Creative Juices Arts Blog

When people talk to me about why they hesitate to come to a wild heart intuitive painting class I hear two concerns voiced over and over again. The first one is the fear that they will stand in front of a blank sheet of paper for the duration of the class and NOTHING...

I am a total fantasy, magic and science fiction movie and television buff. Some of my favorite TV shows are Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and The Magicians, and the films I tend to watch over and over again are things like The Matrix, Star Wars, the Harry Potter...

Holidays are always such a mixed bag for folks. Especially this one where we’re supposed to be all merry and cheery. And if you ARE genuinely feeling merry and cheery I party with you joyfully! But maybe today is no big deal and if that’s the case, rock on! Maybe...

As any of you know who have been following me for awhile... and to catch up those of you who are new to my world... I have been on a journey into the underworld these past few months. That journey was precipitated by the loss of two of the major retreat centers where...

To say that these past few months have been a whirlwind of transformation in my life is more than an understatement. In September, because of some major policy changes on their end, I decided to end my 18 year relationship with the Ghost Ranch Conference Center where...

The Guest House    This being human is a guest house.  Every morning a new arrival.    A joy, a depression, a meanness,  some momentary awareness comes  as an unexpected visitor.    Welcome and entertain them all!  Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,  who violently...

It’s been more than three weeks and I’ve still been dealing with the aftermath of the devastating Sonoma County fires and the loss of my beloved Mountain Home Ranch retreat center where I’ve held so many of my Wild Heart Painting workshops over the past seventeen...

I was sincerely hoping that the month of October would be a little calmer after the intensity of September, but apparently that was not meant to be. I held my 4th Inner Art Of Goddess Creation retreat at my Oakland studio beginning Friday of last week. And the work we...

I know that a lot of people would love to paint with me and experience the healing soul magic of this Wild Heart Expressive Arts Intuitive Painting process directly. But since most of my offerings are in-person events it’s not always possible to get yourself to where...

‌I've been on my annual pilgrimage to the Southwest for the past three weeks and as always had many wondrous adventures in the high desert landscapes that I love so much. This pilgrimage has been part of my personal yearly cycle for the past 18 years. Every September...

There is an issue that comes up again and again and again in my many painting circles, which is the idea that happiness and joy and ease and pleasure are not REAL spiritual and emotional work. And not to be taken seriously. Because of this belief, there’s an impulse...

Transformation is one of those things that sounds really good in theory.   And that’s because what people are focused on is what happens on the other side of a change they are envisioning. They get excited thinking about how fabulous it’s going to feel to be at...

Early on in my Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training program I had a magical experience through one of my students.   During this five day intensive each student took a three hour block of time and presented and facilitated an expressive arts class that...

Just recently I shared on FaceBook about how I had just coughed up a HUGE spiritual hairball of ancient psychological gunk that had been clogging up my emotional and spiritual energy for a LONG time. And someone asked me to share about how I approach that process of...

I’ve been having an interesting discussion with myself about the desire to take a sabbatical. And how important it is to set aside periodic big chunks of time out of your life to recharge, and rejuvenate. But the problem with sabbaticals is that wherever you go, there...

That thing that is right in front of you That issue or situation that keeps bringing you to your knees That you seemingly can’t escape Desperately wanting to avoid Hoping it will stop or go away The one where you tell yourself If only I could be rid of this hell Then...

I search for the wildness still living in me Listening for my wild kin calling out With joyful memories of being clothed in fur and scales and feathers Reminding me of what it means to be deeply a part of this earth We are brothers and sisters of blood and bone and...

Real is gutsy. Real is vulnerable. Real is raw. And bodacious. Real is at the core of everything. Real is something that you can feel. It resides in the heart and the belly much more so than in the mind. Real is authentic power. Real is where you draw the line. Real...

I have a friend who is a musician. And more than anything else he wants to write his own songs and eventually put them together on a CD. But it’s not really happening. So he is in that particular type of artists hell where the creative longing is terribly insistent...

I got into this line of work… i.e. helping people heal … because I wanted to make things better. I saw a lot of suffering in my family and community during my early years here on the planet. And I wanted to alleviate that suffering. And I still want that. And still...

I get awfully tired of being an adult all the time. I get exhausted just thinking about the list of things I have to do to keep my life operating on a more or less even keel, much less actually doing all those things. Like always having to be competent. And...

One of the little known benefits of the wild heart expressive arts intuitive painting process is that it ... *ahem* ... gets ALL your juices flowing. Including the sexy ones. And that’s no joke. A couple of years ago I had a woman who came to one of my weekend...

  If you have been in my world for even five minutes you know that I am wildly devoted to spreading the word about the healing power of the creative process.   And what I find healing about making art in an intuitive way is how it allows, encourages and...

I’ve been reading a lot of novels lately… and have come across some darned good ones… but the thing I’ve noticed the most is that a story only really gets interesting when someone majorly screws up. If the protagonist falls in love with the wrong person, if the best...

  This is our very last chat for the week. It’s been such a blast getting to talk creative process, painting, and the Feminine with you all week long! Connie and I sincerely hope that you’ll join us for Paint Riot in Oakland, California this May where the...

Welcome back friends! And if you’re new to this series Connie Solera and I have been doing all week long be sure to CLICK HERE and HERE to see some of what you’ve missed. Today we’re venturing deep into the Feminine, the Underworld, and the Creative Process — places...

This is probably the question we get asked the most as creativity teachers: how can I find my style/voice as an artist? Connie and I have quite a bit to say about this in today’s chat! And I’m certain it will come up again at our upcoming Paint Riot workshop in...