Solstice Communion

It feels so natural to gather together with others tonight to share the light, create ritual and make art. I partnered with a good friend to Touch Draw, attended a meditation gathering, then returned home to join with my family. I joined Ruby my lovely 9 year old and Kuno my life partner of over two decades, around our modest stone pond in the starry frost air to light three candles, one for each of us. Once lit we placed Ruby's candle on an oyster shell, and the remaining two in walnut shells. Then we launched our candle boats in the moody water and watched the light dance in the wet ripples as we held hands and sang- This little light of mine..... I'm going to let it shine....



Three Little Lights

Recently I discovered the pleasure of light drawing by setting my camera to a long exposure time and moving it around in front of a light source. This technique yields the most gorgeous images. For the following light drawing,
I moved my camera in figure-eights, first to the right, then the left.



Light Drawing



Then I filtered the light drawing through a Photoshop plug-in called Kaleidoscope which with some adjustments created the image Light Communion. I see an interweaving of energy and love in celebration of the precious light that makes our whole world possible.....



Light Communion



Happy Solstice Everyone!

Creative Nature Connection article

I'm so excited to be sharing this hands-on article published in the winter 2011 issue of Green Teacher Magazine. The process of Creative Nature Connection is clearly laid out so anyone can begin a practice of their own!

Tree-HEART Tattoo

Sap coating a Douglas Fir trunk

Oozing out of the heart of trees (especially Broad Leaf Maples and Douglas Fir) this time of year, is a sweetness so pure, so ancient that when hardened reveals a timeless amber, when boiled yields the same thick golden coloured sweetness and when boiled down even further yields a tasty crystalline sugar that melts on the tongue.The lifeblood of a tree can be tapped but can also be seen running down the trunk on its own accord. Whether injured and gaping, or offered naturally, Douglas Fir pitch is a mineral-rich, sweet, sticky substance that has been used by Native Americans as a powerful topical remedy.  (Click here to learn more about Douglas Fir pitch and its many attributes and uses.)

On an impulse last week I wondered what would happen if I purposely placed some of this oozing on my skin. This is how I came to make a heart tattoo.
 

How to make a Douglas fir pitch tattoo:
Go for a forest walk. Find a tree that is sharing its goodness and adorn your own flesh with its lifeblood. Rub in dark rich loomy soil. Then you can wear your design as a glyph connecting you to the heart of the forest.

Coat the end of a stick in sap

Draw a sap design on your skin

Rub earth into the design

Voila!

 

The sharp spicy pine scent of this heart tattoo took me back to the forest every time I raised my hand to my nose. I also found myself absentmindedly caressing its suede-like surfaces. Even so it was surprisingly resilient and traces remained  days after I first applied it. At one point I took my writing pen and emphasized two eyes and a nose making a fox face.


What sweetness nourishes you at this time of year? What sweet sap at the heart of your being can you offer the world? What beauty can you create with golden tree juice?


* To get sap off your hands use hand sanitizer (it is alcohol based). If you get some sap on your clothing click on this link for natural cleaning options.







The Joy of Spontaneity

The joy of spontaneous body movement is renewing and builds connection. If we let our painted hands dance across the page or twirl our bodies in the forest we can feel this connection in our flesh. The tracings that result are universal, shared by all living beings yet each mark is uniquely ours, an artifact of our experience of communion with Nature.

Try it yourself. Grab two pieces of paper and a pen, close your eyes and let your right hand run freely across the page like a wild horse. Then turn over your page, switch hands and let your left hand out to play. End by drawing with your eyes closed using both hands at the same time. What fun! Follow where your hands lead. Truly savour this time and rest your attention on the sensations associated with the movement of your hands.

Maybe your images will look something like this...

                          Both hand drawing               Lisa Lipsett

Or like this...

                       Moths in the light                                    
by Steve Irvine   http://www.steveirvine.com/

A big thank you to Heidi Cowan (http://www.seven-ravens.com/) for sending the link to this amazing photo of moths in the light. What beauty they create with their spontaneous dance.

For more activities, videos and Creative by Nature events visit : http://www.creativenatureconnection.com/

5 Ways to Create Connection Over the Holidays

At this time of year it's so easy to get carried away by the exciting flow of gatherings, good food and good company, finding ourselves exhausted and overwhelmed when it is all over. Wouldn't it be better to take time every day to connect and create with what is personally renewing? I hope the following 5 suggestions will bring a measure of joy to your holidays. A key to success is preparing a small pouch or ziplock bag with a drawing pen, some small pieces of watercolour paper and a small palette of paints. Tuck this in a bag you can carry with you or place it in a visible area in your home. Now you're ready to act on creative inspiration.

#1 Walk and Connect
Go for a walk and open yourself to what attracts your attention in the moment. Let a natural being choose you. Take a few moments to be with this being. Whether it is a rock, a tree, an icicle, or a dog, take a moment to simply drink it in with all your senses. What do you hear, smell, feel in this moment?

#2 Draw and Connect
During a dinner over the holidays place a small piece of paper and a pen or pencil at each place sitting. Invite your dinner mates to doodle whatever they like. After a minute ask everyone to pass their drawing to the person on their left. Invite everyone to continue on with the drawing in front of them. Have them ask the drawing what it needs. After a minute pass the drawing to the next person on the left. Continue with as many passes as it takes until everyone receives their original drawing again. For a fun variation repeat on the other side of the paper and draw using your non-dominant hand.

#3 Stay connected to the sun
In this season of the return of the light, commit to connecting with the sun at the same time each day. Maybe it's 12 noon that suits you best. Simply take a moment or two and connect with where the sun is. If you can't see it because of cloud cover can you feel its presence? Then take a moment to reflect on what the sun means to you this day.

#4 Create with sound
In addition to being the season of light this is also the season of music. Have a small sheet of watercolour paper and a pen handy. When you hear a song or sound in Nature that attracts you (or repels you !) close your eyes and draw with your non-dominant hand. Simply rest your mind on the music and let your hand record what you hear. Go very slowly and let your hand record what you hear. Npw flip over the page. If you are inside then go outside and record what you hear. If you were outside then head indoors and draw what you hear on this fresh side of your page.

#5 Do a mini painting practice
Commit to painting one small image everyday for a week. In a ziplock bag or drawstring pouch place a small watercolour kit (check a dollar store near you), a pen and 7 small pieces of watercolour paper. Take time out everyday to write a few words about how you feel then turn over the page and paint with your non-dominant hand. with your eyes closed Try closing your eyes to choose the colours as well. Savour this quiet time of creative connection.


Have a great holiday!

The Magical Shape of Things

Sometimes colour draws us in. Once connected we realize that it's the shape of things that captivates. Magic happens when we suddenly start to see our shape everywhere. That's when a new journey begins....

The BC provincial park Goldstream  was an inspiration to painter Emily Carr and for good reason. Its old growth moss covered trees and seasonal salmon run (mostly Chum) still draw visitors from far and wide. My daughter and I visited last weekend as part of a children's wilderness skills program. We came to see vibrant red fish tenaciously pulsing and thrashing their way up stream in an annual effort to lay and fertilize eggs, only to melt back into the earth to feed birds and trees. Unfortunately this year we were too late.

Their contorted cream coloured carcasses lay motionless in the gravelly river bed. The powerful putrid smel of rot did not deter the seagull feast. 

Dead Salmon



Fish Tail

I find my attention diverted from the salmon scene to the incredibly lush moss dripping from the ancient trunks and many spidery intertwined branches of fir and cedar. Like snakes these fuzzy green arms weave a mesh canopy overhead.



Mossy branches


One tree in particular calls me to her. She is a giant hollowed out Fir. She is female because I can sit inside her, cradled in her shelter, like a child warmed by a mother's loving embrace. I love the dryness and solid silence this space offers. 

Creating inside her

So I drew with this tree and her hollowed out knowing in order to share her world. I used each hand in turn first with my eyes open, then with them closed. I followed up by using both hands together with eyes opened then closed. Once I made the decision to draw I felt the soft support of the trunk and soft duff on my back and bottom. My eyes went to the patterned complexity of the burnt black and green surface close to my face. I connected with that and drew while holding that connection.


Lines and patterns inside the tree

 

Writing and drawing from inside the tree

The two handed drawing done with my eyes closed was  particularly compelling. It had such strong form.  Beside it I wrote: eyeballs, embracing wings, a strong base. Then on an impulse I flipped over the image and wrote: new growth from seeds.

Drawing done with both hands and eyes closed



Flipped drawing

Then I asked the tree: "what nourishes you?"

She replied: "the mist, the leaves the woodpeckers, the melting flesh, the endless drip, the blanketing moss, the smell of earthy brown."

My creating was interrupted by the children. They dropped by to tell me they were moving to a new location. I said I'd catch up and felt compelled to move to the shore to create. When I exited the tree I noticed its other side for the first time. The strong trunk with incredible mossy branching arms had bulbous round shapes at its base, just like in my drawing.

Back side of the tree



I had not noticed the rounded shapes at the base of the trunk before. Drawing sensitized me, opening to see this form.

Once I arrive at the river I found a fleshy skeleton I liked. It reminded me of the tree trunk with a strong base and many radiating thin protruding branches.



Fish bone

I loved drawing with this bone as my eyes traced the contours and ridges. It's the interweaving of complex little bones that attracts me most.



Drawing with the fishbone



While drswing my eye caught sight of a beautiful brown totally camouflaged little bird. Unlike the fish strewn and rotting every few feet he was swimming upstream. Dunking, diving almost, swimming in his plucky way up the ripples then just as quickly he popped up and flew away.

Little brown bird

I was startled to see this bird swim in such a forthright manner for it was not long ago that I watched a small bird die after having a near drowning experience in my pond. I made a video of our time creating together called This Little Bird. I will never forget him.

I finished the session by taking some additional fish photos.

Then ended my time in this magical place with one last sit in my favourite tree trunk. As I looked up to the sky through her cradled opening I saw not only branches interwoven in a cathedral-like window, I saw the shape of a fish! Simply lovely.

The simply beauty of creating can open us to Nature's beauty. It doesn't matter where we start as long as we are open to being led.

What calls to you today? Follow where it leads, create and watch your sense of the world transform in beautiful and magical ways.

Crater Create

Ever wonder what it would be like to create with a volcano?

I recently had just such an opportunity. It's funny but I keep seeing human-like beings in Nature- faces, personalities etc. and Nature in people- patterns, wildness, animals.....  This volcanic artful exploration is no exception. My encounter took place in a beautiful once active volcano vent named Algar do Carvao on the island of Terceira in the Azores Islands of Portugal.

walking down into the volcano

Look how far down it goes!!

Steam vent

While the volcano itself is indeed dormant, the surrounding land is very alive with heat and steam making me feel humbled by the massive forces at play.

Once inside, visitors are literally able to walk down into an old volcano vent and look up through the chimney to the sky. I explored, drew and painted in this beautiful space in the belly of the Earth. Here are my notes and images.

Sept 12, 2010 Algar do Carvao, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

This is the most inspiring place. I am inside an old volcano, literally walking down into the bottom. It feels like I am in the center of the Earth. My camera can't cover the immensity of this place. My jaw dropped when I first saw how far down the bottom really is. As I walk down and down, I find myself looking up to the blue sky through a branch framed portal.



Looking up through the branch framed chimney

 I love the chocolatey icing-like lava I see, like drips on a chocolate cake. I take a minute to draw these.



chocolatey lava icing




Drawings of lava veins

 

 Each raised section of hardened lava has amazing veins that are minature versions of the larger ones. I wonder if something pulled away to create these patterns because they are similiar to veins I've created with paint and canvas. When I lay one painted canvas on top of the other then pull them apart, veined patterns appear.

 

Momentary Beauty- veined ball

The surface of the volcano is very porous so ground water continuously falls through drip by drip. I can hear these drips echo throughout the chamber and wish for the silencing of the new age background music so I can hear even more of this marriage of water, movement and cavern.

My eye catches the stalactites hanging from the ceiling and the beautiful patterns of gold, cream and green. A marriage of obsidian and mossy green algae growing up the walls.

Gorgeous colours



Stalactites



  



 I am drawn down to the bottom, the very farthest point from the entry. I imagine it as one source of the lava outpouring. I find a ledge and sit down. There are so many compelling surfaces. My eyes drink in the beauty.

I gasp. Suddenly I see an eye, a face, then numerous faces. A compelling ochre coloured rock sits majestically in the corner. Its aboriginal feel and numerous white, grey and black surface lines generate the clearly visible primal faces and the most penetrating eye. I wonder if others have seen this before...



Rock face(s)

As I draw and paint with this being I notice a strong mountain shape between its eyes much like the pointy shape of the neighbouring island of Pico. Is the face a bull, a cow, a deer? It looks like all of these. I notice a white eye above the dark coloured one, and a dark eye above the light one. I find myself wishing I had chalk pastels to better depict the white and black lines on the rusty red rock.

Tears fill my eyes and I stop my drawing. I feel deep sadness press against my chest and throat, like a lava upwelling. I write in my watercolour book, " such beauty, calm, I'm so sad about the state of things. I just want to carry on like one big happy family, enjoy, feel the joy."  This sadness was of me yet so much bigger than me. It felt like an Earth sadness somehow.

I close my tear moistened eyes to paint.

I was jarred out of the sensuous dance of coloured fingers on the page when the attendant yelled down that the site had closed 15 minutes earlier.  I said thank you to this being for sharing anf hurriedly packed up my paints and paper. Once back on the main viewing terrace the Portugese attendant said in broken English that he goes down to the same spot everyday at the end of the day. He said "it's Nature there". I felt pulsing energy vibrate my legs, there were tears in our eyes.

I showed the attendant at the top level of the site the photos I'd taken of the incredible rock being. He looked hard, paused and then said, "you didn't paint that did you?". After I assured him that I had not defaced this sacred site but rather communed with this being and painted our connection, he vowed to head down to see for himself.

                                                            

                                                 *****8*****

Last weekend I visited an incredible crystal gallery in downtown Vancouver called Crystalworks (http://http://www.crystalworks.ca//). Among the fossilized fish and giant quartz formations beautifully displayed by owners The Lipsetts (may be a distant relation) I spied a luscious hunk of shiny black obsidian. As I caressed its surfaces I was immediately transported back to the Algar de Carvao on Terceira. I had a deep sense of where that rock was from, the forces that created it, and the beautiful patterns it may have created on a cave wall somewhere...



My painting spot inside the Algar do Carvao



So dear reader what are you drawn to create today? What or who speaks to you on this beautiful Earth?

Visit http://www.creativenatureconnection.com/ to learn more about how you can experience the exciting marriage of creativity and Nature.









Naturally creative in Kelowna

A big thank you to all the participants in the 2 day Creative by Nature workshop in beautiful sunny Kelowna, BC. What a pleasure it was to meet you. We worked with such heart and soul. I decided to leave this short video flipped to the side. I like the effect.

I was immediately attracted to the reflection of the townshouses on the water. When I began to draw I noticed the shadow of my drawing hand on the page, so I outlined it. When I really looked slowly at the water I loved the play of water rings and undulating lines on the surface. The session ended with a failed attempt to burn lines onto my page with my reading glasses. All in all a lovely encounter!



flipped reflection


 Here's the image I created on the second day solo at Brants Creek.

completed drawings and paintings



Creativity and Nature in the Azores

I've just returned from teaching in a wonderful University of Azores Art and Biodiversity workshop for Portuguese educators. I was interviewed by the local Tercieran newspaper Diario Insular. The article has been Google translated into English and seems to be a bit fast and loose with meaning but here it is just the same. Check back again soo for two new pieces about creating with dolphins and volcanoes!!!
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Artist and educator Lisa Lipsett

Art is a bridge to respect Mother Nature

Canadian artist and educator , Lisa Lipsett created the Natural Process of Painting, a contemplative creative process that strengthens the human relationship with nature through painting. "Beauty Muse: Painting in Communion with Nature " is her latest book. In a workshop for teachers organized by RCE/Açores- Biodiversity Group at the University of the Azores , Lisa Lipsett explained how art can help us to respect Mother Nature .

How can the arts bring us closer to nature?

I am an artist and educator and I am interested in the relationship between people and nature and how to design with nature - we are not talking as much art , but how the creative process - can make this closer bond. Sometimes people think only on the product. Art is something we can contemplate when it is finished. But the truth is that anyone can create. They are not necessarily artists, but the process is understood as the most important. When we create based on nature and we are not planning a specific result, the connection is much stronger. Our mind is quiet and we are just creating, as Nature herself does so spontaneously and naturally.

But how can such a process help to create a mindset more " green " ?

I can draw a picture with tulips , simply. Once done it , but then I thought I was missing something ... Then I tried to paint the way the tulips "feel . " I closed my eyes , I chose the colors and painted with both hands. The result was amazing. It is a very intuitive process, with no plan. What I note is that in this way, we look at nature as something to which we belong. We can stop thinking about her and engage with her. When we feel we are interested in a certain being (it may be a butterfly or an animal), and create with that being, we care and then more easily will want to protect it. We develop a personal relationship with nature from within, not just information ...

It is easy for ordinary people create through this process?

It's easier than it may seem. There are things we can do to help the mind to relax. We can close our eyes, try to feel a connection with what we are painting , use both hands and not the one we were taught to use at school ... It's a way to create fun, which carries with it great rewards.

In a very stressful world , where people do not stop to think about these issues , basically what you are advocating is that the process of creating art can be a gateway to re-establish a relationship with nature ...

That's it... I also think people should take risks and create more. I still think we all have ideas about creating art , but then we don't move forward because we think we are not technically skilled enough. But we all have hands and bodies, which are natural and are our bridge to creative connection with nature. We must realize that we all know how to create, we just have to make it a practice. It's something we can always do, almost like brushing our teeth.

How does school encourage the creative process?

Many children already show creative spirit. But generally at school we give more importance to science ... The children have internalized the creative process, but are often limited to being trained in artistic techniques. Then spontaneous creating begins to seem difficult, confusing ... We must always preserve the individual process of creation.

http://www.diarioinsular.com/version/1.1/r13/?cmd=noticia&id=22889

Moon~Light~Draw

Moon Jellyfish

Last summer at about the the end of August the Moon Jellyfish
arrived in one large travelling horde, a watery swarm of milky undulation. I was immediately attracted and snapped as many pics as I could before they petered out around the seaside docks and pulsed on their way to new adventures. I instantly loved these creatures and the ballet quietness that pulses their flesh as they rise and fall, open and close, here and there.

Large numbers of Moon Jellyfish

Last week they returned in equally large numbers. Once spotted I quickly returned home to get my camera and art supplies so that I might spend some time communing and creating. I returned not 15 minutes later to find them gone. The odd one was left meandering and poking around, but the impressive group of hundreds had moved on. I studied the tidal flow and intuited the direction of the current in an attempt to locate them elsewhere, but I failed to connect......... Its been that way for me this last few weeks. Attempts to connect seem thwarted by weather, circumstance, poor planning. 

This week, I played with the image and reflection of a magnificent full moon over Vancouver Island near Desolation Sound. I filmed the way the reflection moves and twists depending on what way you think it's spinning. For example, if you think of the reflection like a vortex and tell yourself it is spinning counter clockwise then that's what you see. Then if you think clock-wise that's how it looks and if you think both directions at the same time then that too is what you see. Try it out!

Inspired by the beautiful stillness of the moon coupled with its spinning reflection in the water, I decided to take 2 second long exposure photos while I moved my camera back and forth and in spinning circles. This created fun moonlight drawings that I've come to love.

Moon Drawings

The moon burned through the darkness like a sparkler in the night sky, creating magical lines and patterns.

With whom are you inspired to create today?