INterview With Fonda Clark Haight

May 1, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography

I saw Fonda’s work first in Orly Avineri Facebook group a stand for art journaling, it was the above photo of a winged creature with skeletons following close behind. I don’t know the story, although, I have made a pretty good one in my head of shadow and light chasing, but I began to look out for when she posted because her work has a very Marc Chagall feel if Marc Chagall was an art journaling feminist! Fonda’s work has a lot of archetypal energy as well as layered free form play. I enjoy seeing her evolve and allow new things to emerge.

Fonda Clark Haight is a mixed media artist living in Western NC. She and her husband Evan, an author, live in a converted apple barn on a 100 year old apple orchard. They share their home with six children, three boys and three girls, along with assorted rescues. She has a deep passion for upcycling in her art. Upcycling keeps a materials’ original composition, texture and quality intact by reshaping it for new use, extending its life cycle without the needs for additional raw materials or energy. She upcycles cardboard, newspapers, barn wood, tin, old art, and plywood into new pieces of art. Her goal as an artist is to take simple things and subjects we might see or imagine every day and present them in a different manner so we “re-see” them.

Tell me about your stunning Archetype series?
I’ve always loved oracle cards. They’re such precious pieces of tiny art with meaning. I wanted to create something like that for myself with my own artwork, using symbols that mean something to me specifically. I didn’t realize when I started how expensive it would be to turn them into cards. I love the archetypes. It’s like a whole world fit into ten or twelve prototypes. It’s a framework for understanding the people around me.

Your art for me has a very wonderful Primal/Totem feel is there a reason for this?
I went thru a stage where I did a whole series about fairytales. And then I was done. I had created the art that interested me. I think it was the story behind the fairy tales….the resonance of the person who sort of got lost in the telling, that make me light up. I’m incredibly drawn to celtic and Native American stories as well. And again, I always think…what’s happening with the people around the main characters in the story? What was going on in their lives?

I think the myths of history are such a deep well to draw from creatively.

And because they still resonate so strongly, I know that there is something there for everyone.

How does spirituality and art intertwine for you? 
Well, I’m a feminist. I guess that’s pretty clear from my art. I recently heard Sister Chittister relate that she thought the world is operating from half it’s knowledge, the male half. That’s not bad in itself, but it needs the other half. She told a sufi story that sums it up for me. The students were all asking their master…”what will happen to us when you die? What will become of us? The master looked at the students and said, all these years I’ve been with you I’ve been pointing at the moon. I hope that when I die, you will finally look at the moon”.

For me, art is my way of pointing at the moon. My way of pointing to the mystery and magic of the spiritual part of my life.

Sometimes it’s just in the little details that I notice as I go about creating….and sometimes it’s something bigger. At least I hope it is.

What does Intuitive mean to you? How do you live Intuitively? 
For me, intuitiveness is getting out of my brain. And into my heart. It’s my way of getting in touch with how I feel so I can convey that as an artist. I live intuitively in my art every day. I don’t plan a piece of art. I just start and let it speak to me. Sometimes I don’t get anything. Sometimes I get more than I bargained for…..and sometimes I hit a sweet spot and I know I am on purpose in my life in that moment.

What are your tools and teachers? What have you been learning from them personally?
I know most artists will be able to relate to this statement. In the beginning I wanted every new tool, gadget and gizmo. I was 34 before I ever created a piece of art. So I practiced and practiced and grabbed all the new stuff and I do believe that better tools give you a better result. These days though, I’ve realized that sometimes, for me, all that stuff is a way not to begin my art. So I use old books repurposed as a journal or canvas or cardboard. I cannot live without gesso, gel matte medium and neocolors. If were going to be stranded I would want those three things. My teacher…I guess I would have to say that life is my teacher and the internet. Wow! The internet is a happy teacher for sure. All the ideas, and art, and creativity are a happy thing.

What are you saying YES to these days?

Myself and my vision. No one else’s. I’m saying yes to all the parts of myself. The grungy whiny parts and the glorious beautiful ones too. The complaints and the gratitude. The light and the dark. Every artist knows…a piece of art is no good without both.

What lights you up? Turns you on? Makes your heart quicken?
Color. Lots and lots of color. I have to say too…I teach at a local nonprofit as a volunteer. I’ve got thousands of hours invested in those kids. They light me up in the same way that my art does. I have a passion about creating a space for them to be safe enough to feel what they feel. And helping them to convey that artistically is one of the great joys in life.

What do you want everyone to know?
That everyone is an artist. Everyone has that ability. They just have to let themselves believe that. That the more you are in touch with who you are….the better the world is.

 Tell me when the light went off and you wanted to show your art/be an artist?
When I was 34, my twin sister gave me a set of watercolors for Christmas. I was horrible with watercolors. But there was something about the way it made me feel, something about creating that I knew was for me. It was a clarity of expression that I had not really known until then. I haven’t looked back once since that day.

 Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?
I plan to keep doing what I’m doing. Distilling who I am and what I feel into my art. Teaching and passing that on to the high risk children who may not have an opportunity like that in their daily lives.

Pointing at the moon.

You can find Fonda on Facebook or over on her website. You can also find Fonda’s original mixed media paintings HERE! 

INterview With Flora Bowley

Apr 24, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography

This is a woman whom you are going to want to know by the end of reading this. I mean really look at those paintings?

I saw Flora’s work once on Pinterest and that once was enough for me to know and fall in love with it’s spirited, vibrant and down to earth movement of paint. She leads these sensational workshops which I was privileged to take part in a few years ago at Call of the Wild Soul where she infuses movement of body and paint, intentions and letting go in the most beautiful way. Flora is an incredible teacher and woman and I have been so looking forward to releasing this INterview so you can fall in love too! Check out her offerings at the end oh can’t wait!

Flora Bowley is an internationally celebrated painter, workshop facilitator, top-selling author, visionary and inspirationalist.  Her soulful and transformational approach to painting (and living) has inspired thousands of people across the globe to “let go, be bold and unfold” as they move through fear and welcome joyful spontaneous expression back into the creative process. Combining twenty years of professional painting experience with her background as a yoga instructor, massage therapist and lifelong truth seeker, Flora infuses her teaching and painting style with a deep connection to body, mind, and spirit.  This unique fusion offers up a truly transformational experience—one that honors intuition, self-discovery and the perfectly ever-changing present moment..

Lets think about yoga for a moment and allow it to guide us through the first three questions:

What does your inner wisdom want you to take in/absorb/feel with your inhale?

I believe that our souls possess a divine wisdom that is always present, but it is our constant work to remember, honor and act on this wisdom. Inhaling seems like an ideal time to tap into this kind of remembering — remembering that I belong, that I am forever connected to all things, that I am right where I am supposed to be.

What does your inner wisdom desire you to embrace/know/honor in the pause?

For me the pause is about presence. I believe cultivating full presence is one of the biggest gifts we can offer ourselves in terms of being fully connected, aware, and rooted in gratitude.  So often our busy story-making minds are writing their own versions of what is actually happening at any given time. I think for me the pause is becoming present and letting go of the ‘story’ and just being in the beingness, if you will.

What does your inner wisdom say you need to release/make room for with the exhale?

I am constantly working to let go of rushing, over-doing, and my tendency to get ahead of myself which can all be boiled down to a feeling of not enough-ness.  In the exhale, I am letting go of not enoughness and accepting that whatever is happening is actually just right, and accepting that I don’t need to be a super woman every day!

What are you saying YES too?

A friend recently asked me: “What feels like low hanging fruit to you right now — like what feels reeeeealy easy and doable without a lot of efforting? I LOVE these questions and have been thinking about them a lot.  I’m happy to realize that what is lighting me right up right now are also the things that feel easy. For example, I am taking the year off from traveling to teach in my Portland studio. Being on my home turf feels extremely nourishing and easy, and as a result, I feel super lit up about it. So that’s a full bodies YES for me — rooting down, letting people come to me, not feeling like I have to run myself ragged traveling all over the world. I am also loving the collaboration work I am doing with various people right now. I am a natural collaborator, and I love the magic that happens when people come together to share ideas and cross-pollinate their inspiration to birth something new. That is really lighting me up these days.

What are you bow down, kiss the ground grateful for?

Gratitude is a practice I have incorporated into my life in many ways.  I just recently made a list of 100 things I am grateful for, but I could have kept going way past 100! I truly feel that my life is blessed, and

staying connected to gratitude allows for even more goodness to flow in.

One thing I am really grateful for is having parents who loved and accepted me in all my quirkiness.  They encouraged me to explore what I really loved, and instilled in me this idea that I can do anything. I’m also forever grateful that I am able to do work in this world that I am truly passionate about and that makes such a positive impact in the world. To me, this is the dream.

Tell me how you rise up in fullness?

A huge piece of rising up in fullness is about trusting myself — trusting my instincts, my intuition, my inner wisdom, my curiosity.

When I can come from a place of trust, it becomes easier and easier to make bold choices and fully own my voice and style.  The second piece to rising up is about staying honest about what feels truly inspiring and interesting to me in any given moment. This means not allowing myself to get caught up in what other people want or expect, but honoring the fire of inspiration instead.  When I do find myself trying to people-please, there tends to be a real staleness in my work — it’s like you can feel the inauthenticity.

What projects have come out of when you have rose up in your fullness?

My workshops are a really good example of rising up and staying true to myself because I bring in a lot of aspects of my life that are not just about the painting process. I incorporate ceremony, intention setting, movement, music and community — all things I am passionate about.  In these ways, it is a really holistic body-mind-spirit approach to the creative process that comes directly from my own life experience. Its been really affirming to see so many of my interests swirling together to create a really unique offering, and I think it’s what  has set me apart in a lot of ways. Its such a natural offering for me because it is simply who I am.

What supports the true expression of your authentic self?

Health. Vitality. Getting my heart beat up everyday!

If I can connect with my physical body, breath and movement, the leap to connect to intuition
and something greater than myself is much easier.

If I am not moving my body and feeling kinda sluggish, it’s much harder for me to access my creative process and find my flow. I exercise a lot, I do yoga, and I often dance while I paint. It all feels really connected to me.

What kind of lover do you want to be to yourself? What love are you giving to yourself?

My word for this year is nourish and it really sums up where I am at and why I am choosing to stay home this year. I got pretty burnt out from over-doing and over-traveling, so I had to recalibrate and reevaluate my priorities.  I am loving myself these days by being really gentle, nourishing my spirit and doing a lot self care. I no longer see self care as indulgent. I am learning to accept it as the foundation I need for everything else in my life to “work.”  Getting massages, eating healthy food, going to yoga and connecting to nature are all important parts of of this foundation.

What are your tools and teachers? What have you been learning from them personally?

This might sound ridiculous, but I got a dog in June and she has become one of my great teachers in this lifetime — teachers do come in many forms!  She has added so much love, snuggles and more time outside every single day.  Time with her is just such a gift.  In addition to my dog guru, I have always considered the women in my life to be some of my greatest teachers. The depth and wisdom I find with my peers and friends is immeasurable — so much mirroring and reflecting, woah!  Finally, I would say my personal painting practice is one of my greatest teachers.  Even after twenty plus years, I learn something new every single time I step up to a blank canvas — never a dull moment.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?

This circles back to the very first question about remembering, because for me, this is what life is all about.  Remembering why I am here, recognizing my gifts and figuring out how to share them with others.

I also believe we are all here on a healing  journey in one way or another.  For me, it’s about learning to love myself and others in a much deeper and bigger way.

 I’d say that’s my mission in life.

Want some monthly inspiration to nourish your creative soul? Check out Flora’s up coming series: Studio Diaries!

This May she will be releasing a beautiful monthly subscription offering videos including painting exercises, interviews, live studio painting sessions, yoga and holistic nutrition videos.

We can’t wait!

Also try her ground breaking workshop Bloom True!

‘Bloom true: the E-course’ presents a groundbreaking and transformational approach to painting (and living) that celebrates intuition, connects body, mind and spirit and allows unique and expressive paintings to emerge naturally and authentically.

The next Bloom True E-course will begin on June 1st, 2015. Registration for the course is now open.

INterview With Catherine Just

Apr 17, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography

Catherine Just creates visceral photographs. For me they are infused with the soul wether it is her soul or the soul of the client she is capturing. There is often a simplistic nature in the composition and yet a very complex story being told. I had seen her portraits of Danielle LePorte as well as Carrie-Anne Moss over the years and then more recently saw her work showing up as friends profile photographs. She seemed to pop up all over the place these last few months. She is a very dear and light filled soul and I am blessed to have her view on Process, Sacred, Intuition and Visual Poetry!

Hi there! Thanks so much for having me be a part of this interview series!
I’m Catherine Just and I’m the proud mama to my 6 year old son Max who happens to have Down syndrome. I’m a photographer, artist, mentor and entrepreneur. I consider myself a conceptual photographer. I teach classes online and lead workshops in my home. I also do creative portraiture for high profile clients who need to elevate their brand or product.

Lets start with the most fundamental question: What do you create? Why do you create?

It depends on the project. Right now I’m working on a series of self portraits that are all taken with either my iPhone or my sx-70 Polaroid camera that have to do with what’s going on underneath the surface of my personal life. My work has always been conceptual in nature. Meaning, I use this form of creativity as a way to dig down deep into the internal / emotional / sensory / intuitive realms and create something visual out of something that you can’t put words to. I try to give voice to something that’s there but not necessarily visible to the eye. I use metaphor, objects, symbolism, with images of myself with long exposures and blur in alternative environments to express these spaces that live in between words. (( or in-between worlds ))

If the project involves a speaker, author, high profile celebrity, we collaborate on ideas and I use the camera as a tool to connect with their soul. It’s not just a headshot or a pretty photo of someone. I want to really get at who they are from the inside out.

I read you say: “I’ll be creating some sort of visual poetry related to this extraordinary role of mine in his life.” Visual poetry. This art isn’t just a career it seems you are also a adventurer and a healer using this medium. Is this true? Can you elaborate on the personal growth and spiritual side of your art making?

Yes, I see my work as visual poetry. Getting inside of a situation and creating something with deeper meaning than just a description of it. I’ve been working in this way for the last 27 years. In the beginning, I was very insecure and had a difficult time socially. Photography was a way for me to express visually what was hard for me to express verbally. It was healing for me to process my relationships, my spirituality, the world around me through this medium of photography. I find that this work is a miracle for me. It saved me from my own dis-ease and as I continue with this work I love sharing this process with others as another tool for transformation in their own lives. I work both intuitively and with written out plans and find that once the art process starts, there are 3 of us involved. myself, my camera and something else that cannot be named really. Spirit maybe?

Whatever it is there is magic in the actual process of making the art. It’s an extraordinary process.

What would you say are the major inspirations for what you create?

My own personal life situations. Personal relationships. Connections. Loss. Deep emotional Pain or Joy. I got sober from a crystal meth addiction when I was 18 years old and the photography process started right after that. So living in the world without “leaving” is what inspires me to dive into the photography process. It’s where I go to figure things out, heal, grow, express, process, understand, take apart, dive in and not harm myself or anyone else in the process.

What does Sacred mean to you? What does it feel like, look like, Where is your sacred place?

Sacred is being present for the moments that matter. Being Sober is Sacred. Being fully IN my life without doing anything to check out or “take the edge off”. My life is sacred. Being with my son is sacred when I’m really present. Slowing down to notice how the light is wrapping itself around your life.

The camera can help me shift from my mind back to the present moment and into my heart.

Photography and any other creative process is sacred. Connection with the spiritual realms. Certain energy, Home, Family, Friends, Nature, Seasons, Process, Being awake, Waking up, Every moment of choice is sacred.

Intuition the mother of our hearts! How has your intuition led you here, Where you stand today? Where is it leading you? What is it whispering?

Intuition is everything.

I haven’t been the type to have a master plan for my life. When I was using drugs I thought that being 30 years old equaled death. I’m heading towards 47 this year and I feel more alive and full of possibility than I did when I was younger. So I really don’t take my thoughts too seriously. Or at least I try not to. I go with my “gut” in any moment. I do have friends that I reach out to when I’m confused or suffering trying to make up my mind about something. And then in the end I just go with what feels right to me. Even if it ends up being the “wrong path” I definitely learn something from it and it informs my next steps in life so “wrong” is relative. My intuition is whispering to keep going with the personal project I’m working on, to apply for the grant that’s in my inbox, to learn as much as I can about photography and the fine art world. It’s whispering that all is well, keep going.

What supports your authentic self? Your true expression of yourself?

I don’t know of anything right now that doesn’t support my authentic self. I set myself up for success that way. I have very little tolerance for drama and in authentic people or situations so I steer clear. I value self preservation and set myself up for situations and relationships that nurture that. I honestly don’t stick around long if I sense something isn’t quite feeling right to me. Even if I can’t put my finger on it. It just doesn’t serve me or the other person if it’s not authentic.

My true expression of myself is always changing in every moment. My true expression of myself is always being revealed to me as I connect with my spiritual practice, kundalini yoga and meditation. The Toltec path helped me get much more clear on the areas where I was suffering and why I was suffering ( my thoughts and beliefs cause all of my suffering ) so doing that important work and detaching from those things that cause me to suffer provides me with ways to be more true. Creativity, Dancing with my son, snuggling with him, laughing, treating myself really well with healthy food. I don’t eat wheat, dairy or processed sugar and I notice a huge difference in how I can show up in the world. I don’t drink caffeine and that made a big difference as well to stop artificially activating energy reserves. Now I get high on natural things like green juice, great friendship, the process of creativity, loving my son, eating healthy, treating myself really well, being curious about life, exploring spiritual connection.

Lastly, tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Right in this moment I plan to notice it, breathe deeply, celebrate my life and my son’s life. I plan to explore my creativity and share it with others. I plan to learn how to love myself even more deeply and love others as well. How to be a true friend. First to myself and then to everyone around me. My dream is to continue to raise my vibration and to help others expand as well. Love how the light hits your soul.

Right now Catherine Just is living on Instagram and would love people to follow her there and partake in the 30 day photo challenge she is doing for the Month of April for free see HERE.

She is also offering an online eCourse called “The Daily Miracle” which is a 30 day photo project that helps us return to seeing the sacred in our every day.

That’s the miracle. The shift that occurs when we look through the lens and wake up to this moment. It’s not always what we think it is.  Find out more HERE!