Wild Soul Workshop

A couple of weeks ago I went to a Call of the Wild Soul two day Workshop in London with a focus on Soul Portraits. I had a great time. First of all it was good to meet up with some of the people from the retreat in September as well as getting to know some new faces. 

Erin who was leading the workshop started off by giving us a guided meditation and from there we dived soul first into our art. Amongst the selected material it was suggested we bring was a number of self-portraits. Fortunately I had some of these to hand as I am doing the Now You 52 Course which involves taking lots of selfies.

I made 3 picture of the two days. The first one comprised photographs juxtaposed on a background. I loved the idea of  altering the pictures with gesso or sandpaper, both were new techniques for me.

My second picture is my favourite, I used a combination of drawing, photo and collage paper - when I look at it I feel calm and rested.

Finally my third picture had a seaside theme. I was brought up on the coast and have a great affinity with the sea, it always seems like home. The theme of this picture was the connection of the soul with the body and with the universe in a way that lights up or lives. Again I used altered photographs and if you look closely at the lighthouse you will notice that it is a row of beach huts turned on its side. I also drew the figure by only looking at the model not the paper - turned out better than I expected!

Call of the Wild Soul - Take 3

Day three of the retreat I went to Teesha Moore's  workshop. Much more physically relaxing than Flora’s  - you got to sit down a lot! Again there was a wonderful energy within the room. Each day of the retreat the energy has been unique and inspiring. I loved Teesha's laid back style of chatting, demonstrating and explaining, interspersed with stories of her life. She also brought lots of her wonderful journals for us to look at, and the class pack contained lots of goodies too!

 I found getting started quite hard particularly when we stopped collaging and needed to doodle and add our own changes to the pictures. Despite Teesha's warning for some reason I used the watercolor crayon, perhaps because they were a tool I was familiar with, which meant I was unable to write over the surface  with most pens.

Since I have returned home I have made a journal using the method shown on Teeshas website ( loads of great how to do videos here do visit) and have finished the first couple of pages. Now I am finding the collaging the most difficult part - I seem to be resisting going with the flow in favour of locating the perfect picture and generally over-thinking. That said, I am trying to take risks with my doodling and overall am quite pleased with the results. 

 

The whole retreat was inspirational and I can’t wait to go on another one! Aside from the art-making the community created was fantastic and the bonfire on the Saturday night under the full moon and shimmering stars was very special! thank you so much to Erin, Simon, Flora, Orly, Madelyn and Teesha and of course my fellow wild souls!