Take a Walk on the Wild Side...

You don't need to be an artist to take a Mighty Girl Art™ workshop, you just need to be female.

Creativity is your birthright!

Intuition is an integral part of creativity...as is playfulness, and wonder. Mighty Girl Art™ focuses on these key elements to evoke a sense of sacredness in the creative process, foster awareness, and nurture self-esteem.


WHEN: March 24th - April 14th.
*Registration closes on March 16th.

WHO: Mighty Girl Art™ workshops are designed for tweens/teens, but women enjoy them immensely because within us resides all the ages we've been. Little ones can participate with the help of a big sister, aunt, mom or grandmother.

*There is a translator button on the site so Mighty Girls around the world can tune in!

• If you don't think you're creative, this is the session for you!
  
  
• If you know you're creative, but have a nasty habit of comparing yourself to others, this is the session for you!
  
  
• If you're shy, or just need your space, this is the session for you!
  
  
• If you just can't get enough of Mighty Girl Art™, this is the session for you!
  

WHERE: Online. Create at your own pace, alone or with friend or family member. Host a Mighty Girl Art™ Spring-e-session party and invite your friends over to your screen and join the fun. *It's a buy one, and bring your bunch free!

WHY: Because we are the gateway to this planet, and that alone is a gift worth celebrating. Because women are born creative, and it's vital that we take time to explore this gift. Because honoring ourselves is equal to honoring life itself. BECAUSE IT'S FUN!

HOW: Weekly videos, journal prompts and craft tutorials. These exercises are designed to enrich your life, not interfere with school, work or family time. The class site will remain open until summer so there is no pressure.

What people are saying about Mighty Girl Art™ Spring-e-session...

"It is stunning from top to bottom, full of secret places and surprises, chock, chock, chock and bursting. It is a jewel box. Our girls don't have anything like this and what they do have doesn't leave them time to devote to self-discovery and expression. This is so suited to girls who have suffered their first losses of friendship, of power, of certainty, of love . . . who have begun the long season of being overlooked and misunderstood."

- Karen Maezen Miller (author of "Momma Zen" and "hand wash cold")

***

"So lovely! You've woven many elements so gently to create a sweet, encouraging journey for our girls. Bits of wisdom, poetry, media all presented in such a non-intimidating way that I wish had been my experience as a young child. Gracious, inviting and and charming, your program is an invitation to have tea with oneself and chat about possibilities and wonder."

- Flo Gascon (Wide Sky Days)

***

"My prayers have been answered: Mighty Girl Art Spring E-Session is SouLodge for girls, and though mine will only be three, I'm also taking it because my inner ten year old wants to be healed through the full-integrity magical offering that is Wendy Cook's heart and soul. Feel her howling call, then walk to the fire with me."

- Pixie Campbell (Keeper of ceremony, sacred fire and the wild deep)

***

"There are not sufficient words to express the beauty that you have embedded into this offering. I am all at once overwhelmed with joy and excitement and deeply inspired to begin such an art practice with my girls. I have purchased and taken many art e-courses over the years and I have never seen anything so magical. I know it's for girls, but it could very well heal the little lost girl in so many women I know."

- Latisha Guthrie (Herb Mother)

Enroll

Mighty Girl Spring $50.00 USD

*Paypal will redirect you to THIS sign in page, please bookmark that page. The classroom will be locked until March 23rd - at that time you will be able to access the classroom and get familiar with the space. The weekly sessions are password protected and will appear in the menu bar each Saturday. Your password will arrive via email on March 17th. Please make sure that the email address you use for Paypal is the SAME email you wish to receive your password as that address will go directly into the class roster. You will not be able to see the weekly sessions without this password!


Tools needed:

• Your hands
• your hearts
• your inherent intuition

Materials needed:

• Journal – Moleskines are great, but anything will do.
  *Boardbooks make wonderful art journals, but will need to be sanded and coated lightly with gesso first.
• Pens, colored pencils, markers, paints, crayons - whatever you have on hand
• Magazine images, papers for collage
• Mod Podge
• Purple-pink tissue paper
• A small crochet doily – found at craft stores like Michaels, Joanns, thrift shops, ebay or your grandma's linen closet
  
• Charms, beads, found objects like feathers, shells, twigs etc
• Jump rings - found at craft store (clasps, jewelry wire optional)
• Silk cord or hemp cord, or necklace chain of your choice
• Fimo Efaplast clay – found at most craft stores
• A pliable branch that you can easily bend into a circle
• A small, interesting, vase worthy branch
  
• Pearl cotton crochet thread

Misc:

Sandpaper, Scissors, Paint Brushes, Jewelry Pliers (or regular pliers will do)

*I would like to thank MaMuse for their generosity and support! It is my honor and pleasure to introduce you to their beautiful music!

"MaMuse is what a meadow would sound like if it could sing"

I would be oh so grateful if you would spread the love, add a Mighty Girl Art button to your site!

Holiday Heart of Wonder

Dear Mighty Girls,

Wishing you a happy holiday....
















May you awaken to the mystery of being here...
May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
May you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.
May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

- John O'Donohue

See you in the Spring!
Wendy

Mother of All Releasing Ceremonies

"Now is the season to know that everything you do is sacred." - Hafez

















Dear Mighty Girls,

This weekend I will be participation in my friend Pixie Campbell's Mother of All Releasing Ceremonies and you too can be a part of this wonderful event!

Those of you who attended the Wintry Session of Mighty Girl Art™ may recall the Releasing Ceremony we performed on our last day. Those of you who attended the Summer Session of Mighty Girl Art™ have had the joy of connecting with Pixie on the phone and are already familiar with her awesomeness.

On Saturday, family and friends of many faiths and cultures will be gathering in my home for our 4th annual Winter Solstice Party. We will be offering the bundle supplies for guests who wish to participate. You too may gather your friends and family and hold a Releasing Ceremony of your own.

When trees are pruned of weak, diseased, or dying branches, it enables the tree to produce healthy, strong branches so it can flower and bear fruit. So too, when we release what is no longer working for us, what is no longer serving us or the greater good, we are making room in our lives for growth. We enable our lives to flourish. I like this sooo much better than traditional New Year's Resolutions.

Lets release the party poopers like fear, hurt, worry and open the door for more welcome guests like courage, healing, confidence.

Everything you need to know is right here...

some inspiration below (don't forget to turn off the music player in the sidebar before playing the video)...


some instructions!

Wishing you & your family a happy holiday season,
Wendy

"May you awaken to the mystery of being here...

May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

May you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.

May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder. "

- John O'Donohue

Wintry Workshop: Day Four

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose..."

















As the sun began to rise, I prepared the studio for the last day of our Wintry Workshop.

















When the girls arrived, we sipped hot cocoa and discussed our projects for the day. The girls were excited to see how their mugs from last week turned out.

















When we were done sipping, we took our mugs to the kitchen then returned to the studio to begin creating. I noticed a sacred circle, a cocoa ensō left behind on one of the project sheets and it reminded me of Maezen. I smiled thinking of the weekend she spent in my home, her teachings, how hyper my son was that weekend, and the teaching in that also.

The ensō is a symbol for when the mind is free to let the spirit create. The cocoa ensō was a complete ensō not a broken ensō and this just happened to be the completion of our Wintry Workshop.


















Our first project was a little felt bird ornament from the book, "Fa La La La Felt" by Amanda Amanda Carestio.

The girls began by cutting their patterns...

















Then they stitched...

















Between stitches, there was sharing, stories and laughter...and if these little birds that they created could come to life, they would sing such sweet songs.

















We also made hand painted Papier-mâché ornaments....

















and while the ornaments dried, we savored our S'mores.























I wanted to close the Wintry Workshop with something special. I asked the girls if they would like to have a releasing ceremony and they loved the idea! I learned about releasing ceremonies in the Soulodge of my friend, Pixie Campbell.

I think this ceremony is far more profound, than a traditional New Year's Resolution. When I think of the word resolution, I think of the world resolve, which is to transform by reducing or dissolving. In music it means moving from discord to harmony.

I asked the girls to think about something that they've been keeping to themselves, something that has been a burden to them...a fear, or a hurt. I asked them to consider the possibility that holding on to such heaviness may not serve them, and that they may be lighter or freer without it. I then asked them to write their hurt, anger, grief or fear on a piece of paper and crumble it up.

















Then they lined up in front of the fireplace and tossed it into the fire. I found myself saying things like "goodbye, you don't serve this girl, she is stronger without you"...























The girls sat around the fire until each wadded up burden was reduced to ash.


















We hugged and said said our goodbyes.

Dear Mighty Girls,

As you know, the Summer session of Mighty Girl Art is a celebration of self, and in that place we discover the power of our creative gifts so that we can move into Autumn with a sense of strength and purpose.

The Wintry session of Mighty Girl Art gathers in late Fall. Here we explore ways to channel our creative gifts in order to bring joy to others in the coming winter holidays. If we look to nature as our guide, we can see that winter reminds us to slow down, to listen. We are so busy during the other seasons and winter invites us to take time to rest and to reflect in order to understand the wisdom we have been given throughout the year.

When I was a little girl, my Great-Aunt had a statue in her den that terrified me. It was a statue of a dancing goddess with a bunch of arms. It was so freaky that I couldn't even look at her. It wasn't until I became a woman that I understood what it meant - that she was a symbol of the creative feminine force. We have a capacity for great things. We give birth, raise families, raise pets, have careers, nurture friendships, we cook, clean, bake, garden, sew, knit, weave, write, paint, draw, dance, sing, run, hoop, climb, swim...we have such full lives and we do so much that it would seem as though we have a multitude of arms. We must remember to save a set of arms for hugging ourselves, for nurturing ourselves, for filling ourselves up so that we have more to give. For the record...I do think that a man should open the door for woman, not because she can't do it herself, but because her arms are so very full.

Thank you for giving me the gift of yourself! I've enjoyed my time with you greatly.

I will be going into winter hibernation to work on my projects, my studies, celebrate the holidays with my family and prepare for a Spring session of Mighty Girl Art. Know that in taking this time to hug and nurture myself, I will return in the Spring with open arms and more to give.

Until we meet again, I offer you an excerpt from an inspiring poem by May Sarton...

Now I become myself.
It's taken Time, many years and places;
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people's faces…
Run madly, as if Time were there,
Now to stand still, to be here,
Feel my own weight and density!
All fuses now, falls into place
From wish to action, word to silence,
My work, my love, my time, my face
Gathered into one intense
Gesture of growing like a plant.
Grows in me to become the song,
Made so and rooted by love.
Now there is time and Time is young.
O, in this single hour I live
All of myself and do not move.

See you in the Spring,
Wendy

Wintry Workshop Day Three

"The rehearsals of milky November...
the clairvoyance of snow." - Patricia Hampl

At dawn, I prepared the studio for the girls.

Once they arrived, we discussed our projects for the day while sipping hot cocoa from thrifted red mugs.

One project for the day was a Snow flurry mobile. My son and I make paper snowflakes each winter...we make garlands, mobiles and even starch them to our windows. When I saw this mobile in Gifted Magazine, I just had to share the love of paper flurries with the Mighty Girls.

They got right to work and snipped...

and snipped...

Then they stitched...

and stitched...

and stitched the snowflakes into strands to hang from their branches!



We also made hand decorated mugs! I first learned of this technique when my favorite designer, Lotta Jansdotter shared it at Pebeo. Since then, it has popped up nearly everywhere....like here, here, and here. These amazing pens can be used on all sorts of pottery and is permanent once baked. The pens were donated by the generous people of Marker Supply!


















They were all so imaginative and reflected the personality of each girl. One of them fashioned her mug after a Lotta Jansdotter design.



We ended the morning with our wintry tradition of S'mores...




while I swept up the blizzard in the studio.

Wintry Workshop Day Two

"as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending" - e.e. cummings

















This morning at dawn I began setting up the studio for day two of the Wintry Workshop. I thrifted some red mugs for the girls which will be used in a project next week.

















Today we'll be working on two new projects...Snowflake Talismans (inspired by these)...






















and Winter Bloom Hairpins.


















The girls arrived and immediately filled their new mugs with hot cocoa while we chatted about the projects for the day. Then we got right to work on our Snowflake Talismans.

















They were lovely!

















We tucked them into little organza pouches and created gift cards.


















Next we made Winter Bloom Hairpins!






















During which, one of the magical sprites accidentally turned herself into a fabulous crow.

































And the hairpins were fabulous too!

















Lastly, we finished up our felted soaps from last week.
















Of course, such gorgeous creativity makes one rather snackish so we made S'mores in the fireplace.

















Then we tidied up and went for a walk.

















See you next week, girls...Don't forget your branches!