Echo...and a singing bowl

"Echo" - mixed media on watercolor paper, 22" x 30".  Ready to frame.  Sold.

A return to my roots in visual journaling, but done BIG!  Beginning with scribbled words of strength, love and determination, layers of scratching and buffing and mounds of paint, ink and gesso, then ending with collage, charcoal pencil and more scribbles.  This fiercely empowered girl emerges from chaos ready to grapple alligators and bear the weight of worlds on her power-shouldered dress.  I love this sweetling.  

In recent weeks, I've felt a bit like submerged fabric.  Weighted, muted, heavy and a bit slow.  Usually, I recognize such a funk and take steps to scramble out of it.  This time, I had a "well DUH" moment (thanks to an intuitive friend) and realized I'd fallen in and neglected to do anything about it!  Silly girl.  So what are the things to be done when kicking off a blanket of yuck?  

Pouring out some power moves on canvas or paper is always a good beginning.  It gets things moving and shifts internal energy in a big way.   But even though art is magical, sometimes it takes art plus other activities to move a stubborn funk.  In my case, a massive dose of yard work (or as much as my body can tolerate) including dirt in my socks, mulch dust in my nose and an unexpected downpour to keep me company .

Add to that a new ritual - something purposeful and introspective and different.  In this case, I made a trip to Buddha Happy and came home with a singing bowl, 83 tiny green stones and a set of instructions.  I've never used a singing bowl before.  Selecting one is kind of like the sorting hat in Harry Potter.  Some bowls are nearly impossible to play.  Others respond right away, filling the room with sound and my hand and arm with vibrations.  I can hardly believe the huge sound that comes from this small vessel. 

My family may be walking around with noise-cancelling headphones for the next week while I practice.  But you, my friends, can enjoy the sounds of experts: