This Brief Moment: Day 4

"How could anyone believe
that anything in this world
is only what it appears to be?" - Mary Oliver

















As I hauled the tipi over to the grassy knoll, I discovered an egg shell that dropped from a tree above me. I placed it on top of the heap in the wagon and brought it with me to the campsite where I placed it into a nest that I use as a centerpiece for our circle. The nest was given to me some years ago by my friend Pixie.

After we raised The House of Belonging, we spotted one of the Mighty Girls and her mother in the distance taking the scenic route to the Mighty Girl Campsite.

















Once everyone arrived and was in circle, I presented the daily gift...
















Sent to the girls by the generous people at Chronicle Books...a mother/daughter journal entitled, "Just Between Us"

*Note the little bird on the cover....hmmmm








Before continuing the work on our art journals, I offered the girls a creativity prompt. Same story from yesterday, but this time I ended with a new question..

You see a bird flying above the tipi. She calls to you saying, "I am you and I have traveled a long distance. Come with me, I have something to show you."

What did she show you?

I asked the girls to consider these words while they embellished their journals. They got right to work adding fibers, and found objects to the journals. There were cicada wings, and wild flowers and all sorts of wonders being incorporated into their work. I showed the girls how to use a hand drill and some of them began drilling holes into the twigs that they found and affixed them to the spines of their journals with fibers.

















For our second project of the morning, I passed around some photos of common local birds under which I printed their corresponding animal totem description. I asked the girls to choose the bird that they were most drawn to, and to read about its unique qualities. Then I passed around some paper mache bird forms and asked the girls to look carefully at the photos and paint their chosen bird totem. On the bottom of the bird they will write one word from the totem reading that really resonates with them.





















































During this project there was a Bluebird flying all around our campsite. I went to the tree where it rested and found a nearly neon Bluebird feather and gave it to one of the girls. The Bluebird seemed to linger around the campsite and it dawned on me that this was our totem animal for the day...and right on cue! One of the girls left the tipi to observe it more closely as it was the bird she chose.

"Bluebird: This is symbolic of a passage, a time of movement into another level of being. Specifically, it is connected to the transformation of a girl into a woman...and a new confidence and happiness in coming into your own." - Ted Andrews (Animal Speak)

While the birds dried in the sun, the girls sewed their prayer flags onto ribbon. They will hang their prayer flags in the tipi tomorrow for our last day...

















We will finish up any detailing on our projects, and mostly celebrate. There will be pizza and champagne grapes and our beautiful closing ceremony and their mamas will join us.

See you there....

Wisdom walk: Take a short walk with your mother and look for beauty.






















This brief moment
let us take a walk
and see how beautiful
the world is - Cynthia Rylant

Some Days I Feel I Have Wings: Day 3

I am both of the earth and I am of the inexplicable
beauty of heaven
where I fly so easily, so welcome, yes,
and this is why I have been sent, to teach this to your heart. - Mary Oliver






















I didn't get to see our morning totem animal because I was in the studio printing plates for transfer images while Chelsea and Ann raised The House of Belonging. I was a bit off kilter as the night before I had accidentally fallen asleep before I finished all the preparations for the day.

The girls reported seeing all sorts of creatures, one of which was a butterfly. I would like to think that butterfly was our totem for the day since yesterday we made some playful butterfly imagery. And unbeknownst to the girls, we were using butterfly imagery for our art panels later.





"The butterfly reminds us that life is a dance of joy. They teach us that growth and transformation does not have to traumatic; it can occur gently, sweetly, joyfully" - Ted Andrews from Animal Speak - This book was given to me by my friend Pixie Campbell.

Today's gift was provided by the generous and thoughtful people of Hay House Publishing. They sent the girls a "Creative Dream Game" by SARK.

An interesting behind the scenes story regarding this game...apparently the game is no longer being made. However, Jacqui, the magical publicity director at Hay House was searching the warehouse for inspiring gifts for the girls when in her search she happened to find some of the games....the exact number of games needed for camp!

"It was meant to be", she said. I agree.

Today I gave the girls an imagery prompt for their journals inspired by "Woman Who Lives Under the Lake" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes PhD

You see a bird flying high above the tipi, she says, "I am you, and I have traveled a long distance. Come with me, there is something I must show you."

What does her wings look like?

I then showed the girls how to make transfer prints and gave them the images that I had printed in the predawn hours of the morn. They got right to work....
















This is just a small sample of their beautiful work. Their transfer prints are stunning.












































































Our next project was to complete the art panel we started the day before. We used a butterfly shaped dye cutter and punched out butterflies from colorful papers. One butterfly for each year of their life thus far. We wrote empowering words on the wings and glued them to the canvas board that they painted earlier. We added black satin ribbon tied in a bow to hang the art panels. This project was inspired by the butterfly collage posted at Crafty Crow.

Before packing up camp, we finished our prayer flags. We will sew them onto ribbon and the girls can hang them in the tipi tomorrow morning.

Wisdom Walk: Take a short walk with your mom. Look for found objects for your journal...cool twigs, a special rock, flowers, a leaf...something that catches your eye and feels right.


Never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often - Mary Oliver

Mysteries, Yes: Day 2

"Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood...
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds
will never be broken...
Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads." - Mary Oliver (Evidence)

















I got up at 4 this morning to share with you some of the beauty that I witnessed yesterday. I was so exhausted after the clean-up and prep-work that I fell asleep beside my son and never made it down to the studio to upload photos.

Dragonfly was at the grassy knoll to greet us in the morning as we raised The House of Belonging.

(Click on photo to enlarge / and read Dragonfly totem)
















Chelsea surprised the girls with marvelous signage!





















The gift of the day comes from the generous folks at Kiki who sent the girls tote bags and their summer issue!











The day was a whir of activity as we added backgrounds and layers to our journals.

































And began the prep work for another project to be revealed later - art panels.
















And a few moments to kick back...





















And we made talisman necklaces! Talismans date back to antiquity and are believed to bring good luck or protection to the person who wears them.

































There were Art Warriors!
















And there were Art Goddesses...





















There was a brief shower and as promised...a rain dance!
















We took flying portraits to be used as imagery in our art journals...






















And I was blessed to be in their company...
















Wisdom Walk: Take a short walk with your mom and look for birds. Remember the first bird you saw. If you find a feather, take it, say thank you and bring it to camp.

In the Wild Branches: Day 1

Here, we nourish the creative life,
Here, we howl. - Clarissa Pinkola Estes PhD


(Fox reading by my dear friend, Pixie Campbell, click on photo to enlarge)

As Chelsea and I set up the tipi this morning we chatted about the totem animals that greeted us each morning during MGA 2010.

I said, "Lets see who comes to visit today".

No sooner had those words left my mouth, a fox appeared. (Photo above) She sat there and stared at us for quite some time. We knew she was there for us.

Entering the House of Belonging...





















(The gorgeous Gypsy Caravan flags were donated by Art To Go and we're thrilled to have their creative presence in our camp!)
















Anne, our 2011 intern arrived. Soon after, the girls came and I invited them to use the body markers and tattoos until all eight AMAZING girls were there. Then we formed a circle.
We meet in a circle. Why? Because the circle is an ancient symbol for the feminine. The circle is associated with wholeness and protection. It is a sacred ceremonial space where everyone in the circle is equal.

We began the morning with our Belonging Ceremony. I told them that we are here to celebrate our power and that one of the reasons we are mighty is that every single human on this planet arrived here through a woman - we are the gate keepers to earth. I recited a passage from a David Whyte poem...

"You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident...
you were invited from another"

I tied a piece of red Tibetan silk yarn around my wrist and began announcing my maternal lineage...

I am Wendy, invited here by my mother Joyce, invited by her mother Irma, invited by her mother Geneva. I passed the ball of yarn to the girl to the left of me and she did the same and so on until each girl recounted her maternal lineage acknowledging that she too, is invited.

















After our opening ceremony we began the first half of our Validation Ceremony. Each girl wrote her name on a tag then placed it in a hat. The tags were shuffled and each girl drew a tag from the hat then sealed it in an envelope. She is to secretly observe the girl whose tag she chose and make a mental note of all the qualities that she admires. The mystery of this ceremony will be revealed on the last day of camp.

Before we begin creating, I like to give gifts. This morning's gift was Joy Juice mist from Lotus Wei. I am a big fan of Lotus Wei and I am humbled by their generosity.













We got right to work prepping our art journals. The art journal is the foundation of Mighty Girl Art camp. The girls sanded the pages and applied gesso. This took up most of the morning.

















Did I mention the vintage aprons?






















While the journals dried in the sun, we began our second project of the morning - prayer flags. Prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom to all beings. We used Kool-Aid to tie dye the fabric. Once the fabric dries we will use fabric markers to write our messages on them.




































Before we closed our session, I gave the girls some home work. In the evening they will go on a Wisdom Walk with their moms. The mission of today's Wisdom Walk is to look for circles in nature. They will record their findings and incorporate these images when they begin creating background layers for their art journals.

And the Countdown Begins...

Mighty Girl Art August 8 - 12th....

















See you soon,
Wendy

2011 Mighty Intern

Dear Mighty Girls,
It is my great pleasure to introduce our 2011 Mighty Intern...






















My name is Ann Schindler and I am a graduate of South Lakes High School. In my free time, I love practicing Pilates, writing, playing my cello, and exploring the many farmers markets, museums, and festivals around Reston and Washington, D.C. Soon I will be attending Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. I see striking similarities between Mount Holyoke and Mighty Girl, in that they are both small, intimate communities of girls/women. Such communities have really led me to grow both intellectually and creatively. I am very excited to be a part of the Mighty Girl community for Summer 2011.