After teaching

 

You Did It!

Your 13 Step painting class is finished, the students have gone home or exited zoom - whew!! And now what? 

After documenting the process and what came up - for you, for your beloveds, and some self care, there's your Canvas, in a special after- class limbo! What's next in your own process?

I try to take time after teaching to connect with my demo painting and do some of my own Journaling - as I usually don't get much time for that whilst teaching! Sometimes *another* Old Story has come up for clearing, and I make some new story cards. Did any recurring or new codes symbols come through? What do they have to say? 

If I did a demo before class, I may bring that out, and begin a dialogue with both. Perhaps I'll bring her out to my porch for morning café, and into my bedroom for awhile to inspire my dreams. 

Forest Queen 👑 

This can be a good time to consult our own Oracle - pulling a card or two from the Soulful Story or Wild Card deck can bring insights and inspire the next step ❤ 

Several years ago, Shiloh suggested this process for reclaiming a demo painting: To really change it up, set aside some time,  smudge, spray your canvas, and paint a strip of white (or white with a bit of color) along the top of the canvas - spray again, then sit back (6' away or so) and journal while it drips! Use that as a guide to move on, and reclaim her! Spending at least a long on the painting after a class as you allotted duringthe workshop allows you to listen for the painting's voice. 

Other options I've used after Journaling and sitting with the painting awhile, are to go in with another round of Lights and Darks, tending details, perhaps adding code and prayer dots, then glaze again. 

If I skipped any steps for ease of teaching, I might revisit those - pulling out my 13 step cards helps me refocus! I may also have had some insights around using the cards, and be ready to rework one or two! 

If the canvas calls for bigger shifts, I might do directional glazes, using different colors on each side, spraying and letting it drip, then turning the canvas and repeating.  I sometimes use gold for this, or my beloved interference paint! 

Sometimes m all the demo painting really needs is another round of Lights and Darks m a partial glaze, some listening and adornment! And sometimes m they seem fine for months - or years - then begin nudging is for attention!! 

She Changes

Mama Gaia Class

Another element of the after class process is a follow up connection with students, both for feedback and perhaps tending if a lot came up for them! While we're only responsible for our piece of the thread, when that piece includes teaching, there's also connection and tending. 

You may wish to schedule an occasional Open Studio session, where beloveds can bring their own WIP and receive support and tips! One beloved called me 18 months after class, and was ready to do more on her painting, so we scheduled a private session on her covered deck! I brought She Changes, which had been my class demo, and we painted together. 

Learning to balance your own creativity process and tending your students is ongoing, we've got this! 

Calling Council

At times, writing about our paintings can be a struggle, and how do we translate their messages for the initiate book? One of my periodic practices is calling council! 

Like getting information from an individual lady, I set paintings around me, pour a cuppa, and invite their wisdom. I allow myself time, and am creative in my inquiries! Are there ladies in addition to the 5 from your quest you wish to include in your Council? Perhaps one painted with Shloh or another IC teacher, before you began Color of Woman? While you may not include their stories in your book, they are part of your story and journey!

Note: per Jena - if English is your second language, you can write in your Mother tongue, and just share some highlights in English!! 

I called my first Council on Summer Solstice 2014, after finishing the second painting in Flora Aube's Art of Allowing online course, Sekhmet. Flora was one of Shiloh's first students to branch out, and begin her own school! 

I held a 'council' meeting with 11 of the 12 of paintings I'd done between Feb and June (!!), & my "star lady" wall hanging in the background, which I stitched for my bodywork room over a decade before.

Spirit Council

Gabriella, Mary, Daffy-Down-Dilly

Gabriella - is my Muse of Creativity, from the first IC class I'd taken in February,  a 'Muse Encounter' workshop with my friend artist Elisabeth Friese-Mick! I refined her face, & added ribbons to her dress ... and added interference paint 'sparkle' to her hair!

Mary of Magdala - was the first I painted with inspiration from Shiloh Sophia from an online offering!
 & little Daffy-Down-Dilly (March) was for a local daffodil festival.

Dancers, Wind Horse

I began "Dancers" in March, on International Women's day, & gifted to my ballet teacher Emma Seth - it still hangs in the Marchant Dance studio. 

Beginning ballet classes as an adult with Emma's mother Lynn brought a whole shift in consciousness and body awareness, and intentional movement. Lynn is an important part of my creative lineage.

Drawing and painting horses was an early love, and Wind Horse, with her Red Thread Rider, began in an open studio at Elisabeth's home. The Blue lady, Presence, is my little mama Lois - inspired by her HS photo (around 1933) and her beloved hills and trees.

When calling council, you might pull out several of the inquiries from each assignment, and hunt up notes from your painting process: intention for each lady, notes on symbols, where you got stuck and how she helped you find resolution.

You might wait to review your notes till AFTER you've gleaned a round of messages; then do another council session after that revisit! 

Your story cards hold insights for this process as well - pull a card before or after chatting with each lady, which rewrite are you present to? Does one of the symbols in the painting match this shift? Is there an ally? Are there insights and messages from other IC processes like your Medicine Basket that dovetail?

After the council, you can pull out and refine the stories and information about your individual quest paintings for your initiate book.  I got a small journal to record these messages from my quest paintings and other ladies, for a dose of inspiration when I need it! 

Journalong and Reclaiming

As you travel through your CoW Quest, if you're like me, you likely have been filling journals with your process and progress! I use spiral bound art journals for sketches and Metacognative drawings, and covered and repurposed a bunch of composition books following Catt Geller's lead. 
I have a page on my blog with some tips on journaling, and recently wrote about continuing process journaling on their own for my students. I intend to print this and offer it as a handout, or email it as a PDF after the class.

Star codes

When I'm teaching, one of the things I find hardest to do is my own journaling during class! I give the prompt for my students, and may jot a few notes, but rarely do as much as I might on my own. I may also have done a trial painting on my theme before the class, to work out the kinks. It's helpful to leave some of these unfinished, and include them in the "Ladies" I bring as examples to the class. It is especially helpful for new painters and for those in shorter classes to see simpler work.

Soo... 

I try to take time after class to connect with my painting and journal. I also make notes on what came up for students, insights, sketch symbols, flesh out ideas for the next class, and ways to improve the teaching, set up, etc. When I co-facilitate classes, we try to meet for tea and debrief a few days later! 

Muse -2016 with Livestream

You may wish to dedicate a new journal for your class notes and insights, and include a section for messages from your demo paintings. This is a great place to record new class ideas, the journey and poem you plan to include, etc. Revisit it after the class, to add notes, sketches and do some journaling with your new muse.

A delightful suggestion from Shiloh on reclaiming that demo painting after class is to spray the canvas, run a swath of white paint along the top, spray again, then sit back with your journal as you watch the drips! What's going into the Fog? What came up during class you're ready to process/release? What new insights are emerging?

Same canvas, flipped for Muse 2018

This is a canvas I began supporting the Livestream for muse in 2016, when my friend Sepha was in CoW. I didn't really connect with it, and it sat for a couple of years ... 
I rarely gesso over a canvas, so I likely did a glaze or two, and I think used the white glaze tip, then flipped it and used it for the 2018 Muse. 

Soul Spark

Like Shiloh, I often have several canvases in process at one time, and use left over paint on different ones ... Soul Spark now has Star codes and I've been adding to her recently.

Do you have any favorite tips on journaling or your process work your demo painting? 
Share in the comments! 

Classes and Support

When we begin sharing intentional Creativity with others, we we may encounter unexpected challenges as we support our students' process. While some classes flow almost seamlessly, others have a "problem student" or unexpected issue.

Breathe! You've got this!  In my classes and sessions, I've developed strategies to address some that may be helpful. 

Carol's paint station - Gaia

Class set up: know your materials, and plan your set up. 

• I often use a less expensive paint for the first layers (Amsterdam tube paint) and have that out first. I demonstrate how much to put on their palette (paper plate) and have them come to a central table for refills. (If it's a higher price class, you'll likely want to with with Golden from the beginning) 
• When we switch to Golden at the glaze, I stress we only need a dime size of several colors, and dispense their first colors. I mention we may use any extra on the sides, the "lingerie." 
• I bring 1 oz bottles of my Golden paint to class, especially shorter ones, plus 4 oz bottles of white, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, brown, and primaries red, blue and yellow. (The small bottles help get across that we don't need much paint!)
• A selection of several brushes, T-shirt rag, water and spray bottles are at each person's station, along with their canvas and a table easel. For a palette, lids from yogurt containers are a handy size for classes, and can be reused.
• I have square trays ($ store!) for each student's table setting - which helps corral and identify their supplies. 
• Remind them to put their "Brushes in the water" when ready to share the next step. 
• Pitchers for water in the paint table, and a bucket to dump paint water in are handy.

I go over the general flow of the class with the students at the beginning, and use my 13 step prompt cards to stay on track. If it's a shorter class, I spend a bit of time thinking about steps to combine. I often paint a demo before the class, sorting out inquiries, planning the visioning, etc. 
When I teach, it's a combo of planning, and intuitive process - tuning in to the group. I mark quotes to read throughout the class, and which paintings I'll bring for inspiration. I often bring small journals for students who haven't brought one, and encourage its use throughout the class.

What comes up? Ooo, it's different each time! 

The critic is likely to appear, wearing a variety of hats! 

• "I'm not artistic" - the Tyranny of Talent! 
• Comparison Queen - your painting looks better!
• I just don't like my painting! And on ... She's too pale, now she's too dark, ...

When the critic first appears, I often thank the student, and mention that they may be speaking for others in the group as well. I'll comment that it's long been her job to keep us safe, and it's sometimes uncomfortable when we try something new/different. 

I give some options, she can count rocks in the parking lot, or shall we set her up with a drink by the pool? She can hold the map and help navigate, but we won't let her drive, and may ask if the student can identify her voice - who along the way is she parroting?

"What if there was nothing we could get wrong?"
"It's only paint!"

I suggest this is a great time to journal, maybe "hand her the pen!" And then give the pen to the muse. Does she have a name? This is a great time for a movement and journal break, have everyone move back from their canvas (if you can - they don't always want to stop painting!) 

Different materials - gals who identify as artists may bring their own materials - if it doesn't upset the flow of the class, and they are in the flow, I let them be, and may ask about materials they are using. I'm often inspired, and want to try them myself, lol! (This is the nearly compete painting, which my artist student Carol continued to work on after our one day Gaia Encounter class)

Carol used acrylic ink and stencils

I generally encourage them to "try it this way, this one time," and some do, some won't! 

I invite them to use the Golden fluids for most of their work. If they brought less expensive paint, they will likely be disappointed, and it's hard to guide them - I may say, "I'm sorry, but if you use different materials, I may not be able to help a much... This is a good time to try something different! You can always use what you're familiar with next time!" 

Wanting to paint over or even gesso - this may happen toward the end - three of my favorite tools for times like this, or when they're feeling stuck are:

• Take it to the journal! Move back from the painting, and perhaps dialogue with the muse/critic around what's coming up. Is this something they encounter at times in their day to day life? How do they usually handle it? Would they like to try something else? You might have some journal prompts on slips of paper, and have them choose a couple. I aim for at least one journaling session during a one day class, and often suggest an extra journal break if they are getting frustrated. In a longer class, you could lead a second visioning at this point. 

• Grey scale - this is a great time to have them take a photo and edit it to show contrast in grey! I show them how, or do it on my device - it's an excellent way to see where contrast is missing, and that may help redirect them. It's also a good way to see if the features feel balanced, and invite them to make subtle shifts.

Grey scale and enlarged

• When in doubt glaze! Glazing is scary - and so potent! It's a great tool for engaging the Muse! While we'll generally just do one glaze in a class, each repeat adds depth. 
• They want to gesso? Bring out a couple of color possibilities for glazing, show them the transparent scale on the back, and mention that a glaze preserves these luscious undershirts they've built, but allows the old stuff to "compost." 
• ** Have them eat some chocolate and journal while the glaze dries. 

• Glaze Options: in addition to glazing the whole canvas, there are several other options. 
• Partial glazes with a couple of colors - lay the painting flat, have them glaze, then show them how to burnish with a rag.
• Glaze half the face a different colour
• 4 direction glazes - choose 4 colors, spray and paint one color at the top, spray and play with drips... Then rotate the canvas and use the next color ... 
• White! If they really want to gesso, suggest they try a white glaze at the top (Zink white is more translucent than titanium) - spray and let drip ... Maybe spray, then paint white in the area they're uncomfortable with - and spray again ... They can also use White in the 4 directions, turning the canvas. 
• Gold or another metallic is another choice for a student wanting to gesso - shiny objects distract the critic!

• Shiloh suggests a white glaze for reclaiming our own demo canvas after a class. Journal about the class, insights, challenges, your own process, perhaps take yourself through the journey again. Smudge, then bless and spray the canvas, with a large brush, paint white at the top, then let it drip ... Sit back with a cuppa, and journal. 
• I sometimes use a combo of white and gold for this! I've also flipped the canvas and begun over on the face, without gessoing! 

• Codes and symbols - this may be a good time to ask if any symbols came through, and how they want to depict them. Jane they noted them in their journal?

• Biophotons, Stars and Prayer Dots- I mix white with glazing medium when I'm painting stars or sometimes when adding prayer dots - if they want to cover with gesso, a layer of light may be what's indicated! 

These are a few of the issues that arise - I've had students create very different paintings from my basic instructions - including landscapes with wonderful creatures rather than a lady! If it doesn't interrupt the flow of the rest of the class, and they are happy in their zone - I let them be! 

I bring out metallic and interference paint toward the end for "adornment"'- not as messy as glitter, and so satisfying! Then invite the students to hand Her the pen, and receive Her name and message.

What are some of your teaching challenges, and how did you handle them?