Soul Musings

Your Invitation: Yoga & Art Retreat in Arizona

I have a really exciting invitation for YOU to reconnect with your body and your creativity at an intimate yoga & art retreat in Arizona’s breathtaking landscape.

 

The picture is me two years ago calling in the energy of the desert to help me co-create an expansive, inspired and connected painting retreat.

 

I was not sure of the how or when but I knew there was something bigger inside of me to share.

 

I’m so excited to collaborate with Kerry Burki this fall for the Tend & Create Retreat: a unique yoga and painting journey in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona.

(Still pinching myself that this is happening.)

Tend & Create, September 26-28, 2025

Spend three days immersed in freedom-centered painting practices and gently guided yoga and meditation practices. Kerry and I take our practices seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously! We intend for this to be as FUN as it is nourishing!

Join us in the heart of Scottsdale’s art district from Friday, September 26th through Sunday, September 28 2025 at a special boutique hotel, Canopy Hilton in Old Town Scottsdale.

If there is someone you’d like to BE with in Arizona, bring them to our Tend & Create Retreat this fall.

Mothers bring daughters,
Friends bring friends,
Cousins bring cousins,
Grandmothers and granddaughters…

 

With mindful creative play and plenty of time to deepen relationships over delicious meals, late-night conversations or spontaneous laughter and dance parties, nothing beats an immersive retreat experience.

 

This soulful retreat includes:

  • A welcome bag full of goodies to support your journey
  • A Friday Meet & Greet + evening tasting
  •  Two full painting workshops led by Kristen, paired with meditations & mindful practices guided by Kerry
  • Morning yoga both Saturday & Sunday to gently awaken your body
  • After-hours studio time with a relaxing, mindful creative activity
  • We’ll gather for delicious food and lounge by the pool
  • A post-retreat integration call to carry the magic forward

 

Come as you are—leave refreshed, inspired, and more connected to your true self! No art or yoga experience is necessary. Get all the details & sign up here! 

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Be Your Own Sunshine

The theme for July in the Create More Community was “sunshine & happiness”.

 

Nadia led an inspiring chat and tutorial for us. Listening to everyone’s reflections on finding small joys even during tough times—and the beautiful art tutorial—were truly uplifting.

 

I chose to paint the phrase “Be your own sunshine”.

 

To me, it is all about creating your own happiness instead of waiting on other people or outside things to make you feel good.

 

One of the biggest things that keeps us from connecting with our creative joyful spirit is the way we think. And I think the second biggest thing might be the expectations we hold for the way things “should be”.

 

Have you heard the phrase – stop shoulding all over yourself? 

 

It refers to the habit of telling yourself you should be doing something:

  • “I should work out more.”

  • “I should be further along in my career.”

  • “I should be happier.”

This can extend to your environment and others too.

  • “They should have called me.”

  • “That last piece of cake should have been mine.”

  • “This evening should have been more fun.”

 

This kind of talk creates guilt, pressure, judgment and it’s often based on unrealistic expectations, scarcity mindset, or comparison. 

 

When you start to feel the word “should” creep up, take a pause and ask yourself what’s really important to me right now?

 

I suggest in addition you pick up a paintbrush or a pen or pull an oracle card or turn on some music and dance around your living room – or under the full moon and through the sprinklers as I did this month, hehe.

 

Allow yourself to redirect and put the power back in your hands. Make your creative soul VERY happy by being your own sunshine.

I enjoyed the process so much I ended up doing a second page in my sketchbook that says “hello sunshine”.

 

In addition to a monthly tutorial we create together, Nadia, Angela or I share a second video recorded that we call Creative Quickies.  For July, I shared how to make a radiant sun with collage papers, shown on the right. 

 

If you’re looking for empowering art making ideas and a supportive space to grow, I invite you to join our community. Together, we’ll explore ways to nurture your joy, creativity, and confidence—on your own terms.

Ready to shine brighter? Join us here!

Hurry, we are closing the doors on July 31st. 

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Underestimating Your Value

I recently shared this message on my Facebook page:

 

“Underestimating your VALUE. The last 3 out of 4 art items I sold the customer paid me MORE than I asked. I think the universe is trying to tell me something! This is a hard lesson for artists (and any entrepreneur really). We tend to undercut ourselves for fear of losing the sale instead of asking for our true worth. I hear you and I am working on it!  Thank you to those that believe in my value and are helping me see that too.“

 

I received comments and messages about how you have had similar situations, how timely this message was or that you regrettably feel you have undersold your work recently and how difficult it is to place a value on creative work.

 

This made me want to dig deep, what is at the heart of undervaluing ourselves?

 WORTH. INSECURITY. ENOUGH-NESS.

 

What do these words bring up for you? Spend time journaling or meditating on these words and see what comes up. Who and what do you value?

 
WORTH is tied to our inner critic that likes to critique and point out our flaws. Remind her that no matter what you do or don’t do, you are worthy and valuable all the same.
 
INSECURITY dulls our light, diminishes our positivity and inhibits our potential. This word may speak to our lack of confidence or our lack of abundance. In both instances, we are in a state of “lack”. Because we are in scarcity mindset we struggle with placing value on ourselves and our services.
 

ENOUGH-NESS has been a trigger for my own personal victim mentality. I am not enough just as I am, I need to learn more, do more, inspire more. I don’t have enough to function at a level I’d like in my community, so I limit my expectations, say no to things I desperately want to say yes to and hold on tight to what I have for fear of losing it. And finally, because of the first two beliefs of not being enough or having enough, I believe I am not worthy of more. This is the most perverse of the three because, it is here where I am keeping myself small and undervalued.

So, what do we do about it?

 

Let’s take a good look at how we treat ourselves. This clues us into what we think we’re worth. Learning how to meet your own needs is incredibly important.

 
Break one limiting belief at a time. This practice will build courage and show you what’s possible. I share some examples with if/than scenarios.
 
If I focus on taking care of myself, than I get to know who I am and more deeply. This helps me understand what I value and what fulfills me.
 
If I forgive myself for my struggles, fears and mistakes, than I  am able to accept who I am fully.

If I commit to being more positive and uplifting when I talk to myself, than I will boost my self-love and self-worth. 

 
If I work to heal my trauma around money and get clear that money is purely an exchange of energy, than I can allow myself to give and receive more freely.
  
Whatever may be happening in your life at the moment, I’m here to say…
 
You are worthy.
You are valuable.
You are enough.

When it comes to pricing my art, I’m coming to terms with the fact that it is OK to want to make a living from my artwork and to have an extraordinary life.

 

No matter what price I charge, someone will think its too much. This has nothing to do with me. It has to do with them, their budget, their money mindset, what they value and want to spend their money on and it’s okay not to lower prices to meet their needs. It’s okay for people to have to save up to buy from me. It’s okay to make a profit. ⁣It’s okay to make money!

 
Unless you’ve studied art history, art auctions and attending years of gallery openings, it’s difficult to understand the value of art. It’s up to us to show the value of our art.
 
Your gifts are worth it and when you really believe this you will attract the people who will be happy to pay what you deserve.

Some More Links on the Topic

3 Powerful Habits for Building Your Self-Esteem + Meditation by Louise Hay

Communicating The Value of Art (Video)  by Gwenn Seemel

I’m not in it for the Money by Whitney Freya

Know Your Value and Name Your Price by The Pitch Queen

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More Art. More Dance. More Joy!

Hello Creative Soul,

How is your heart feeling lately? Our lives have been topsy turvy and if you are anything like me, we’ve been through a roller coaster of emotions processing it all. After allowing myself to feel all the feels, I’m waking up to the ways in which I’ve forgotten just how powerful I am and seeing how I can bring more of my love and magic into what I’m doing. This year forced us to slow down and re-evaluate how we show up for ourselves and our communities.

Bottom line, we need … more art. more dancing. more writing from our soul. more of what makes you feel alive. MORE JOY.

How many of us dance around the house during the day? I asked this question online and was so happy to hear many of you do! I equally heard “not nearly enough”. If you feel like like the latter, consider this your PSA to boogie more often! A little shimmy while cooking, or shake your hair dry to some tunes after the shower. Dance out your stress.

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

– Henri J.M. Nouwen

My devotion to living a life engaged with my creativity is always what gets me through. It brings me back to my personal power and helps me carry on. 

"Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day." - Henri J.M. Nouwen

We cannot underestimate the power of creative community and self expression in times like these. In the beginning of the pandemic, I embarked on a healing journey through color; sharing a sketchbook color energy collage series followed by a 7 Chakra – Layer by Layer – Meditation Painting series. 

In the meditation painting series, each layer was created by feeling into the color and energy of the 7 chakras and painting the next on top of the week before, using just one canvas as a portal to self discovery.

When you are an artist following your path, the unexpected is to be expected. You never quite know how things are going to turn out. It is the same on the canvas.

Both the color energy sketchbook series and meditation painting series were streamed live to my creative community in the Discover Your Creative Magic Facebook Group and are currently available in the group for replay. I am working to edit both series of videos to make them available outside of Facebook as well. Stay tuned for that coming soon!

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Beginning again.

Sweet friend, I’m beginning again.

Do you ever feel like you start the same things over and over. I’m over here like huh, I’m here starting over again?! It’s the beginning the hardest part? Why do I insist on repeating it over and over? It’s akin to the ocean, waves begin, grow, crash and begin again. The next wave may look similar to the first but, it’s not the same. That is how we have to look at it, it’s another beginning and even though it feels similar, it’s not the same. We have new experiences and lessons this time around that we  didn’t have before. It’s not an error that you are beginning again, it’s the practice of getting closer and closer to your truth.

My inner truth has been guiding me to show up, inspire and uplift. I started a creativity circle on Facebook to connect, get inspired, motivate and support one another through your self discovery through creativity. If interested, click here to join.

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True Unconditional Love is Within You

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

I know the term SELF-LOVE gets tossed around a lot and honestly, I think it’s for good reason. We are starved for compassion towards ourselves. Being okay with who you are, just as you are – imperfections and all is what it all boils down to. It’s those imperfections that make you, well, YOU.

We are not taught to love ourselves unconditionally. “I will be able to love myself when …” is an all too common loop that happens inside our heads. I know growing up if you thought too highly of yourself you were called names like conceited or arrogant. So, I would knock myself down a notch. But, over time, knocking myself down became quite the nasty habit. You then look for love outside of yourself when what you really need is to LOVE YOUR WHOLE SELF.

This is a great excerpt about self-love from Whitney Freya’s book Rise Above:

“The only source of true unconditional love is within YOU.

No one else can possibly love you EXACTLY, 100% of the time, the way you really, really want them to. Only you can do this.

Until you rediscover this unconditional love you have for yourself, you will continue to look to others to provide this energy, this feeling, for you.

And when they let you down, because they don’t love you perfectly, your love for them becomes conditional. Then, their love for you becomes conditional. Or it feels that way. And you feel like you’ve been cheated or robbed, or somehow left out. You become the victim.”

Wow! Do you see how the act of not fully loving yourself ultimately puts you in place where you put conditions on your love and give others permission not to love you unconditionally either.

I saw this prickly pear cactus heart on my walk this morning. Seeing a heart out in the wild is a message of unconditional love and support from the universe. It all starts with you. The more you practice being loving, to yourself as well as others, the more love shows up in your life. Love is all around you.

Have you seen hearts around? What do their messages mean to you?

My Buddha painting shown above was painted live during the Phoenix Festival of the Arts. If you are interested in purchasing this Buddha painting (mural #9) or any of the murals that were created during the festival, please contact the Phoenix Center for the Arts at info@phoenixcenterforthearts.org. All murals are $300 + shipping.

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Sacred Word of the Year: Light

Be the LIGHT – A message from my muse:

Rise up towards the light, rising sun, shining moon, illuminate and birth ones self. Smile. Notice the beauty that surrounds. Make more art. Let your inner radiance show. When you are in love with life, you naturally radiate that love.

You are here to light up the world. Take time to listen to your inner voice, that is all you need to inspire. Shine with the purest intentions. Show up as the shining light that you are and the best qualities of being human will continue to flow and circulate throughout the world. 

This little light of mine … I’m going to let it shine!

My heart has chosen LIGHT as my sacred word for 2018.

Choosing a sacred word of the year is one of my favorite New Year rituals. I love how it weaves it’s way through my year. It usually shows up in unexpected ways and always prove to be a guiding light. This is my 6th year choosing a word – I have chosen ABUNDANCE, CONNECTION, NOURISH, DEVOTED and PRESENCE. Some words served me better then others, but they all had something to teach me.

In sharing my word of the year, I believe that it creates a sacred energy that nourishes it’s intention.

I “tried on” a few word variations of light such as shine, illuminate, radiant and vibrant but, LIGHT felt right. Light brings visions of sunlight, moonlight, starlight that literally enables vision guiding us on our path. My 2017 word presence helped me to focus and re-focus on the now and with 2018 my desire is to focus and refocus on the light that surrounds. Allow it illuminate the dark places and bring forth goodness.

“We never really see the world exactly as it is. We see it as we hope it will be or we fear it might be.” ~Maria Popova on the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett

I’m tired of seeing the fear it might be and want to see it as I hope it will be.

Ways I wish to embody LIGHT

  • to seek the light while acknowledging and honoring the dark
  • to be the light; focus on what lights me up and share that with the world
  • to literally FEEL and BE lighter
  • to be a lightworker who chooses actions that raise the vibration of the planet
  • to have a lightness of being; to connect with my authentic joy
  • to be light-hearted, take control of anxiety and laugh more
  • to light a fire under my ass and take positive action

Why Choose a Sacred Word for the Year?

ONE WORD deepens change. It relieves the pressure of having to make too many changes all at once and provides a laser focus on one significant change. Most of us forget our long list of intentions. It is easier to remember one word.

Tips to Choosing your Sacred Word

➳ Ask, “What word do I want to embody into in 2018?”
➳ Intuitively choose a magazine.
➳ Flip until you find a word that surprises or delights you, cut it out.
➳ Research and contemplate what your word means to you.
➳ Let your word pick you. If you “think” it’s not right but, you can’t shake it – honor it.
➳ Create artwork to celebrate and illustrate your word.

This month, in my  private Facebook community I’m sharing about choosing a word of the year.

I talk about how to find your word and then walk you how I created a word of the year visual intention collage as a reminder to amplify your intention. If you would like join, click here: Discover Your Creative Magic Community

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Welcome 2018.

Do you get excited about the new year and a fresh start? I absolutely love it! 

I have been musing over my word of the year LIGHT, de-cluttering and re-arranging my studio space and dreaming about all the possibilities that 2018 holds.I love the Unravel your Year Workbook by Susannah Conway and use it at the beginning of year to look back and look ahead.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lazo Tzu

One single step I have made this month is that I created a private Facebook Group where you can hang out with me and other like-minded amazing creative hearts!

I wanted a little spot on the world-wide-web where I can show up, meet, connect, discuss, get inspired, motivate and support each others self discovery through creativity experience.

I will be hosting monthly themes and doing free live video check-ins.

This month, I’m sharing about your one word of the year. Choosing a word of the year is my favorite New Year ritual! I talk about how to find your word and then walk you through creating a visual reminder to amplify your intention. I’m super excited about it and would love for you to join us.

Join here >>> Discover Your Creative Magic Community

It is with great love that I wish you a year full of creativity and an abundance of joyful moments in 2018. Love and light xo

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A Simple Way to Get Yourself Unstuck.

I have been bogged down with all the “should’s” lately that I have been having a hard time doing anything! I find that overwhelm is the quickest way to stop me in my tracks.

As I was reflecting on the root of my stuck-iness I was pretty frustrated with my apparent lack of motivation (ego’s words) because the reality of it was that this year has been FULL.

I took on a number of big projects like co-authoring and designing the beading book Seed Bead Revolution and diving into a Creativity Coaching program for the last 6 months. In addition to these two huge projects, I took part in two creative challenges – the 100 Day Project and 30 Days of Painting, had my first podcast interview with Cracking Creativity, my first solo artist reception at Alis Living Boutique, and next week I will be making my first television appearance on Jewel School – say what?! It has been an expansive year and for that I am REALLY grateful. When I stopped beating myself up and acknowledged what I have done, I felt immense gratitude for all that has transpired.

So why was I so stuck and cranky? Two reasons: I took too long of a break from creative practice and I needed to make time in my life to LIVE.

Everything in my life has been on an upswing. After an emotionally stressful year things are brighter now then they have been in a long time and instead of celebrating, I was feeling timid about allowing myself to feel the joy of this abundance. I was acutely aware that everything could be taken away in a moments notice and that held me paralyzed in that fear.

I was fed up with my attitude and knew it was time to move some color around.

Below is the simple way I used color and words to express my emotions, process my feelings and get myself unstuck.

I used my art journal/sketchbook or you can use any paper you have on hand. I used a watercolor set, one brush and water for the coloring. You can easily substitute crayons, marker or whatever you have on hand. Watercolor paint allows my words to peek through underneath, if you don’t want your words to be read you can use acrylic paint, markers or collage over the pages instead.

On the left side, I wrote how I was feeling. The words came pouring out. On top of the words I painted colors that felt as heavy as I did in that moment. On the right side, I wrote out my desired feelings and painted colors that felt light and joyful. When I was done, I looked it over. It was all there, so clearly, and in that moment things shifted. When you look at the pages above, there is nothing super exciting about them really – except for how they made me FEEL. Such is the power of tapping into your own wisdom and creativity.

That same week, I visited with a soul sister and we had a deep nourishing conversation followed by a family road trip to my favorite place for inspiration; Sedona. I started to re-fill my cup and ideas started pouring out of me on how to step into a new role as a “creative guide and inspirationalist”. Excitement returned!

And while it’s true, everything could change in a moment, I asked myself how will I be able to cope during hard times if I do not embrace the joy this present moment has to offer?

So, my message to you if you’re stuck, the antidote is to get out into the world – LIVE and CREATE! Make sure your cup is full and inspiration will pour out of you.

From Danielle LaPorte: “Do less of what you don’t like to do, and more of what you love. That’s it. Every self-help book ever written, mine included, can be summed up in that simple direction. Less heavy, more Light. Less drama, more calm. Less “should”, more shine. MORE PLEASURE.”

Doing more of what you love and makes you come alive is a sure way to get you unstuck and bring you back to joy.

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Live Like the Lotus, At Ease in Muddy Water

“Emerge”
Original sold
Prints are available in my shop, here

I have always been drawn to lotus flowers, not only for their beauty but also for their symbolism. I painted this at a time when I was feeling the pull to create art intuitively. My life, as all lives, is full of challenges and opportunities to rise above those challenges.

The journey of the lotus flower is a wonderful analogy for the human experience and journey of enlightenment. In challenging conditions, the stem begins growing in muddy, murky water and slowly rises above the surface, just as we also rise above our challenges. As the petals unfold, we too unfold and bloom into something beautiful. According to a traditional story, the more muddy the water, the more beautiful the lotus flower when it emerges.

Its open blossom stands for enlightenment and beauty. Its flexible stem symbolizes resilience. At night the lotus closes and emerges again with the sunlight of a new day. Each day is a new life, a new rebirth for the flower.

The lotus is considered a sacred and divine flower in many religions, most notably Hinduism and Buddhism.  The life cycles of the Lotus evokes how the human spirit unfolds: from humble beginnings in the mud to the blossoming of the soul in the light.

May we live like the lotus, at ease in muddy water.

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Clarity through Visualization and Self-Expression

 “We are on a journey not to be perfect, but to be whole.”  ~ Eileen Anglin

Self-expression brings forth insight, a greater sense of peace, and most of all joy.  Even when the painting itself turns out less than desirable, there’s something about the simple act of creating that nourishes your soul. Meditation is a great companion to self-expression as it helps quiet your mind so, that you became more present in the art making from a process point of view, letting go of being results driven.

Today, I worked on the art journal prompt for this months Meditate & Create art workshop at Alis Living Lifestyle Boutique in Scottsdale.

As nature begins to signal a change in the seasons, we’ll be focusing on gaining clarity; clarity around our authentic selves, and clarity around our heart’s desires as we prepare ourselves to embrace the changes we want to see in our lives.

Mediate & Create with Janet of In Her Peace and I are designed to reconnect you to your intuition through guided visualization, honest free writing and spontaneous art making so that you can see, process, and heal your emotions, and access your fullest creative clarity.

Our evenings begin with a short introduction, a meditation journey where you will enjoy deep relaxation and an opening of your imagination in preparation for your intuitive art journaling experience where you can express your feelings and desires through painting, collage, drawing, and/or writing in your art journal – a safe, personal space all your own. This practice will inspire your sacred heart and enhance the meditative vibrations through creativity.

Meditate & Create will encourage you to quiet your mind, to welcome creativity with ease, and to connect with like minded people that will rejuvenate your souls. This experience is not about being perfect. This is about being free to create! No drawing, painting or meditation experience necessary.

To see the schedule of classes and register, visit https://alisliving.com/collections/workshops-and-classes/art-classes

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Eclipse Creative Magic

Blessing to you on this new moon! Are you still buzzing from all of the eclipse magic this week? Even if you weren’t able to see it – I’m the only one in my family that didn’t have the opportunity to watch it – but, I am definitely feeding off the intense vibes from it and hope you are too.

The solar eclipse is the perfect time to use the celestial powers to unleash your creativity. Aside from being amazing to witness, solar eclipses are also powerful times to manifest what you want to bring into your life. During the solar eclipse, I guided a beautiful soul to create her own abstract intentional painting. This art will infuse the scared meditation space At Alis Living Lifestyle Boutique with love, gratitude and peace for all. Through this personal painting session, I believe we both both did that for one another today!

Don’t forget that even though the eclipse has already happened – the energy from it will impact and affect us through the middle of September. And will be planting seeds for years to come. This eclipse is in the sign of Leo. And Leo energy is the invitation and imperative to shine our most glorious shiny selves.

Speaking of Leo’s (see what I did there?! Ha!) I celebrated my 39th birthday this month! The picture above is from an awesome sunrise I witnessed from the Boulders Resort and Spa in Carefree, Arizona. My sweet husband Bert booked us a night for my birthday and arranged for his mom to watch the kids. I am not much of a morning person but, this place was so pretty I decided to set my alarm and take it all in. The only way I could drag myself out of bed was that I knew I would promptly go back to bed for some extra zzz’s after! Here are a few more pictures of our little getaway:

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