Visual Journey Week 11

Wild Ways

Have you read Women Who Run With the Wolves By Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes?

Dr. Estes (b. 1945) is an American poet, Jungian psychoanalyst and post-trauma specialist who was raised in now nearly vanished oral and ethnic traditions. She is a first-generation American, who grew up in a rural village near the Great Lakes, where she was immersed in the oral tradition of old mythos and stories, songs and chants, dances and ancient healing ways. She uses her poems, myths and stories throughout her psychoanalytic books, spoken word audios, and performance art as healing and expressive therapy for others. In her work, she combines psychology, mythology, and storytelling to explore the deep, often hidden aspects of the feminine psyche and the archetypal patterns that shape women's lives. Estés has faced personal challenges, including childhood illness and trauma, which have deeply influenced her work. Women Who Run With the Wolves, written in 1992, is her most acclaimed work-an international bestseller published in 37 languages.

After receiving my Thrift books copy in the mail this week and beginning the introduction, I understood why, in 1992, at age 12, I couldn’t get into it…so dense and rich and probably too much for many 12 years-old’s.

There has been a subtle pulling in me to read it for the past couple of years. In my typical slow, often stubborn fashion, I would listen to a podcast about her, or look at her website, I would read stories of myth, indigenous people and nature by others such as, Robin Wall Kimmer, Michael Meade, Kenneth Cohen, and Dr. Jane Goodall.

Allowing myself to live inside of my body, at my own pace, is part of my personal journey. Coming back to things from childhood is happening for me right now- in my creative work, too. I’ve always been drawn to what is just below the surface of our consciousness- an idea, feeling or sometimes a resounding scream. It takes time to put my finger on it…a nagging feeling of incompleteness, an authentic truth.

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach... One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire.

Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

I’m going to read the book and see where it takes me. If you’ve read this book, do you have any thoughts to share?

This week in art making, my journaling practice is ongoing and mixed-media book creation has started. I’m still working on alignment, overall, and this project is helping me to stay focused. Attuning to details and hyper focusing is either my worst quality or my best…this week it worked for me as I discovered textile printmaking (again). Doesn’t so much come back to us, one way or another?

Sending out gratitude,

Char XXX

The calm and intricate patterns of inky fabric pressed onto paper are a reflection of both my inner and outer worlds. Slipping up is inevitable, but the theme runs strong and secure.