Becoming a Teacher of Intentional Creativity®
In 2019, the pandemic brought a turning point in my life. This first blog post is about how my creative life began to bloom and what’s unfolding now. I hope you’ll follow along as I continue to share my journey through art.
I used to be an acupuncturist in Marin County, California. I grew my business from a simple pop-up clinic in the back of a Pilates studio into a multi-practitioner clinic and wellness center.
Wow. I did that.
And as much as I loved serving my community with Chinese Medicine—hosting talks, facilitating women’s groups and workshops—there was still something missing.
I think our souls show us the way through longings like that.
It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with what we’re doing—it just means there’s more our souls want to experience in this life. At least, that’s how it works for me. I’ve lived enough lives to know (I used to be a scuba diving guide, a nomadic pet sitter… and many other things!).
When the pandemic hit and I had to close the clinic so we could all “shelter in place,” I heard a loud, clear voice inside me. It said:
“You are never coming back.”
And I didn’t.
I went home and painted. I listened to music. I danced. I inhaled the luscious scent of the roses growing in my yard. And I painted some more.
During that time, I got to release—temporarily, or so I thought—the weight of so much responsibility: patients, employees, inventory, payroll, taxes. I had been so “on” all the time, I didn’t even realize how much of myself I had lost touch with.
And I turned my attention inward. Back to myself.
That led me on another great adventure. Not my first, and certainly not my last.
But let’s back up.
Around 2017, I met a woman at a retreat who showed me a painting she’d made. It reminded me of the art I had always loved by Shiloh Sophia. As it turned out, she had studied with Shiloh—and told me her studio was right near where I lived at the time.
So I went home and signed up for a Muse Day workshop. Something about the process mystified me, in the best way. I never stopped painting.
To this day, I continue to follow that thread—seeking parts of myself that want to live, to be integrated, to come alive—through painting these stylized feminine faces that somehow feel like pieces of my soul, looking back at me.
Years and many canvases later, I was sitting around wondering what was next in life when I received an email from Shiloh.
She was offering her teacher training—Color of Woman—one last time.
I had always wanted to do it.
And I knew I would.
So here I am, months later, and the program has begun.
I’m officially a teacher-in-training of Intentional Creativity®.
Wahoo!
