The Journey- All the Way Home to My Self

OK… this post is a lot about me since this was such an important process piece.  But as we’re all part of the Divine Oneness, see if you can relate with the experience, messages and energy offered here.

This is huge! And I’m not just talking size. I’m talking process!

I created “The Journey: All the Way Home to My Self” as part of my personal wellness program.

I needed focused “me” time in the studio this spring to be, re-centre, and re-energize. So I put the Law of Attraction into action –  follow your bliss and you’ll attract more of it!

What would that look like for you?

There are over 20 layers of paint and energy-work here, not to mention over 120 hours of meditative focusing, many of those spent dot-making. Bliss!

I’d had the 48″x48″ canvas as part of my studio stock for about 2 years, knowing it would eventually become a tree of life with a central circle. About a year ago, the 24″ x 48″ asked to be added to the design. But it needed more gestation time.

It wasn’t until I started working on my labyrinth series in April that I realized those 5 designs were all meant to be integrated into one.

“The Journey: All the Way Home to Myself”
48″ x 78″ (4′ x 6.5′)
Acrylics & chakra stones (red jasper (root), carnelian (sacral), yellow jade (solar plexus), green aventurine (heart), lapis lazuli (throat), amethyst (third eye) & clear quartz (crown) ) on gallery-wrapped canvas.
SOLD

Let me walk you through the creative process – allow the colours and meaning to balance your chakras as you read so that you too can journey all the way home to your Self.

Layer by layer, I worked the colour and words of each chakra onto the canvas. The result was a clearing and balancing of my own chakras.

Although you can’t see them anymore, those chakra enhancing energies still emanate from the painting, assisting the viewer’s personal process.

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1.  Root or Base Chakra at the base of the spine (RED) : vitality, courage, self-confidence, self-awareness, security, strength of will, grounding.
   
2. Sacral Chakra in the lower abdomen (ORANGE): happiness, confidence, resourcefulness, sociability, joy, creativity, independence.
3. Solar Plexus Chakra below the ribs (YELLOW): wisdom, clarity, self-esteem, optimism, good humour, practicality
4. Heart Chakra (GREEN): balance, unconditional love, self-love, self-control, compassion, generosity, harmony
5. Throat Chakra (BLUE): knowledge, health, decisiveness, loyalty, calm, trustworthiness
6. Brow or Third Eye Chakra in the centre of the forehead (INDIGO): intuition, mysticism, understanding, integrity, faithfulness, clear-sightedness
7. Crown Chakra, at the top of the head: beauty, creativity, inspiration, reverence, service, idealism, good of the Higher Self.

The basis for my composition and personal energy work was the Vesica Pisces – sacred geometry used in religion and spirituality for thousands of years to represent a source of immense power and energy.

The Vesica Pisces is the two becoming one – just as my experience painting and your experience now witnessing become an opening for something greater.

It’s also

* an opening into the mysteries of higher consciousness
* the seed of the tree of life and basic motif for the flower of life,
* the intersection of spiritual and physical,
* creation/ birthing/ yoni/ Goddess
* two becoming one
* a symbol for Jesus Christ (the fish shape in the middle).

This phase isn’t uncommon in an intuitive painting…. or in life!

My focus was more on process than looks. My job was to be patient and to keep loving it (and myself) as we grew.

Which of your creations may be at an awkward teenager phase right now? How can you add more love and compassion to the mix?

There are about 6 layers of washes, glazes, paint, and art therapy here. I was even down on my hands and knees scrubbing with a brush at one point to remove layers of as-yet-fully-cured washes of gold and stainless steel paint to bring back some of what I liked a few steps back.

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The studio truly is a practice – for life, for self-love, for all there is. I trust in the process.

The initial layers are an investment of time, energy, and lots of expensive pro-paint… but none of it is wasted.

Every layer informs the metaphysical and aesthetic value of the finished piece.

In order to reconnect to peace and achieve harmony, there’s no going back – just forward.

Are you too attached to the past to open to the mystery of the future and the peace in the now?

I may have loved how some of the close-up sections looked when I did those chakra coloured puddle-stripes, but it didn’t hold together as a painting.

So I kept adding layers of darker paints in the upper chakra colours to form a more uniform and darker background upon which to build the light.

Now came time to integrate my previous 5 labyrinth paintings:

• the Chartres-style labyrinth from “Chakra Journey” to crown the chakra layers
• the angels from “Oasis of Inspiration“
• the dove from “Peace Flow“
• the dancer from “Sky Dancer“
• The 7-circuit labyrinth and figure from “Mother Earth“

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The two labyrinths have an active role in this contemplative art piece.

The viewers will be able to journey through both using a soft dry paintbrush, enhancing their meditative journey.

Here’s where I fully immersed myself in dot-therapy for days on end.  Truly wonderful!

First, I dotted the bare tree branches and roots in 2 shades of iridescent copper and bronze. I also highlighted the intersections in tiny light gold dots.

Then, I added the seasons, which thankfully meant more dot-therapy! I tell ya! I was really in the dot-flow!

As one of my representations for the Law of Rhythm, the symbolism of the 4 seasons was very important for me this winter.

Business was slow and my energy seemed to match, calling for more solitude and creative time instead of focusing solely on generating new business.  This project was about honouring this inner and economic rhythm instead of trying to force something that wasn’t working… yet. My job was to stay in my peace no matter what.

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Once the tree was completed, it was time to work on the halo.  So much Light went into this painting. It was time for it to shine out into the world.

Here, we have layers of tiny and broader brush strokes, first in zinc white (transparent), titanium white (opaque), and interference violet, blue, and orange. These appear white from one angle, but shine in colour from another.

I also added 3-D sparkly seeds in the root system to symbolize the juicy inspiration from which all grows. I love sparkle & shine!

You can also see here the triskele symbol in the 4 corners. I started with a layer in teal, then went for purple and interference violet. In person, they look like jewels.

The triskele is a Celtic design with a triple spiral. It represents the harmonious union, motion and transformation achieved through

• life-death-rebirth,
• spirit-mind-body,
• mother-father-child,
• past-present-future,
• power-intellect-love,
• and more.

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I always imagined this painting hanging with a space in between the 2 canvases.

From the central root now hangs a quartz point pendant with 7 chakra stones, bringing the piece full circle from its original layers. The pendant can be easily removed if the owner wants to wear it to help balance her/ his charkas.

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There are also 7 engraved chakra stones from India resting on the top ledge of the bottom canvas – a mini-altar. It’s a good spot for the soft paintbrush to rest when not used to journey through the two labyrinths. 

There, in the root system, precious objects and healing tools can both nourish and be nourished, bathed in layers of energy work and painted symbolism.

It doesn’t take a lot of room to create a mini-altar for yourself. Is that an idea that appeals?

After many hours of adding tiny branches and other touch-ups, it was time to decide it was done.

I applied an isolation coat of soft-gel to protect the pigments and then 4 coats of UV resistant varnish.

I love the symbolism.

Varnish is  like surrounding yourself with a white light to protect yourself from harm. That light allows your beauty to shine through and enhances your experience of the world.

Varnish protects from dust, scratches, moisture, etc. while deepening the colours and increasing the shine (because I chose gloss).

The last coat of varnish was brushed on Mother’s Day, but the chakra stones didn’t arrive in the mail until weeks later.  There you have it, this baby is ready for a new home! My work with it and its work with me is done.

Comes with chakra pendant, 7 stones, and soft paintbrush.