Artist as Shaman, Painting Healing Visions

This blog post is way overdue, I have been so sick that I could not even find the energy to blog or visit Facebook until a few days ago. Finding ways to remain creative despite chronic illness and disability have been challenging but I am grateful that pathways to the creative process seem to keep presenting themselves to me. After my illness forced me to close my studio I became very depressed and missed the creative process desperately. The fatigue that goes along with this illness is so disabling that I spend my days sitting in a recliner in the living room with short trips out to doctors appointments and short shopping trips to the grocery store with my husband and even then I often need to use a wheel chair, walker or cane to get around the store. I am too tired to read and cant seem to stay engaged in a movie on TV and sadly no one visits other than one friend that tries to get by for her lunch break once or twice a month (Which I treasure!).

My heart is so full of gratitude for Don, my wonderful husband. The high point of my day is when he comes home from work. I adore spending time with him and he now does all the cleaning, laundry, dishes and chores that I used to do so he is an indispensable aide to me remaining independent in my own home. Recently he has relapsed and has restarted treatment for his Neuro Lyme which has been making him feel crummy but he has a very strong immune system and has responded very well to treatment in the past so I know he will far well. My Mom is moving down here from Central Vermont and she is going to help me out with some of the household chores but she is in her 70's and has her own health issues so I don't want to burden her with too much.

So along with feeling horrible day in and day out I was getting really lonely and I was really missing working in the studio and painting. I tried crocheting little medicine bags and for a week or so and I put them in my Etsy shop; My Etsy Shop Link. That was great and stimulated my creativity but it just wasn't expressive enough and soon I grew really tired of it and it also hurt my hands too much. So I started sketching in my sketchbook again and despite the pain it caused in my hands, some really powerful imagery began to flow through me. I was dying to paint some of these images and even tried to get out some oil paints in the studio and set up a canvas but I just did not have the strength to be up long enough to paint.

I have been working with some powerful healers and was very recently blessed with the opportunity to have my photograph brought to John of God. A very special person actually went to Brazil and stood in line and presented my photo (and Don's) to John of God for healing. She was given  prescriptions for both of us and we will be receiving them as soon as she gets back. Within days of our photos being presented to John of God I discovered that I can paint digitally on my iPad! I was totally blown away by the quality of work that can be created using only my fingertips to"paint" on the iPad surface. No messy paints or fumes, no brushes to clean, it is such a gift to someone so tired and battle weary yet needs to create!!!!! Anyway I consider it a huge blessing that I can finally paint these powerful images that are coming through me as I intuitively feel that the are very healing. They remind me of the work I did with my dear friend Susan who is a shaman in Central Vermont and who I miss dearly since we moved down here!

So here are the first 3 paintings, there are many more drawings to paint but energy levels make it a slow process. I currently am putting my medical visits on my credit card and since I am no longer working the balance is rising into the thousands very quickly. So I have decided to put prints of these digital paintings in my Etsy shop, just the print, no mat or shrink-wrap for $16.00 each to help raise money for our medical bills until Don's work picks up again in the Spring. I also have a feeling that these images do not just belong to me and that they could be very healing for others as well. I had hoped to list them today but I am out of energy for today so perhaps in the next few says I will get them listed.Until then you can contact me through my Etsy shop if you are interested in any of them.My Etsy Shop Link

More will be coming as soon as I am able to paint them. Pray for a lifting of the fatigue so that I can continue to allow this creative energy to flow through me. I would also love to hear your impressions of them. I hope these healing images bless you!