I so appreciate using art as an own therapy and just play in the present moment without any agenda to create something more then enjoying the process of creating and feeling what’s moving inside of me.
Like this picture I painted where an unloved, chaotic, thorny little creature in the left end corner showed up, feeling the darkness around it, and realizing how much it was just asking for acceptance and love, not needing to be anything else.
And in the process, I discovered new ways to make marks that really spoke to me, that I enjoyed doing, that I enjoy seeing in the end result.
This may not be a painting that I would frame, but it moved energy for me and connected me with my inner world in such a valuable way.
That’s what my “in the clearing” creative workshops are all about, to hold space for others to connect to their inner world, enjoy the creative process for itself with permission to express in any way that feels good, right and develop a practice that elevate our vibration and wellbeing. A way to become the creators of our own lives.
I wanted to thank Angela Fehr for the inspiration and her approach of her art, encouraging exploration, enjoyment of the process and seeking the even smallest areas of a painting that we love – one brushstroke, one mark maybe – that feeds our inner artist and invite more expressive creativity to come forth.
What I want to bring Who I want to be What I want to seed
Peace Courage Confidence Appreciation
Breathing in the potential Loading with curiosity I enter the day
What’s possible? What joy is brewing in the here and now? Plugging into the sensual of the body Feeling every cell vibrating Of Life Connecting to the Present To the Now Open, receptive, ready For this new day
How does it look like To receive a loving command How does it feel To deliver a loving command
Sometimes Your are not In a place Of receiving Sometimes You are In the clouds Of melancholy
What does that place ask from you? Is it being heard? What happens as you push? Does it feel better?
What happens when you pause? What do you notice? Maybe a pain Maybe a tension Who wants attention
What does it tell you? What does it need? What would happens if you Allowed it to be Just the way it is right now No pushing away No walking over it No pitying Just listening inside Gently Without force Nor demand Patiently For the child To come In its own timing Maybe it won’t come today Just be there Come back Gently present Loving her
Accept, to empower yourself Accept what is as the base From which You choose your response
Accept to stop loosing energy On what you can’t control On what was never meant to be In your control On what Life’s own higher intelligence Is offering
Accept to let go Accept change as a intrinsic part of Life Accept disruption and chaos As the creative forces That bring the new And make space For the unborn you are calling in
Accept uncertainty And lean in the knowing Of a benevolent Universe Calling out the best Of who you are Conspiring beyond your imagination For you
Accept that Timing And Form Are out of your control Accept that your role Is holding the Vision The Direction And consistently Take steps Towards it
However long However short It will take In whichever form From whichever source It will come
Bridge All the differences All the divergences Take a step Towards the other Wondering how it feels To be in their shoes To be in their skin To be in their situation
Be the bridge Leave your position aside for a moment Open to the being In front of you However outrageous However triggering However puzzling Their standpoint is to you
Bridge the gap Allow curiosity to guide you Allow your heart to open Give love, life, beauty A chance
Bridge with love Be the agent of change You are A beacon of light Agent of the shift Agent of reunion
More often then not, our innate gifts are not seen, valued or validated as we grow up. Your gift might not express in an artistic way, so feel free to replace art by your own gifts or abilities and see how my story resonates with you.
Today, I present myself as an artist and healer, recovering engineer. It’s only been in the recent years that I began to play with the idea that maybe, in some way, I am an artist. It took explorations and support from mentors, coaches and peers for this sensitive, vulnerable part of me to dare to claim her place in life.
When I’m asked if creativity, painting, drawing has always been with me, my first answer is “yes, but not really”. It wasn’t anything remarkable. It wasn’t valued.
It felt like it just were small things, nothing noticeable. I was “just playing”.
I certainly didn’t identify as an artist.
My cousin painted watercolor scenes when we were teens. She was an artist in my eyes.
My younger brother has been drawing since he could hold a pencil – my music schoolbook carries the trace of his 3-year olds first explorations to depict the fascinating tractors moving in our home village. He continuously developed his talent. He is an artist, (and a struggling one – but that’s another story).
My daughter draws amazingly since she’s about ten and I found tremendous pleasure to support her in her choice of art studies. She is an artist.
I’ve seen the artists all around me. But not in me.
Olivia
Can you relate to that feeling, that these qualities or abilities that you admire are in others around you, that these people are that, but not you? Weather it is about being an artist or a healer or an entrepreneur – or fill in the blank with your own flavor 😉.
As I made a big shift in my life in my early forties, leading me to leave my mechanical engineering career to pursue more heart centered values through environmental and societal activism, at some point I needed support and worked with a therapist to help me.
It was 6 years ago and this was a turning point for me and my art expressions.
In one of our sessions, I was insisting that what I needed was to find a way to stand strong, big, tall and move more decisively. I was looping in that when my therapist asked me to pick a piece of paper in the size of my choice and some markers – I picked a big sheet of paper as I was convinced that what needed or wanted to be expressed was BIG. I grasped a black marker and began to draw a small round dot. I felt “there’s nothing more” and contemplated that little black dot, confounded after having argued that my need right now was to stand big and tall and outwardly expressive. … “there’s nothing else, no, there’s nothing else” I could hear in my head. I stoped for a few seconds, looked at this little black dot, feeling that there was nothing else than this little dark place I was so afraid to disappear into. I took it in, admitting that it was so.
And as I moved into acceptance of “that’s all there is right now”, something shifted in me and I felt: “and there is love out there”, tracing a little arc of red, “and warmth, and life” tracing two other arcs in red and green.
This very simple drawing experience brought me out of my conditioned mind, into the now and connected me with where I actually was and what I needed: to allow myself to rest, go and stay inward a little while and to realize that this little dark hole I feared so much to disappear into was safe and secure, surrounded by love, warmth and life taking care of me while I was in there.
Have you ever caught yourself believing that you should be doing or feeling a certain way while you really needed rest and nurturing?
That was a profound experience me. It showed me how I could access deeper parts of myself, have a new relationship to my needs and my inner world. So I enthusiastically bought my first set of oil pastels crayons and began to intuitively play with colors and shapes.
I played with the symbol of the dot and the colors emerging around it and it became a series of drawings I called “Me and the Universe”
Some iterations of “Me and the Universe”
My 10y old son commented one day in one of my drawing sessions in the living room, on the floor in front of the sofa:
“You are enjoying it so much (to draw) that it doesn’t matter how it looks like in the end.”
My 10y-old son
I was so touched and proud of his sensitive insightfulness and felt so clearly seen.
That’s how drawing became an important source of connection to my inner world and joyful expression and exploration. A starting point of a rich journey with many twists and turns. More in coming posts 😊
What could you discover if you had a playful creative practice? How could that support your wellbeing and balance your life?
Share in the comments!
And if you know that you want expand your creative powers in service of your joy and show up more fully in the world, book a Vision-Review call here.
In this video, I invite you to take a look at some pictures I made to hear from you what they evoque in you, what you feel seeing them and in which way you would enjoy to see more of this, if any!
Olivia Florian 