I've always been captivated by the moon, that milky white light, the way it cuts through the cold on a clear winter's night, or seems to radiate heat in the height of summer. When I was younger, I set a jar of water, scented with rose oil, out during the full moon, hoping to capture a bit of its magic. I kept the jar for years, opening it every so often to smell the moon-rose water inside.

I lost it in the move out west, the magic used up, gone, only drops left inside.

I've found myself playing, looking at the relationship between color and shape, putting together elements in my journal that I feel would produce simple beauty, evoke emotion. There are pages I spend hours on, and others I put together over weeks, finding little bits and scraps that would work amazingly well together.

It's almost like going on a scavenger hunt, long-winded with the prize of a loved journal page, finding all those elements that are supposed to fit, work together. Plucking pieces of the Self from a pile of papers and scraps and left-overs from other projects, bigger projects.

It's how we piece ourselves back together after a stressful event, a long trip to our Soul Home we avoided for so long, we needed to go far, far away to find ourselves again. All those pieces of our True Self shed and forgotten, dropped for shinier, newer toys. But those new things may not be the best for us, or feed our ego instead of nourishing us, and at some point, we're left alone, grasping, in the dark, for those true bits, hoping to light our Soul Light once again, glowing bright against the darkness.

Take time today to be Silent. To sit with yourself and listen for those words of wisdom, those answers you already know. Collect together the yearnings of your true nature, put them together, shine from within.

Starting this month, I’ll be running a monthly mixed-media class. I’ll be teaching projects and techniques at a lovely little studio space near downtown Phoenix, and we’ll have a yummy dinner & dessert to enjoy while we’re creating!

I am so very excited to show you November’s project — a magic box!

I wanted us to create things that could be given as gifts or help us record the upcoming holiday season for the next two months, and became enchanted by the magic of nature and wishes and boxes combined!

The process of creating this box was brilliant! I know we talk about the transformative power of creating art, but it is one thing to read the words and another to experience them.

My new awakening has me out in nature, more, reconnecting to my roots. I want to stand in the grass and soak in the energy of the Mother. I want to jump in pile of leaves (in dreams, as there are not enough leaves here to create a pile). I want to pull nature into my daily life and art, and I learned that through creating this piece.

I also began working with clay. As a child, my mother was an amazing clay artist, using found objects and her own hands to craft faces and shapes and little creatures. Textures for skirts and faerie wings. I’ve missed that, and became inspired to add clay to my box.

And then there is a bit of collage. Washi tape. Paint. Crayons and marks and scallops. Stamps.

But my love is the bundle of twigs, held together with wire and findings, old seam binding from my grandmother’s stash. The wire loops down through the lid of the box to create a handle with which to open your box of magic. Of photos. Of books. Of memories. Of wishes for the future, dreams you hope to come true.

There are so many possibilities.

I am so excited, I’m going to create more! More and more!

You can come with and make one, too!

I’ll be teaching the first class of my new monthly shindig on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, at 6PM.

It will be held at Spread the Weird Studio down near 7^th Street & Roosevelt, right along Roosevelt Row and all those galleries and shops!

Cost is $30. Part of the cost goes towards yummy food.
Please bring your own cigar box (or you will be able to grab one at class for a small fee).

This class is organized by me and Denise of the Make Stuff Club meetup. You can either pay via PayPal with the link below, or call me to pay over the phone. Please note that space is limited!

I really hope to see you there! I want this monthly meetup to be full of art, fun, and new discoveries.