Creative Juices Arts

Dreaming Into The Mystery

Chris Zydel — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:51:39 +0000

I've always assumed that waking up is where it's at "Become more conscious" has been my motto Open your eyes and try to see as much as you possibly can Let brightness and the blinding light of clarity lead the way But the murky land of dreams Has lately been pulling me down Into it's [...]

We Can All Shine On … Together

Chris Zydel — Mon, 07 May 2012 06:04:36 +0000

BIG ... That is one of those words that has a lot of baggage associated with it... especially if you are a sensitive creative type. Big is related to being VISIBLE. To taking up space. To coming out of hiding. To asking for what you want and need. On the surface these all sound like [...]

Creative Joy

Chris Zydel — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:14:08 +0000

Her invitation is always the same "Come and play" says she Let's explore and uncover together Another of the many vast worlds That you hold inside your wild creative heart She knows the way Her compass is unfailing She is eager to lead us On deep diving expeditions Into the watery dreamtime Of places like [...]

Every Artist Is A Performance Artist

Chris Zydel — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:10:31 +0000

“Shug: More than anything God love admiration. Celie: You saying God is vain? Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the colour purple in a field and don’t notice it. Celie: You saying it just wanna be loved like it say [...]

Wild Women Of The Creative Heart

Chris Zydel — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:08:38 +0000

When I was looking for a name for my intuitive painting classes many moons ago, I knew that having wild in the title was going to be important to me. I associate wildness with being real and authentic. With the essence of who we are and were before we learned to mistrust our true and [...]

Angels In My Studio Giveaway Winner!

Chris Zydel — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:23:16 +0000

I was completely blown away by all the wonderfully inspiring responses I received in answer to the question of "How does your intuition speak to you?" It felt like each one was a teaching in and of itself about how to open to the grace of intuitive information that surrounds us at all times. And [...]

Teaching What You Most Need To Learn

Chris Zydel — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:41:16 +0000

I'm a little in love with slogans. I adore the zing of pithy sayings that keep me on track and remind me about what's important. We have a lot of them at the studio. And here's a short list of some of the more popular mantras: Trust The Brush Ruin It Early, Ruin It Often [...]

Angels In My Studio Giveaway!

Chris Zydel — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:51:41 +0000

I am ridiculously excited to be offering a giveaway for one spot in the Angels In My Studio e-course that is being hosted, taught and organized by the lovely and creative intuitve healer Sheri Ponzi. This is a five month e-course beginning May 1st that will include art and painting lessons from 10 highly talented and [...]

The Call

Chris Zydel — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 08:24:06 +0000

When the call comes for more For change For freedom For awakening For stepping into who you were always meant to be It doesn't usually arrive as a sparkly party invitation Often the call for liberation is more like a silent stalker A sense of being followed by something dark and disquieting that simply won't [...]

Dissolving

Chris Zydel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:41:32 +0000

When the seemingly solid path before you begins to crumble And you find yourself scrambling for a foothold on the smallest clumps and clods of what you once knew It is time, like the rabbit when she becomes aware she is in the crosshairs of coyotes hungry gaze to gather your haunches beneath you and [...]

Creating Your Way Through Change

Chris Zydel — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:34:44 +0000

A few years ago I was at a major crossroads with my work. I had been in private practice as a psychotherapist for a long time, which I had loved with an unholy passion. But I was starting to get itchy and restless. It was time for a change. The private practice route was no [...]

Wish BIG E-Camp Giveaway Winner!!

Chris Zydel — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:03:49 +0000

I received so many amazing and inspirational messages from you all about what you love about being a creative being that it was quite impossible to choose. So I let the creativity goddess do it for me! I printed out the page with all your fabulous comments, cut each one into a strip and then [...]

Wish Big E-Camp Giveaway!

Chris Zydel — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:14:10 +0000

I am ridiculously excited to be hosting a giveaway for one spot in the WishBIG E-Camp Winter Session! And I am tickled pink to be included as part of this fabulous collection of teachers including: Connie Hozvicka, Vivienne McMaster, Amy Palko, Miranda Hersey, Jenna McGuiggan, Stacy De La Rosa, Rachel Awes and myself. The WishBIG E-Camp [...]

Hiding In Plain Sight: How To Find Your Very OWN Magical, Mutant Superpower

Chris Zydel — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:29:16 +0000

I am a total fantasy, magic and science fiction movie and television buff. Some of my favorite TV shows are Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Once Upon A Time, and the films I tend to watch over and over again are things like The Matrix, Star Trek, the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the [...]

Unraveling The Mystery Of (Seemingly) Effortless Change

Chris Zydel — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:07:20 +0000

I am a teacher. And my job as a teacher requires that I communicate certain ideas to others with at least a modicum of clarity. I love conveying information intimately through my one on one interactions with my students. And I also really enjoy taking the time to craft my thoughts through the process of [...]

Perfectly Impossible

Chris Zydel — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:57:04 +0000

"Perfect is good. But finished is better!" ~ quote on a plaque in a local quilt store bathroom When I was in graduate school for counseling at least a million years ago I had to write a great number of papers for all the different classes I was attending. And I came up with a [...]

The Myth of Competition and The Reality of Love

Chris Zydel — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:01:45 +0000

A few years ago one of my beloved students started hounding me to create a teacher training program so that I could begin training students how to do what I do using the intuitive painting process. This was something that I had on the list to do "one day" but her dogged insistence brought that [...]

Emotional Economics and The Recipe For Joyful Giving

Chris Zydel — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 01:14:00 +0000

I identify myself as a giving person. I like being generous. It makes me incredibly happy to be in the role of the bountiful benefactor. Most often it's with people I know and love. But I also get a major kick out of offering small acts of generosity and kindness to whoever crosses my path [...]

Catching Up With Change

Chris Zydel — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 06:51:52 +0000

I've been having an interesting discussion with some of my online friends about the desire to take a sabbatical. And how important it is to set aside periodic big chunks of time out of your life to recharge, and rejuvenate. But the problem with sabbaticals is that wherever you go, there you are, which means [...]

Life At The Speed Of Healing

Chris Zydel — Tue, 31 May 2011 19:33:19 +0000

I have been in the healing biz practically my whole adult life. And since I've been hanging around this planet for quite a while that means I have been doing this for a very long time. I started out my career as a massage therapist, went on to include emotional release bodywork as part of [...]

Interview with Goddess Leonie: Finding The Goddess Light Within YOU!

Chris Zydel — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:09:56 +0000

One of the most wonderful things about the Internet is how many amazingly fabulous creative folks are to be found there who are delivering the message that it is possible for everyone to live a joyfully creative life. And one of the brightest lights that I have ever come across in the online world lives [...]

Falling In Love With My Life Again. Surrender… Take Two

Chris Zydel — Sun, 08 May 2011 20:55:33 +0000

"Your task is not to seek for love but to seek and find all the barriers that you have built against it." ~Rumi A year or so ago I found myself feeling that something was sorely missing in my life. That what I was longing for was to fall in love. And I didn't mean [...]

The Wisdom Of Surrendering To The Bossiness of The Creativity Goddess

Chris Zydel — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 01:47:46 +0000

One of the most delightful moments for me as an intuitive painting teacher is when my students discover how incredibly BOSSY the creativity goddess can be. When they truly begin to give themselves over to their intuition and to the power of the creative process they are always so surprised when the Mother Of All [...]

Sparkles – 5 minutes is all it takes to sparkle

Chris Zydel — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:53:06 +0000

Registration is now open! $31 and 5 minutes a day is all it takes to sparkle! Register between March 22nd and midnight EST on March 24th for a chance to win amazing prizes. Keep reading for more! To be eligible for the prizes, please indicate in your payment “notes to seller” what country you are [...]

Everything I Know About The Real World I Learned By Being On Retreat

Chris Zydel — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:44:35 +0000

Lead us from the unreal to the real~ Hindu Invocation When I was just getting started on my life path, my career, my vocation, my calling to be of service through working with peoples hearts, so many moons ago, one of the things that I created almost immediately were weekend workshop retreats. I co-led these [...]

Confessions Of A Reluctant Woo-Woo Wackadoodle

Chris Zydel — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:20:12 +0000

At the end of one of my most recent Painting From The Wild Heart workshops I was thanked by one of my students for not being, as she put it, a "woo-woo wackadoodle." Which I actually take as a high compliment. I know what she meant. Like her, I greatly appreciate the qualities of being [...]

What I Learned From Mick Jagger About Inner Energy Conservation

Chris Zydel — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:20:54 +0000

I am currently in the middle of my yearly January Painting From The Wild Heart retreat in the wine country of Northern California, and I'm feeling pretty good. Usually, by this point in the workshop I'm starting to get kind of fried. I'm still enjoying what I'm doing but I can feel myself fraying around [...]

Trust

Chris Zydel — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 07:04:07 +0000

As 2011 begins, like a lot of people, I am thinking about what I hope this New Year will bring. But I'm not following the time honored tradition of making explicit resolutions. That is soooo 20th century and anyway most research has shown that choosing a specific goal is a set-up for failure because it [...]

The Sacred And Nearly Lost Art Of Being Open To Receiving

Chris Zydel — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:06:02 +0000

Lately it has been pointed out to me that a.) there is one person that I tend to neglect on a regular basis ( meaning me) and b.) it's kinda sorta difficult for me to receive. As we are in the middle of that time of year that is often known as the season of [...]

Paint Here Now: Intuitive Painting and The Practice Of Presence

Chris Zydel — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:10:21 +0000

I just had the privilege of facilitating the first session of my third Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training program earlier this month. Whenever I teach I notice that every group and every workshop has it's own distinct personality. And one of the ways that gets expressed is that certain themes related to the intuitive [...]

Art Every Day #16: And The Mystery Continues….

Chris Zydel — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:02:05 +0000

This little piece is one of those drawings that made me pretty nervous from the moment I started it because I had NO IDEA what it was or where it was going. Which meant I had to practice trusting the process and the brush quite a bit... not exactly my favorite thing. I much prefer [...]

Art Every Day #13: I Don’t Have To Like It. I Just Have To Paint It.

Chris Zydel — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 06:40:20 +0000

Whenever I am painting or drawing I try to keep my judging mind out of the picture as much as possible and just allow whatever wants to show up to just be there. And what that means is that I sometimes don't LIKE what I've drawn or painted very much. I develop very negative opinions [...]

Art Every Day #12: Squigglies Named Henry and Brush Pen Love

Chris Zydel — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:57:59 +0000

I travel a lot for my work. I'm gone for about one week every month leading workshops and teaching so I spend a fair amount of time in hotel rooms which means getting set up to do visual creative work can be a bit of a challenge... especially since what I really love to do [...]

Art Every Day #10-Sacred Space and Sacred Solitude

Chris Zydel — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:52:05 +0000

I'm at a retreat center in the Napa Valley Wine country of Northern California called Mountain Home Ranch where I'm facilitating my 3rd Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training Program. So one of the things I am creating is the program itself. It's really fabulous to be here with these amazing courageous women who have [...]

Art Every Day # 8: A Few Tips From A Sometimes Crazy Person On How To Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing

Chris Zydel — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:01:24 +0000

I'm sometimes crazier then others and this year is one where I'm pulling out all the crazy stops by doing my best to participate in BOTH National Novel Writing Month AND Leah Piken Kolidas' Art Every Day during the month of November. Since I'm trying to add so much more personal creative time to an [...]

The Fine Art Of Wanting What You Want

Chris Zydel — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:58:45 +0000

Just recently one of my students emailed me with a question about my upcoming teacher training program. She had been researching various educational opportunities in the expressive arts world and was feeling confused about how to proceed. She wasn't sure which program would best suit her needs and she also wasn't sure how she could [...]

“One Thing”, Dead Cowboy Wisdom And Fun With Paint Chips

Chris Zydel — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:37:14 +0000

One of my favorite movies is a little flick called City Slickers that came out in 1991. It's the story about 3 guys who hit their mid forties and find themselves kind of lost and wondering what the heck happened to their lives. They are friends and all live in New York City. They have [...]

Painting, Radical Self Acceptance, Turnips and Dear Old Dad

Chris Zydel — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:41:18 +0000

Just recently one of my brave, brave students took her intuitive paintings home and showed them to her dad. She was generous enough to share the interchange with me and I thought it would be helpful to share it with all of you. Here's a brief transcript of their conversation: My student: "Hey dad, I'm [...]

My Superpower Is Making People Cry. What’s Yours?

Chris Zydel — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:38:55 +0000

Have you ever been asked the question " If you could have a superpower, what would it be?" Well, it seems like I already have one although it's not one that you ever see in the Marvel Comic books. Nor is it one that I would have necessarily chosen. My weird superpower seems to be [...]

Painting Your Way Through Difficult Emotions

Chris Zydel — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:23:24 +0000

I recently got an email from a lovely woman on my mailing list asking me about how to use creativity to work through negative emotions. Which is a completely fabulous question and one that I have thought about a great deal. My first response to that question is that I don't believe that ANY emotions [...]

How Deep Goes Your Creative Well?

Chris Zydel — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:37:49 +0000

My muse is quite the bossy sort and has been yammering at me pretty much non-stop lately. What she wants this time is for me to be writing more. And specifically she wants me to be BLOGGING more often. There's a familiar dance that we engage in that starts with her bugging me about something. [...]

YOU ARE ENOUGH

Chris Zydel — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:22:28 +0000

I just completed the final session of my current Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training program. During this five day intensive each of my students took a three hour block of time and presented and facilitated an expressive arts class that they designed. Which was total fun for me because I got to be their [...]

Why I Love Retreats or Where The “Other Me” Lives

Chris Zydel — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:36:49 +0000

I have been a personal growth, spiritual and creativity retreat junkie most of my adult life. Since the time when dinosaurs walked the earth and the term hippie was not prefaced by the world "old", I have participated in scads and scads of workshops and healing circles and time spent in the wilderness of my [...]

POSTER PAINT, CREATIVE PLAY and TAKING A BREAK FROM ADULTHOOD

Chris Zydel — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:28:05 +0000

I get awfully tired of being an adult all the time. I get exhausted just thinking about the list of things I have to do to keep my life operating on a more or less even keel, much less actually doing all those things. Like always having to be competent. And responsible. To have to [...]

Perfectionism, Being A Creative Troublemaker and Drama That’s GOOD For You.

Chris Zydel — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:36:38 +0000

I've been reading a lot of novels lately... and have come across some darned good ones... but the thing I've noticed the most is that a story only really gets interesting when someone majorly screws up. If the protagonist falls in love with the wrong person, if the best friend tells a lie to protect [...]

The Creativity Goddess Does Not Take NO For An Answer

Chris Zydel — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:32:16 +0000

I have been involved in the world of blogging and making online connections for the past year and a half. And it's been an exciting new adventure for an old dog like me. I'm 57 and most of my peers can send an email and surf the web but don't really understand the amazing sense [...]

Are You Ready To Be A Dangerously Creative Woman (Or Man)?

Chris Zydel — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:29:53 +0000

Whenever one of my students is in a creative bind and they feel stuck and blocked and like they don't know what to do next I often ask them the question "So what would you NOT want to paint?" This usually gets me a.) an incredibly dirty look b.) the dawning realization that there IS [...]

Love The Muse You’re With

Chris Zydel — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:27:17 +0000

I have a confession to make. In writing this blog I talk a lot about the creative process which makes it sound like it's something that's kind of abstract. Or at least part of the workings of my own mind. Which isn't exactly the truth. I've been avoiding telling the truth because I'm afraid that [...]

Art Love Is Good Love

Chris Zydel — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:28:14 +0000

Today is the day when we all celebrate love. Or are at least thinking about love. Or trying not to think about love. And mostly what gets celebrated is romantic love. Which is great. But it's not the only love game in town. There's another kind of love that we all have some difficulty with [...]

Happiness Is A Warm Glue Gun

Chris Zydel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:12:03 +0000

I have been on a quest lately to find out what it is that truly makes me happy. I'm trying to learn to tell the difference between the considerable fulfillment I experience when I am being productive and simple, straightforward happiness. I have actually had them very confused my whole life. I have often thought [...]

The Problem With Dragon Love: The (Sometimes) Torturous Path To Your Creative Treasure Trove

Chris Zydel — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:32:21 +0000

I have a new creative project that I am in the very beginning stages of and it is a big project. It's something that I've been thinking about for a long time and haven't been able to get to because of lack of time and because I couldn't figure out exactly how to make it [...]

If Dancing In The Streets Means You’re Crazy I Don’t Want To Be Sane

Chris Zydel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:11:51 +0000

I have a new intuitive painting student who has been surprising herself by how often she finds herself asking the question "You mean it's really OK to do that?" This question comes up around simple things like " You mean it's OK to make a mess? Is it really OK to use this much paint? [...]

Hot Pink, 60′s Stoners and Dead Painting Masters

Chris Zydel — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:14:12 +0000

When people come to my classes they often show up because they are enticed by a promise. I find them on my doorstep because they've been to my website, or they've seen a flyer or read my blog. They come to me believing that what they want are all the things that I say I'm [...]

Why I Don’t Believe In The Whole Idea Of Bad Art

Chris Zydel — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:03:20 +0000

When I was a kid I absolutely adored Christmas. I loved the twinkly lights and the schmaltzy music but most of all I loved that sense of anticipation and wonder and surprise. My family and I lived in a rowhouse that had three stories and two flights of stairs. On Christmas morning I would wake [...]

Art Every Day Month- Day 29- Painting The Invisible

Chris Zydel — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:09:24 +0000

One of the things I love about the intuitive painting process is how much it encourages me to go under the surface of things. To explore what I can't always see. To dive into my inner world and try and express visually what is not readily visible. This can sometimes look like feelings or moods, [...]

Art Every Day Month – Day 27- Underwater Ocean Queen

Chris Zydel — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:38:21 +0000

This piece is done with my little handy dandy portable water color set, which I love, love, love for traveling. Again, I don't know exactly what to make of this one. It's just another experience of trusting the brush or as one of my students puts it "following orders from headquarters." I start painting and [...]

Art Every Day Month- Day 25- Imaginary Doggie Love

Chris Zydel — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:20:45 +0000

I don't have a dog. In fact my hubby and I don't have any living furry pets at all because we both have pretty severe animal allergies. But we also love animals. And so we have many stuffed animals, carved wooden folk art animals and tons of imaginary friends in our house. I also have [...]

Art Every Day Month- Day 24- Happy Desert Girl

Chris Zydel — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:36:23 +0000

My hubby and I are on vacation and right now we're in the town of St. George Utah and visiting the various national and state parks in the area. Yesterday we went to a place called Snow Canyon State Park and today we are going to the world famous Zion National Park. I am definitely [...]

Art Every Day Month – Day 23: Shaman Girl

Chris Zydel — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:27:24 +0000

This piece is a painting using watercolors that I have in a little travel watercolor kit. I'm away on vacation and am in one of my favorite places in the whole world which is the Southwest desert area- Nevada, Utah and Death Valley in California. I have a pretty strong relationship with the land in [...]

Art Every Day Month- Day 22- Who Needs Reality When You Can Make Up Your Own?

Chris Zydel — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:51:07 +0000

I love how this one felt to do. Even though I have no idea what it is. If I had to identify it I would say that it looks kind of organic- like a flower or plant from another planet. But it was very absorbing and relaxing to create it. I do enjoy letting the [...]

Art Every Day Month- Day 19: Toxic Comparison, Soul Sucking Creativity Demons and The Healing Power Of Napping

Chris Zydel — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:13:32 +0000

I have the great good fortune to be surrounded by many, many amazingly creative people. People that are bursting with creative energy and ideas, talent and enthusiasm. Friends and colleagues who are living wondrously creative lives and by their example are serving as a creative catalyst and an inspiration for me and everyone who knows [...]

Day 18- AEDM: Entering The Dream Time

Chris Zydel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:15:42 +0000

This is another one of my pieces that I did with colored pencils which are a total godsend because they are so easy to just whip out and use when I don't have a lot of space or time to set up my paints. First of all, I have no idea what this drawing is [...]

Art Every Day Month- Day 6- Doodling and Dying

Chris Zydel — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:04:03 +0000

Today's a busy day...in fact it's going to be a busy weekend. I'm co-facilitating a new workshop with a friend of mine we're calling Death Rehearsal: A Playfully Reverent Exploration and Artful Preparation For the Final Curtain Call where we will be using creativity to explore our feelings about death and dying. I know it [...]

Day 5- Art Every Day Month- The Mystery Headless Woman From The Future

Chris Zydel — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:04:10 +0000

Whenever I am painting or drawing I often don't start out with any particular idea. I just start moving the brush or the pencils and let the drawing or the painting lead me. It's relaxing and nerve wracking at the same time to create in this way. Relaxing because the pressure is off. I don't [...]

Art Every Day Month- Day 4- Flying Heart Lady

Chris Zydel — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:07:17 +0000

Today I played around with watercolors in my sketchbook. What showed up is another one of those images that is puzzling to me on a lot of different levels. Although its certainly not the first time THAT has ever happened! I've been going through some serious dental trauma the past month ..... lots of dental [...]

ART Every Day Month: Day 3- Dem Bones, Dem Bones….

Chris Zydel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:25:13 +0000

I love Mexican and Southwestern folk art and Day Of The Dead stuff. My house is just filled with all kinds of art and figurines that depict those lively skeleton figures. In fact, here's one of the altars that I have in my house. I was so happy to find a Day Of The Dead [...]

Day 2- The Care And Feeding Of Your Creative Flow

Chris Zydel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:16:51 +0000

I am participating in something that Leah Piken Kolidas of Creative Every Day has developed which is called Art Every Day Month that she hosts during the month of November. The commitment is to do something creative and then post your latest creation on your blog. Today my creative juices are manifesting in a blog [...]

Creative Every Day- The Journey Begins

Chris Zydel — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:46:40 +0000

YAY for the opportunity to get back into being visually creative on a regular basis. I've been focusing on my writing and my business recently and my painting life has been somewhat on the back burner. So I'm grateful to have the support and encouragement of this creative community and see what wants to come [...]

CREATIVITY TIME BANDITS: What Stops YOU From Living A More Creative Life?

Chris Zydel — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:45:18 +0000

In my work as a creativity coach I talk with many, many people who want to be more creative, either as a way to deepen their spiritual practice of self nurturing or who have a specific dream that they long to manifest, like writing a book or spending more time in their painting studio or [...]

Abuse Your Art Supplies

Chris Zydel — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:41:31 +0000

It took me 15 years to discover that I had no talent for writing but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous. -Robert C. Benchley Who says you have to be any good in order to be creative? The very first (and last) painting class I ever took (which [...]

Ghost Ranch 2009: Bringing The Magic Of Being On Retreat Back Home

Chris Zydel — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:31:57 +0000

About 11 years ago I attended a class at the Ghost Ranch Conference Center in Northern New Mexico for the first time and fell head over heels in love. With the landscape, the culture, the history, the big sky, the silent open spaces. It felt like a homecoming of major proportions and I couldn't wait [...]

I’m OK. You’re OK. We’re All OK. Really.

Chris Zydel — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:44:42 +0000

Somewhere along the line.... and maybe it's just because I've gotten old.... I got kind of burned out on trying to fix myself. I had spent most of my 20's, all of my 30's and half of my 40's trying to get better. To heal old wounds and improve myself so that I could have [...]

Your Creativity WILL Talk To You… But Only When It Knows You Are Ready To Listen

Chris Zydel — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:41:12 +0000

I just returned from a fabulous week working with an amazing group of women who have decided to commit their time, money and energy to becoming expressive arts intuitive painting teachers. The teacher training program is a year long and happens in four weekly segments. In the first week of the training we go over [...]

How I Learned To Trust In The Creative Process – Whether I Like It Or Not

Chris Zydel — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:41:33 +0000

I recently had a pretty amazing synchronistic and serendipitous experience that I wanted to share with you all, partly because I am just excited, but partly because it's such a great example of the ins and outs of the creative process. I've always wanted to see my name in lights! About a month ago I [...]

INTUITIVE PAINTING AS A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN

Chris Zydel — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:37:05 +0000

ANNOUNCEMENT!! I'm trying something new in my blog posts which is to include my original art work with some of my writing. The piece below is done with colored pencil and I chose it for this article because I don't know WHAT the heck it means or why I drew it. All I know is [...]

ARE YOUR ART SUPPLIES KEEPING YOU FROM BEING CREATIVE?

Chris Zydel — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:03:31 +0000

Like most creative types I have an ongoing love affair with art supplies. It still thrills me no end to go into an art store and walk up and down the aisles looking at the multitudinous tubes and colors of paint, fondling the different sizes and types of brushes, inhaling the scent of the waxy [...]

Who Is Your Creative Alter Ego?

Chris Zydel — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:30:33 +0000

I have a friend who is a musician. And more than anything else he wants to write his own songs and eventually put them together on a CD. But it's not really happening. So he is in that particular type of artists hell where the creative longing is terribly insistent but the creative manifestation is [...]

Creative Miracle Grow: The Crazy Wonderfulness That Can Happen When Someone Believes In YOU!

Chris Zydel — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:57:04 +0000

I don't really watch television, (well OK, except for LOST which I only watch on my laptop so somehow that doesn't seem to count), but I know that there is a show out there called Britain's Got Talent. I THINK it's one of those shows kind of like American Idol (which I have also never [...]

THE WISDOM OF NO MISTAKES: DRIPS CAN BE FUN (or at least not total torture)

Chris Zydel — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:52:35 +0000

In my intuitive painting classes the first thing that I tell people is that there are no mistakes when you are painting. Everything that shows up on the paper is something that needs to be there. This idea that you really can't do anything wrong is a concept that most people agree with in theory. [...]

CATASTROPHES R (NO LONGER) US

Chris Zydel — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:44:32 +0000

I am somewhat addicted to personal growth. I can't even begin to tell you how many thousands of dollars and thousands of hours I have spent attending workshops, reading books and talking with my friends, husband and various paid professionals about the complicated inner workings of my heart and so called mind. Because I am [...]

SECRET # 8: CREATIVE COLLABORATION

Chris Zydel — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:45:01 +0000

In this next chapter of Gail McMeekins 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women she is talking about the issue of creative collaboration, and I realized as I was reading this that my professional creative life has been one long journey of collaboration. I really couldn't be where I am today without the various partnerships that [...]

SECRET # 7: FINDING CREATIVE GUIDES and CREATIVE GUIDANCE

Chris Zydel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:44:54 +0000

This post is in response to chapter 7 of 12 secrets Of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin and the topic this week has to do with guides. The question posed is " How are we guided, who guides us and where does guidance come from? What kind of creative guidance do we need so [...]

CONQUERING THOSE NASTY, INNER CREATIVE SABOTEURS

Chris Zydel — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:03:29 +0000

I recently came across a fabulous group of women blogger artists who are being organized by Jamie Ridler and are working with the book the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin. Each week whoever wants to reads the assigned chapter and then crafts a blog post in response . I have come [...]

STAYING CREATIVELY ALIVE: KEEPING YOUR EYES OPEN, YOUR JUICES FLOWING AND YOUR SHADOW GREASING THE WHEELS

Chris Zydel — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:32:58 +0000

One of the things that I love about the creative process, at least most days, is how it keeps me honest. The truth is where the juice lies and as long as I'm "keepin it real" I am continually blessed with an abundant sense of energy and aliveness. However, aliveness does not always translate as [...]

The ART OF INNER CLUTTER CLEARING: MAKING ROOM FOR WHO YOU REALLY ARE

Chris Zydel — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:34:45 +0000

My husband is very anxious when we travel because he is always afraid that we are going to be robbed while we are out of town. Not too long after we first bought our home, we went away for a weekend and before we left we asked our new, friendly next door neighbor to keep [...]

PAIN FREE CREATIVITY: YOU DON’T REALLY NEED TO SUFFER FOR YOUR ART

Chris Zydel — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:01:14 +0000

In a recent article that I wrote I talked a lot about being willing to accept whatever shows up in your painting, even if it doesn't match up to your hopes and expectations about what you want it to be. One of my students got back to me and said "Yes, that article was a [...]

WHEN I WRITE…. my creative process in eight (very short) acts

Chris Zydel — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:20:41 +0000

When I'm writing my creative process looks like this... 1.) First, the inspiration. I get what seems like a genius idea to explore something or another. Then I hook up to wherever this stuff actually comes from and begin the process of downloading words and phrases and sometimes whole pages, courtesy of my muse. 2.) [...]

BEFRIEND YOUR INTUITION : CULTIVATING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LOUD and BOSSY VOICE WITHIN

Chris Zydel — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:12:47 +0000

The other night I was headed to my studio in my car to teach a painting class. My route to work is along the freeway and I am normally a speed demon behind the wheel, but for some reason on this particular evening I was driving at a reasonable, non breakneck pace in the slower [...]

PINK BARBIE POOLS, ALIEN SPACE SHIPS AND LIVING A LIFE OF YES!

Chris Zydel — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:33:43 +0000

I have been doing something interesting in one of my weekly women's groups as part of our commitment to creativity. In my Thursday evening group we spend an hour each week engaging in some kind of creative process, and we have done many kinds of things over the years ranging from writing to painting to [...]

ADDICTED TO TECHNIQUE: THE SAD AND SORRY TALE OF CREATIVITY GONE WRONG

Chris Zydel — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:36:16 +0000

When I am needing some cheap and easy stress reduction I take a couple of minutes to visit a website/blog called www.cuteoverload.com. This site is filled with absolutely adorable photos and videos of all types of critters from doggies to donkeys doing whatever it is that animals do. But the thing that is really the [...]

GIVE IT UP AND LET IT GO: CREATIVITY AS A PRACTICE IN SURRENDER

Chris Zydel — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:06:39 +0000

I was at a woman's writer's workshop in Taos, New Mexico last year, and found myself at dinner sitting across from a riot of a feisty old woman who was talking about these children's books she'd written. Her main character is a rascal and an adventurer, a boy named Weldon. This child came by his [...]

HOLY MESS, SACRED CHAOS AND THE INNER CREATIVE CHILD

Chris Zydel — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:33:10 +0000

by Chris Zydel, MA Recently I was shopping at my local art store. Now when I go shopping for art supplies I buy LOTS of stuff because I have the excuse that I am buying all these great things for my students and classes. It's actually one of the best parts about being a creativity [...]

SCIENCE DISCOVERS SPIRIT THROUGH A STROKE OF INSIGHT!

Chris Zydel — Wed, 07 May 2008 06:56:04 +0000

by Chris Zydel, MA A few weeks ago I came across an astonishing lecture that was given by a woman named Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD. also known as The Singin' Scientist. The talk she gave was titled My Stroke of Insight and she presented it at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference that is held [...]

INTERVIEW with CHRIS ZYDEL for the CREATIVITY PORTAL

Chris Zydel — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:30:08 +0000

by MOLLY CHILDERS Copyright © 2008 Q: What can you tell us about Wild Heart Painting as a spiritual path? As an artistic process? Since creativity and spirituality come from the same source, if you open the channel to one, you automatically open the channel to the other. So the Painting From The Wild Heart [...]

INTUITIVE PAINTING AND THE WILD RIDE OF RISK AND CHANGE

Chris Zydel — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:34:09 +0000

by Chris Zydel, MA One of the places where my students will often find themselves getting stuck or stopped in the intuitive painting process is when they encounter the common fear of ruining a painting. One moment they will be happily painting away and then they get an internal directive to paint something that scares [...]

INTUITIVE PAINTING AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

Chris Zydel — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:00:59 +0000

People paint for a lot of different reasons. To relax, to express themselves, to create beauty and meaning, to make money, because they have a passion to create, to gain approval, to stay sane, to make sense of the world, to play and have fun. All of the above are wonderful and valid motivations to [...]

INTUITIVE PAINTING AS A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN

Chris Zydel — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:04:09 +0000

by Chris Zydel, MA “We’re lost but we’re making good time.” Yogi Berra As I walk through my painting studio on any given day I am sure to hear at least one plaintive cry of " I hate this painting because it doesn't make any sense!" or " I can't believe that I've spent so [...]

“My Technique’s Bad And I’m So Sad” Intuitive Painting Blues

Chris Zydel — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 05:51:12 +0000

by Chris Zydel, MA Over and over again, I hear a common complaint from students in my intuitive painting classes that goes something like this... “My painting doesn't look the way I want it to because I don't have enough artistic training . I can see this perfectly formed image in my head and I [...]

Your Natal Astrology Chart: The Map of Your Souls Purpose

Chris Zydel — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:18:18 +0000

by Chris Zydel, MA What is it that allows you to wake up in the morning feeling energized and inspired? The particulars are going to vary, but I think the majority of us feel most alive when we experience being aligned with some greater purpose. That purpose is often related to becoming more of who [...]

ONE MAGIC QUESTION TO MOVE YOU THROUGH CREATIVE BLOCKS

Chris Zydel — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:44:31 +0000

Chris Zydel, MA The creative process is a journey, and like any journey there are times when things are going smoothly and you are just humming along. And then there are the times when everything feels frustrating, blocked and in a tangle. The sticky times are never fun, but what makes them even worse is [...]