Mindful Mandart Moment #10 "A lovely Memory"

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

“Landscape is inspiration for the painter in me. In this episode landscape inspires a meditative journey where colour in the landscape is invited to flow within, to encourage the vital energy around and within us to grow”.

Through our mindful moments we can learn to nurture ourselves within the busy lives we lead. Actively engaged in the creative process is where I find myself tuning out or tuning in depending on your perspective, to a place where the world quiets around me and I become fully present. I guess really I have learned to encourage my ego to step aside so I can take myself to a place where I can be still and quiet, a place where I can nurture my spirit and access the gifts the universe offers to us all.

In this episode I take you on a journey with me to slow down, to pause…

“Listen in as we seek wisdom at the crossroads where action and presence meet.” 

This episode is all about refreshing our system with the intentional breath and colourful imaginings. I thought I’d like to illustrate this blogpost with some details from recent paintings. This one is from a painting called “Blue Gums”. The story of Blue gums can be found in episode #24 (season 2 Episode 4). This lovely deep blue correlates to the third eye chakra and our inner sight and is where my thoughts on colour often begin.

Colour is a big part of my studio practice and it is playing a larger role in my meditative practice now too. During a trip to a warmer climate in the midst of a Canadian winter my morning swim turned into a magical moment. As an artist I am always open to engaging with the minutia of the world around me, of finding inspiration in the details of experience. This mindful moment on the podcast shares a magical morning and has become one of my favourite reflective meditations.

This self care practice as it developed actually felt a bit like a cosmic embrace. Using the breath I was guided to become more intentional with my focus and invite colour to bloom and to flow to all the areas of my body. 

A good friend familiar with my painting practice since its very early beginnings made an observation that I found really interesting. Her comment was also a reminder that we don’t always see what can be right in front of us in plain sight. She had noticed she said that bodies of work over the years tended to include periods of work where particular colour ranges dominated. There was a red period, a yellow period and recently a blue period. Were these works related somehow to the chakras, our body’s energy centres, and was the work I was doing in colour related somehow to my personal healing journey? It was an interesting premise and a thoughtful observation and one I am continuing to explore.

Newly emerging on the paintwall is this 24” x 36” acrylic on panel. I wanted to introduce vertical elements to a horizontal motif. I have been working on it in the depths of winter. Colour in my studio and as part off my creative process provides an antidote to winter’s white where I live. If we relate the dominant colours of the painting to the chakra column it appears, if my friend is correct in her theory, that my continuing healing journey is reenergizing all the chakras with related colour.

Vision, Insight, Hindsight and looking at alternate perspectives…are a part of my current creative process and might relate to the dominance of blue in this big sky.

The original extended version of this episode paired with a painting called “breathing Space” in episode #11 of this podcast. “Breathing Space” is a triptych that hangs in the living room at the cottage. It’s three panels are “Inhale”, “Exhale” and “Relax” which are a perfect compliment to the ease of summer living and seasonal refreshment. Thoughts of the cottage and summer living are also helpful memories to recall when the going gets cold on the prairies in the depths of a Canadian winter.

This little 16’ x 20” acrylic on canvas has lived for many years above the fireplace at the cottage. I’ve included her now as an illustration of a piece from the archive that resonates with me and also relates to my friend’s observation. The gestural brushstrokes, the movement of marks across the surface, the pale pastel blue sky and the green summer landscape put me in mind of the heart chakra, green, the throat chakra, light blue, being heard, telling my story, and the darker blues of the third eye chakra; insight, hindsight and vision.

“Flow with the intention to restore balance, to breathe in the energy around us, to use that process to connect to something greater than ourselves… pause… listen…expand”

I’ve kept the pic of my meditation chair in this week’s notes in the hope that it will inspire me to settle into my meditative practice more often. Defining a space as our own is important and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. This chair lived in my studio for many years when I had lots of space and before my daughter took the opportunity to adopt it when I moved into a smaller studio.

Having a place to create a personal sanctuary is a luxury even if a chair like this one was salvaged from the loading dock where it had been “released”. Admittedly it did not look this good or clean when I rescued it. This cosy spot has encouraged my journey to presence. Literal journeys like the one I share in the recording in this episode also help us to restore and rebalance within the seasons of our lives. What is your preferred quiet sanctuary? Some friends I am told are taking this practice on walks with headphones. What works works. I am always open to getting outside and trying new ways to connect to my own spirit and the universal spirit that supports us all.

I hope you are allowing your CHI to flow in our weekly gatherings. Ideally 15 minutes per day is a wonderful addition to our daily activities. Connecting to ourselves is important, Connecting to the wisdom your soul yearns to seek and to share is a gift. The pause is the gift we give ourselves when we allow ourselves to be quiet for just a little while and listen to the wisdom, at the crossroads, where action and presence meet.

This is the actual Hummingbird I encountered on my morning walk to the pool in Phoenix that lovely morning. The retelling of that story became the mindful meditation you will hear on the recording.

It was a magical encounter. Opposite is the twisted tree set in the lawn I padded across on the way to the pool. This is the actual setting for our colour inspired meditation.

In Sedona I learned a twisted tree is often a signifier that an energy vortex is in the vicinity. At the base of this tree I sat and understood some of that magic.

At the studio this week…

I have been working with my website designer developing an opportunity for visitors to purchase my book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads”. Why have I been so resistant to doing that for so long? I am possibly lazy? or scared or both? I don’t really know the answer to that question but here we are putting our big girls pants on and doing the work. Its definitely time I got out of my head putting tasks like this one to the back burner. Check on the website in a week or so to see how it turned out.

Also…

I am being interviewed by Whitney Baker, host of “Electric Ideas” Podcast this week where we will be discussing my book; “Wisdom at the Crossroads”, it’s origin story, the idea of presence and some of the soul care practices I use that have transformed my life. Stay tuned to instagram or sign up for my newsletter on the website to see when that episode airs.

Lastly…

I am getting some visuals ready for the WAVE Interlake Artists Brochure, the WAVE website and social media posts. The image below I took yesterday at the studio with a tripod, a ten second delay and my iPhone. An extra pair of hands on a colleague would be an asset on days like this but somehow a sole practitioner/ soul practitioner finds ways to get things done.

Creativity is another avenue to presence. The process quiets me as it draws me in to the action of problem solving in colour. Engaged, painting, time can literally can fly by. This image is of new work on the paintwall in progress in early 2023. This 48” x 48” acrylic on panel is as yet unnamed. I am liking the colour palette that is developing in a new direction.

I hope you have enjoyed a restorative break by listening into the last of the Mindful Mandart Moments in this group of ten episodes. It is one of my absolute favourites and I hope this practice is one you too will return to as often as I do. A new batch of episodes will begin next week

‘Allow this practice to help you to get quiet and to be accepting of the support that is always around you and infinitely available.’

Thank you…

I appreciate you tuning in to this podcast and joining in on this journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine. If my work or words inspire you please consider inviting a friend to share in our adventure or writing a review. Every shared word or post helps helps my to work reach those who could benefit by it.

With gratitude as always,

Nameste, Amanda