Art Garden

Tired in a way rest doesn't fix?

Me too.

But I get little spurts of energy through consistent practice with my creativity and joy.

The devotion to the connection is the work. Prioritizing.

Most mornings I take a few minutes to do an emotional scribble drawing. Whatever is on my heart, whether positive or negative, comes out. I'm a classically trained painter specializing in figure and portraits. Do my emo drawings look good? F**k no!

And they shouldn't. That would be the opposite of what is needed. The point is to stay in the emotional art brain type of functioning, not the using the cognitive labeling, judging mind. My personal art therapy is off the table of judgement. Everything else is under a microscope.

I just got back from a retreat where I pounded on a huge drum, sang my heart out and danced in the forest with dozens of women. One of my best friends came with me this year and my heart is so full.

I teach and paint, and work a side job to let art business be art business. I was back going my side job yesterday, which I love because I get to still work in the art industry and can work my own hours at home. I feel very lucky.

But it's not singing in the forest and I was funky yesterday. I was exhausted and couldn't get to even the most basic of my tools, my emotional drawing. So I tapped my phone screen to fill colors into a digital drawing on a coloring book app. Guess who got energy? Thank you amygdala!

When you are tired beyond tired for things deeper than rest, do something creative!

The amygdala is basically your art brain and it gets fussy like an infant. If you give it a creative distraction, most of the time it resets fast.

I dare you to try it!! If you do, tell me how it goes. I read all comments.

Stay tuned throughout June for free opportunities to draw with me, affirm with me, and meditate with me as we nurture our Heart Flame together. ☀️❤️🔥

✨ June’s Free Holistic Artistic Offerings Theme: Heart Flame ✨

As we approach the Summer Solstice, we enter a season of light, vitality, and personal power.

This month, through a simple art prompt, guided drawing, affirmations, and a meditation, we’ll gently connect with the flame within.

Stay tuned throughout June for free opportunities to draw with me, affirm with me, and meditate with me as we nurture our Heart Flame together. ☀️❤️🔥

Love,
Shelley

It's easy to live in the shame closet. The performance closet. The 'this happens to other people closet'.

It's easy because it is escape, but that escape is not easy after it starts to eat us alive and strain everything we are trying to whitewash and keep 'fresh and clean'.

What if the mess was coming clean? What if the discomfort is the purifier? What if the pain were the connector?

I used to struggle with perfectionism and masking so much so that even my closest friends were shocked when I announced I was getting divorced years ago, because I kept my issues hidden.

Injuries in 2022 knocked the lid off of my shame. I had to learn to tell people other than my mom and new partner I was having a hard time. I had to ask for help from people I didn't know or trust.

What do you keep inside that needs to be let out? Maybe there is some art out there that 'speaks' what you feel. Non-verbal language is important. I urge you to explore art about your specific issues. It may free you in unexpected ways.

To talk about creativity and healing with me in my private Skool community, and receive weekly art journal and art mind prompts, join Creative Care Circle:
www.skool.com/creative-care-circle-3827/about

For Holistic Artistic Experiences online and in West Seattle visit:
shelleyirish.com.

Art: They are Gone, We are Here by me

So much divides us if we let it.

Ever been in a room where someone is brave enough to mention the vulnerable thing they are feeling, then everyone breathes a sigh of relief? We have way more in common than we often acknowledge. The more open about how we are feeling, the less disconnected we can feel from others.

That is the point of great art. To catalyze. To make people feel.

This isn't an article where I'm going to try to convince you that even though the world is on fire, at least you can draw a flower and feel better. (Which I do believe, but this is a different point.)

Sometimes we don't know what we're feeling deep down until someone says it in a way we would never think of. Sometimes we view art that doesn't make sense to the 'logical' mind, but it makes us emotional.

In our fast paced, concrete world, it's more important than ever to feel.

Sad art unites us. Messy creations connect us. We see each other. Our hearts open. All everyone wants is to belong. Art helps us with this without saying a word.

What is weighing on your heart, that you could turn into art? Let it out! It might just make someone feel like they are less alone.

To talk about creativity and healing with me in my private Skool community, and receive weekly art journal and art mind prompts, join Creative Care Circle:
www.skool.com/creative-care-circle-3827/about

For Holistic Artistic Experiences online and in West Seattle visit:
shelleyirish.com.