Good Morning!

I had the most luxurious and rare moment of laying in a hammock with my daughter last night as the light was changing and the peepers were warming up to sing their song. Just a little chirp here and there as the pink clouds made silhouettes of the  trees  and danced on the black water of the pond.

My eyes were tracing the lines of the branches- discovering the negative shapes that excited me and there was a soft warmth of my daughter lounged across me.

Slowly the spring pond song  filled out- not as loud and shrill as I know it can get, but more constant and active than it had been when we arrived, and the color had settled to the lowest edge of the sky leaving only greys up high.

The trees in my neck of the woods have a deep red mist  amongst their still naked branches. Soon they will have a pale green mist, and then the lush green will flood in- and those beautiful lines of the naked branches will be fully clothed and obscured. 

And the other day the king turkey was strutting so puffed up and slow that I felt a strong urge to bow down and join the gaggle of girls he was protecting, claiming, seducing, charming, hanging out with... So many different ways we could write that story.

And as I sit here, writing to you, there is a very busy squirrel sitting in the birdfeeder looking at me, glaring at me, challenging me, thanking me, fearful of me... (again so many ways we could write that story!) as he chews on the food we intended for the birds. 

It is spring and today is the day to start digging out the space under the deck that I use as my outdoor studio space. And there is a new nest built just over the sliding glass door. This is a conundrum that happens every year. How do I share space with this new family without disturbing them? Why do they have to choose that particular spot?

I am so aware that as humans we have an awkward and paradoxical relationship with nature. Yes we are inspired and nourished by soaking up the beauty. 

But we also separate ourselves from it, in the stories we tell, as if we are not built of the same stuff, as if we are not also part of the living skin of the earth. We have all sorts of ways that we see ourselves as better than, smarter, more important.

We own the land very much like we used to own women or slaves, which gives us the right to use it as we see fit. When I look at it like this, I feel uncomfortable- knowing that I am in the class of oppressors.

I know it takes a lot to shift this way of understanding our place in the world. It takes humility and vulnerability, it takes a willingness to recognize the privilege that we have assumed, and acknowledge the harm we have done, both to the natural world and to the poorer communities around the world who still suffer in service to our consumer needs. 

It takes actively living in the discomfort of pain we are causing until we can no longer stomach taking advantage as we have. 

One of the great skills that we have as humans is denial. We are able to live in a partial truth, in only the part that feels good to us, and ignore the parts that feel crappy as if they do not exist. It is this denial that makes continuing to live in the spoils of oppression possible. If we kept it front and center, we would not survive.

But there is a gnawing from underneath this partial awareness. Is that what causes depression and the internal imbalance that makes it so hard to take care of ourselves? That drives so many of us towards addictive behaviors and lascivious life styles? The gnawing creates a craving for anything that will muffle the pain of our own place in the oppressive and abusive reality of our cultural imbalance. 

What would happen if we could really embrace the idea of being part of the ecosystems?

Would we be able to take care of ourselves with more ease because we would be tapped into the same kind of deep knowing of how to live that it seems that all the creatures and plants have? Would we make decisions about how much and what to consume based not just on our own desires, but on an awareness of the balance of all things?  Would we have a greater sense of balance and health in our selves and our communities? Would the cancer of our consumer and capitalist greed stop growing?

I do not know the answers, and I have only just barely started to articulate the questions for myself. 

The thing that gives me hope is that there are so many people in so many fields who are asking similar questions and dreaming into how we might shift our paradigms, mindsets, ways of being. 

And as artists, we have such important roles to play in this process. We ask question, bring awareness, challenge assumptions, envision possibilities, express healing qualities of being, engage paradox, tap into the creative and collective unconscious to express the things that are at the edge of our own learning, growth and healing.

I do not know all the roles of the creatives, but I know that for me it begins with listening to the peepers and feeling the warmth of my daughters body on mine, noticing the color of the mist in the branches, and the way the evening pink settles to the horizon. It takes looking into the eyes of the squirrel and feeling the pull of the puffed up turkey king and considering the well being of the fledglings who will hatch above my sliding glass door. 

It begins with letting my animal body love what it loves as I feel into being part of the skin of the earth.  (thank you Mary Oliver for your Wild Geese poem!)

I want to invite you to my spring workshop so we can

• feel into the community of creatives who care
• tap into our connection with the earth and all living things
• realign ourselves with the good of the whole as part of the skin of the earth
• gain a sense of the value of each of our particular creative work
• relish in the diversity of our roles

Culturally the arts are often seen as frivolous, relegated to diversion, entertainment and decoration.

As artists we often struggle with an internalized judgment that says that we are not doing real work. Lets untangle those judgements and energize our focus with integrity, honesty and community!

Good evening,
I do not usually write about politics, but I have spent the last few days talking with clients who are devastated and depressed. What do these results say about where we are living and what is going to happen going forward? There is so much fear and sadness. And there is a crushing let down and sense of purposelessness. 

I had a day of the floor dropping out, but right now I feel a renewed sense of purpose. It was reading Venice William's poem that got me turned around. And below are my thoughts for all artists.

You are awakening to the
same country you fell asleep to.
The very same country.
Pull yourself together.
And,
when you see me,
do not ask me
"What do we do now?
How do we get through the next four years?"
Some of my Ancestors dealt with
at least 400 years of this
under worse conditions.
Continue to do the good work.
Continue to build bridges not walls.
Continue to lead with compassion.
Continue the demanding work
of liberation for all.
Continue to dismantle broken systems,
large and small.
Continue to set the best example
for the children.
Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy.
Continue right where you are.
Right where you live into your days.
Do so in the name of
The Creator who expects
nothing less from each of us.
And if you are not "continuing"
ALL of the above,
in community, partnership, collaboration?
What is it you have been doing?
What is it you are waiting for?


The work that we are doing as artists and creatives is essential now and always. 

By doing the vulnerable and challenging work of being an artist, going into the not knowing of the creative process, allowing ourselves to follow our impulses and draw out the bits and pieces that sing true and that move our souls, that captivate us and let us fall in love, by doing this work, this play, this thing that seems at times like groping around in the dark and other times like dancing with your eyes closed, and still other times like caressing the delicate skin of your sleeping child, you are tapping our deepest and most needful truths.

Yes it is personal. Of course it is personal.

But it is not only about you. The more you can open your own heart, the more you reveal the heart of the culture.

So don't stay in the surface.
don't accept they are bad and we are good.
don't jump on the band wagon and rally the troops
You know it is so much more beautiful and sad and painful and rich than that.
None of us are all good or all bad, right or wrong
listen to the heart of the other- this is what we need to heal our divided place
listen to the pain and the struggle and the desires and hopes
and have the courage to share yourself as well.

We get to see into the complex challenging places at the edge of our own discomfort
We get to reveal the places that need healing and growth
We get to bring tenderness and love to the wounds
We get to provide rest and nourishment in our songs and colors
We get to push buttons with our wry lyrics
We get to be at the front lines of change- helping our cultures shift in subtle and powerful ways.

So take time on your couch with your cat
walk in the woods and pay attention to the light coming through the freshly naked branches
Listen to the crunching leaves of fall
Let go of the effort for a bit
let yourself rest for a bit
wrap up in a cozy blanket and drink tea and watch the change of light

and then get your clay in hand, your guitar, your paint brush or pen
and let yourself play into what is alive in you.
sooth your own soul first
then let the rest of us hear your song.
we need it.

warmly,
Val
Taproot Community-
Tuesday mornings on Zoom from 9 am ET to 11am ET and on first Tuesdays until !2 pm ET
This is for artists and creatives who work largely on their own and could use some accountability and comradery. I have found this group to be enormously effective at keeping us all focused and motivated and having just enough structure so that procrastination and distraction do not get the better of us. It's also just a really wonderful group of folks to connect with! 
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More Info on the Taproot Community

​I just got back from the woods. It is a misty soft morning and there were drips of left over rain on all the tiny new born leaves and branches. Stunning!

It is spring and I have been dealing with a ton of ideas popping inside me- images of things I want to create. It is very fun. So much potential and bubbly energy!

I love it..... until it starts to feel painful.

The pain comes in the form of overwhelm, indecision, pressure, should's, impatience, and then moves into frustration, impotence, lack of energy, being stuck, and finally into a feeling of being a fraud, not really being an artist, being worthless, etc.

YIKES!

Does this sound familiar?

​Good Morning!

​I woke to a chill in the air- making me aware that we are on the out swing of summer. I can taste a bit of fall in the air. After getting so much news of this being the hottest summer on record, there is a bit of gratitude for the beginning of the shift. 

Yeah- I know- it is not over yet- there is more heat to come. And in some parts the heat persists.

It is a scary time of the reality of global warming making itself felt in the weather.