Stephanie's Studio

One of the most invigorating and strengthening things for a writer is inspiration. I believe inspiration comes from the muses and enjoy actually writing about them in character form as well. They make a cameo in my work-in-progress, "Out of the Blue," a novel. I've had fun researching everything I could about the muses, as they are so essential to my writing practice. Anyway, when you are inspired as a writer, it is hard to feel insecure because you are in your zone--you own your sweet spot, and there words flow. In your sweet spot you are secure. When thinking about blogging this morning, knowing it is the first Wednesday of the month, the designated day of the month that we bloggers involved with the Insecure Writer's Support Group , post, an old soul song with just a hint of gospel, came to mind. I'm leaving you with it this morning, as inspiration for your writing practice today. When the Inspirations lyrics refer to "her" I would envision your wri...

Great is one of those words with all the right stuff, in its old fashioned way, without further adornment. Think of the ruler, Alexander the Great. This dude was a big time mover and shaker in his time, highly regarded for his military tactics still. Alexander the Great found on Ancient History Encyclopedia online I mean, he was tutored by Aristotle for god's sake. Born to King Philip II and Queen Olympia, only after an oracle saw signs of his future greatness and possible relationship to the gods and goddesses. After the death of his father, he whipped the Macedonian Army into shape, crushing enemies who dared step forward, eventually becoming king and ruler of the Corinthian League. He conquered Persia and Egypt, establishing a kingdom that spread from the Mediterranean to the border of India. He is thought of as one of the most brilliant military leaders and one of the world's most powerful rulers. No exclamation point needed with that great. Then too, there...

Magick and great ashe stems from engagement with plants. Over the years I've come to regard them as a reservoir of healing, font of wisdom and source of creativity. Healing with plants is an important facet of holistic health. Herbs are quite capable of gracing the mind, body and spirit with age-old energetic insights that lead to wellness. I've written a good handful, maybe more, of posts about gardening. Gardening as a pastime, a pleasure, a metaphor and a space for cultivating hopes and dreams. Do you remember when I shared the post  Seeding the Snow ? That was in March and I was so relieved that spring was actually going to show its face after a long, hard Chicago winter. Still, winter was unrelenting so it seemed as though you'd have to plant in the snow. The snow didn't want to make an exit. Then there was this post called  Weeding , which focuses around the activity of gardening as a form of mind/body/spirit therapy. When I wrote "Weeding" I was s...

                                         (Sandro Botticelli Reproduction "The Birth of Venus") Sexuality, sensuality, conception, birth, transitions, the hearth and home, beauty, destruction, change, crops, protection, inspiration, harvesting, the sun and moon, water, fire, creating and death. What do they all have in common? There are goddesses intimately connected to these important aspects of our lives. Yesterday I had an inspiration in relation to the goddesses. I decided that every chapter of my new weight loss book will begin with a tribute to a goddess appropriate to carrying out the work of that specific chapter. Each will have her own altar, correspondences and a creative project such as an amulet, that can be made in her honor. Male deity will also play a role in these chapter headings. With several gods and male spirits leading off chapters, though the main em...

Ever wonder what is the true source of your creativity? Do you ever suspect that there are some spiritual underpinnings to your work that have little to do with you? Sometimes I feel as though I am channeling my ancestors when I create. My understanding of this over the years has deepened. Their voices still want to be heard so they come through in both my writing and my art. With ancestral inspiration there are moments of perfect clarity and flow; the art making takes little effort; it is almost automatic in the sense that clairvoyants use the word. I have also witnessed how my body, mind and spirit work as a conduit for spirits of various types to express in a visual format. These entities are most likely water spirits, but might also be fire spirits or earth spirits; conversely at times I am nudged in one direction or another by various Orisha, gods and goddesses. You can often see glimpses of them in the finished work. “In the Pink”, this collage featured today, is one of those pie...