Reflections from my Inner Artist

'Introduction to SoulCollage®': Brisbane

2012-01-30T09:43:00.002+10:00

The next Brisbane 'Introductionto SoulCollage®' workshop will be held on

Saturday18^thFebruary, 2012

9.00am to 5.00pm

Places are limited. Book now to reserve your place!

Click here for full details

Cairns change of date & Inverell NSW workshop date

2012-01-26T20:06:00.000+10:00

The dates for the CAIRNS TRAINING have been changed to Wednesday 7th & Thursday 8th March (i.e. starting one day later than originally planned). The details are here.

Also, the date for the one-day 'Introduction to SoulCollage®' workshop in INVERELL in northern NSW is Saturday 19th May, 2012. At this stage, the Inverell Art Gallery is being considered as the venue but I'll update that as the details are finalised. Please contact me if you're interested in this workshop.

Meanwhile, here's a card I made last year that I haven't posted previously. Soooo happy with her!

Maleny Workshop Date: April 28th

2012-01-19T18:11:00.002+10:00

The date for the one-day 'Introduction to SoulCollage®' workshop at Maleny, north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, has been set as Saturday 28th April. Full details to follow.

Meanwhile if you think you might be interested in attending this workshop, please contact me to be put on my email list for details to be sent to you when they're available.

See posts immediately below for details of my other workshops in Brisbane, Cairns and Inverell NSW (date for Inverell yet to be determined).

Strong, confident woman

Processing Trauma through SoulCollage®: March 2012

2012-01-12T21:47:00.011+10:00

Fragmented

Training Event:

Processing Trauma through SoulCollage®

Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th March, 2012

Facilitated by Dr. Greta Galloway from Alan Webster Consultancies & Ms. Jo Knights, SoulCollage® Facilitator

If you are a counsellor, therapist, social worker, psychologist, mentor, support worker, carer, or guidance officer then this training is for you.

FULL DETAILS HERE

SoulCollage® in 2012

2012-01-10T16:02:00.013+10:00

Pregnant with Possibility. That's 2012!

Hello, and welcome to 2012! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and feel rested and ready to start another year. My Christmas was infinitely different from last year, when I experienced the magic of a snowy white German Christmas in Berlin with all my family together. This year I spent it in a somewhat warmer climate, on the Sunshine Coast, with my amazing 97-year-old mother-in-law, Laura, and some more extended family, but neither of my children or my grandchild, who all live overseas. I know I'm repeating this, but I'm so thankful that I live in the age of Skype!

Most of us are making resolutions and plans for the year ahead at this time, and SoulCollage® is a great tool to assist in that. We can do readings from our cards asking for insight on what we need to focus on for the coming year. Formulate an open-ended question around that, draw a card, or a number of cards, and then dialogue with them, writing down what comes. You could use all the dialoguing questions, or just the first "Who are you?" question. With your original question in mind, you then finish your dialoguing with a question something like, "What wisdom do you have for me as I set about this new year? Or "......about this issue", etc. Don't forget to date it so you can refer back to it later.

After a short break over the holiday period, I’m now gearing up for the year ahead, with some exciting things happening.

Here are the dates for planned SoulCollage® workshops and Studio sessions for this year (so far!):

CAIRNS, North Qld

6th & 7^th March, 2012:

‘PROCESSING TRAUMA THROUGH SOULCOLLAGE®’

A one-day SoulCollage® workshop will be a component of this two-day training on trauma for health professionals, co-facilitated with Dr. Greta Galloway from Alan Webster Consultancies. If you are a counsellor, therapist, social worker, psychologist, mentor, support worker, carer, or guidance officer, then this training is for you. For more information, please contact me by clicking on my profile link at right to access my email.

The Cairns workshop resulted from a serendipitous meeting with Greta, whom I’d never met before, on a broken down council bus in Brisbane last year. I just love the way SoulCollage® works so synchronistically in my life. One never knows what amazing and interesting things might ensue from such a simple act as chatting to the person next to you on the bus!

BRISBANE

PLANNED ONE-DAY WORKSHOPS:

SATURDAYS from 9am to 5pm, on:

18th February

7th April

16th June

4th August

20th October

STUDIO CARD MAKING SESSIONS

(for people who are already making cards). First Monday evening of the month.

MONDAYS:

6^th February

March: No Studio session

2nd April

7th May

4th June

2nd July

6th August

3rd September

1st October

5th November

Workshops are also planned for INVERELL NSW and MALENY QLD some time this year.

GROUPS

I am available to give complimentary short talks to groups about SoulCollage®. This is not training but to give people who may not previously have heard of SoulCollage® an idea of what it's about.

DISCOUNTS FOR ORGANISING YOUR OWN GROUP FOR A WORKSHOP

Organise your own group for a workshop and save. Ask me how!

INTERESTED IN SOULCOLLAGE® BUT UNABLE TO ATTEND THESE EVENTS?

If you're unable to attend these events because of the timing, or because you don't live in the area, please contact me and I will endeavour to assist you with a facilitator in your area, or in any other way I can. I am available to travel out of SE Qld to run workshops.

BRISBANE SOULCOLLAGE® FACILITATOR TRAINING
This is happening in Brisbane on 24-26 February 2012, run by our fearless Australian SoulCollage® leader, Karen Mann from Melbourne, and there's still plenty of time to book in if you think that you'd like to do this training, which would qualify you to teach SoulCollage®, or you might simply want to learn more about this wonderful tool of self-development. I'm very pleased that one of my former workshop participants will be taking the training. For more information, visit the Australian SoulCollage® website.

Please contact me if you're interested in any of these events, and I'd be very grateful if you could pass on this information to any of your contacts who might be interested, too.

May 2012 bring you transformation, joy and success, and hours of creativity and deep insight and guidance from your SoulCollage® cards.

Jo xxoo

Now is a very good time to revisit my 'Stepping into my Power' card!

SoulCollage® Studio Monday November 7th

2011-11-02T11:12:00.002+10:00

Hello dear SoulCollagers,

I've been a little distracted for the past few weeks, with my daughter and little granddaughter visiting from Berlin. It's so delightful to spend time with a 2½ year-old and experience how joyously creative and spontaneously in-the-moment they are. Perfect inspiration for SoulCollage®! I'm totally besotted with The Divine Miss Zizi Matilda and thankful that we live in the age of Skype where I can still talk to my family face-to-face and sing along with Zizi online and share in her life, even though they're so far away.

Although it's been difficult to focus back on my day-to-day life here after such a delicious interlude, the next Studio session IS coming up next Monday 7th November from 6pm to 9pm, so I need to get hopping.

This session will be purely for making cards and enjoying the company of other SoulCollagers, although if you have any questions about your SoulCollage® practice, please bring them along.

All other relevant details are the same as for the previous Studio session so you can find them on my August 31st post below.

If you're in the Brisbane area and have been making some cards, you're welcome to come along and meet other SoulCollagers.

Don't forget you must book with me if you're coming.

So looking forward to catching up with you on Monday.

SoulCollage® Studio session Monday 5th September

2011-08-31T12:30:00.008+10:00

"Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!" ~~The Queen to Alice in Wonderland.

Hello dear SoulCollagers,

I hope you're enjoying the experience of making and dialoguing with your cards. If you'd like to get together with some like-minded people, the next SoulCollage® Studio session is coming up next Monday 5th.

These Studio sessions are for people who are already making and dialoguing with their SoulCollage® cards, not for people new to the process.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Monday 5th September, 2011, 6pm to 9pm
WHERE:
Downstairs Room
Brisbane Quaker Meeting House
10 Hampson St
Kelvin Grove Go down the path beside the house and then continue on down the stairs.
There's a small carpark inside the grounds, or you can park in the street.

COST: $10 (to cover room hire, materials, and coffee, tea and nibbles)

NB: If you attended the workshop at Brookfield on 13th August, you can come to this session for free.

WHAT TO BRING:

Please bring any cards you've made. I'll supply magazines, scissors, glue etc but it's nice if everyone brings one or two magazines to add to the variety of images. (NB: I provide Glue Sticks, but if you prefer to use your own particular glue, please bring it with you.)

I'll have for sale:

Packs of blank cards: $9 for 10 cards

Seena Frost's latest book, 'SoulCollage® Evolving': $33 ($30 for anyone who's previously attended one of my workshops).

Packs of 25 card sleeves to protect your cards: $5 (or .20c each sleeve).

SoulCollage® & Art Therapy CDs: $15

This session I'll be going over the questions that you use to dialogue with your cards, and the rest of the session will be for card-making.

**PLEASE BOOK: Due to considerations of space and materials, it's important that you book with me by phone or email. Thanks

NB: If you've been making and dialoguing with your cards but haven't been to a workshop, you're still really welcome to come along to these sessions and meet others doing SoulCollage®, be inspired, and have fun!

If at any time you have suggestions on what you'd like me to cover during one of the studio sessions, please let me know.

If you're enjoying your SoulCollage®, please tell your friends about it. Although I don't have any workshops scheduled at present, I'll be continuing to run the introductory workshops, and later, more in-depth workshops on some particular aspects of the process. Also, if you know of a group (church, women's/mens group/quilting or art group/therapists' organisation etc) I'm happy to come along and give a free talk about SoulCollage® to the group. I can offer participants a tempting taste of the process in about 30 minutes to an hour.

I found this quote by Alan Alda (the actor from the 'Mash' TV series) which seems to me to relate to major aspects of SoulCollage®, i.e. the need to make the cards intuitively, it's sometimes 'uncomfortable', but the reward is discovering yourself (your 'Self') in the process:

"The creative is the place where no-one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."

Hope to see you next Monday.

Happy SoulCollaging!

Initiation

The Unknown Self

2011-08-06T10:36:00.001+10:00

Witness - Transpersonal

The Unknown Self

So much of what delights and troubles you

Happens on a surface

You take for ground,

Your mind thinks your life alone,

Your eyes consider air your nearest neighbour,

Yet it seems that a little below your heart

There houses in you an unknown self

Who prefers the patterns of the dark

And is not persuaded by the eye’s affection

Or caught by the flash of thought.

Excerpt only: John O’Donohue, from Benedictus – A Book of Blessings

SoulCollage® Studio session Monday 1st August

2011-07-29T16:16:00.007+10:00

"I’ve never liked housework. I get by doing little chores when I feel like them, in between paintings. Who wants to chase dust all their life? You can spend your whole lifetime cleaning the house. I like watching the patina grow. If the house looks dirty, buy another bunch of flowers, is my advice." ~~The much-loved Australian artist Margaret Olley, who died at the age of 88 this week. I like her style!

These Studio sessions are for people who are already making SoulCollage® cards, not for people new to the process.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Monday 1st August, 2011, 6pm to 9pm
WHERE:
Downstairs Room
Brisbane Quaker Meeting House
10 Hampson St
Kelvin Grove
Go down the path beside the house and then continue on down the stairs.
COST: $10 (to cover room hire, food and materials)
WHAT TO BRING:
Please bring any cards you've made. I'll supply magazines, scissors, glue etc but it's nice if everyone brings one or two magazines to add to the variety of images.
I'll have packs of blank cards for sale ($9 for 10 cards) and copies of Seena Frost's latest book, 'SoulCollage® Evolving' ($33)

**PLEASE BOOK: Due to considerations of space and materials, it's important that you book with me by phone or email. Thanks

FREE TALKS TO GROUPS:

If you belong to , or know of, any groups that might be interested in SoulCollage®, I'm very happy to give a free introductory talk and demonstration of the SoulCollage® process. SoulCollage® is a wonderful activity to do as a group once people know how it works. It's great for team-building and community.

I love any opportunity to talk about SoulCollage® so if you have any questions about these events, or anything at all to do with SoulCollage®, please contact me.

A card I made last week, mysterious to me as yet.

Drama Queen!

2011-07-19T13:04:00.000+10:00

No surprises for me as to what this card is about:
Jo, you're such a Drama Queen!

I couldn't quite believe that I found that classic image at the bottom.
Of course, it miraculously appeared just when I needed it!
Amazingly relevant images will materialise for you in the same way once you start on your SoulCollage® journey.

See my post for July 5 for full information about the next 'Introduction to SoulCollage®' workshop on Saturday August 13th.
Hope to see you there!

Oh, and I'll try not to be TOO dramatic at the workshop!

SoulCollage® Studio sessions

2011-07-06T19:54:00.005+10:00

Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness.

~~ George MacDonald

On Monday evening, some of us met up for our first SoulCollage® Studio session at the Quaker House. We started by going over the basics of doing readings with our cards and everyone seemed to find something valuable from these. As most of the attendees had made only a few cards of their own, some of them drew a card from my deck and found themselves amazed at some of the insights they received from THEIR readings of MY cards. It's perfectly OK for others to read from your cards as long as you don't read the card for them or discuss YOUR interpretation with them before they read it. They will most likely have quite a different interpretation from what you had. After all, they will see a part of THEIR soul reflected in the card, while you would see reflected a part of YOURS.

For the remainder of the session, we had fun making cards.

Following the success of this first Studio session, they will now be held monthly, on the first Monday of the month, at the Brisbane Quaker Meeting House at Kelvin Grove, from 6pm to 9pm.

These sessions are not for tuition, although from time to time I will add some kind of learning experience which is not covered in my introductory workshops, or I will have a guest presenter. Rather, they are for people who have previously attended a workshop or who have otherwise been making cards for a while, and they are designed as a forum to make cards together, to meet others who are working with the process, to share our ideas and experiences of using SoulCollage®, and to have fun! If you have a friend who's interested in finding out what SoulCollage® is about, please ask me first if it's OK for them to come along and I will make the decision as to whether that particular session is appropriate for them. I have this rule as I don't want the sessions to become tutorials for beginners as that may interfere with the dynamics of the group.

Because of considerations of space and materials, it's essential to book with me for these sessions.

In keeping with the spirit of fun at our SoulCollage® Studio, here's my 'Goddess of Neglected Paintbrushes', a mixed media piece which I had great fun making in 2008. She hangs in my studio to remind me to take care of my equipment, and also that I don't have to be perfect. She's also a good reminder for me about being playful and lighthearted while I'm working.

August SoulCollage® workshop at Brookfield

2011-07-05T09:57:00.015+10:00

Discover your Self with SoulCollage®

Do heart work on the pictures within you. ~~Rainer Maria Rilke

What is SoulCollage®?

*An intuitive collage process to access your own Inner Wisdom.

*Make a personalised set of beautiful cards

to assist you on life's journey.

*Fun to do.

*No art experience needed.

We are each the perfect artist of our own Soul!

*A powerful tool for use with clients in counselling,

and many other applications.

SoulCollage® was developed by U.S. psychotherapist Seena Frost. It's a powerful transformational process for accessing our inner wisdom by creating a deck of collaged cards with deep personal meaning that is a reflection of our own inner and outer worlds, and which can help us with life's questions and transitions.

Using found images in magazines and from other sources, we intuitively create a beautiful deck of cards and then dialogue with the cards to access our own insight and inner wisdom.

In addition to personal use, SoulCollage® is being used in many other areas, including in many aspects of counselling, with church groups, women's, men's and children's groups, coaching, creative problem solving, team building, conflict resolution, dream work, money issues, cancer support, life transitions, & more.

Introduction to SoulCollage® Workshop

Saturday 13th August, 2011

9.00am to 5.00pm

At the Brookfield Centre for Spirituality

139 Brookfield Rd, Kenmore Hills (Brisbane)

Cost: $130
Concession card (Student/Senior etc ): $90

$15 discount if you book by Mon 8th August

plus $15 discount if you bring a friend (for both you and your friend)
**PLUS: Go into the draw to win a copy of Seena Frost's first book, 'SoulCollage®' if you book early AND bring a friend.
A deposit of $50 is required to reserve your place.
Full workshop fee to be paid by Friday 12th August.

This lovely venue includes a labyrinth which we will incorporate into the workshop.

Places are limited, so reserve your place now!

In this workshop, you will learn about:
>How to make SoulCollage® cards
>The 4 suits of the SoulCollage® deck
>The transpersonal cards
>How to dialogue with your cards
>How to access the wisdom of your animal guides
>How SoulCollage® can help you with your life's
journey and transitions
>Some of the applications for which SoulCollage®
can be used by professionals

To book in, or for more information about this,

and future workshops, please contact me, Jo.

Click on 'View my complete profile' under 'About me' at top right to find my email address.

If you live outside Brisbane, please contact me to discuss organising a workshop for you, or to put you in touch with a workshop facilitator in your area.

Please contact me if you'd like me to present a free introductory talk
about SoulCollage® to your group.

Go to the website of the creator of SoulCollage®,

Seena Frost, www.soulcollage.com

to find out more about SoulCollage®

To see some more of my cards, scroll down to the bottom of this blog, and also click on 'Older posts' at the very bottom.

Click on the images to enlarge.

There is a knowledge of the heart that gives deeper insight. The knowledge of the heart is in no book and is not to be found in the mouth of any teacher, but grows out of you like the green seed from the dark earth. ~~Carl Jung. The Red Book

SoulCollage® Studio session

2011-06-27T09:41:00.004+10:00

Our first SoulCollage® studio session is happening!

These sessions are for people who are already making SoulCollage® cards, not for people new to the process.

Here are the details:

When:
Monday 4th July, 2011 from 6.30pm to 9pm
Where:
Downstairs at the Brisbane Quaker Meeting House, 10 Hampson St, Kelvin Grove (Brisbane). Go down the path beside the house and then continue on down the stairs.
Cost:
$10 each
Tea, coffee and nibbles included.
(NB: Participants from my 'Introduction to SoulCollage®' workshop on 18th June are eligible to come to this session for free.)
What to bring: Please bring any SoulCollage® cards that you've made. I will supply magazines but feel free to contribute a couple of your own, if you wish. I will have blank cards for sale ($9 for 10 cards or $1 each), as well as Seena Frost's latest book ($33).

**PLEASE BOOK: Please book with me by phone or email. Thanks

These regular monthly evenings are for meeting other SoulCollagers, for card-making and for sharing our cards and SoulCollage® experiences among friends. Seena Frost, the creator of SoulCollage® believes that community is a very important component of SoulCollage®. During these evenings I'll spend a little time focusing on some aspect of SoulCollage® and the rest of the time will be for card-making.

For this first studio session, I'll be going over doing readings with your SoulCollage® cards. By 'readings', I mean posing a question for guidance in some area of your life and then drawing a card, or cards, from your deck and through them, accessing your inner wisdom for guidance on the issue. Don't worry if you only have one or a few cards, you will still be able to do this exercise by using my deck.

Note that if you don't want to share any of your insights from your cards with another person or the group, that is perfectly OK. Please still come along and enjoy making some cards.

If you have any questions about this session, or anything at all to do with SoulCollage®, please contact me.

Finally, here's a lovely piece that I came across from Christian mystic, St. John of the Cross which, I feel, nicely ties in with what we're doing with SoulCollage®:

She caught me off guard when my soul said to me,
“Have we met?”

So surprised I was to hear her speak like that,
I chuckled.

She began to sing a tale: “There was once a hardworking man
who used to worry so much because he could
not feed and clothe his children and
wife the way he wanted.

There was a beautiful little chapel in the village
where the man lived and one day while
he was praying, an angel
appeared.

The angel said, ‘Follow me.’ And he did, out into an ancient forest.

‘Now dig here,’ the angel said. And the man felt strength in
his limbs he had not known since youth and with just
his bare hands he dug deep and found a
lost treasure, and his relationship
with the world changed.”

Finding our soul’s beauty does that – gives us
tremendous freedom
from worry.

“Dig here,” the angel said–
“in your soul,
in your
soul.”

~St. John of the Cross

So looking forward to seeing you on 4th!

2nd Chakra - Python (Companion suit)

August SoulCollage® workshop

2011-06-24T13:21:00.002+10:00

Preliminary notice about an 'Introduction to SoulCollage®' workshop which I'll be facilitating at the Brookfield Spirituality Centre, Brookfield Rd, Brookfield, on the western outskirts of Brisbane. The date is Saturday 13th August and it runs from 9am to 5pm. Further details coming soon. Contact me to register your interest in finding out more about the magic of SoulCollage® at this beautiful venue, which includes a small chapel and a labyrinth.

Slayer/Destroyer - Council

Surrealism and SoulCollage®

2011-06-11T11:16:00.002+10:00

Yesterday afternoon I visited the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) here in Brisbane to attend the gallery members' preview for 'Surrealism: The Poetry of Dreams', an exhibition which is visiting from the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Wow! Surrealism is so much more than just Dali! We were extremely fortunate that Didier Ottinger, Deputy Director of the Pompidou Centre, presented a floor talk, during which I was struck by how much Surrealism and SoulCollage® have in common, most notably, of course, both work by accessing the subconscious. The director spoke about how, in Surrealism, the juxtaposition of disparate elements into a new image creates the "spark" from which a "new mythology" can emerge. And it seems to me, that's exactly how SoulCollage® works!

This is a very comprehensive exhibition, 180 works by 56 artists, tracing the history of the movement from the 1920s up to the 1960s. It includes paintings, collages, sculptures, drawings, photographs and films. I was thrilled to find, too, a lovely little assemblage by Joseph Cornell.

One of the features of GoMA is the wonderful purpose-built Children's Art Centre incorporated into the gallery which runs fun and fabulous activities in conjunction with all major exhibitions. Yesterday I was able to check out the latest Surrealist activities for little and big children, and now can't wait to get my Inner Child back there to create some Surrealistic sculptures and collages! The children can email pictures of their creations to themselves, their friends and family, from the centre, so watch this space for mine!

The exhibition runs until 2nd October and my suggestion is - go! Here's the link to the information on the gallery website.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to have your own surrealistic experience with SoulCollage®, come along to my latest SoulCollage® workshop (below) or contact me to register your interest for a future workshop.

Click here for a slideshow of some of the works.

Introduction to SoulCollage® Workshop

2011-06-01T12:39:00.017+10:00

'Do heart work on the pictures within you'. Rainer Maria Rilke

Discover your Self with SoulCollage®

*An intuitive collage process to access your own Inner Wisdom.

*Make your own personalised set of beautiful cards to assist you in life's journey.

*Fun to do.
*No art experience needed.

We are each the perfect artist of our own Soul!

*A powerful tool for use with clients in counselling, and many other applications.

SoulCollage®, as developed by U.S. psychotherapist Seena Frost, is a powerful transformational process for accessing our inner wisdom by creating a deck of collaged cards with deep personal meaning that is a reflection of our own inner and outer worlds, and which can help us with life's questions and transitions.

Using found images, intuitively create a beautiful personalised deck of cards and dialogue with the cards to access your own insight and inner wisdom.

Introduction to SoulCollage® Workshop

Saturday 18th June, 2011

9.30am to 4.30pm

In the beautiful rainforest environment of the

Brisbane Quaker Meeting House

10 Hampson St

Kelvin Grove (Brisbane)

Cost: $130

$15 discount if you book by Mon 13th June

$15 discount if you bring a friend (for both you and your friend)

Learn about:

>How to make SoulCollage® cards

>The 4 suits of the SoulCollage® deck

>The transpersonal cards

>How to dialogue with your cards

>How to access the wisdom of your animal guides

>How SoulCollage® can help you with your life's journey and transitions

>Some of the applications for which SoulCollage® can be used by professionals

Places are limited so reserve your place now.

For more information about this, and other upcoming workshops, please contact me:

Click on 'View my complete profile' under 'About me' at right to find my email address.

If you live outside Brisbane, please contact me to discuss organising a workshop for you, or to put you in touch with a facilitator in your area.

Please contact me if you'd like me to present a free introductory talk
about SoulCollage® to your group.

Go to www.soulcollage.com to find out more about SoulCollage®

Here are a few more of my recent cards.

To see some earlier cards, scroll down to the bottom of this blog, and also click on my blog archive list on the right here.
Click on the images to enlarge.

'I lived into the depths, and the depths began to speak.
The depths taught me the other truth'. C.G. Jung

Soul Essence (Transpersonal)

Stepping into my Power - Committee

Exciting news!

2011-05-07T18:16:00.008+10:00

NB: Scroll to the bottom of this blog and click on 'Older posts' to see some more of my cards.

Although a lot has happened which I haven't blogged about since my last posting while I was overseas, and though I'd like to get up to date with all my art news, I'm posting this news right now as I'm so happy to be able to tell you that I'm about to run my first SoulCollage® workshop next weekend at the 2011 Festival of Animal Imagery, organised by Frank Coughlan in the beautiful Numinbah Valley in the Gold Coast hinterland, Australia. At the link above, click on the '2011 Festival Workshops' link on the right to find information about the presenters, including moi!

I completed my long-awaited SoulCollage® facilitator training with the beautiful Karen Mann here in Brisbane last September, but immediately went overseas to visit family in Europe and Canada for 4 months and am only now getting organised. This is my first business venture in my life (I'm of more 'mature' years!) so it's a little daunting, but exciting and wonderful at the same time. I've loved SoulCollage® from the moment I first discovered it on a web site some years ago and am so happy that now I'm able to share with others this beautiful process created by Seena Frost, as described in her book 'SoulCollage® Evolving'. Karen Mann went to the USA some years ago to train with Seena and she is the only qualified facilitator trainer in Australia. She runs the Australian SoulCollage® website

I've booked a one-day workshop for Saturday 18th June at the Brisbane Quaker Meeting House in Newmarket, Brisbane, which is nestled amongst a beautiful little patch of inner-city rainforest. I've always dreamed of running workshops there and that's the first available Saturday on their busy calendar. I hope to schedule some more workshops there in the future.

There are also plans afoot for a workshop in Maleny, and one in August or September at the Brookfield Centre for Spirituality on the outskirts of Brisbane. This lovely spacious venue, which used to be a Franciscan Friary, is comprised of a beautiful large old house surrounded by bush and lawns, with a small chapel and a labyrinth.

I'm also busy searching for other available venues with lots of ambience to schedule more workshops. Suggestions welcomed!

If you're interested in being notified of news about these, or any future workshops, please contact me to be placed on my email list. If you don't live in Brisbane but would like to organise a group of interested people in your area for a workshop, I'd be very happy to discuss that with you.

To send me an email, click on 'View my complete profile' at the top right of this page, under 'About Me'.

The SoulCollage® card above I made at one of my lovely artist, counsellor and art therapist friend Liz's Heartspace evenings at the Stillpoint Centre in Toowong when I first arrived back from overseas in January, just after the floods. I highly recommend Liz's Heartspace programmes.

Scroll down to the bottom of this blog to see some more of my SoulCollage® cards.

Now I have the sudden urge to go and make a SoulCollage® card! Talk again soon.

Catch-up time!

2010-11-24T01:39:00.047+10:00

I've not been a very good blogger for the past 18 months or so, as evidenced by the fact that this is my first post since July last year. However, I HAVE been busy so will briefly bring you up to date with my art-related doings since then.

Much of the second half of last year was taken up with recovering from my 4 months in Europe and preparing for the arrival in late November of the Berlin-based section of my expanding family. It was exciting to have them here for 8 weeks and to introduce my little granddaughter and my new son-in-law to Australia and family and friends here. Amongst the family activities were several visits to the fabulous 6th Asia- Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT6) at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, as I've mentioned previously, one of my favourite regular exhibitions, which occupies all of GoMA, as well as a large chunk of the adjacent Queensland Art Gallery. It features contemporary art from the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, Japan, China, India, Indonesia, the Pacific islands, Tibet, North Korea, and from as far afield as Iran and Turkey. It's free and runs for 5 months, which means that I can visit frequently and really immerse myself in the art, and as I live within 45 minutes walking distance from the galleries, I can get fit whilst also getting my regular cultural fix!

At each of these exhibitions, I usually have a few favourite pieces. Here are some from this exhibition:

PixCell-Elk #2 (2009)by Kohei Nawa (Japan). Glass, acrylic, crystal beads.

This is a strangely beautiful and affecting piece which I never got tired of looking at. The artist purchased the taxidermied elk on Ebay and then covered it with glass balls of varying sizes. The thought of a taxidermied animal being inside may sound awful but it's very beautiful and ethereal, displayed in a completely white room with lovely white light and with interesting effects when people on the other side of the work can be seen through the larger glass balls. It looks darker in these photos than it actually is. Judging by people's reactions to it, I think it could have been the most popular work in the exhibition. I think the elk must have been a very great Spirit to have been immortalised in such a beautiful way, and now bringing pleasure to so many people.

Also sublime and luminescent was this incredibly intricate large three-dimensional work by the Iranian artist, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, featuring four thousand tiny mirror fragments in each of the six panels.

Lighting for Neda (2009) Mirror mosaic, reverse glass painting, plaster on wood. 6 panels, 300x200cm each.

I could sit in front of it for hours as it's very meditative, featuring traditional Islamic geometric patterns and drawing on Sufi symbolism. My little granddaughter of course loved the sparkling mirrors. I look forward to seeing this work again as it was commissioned for the exhibition and has been purchased by the gallery.

Other Thing (2005/06) by Subodh Gupta (India), consisting of hundreds of pairs of chappatti tongs, was also interesting, as were his other 2 works in the exhibition.

The installation, 'Cloud' (2009) by the Thai artist Wit Pimkanchanapong was also stunning in its simplicity – hundreds of sheets of photocopy paper clipped with paper clips onto string and strung high up across the main gallery.

Another enjoyable installation for people of all ages was this one:

Liminal Air - descend by Shinji Ohmaki, Japan (2007-2009). Nylon string, mirror, fluorescent lights, Japanese paper panels.

It's an interesting and meditative interactive work which everyone seemed to enjoy immensely, especially the children. Here's some more information.

Our gallery also runs wonderful children's art activities in conjunction with all major exhibitions, in which the child in me always enjoys participating! This was one of Zizi's favourites at APT6. She loved contributing to this artwork (below) by placing some stickers on the originally all-white Buddhas. She also enjoyed the work with white strings above and got into the spirit of things by dancing with Mama and Papa in the Pacific Reggae exhibit.

This was fun and looked fabulous by the end of the exhibition, with all the aeroplanes made by little (and big!) children.

Find more information on the Children's Art Centre through the links at this page.

There's information about the APT6 exhibition, the artists featured, and images of one of each their works, through this link

Another enjoyable exhibition in the Queensland Art Gallery following the APT6 was 'Hats: An Anthology' by Stephen Jones, which I hadn't been very excited about seeing but really liked when I did eventually get to see it. The hats were amazing and it was fun to see people wandering around the gallery, around town, and even backpackers on bicyces, sporting the hats they'd made from paper, cardboard, feathers etc, at the activity associated with the exhibition. I even spotted some ladies from the Red Hat Society decked out in their finest for their visit to the exhibition (below).

Other exhibitions I've enjoyed include 13 works from the amazing Ron Mueck.

Ron Mueck | Wild man 2005 | Polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, aluminium, wood, horse hair, synthetic hair

Find more about the Ron Mueck exhibition here.

Another regular exhibition that I always find inspiring, Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art and Design features artworks by some of the state's final year high school art students. Unfortunately I don't have the catalogue with me in Berlin so will have to identify the artworks and the artists when I return home (apologies to the artists).

There was also an excellent Indigenous Fibre Arts exhibition at GoMA last year called Floating Life but I'll write about some of the indigenous art at the gallery in a future posting.

On my return from Europe last year 'The China Project' was showing at GoMA, featuring works from the gallery's permanent collection of Chinese contemporary art, many of which have been shown in previous APTs, including these exquisite Ah Xian figures, of which the gallery owns several. Ah Xian is a Chinese/Australian artist who does exquisite work using traditional Chinese techniques in porcelain, cloisonné, bronze and jade.

Left: Ah Xian | China/Australia b.1960 | Human human - lotus, cloisonné figure 1 2000-01 Hand-beaten copper, finely enamelled in the cloisonné technique | 158 x 55.5 x 32cm (GoMA permanent collection)

Centre: Ah Xian | China/Australia b.1960 l porcelain head (GoMA permanent collection)

Right: Ah Xian | China/Australia b.1960 l Bronze (2 works from the on-going 'Metaphysica' series)

I was also fortunate to be in Sydney earlier this year for a couple of days during the Biennale of Sydney, with the theme, 'The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age' and saw an excellent exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay, including some very interesting works by the Australian artist David Noonan.

Owl/2009/David Noonan

And a scarily beautiful installation by Angela Elsworth (USA) called 'Seer Bonnets':

The bonnets are constructed using thousands of pearl-topped sewing pins and look exquisite on the outside until one notices that the sharp ends of the pins are protruding inwards.

I also discovered another indigenous artist whose work I enjoyed, Lorraine Connelly-Northey, who works with rusted metal and wire, materials that I like to work with also.

Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Hunter-gatherer.

And I'm really looking forward to seeing this exhibition when I get home in January:

21st Century: Art in the First Decade

Of a tiny art-lover and a major creativity re-charge

2009-07-24T20:26:00.065+10:00

I'm back in Oz after 4 months in Europe, mostly in Berlin, where my daughter and her German partner presented me with my first grandchild, an adorable little angel named Zizi Matilda. I'm completely and hopelessly besotted! They capped that momentous achievement by getting married while I was there, too. So much happiness - becoming a granny and a mother-in-law in such a short space of time, and spending time with my new extended family, all in beautiful Berlin, where art abounds.

I could well justify writing about the Divine Miss Zizi Matilda in my 'art' blog as she's such an amazing Work of Art, easily the most gorgeous creation of my amazingly creative and talented daughter and son-in-law, both of whom are dancer-choreographers but also have talents in other areas. However, Zizi is also in my art news because, since she was only about 2 months old, she's been reading her own art book called 'Art for Baby' which I found at the Tate Modern while I was in London. The book was put together by Outset Contemporary Art Fund and a British children's charity, based on research which shows that young babies respond best to high-contrast images. Focussing on these images is "the first step to picture recognition in newborn babies." This skill, they say, is vital in developing a baby's understanding of pictures and words. They invited 12 well-known contemporary artists to donate simple black and white images which were then published in a board book. While Zizi shows great interest in all the images, gazing intently at them, when we turn the page to this Damien Hurst image, 'Hypovase Prazosin Hydrochloride 1992':

she reacts as though she's just met her best friend again after a long time apart! She breaks into a broad smile, and laughs and talks to the picture at great length. She only has this reaction to that one picture and she has this same reaction every time. It's interesting as this is one of the images with the least contrast and is the most complex image of the 12, and the only image that isn't simply black and white. Noting the name of the artwork, perhaps she's going to be a scientist! Some other artists featured are Takashi Murakami, Julian Opie, Patrick Caulfield and Keith Haring.

This is Zizi, at 10 weeks, excitedly greeting her 'Damien Hurst friend':

and again at 3 months, totally engrossed while out being 'seen' at Sunday lunch in Berlin with Mama:

Zizi Matilda highly recommends the Art for Baby book to all aspiring little artists out there, especially as a percentage of the proceeds of sales are donated to charities to benefit children in need. You can find an interesting article about the book and the research which prompted it here: It's apparently only available in bookshops in Britain at present, but can be bought online. I bought another copy online at the Book Depository a UK site where prices are excellent and, amazingly, they charge no postage, even to overseas addresses. It was recommended to me as being very reliable, with very prompt service, which has been my experience with them.

Four months in Europe, and especially Berlin, is certainly a great way to boost the creative juices - just like one long delicious artist's date! I had time to sample many of the wonderful galleries, museums and street art in Berlin, as well as enjoy the great architecture and get immersed in the fascinating history of the city, not to mention the countless beautiful cathedrals and churches in those cities, as well as in Lyon in France, a gorgeous and fascinating old city which I must get back to see more of next time.

Just a few art highlights from what was a highlight-rich 4 months:

Berlin street art (laneway at Hackescher Hof):

I discovered the German artist Wolf Vostell - his 3 large mixed media pieces at the NeueNationalGalerie, blew me away and had me wanting to see more of his work which quite by chance, I did later at the Fluxus Museum in Potsdam, where there was a large exhibition of Vostell's works (he was big in the Fluxus art movement).

Wolf Vostell - Malpartida (Acrylic, pencil and lead sheeting on canvas)

'The Murder of Crows': A wonderful sound installation at the Hamburger Bahnhof by Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures-Miller.

An exhibiton of Erwin Blumenfeld's collages at the Berlinische Galerie.

This very moving installation at the architecturally-brilliant Jewish Museum:

Menache Kadishman: Shalechet (Fallen Leaves)

Also in Berlin: Gemaldegalerie (paintings)and Kunstgewerbemuseum (decorative arts)

Schloss Moyland, near Dusseldorf, a restored castle which houses 60.000 artworks of 20th century artists collected by 2 brothers (obviously not all on display at once). This is definitely worth a visit for the Joseph Beuys alone, apparently 5,000 of his works, including small assemblages in boxes which definitely made MY heart beat faster!

The fascinating work of the American artist Nancy Spero at the new Galerie der Moderne which sits atop the escarpment above Salzburg in Austria (Nancy Spero: Woman as Protagonist).

Nancy Spero. Ohne Titel (Untitled) 1997 (detail)

Postscript: Death of Nancy Spero in Oct 2009

The Tate Modern in London - a feast of modern art. Also in London, at the Hayward Gallery, an inspiring exhibiton of the work of the French artist Annette Messager.

And, of course, the myriad private galleries......so much to see, so little time!

It's been very hard to settle down after such excitement and stimulation, but having now recovered from the jetlag from a 29 hour journey home, and that weird feeling of being not quite in my body or grounded for a few weeks, I've realised that I've come back profoundly changed. I seem to have more direction about what I really want to do with my life, I'm more trusting that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be and I'm much more open to noticing the synchronicity that's happening in my life. Without me trying to work anything out in my head, my path seems to be taking shape and becoming much clearer. I've learned to trust that part of me that actually knows what it is I need to do.

Grace cards

2009-02-02T21:23:00.018+10:00

Grace of Divine Inspiration
Suit: Council

Grace of Prayer
Suit: Council

I am the One who is always here with you, pouring down my Grace upon you whenever you feel the need to connect with the Divine. I am the One who knows that your moments of delight in music, art and poetry, and in being in Nature, are prayers from the deepest part of you to the Divine – I hear your prayers. I see the pure child-like spirit in you who trusts that your prayers will be answered – I am the One who answers all your prayers. I am the same One who heard the prayers of The Ancient Ones who had a deep affinity for the Spirit of the land and who teach you to honour it.

Opening to Grace
Suit: Council

A bit of fun!

2009-01-31T21:33:00.019+10:00

I had a bit of fun in Photoshop tonight with my artwork posted below. I deleted the interior of the figures and superimposed the image onto a photo of a really cool artwork in the Gallery of Modern Art here in Brisbane - it's called 'Soul Under the Moon' by Yayoi Kusama. The work was part of the 2002 Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) which is a must-see exhibition for me every time it's on. This artwork is one of the most popular from the 5 triennials staged so far and has been purchased by GOMA for the permanent collection. You can find a picture and information about the artwork here, although as the work consists of a whole room which you actually enter, it's difficult to capture it in one photograph. Just imagine you are standing on a platform in a small room whose walls and ceiling are entirely covered with mirrors and whose floor is covered with water. Scores of neon-coloured pin-pong balls hang from the ceiling at varying heights. "Light is infinitely refracted off the mirrored surfaces to create the illusion of a never-ending space." (GoMA website). It's quite a surreal experience. Although that artwork won't be on display in The China Project: Three Decades: The Contemporary Chinese Collection from March 28 to June 28 as the artist is Japanese, it sounds like a really interesting exhibition. Also, don't miss the next APT, from Dec this year until May 2010.

Thoughts

2009-01-09T17:28:00.017+10:00

My body
is
a temple,
the house of
my soul.

Mostly,
I'm floating
out of
my body.

I wish
I could
climb back
inside
and
curl up
around
my heart.

Jo - June 2008

Happily, I think I'm a bit more grounded now!

In a muddle!

2008-10-26T18:11:00.001+10:00

My latest card I call "In a Muddle". It seems I'm there quite a bit at the moment! (Committee suit)

Angel, Time and Death cards

2008-10-18T20:50:00.040+10:00

Here are 3 more cards I've made over the past few days

Angel (Council suit)

This is my 'Time Flies/Procrastinator' card (Committee) - a 'timely' reminder!

I made this 'Death' card today (Council). The Council suit honours the archetypes which are present in our lives. Seena Frost, the creator of SoulCollage, decribes the archetypes as: "..the invisible guides, challengers, creators and destroyers, known across time and cultures by many names, yet being somehow universally in the collective unconscious of the human race."

My amazing mother-in-law

2008-10-03T20:47:00.005+10:00

I thought I'd post this picture of my gorgeous 94 year-old mother-in-law, Laura, modelling a suit and fur (and showing a glimpse of a very shapely leg!) in a parade of bygone fashions at her nursing home recently. I think she looks amazing - she could almost be on the catwalks of Paris! She's a beautiful person, too, and I love her dearly.

Passion card

2008-10-03T18:37:00.001+10:00

When I dialogued with this card it was called 'Breathing the Fire of Passion' (Committee) and had messages about following my heart's true desires with passion and energy. I love that!

More SoulCollage

2008-10-03T17:44:00.000+10:00

I haven't had a dialogue with this card yet but on the face of it, it seems completely self-explanatory, although I'm sure questioning will reveal some hidden gems of insight! (Committee)

This is my 'Lonely' card (Committee). I've decided that I won't add any more images to it as I feel it's fairly powerful as it is.

Heart chakra, Struggle & Trust cards

2008-10-03T17:03:00.004+10:00

I think I've worked out how to add multiple images to a post now!

This is my Heart Chakra card (Companion suit). I was initially quite perplexed at receiving an image of cave paintings of cattle for the heart chakra because my logical mind kept telling me that they more suitably represented the base chakra, but as I was looking for images I found the picture of the Egyptian Goddess, Hathor, and the sculptural representation of the Goddess as a cow, and they just seemed to be perfect for the card. On reading up on this Goddess, I was amazed to find that one of her qualities is as the Goddess of Love in Egyptian lore, and that suited the heart chakra perfectly! The images represent to me a gentle but powerful energy and asking the questions of the card produced some amazing insights.

In this card, the hill looks so steep and the figures so tiny in comparison that to me it represents 'The One Who Struggles' (Committee suit).

As always, on questioning the card, some positive insights were revealed.

This is my 'Trust' card.

Feeling blue/Depression card

2008-10-03T16:27:00.002+10:00

Until I work out how to add more pictures UNDERNEATH what I've already written for a post, I'm going to have to do a new post for each picture.

This is my second completed card. I use the word "completed" because I've done quite a few cards intuitively which I know are not yet finished, although I consider most of my cards could be added to in the future - after all, I'm a work in progress!

This is my Feeling Blue/Depression card (Committee suit). It helped me realise that my 'depression' is really not that bad - it's just normal 'down times' that everyone experiences from time to time - and that I can just ride it out and I'll come out OK on the other side.

My first blog post! SoulCollage®

2008-10-03T12:20:00.014+10:00

As this is my first ever blog post, I'm a little nervous about it and have yet to work out how to compose the blog properly, so in order to practise, I'm just going to add some of my recent SoulCollage cards.

I started doing SoulCollage® a few months ago and I'm loving it. I'd heard of it through an art website that I visit and I eventually tracked down the first SoulCollage® facilitator here in Brisbane, Australia, Simone de Haas

I attended an inspiring workshop with Simone and here's my first SoulCollage® card, made at that workshop. I call it 'Avoidance' (Committee suit), which had negative connotations for me, but as I kept asking the card "Who am I?", some unexpectedly positive and amazing answers came up, proving to me just how profound the SoulCollage® process really is. From then on, I was hooked!
Postscript: This is now one of my favourite cards!

See the links in the box on the right for some excellent sites with information about SoulCollage®

A NOTE ABOUT SOULCOLLAGE®:

SoulCollage® is a registered trademark of SoulCollage Inc. The SoulCollage® process was developed by Seena Frost as described in her books, 'SoulCollage®' and 'SoulCollage® Evolving'. More information about SoulCollage® can be found at the SoulCollage® web site. See also, The Principles of SoulCollage®

SoulCollage® cards are made from images published in magazines, calendars, books, cards and on the internet, and from personal materials (e.g. photos, artworks). SoulCollage® cards may be reproduced only for the personal use of the maker of the cards or for use as examples to illustrate the SoulCollage® process. It is a principle of SoulCollage® that SoulCollage® cards are not for sale, trade, or barter.

Thank you to all the talented artists whose images have inspired me to discover more about my inner and outer worlds, my true self.