. below are some of the things i made in april. also, on june first i made a new painting in the portal series! check it out here.

found poem with wasps

"We are the moment, those wasters of time,

The artist-magician, the twister,

We who have nothing, our destined inheritance.

Those mirrored avenues

Those space doublers

Those time inhibitors.

So come, wander, and join the dance of

The outlaw

The heretic

The saint."

bee with figures

my intention is to open and open and open

nobody knows for sure

paper, ink, canvass, dyed coral, turquoise, shells, string

love spell

clay ganesh with feathers, shells, and apatite gemstone

strength is a sun that rises in your belly

"walk in any garden and taste the quiet glacier"

bubbles

amethyst opening

i am open

the unseen

watercolor and gouache on paper

self portrait with sky

watercolor and gouache on paper

self portrait with sky detail

mallard feather charm with black tourmaline, charoite, wood bead, and turquoise

mallard feather charm

flow

watercolor and gold pen on paper

throat chakra healing mandala

watercolor and gold pen on paper

throat chakra healing mandala detail