Day Three: Hear the Music!

July 29, 2009

Last night I worried about the impending rain storms headed our way and actually woke up at 4:30 AM to do some creative thinking about what to do: offer a rain date, or move the camp indoors. I knew that I could not set up the tipi because to take it down in a storm would be insane and I would risk damaging art and supplies. I emailed the girls to say that we would have camp on the deck at my home and when the rain began we would move our gear inside. Everyone was pleased.

The girls went right to work on their journals before I even had a chance to begin the ceremonial bestowing of gifts! Today's thought / topic was "valuing ourselves" and today's gift came from the talented Tonia Davenport who made incredibly gorgeous pendants for the girls. Each pendant had a different message and was delicately wrapped in sky blue tissue paper. The girls picked from the hat unable to see the pendants and it was astonishing how each message truly captured their personalities. Also in the hat was a pile of, You Are Beautiful Stickers.

















Mighty V picked, "I am compassion"...take a look at those eyes.
You see it too, right?
She is!






















Mighty K received, "I am laughter" - yes - she is!
Mighty E received, "I am intuition" - yes - she is!
Mighty J received, "I am kindness" - yes - she is!
Mighty L, who is moving to a new town on Saturday, received, "I am courage" - and oh my - yes - she is!

I have chill bumps, people!

We then began working in our journals when it started to drizzle slightly so we moved everything inside.

















The girls were wild over the winged cuties from ARTchix studio.





















































Mighty K created an incredible texture in her journal with blue and gold paint that is way more gorgeous than I am able to capture with the camera. All I can say is that it evokes the feeling of a weathered beach cottage and if you want to know how she did it, you'll have to ask her for yourself in the comments section.

















A beloved mighty mom stopped in bearing big bowls of yummy buttery popcorn to fuel our creative fires. Then we began creating our talisman necklaces with charms from Creativity Inc.




















































The rains came as promised, so...we all ran outside and danced in it!

~*~

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music - Nietzsche

~*~

Day Two: Yeah, You!

July 28, 2009

Today was another wonderful day at Mighty Girl Art. Early in the morning my mighty boy helped me carry the supplies outside and stocked the picnic basket with water. He even held the door while I hauled the mighty tipi into his big red wagon. One of the mighty mamas came to hang with Satch while I was chillin' with the Mighty Girls.

We began the day with gifts: Garden of Wellness cds by Lori Lite.

I can personally attest to the benefits of guided meditation because this amazing nurse used guided imagery with bio feedback to help me manage the stress of IVF while trying to conceive Satch. I still turn to butter at the sound of her voice.

However, I was trying to find someone who had child specific material and that is how I found Lori Lite. Lori sent her Garden of Wellness CDs as a gift to the girls.

Lori has been featured on CBS News, in USA Today, and Prevention Magazine. Her mission is to "empower children to be active participants in creating their own calm, peaceful, heart driven lives". She utilizes story telling, guided imagery and meditation as tools to help children manage anxiety, and stress while promoting self-esteem.

After the gifts were bestowed we went to work on our journals again, adding collage elements.




















































While our journals were drying in the sun, we ate our snacks. One of the mighty moms brought over some delicious sliced watermelon. We painted a few rocks and then the Mighty Girls painted themselves!

















I asked the girls if they liked the name of the camp and the reply was an immediate exuberant, YESSSS! I asked them what mighty means to them and they replied, "strong, confident, powerful". So, I thought I would give the girls the text prompt, "I feel mighty when I_____", and let them build a page around that prompt. Soon after, messages began to appear on the drop cloth.

















The girls have taken ownership of the camp and this thrills me to my core. It's officially THEIR camp! They arrived early to help us set up, take down the tipi and haul the wagon full of supplies back to my nest.

And there was this new message on the drop cloth...














To be continued...

~*~

You're beautiful like a flower
More valuable than a diamond
You are powerful like a fire
You can heal the world with your mind
There is nothing in the world that you cannot do
When you believe in you, who are beautiful
yeah, you, who are brilliant
yeah, you, who are powerful
yeah, you, who are resilient
- India Arie

~*~

Day One: Sunlight & Singing

July 27, 2009

Sunlight & singing welcome your coming...

What an exciting start! Here's a glimpse at day one in the Mighty Tipi:

After the introductions, we began our opening ceremony - a bestowing of gifts! Rather than the traditional art retreat goodie bag, I decided to present the girls with a special gift each morning that was made by a Mighty Woman. We begin our first day together with a gift created by the talented Pixie Campbell, whom I have the honor to call friend. Pixie is a Native American Indian Medicine Woman, proud mama, and gifted artist. She is strong, yet gentle - playful, yet centered. She made the girls medicine bags of sacred plants to be placed under their pillows at night.

















Pixie's message to the Mighty Girls:

Made with LOVE for the creative process, LOVE for the feminine spirit and for those who carry the medicine that heals the world.

• Red: for maidens and sacredness
• Mugwort: health, hope, protection, dreams
• Comfrey: regeneration, wound healing
• Lavende: calms, soothes, balances
• Juniper berries: purifies for safe, sacred space

After the gifts were presented, we began the ceremonial "I See You" exercise. I asked the Mighty Girls to write their names on a manila shipping tag. The tags were placed in my hat and shuffled. I asked the girls to pick a tag from the hat and hide it from view. I then asked the girls to secretly observe their chosen Mighty Girl all week and get to know her without being obvious, then make a mental list of all the qualities that she admires. The tag is to be kept at home hidden and the mission will be revealed at the closing ceremony.

Hmmmm a mystery....what fun! You will have to follow along with the Mighty Girls to find out what happens.

In the meantime...let the art making begin!!!!






















We began prepping our art journals. The art journal is the foundation for our week long adventure. If you are unfamiliar with art journals, just google it and you'll find loads of information, inspiration and video tutorials. The Mighty Girls lightly sanded some board books before giving them a coat of gesso...

















and topping them with Liquitex acrylic paints and water soluble oil pastels from Dick Blick.

















While the art journals dried in the sun...we ate our yummy snacks and I introduced the topic for the day: Fitting in vs. belonging.

This is a challenge we have all faced as young girls, yes? I clearly remember feeling like I didn't fit in. There seemed to be distinct groups of kids...the popular, the braniacs, the jocks, the bullies and the nerds. Everyone's worst fear was being a nerd. I didn't feel like there was a place for me. Brené so eloquently wrote about this on her blog, Ordinary Courage. I too clearly remember looking into our enormous, noisy cafeteria hoping to see someone I knew whom I could sit with. Now as an adult, and especially since I became a mom, I think it would take a lot to shake my sense of self, my personal power. Yet, there have been times where I've felt a pang of the adolescent inside me...like occasionally at gatherings wherein a small group of adult friends coagulate, to the exclusion of everyone else and talk and laugh about things of which no one else is privy. When we experience this, we often describe it as, "Oh, it was so high school" and we all know what that means. How can we make it better for this generation of girls? What can we do to help build a foundation of confidence, courage, resilience?

There wasn't much dialog from the girls about the topic so I decided to let it simmer and had the girls pair up with handfuls of body markers from Creativity Inc. to create their own tattoos...

















Once sated and inked, we began creating our last project for the morning...patterned papers that will be used in the days ahead.





































My Mighty boy stopped by and painted with us.





















And I'm not sure which Mighty Girl left this message on the drop cloth, but I love you too...
















There will be more fun tomorrow...I promise!

~*~

"Fitting in is becoming who you think you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging is being your authentic self and knowing that no matter what happens, you belong to you."
- Brené Brown

~*~

Letters from Camp: A Mighty Team

July 24, 2009

A big, warm, hello from Mighty Girl Art. I'm looking forward to making mighty art with you inside our mighty tipi. During our 5 day adventure, we'll be sharing our gifts, sharing our stories, sharing ourselves, inspiring each other and making some really cool stuff. We'll get messy, we'll get silly, and maybe even dance for joy. It will be a wondrous journey. In the meantime, I'm very excited to announce that I have found our Mighty Intern...
















It is my honor to introduce you to Jessica...

Jessica is a recent graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and is spending the majority of her summer catching up on four years of missed sleep and leisure reading before she packs up and heads down to the Appalachian Mountains for college. As a vegetarian and a naturalist she is looking forward to a more pristine environment in which to grow both spiritually and academically. Southern by birth - born in Atlanta, Georgia - Jessica appreciates the cultural diversity offered in our NOVA area, is fluent in German , and is learning both Arabic and Farsi. She is a skilled musician who plays the cello and guitar and has recently started learning to play the Banjo in preparation for her college's Blue Grass band. Not without an artistic side, Jessica has won awards in creative writing, has a publishing contract offer on a book, and names the camera lens and written words as her media of choice. When opportunity presents she does find it difficult to resist working with her hands to make whatever she may fancy, including a nearly life-sized, purple, pink, and chrome “Terrordactyl.”

"The opportunity to join Wendy with the Mighty Girl Camp gives me a chance to help another group of budding young women realize their potential and build their strength both from within and with each other." - Jessica

Wondrous Journeys Still To Be Ours...

May 13, 2009

The Summer 2009 Launch of Mighty Girl is sold out!

Stay tuned for photos and notes from the Mighty Tipi in July!

I would like to thank the Mighty Sponsors listed in the sidebar, whose generous support has enabled me to do mighty things ~ Wendy














Sunlight and singing welcome your coming...

About Mighty Girl Art™

The things you know before you hear them;

these are you and the reason you are in the world

- William Stafford

~*~

In ancient times women gathered and elders shared their wisdom, skills and craft with younger generations. When women gather, they are given an opportunity to discover who they are and who they can become. In today’s world, girls are influenced by the media and a culture that sends harmful and devaluing messages. If we create more meaningful practices and opportunities to gather, we can enrich our lives with creativity, intuition, and wisdom.

​Wendy Cook is a visual artist whose disciplines include painting, photography, book arts, assemblage, and jewelry.  She has been exhibiting her art since 1986.  She has been published in the US, Canada and the UK.  Her work has been sold at charity events such as the "Postcards From the Edge" benefit for Visual AIDS of NYC; Northern Virginia Family Service; and The Fund for Women Artists. 

Wendy is the founder and facilitator of Mighty Girl Art™.  Formerly a NYC native, she now resides in Northern Virginia.