I handcrafted Smudging Sticks during my recovery from my operation and I befriended Nick Huard of the Native American bear clan. Nick Huard is an incredible dream catcher maker and master craftsman.
He creates a variety of things including ceremonial daggers, smudging sticks and more.
His work appears in the book: Dreamcatchers: Legend, Lore & Artifacts
He inspired me to create my own smudging stick to use for my own classes and ceremonies.
I’ve been saying for a few years that I am putting together a poetry collection. But because I am not a full time writer, the process takes a bit longer. I am still editing older poems and creating new ones too. Including short stories.
The theme is our relation to nature in and around us. This includes the psyche of our subconscious- the raw emotions that feel feral and the almost child-like mysticism that comes from remembering our connectedness to the natural world.
The poetry will flit from personal musings to magical realist prose. Some poetry will feel like diary accounts with an air of vulnerability and gritty thoughts, others will boarder on whimsical and surreal. These represent the two strong personas living within me.
I started keeping journals when I was about 13 when a relative gifted me Anne Frank’s Diary. When in college I moved onto art journals upon the discovery of Dan Elden’s journals. I now manage this lifestyle blog as a sort of online diary of everything.
These journals were made during my mid-late 20’s. Some of the pages were quite dark as I was struggling quite a bit with anxiety and depression from childhood trauma and abuse from a previous partnership.
I now keep nature journals but do plan on making more collages for my up coming poetry book AND I am considering creating a class on skill share?
When I am not belly dancing, teaching yoga or traveling I make journals, dream catchers and nature illustrations. Living a creative life is very important to me. Continue reading
As well as Dream Catchers and Botanical Illustrations, I also make Hand-Fasting Cords. A Handfasting cord is used in a wedding ceremony by wrapping or tying around the couple’s joined hands, representing the joining of their lives and the binding of their union, this is where the term “Tying the knot” comes from. Through this ritual, the couple display their unity and become bound to one another.
This is the third cord I’ve made, the first was for my best friend and her fiance- which was purple, white and green tones, the second was for a close Cypriot friend and her husband- which was orangey-turquoise, sunset colours that remind me of Cyprus.
The plan this year is to open up an online shop and artist’s website for comissions. So the Etsy shop will have random creations for individuals to purchase and the website will be more like an online portfolio showcasing my best creations and information about hiring me to beautify your small event such as a woodland wedding in need of dream catcher/wreath decorations, floral/candle designs on the tables, a handfasting cord and illustrated guest invites for example. Continue reading
This is a beautiful happy hoop to help boost those difficult days! “Warrior of Light” is here to inspire joy and radiate happiness in the present moment. A protective talisman for a warrior promoting lightness of being and being a shining light for others. Be present, feel the sun that is shining, dance and hear the birds singing, watch the trees, kiss under the stars, be grateful, be loving, be true to your heart.
I made this for my partner Craig on the 22nd of December and I also did a blessing ceremony for it on that day too. Did not realise until later that it was made on the 22nd (which is a special number in numerology). It is blessed with sage and rose incense, with Reiki, and the Shiva mantra Om Namah Shivaya. (Shiva is one of the three main gods in Hinduism. Shiva is an embodiment of ultimate space of enlightenment. Shiva is known as the destroyer god because he removes all evil from the world, he is depicted with a crescent moon, he is also depicted dancing around a ring of fire. Craig is a beam of light in a harsh world and he also loves to dance, this is why I connect him with Shiva. Continue reading
Here is my latest Dreamcatcher-Flower Wreath hybrid (pictured above) for a dear friend who is getting married soon. She wanted Peacock feathers to represent the goddess Hera and I added two bottles with sand, shells and love blessings. There are eight peacock feathers in total since 8 in numerology represents eternity and infinity.
I included two small glass bottles that contain sand and shells from Cyprus and love blessing notes to wish the newly weds a happy marriage and life together.
“Beloved I seek to know you, and I asked the Gods and Goddesses that I be given the wisdom to see you as you are, and love you as a mystery. I will take joy in you, I delight in the love for you. You are to me, the whispering of the tides, and the warmth of the summer’s heat. You are my friend and my lover. Grow old and wise with me, as I will do for you.
There is a life before us of rainbows and sunsets, and a willingness to share in happiness and in sadness. I adore you. I love you.”
– Love Blessing prayer
This is Emerald beach and it will hold a special place in my heart for many reasons. When I was 15 years old I dreamed I walked on a beach exactly like this one and on the rocks stood a Hindu woman wearing an orange and red sari. This dream was so vivid, it was as if I was there and it left a lasting impression on me, that I even created an entire art installation for my Fine Art degree in my mid 20’s, in honour of that dream and of that woman for it really cemented my spiritual practice. I believe in dreams, destiny, synchronicity and every day magic.
Illustrations of an Elephant Hawk Moth & Broad Bordered Bee Hawk Moth.
I’ve spent the last two months living in a tree house surrounded by
jungle and fireflies and an orchestra of frogs singing crooked lullaby’s
to the skies to send the thunderstorms to sleep. I lived with a goddess
who wore a dress made of forests and with eyes so deep like worlds
within world within worlds. And whose name reminded me of trinkets and
raindrops. A hummingbird dances around her heart when she smiles.
We laughed.
We cried. We had morning tea together and turned the pan black by
accidentally burning the rice in our cupboard-like kitchen that we
shared with a friendly gecko.
I managed to convince new friends on the yoga teacher training that I am indeed a mermaid and that my sea coloured dress morphs into a tail at night and that the fireflies following me turn into silverfish that swim in the air and circle around me when the moon is fat. When I sleep I am taken back to the ocean by a humpback whale who navigates the way with a lantern and her brass compass.
As part of the Women’s circle facilitator training we experienced a very healing and powerful photography shoot. As women, throughout our entire lives we experience mixed signals from society and those around us in regards to how we should and shouldn’t behave, dress, live life, eat and even speak. From my own personal experiance as both model and victim of verbal abuse, I understand very well how confusing it can be just to be, as a I am, as a woman.
When I used to model for professional photographers I was praised for my beauty and at the same time I’d be criticised for it too. Told by individuals my beauty should be covered up, told that I’m vain, told that my self worth is based on money and material posessions. I’ve experianced jealousy, bullying and isolation simply for being me.
I know what it feels like to be silenced and unheard- only there to make the room look pretty I suppose, how can someone good looking also have a brain? I know what it feels like to be around insecure men, treating women like their posession.
I know what it feels like to wear a mask and live with fear, to smile at the camera and be an object for the viewer. Directed where and how to pose, who to be, what to wear and when to smile. Continue reading
As I’m creating batches of dream catchers to open up an Etsy shop very soon, and to perhaps one day lead dream catcher making workshops. I thought to dabble in creating Handfasting Cords too because to make them you need the same material as you would when making dream catchers. I already had plentiful ribbons, charms and fabric flowers and I thought “Why not?” the first one I made was a sort of tester and an engagement gift for my best friend and her fiance; unexpectedly they want to use it during their wedding ceremony which is such an honour and I can’t wait to see it wrapped around their joined hands on their special day. With this first one being such a hit, I’ll be making more to sell in my Etsy shop as either separate items in their own right or as part of a wedding bundle that will also include a matching Boho dream catcher bespoke to the couple purchasing my creations. I am still thinking up a name for my shop and I currently have two commissioned dream catchers and one Handfasting cord to get to work on!
So, you might be wondering what a Handfasting Cord is?
We all know the phrases, “to take each other’s hand in marriage” and “tying the knot”, but how often do we stop to think about what these really mean? There has been somewhat of a revival in the world of wedding ceremonies to reinstate traditional methods of binding the couple together in matrimony.
A handfasting is an old Pagan custom, dating back to the time of the ancient Celts. A handfasting was originally more like an engagement period, where two people would declare a binding union between themselves for a year and a day. Continue reading