Whimsical Wednesday and Santo Luminosos Winners

Happy Whimsical Wednesday. The long awaited announcement is here!

Santos Luminosos Give-Away

We are grateful for all of you who have signed up for the August 30th Hermana Sagrada online course. We have worked hard to bring you a piece of our souls and love of art. The winners are:

Silvana Fierro
Kim Hine
Adrienne Rosello

We will be emailing you details soon!


Mother Mary a stunning mixed-media clay on canvas will go to:
Marilyn McGinley

Finally this gorgeous print will go to:

Paulina Goyri

There is still time to sign up for Santos Luminosos. Come play with us!

"Ducks In A Row"

Happy Monday. Today is Manifest Monday at Hermana Sagrada and I want to know what are your intentions for the day, the week, or your life? I love this topic because each week I get to think about my own intentions and writing about them helps me to be in alignment to receive that which I intend.

Last week for some reason I kept hearing the phrase "ducks in a row." Seriously I thought to myself, 'if I hear "ducks in a row" one more time I will scream!' Instead of screaming :) I decided to think about what it actually meant to me. What does "ducks in a row" mean?  So I went to Google and typed it in. These are the definitions that came up:






1. To get one's affairs in order or organized. 
2. Complete one's preparations, become efficient and well organized. 
3. Essentially means to ensure all of the small details or elements are accounted for and in their proper positions before embarking on a new project. 


I am the girl who used to plan everything in advance. So I get it, I do... make sure to look before you leap... get your stuff all lined up...follow a plan... I think those are all positive things to do to move from one place to the next but what happens when you start saying "ducks in a row" as an excuse NOT to move forward? What happens if all those ducks don't line up single file like you want them to? What happens when the phrase loses its' meaning and just becomes the phrase of choice because we are too scared to choose something different?

Last week, each time I heard the phrase I couldn't help but to feel this. That "ducks in a row" was more of an excuse. In almost every circumstance it was about not being ready to move from one place to the next. For some it was about work, for others it was about relationships and finally for another it was about choosing to live joyfully regardless of the circumstances surrounding her life. Which in that case she didn't care about ducks lining up perfectly. 

I had to stop and think about this in my own life. Where am I using the excuse, "I got to get my ducks in a row?"  I realized that I use it in a lot of areas... my business, my health, my art... The truth is that we can find almost any excuse NOT to do something we say WANT. Why? Because we are fearful of the unknown. Have you heard this before? Have you felt this way before? It's because it's true. It's easier to stay in the comfort zone (which by the way its just and illusion of comfort because everything is constantly changing). Our Inner Critic does a good job of convincing us that certainly we are safe over here so we shouldn't dare go over there where everything is uncertain and dangerous. 

Have you ever done something you were afraid to do, then once you did it thought...that wasn't so bad or why didn't I do this sooner? Sometimes we just have to trust that things will go right instead of going wrong. Sometimes the benefits of pushing through the fear outweigh the uncomfortable feelings we carry inside. 

I ask myself sometimes, "How am I going to teach women to paint a different vision of the feminine than they are used to seeing, how am I going to teach that painting is a sacred, spiritual, and healing process? What if I mess up? What if they don't like what I am saying? 

The truth is that I can't know the answers to any of those questions. What I can do is be the best me I can be, and move with love and intention in each gathering I am a part of. Ultimately, I know that even if all my ducks are scattered about the pond I can come to a situation just as I am and do and give my best. My reasons for painting and teaching intentional creativity are much greater than my fears or excuses not to share these practices. 

I knew that there was a reason for me hearing this phrase over and over again and I am so glad that I was present (when I am, I get a gift from the universe :) enough to figure out what it meant for me. So now its' your turn. Are you making excuses when you say I got to get my "ducks in a row"?

Manifest Monday and the Honey Jar

Hola!

Yay it's Manifest Monday where we get to put our intentions out into the universe and have all of our sisters hold the energy for them! I am intending to manifest more SWEETNESS in my life. That is right all things like HONEY. 

Sofia's Candy-licious Gratitude List 

I am feeling such gratitude for spending the weekend with my twin nieces Justice and Lyric and my sweetheart Jeff. 

Here they are at the Farmer's Market enjoying Paletas. Yum!

I want more of this in my life. 

OH JOY, OH RAPTURE! 

Afterwards we made cilantro pesto and tomato sandwiches with all the goodies we bought at the market. The girls gobbled them up. 

Hermana Sagrada's next course Santos Luminosos. A delicious offering of creative rituals. It has been so fun collaborating with my hermana Claudia to bring this online course to life. Thank you so much for everyone who has registered! There is still time to sign up if it resonates and sounds like something sweet for you to bite into. Course begins on August 30th.

So grateful for all of my art friends on an offline. Meeting in person becomes and extra special treat each time. Thank you for the emails and comments left on Facebook about how our online courses make you feel. It warms our hearts...like hot apple pie it does :)  Here is a comment from last week:

"Truthfully, these art courses are making a big difference in my life. I don't feel as isolated as I have been for so long. The welcome comments from the other students make me feel so much a part of the group. Thank you so much!"  Ruthee



Loving that I will have another opportunity on August 16th to paint live with Shiloh Sophia. I will be helping to answer questions on the Facebook page and LiveStream chatroom. This is revolutionary education! Sign-up, follow online, and be in community with others at the same time. This lifestream is called:

The Honey Jar, Wet, Wild & Wise Painting!

The picture is not so clear but that's okay because you can trust me when I say this is going to be awesome. So excited for this and the very reason for my manifesting more sweetness in my life. Try it even if you think you can't paint, you will be surprised.

What will you manifest today? Tell me below and I will hold the intention for you.  

Kyong-Hui and Cosmic Community

Yesterday after a long day at work I decided to head over to the craft stores in my neighborhood for some new supplies required for my Color of Woman Training. I was in search of Sumi-e or India Ink and some big sheets of watercolor paper. I was very tired and almost did not go but I remembered my commitment to living creatively and intentionally each day so I asked my husband to drive me.

In the car on the way there we talked about the simple strokes found in Chinese and Japanese paintings that use Sumi-e Ink. A single brush stroke can convey such beauty and in it you can find many images in them. Asian culture is another one of my favorite things to learn about. With my husband Jeff being half Korean there are subtle reminders around our home that demonstrate the influence of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese culture. 

Look at this ink painting. What do you see in the picture by Max Gimblett below?

So we got to Hobby Lobby and found the ink. I did not want to stay long because as I stated I was a bit exhausted and was ready to go home to relax. The watercolor paper was too expensive at Hobby Lobby so we decided to go right next door to Michael's. I thought to myself thank goodness they are in the same shopping center... we will be in and out. I knew the paper was less there and I had a coupon too. It was close to 7pm when we went in. I was mesmerized by all of the Fall decor and Halloween decorations that I started to jump up and down. I love the Fall and Winter seasons. After a few minutes of looking at all the cool stuff we headed over to the paper aisle. Jeff browsed over at the books while I looked at paper and canvas. I picked my paper then walked around to the side of the aisle.

I heard Jeff snickering off to the side... he had that look like he wanted to say something to a woman looking at the watercolor color paper where I had just been. I leaned over to see and I saw a woman in the same color clothing as me. I moved back and mouthed to Jeff "don't say anything" but he did and I am glad he did. It was kind of funny when I stepped around and faced her.  Jeff said "you both are twins" she paused and looked and then we all began to laugh. 

Jeff is more of a conversationalist than I am and so he did his thing talking while I did my thing and listening and observing. At some point early in our exchange I became so comfortable talking to this woman that I felt my energy increase. During our talk together she shared her Korean experience, Calligraphy and her 85 year-old instructor who is a traditionalist, her American name Fay and her real name Kyong-Hui and the history behind it, how she does not consider herself to be creative but has a tremendous respect for art and artists, Frank Lloyd Wright and his style, her sister, her mom, her dad, food, restaurants and that she doesn't like morons. 

It was a wonderful and mystical conversation. As I listened to the wisdom in her voice I envisioned the Red Thread of Connectivity encircling all three of us. It was like we had our own little Red Thread Ceremony right in the middle of the craft store. I am thankful to Jeff for tugging at both ends of the thread and bringing us to that point in time. 

I learned so much, I laughed so very much, and I made a new friend. When the announcement came over the intercom that said "Dear Michael's Customers, it is now 9pm and Michael's is closed please bring your final selections to the counter..." I couldn't believe that 2 hours had passed. It was pretty amazing. I asked if we could take a picture together because I knew I would want to document the experience. We exchanged information and said our good-byes at the register. I am so excited to see her again. 



I learned that community is truly everywhere I go whether I am tired or not there is a magic happening between our souls all the time...it does not have to be planned in a workshop...there are synchronisities occuring every moment, we just have to pay attention and be open. Thanks to Kyong-Hui and Jeff for a beautiful evening.