Offering HeART and SoulCollage® workshops to inspire your creative spirit |
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Wisdom From A Great Horned Owl |
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Greetings!
Last month I went out into the Modoc National Forest on my annual questing date with Mother Earth. This year I renamed my time out there "quamping" (part questing, part camping) because aging has limited my ability to fast for extended periods and my body requires more comfort and convenience than traditional questing dictates. But the delicious time-alone-in-nature aspect remains, as does the call to pay attention.
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Each time I go out into the wild I return with an unexpected treasure. This year I discovered owl pellets, 51 of them, beneath the big grandmother juniper tree where we Wild Hearts (my questing sisters group) gather for story telling. What is an owl pellet? Because owls often swallow mice, voles, snakes, small birds, and other prey whole, their digestive system has to deal with bones, fur, and feathers. The owl’s gizzard performs a kind of sorting operation: Soft tissues pass through to be digested, while indigestible sharp and hazardous bits like bones, teeth, and fur are formed into an oval mass. They pass back up the digestive system and are regurgitated as a pellet some hours later, often while the owl is at roost.
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Owl medicine is connected with the wisdom of the soul. They are often seen as mysterious, mostly because many owls are strictly nocturnal and we humans often find nighttime to be full of the unknown. Owls live within the darkness, which includes magic, mystery, and ancient knowledge. Related to the night is the moon, which owls are also connected to. It becomes a symbol of the feminine and fertility, with the moon’s cycles of renewal. Mythology relates owl to this wisdom and femininity, too. The owl was a symbol for Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy. According to myth, an owl sat on Athena’s blind side, so that she could see the whole truth.
Finding the owl pellets on my quamping trip felt auspicious. Gifts from nature always have a teaching and this one seemed very clear: owl's wisdom teaches us to take things in, hold onto what serves, and let go of what doesn't nurture our minds, bodies, and spirits. Regurgitate what's no longer needed out of your body, be it old trauma, old limiting beliefs, or old behavior patterns. "Let it go! Let it go!" (I can almost hear Elsa from the movie Frozen singing in the background).
Thank you for the teaching Ms. Great Horned Owl!
From time to time, between now and my publish date of September 26, 2023, I will be sharing excerpts from my book, Solo Passage, 13 Quests, 13 Questions, with you. Here is an excerpt from a chapter titled "Finding My Medicine Name" which describes how it looked when an owl flew over my head.
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"The owl leaned forward, and its wings opened wide. She launched from her perch at the edge of the hole and flew over my head. The wings spanned at least three feet, a feathered trajectory gliding through the air above, swift and stealthy like a flying cat. No sound of feathers pierced the air, not one wing flap. Her plumage was tan with dark-lined bars in repeated patterns sweeping across her chest and wings, and below hung sharp talons, an arsenal of knives. She floated into the forest, wove through the spaces between the trees, and disappeared. Owl is said to be a messenger of wisdom and intuition. I wondered what message she had for me." |
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Art and SoulCollage® Gatherings at the Down to Earth Studio
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SoulCollage® Card Reading Gathering
Friday, June 16, 2023, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
GG's Down to Earth Studio
by Donation (Gathering is FULL. Email GG to get on the wait list)
What other treasures await you in your SoulCollage® deck? Let's find out!
Come join me for a gathering where we will explore different ways of reading our cards. Whether you have 10 cards or 100 cards, there is so much more to discover within the imagery your soul has chosen.
If you are new to SoulCollage and only have a handful of cards, come anyway...you can also read other people's cards.
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Window Collage and Painting Workshop
Saturday, June 10, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Silverton Art Association Studio Classroom
Workshop fee: $95.00
In this fun and light workshop we will explore true mixed media. Combining paint, papers, stenciling, and Posca pens, we will create pieces ranging from whimsical to serene, from birds to bouquets. Come engage in this critic-free environment that encourages relaxed playful expression. Beginners welcome. No drawing or collage experience needed.
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Artists in Action Outside the Box Workshop
Sunday, June 11, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
GG's Down to Earth Studio
$20 material fee for studio supplies
Come and join in on the fun and support your local art association! Let’s get together and decorate boxes for the Outside the Box silent auction fundraiser for Artists in Action at the Salem Art Fair. Here at the Down to Earth Studio we have all sorts of papers, paints, and paraphernalia; beads, baubles, and bling; doo-dads, delights, and decorations to adorn your boxes. We even have lots of choices of boxes!
Your box will be donated to the Artists in Action fundraiser event.
Email GG to save your spot. (By the way, you do not have to be a member of AiA to particiate.)
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Equinox SoulCollage® Retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs
Women Only Weekend, Thursday evening September 14 through noon on Sunday September 17, 2023.
What is your soul longing for? Let the magic of SoulCollage® deepen the relationship with your longing and knowing. Unleash your creative spirit as you play in the pure joy of creating personal collages using imagery. Expand your awareness through journaling, meditation, dream imagery, sound, and time in nature.
The Autumnal Equinox is a meaningful time of year to honor the changing seasons, the key points in the cycle of life in nature. Within this cycle lies powerful messages about balance and reflection. Come and harvest your inner knowing through imagery and self-discovery.
Check the Breitenbush website for registration opening any day now.
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Other Announcements from The Down to Earth Studio |
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2024 We'Moon Datebooks Coming Soon
I was thrilled to receive this note in my inbox:
"Congratulation Glenda "GG" Goodrich! We have chosen your pieces(s): 'Ancestor Spirits' to be included in We'Moon 2024: Luminations, our 43rd edition!"
I'll be offering the We'Moon datebooks for $18.00 (21% off retail price). Email me and let me know asap if you'd like me to order one for you.
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Solo Passage: 13 Quests, 13 Questions is now available for pre-order
"Glenda’s story is a celebration of interconnectedness and belonging, a wild sacrament, a love song to Mother Earth.Through her stories, the reader is shown a path to transformation that anyone who is drawn to can follow." Sara Harris, Co-Founder of EarthWays LLC, Wilderness Rites of Passage Guide
My book is now available for pre-order on Bookshop (every purchase supports local bookstores), Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Thank you in advance for pre-ordering! Pre-orders help build buzz, which in turn can build momentum for getting my book into the hands of those who might benefit from reading it. The publish date is September 26, 2023.
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"Being Held in Deep Grief and Unbearable Beauty" art print for sale.
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Beyond the Veil" art print for sale.
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"Dreaming of Iris" art print for sale.
16" h x 20" w $85 plus postage.
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"Bird Whisperer" art print for sale.
12" x 12" or 16" h x 16"
$85 plus postage.
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Gift Certificates for GG's Down to Earth Studio for SoulCollage(r) baby showers, birthday parties, products, classes, or art doula services. Email GG for more info.
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from my creative heart to yours, |
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The Art Doula is here for you!
I am thrilled to be working with several art mentoring clients and we are having a fabulous time in the studio! I love being an Art Doula : )
Come and explore, discover, and birth your unique creativity.
Are you a tentative artist, or maybe a wanna-be? Do you feel the call to create something but don't know where to start? Have you heard yourself say the words “I’m not a creative person?” Or, maybe you think of yourself as only a painter, or only a crafter.
Let’s debunk those myths! I am an Art Doula, here to help you explore, discover, and birth more of your unique creativity. I'd so love to work with you to help your creative life blossom. Zoom or in-person doula services available. Contact me for a free 30-minute preliminary consult. More information on my website here.
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