Greetings my dear and wondrous creatives, Once again I am writing to you from this wild place of so much uncertainty and a radically transformed world. As always my heart goes out to you wherever you are physically, emotionally and spiritually and sending love and...
Creative Juices Arts Blog
Welcome to my blog page! I love writing about the healing power of the creative process. Here you will find a collection of all of my writing from all the way back to 2005! Enjoy!
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Chris Zydel
Astro Wisdom: Taurus As An Invitation Into Sacred Embodiment
As spring explodes in a riot of color and growth and the sheer exuberance of living things it heralds the season of the astrological sign of Taurus. Taurus’s evolutionary purpose is to reconnect us to the sweetness of life on this luscious green and blue planet. To...
Creative Wisdom: How And What To Trust When Your World Turns Upside Down
Greetings, Dearest Wild Heart Creator, I’m writing to you from my wildly colorful home, five weeks into the sheltering in place directive with another edition of Creativity In The Time Of Quarantine. I think of you all often and hope you are navigating this weird and...
Wild Heart Teacher Spotlight: Becky Fowler
At this point over 100 amazing women have gone through my Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training Program. I love them ALL so dearly and, like the proud creative mama that I am, want to show off their incredible wisdom, power and creative genius to the...
The Space Between Worlds: Activating Intuition and Navigating The Unknown
It’s been almost two weeks since the shelter in place order was given to those of us in the San Francisco Bay Area. And my first response was to launch into a flurry of activity. Offering free Creative Courage webinars. Putting my weekly in-person classes on a digital...
Astro Wisdom: Uranus In Taurus As Harbinger Of Radical and Unsettling Change
I know that a LOT of us are feeling over the top, uber excruciating anxiety lately because of all the incredible upheaval and turmoil on our planet right now. And some folks have asked what might be going on astrologically to activate these turbulent times. So here’s...
From My Heart To Yours In This Time Of Uncertainty
Greetings to my wondrous and wild hearted creative clan, Well, it’s been almost a week since we have been in voluntary quarantine and sheltering in place here in the San Francisco, Bay Area due to the Corona Virus. And among other things it still seems totally...
Creative Courage: The Art Of Staying Centered In Challenging Times
Greetings to my wondrous and wild hearted creative clan, Whoa! What a harrowing roller coaster of a ride this past week has been! Trying to navigate our way through this scary tangled thicket of the CoronaVirus and all the ramifications it presents has got all...
Why Having A Creative Community Is Essential To Knowing What You Want
I just recently returned from holding my first creativity retreat of 2020 at Bodega Sky Ranch and was reminded once again why I have made retreats the cornerstone of my work. The women… and it’s almost always women… who attend my events come for many reasons. At this...
Wild Heart Teacher Spotlight: Diana Fisch
At this point over 98 amazing women have gone through my Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training Program. I love them ALL so dearly and, like the proud creative mama that I am, want to show off their incredible wisdom, power and creative genius to the world. So...
14 Really Wrong Myths Around What It Means To Be Creative
1.) Only certain special highly gifted people are creative. 2.) Creativity is a rarefied quality which you are either born with or not. 3.) Not everyone is creative. 4.) Creativity needs to be learned or taught. 5.) Creativity can be graded or quantified. 6.)...
How To Be Creative, Feed Your Soul, + Love Your Life In 2020
If you are part of my Creative Juices Arts community either by having painted with me in a class or on retreat or even just reading this blog, it’s a pretty good bet that creativity is high on your list of priorities. But even when that’s the case, it can still be...
Wild Heart Intuitive Painting Online with Chris Zydel
Come and join me for an intimate and powerful experience of intuitive painting by being part of a sacred creative circle of courageous wild hearted painters ONLINE! I have three different opportunities available for you to paint with me in this online format. And each...
What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: Reflections On A Decade Of Creative Transformation
It’s that time of the year when everything is in that space of being in-between. The old year is not quite over. The new one has not yet begun. Normal routines are on a kind of hiatus. There’s a feeling of pause. And waiting. And that period of pause can bring with it...
Why I Don’t Believe In The Whole Idea Of Bad Art
When I was a kid I absolutely adored Christmas. I loved the twinkly lights and the schmaltzy music but most of all I loved that sense of anticipation and wonder and surprise. My family and I lived in a rowhouse that had three stories and two flights of stairs. On...
Why We Need Your Creativity Now More Than Ever
Whether we like it or not, we humans are on the verge of a huge transformation. We are at a collective crossroads where a lot of things need to change in terms of what we think and believe and how we live our lives on a day to day basis. And most of what has to die...
How Women’s Creativity Circles Can Save Your Life
I just returned from another fabulous week with my current cohort of Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training students and the creative energy was completely OFF THE CHARTS! And being part of yet another magical healing circle of women made me think about...
The Pain In The Ass Truth About Creative Dream Manifestation
I have been very fortunate to have lived a life full of my own creations. It’s the way of the artist and I’m grateful every day that I chose that path. But there’s a myth floating around out there in the dominant culture collective brain that says choosing to do the...
The Courage To Be Real When You Don’t Know What’s Next
My work in the world has everything to do with cultivating freedom of expression. I have devoted my life to spreading the gospel of trusting in your ability to connect with your deepest intuitive wisdom through the creative process. And finding personal and collective...
Some Thoughts On Women and Power
A couple of years ago I was interviewed by my dear friend Theresa Reed, otherwise known as The Tarot Lady in honor of International Woman’s Day. The topic was Women and Power... a topic for which I have a very deep passion. That passion is expressed through...
At The Core Of All Resistance Is a Deep Longing
At the core of all resistance is a deep longing. There’s something that you want. And you want it bad. But you’re afraid to let yourself really want it because you imagine that you will be disappointed. You don’t think you can bear the disappointment....
How To Know If You’re REALLY In The Flow
In terms of the creative process everyone always talks about wanting to be in the flow. But the thing that everyone forgets is that there are many different KINDS of flow. And the least popular experience of flow is the one where it feels like you are trying to...
Releasing The Stuff That Holds You Back From Shining Your Creative Light
I’m still on a MAJOR high from being on retreat with my totally A-MAZING teacher training students a few weeks ago. And thinking about how doing this powerful inner work using creativity and the expressive arts is an invitation and imperative to shine our most...
Wild Heart Teacher Spotlight: Amy Alaman
What I am most excited about is just sharing this process with other women, especially other black women and people who are often left out of wellness and healing practices. This process of reconnecting with self through art has been the greatest gift in my life, and I am just so grateful to get to share it with others. With so much violence and negativity happening in the world, having spaces to just exist with ourselves and be in community with others is more important than ever.
Don’t Let The Patriarchy Stop YOU From Being The JOYFULLY Too Much Woman
I was recently in the middle of one of my teacher training retreats and something I so enjoy about working with students at this deeper level are the powerful and energizing conversations we have as a community about art, life, creativity and the intuitive painting...
Your Natal Astrology Chart: The Map of Your Souls Purpose
What is it that allows you to wake up in the morning feeling energized and inspired? The particulars are going to vary, but I think the majority of us feel most alive when we experience being aligned with some greater purpose. That purpose is often related to...
Honoring The Women Artists In My Creative Lineage
Thinking about my creative lineage today and honoring the work and lives of Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe. Frida is really the Mother of the unique way that I teach intuitive painting... she’s so real and raw and fearless in her approach to making art that expresses...