Following the Moon and Sharing Your Luna See

'Healing Hand', Drozda 2010

journal page

Media Blend

Welcome. I invite you to pause a moment in your busy day to take a look at the coming week's 'Luna See'. The idea here is that you can choose to slow down a bit. You can recognize how you already intuitively align or you can start now to become more consciously tuned into the eternal rhythms of lunar patterns.

Note: Keep in mind that 'Luna See' is presented as an artist tool for looking at time and your movement throught time. It is offered as an instrument for gentling through the day.

In the June 28 entry from Joan Borysenko's Pocketful of Miracles she writes:

Seed Thought:

The beauty of nature clears our mind because it draws us into the present moment. Kallistos Ware, a Greek Orthodox priest, said that the present is the place where time touches eternity.
In Greek, chronos means "clock time". Kairos means "the eternal present." Now is where chronos and kairos meet, creating a space of limitless possibility. This is the space in which miracles occur that defy the rules of time and space as we know them. This is also the space in which mystics [artists] have visions and angels [Muses] appear.



Between today, Monday June 28 and next Monday, July 5 the moon's phases continues to provide you with creative focus points for reflection  and sharing. Until Wednesday morning you have the opportunity to stop and look at what you are doing and why. As a reminder, and as a way to keep a gentle sense of flow, take yourself back to June 12. It was then that we stepped into this cycle with the New Moon.

June, each year, brings with it the keywords of Brilliance and Illumination.  Recall what you were visualizing on June 12. The idea is to continue tapping into that vision for the 29.6 days as each phase provides a focus.

Remind yourself what you're willing to create.

Reflect on what has happened over these last two weeks. Ask yourself how it feels to review this time period. Be honest with yourself. This whole year is about feeling what is happening 'in the gut' as you forge a new sense of identity. That involves knowing how to endure. Don't be stoic if you feel like crumbling. Crumbling is a one stage of learning to strengthen through endurance. When Things Falls Apart  it is useful to keep in mind that it's temporary. The world deserves to have brave artists who can demonstrate what's possible. Brave artists are courageous enough and can endure what comes as they look the truth of their experience in the eye.

Here's my short story. These first two weeks of this moon cycle have been different. I thought I'd be involved in a large studio project that has been anticipated for months. However my right, primary work hand, has been out of commission since May 21. My body is tending to the business of mending two broken bones in my wrist. With this reality I've had to step out of my normal studio routine. I translate that to: I've made a decision to step out of the way I usually engage time (chronos). During this two weeks I've been journalling and drawing with my non dominant hand. This intuitively guided practice has led me on a quiet journey that I can imagine as an 'engaging with kairos'. Deep in my bones I've been 'turning on the light'.  As it turns out (no surprise here) parts of me were very much in the dark. I didn't know that they were because I'd been too busy...for too long. I received my first big message of the year to really slow down back in March. I knew better than to keep up the pace. I thought that I was meditating but I didn't take the time to listen. I thought I was listening but I didn't hear.

It has been these past two weeks when I stopped making and instead spent hours in the studio quietly scribing, followed by long hours of not doing anything, that there was a sudden flash of light followed by the proverbial AHA moment.  BIG SHIFT.

This is the cycle, each year, when you can take the time to notice your language. How do you talk to yourself? Silence is as important as speech in this context. 'How can you hear when you're always talking' may be a way to frame this phase. Gently. No guilt.

Thursday the door opens into the Disseminating (or waning full) phase. That will give you until Sunday morning to consider what you have to share that has a relevance to your original goal for accessing your Brilliance during this cycle. Makes sense doesn't it? First you take the time to gain insight then you extend yourself to share what you have learned.



Don't have a goal? Don't know what this 'Brilliance' cycle is about for you? No problem. Your Muse knows and is gently, silently waiting for your engagement. Ilumination/Brilliance leads to Growth. That's July's keyword (using this Luna See model). In July you can begin to turn your attention to: what are you growing within the ground of your creative soil.

The marvelous Miro said, "Every blade of grass has a beautiful soul. Courage consists of staying home and close to nature. Nature who takes no account of our calamities."

There are artist's all around us who offer a sane world view. Take a deep breath and step into the sacred sanctuary created here or here. 

In our artist community you can model a different way to move through time. With our collective vision you may find more and more the urge to 'stay home and close to nature' consciously weaving your movements out into the world and back home to create your work. 

Between now and next Monday notice how you feel illuminated, radiant as you move with time. During this busiest season of the year share your awareness with your community and be sure that you start by talking first to your Brilliant Self.

'Lotus Focus', Drozda 2010

Journal page

Media Blend

~May your days sing you

Lunar Eclipse/Luna See

'This is My Home' Drozda 1996

detail of 72x72"

Acrylic/unstretched canvas

A 'Luna See' Special report ;-) ...
This is the exact minute of the Lunar Eclipse as I post. I thought, as artists that we might really really really enjoy and benefit from the share that I am including here. Take out your jouranl and make some notes anchoring your feelings and ideas regarding what is posted below. This information comes through the brilliance of my dear artist sister friend Sandra. She and I are both trained as teachers of moon phase connections to our creative spirit...what I call 'Luna See'.

I felt that we could all bask in the glow of wherever we are as we take this information written so clearly and beautifully by Sandra. Please breathe it in... like a balm... for our time. Read using the intuitive eyes of your heart and you will be enriched in your creative direction and voice.

Sandra writes:
A lunar eclipse is a time of beginnings, endings, exposure and major changes. It always has something to do with "relationships". The changes are tied to how we relate and will have a lasting impression. Emotions run high, causing upsets and feelings of disorientation. Actions taken often do not have the expected results, but they do bring awareness and enlightenment. The energy of an eclipse is at its strongest during the two days before and three days after its occurrence.


At lunar eclipses we: merge, unite, announce, contact, present ourselves, bring something out into the open, make decisions, engage, rise to the challenge, make an effort, change, get a new perspective, join with others, take on greater challenges, travel at a faster pace, feel restless, feel pressured by deadlines and a buildup of emotions, and experience excitement and crisis.


During a Full Moon, the Sun and Moon are in opposition, also called the Full Phase, indicating the linking of soul to spirit and awareness of purpose gained through relationship with another. A lunar eclipse is a supercharged Full Moon. The blocking of the Moon's reflection of the Sun's light by the Earth suggests that our material viewpoint stands in the way of our "seeing the light". It serves as a reminder that we need to realize how we are held in the dark by virtue of our perspective.


The Sun is in Cancer and the Moon is in Capricorn during the partial lunar eclipse on June 26. Mundanely speaking, the corporate or political machine is out of balance with the emotional stability of the public. Personally speaking, professional goals are out of balance with emotional needs. In both situations, authoritative behavior blocks nurturing solutions. The challenge is to recognize the emotions while honoring responsibilities.

Pluto conjunct the Moon and opposite the Sun highlights an obsessive compulsive quality to this eclipse period, which is likely to manifest in attempts at emotional manipulation. Additionally the square aspect between Jupiter in Aries and Mercury in Cancer suggests emotional discourse about the needs of the people vs. the rights of the individual, challenging debates between progressive leadership and the security minded public, and political arguments over foreign concerns. Venus in Leo sesquare Uranus in Aries implies the need to reframe recent discoveries and refine newly-acquired values.





I'll see you Monday for our regular 'Luna See'.
~Sing the Day

Following the Moon

'Moon Dance', Drozda 1998

4x3"

Lino cut print

Welcome to a brief look at the creative energy of the 'Luna See' visiting this week. It's the Summer Solstice and a wonderful night for a moon dance. Now we experience the opening of summer, the South Gate, on the wheel of the year. On the Natural Wheel Summer Solstice marks the start of the most outgoing (read: be involved) 90 days of the year. We all tend to keep ourselves on a fast track year round yet in reality the summer months are the most cranked...and today the gate swings open.

A new fresh 90 day segment of clean space waits to meet us...take a moment and notice what you want to grow creatively and place your ideas into your journal or jot notes onto your studio calendar. First honor and acknowledge what has moved through you creatively since Spring Equinox on March 20. That first quarter of the year usually carries an energy of 'ME'. Next consider the time between now and the Fall Equinox on September 22. This time period shifts so that we have the conscious opportunity to engage with 'OTHERS'. Make notes that remind you that your life and your art matters as you share it with the world.

From this point summer brings the most concentrated time for personal/creative evolution. Evolving, opening out, and unfolding within the context of 'Luna See' requires deep focus.  Have you made a commitment to expressing through the 'Highest of Arts'? The Art's evolutionary zones include both the healing/medical arts and the fine/expressive arts in all their countless variations. The Arts open us to areas of humanities highest, and hopefully most compassionate, development. The languages of the Arts ultimately demand clear communication. Clear communication is of paramount benefit at this time. What are you saying? Notice how you talk to yourself about your artist work (and your life) and how you think about others and the world at this time. This cycle each year offers a focus for speaking to ourselves as artists who see that our lives matter. This cycle has much to do with an awareness of intelligence. Speaking to ourselves intelligently... by first diving deep and listening from the heart. The poet  Rumi offers this:

Stop the words now.

Open the window in the center of your chest,

and let the spirits fly in and out.

'The Race', Picasso 1922

gouache on wood

 Musee'  Picasso, Paris

As of today, Monday, we're still in the First Quarter moon or 'take action' phase. This continues until Tuesday afternoon. At that point the opportunity is clear for deep creative investment. As artists we're engaged in the process of bringing something into being that hasn't been before. Breathe that in. Sit under a tree and feel that. When we allow ourselves to experiment with the moon's timing (while holding a clear intention) the creative stress level is reduced and a sense of being in the flow is elevated. "The spirits fly in and out".

Between Tuesday and Saturday there is every opportunity to express your brilliance. Keep in mind that this is the time to focus on intelligent communication within the yearly Illumination cycle. On  Saturday afternoon the Full moon, with an eclipse, takes place. What a great opportunity arrives for acting as if our artist life matters and for imaging what's possible for the rest of the year. Remember that when the moon is in her Full phase she reflects and shows us our shadow. You might enjoy playing in the studio during these three days each month while asking if you are sane or not (hint: insane people don't ask that question). That means you can plan on doing a check-in for that specific purpose once a month...it's a great awareness...and it helps us stay playful.

All this month is for watching your communication, nurturing your creativity and shining your brightest.  Engage all the tools you've developed that quiet your petty tyrant's voice down.
As I write in this month's 'Luna See' e-newsletter (subscribe here):

This [June's moon] is one of my favorite energy levels to study and learn through. It is about being very grown up and willing to consider what it is that you have to offer that will be of benefit and do no harm. Take the time now to see where you excel and what you want to add to our world.
Ask yourself: 'How might I hold a light for others to help them find their way?' The answers are countless and continual and eternally unfolding. See what energizes you and imagine the possibilities when you share. Make everything you touch the better for your having been involved ... an infusion of life force ... that's what the cycle is offering. Think of, and then feel, the endless waves of that and pay attention to the boost that follows.

'Buddha Nature', Drozda 2007

16x20"

Acrylic on wood

In 1989 when I began as a student of 'Luna See', learning to live and create in harmony with the moon phases, I had no attachment to it working or not working. I enjoyed socializing within the community each month and  I adored the camaraderie of a creative week at the ocean each October (this being long before I moved here). The social elements meant just as much to me as the lunar phase information. I certainly wasn't looking to prove anything, in terms of my creative work,with my involvement. My healthy artist scepticism even made me force the patterns to see if they would deliver. I got cagey, part of me wanted proof that the moon's patterns would eliminate my anxiety about 'making it' as an artist.
Slowly, through the years, I've become more and more anchored, grounded and joyful in 'following the moon'. I really appreciated coming to recognize that there's no place to 'get to' as an artist, as an expressive being, there's simply the dance. The slow and steady willingness to give these natural patterns a conscious try has turned out to be the best gift I could have given myself...ultimately they transfer into 'no pressure'. Eventually this study made clear, 'to everything there is a season.'.

It's been a most rewarding experiment setting my life onto a spiral dance within a creative rhythm that feels like a fit. I am enthused to now be sharing snippets of this approach with you once a week. My intent is to go deeper into the options and opportunities of each moon as we go on. Right now short n' sweet is feeling good and I hope offering you a bit of nutritious 'food for thought'...that would be another excellent touchstone phrase for this moon.

Please share your 'Luna See' and we'll
see you next Monday for more.

Until then
~May you sing the days

Following the Moon

'Bodhicitta Heart', Drozda 2009

24x20"

under painting on canvas

Welcome to Monday's brief opportunity to look-up and recognize your beautiful 'Luna See'. The keyword for this moon cycle is Illumination. The New Moon started on June 12 and extends through Tuesday afternoon. This is a great span of time to refresh the brilliance of your creative vision:

The world needs us to be balanced in creating and communicating.  What's possible through our collective brilliance? During this week illuminate your heart/mind and reconnect to your creative vision. Remind yourself daily of the importance of your talents and skills. Do your very best to stay close to your heart. Remember, as you may have read in the Luna See newsletter, that the last time our planet felt this level of collective global energy (for a full year) was in 2001. You may feel terrorized in new and different ways right now. Be aware and have courage.

In the five years (1990-1995) that my studio was located on the top floor, high security lock-up ward for women, in the former Fairhill Psychiatric Hospital in Cleveland I learned a great deal. I learned, in this raw unrenovated space, more (I'd previously learned a lot) about loss of power and loss of voice. I could feel, as a sensitive and member of the scar clan, the desperation left behind by the former occupants. The powerful residual deposits of  fear and agony were embedded in the walls and literally carved into the broad wooden window sills. I was there in that cavernous space alone. I could feel the pain and isolation of the women who had been there. I spent many a morning doubled over in heaving sobs.

The book The Cracker Factory (Natalie Wood starred in the movie) had been written by a patient. Reading her pithy stories about heavy medications, electro shock therapy and isolation deepened my resolve. I could stand for greater strength and self expression in my own life. I could honor those broken women in the name of the creative spirit that does no harm.

Within two months of moving into the Fairhill studio I became Artist in Residence for The Art Studio: Center for Therapy Through the Arts, now renamed Art Therapy Studio. I opened my doors and began holding many workshops and studios including the all day first Saturday Creativity Salons. Each Salon had a focus...the keyword for the current moon cycle gave twelve artists a 'way in' to discover fresh levels of self expression. We forged great friendships and shape-shifted the energy of a heavy, dense and foreboding space into a gathering place of tremendous healing and joy.

'Creativity Salon', Drozda 1991

Fairhill Studio

I share this story intentionally. I ask today that each of us consider all the ways we can deepen our commitment and resolve. This is the Illumination moon cycle. I am hoping that each of us will turn on our brilliance and contemplate the strength of the heart. Feel the depths of what your heart can create.

I know about brilliance from my recovery process. I know from my years in my Fairhill studio, how very powerful each brilliant creative step we take is for the whole.

'Bodhicitta Heart', Drozda 2009

24x20"

mixed media on canvas

There are so many exciting ways to engage your creative energy. Choose one and place it into the brilliant light of your imagination. Your imagination is like no other on the planet...celebrate that radiance.

What I have come to appreciate since 1989 when I started working with time in this natural 'follow the moon' way is the awareness that there is space for addressing what's most important. Find what that is for you. Then move through the year, following the moon, with a vibrant yet quiet focus.

Before we meet again for our Monday 'Following the Moon' we'll have moved through the first three phases of this cycle. That gives us from now through Tuesday afternoon to create our vision for this four week cycle, Tuesday through Saturday we can research the vision, Saturday through till next Tuesday we can take action on that vision. It would be lovely if you would tell your vision to someone who will honor you.


~May your heart find its song

Following the Moon

'Who Then?', Drozda, 2003 

19x18"

mixed/paper

"Always be ready to see what you haven't seen before." Corita Kent

The new moon will be here on June 12. Between now and then we have a period of time, called the Balsamic phase, to release all that has built up since May 14. In playing with the gentle and harmless symbolic rhythms of the moon's time frame we come to this place each month where we can consciously:
Drop it.
Let it go.

For these next few days the time is best invested in resting quietly. Of course none of us are going to stop our lives yet we can take some time now to dream. We can remember to meditate. There is something so nurturing and kind about setting aside the last days of the cycle to simply rest...to simply dream...to imagine what is possible...to consider what is worth our time and commitment. I often imagine that each Balsamic phase is similar to floating, waiting, quieting while dreaming the next piece of the dream called 'my life' preparing to birth itself into the new. Notice how this time feels for you.

The new cycle, the June 12 new moon, carries the keyword of  'Illumination'. Near the mid point, or Full phase there is a shift and the keyword turns to 'Growth'. Where would you like to have more light coming into your creative life? Think of the natural level of illumination taking place now as we move closer to summer solstice. Plants are burgeoning and there is a riot of activity going on beneath the surface of things. Here at the studio I watch, day by day, as the combination of light, earth's nutrients and water produce growth in every direction. I see if there are ways that I might emulate these natural patterns and fold them into the rhythm of my work.

'Wren House Garden', Drozda 2010

'Canada Goslings', Drozda 2010

today in the garden

This entire week can be devoted to clearing space and beginning to prepare for the new vision that you would like to create in the coming cycle. This creative vision is yours alone. Respect it. Embrace it. Your vision may be a continuation of what's currently unfolding or you may sense something rising up to meet you like new flowering growth. However you feel the energy, you may enjoy taking the time to honor it and journal/draw the way you're observing its patterns. The new moon phase will stretch through the coming weekend. During that time it can be very relaxing to collage a vision page or treasure map, to add color and pattern to the dream of the days between now and then.

For many of us the beginning of a cycle can also be a fine time to seek inspiration. Having a vision and holding steady as its nurtured is a great skill. Shakti Gawain's classic Creative Visualization might offer some excellent reminders.

Experiment and see how it feels to create in harmony with the phases of the moon. Doing so becomes a simply endless opportunity to chart the flow of time with a sense of grace and ease as you allow engagement with luna's calming rhythms.

Canada's and Guard Goose, Drozda

today in the garden

Each New Moon I send out my Luna-See email newsletter. You can sign up here.


~May you sing the days

Tie One Hand Behind Your Back

'Students during Residency', Drozda

About five years ago as part of my studio outreach into the community I developed the Wren House StudioVisiting Artist Program and Teaching Studios for young artists at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia.

I simply love to visit Virginia Beach schools no matter the grade. The Virginia Beach City Public Schools Arts Programs are richly diverse and content driven. The art rooms on every grade level are inspired. I come in, as a working professional (not as an art teacher), for a week of demonstration and with each grade create a different project. My main concept is that whether you grow up to be a sports jock, a marine biologist, a veterinarian, or an office worker... you can choose, at any time, to live a natural 'Art/Life'...you can choose to live simply and creatively. 

This past week, and next, the challenge is to engage students while I'm wearing a full arm cast. As a result of that we really have been able to delve a bit more deeply than usual into the live simply part.

I believe in setting a tone so I always provide a nature table. In the center sits the famous image of earth from space with the caption, 'Good planets are hard to find'. Surrounding this iconic image are found treasures from my walks and travels. There is everything from a slider turtle's shell to a whale's vertebrae to stones (with large embedded snail shell fossils) from a trek in Nepal plus many other tactile curiosities:

'Nature Table', Drozda

found objects

I also install large pieces of my work in the school lobby and my 18' long 'River Runner' is laid down so that students 'walk down the stream' as they enter the art room:

'River Runner', Drozda

18'x4'

Acrylic/Marine Urethane/canvas

Being able to walk on a painting may be one of the delights of the day for each student and their teachers.

With a pencil, a piece of paper and a broken arm I invited each class in turn to time me for three minutes as I drew, with my non dominant hand, using a black and white lithograph of a bird or animal as my 'model'.

'Peregrine Falcon', Drozda

12x9"

3 minute pencil/nondominant hand

photo by Angeles Gonzales

At the end of my three minutes they would ooo and ahhh at how well I did. Then their big surprise followed when I offered to be their time keeper as they challenged themselves in the same way. Every student was excited to give it a go.

 Student work

9x12"

3 minute pencil nondominant hand

photo by Angeles Gonzales

  

After the non dominant hand they put the drawing away and did another drawing, using the same 'model' and their regular drawing hand.

student

3 minute non & regular hand

pencil

photo by Angeles Gonzales

And lastly, they put everything away except for a clean sheet of paper and now the challenge was to create a memory drawing.

student

non&dom&memory drawing

photo by Angela Gonzales

I have had such a great time experiencing the sheer unadulterated delight of discovery through each grade, and each child, that it may have given me a whole new approach to the visiting artist model.

See you Monday as we 'Follow the Moon'

~May you sing your day