IVY NEWPORT

Studioworks

Journal
a letter from ivy

Dear creative friends,

Welcome to Issue #6 of the StudioWorks Journal! Well, we set Issue #5 on fire with our passion and it was wonderful working with that energy. For this latest Studioworks Journal, I’m being guided to share about a core element on an artist’s path – Intuition.

As divine beings, we are equipped with the ability to connect to our inner knowing, an inner wisdom that can guide us towards more love, connection, joy and of course creativity. Let’s explore some ways for us to strengthen our creative intuition and self trust.

xo,

How the Studioworks Journal unfolds…

So you may be wondering, where do I start? To that, I say, wherever feels right to you. Each month we will have a theme, a creative affirmation, a power word, a color palette, sketchbook exercises, art projects, articles, recommended reading and access to wonderful inspiration and resources. I want you to think of this as a delicious new magazine, you know the ones you occasionally splurge on, with soft, velvety pages, beautiful images and inspiring content!

Each issue will invite you to explore your creative practice in whichever way works for you. Experience each issue at your own pace. Take what resonates with you and put the rest aside for another time.

Grab a cup of something lovely and dive in.

JUNE THEME

Tuning in to Your Intuition

Easier said than done right? How do we do that? How do we find this connection? How do we sustain it and use it in our creating? A key part of engaging in our intuition is in learning how to trust ourselves.

It turns out that trusting ourselves is actually more difficult than trusting others. Yes, studies show that as humans we are more likely to trust the authority and expertise of another than pay attention to our own inner wisdom and guidance system. Why do you think con artists are so successful? Why do some many listen only to their doctors and not their bodies?

Our society reveers experts, guru’s and leaders. If you have more letters behind your name than me, than how can I possibly “know” more than you? All our lives we are fed rules, guidelines and information from people of “authority” whether it is our religious organization, our parents, our teachers or our government. We are a society that looks outward for answers instead of inward. So it’s no wonder why SO many of us have trouble trusting ourselves.

As artists, each time we engage in creating we are actually connecting with our intuition and trust centers. We have to make many instantaneous decisions – What color to use next? Where do I take this line? How much paint should I use? Does that nose look right? We are in a continual conversation with self as we create, which is one of the reasons art making can be so incredibly powerful and healing. Especially when we enter flow and the “conversation” with self becomes fluid and almost undetectable.

However, what happens when we don’t trust the answers we get? What happens when we have no faith in our own intuition?

“Use red. No…what if thats not right? What if red ruins it? Maybe blue. No…you used blue last time…you didn’t like it. Ok. Yellow? Maybe? Oh I don’t know!! You are really stupid you know that? Do you even know what you are doing? Why can’t you make up your mind? You know what…just give up. Let’s go watch TV.”

Um..yeah. That’s right. When we don’t trust our intuition and our creative guidance, we usually end up spinning, getting really frustrated and walking away. Our inner critic overreacts, gets really scared and leads us away from our creative endeavor. Checking out is much safer – i.e. binge watching TV.

Learning to trust oneself is a practice. It takes gentle perseverance, patience and a willingness to be open. A willingness to love yourself. To accept yourself. To embrace yourself even when your expectations are not met.

Learning to trust means leaning into the faith that you have your own inner wisdom, your own guidance system that is divine, whole and available to you always. It means being willing to seek within and not without. It means stop asking for others opinions all the time. It means learning to feel your body and understanding how it responds when you take a step in the right direction. It means learning to quiet the critical mind so that you can truly “hear.” It means becoming still, when most of you wants to run. It means not questioning your creative drive and instincts. It means coming back to your heart and climbing out of your mind.

Once we begin to truly connect and trust our intuition we enter into flow. We surrender to the unknown and have faith that we are being led.

Tuning in to Your Intuition

by : Ivy Newport

“Practice listening to your intuition, your inner voice; ask questions; be curious; see what you see; hear what you hear; and then act upon what you know to be true. These intuitive powers were given to your soul at birth.”

– Clarissa Pinkola Estés

WORD OF THE MONTH

Intuition

 

The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.

As always, I like to examine the history and the root of our word.

The first use of the word intuition was found in a text at the end of the 15th century. Until the 17th century, intuition meant “mentally looking at”; “the act of regarding, examining, or inspecting

In the 17th century scholastic philosophers started to use the word in its modern meaning, as in the following context: “the spiritual perception or immediate knowledge, ascribed to angelic and spiritual beings, with whom vision and knowledge are identical.

The root of Intuition is the Latin verb tuitus meaning primarily “to look at“, but often “to watch over or protect” and was primarily used in a theological sense. Therefore, intuition is an inward directed gaze that has connotations of guidance and protection.

This is certainly in alignment with our more modern use of the word. It is hard to disregard the power of our “gut instinct” for it rarely leads you astray.

For our purposes as artists, creative intuition is the ability to call upon on inner guidance and wisdom while in the act of creating.

“Intuition is a sense of knowing how to act spontaneously, without needing to know why.”
– Sylvia Clare
Word of the Month : Intuition

by : Ivy Newport

WRITING PROMPT

Communing with your Intuition

To tap into and connect with our Intuition we have to first acknowledge that we indeed have this ability. As women, I believe we have a natural, fierce and powerful instinctual and intuitive nature. Throughout history, the wise woman, medicine woman or priestess, has been sought out for wisdom, guidance and support.

Feminine energy in its essential form has an incredible maternal, universal and holistic power. Mother energy is inherent in us all, regardless of whether we have our own children, regardless of our age or our experiences. Mother energy is intuitive. It is primal. It is instinctual. We lose our connection to this aspect of ourselves because we exist in a very noisy, very conflicted, very disruptive world. We forget how connected we are to each other, to nature, to the entirety of all energy. We feel disconnected. We feel different. We feel alone.

If we look within, get still and truly look within, we know, we deeply know that all of that is not true. Our intuition, our heart center, tells another story. It is one of pure connection. Pure love. Pure oneness.

Accessing our creative intuition doesn’t involve magic, it doesn’t mean you have to be someone with special powers. It involves slowing down long enough and being open enough to listen. Writing is one of the VERY best ways to do this.

In our reading of the month, “Writing down your Soul”, Janet Conner explains it beautifully – “Writing focuses your attention so clearly on the wisdom within that you cannot help but feel guided and loved.”

So let’s get still, drop the illusion and dip into our Intuition. Take at least 10 minutes of meditation before you begin to write. Set an intention that you are going to be open to this writing session and that you welcome all loving wisdom.

Let’s begin with asking some questions and have faith that you have the answers. Take deep breaths after you ask, then wait for the urge to write the answer. Don’t question your answers.

“Intuition is the whisper of the soul.

– Jiddu Krishnamurti
On your page, write the following questions…

  • When was there a time when my intuition led me to the right decision? How did that feel? Be descriptive.

  • When was there a time I ignored my intuition and I ended up in a negative situation? Be descriptive.

  • How does my body feel when I am getting information from my intuition?

  • How can I more deeply connect with my creative intuition?

  • What kind of activities allow me to hear my inner voice? (This could be cooking, walking, drawing, meditation, working in your garden or something very unique to you.)

  • What inner truths or messages do I hear from within that I am hesitant to accept or embrace? What kind of resistance am I feeling and why?

Some of these questions may feel challenging. Don’t feel that you have to do them all at once. Maybe do one each morning. Be gentle with yourself and know that you are SO loved. Connecting with your intuition and tuning into our inner voice is a beautiful act of self love and self worth. It takes courage but the payoff is more peace, more love and more joy. You are worthy of all these things.

Writing Prompt

by : Ivy Newport

Monthly Affirmation

Each month we will have a positive affirmation. I recommend you print out this affirmation and put it in your sketchbook or somewhere in your studio. Recite the affirmation out loud each time you show up to create. Saying words aloud is powerful and can begin to re-write some of our own limiting beliefs or calm our fears. Try it now…

Color Palette of the Month

This month, I am being drawn to beautiful spiritually aligned colors, pale lavender, deep purple, indigo, turquoise and deep teal. These colors also represent the 4 chakras we are working with to connect with our intuition – The Heart Chakra (soft green or teal), Throat Chakra (Blues) , Third Eye Chakra (Indigo), The Crown Chakra (Violet) – Our heart, our voice, our true vision and our connection to the Divine.

I might have to add a touch of pale pink too and maybe some gold! Ha! I think I will be keeping my palette quite soft but feel free to explore all levels of saturation within these colors!

*Colors I used – Arteza acrylic paints – Greens – Viridian, Phthalo, Yellow Green, Emerald // Blues – Cerulean, Cobalt, Ultramarine, Prussian // Purples – Mauve Pale, Violet // Pinks – Pink, Magenta, Rose // Gold – Golden Acrylic Gold Light Fine // I mixed Golden Titanium white into these mixtures to get paler hues. Experiment with mixing to find your favorite greens, blues, purples and pinks.

INTUITIVE GUIDE PROMPT:
  • Try and meditate each day, if only for 10 minutes. It doesn’t need to be complicated. Just sit, be still and be open. Be filled with gratitude and listen. Sit in your garden, on your bed or in a chair in your kitchen or even in your car. Taking time to listen to our inner voice is key for tuning into our creative intuition.

AN ARTIST’S VOICE

Interview with Katrina Koltes

I’ve asked my dear friend and fellow artist, Katrina Koltes to share some thoughts about intuition and her creative practice…

How do you best connect with your creative intuition?

This is a good question. There are a few ways that help my creative intuition come out to play. My muse is actually quite shy and introverted, and when there’s a lot of confusion and noise we have a really hard time connecting.

So when everything gets too busy and loud, I feel off balance and my body starts giving me signs that I need some time alone. I go for a walk in nature, or sit in a quiet place, usually a park, back against a tree, and just close my eyes. I take off my shoes so I can connect with the Earth, take deep breaths and listen to the sounds of nature, the birds, the breeze. Letting the stillness and quiet push out all the noise in my mind. Only then will my creative intuition come alive.

For many years, I didn’t realize that I needed to quiet my rational mind in order to let my creative voice speak. I plowed on day after day, hoping for creative intuition to drop in my lap.

When it didn’t come, I realized I needed to listen to my body more and the signs it gave me. Why was I feeling so damn stressed? Why was I suffering from panic attacks?
I ignored the signs and went on till I dropped (literally!) I think my body just shut down one day. I lay in the hospital bed thinking how the hell did I end up here? What have I been doing wrong?

And in those long boring weeks and hours while I lay there alone it finally hit me. I wasn’t getting quiet enough so that my creative intuition could speak. It’s really that simple. From then on I started listening, I started taking quiet time out so that I could let it show up, and then I began understanding it better. It’s like a best friend, a lifetime companion, we need to get to know it’s cycles, understand it’s moods and how it works, and quietly listen…only then can we connect fully and completely with our creative intuition.

What are some signs that you feel in your body when you are aligned with your intuition?

I feel both excitement and complete wholeness, like I’m where I need to be, right there and then. Everything just clicks in place.

It isn’t always like that when I start on a painting. I may have an idea or image in my head, but when I start painting and just show up, get quiet and center in, everything else falls away and nothing else matters but that moment. I feel like I am both channeling something bigger and greater than myself, a message from the universe, but also a deep connection with my inner muse and bone wisdom – a deep Earth wisdom passed on from our ancestors.

Somehow, I am both creating and receiving, giving and taking. Creating a new inspiration, whether it be a painting or a class, is almost like birthing, it can be incredibly exhausting, even physically. I put everything into it, heart and mind, body and soul. A real force of nature.

In the end, I feel like I’ve given all I can possibly give, like an empty well. That is when I know I need to take a break to gain back my energy, to fill my well again and make space for a new life force. A new inspiration.

Most of the time I even forget to eat and drink when I’m creating, or set an alarm to go pick up the kids for school, lol! My hubby & 8 year old always joke about it that during those intense creative cycles they know their mom is “off in another world”, and they know they better not tell me anything important because I will never remember it the next day, lol!

    When you have trouble hearing your inner voice, what are some ways you get back into alignment?

    When I am having trouble it’s usually because I’m not taking the needed alone-time. Time to get quiet and center back in. This could be for many reasons: Class deadlines, general home-life stress, house work, looking after small kids, so many things to do and not enough time to do it, and so on…

    I admit, I’m not the type of artist who does well when I’m in a bad mood, When I paint in a crappy mood, I’ll end up painting something even more crappy. That’s just how I am.

    I have to feel an inner sense of calm to create something that comes from the soul. I love to create beauty and nature, because that is what makes me feel whole.

    I guess having grown up doing relief work in third-world countries, I saw so much suffering, disaster and pain that I want to show the world that there is beauty in life, there isn’t just pain and suffering. We have to only we look in the right places. If only we can bring more beauty, peace and harmony into this world through our art. Creating can be SO healing, it healed me from my past trauma, I’ve seen it heal others, and I believe it can change the world.

    • So when I need to get back in alignment with my creativity and inner voice a few things I try are:
    • A nice looong walk in the nature (possibly barefoot!)
    • Some quiet meditation alone (if possible)
    • I do an oracle card reading for myself (I light a candle and surround myself with crystals)
    • I quietly sketch in my sketchbook with just a graphite pencil and eraser (so relaxing!)
    • Some gentle yoga (breathe!)
    • Sleep! (I don’t get much of it, but many times my creativity visits me in my dreams)
    • Spend some quality time with my kids and family (a child’s imagination can be refreshing!)
    • I read an inspirational art book from my favourite artists (eg: Brian Froud, Stephanie Law,

      Susan Boulet, Ali Cavanaugh, Jean Hains)

    • I do dome gardening or care for my plants (nothing more wonderful than digging my hands in the Earth, lol!)
    • Watch some art videos from artists that inspire me
      Browse IG or my pinterest inspirational boards (Ivy has some amazing inspiration boards too!)

    When you work with your creative intuition, do you see it reflected in your art? How?

    Yes! I really do! When I connect with my creative intuition everything just flows. I can recreate my dreams, visions and what’s in my heart. Since I am deeply connected with nature and its spirits, I feel these are channeled into my art when I am aligned with my creativity. Everything I wish to express and explore – beauty, peace, healing, Mother Earth, my Animal guides, my dreams, it transmits into my art and expresses my inner soul.

    For example, When I am working closely with nature – plants, flowers, fairies and nature spirits show up in my art. The same when I am working with my animal guides, Angels or with Mother Nature.

    Someone once asked me why I paint mostly “fantasy art”. To me, it’s not just fantasy, but a real and tangible thing I wish to make visible through my art. The things we see clearly when we are children, but then often forget and cast aside as silly as we grow into adulthood.

    For many years, I did the same thing. I stopped listening, I stopped really seeing, I stopped believing. And when we do that they stop showing up. They stop trusting. Now that I have regained this connection, I want to help others see it and discover it too. So many times I have heard someone say of my paintings “I saw this exact vision in my dreams” or “I’ve seen this before, somehow, somewhere…” it’s there, in each of us, around us, we just need to tune in and listen. Really look and trust what we see in our mind’s eye, in our hearts, in our inner most knowing.

    Since I was little, I have always been very sensitive to the world around us, and not only the visible and tangible, but the one that’s just beyond our grasp. The world in-between that we sometimes only see in our dreams but know exist.

    I want to paint those worlds, and bring them to life. I wish to bring back this awareness and magic though my art, and my creative intuition is the key. I want to bring back that spark of recognition, of awareness and magic, that others may have lost, just like I had.

    So when I work with my creative intuition I like to ask myself these key questions:

    • What does my soul feel it needs to express?
    • What do I feel the world needs to see right now?
    • What can best express my own personality, and my inner voice?
    • What is making me feel grounded and whole right now? How can I best paint and express that?

    I totally believe that when you take time to regularly ask yourself these questions, you can’t go wrong. Forget about what others are creating, forget about what you think people want to see.

    What’s important is what you want to see. What you feel deep inside. Whether that be the beauty of nature, expressive abstract or moody portraits or happy, fun paintings. It can even be all of these, depending on what you feel called to express that day.

    What’s important is what you feel when you get quiet and listen to that still, small voice called intuition. When you stop to listen, and shut out all the noise, you really can’t go wrong.

    To learn more about Katrina and follow her beautiful creative journey, you can visit her inside our CREATIVE TRIBE

    MASTER ARTIST GUIDE

    Marc Chagall

    Ahh…the master of dreams, symbols and intuitive storytelling. Chagall’s paintings are an invitation into his soul, his night vision, his magic, myth and mystery. The boundaries of reality blur and his canvases become a stage of mystical characters, ancient dances, primal urges, pain, pleasure, longing, love, sadness. The human story. Animals are people. People are animals.

    His paintings are layered symbolic explosions of expression. His style speaks of the inner child, the instinctual pull towards color and light and while some of his work appears strange to our logical minds, an inner wisdom can understand and is drawn to the mystical qualities of his art. I had to choose Chagall as our guide this month – clearly this artist connected with his intuition, dream world and subconscious. He dared to reveal the many facets of his soul through his work. Brave work indeed.

    Chagall’s Symbols

    Looking through Chagall’s work you will see many repeated symbols. Many speculate as to their meaning…

    • Cow: Sustainer of life.
    • Goat: The goat is a Jewish symbol for the day of atonement.
      Tree: another life symbol.
    • Rooster: At times fertility, often painted together with lovers.
      Red Rooster: Forgiveness & atonement.
    • Breasts: eroticism and fertility of life (It was said Chagall loved and respected women.)
    • Fiddler: Celebration and mourning. In Chagall’s village, the fiddler made music at cross-points of life (birth, wedding, death). Its wider Russian significance is that of the failed revolution of 1905. The leader of this revolution was a Jewish fiddler named Sormus, who led workers through the streets to fight for their rights. Chagall saw himself in the fiddler, a solitary, isolated individual.
    • Herring (often also painted as a flying fish): commemorates Chagall’s father working in a fish factory.
    • Pendulum Clock: time, and modest life
    • Candlestick: Some say it’s purely a Jewish religious symbol – two candles symbolize the Shabbat or the Menorah, and therefore the life of pious Jews.
    • Windows: Chagall’s Love of Freedom, and Paris through the window.
    • Houses of Vitebsk (his birthplace): feelings for his homeland.
    • Scenes of the Circus: Harmony of Man and Animal
    • Crucifixion of Jesus: an unusual subject for a Jewish painter, and likely a response to the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany in the late 1930s.
    • Horses: freedom, strength and sometimes sexuality
    • The Eiffel Tower: Up in the sky, freedom.
    If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.

    – Marc Chagall
    pinterest board

    This month truly enjoy the playful work of Chagall! Try to pick a few to study and recreate them in your sketchbook!

    You can find many of his pieces on our Pinterest Board:

    recommended books

    Books on Chagall worth taking a look

    More info on Chagall

    Click the links below to learn more about his biography, timeline and view the full catalogue of his work. 

    THE JUNE LUNAR CYCLE

    with Sarah Cornforth

    NEW MOON GEMINI:

    Monday 3rd June BST 11:01, PDT 03:01, MST 03:01, EST 05:01, AWST 18:01, AEST 20:01, NZST 22:01

     

    FULL MOON IN SAGITTARIUS:

    Monday 17th June BST 09:30, PDT 01:30, MST 01:30, EST 03:30, AWST 16:30, AEST18:30, NZST 20:30

    To learn more about Sarah and follow her creative journey, visit her inside our CREATIVE TRIBE

    Become a Dream Catcher

    Your creative intuition speaks in symbols, signs, imagery and feelings. We only need to close our eyes at night and enter our dreams to know this. We ALL dream, even if you are someone who says they never remember their dreams.

    In fact, scientifically, the average person has three to five dreams per night, although some may have up to 7. However, it is common to forget the majority of these dreams.

    Many theories and beliefs are wrapped up into why we dream. Some believe it is our brain’s way of categorizing information, discarding some parts and storing others.

    Some believe that our dreams are our unconscious communicating with us via a mysterious and symbolic language. Whatever you believe, we cannot deny that there are times in our life when dreams have indeed brought us messages or insight that we did not receive in our waking life.

    If we can agree that our dreams are a vehicle for our intuition to connect with us, then we can conclude that this dream language and the messages therein are useful, vital and important to gaining deeper wisdom of self.

    Here is some wonderful information from clinical psychotherapist, Jeffrey Sumber – he explains why we dream, why analysis is important and how to start interpreting your dreams.

    Why We Dream

    “Dreaming is non-essential when it comes to survival as a body but is essential with regard to our development and evolution as metaphysical beings,” according to Sumber, who studied global dream mythology at Harvard University and Jungian dream interpretation at the Jung Institute in Zurich.

    Dreaming is the communication between our conscious mind and our unconscious mind, helping people create wholeness, he says. “Dreams are the bridge that allows movement back and forth between what we think we know and what we really know.”

    Dreams let us play out painful or puzzling emotions or experiences in a safe place. “Dreams also allow us to process information or events that may be painful or confusing in an environment that is at once emotionally real but physically unreal.”

    “Dream analysis is a key component in the process of becoming whole as a person,” Sumber explains. Dreams reveal a person’s “deepest desires and deepest wounds.” So analyzing your dreams helps you gain a deeper understanding of yourself.

    (source, psychcentral.com)

    “Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.”
    – unknown
    Become a Dream Catcher

    by : Ivy Newport

    Capturing Dreams

    So how can we capture, decode and remember MORE of our dreams?

    1. Set an intention

    Before going to sleep, set the intention that you wish to gather more information and recollect more imagery from your dreamtime. Pray about this or ask for guidance before you close your eyes. Be open to receiving information through your dreams.

    2. Be prepared

    Set a journal or notepad next to your bed with a pen or pencil at the ready. If you awake during the night or in the morning, before rising, jot down anything you can recall. It may not make sense and will most likely not be linear. Remember our unconscious communicates this way. Our intuition is not based in the analytical mind. Write down or draw any images, colors, words, numbers, places, feelings you saw in your dreams. Often it will feel like holding sand in your hands, the tiny particles slipping between your fingertips as you try to gather it together. That’s ok. That is normal. That is the rational mind coming in and trying to make sense of things as the unconscious mind slips back into the deep waters of your soul. Just try and recall everything you can. You will actually get better at this with practice.

    3. Reflect upon what you have gathered

    Look over what you have written down and/or sketched. What elements seem familiar? Have you had this dream before or does one particular symbol show up in other dreams? What emotions come up when you look at the things you have recorded. Do some elements have a stronger charge for you? Jot down anything that comes up upon this reflection.

    4. Ask for guidance – your inner wisdom is waiting for you to ask so it can answer.

    • Write down your questions and trust the answers to arise.
    • You can ask –
      – “Why do I keep having this dream?”
      – “What am I supposed to learn from this message?”
      – “What does this symbol represent for me?”

    5. Avoid Dream Dictionaries

    While they are fun and can explain many universal symbols which could be a part of your dream language, they also may NOT. Your dreams are personal and wholly unique to you, therefore the symbols you witness are created by you and your unconscious. Your symbology is yours alone. A snake in a dream to you may mean one thing based on your life experiences, past and present, while a snake dream to another may represent something else entirely. Look for guidance, meaning and expertise within yourself.

    I hope that through a daily practice of “dream catching” that you can begin to further your understanding of self and feel a deeper connection to your creative, powerful and loving intuition.

    “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know who you truly want to become.

    – Steve Jobs
    Creative Intuitive Body Practice

    Another way to align with your creative Intuition is to begin to pay more attention to your body when you go to create. Learning to trust our intuition means getting in touch with yourself. Asking yourself questions and really listening and FEELING into your body for the answers.

    While in the act of creating, get still for a minute. Pick up a tool or choose a color, let’s say it’s red.

    When you choose red, when you pick up the tube of paint or red pencil ask yourself some questions.

    1. What does that choice feel like in your body? Always check in with the body first.
    2. What does your heart center feel like? Do you sense an expansiveness, or a warmth?
    3. Do you feel yourself physically lean forward, your hands grabbing instinctually and with eagerness?

    These are signs you are being driven by your intuition. You might notice the mind is relatively quiet.

    OR

    1. When you choose red does your body feel hesitant or unresponsive? Apprehensive?
    2. Do you weakley grasp the brush?
    3. Is your mind swimming with nervous questions?
    4. Is the inner critic suddenly aware and yammering on?

    These are signs you have made the decision with little input from your intuition.

    Hesitation can be a creative killer. Move quickly and with conviction, even if you have to go back and edit. I often say that I paint fast to stay ahead of my inner critic and in many ways that is the absolute truth. If I can stay in a state where I am getting answers from my body INSTEAD of my mind I can stay in flow and in connected to my intuition.

    I would rather do ten wild intuition based paintings that may need clean up or revision than one beautiful but hesitant painting. A painting done by an artist who is lacking self trust can be felt by the viewer. A nervous or unsure brush stroke will always be unfavorably noticed while a confident, intuitive mark is often exciting and beautiful – even when it is not logically understood.

    We will do more work with this throughout this month’s prompts and sketchbook work. I hope that together we can improve our own self trust and move through our work with more connection to our inner wisdom and intuition.

    TOP 5 TIPS for staying in your body when creating intuitive art –

    1. Notice how your body feels when you make choices.
    2. Work relatively quickly if you can, don’t overthink especially in the beginning stages of a creation. Editing and analyzing comes later on.
    3. Play music and move your body, this clears energy and keeps you from becoming stagnant and jumping back into the analytical mind.
    4. Keep a touchstone in your pocket. When you feel yourself over thinking or the inner critic begins to prattle on, rub the stone and breath. Bring your awareness back to your breath and your heart.
    5. Light a fragrant candle, burn incense or take little whiffs of an essential oil like mandarin or lavender. Smell brings us back to our bodily senses.
    Creative Intuitive Body Practice

    by : Ivy Newport

    Sketchbook Explorations
    ” A woman knows by intuition or instinct, what is best for herself. “
    Marilyn Monroe

    Before we begin our explorations, I wanted to provide a cohesive theme for us to focus on. This will help unify our explorations and provides us with a simple place to start when approaching a VERY white and VERY blank sketchbook.

    Our sketchbook theme this month is – Symbols and Dreams. As mentioned, our intuition speaks a different language than our rational mind. Exploring the beautiful and mysterious world of our inner wisdom is an invitation to connect with the power of symbol and dream like imagery. Dipping our toe into surrealism and fantasy. Be free in your sketchbooks this month to express the strange, unique and mystical images and symbols that you connect with. Need inspiration, look to our Master Artist of the month – Chagall.

    Please remember, our explorations in our sketchbook are really just access points to get you into the flow. However, they can also be seeds for new ideas, concepts and themes in your art. Some of them will be more about writing and others more about drawing and painting. You will see below three prompts and exercises explained and photographed from my own sketchbook. You are welcome to expand upon, invent and experiment with your own concepts too. Use our color palette if you want to. You will see I stay in that theme for my explorations. These may feel silly at first but let your inner artist play.

    EXPLORATION 1

    Song Drawing

    Play a song and draw or paint only until the song is over. Once it stops, so do you. Look at what came from working this way. Do it again! Try different kinds of music. Don’t judge your work, just be open to what might appear on the page. Look for symbols or recurring images. 

    I drew this simple sketch in about 3 mins and while it may be rough, it could be the seed for my next painting. Because I worked quickly, I worked with my intuition and emotion rather than my logical mind.

    EXPLORATION 2

    My Own Symbology

    Consider symbols you are drawn to or you enjoy looking at. Draw these and write down what they mean to you, how do you connect with them. These could be religious, spiritual or ancient symbols or maybe they are shapes you enjoy but represent something deeper to you. Create a page dedicated to your own symbolic language. If your work is more about color, think about the colors you use and are drawn too, what do they represent to you? Be descriptive.

    These are all recurring symbols in my work. It was fun to sit down and really explore them more deeply.

    EXPLORATION 3

    Dream Catcher

    Create a page dedicated to a dream catcher, you can draw, collage or paint your dream catcher. Infuse it with your own symbols, colors and language. While creating this, visualize the kinds of things you wish to be caught in it – love, peace, prosperity, health. What do you want to attract and bring into your life? You can add words if you want or keep the page more symbolic.

    For my process, I created a colorful page using our color palette, then I drew out my design and then painted white around it. This is called subtractive painting and is VERY fun! Highly recommend trying it!

    Sketchbook Explorations

    by : Ivy Newport

    Intuitive Guide Prompt:

    Listen to music and allow your paintbrush to move freely over the page, even close your eyes. Just allow the music to guide you. Did you know that when you listen to music parts of your limbic system (a complex system in the brain) is activated and brings about emotional response like chills, joy, sadness, excitement or pleasure while the amygdala part of the limbic system (the part connected to fear) is actually inhibited!! Pretty cool right?? So…listening to music can help you connect to your intuition and emotions while freeing yourself from fear – so you can engage in creating more fully.

    JUNE ART PROJECT

    The Water Faery

    This month, I’m excited to bring you a beautiful lesson from a member of our Creative Tribe of teachers – Katrina Koltes. Many of you have enjoyed her class – “Into the Myst” on but if you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it!

    Please enjoy this wonderful creative lesson from Katrina…

    STUDIOWORKS PODCAST

    June: issue six

    You can also listen to this month’s issue of the Studioworks journal. I find I love listening to books, podcasts and music while I draw, paint or go on a long walk. Enjoy.

    Studioworks : issue six

    by : Ivy Newport

    inspiration: curated

    One of my favorite things to do is to curate inspiration. From Pinterest boards to books, resources, playlists and more – I love to share anything that might facilitate learning, expansion, and sparks of curiosity! Being an artist, we naturally crave these things so here are some of this month’s picks from me to you.

    BOOKS TO HELP YOU CONNECT WITH YOUR INTUITION

    INTUITION TED TALKS

    Three Ted Talks to help you explore the power of intuition.

    MUSIC PLAYLIST

    I’ve curated another eclectic list…some faster, some slower, hopefully a good mix to get you connected to your intuitive muse! Enjoy!

    INSTAGRAM MUSES

     Beautiful feeds that focus on symbols, dreams, the moon and getting tuned into your intuition.

    PINTEREST BOARDS

    FAVORITE SUPPLIES THIS MONTH