Melissa's Vision Board

Here is my board. I had a great time doing this. I noticed that initially, I was drawn to a lot of phrases and words before I discovered images I felt drawn to. A lot of what I discovered about myself in this process was about uniting two halves of mysef, the domestic with the artist, or the two halves of a whole. There was also evidence of gaining freedom from a past "story" or belief of myself in favor letting my heart guide me. Faith and trust in my own journey...not waiting for permission or external validation.

The images that struck me most were of a dog holding up another smaller dog on its hind end and a woman chasing some sort of yak. The one of the dogs very clearly showed me that I have allowed myself to be the one holding others up. I chose the phrase "Free yourself of that load" to remind myself that I need not shoulder things that really are not mine to shoulder. I want to remember to free that energy for my creativity. The one of the woman chasing the yak reminded me that I have been the woman chasing...chasing...chasing...but now I want to be the yak. LOL! Running wild and free.

It was interesting to me that some of the phrases and images that I thought I would use, I did not. These choices spoke as clearly to me as the ones I put on the board. That was unexpected. For instance, I chose a phrase that said, "Searching for myself..." But it didn't fit. I realized I know who I am on this leg of my journey. This board is about how I share that with the rest of the world.

I found Vision Boarding to be a memorable, valuable exercise that I may call on now and again as a means of clarifying new insights and direction. The best part for me was sharing the experience and donuts with friends on a Saturday morning.

Vision Board Workshop

We had an awesome time at the vision board workshop this morning. Here's Kate, laboring on her Rebirth board:





And Judy, likewise, working wonders with rubber cement:





And Melissa, tearing it up:



Here's my board. We're all supposed to blog about our boards, so I'm going to sneak mine in right now.



I knew I needed to vision prosperity, but didn't want it to be about money. There is nothing wrong with money, and I know this, but I wanted it to be about something more. The word "harvest" came up, and "gold," and I knew where it was headed. There's a lot of spinning straw into gold in there.

There are images of fiber work by Eva Hesse, and the cliff repellers, side by side. I need a little risk, and I love the repelling ropes and how they mirror the fiber art.

The knitter with the birds in her hair is about listening to the little birds of ideas, and the gourd bird houses are, I think, about giving those ideas a place to nest before I turn them into something tangible. All this comes from the tear at the top right -- which is not so much about crying (although that's fine,) but more about it being a flow from vision.

I had brought some images of garden design to use. I love the tidy, drawn little plans, and thought, "If I could only design my life that way, with an aerial view, wouldn't that be great?" But during the process, I realized that was exactly what I needed to let go; words like flow and organic and process (although I didn't use it) began to surface. I also needed to include the word "ready." I know in the past, things have started to happen, and I didn't feel ready. I want to feel ready -- ready to reap and receive -- and, as it says in the bottom right corner, "walk my path."

I heART

On Valentine's Day evening, Junctionview Studios hosted a superfun event called "I heART". The artwork that was represented fell into one of three categories: Sweet, bitter, or hot. Fellow MAW member, Wendy Yeager and I (Sharon Bell) had pieces on display (both were bitter, no surprises there). Members of Couchfire Collective and other Junctionview residents did a bang up job preparing the space for the event, and it appeared as if all in attendance had a great time (some a bit TOO great...).
Wendy took a few pics featured here of the event before it got too crazy. She also took pics of our pieces. Mine's the hole in the chest one and hers is the beautiful ghostly figure one. She rules.

Upcoming Vision Board Workshop

On February 21, Mother Artists at Work (MAW) will be offering a Vision Board workshop. This event is free and available to members only.

The book we'll be using is The Vision Board Book: Your Guide to an Extraordinary Life by Joyce Schwartz. I am reading it now, and if you have a chance to get it from the library or purchase it between now and the workshop, I highly recommend it. It will only enhance your experience at the workshop, and empower you to continue using the vision board method in future.

Vision Boards can be focused on anything: your life, your family and home, your artwork. Even businesses and groups come together to create a vision board for their organization or event, to see what might come together as a whole. This is something MAW might like to do in future, but for the upcoming workshop, it will be based on personal dreams and revelations.

The Vision Board is different from visualization in that it is not about creating a vision of what you think you want to happen, although that can be useful, too. The Vision Board is a way to let your inner voice -- or a higher voice -- guide you through play. We will be looking through magazines and cutting out images that appeal to us, and using them on the board. It doesn't have to make sense, but the meaning might come together for you at the end.

Between now and the workshop, take some time to meditate and perhaps come up with one word to help guide you for your board. You might feel overwhelmed trying to come up with one word for your entire life, so feel free to narrow this vision board to be about a particular area. An example given in the book is the word "freedom," which a man spray painted on his dining room wall, and then began creating a vision board for his family right there on the wall. Their lives changed radically that year in the direction they desired. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?

For the workshop, bring poster board or another board surface to work on, magazines (make sure they are a good mix, and not just the usual ones you read,) glue sticks or other glue, scissors, paints, pencils, glitter, clear acrylic gesso if you want a top coat, and any other supplies you enjoy using.

For more information on Vision Boards, check out these links:

Christine Kane: How to Make a Vision Board

SelfGrowth.com: How to Use a Vision Board to Activate the Law of Attraction

Thanks to My Artful Life on Flickr for the Vision Board image.

VOTE NOW at Yahoogroups! RE: Dues for MAW

Hello,
This is my first official blog so be easy on me bloggers! Anyway, the idea of charging dues for all Mother Artists at Work members has been bandied about for awhile now. Yesterday at the planning meeting for KidzArtz, it was proposed that we move forward and actually do it.

Be sure to go vote on this issue at the MAW yahoogroups site (you should get a link from the MAW e-list). If not, let someone know and we can get you there. The poll will close on Feb. 28th.

Dues are proposed to be $20 per year with the option to pay a $10 installment every 6 months. This will allow new members to commit to shorter periods of membership and "try out" MAW to see if it is a fit for them.

Dues will be used to pay for such things as the Trade Name (cost $50, fronted by Laura at this time) as well as other expenses incurred as MAW moves closer to being an organization that is incorporated and able to qualify for official non-profit status. If you have questions about the details of this, please ask and someone (not me) who is clearer on this process will answer!

Group membership benefits will include: networking, monthly workshops, and an annual exhibit opportunity in the form of a MAW show which will also be at least partially supported by our dues.

KidzArtz 2009: Registration is Open!