13 Friday May 2011
Posted in Art Craft and Beauty
Tags
Art Craft and Beauty, creativity, Feyhearted path, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, Journalling, Living Life, musings, poem, Stories, Strangeness of Life
Dancing in the Stars
Whatever’s wrong with whimsical?
With just-a-little-twee?
Its whimsy lightens up our heart
And makes the world happy.
Much as I adore the night,
And dancing with the moon,
Its whimsy that lives in my soul
Winking from my dreams at noon!
~Haloquin, Friday 13th May 2011
04 Wednesday May 2011
Posted in Art Craft and Beauty, Creative Process, Reflections
Tags
Art Craft and Beauty, Commitment, creativity, Determination, Faery, gratitude, Heart, Honesty, inspirations, Living Life, musings, Strangeness of Life
Ink swirls form into shapes, like rorschach tests they show to us our hearts... I see a dancing faery goblin, what do you see?
I’m so excited that the summer is here! (For my readers in the Southern Hemisphere, thank you for letting us have our turn with the sun 🙂 )
Even though this past week has been really tough, it feels like the world is full of possibilities.
Beltane is that time when the past falls away and you can step into the future, so it makes sense that now is the time that things are shifting towards more freedom, even as it brings less certainty.
Just this last week my beautiful babbit died, circumstances surrounding my job have become unstable, and my partner rolled and wrote-off our car. So we’re pet-less, car-less and soon to be job-less…
Despite this, we’re both rather positive about life, it really feels like a door is opening, even though I can’t see it and have no idea where its leading! I don’t know how I’m going to pay my bills without a job, or get a new one with no transport, but somehow, I know it’ll be ok.
I’m at that point of breathing deeply and hoping I see the opportunity as it comes round the corner in time to grab it with both hands and ride!
Its hard, and its sad, and its scary, and yet… there is hope.
I spent Beltane-day itself making art… the colours flowed across the page and images emerged! I love making pictures so much and I’m trying to find ways of sharing the joy with other people, so many of the pictures I made this weekend will be landing on Etsy. I plan to post each one here first with a story or a poem or a little bit of writing to accompany it so you can see the story behind the paint!
And, secretly, I’m working on a special offering, an e-course on enchanted empowerment… keep watching this space for more!
In the meantime, how many people would be up for a series of posts on the nature of creativty? A little bit of philosophy, a little bit of inspiration, a little bit of practical-how-to on finding your confidence and creating intuitively? Comment below and let me know if you’d be interested… and what you might like to hear about.
PS: You can subscribe to my weekly newsletter if you like, with musings not posted on the blog, just go here! Or use the links above-right to sign up to my newsletter, the blog, or both! 🙂
23 Saturday Apr 2011
Posted in All Posts, Art Craft and Beauty, Creative Process, Magic
Tags
Art Craft and Beauty, Beginnings, creativity, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, inspirations, Journey, Magic, musings, Passion, Play, process, reasons, Strangeness of Life, Suggestions
How play helped me to release perfectionism and be happier with my art!
I’m an artist! Yay!
I make pictures and share them with people…
And I get sad that they are never quite what was in my head.
11 Friday Mar 2011
Tags
creativity, Faery, Feyhearted path, Heart, inspirations, Intent, Magic, project, Suggestions, Tools
This is the fifteenth post in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.
Faeries, enchanters, magicians, witches… all known to be carriers of the elusive magic wand. Evidently this is an important tool for all those who would choose to spread enchantment in their lives, and the lives of others. In this case, perhaps we should make one ourselves!
06 Sunday Mar 2011
Posted in All Posts, Art Craft and Beauty, Faery, Following Delight
Tags
Art Craft and Beauty, Commitment, Completion, creativity, Devotional, Faery, Faery Queen, Feyhearted path, gratitude, Heart, Intent, Journey, Living Life, Magic, project, Strangeness of Life
The Faery Heart
I am delighted to announce:
My book has been accepted by a publisher!!!
A lovely German publisher has decided to take on The Faery Heart, and to publish it in a German translation with new illustrations by a gorgeous artist.
Celebration time!!! 🙂
It’ll be out, at the very earliest, late spring next year… so, in the meantime:
The original, English, version is up on Lulu!
Complete with my own illustrations.
Have a printed copy sent to your door, or download a digital version to read right away.
I feel like I’m flying 🙂
Happy thoughts to you all!!!
04 Friday Mar 2011
Tags
challenge, creativity, Determination, Devotional, Faery, inspirations, Living Life, Magic, Strangeness of Life, Suggestions
This is the fourteenth post in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.
“Glamour Bombing” a form of artistic and poetic terrorism that involves acts of random beauty, inspiration, joy, magic or wonder with the purpose to raise ambient levels of glamour in the environment, glamour being the unique magic of the fae.
A glamour bomb is any public act or work that aims to inspire genuine curiosity and childlike befuddlement, a change of thought process, belief in magic, belief in the fae, and/or a sense of wonder in the recipient.
~From the glamourbomb ‘Tribe.net’ page
If you’ve been following the music for a while, letting these kisses from the pixies enchant you, enchantment should be blossoming in your life… cultivating a sense of wonder is a magical act.
Allowing enchantment into your heart is a good step, but perhaps you feel called to share some of that wonder with the world?
One way to do this is to practice the art of ‘glamourbombing’.
19 Saturday Feb 2011
Posted in All Posts, Following Delight, Magic, Reflections
Tags
Art Craft and Beauty, creativity, Devotion, Feyhearted path, Heart, Honesty, Journey, Living Life, Magic, musings, reasons, Strangeness of Life
Recently I’ve been using the label enchantress/enchanter to refer to myself, and the Pixie Kiss project is all about enchantment, so perhaps it is time to elucidate what I mean by this!
What is an Enchanter?
An enchanter enchants; makes something enchanted; spreads enchantment.
Enchantment implies wonder, delight, beauty, joy and magic… and also: seeing what is not there. I grew up being accused of watching things that weren’t there, things which include faeries, magic, wonder and spirit, according to the greyer parts of our overculture. Anything beyond the material realm is not really there…
The glimpses I’ve had of that grey world, devoid of spirit, life, and wonder, are terrible things. Its no real wonder that depression and numbness are strong currencies in the world! The more I see of the world, the more I come to see how this greyness permeates so many lives, and how much this harms people. Disconnection,* that which prevents a life lived fully, comes from disillusionment, disenchantment, distrust and disinterest in the world around us, so let us reconnect, re-enchant and re-invigorate our lives!
If being enchanted allows us to see past the cold hard facts of a world disconnected from its heart, then perhaps seeing what is normally unseen is the key to feeling the warm feelings of love and joy and delight, and being enchanted will fill us with wonder which we can then share!
For me, to be enchanted is to walk in a state of delighted wonder at the magic in the world. Not ignoring the problems, but choosing how we engage with the world and our lives. To be enchanted is to see the beauty of life, and to enchant others is to encourage beauty and delight in the world. Facing the truth is important, and I certainly don’t advocate ignoring pain and betrayal, in the world at large or our personal lives. However, acknowledging the hurt and harm happening and done, doing what you can to help, and not wallowing in the pain but choosing to heal and move on is more helpful than falling into misery.** Recognising that there is wonder in the world even when everything hurts can help us to get through the pain and keep motivated to help to heal the parts of the world we can.
Enchantment does not blind us to the bad, but it does help us see the good. It does not numb us, but it does open us to living more fully. Enchantment is not a way of hiding, it is a way of seeing and choosing where our focus, and therefore our energies, go.
This is what it means to be an Enchanter; to be enchanted by life, and to help others, wherever possible, to be enchanted too.
*Pace and Kyeli have written a marvelous document on why disconnection is the root of all the ills in the world, you can check it out here: The Connection Manifesto.
** Easier said than done sometimes, so there is help out there if you are sinking rather than swimming. For those times, ask for help. Acknowledging the beauty in the world includes acknowledging that there are many people out there who can and will help you… and remembering that we can ask for help.
15 Tuesday Feb 2011
Posted in All Posts, Art Craft and Beauty, Following Delight
Tags
challenge, creativity, Enchanted, Feyhearted path, Living Life, Magic, Play
Courtesy of Mary-Ann Devine, the Secret Play Date runs every Tuesday.
Faced with this I remember my thoughts on Retreats, and Havi’s posts on Metaphor Mouse, and how I really enjoy pretty thigns and playing and making space for something different and…
And I remember how I’ve been thinking about how to frame what I’m doing in a way that makes it real and solid and sensical… so I decided to join in the secret play-date and play about that today!
What I’m working on:
My Vision/livelihood/business concept
How I worked on it today:
I built a den!
How it went:
First I started organising the corner I’ve designated as a place for art, study, writing and whatever other creative or magical pursuits I get up to… I’ve not managed to start using this corner yet since my desk and magic chair are *still* at my Mother’s house, so I’ve been working at the dining room table. Some sections of the cupboards are vaguely organised though, so its not completely shambolic!
In the process of organising I found my one set of ritual robes and decided that an enchanter’s corner deserves to be magically delineated… so I donned my pruple robes, lit some old incense (the smell of which transported me right back to the first few years of my magical path) and happily continued.
Comfort, luxury, beauty and organisation were my aims, so I dragged my sheepskin rug and a pillow in and ordered my space. Performing the same action (organising and unpacking) as a deliberately magical act is a marvellous thing, play makes everything more enchanting.
Next in my play-date was using the den-space: I indulged in some brainstorming over what phrase I’d prefer to use instead of ‘fledgling business’ and am hovering around, perhaps, ‘my craft’, which gives me space to hone it before I try and make it a livelihood!
Finally I played with my oil pastels, making swirls, feeling glowy.
I’ve been thinking about enchantment a lot, as my Pixie Kiss posts show, and performing everyday acts with magical intention is a good way to increase the enchantment in your life. I wonder what else I could be wearing robes and burning incense for? Maybe I could try setting up ornate, obvious magical space before I start writing each day and see how that affects things…
Its fun to set aside time to do something a bit different and, while organising a space isn’t quite the same as building a den, looking at it as though it were lead to a different experience and I reckon I’ll be looking on that corner more longingly now!
08 Tuesday Feb 2011
Posted in All Posts, Art Craft and Beauty, Creative Process, Philosophy
Tags
challenge, Commitment, creativity, inspirations, Journalling, life, Living Life, musings, Philosophy, process, project, Strangeness of Life
Every time I come across mention of a creative retreat, I wish I was on one.
People talk of meeting other writers and spending a block of time just writing together, sharing stories and ideas and support, challenging each other and being there for each other. This appeals to me.
People talk of getting together with other artists to carve out a precious piece of time dedicated to creating art, honing skills, and immersing themselves in the creative process. This, too, appeals to me.
I love working with other people around, also working on the same kind of thing. Going on the university run Philosophy conference sets aside time in a beautiful place dedicated to just doing Philosophy and inspiring each other, and means that all sorts of things happen in writing and sparking ideas.
Maybe, then, instead of trying to set aside time to study each day I can plan a ‘private conference’ for myself, where I listen to philosophical podcasts, hunt down articles and offer up ideas for comment soemwhere like Facebook. Perhaps doing this will inspire me to dive back into my studies, and interacting with others will help me keep motivated?
Perhaps I could invite others over for creative afternoons, even if we just connect through Skype and blogs and Facebook? And perhaps, if no-one else is available, I can allow myself time for specific projects that I can get excited about in the anticipation-soaked wait… so half the reason, the retreat side of retreating, can at least be pressent.
I could join in on Play-date Tuesday, or workless Wednesday.
I could join the One World, One Heart giveaway to focus myself.
I could solicit interest here and now… Anyone up for getting together sometime? Either digitally or, even better, in person? Bring your creative project and I’ll bring mine, we can picnic in a park or make forts in a living room! Any other philosophy students out there? We can share interesting online talks, share summaries of our current pieces for inspiration and support, maybe even *gasp* get some discussion going?
Anyone else interested?
In the meantime, I’m going to experiment with reframing ‘study-sessions’ into ‘private conferences’ or retreats and see if I can get back into my studies by imagining they’re as fun as they are!
(I enjoy my studies while doing them, its getting started that I’m struggling with… bribery, time-limits, and making a schedule hasn’t helped so far, lets see if making a game of it will!)
28 Friday Jan 2011
Tags
creativity, Faery, Feyhearted path, Heart, inspirations, Keys, Living Life, Magic, Tools
This is the ninth in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.
Inspired by Cat Valente’s Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making this kiss is about keys.
Keys are important. With keys we lock secrets away in private journals, we open doors, we mark a rite of passage in which we receive the ability to choose when we enter and leave our own homes. Locking and unlocking, closing and opening, protecting and revealing… keys mean so much.
Keys are symbolic, and real.
Halo Quin 