Member Zine Issue No. 12

featuring Guild Member Nadya King with intro by Jessica Richmond

Apothecary Vignette by Nadya King

Dear Musea Members and Guest Readers,

Have you heard the expression Muse Time being used in our Musea spaces? It is intended as a fond way of referring to when our Muses have their own pacing, often much slower than we would like, for the completion of creative projects. I am personally VERY familiar with being a Muse Timer. I began the Color of Woman Intentional Creativity teacher training, Musea’s nine-month certification program, in 2017 but I didn’t complete it until mid-way through 2019. That is two and a half years later, which is equivalent to three times the length of the training. Yes, that’s right…three times longer. However, I did finally graduate and now I’m a Color of Woman Intentional Creativity teacher, Guild member, and a member of the Museum’s Co-Curator team.

As we wrap up the month of March with its focus on our relationship to creativity, we want to encourage you to spend some time taking stock of where you are at with your relationship to your creativity in the most non-judgmental way possible. We know this can be difficult, and it’s tempting to want to avoid half-finished projects or ideas that never got started; those half-finished paintings in the corner, the first chapter of a book buried somewhere in your computer or on a shelf, the instrument you used to love to play but haven’t taken out because you fear you’re too rusty, your ballroom dance shoes, you get the idea. We are encouraging you to assess where you are at in your creative process with ONE project. The reasoning for sticking to just one is that it can be very overwhelming otherwise. This can also be a place where the inner critic might be tempted to sneak in and start giving you lots of unwanted “advice” so we encourage you to practice much loving-kindness toward yourself. This is not about critiquing, rather just observing where you are at and what it is that you might need to help you get reconnected.

One of the most beautiful things about our relationship to creativity is that it can be something that we can count on for our entire lives. We never grow too old to create. We may become less energetic and spry, we may lose some of our vision and hearing, we may not be able to focus as well as we once did, but we can always continue creating. In fact, there is much research now that shows that engaging in creative activities can help with aging in many different ways including maintaining cognitive skills. Another wonderful thing about our creativity is that it never leaves us; we can always return to it. Maybe we will need to buy a few new paints, develop a solid outline for that book, tune our instruments, or dust off the dancing shoes, but it’s always there waiting patiently for us no matter how long it’s been. Our Muses understand that sometimes we humans have to go in stops and starts, and that’s okay. The important thing is to never give up!

An element that many of us find that we need to get reconnected with our creativity is support from our creative peers. One way to do that if you are a Musea Certifying student with an extension beyond the designated graduation date is with the Musea Muse Timer’s group. It is led by someone who understands the need for support in navigating the challenges of Muse time very well, Musea elder, Guild member, and Intentional Creativity Teacher, Nadya King. Nadya has been facilitating the group for students who are in the process of completing one of the four certification trainings after their class has been formally graduated. This group was such a gift for me personally. In fact, I don’t think I would have been able to finish Color of Woman without her ongoing encouragement and support from other group members. Nadya’s personal role modeling of long-term commitment to creativity was also a huge inspiration for me. So if you are in the process of being an extended certifying student, I highly recommend this group! Below is a more detailed description of it and its origins in Nadya’s own words.

~ Jessica Richmond, Musea CoCurator and Magazine Lead

Nadya with her Legend 2021 painting ‘Raven’s Beauty’

I’m sometimes asked how Muse Timers began – pour a cuppa, and sit back!

The invitation read, “I am so excited to be offering my first ‘Color of Woman Method’ painting workshop, “Meeting Your Creative Muse”, on February 15, 2014, at my new art space in my home. This process uses intentional creativity, visionary imagination, and intuitive painting, to encounter the Muse, thus accessing our own inner world and feminine wisdom,…” and I had to sign up!!

A couple of us joined our friend for the class, and spent a lovely day painting with her and reigniting our creative sparks! After painting up a storm over the following months, I signed up for the 2015 certification training later in the year and finished in the fall of 2015 (turning in my own book at the last minute!) One of my peers completed and published a children’s book.

During my own year, I was aware some SiStars weren’t able to complete. The following year, I was one of several readers assigned to support small groups of students throughout their training and was so happy when all of ‘mine’ graduated! Several gals who took one of my Intentional Creativity classes, or attended my monthly Red Thread Circles entered Color of Woman training, and they also were able to graduate.

Occasionally I would run into the friend who offered that original class, and if talk turned to COW, she would lament that she still hadn’t finished, and might add she still hoped to. After a particularly poignant conversation with her, and several other students who ‘hoped to’ complete their Color of Woman journey, I began wondering what support those continuing students received so asked Sarah Mardell, Musea’s communications director.

After several emails, we decided I could start a support circle for those students who had taken extensions, and I began Muse Timers! Sarah sent me the email addresses of extension students from 2015 – 2017, and I started a Facebook group for those interested in March 2018 (that has since been archived, and we now have a group on the iMUSEA app)

From the beginning, Muse Timers have expressed that they felt alone on the journey after their classmates graduated, and grateful for the continuing support of a circle of witnesses. Other graduates, many of who took extensions themselves, followed the thread to help support the circle. I began writing a Muse Time blog, with tips on taking stock of where they were with the journey, and doing a reset. A continuing motto has been ‘keep it simple!’ Every time one posts her TaDa pic of her initiate group, I feel the same delight I did with my own completion! Another Star is shining bright!

When I was in CoW, my youngest grands were 4 and attending an art-centered Playschool. I wrote about my Soul Work from the perspective of being a Grandmother, nurturing creativity in the children. Another thread of my Soul work is my offerings as a Reiki Master where I incorporate creative projects into the training. Offering this support group is the third thread which was to nurture Intentional Creativity students in Color of Woman as they weave their way to completion in their own and their Muse’s Timing!

~ Nadya King, Intentional Creativity Teacher and Guild Member

featuring Guild Member

Mary Ann Matthys

I enjoy beginning my days with an Intentional Creativity Watercolor Meditative Practice. I combine sketching, watercolor and writing into a grounding time each morning. It is a life giving way to begin the day.

Enjoy this complimentary creative process and video to support your creative expression today!