Invitation through The Artist’s Way
You may have seen mention of the Creative Recovery Circle forming here at Owl Create–12 weeks of creative nurturing & recovery within an intimate circle co-facilitated with Alysa Escobar & yours truly - seasoned & devoted students of The Artist's Way....
Opportunity Speaks
Say, "yes and..." See what happens. Hit submit. Invest– Invest time, money, energy, Your precious story. “But what if I fail? What if the words, the lines, the rhythm, don’t come? What if it doesn’t make sense or no one understands?” Then you will have shown yourself...
Moving Without A Plan
A couple of weeks ago, I had the joy of attending an in-person artsy playdate hosted by my good friend & fellow creative shenaniganizer, Tina Riley Imaginariums. Our invitation was to play with alcohol inks and various tools and just see what would happen. Four...
Rest & Play
My family of four just spent five days and four nights at a Great Wolf Lodge, fully immersed in all the experience had to offer. Because I am an ABCD (above and beyond the call of duty) kind of gal, I chose to enhance this vacation experience with a modified Artist’s...
Preparing
by Elizabeth Page Shepley I strap my shield across my backI pull on my maskand button my cloak. I’m taking my work to print. I blow my worries into a latex balloonand let it fly and screech across the room–Delighting the kid inside.My belly shakes,and cheeks glow...
You are a Work of Art
You are powerful. Labels and systems can work for you; don’t let them define you. You are whole as you are. Small step into powerful change.
Ready?
Prepare for action Break it down even smaller Not a word written. Gathering supplies, An hour/day/month/year’s bounty Rooted in dreamspace. Stuck in desire Waiting for the right moment Start with one small stroke. Write for five minutes Break it down even smaller So...
work zone
By Elizabeth Page Shepley power inour voicesrememberingwho we areas we figure it outfunction without nourishmentdoes not equal successwe get to choosewhat we givewhat we shareof who we arewe are safewhen we are nourishedwe can nourishwhen we are safeself-care is...
Henry Miller Inspired Work Schedule
Last year my friend and colleague Marcella de Tapia shared Henry Miller's Work Schedule from 1932 with me, and we decided to take this as a prompt to create our own Work Schedule. Work ScheduleDecember 2021- December 2022For Elizabeth Shepley COMMANDMENTS Write first...
New Rules for my Creative Game
Keep it simple. So simple, the explanation requires only a few words. Let it be easy. Easier still. Open the door to invite the Muse. Actually, post a sign out front that says “All Muses welcome here.” The more the merrier. Relish in the merriment. Make marks with...
Detective Work
I’ve been busy making lists. Lots of lists. Need to do lists and don’t forget lists and follow up on that lists and grocery lists and lists with lots of potential. I spend the time capturing these things like little lightening bugs and trapping them into the...
Permission for that WIP to R.I.P.
Every Sunday members of Nina Hart’s Writing Playhouse gather up smack in the middle of the afternoon to devote one glorious hour to our writing. At the beginning of each month, she invites us writers to share any intentions we have for our writing lives for the weeks...
words get sticky
Like many in late 2020, I found myself in virtual spaces learning new things and joined a low-stakes zen doodling program. I sat mindfully making marks on the page when I was ripped from my zen as the facilitator demonstrated a specific technique chasing it with “See?...
Internal Landscape Shows the Way
Ever have those episodes where you feel out of sorts but everything and everyone around you seems to be having the opposite experience? Like when people are screaming at their cell phone and shaking a fist to the sky yelling “f-you Mercury & your retrograde*” and...
Finding Quiet
Finding Quiet to Find it More-- When I tune inward, I find the quiet moments. The sounds from the physical atmosphere fade, and the noise of social expectations melts away. A spaciousness opens inside, and I resist the urge to fill the silence with anything...
Week 11-ish
On Friday April 8th, my current titles grew to include ‘published author.’ That means a piece of my writing is in a book available for the public to purchase and read. One personal chapter of my life story is out there in the world offering light in whatever way it...
Week 10 – ish
At my three month follow-up appointment with Dr. Griffin at the rheumatology clinic, he listened with his full attention as I reported my progress. I felt like a functional human again. I felt like a mother capable of caring for my babies who would soon be six years...
Week 9 (ish)
Last night I had the gift of circling up with Sarah Sadie’s School for Original Spirits. I joined this Patreon soon after it was launched, and I love receiving the weekly invitations in my inbox. We were invited last night to reflect on how we interact with the...
meet owlly, Rev. Rose Shepley
Rose is co-hosting our upcoming virtual retreat: Center, Connect, Create. You might notice we share a name. Then you might think we resemble each other a little, and then, I suspect, you'll want to ask, "Are you sisters?" So, let's begin there. Rose is my...
Week 8
Less push. More float.
Week 7
Last week I tried to do better for myself, for my body, and I still wasn’t listening. I was trying. I wasn’t actually doing the things I needed to do to support myself. I was trying. I resisted the attempts to establish new habits, new patterns. I was trying. I wanted...
Week 6
Late this morning, I was caught in mindless scrolling down the facebook feed avoiding the mental download I needed to start the day. Make a list or mind map of all the debris flying around my headspace. If I'm being honest with myself, I felt stressed out by all the...
Week 5
(arriving “precisely when he means to”) Dysfunction. Physical. Energetic. Mental: emotional; intellectual. Conscious. Dysfunction. No choice but to go to bed. I slept for over 13 hours and felt normal by Saturday morning. It is so easy to get caught up in doing the...
Week 4
The right next thing or the next right thing? I am one who notices how words and stories unfold. These two strings of words are not interchangeable. I wasn’t sure what it was at first. I just knew that sometimes one or the other flew out more naturally depending on...