“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” ― Jalaluddin Rumi, The Essential Rumi.

I want to share how creativity has helped me weave between my shamanic and creative practices. Of course, shamanism has been closely linked with creativity for thousands of years.

Artists, poets, and musicians can switch off to the outside world so that they can listen to their inner ears and eyes. These were our first shamans!

My connection to nature is the one constant element that still inspires my artistic practice. This subtle, slow process has helped my artwork evolve. I use a shamanic and therapeutic approach to felting and watercolour painting to create my own sacred space. Whether it’s macro or micro vision, nature in all its forms and seasons speaks to me through my own experience of them.

I aim to express my experience of ‘Walking between the Worlds’ like a shaman. Through my creative experience of shamanism and previous travels to Peru, I enjoy using my shamanic skills and my drum to help me journey to the roots of those painful and joyous moments I’ve experienced in this sacred gift called life. Then, when these roots have been uncovered, they can start to emerge in my artwork.

I gain clarity and nourishment from what some people call ‘The invisible realms’ and I enjoy watching these worlds of the unconscious and conscious arrive in my artwork.  It takes a certain level of trust and courage to do this but that’s the wonderful thing about felt or painting, I’m never quite sure how it’s going to turn out! Some experiences are unconscious and mysterious, needing further unraveling through sketchbook work, journaling, and pieces of art.

What I enjoy most is creating special places outside with textiles and natural materials, places that connect to the elements and honour our cultural heritage. I enjoy listening to the rhythms of the natural world and using art to take ourselves inwards or help us to connect to all that is, to the stars and to the seeds of the universe that live within us and that we live within.

When we create something we have seen on a shamanic journey, during a healing session or a ceremony, we are honouring the part of ourselves that needs to come back into balance. A very important part of my creative practice or ethos is the theme of sustainability. I prefer using natural materials and dyes, wherever possible – walking softly on the earth and leaving the smallest footprint I can for our children’s children.

I often start with an intention: honouring, singing, and drumming, making offerings to the four directions. Sometimes I take a medicine walk. Shamanism helps us to find the treasures in an unseen world, gifts that we can bring into the real world, at the same time honouring our creativity and power. In my next Blog post, I will share 3 Creative Shamanic Rituals for Mindfulness, Letting Go & Embodying Wisdom.

“Creativity takes courage. ” ― Henri Matisse

For all our relations.