Happy Lunar New Year + New Collection

Find us online:  Lorien Eck Art & Design My Original Art Collection Now on VIDA! VIDA – Art-Inspired • Zero Waste • Global Impact Dear Friends, Happy Lunar New Year, Gong Hei Fat Choy! I am so excited about my new Vida Collection — a creative collaboration in design with makers around the world to create inspiring apparel and accessories! Truly a dream come true for me and I am having so much fun with this process! This is work that that I’m proud to say brings something truly positive to the world; taking care of the planet, and empowering the makers and their children through education! Thank you for reading and supporting women in business, like me! Blessings of health, prosperity and much love to you, My New Collection on VIDA   Click here to learn more about the Luggage tag, accent pillows, iPhone case and cashmere scarf above- all featured in my New VIDA collection online now! I invite you to browse and explore this new collection, at introductory prices, a super-fun variety of goods featuring my mixed-media paintings! By purchasing a unique Vida piece, you empower the makers of your product to build a better future for themselves and for generations to come. Press from Fashion Times — The VIDA shopper is someone who is well-traveled, she’s inquisitive, she’s thoughtful, [and] every product she brings into her life, she’s mindful of how it was made. MY ORIGINAL COLLECTION on ETSY Handmade •  Wearable Art • +Repurposed Decor Love yourself. Then forget it.  Then, love the world. — Mary Oliver  Copyright © 2019 Lorien Eck Art & Design, All rights reserved.

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My Story~ In My Own Words ~An Interview in VoyageLA Magazine

I am thrilled and honored to share a fun interview for Los Angeles online magazine VoyageLA.

Here’s the link to the article or click on the image above. Enjoy!

 

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connect to me via my Facebook page, explore my Art with Lórien art classes on YouTube, and if you would like to make sure you are notified about more content like this, join my newsletter here to be the first to know when I offer my new programs, including early bird specials and exclusives!

May your days be filled with a sense of wonder, love and the spirit of Aloha,

In love, gratitude and beauty…

 

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Embracing Grief in Challenging Times

Hello!  I am happy to be back writing here in my blog, after a turn-of-the-year hiatus and by demand of very clear, poignant and pivotal events of late. In this blog, I am embarking in an area that is not often openly talked about and is quite a complex, layered, and profound area of the human experience.  For some time now, what has been brought to my attention once again, is the grieving process, the stages of grief and my own personal layers of grief that began in earnest with the death of my six-year-old sister when I was eleven years old.  For me, grief had been a very scary and sensitive topic (death and dying included) and I avoided or denied those feelings with some underlying.  I was a young girl, just in the 6th grade and the space and stages of grieving were paused and delayed in earnest until I was about eighteen years old and a freshman in college.  It was a car accident where I was injured, shaken up and overall, experienced trauma and stress, and was the catalyst to a profound spiritual awakening and the earnest start in my search for meaning and truth.  It also was the impetus of my own conscious grieving process of the physical death of my only sister and my desire to connect with her spiritually.  This process has been a constant, as with every death “out there,” all loss and grief is re-triggered for me.  And like everything in life and personal growth, progress not perfection has been my ally as I continue to navigate the many losses and feel the grief in my life and in the collective.  One of the ways that I process and integrate loss and grief now is through my art practice and I will be blogging more about art, healing and grief in subsequent blog posts… stay tuned.

Here are my observations right now and what inspired this post today.  The veils are certainly thin these days, and I am being reminded once again how truly precious life on Earth is, to cherish every moment and to continue to LOVE above all else, especially when the external realities are extreme and polarizing.

Sobunfu and I at the Rowe Center, MA, June 2000

This is from January 19, 2017: Today I started my day like many others, morning rituals, welcoming a new day to embrace, embark and do my very best.

I learned of the passing of one of my very special teachers, a powerful healer named Sobonfu Somé. I do not know the details of her passing to the Spirit world other than the fact the she was with her family in Burkina Faso. What I do know deep in my bones, is the impact that she had on me and the sweet memories I have with her, studying her books, learning from her culture, the Dagara in Burkina Faso and most importantly, being with her in sacred ritual at the Rowe Camp and at the Omega Institute in NY, both in 2000. Her name itself means, “keeper of the rituals” and her work and legacy touched many many lives here in the West.

I was introduced to her work through another teacher and mentor of mine who has also passed, Joy Parker, who was studying with Malidoma Somé. I was excited to study with him but destiny guided to study with Sobonfu instead! After devouring her books, I was able to be with her in person at one of her grieving ritual 3-day retreats, this one at the Rowe Center. It was powerful, transformational and taught me about honoring the sacred in everyday life, to honor my ancestors and to embrace grief, something that was and still is a life long learning curve.

Sobonfu also taught me about the sacred element Water. She founded Wisdom Spring, working diligently to provide various villages in West Africa with drinking water and to provide resources for education through its various programs including Art for Africa and Walking for Water.

Ironically (or is it?), there is a Grief Ritual scheduled for March 2017 near Washington, D.C.

Anyway, I’m continuing to reflect on how knowing of and receiving Sobonfu’s life gifts here on earth has impacted me and what more I can do to integrate and honor her legacy.  To learn more and benefit from her wisdom, visit http://www.sobonfu.com

It is comforting to me to know that she is crossing over to the realm of the ancestors and her Spirit endures through her work and us…

My reflections so far about Sobonfu and her teaching will continue in forthcoming blog posts and revolve around her legacy of discovering and sharing our gifts and for me that includes the healing, art-making and evolving through the grieving process.

Something that I heard today from another wonderful teacher/friend of mine, Georgette Star of the Life Blessing Institute, who said. “I’m learning to “share this intimacy of grief with others who can hold that level of sharing. What an incredible gift to connect heart to heart.”  And, with that my friends, I’ll share that my heART is here to heal, to teach and to inspire healing the hearts of others and the world through engaging intimately with the creative process.  I truly look forward to sharing my three new art program launches this spring which range from a foundations in art-making course to a program that facilitates a deep dive into your creative healing process with me as your gentle guide.

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connect to me via my Facebook page, explore my Art with Lórien art classes on YouTube, and if you would like to make sure you are notified about more content like this, please sign up for my newsletter here.

May your days be filled with a sense of wonder, love and the spirit of Aloha,

In love, gratitude and beauty…

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#52Weeks of Films By/About Women ~ My Ongoing Pledge

Art with Lórien Studio Video Production Set

Hello My People!

I am delighted to share this passion of mine is supporting women in the media and my enthusiasm for films that are directed by women, are written by a woman and/or feature stories about women.  One of my guiding litmus tests for the content of a film, is applying the Bechdel test.  What is  the Bechdel test you may wonder?  It asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added.

So, to solidify my commitment to my hobby and quest in January 2016 I pledged to watch one film per week as part of the #52FilmsByWomen campaign sponsored by Women in Film.  What I am really excited about is discovering the #52weeks List of Gayle Nachlis, Women in Film Senior Director of Education, so many superb films on her list! I also learned about Film Fatales, a network of women filmmakers who meet regularly to mentor each other, share resources, collaborate on projects and build a supportive community in which to make their films. Here’s Film Fatales list of films directed by women streaming on Netflix USA, 245 and counting!

And, so as we approach the end of 2016, and my 52-week pledge, I am sharing what I have enjoyed so far… And, I do pledge to continue into 2019 and beyond.  With our evolving landscape, values, priorities and the balancing act that is occurring, there will be much to catch on the screen, big and small!  Enjoy and join the fun!

My Ever Evolving LIST from 2016 through the present day: (in no specific order)

Miss Representation- Watched this in 2014- a must see on the topic.

The Women’s List

Jenny’s Wedding

Joy

Bessie

Iron Lady

Mustang

Woman in Gold

What Happened Miss Simone?

True Cost

Diana

Tig

Tangerine

Trainwreck

Hello, My Name is Doris

All About Eve

The Story of Ruth

East Side Sushi

Séraphine

The Lady in the Van

Coco Before Chanel

Suffragette

Brooklyn

Carol

Joan of Arc: Virgin Warrior

He Named Me Malala

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel

Hanna

Miss Potter

The Passion of Joan of Arc

Maggie’s Plan

Frida

India’s Daughter

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

Zootopia

Me Before You

Dukhtar

Girlhood

Middle of Nowhere

Selma

Ride

Pariah

The Letters

Big Stone Gap

Under the Same Moon

Testament of Youth

Still Alice

A Ballerina’s Tale

Conviction

The Intern

Me Without You

Under a Tuscan Sun

Ai Wei Wei Never Sorry

Citizen Four

Wonder Woman

Planeat

The Future of Food

The 33

The Whole Truth

Our Kind of Traitor

Mia Madre

Certain Women

Lovely and Amazing

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

The Post

Ladybird

Maudie

I, Tonya

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Paris Can Wait

Moana

Jackie

Florence Foster Jenkins

Eat Pray Love

Girl Rising

Anita: Speaking Truth to Power

Eighth Grade

RGB

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

The Female Brain

Anita: Speaking Truth to Power

The Favourite

Yentl

On the Basis of Sex

The Kindergarten Teacher

Captain Marvel

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Bad Reputation

Kusama: Infinity

Pariah

Heal

Mary Queen of Scots

Becoming Astrid

Westwood Punk • Icon • Activist

 

and counting…

Please take a look at a blog post here that features a documentary called Seeing Is Believing: Women Direct by friend Cady McClain,  She wrote, directed, and produced this documentary along with Kate Super.  Also, one of my favorite organizations is the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, an organization that engages, educates, and influences the need to dramatically improve gender balance, reduce stereotyping and create diverse female characters in entertainment targeting children 11 and under.

I invite you to explore my website, especially take a look at Art with Lórien, my online learning platform and community!

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear your comments here, reach out via my Facebook page, check out my Art with Lórien art classes on YouTube, get to my website, or email me at artwork@lorieneck.com.

May your days be filled with a sense of wonder, love, creativity, adventure and play!

In love, gratitude and beauty…

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Artist Interview: What is Transformative Art?

 

With one of my healing Water paintings, Water III. To lean more about my Water Series, click here.

I am thrilled to start up a new blog series theme: Artist Interviews.  In this blog series, I will be interviewing inspirational artists and will sharing these insightful and inspirational messages in a variety of ways that I look forward to launching soon!  For now, I am sharing the first interview of yours truly.  In 2014, I was interviewed by Art 4 All People as part of an art exhibition focused on arts and healing.

Here is the interview, short and sweet!

How would you describe Transformative Art? 

Transformative Art is art that reaches into the soul and acts as a mirror revealing the deep and rich inner beauty of the Self, as well as the shadow self.  It has the power to shift consciousness and not only raise the vibration of an individual, but shift the collective consciousness.

What inspires your own Art and what does Art mean to you? 

My own spiritual journey and quest for beauty, for what is true, and as a devotion to the Sacred is what informs and inspires my art practice.

In my experience, art serves as a visual response to the questions that one asks or that the collective is asking.  For example, questions about the nature of reality, what it means to be a Spiritual being having a human experience, or about what is possible in the human experience.

As an Artist what is the significance of doing Transformative Art in these times, in this century in the now?

If an individual feels the call to create and share their art with the world, the significance of doing Transformative art now is ad infinitum.  Art is a bridge between the mundane and the Sacred and has the capacity to bridge the gap of disparity between suffering and pure bliss. Artistic expression gives meaning and healing to the human condition.  Art is the glue of the Universe and provides a safe space for the Soul to rest and take refuge.  More than ever, art and artists serve as the foundation for the evolution of human consciousness.

 

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear your comments here, reach out via my facebook page, check out my Art with Lórien art classes on YouTube or email me at artwork@lorieneck.com.

May your days be filled with a sense of wonder, love, creativity, adventure and play!

In love, gratitude and beauty…

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On Love, my Guest Blog post on the topic “Be Love” for Gently Moving Forward

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

~ Denis Waitley

When asked to explore the topic of BE LOVE from my friend Kat of Gently Moving Forward, I felt overwhelmed and still do honestly. The topic of Love is no small thing. Artists of all kinds, from fine artists to songwriters, authors, screenwriters, dancers, musicians, actors and on and on have been diving deep and pulling up expressions on Love for millennia. I am reminded of something that a good friend and mentor said to me once, ART is like LOVE, it’s not easy to define or contain, Love is endless like the ocean. So, with that, I will contribute my current musings on this call to explore “Be Love.”

My artist palette, water series.

Love is finding a soul mate and life partner in the most roundabout and curious manner… I am amazed and grateful each and every moment of this miracle.

California Adventures!

Love is Mother Nature in all of her manifestations, the vast oceans, rivers and lakes, the rich and varied earth forms, the life-giving air, and transformative fire. She is my core inspiration for most of my artistic expressions in painting. The four primal elements and our home planet Earth give Love to us so abundantly and freely without any complaints, demands or refusals. She is always giving selflessly.

The majesty of mamma ocean

Love is the joy of creativity in any medium. I create art through painting and I have also discovered the joy of cooking for others in what I call my “creative kitchen.” I believe that conceiving of and preparing a meal for a beloved and loved ones is a simple necessity that has become one of my creative expressions throughout the days… as the saying goes, “a girl’s gotta eat, right?”

Home-made meal for two!

Love is the creatures of all types—four-leggeds, winged-ones, swimming ones, creepy crawlers, buzzing bees and the humming birds…. Every day I am in awe of our co-habitants and Spirit helpers. Love exemplified.

Sweet sea soul companions

Angel and Shanti

MuBee- a few weeks old!

Love is that profound knowing and love between my family, both biological and kindred-spirits in community. Love is when we just look at each other, communicate telepathically and feel each other through the breaths of everyday living, whether near or far.

My inspiration, my sister Alisa and I at the tide pools

Love is feeling compassion and being loving to the Self and Other despite the emotions that are stirred up when seeing injustices, inequalities, imbalances, or the pain and suffering of any living being through inner or outer wars or violence of any kind. Being a highly sensitive and empathic individual has its benefits for sure, though we may feel too much sometimes. The key I am discovering through the gentle and ongoing practice of Self Love is to continue to love, accept and be at peace with all aspects of the Self and of Other. A couple of modern-day teachers who explore this perspective are Byron Katie according, author of  Loving What Is  and  the work of Matt Khan and his Love Revolution and book Whatever Arises, Love That.

Looking ahead with the drishti (or soft divine gaze of Love)

Love is “not taking it personally,” this principle being one of my key intentions for the year of 2016 and believe me, once I shot that arrow into the air and shared that intention publicly, the little tests showed up and sometimes continue. The inspiration for transformation is LOVE indeed!

And, lastly for now, Love is remembering Who I Am. After many years of awakening, of teachings from teachers, readings from astrologers channelers and the like, to meditation retreats in India, Central America, across the US and beyond, guided rituals, self-help and psychology books, volumes of personal journals and on and on… One thing I have heard and seen over and over are these wise and simple words, Know Thyself, Remember Who You Are. And this my friends, is BEING LOVE and it’s free of charge, simply requires remembering more in the game of remembering and forgetting.

I leave you with one of my favorite poems on love by Rumi.
Let us fall in love again
and scatter gold dust all over the world.
Let us become a new spring
and feel the breeze drift in the heavens’ scent.
Let us dress the earth in green,
and like the sap of a young tree
let the grace from within sustain us.
Let us carve gems out of our stony hearts
and let them light our path to Love.
The glance of Love is crystal clear
and we are blessed by its light.

~translated by Azima Melita Kolin

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear your comments here, reach out via my Facebook page, explore my Art with Lórien online classes or email me at artwork@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Art to Awaken Your Heart, Nourish Your Spirit

www.LorienEck.com

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Being an Artist: The Top 10 Things That I Am Grateful For

The artist in her element with Water IV ©LEAD

1. I can be in my DIY “glam squad” mode and still work on my paintings!

Sometimes I will have a split commitment, so I’ll take a paint break, shower, get those hot rollers on, then come back and continue with my painting flow!  Love that flexibility!

2. I get to choose my material/content to explore in my creative life.

One of my most favorite aspects of what I do is the fact that my art practice is a personal laboratory in self-examination and an ongoing research project in what I love, what I value.  My original art collections reflect my creative process and the road less traveled that I find myself on steeped in truth, beauty and adventure.  I love this quote by Lena Dunham, “As an artist, you get the opportunity to write the world — or create the world — that exists in your fantasies. It’s a really beautiful thing to do.”  And this quote by legendary Italian curator Massimiliano Gioni, “Artists are people who do things with images in order to understand the world. They have a fierce desire to know themselves.” Oh yeah baby!

3. I get to choose which art materials I am making my art with.

Palette colors make me smile. ©LEAD

I love that we have access to so many art materials and tools to play with!  Today, artists can choose from a HUGE selection of store-bought art supplies and oodles of re-purposed surfaces, media and materials to create with.  My new favorite art supply store when collecting some materials is Lyon Art Supply. It’s one of three stores in a fairly small chain with a rad selection of papers, and sometimes “hard to find” tools that I use.  Also, it’s close to my studio and the best thing about this place, they offer a great and rare 30%! discount for teachers and students!  Awesome!

4. I get to listen to music of my choice and sing out loud whilst I work!

I have a secret passion for singing!  This is something that just a few people know about ’til now!  I used to sing in my classroom and my teenage students were often shocked and caught off guard as they thought,  “who does that?” 🙂  I heard something interesting about people and singing.  There are three places where folks sing freely, do you know where they are?.  1. in the shower 2. in the car, and 3. drunk karaoke! Let’s change that!

When I am in my studio, I am usually plugged into one of my fave Pandora stations… 80s, Indigo Girls, Fleetwood Mac, Ani DiFranco, Donna De Lory (to name a few), and belt it while I am painting or simply in studio.  Perhaps I’ll include an audio clip in a forthcoming blog post….

5. I can make a mess and be outdoors! AND I get to play and it’s super fun!

My blue hands. ©LEAD

I love making a mess and luckily, I don’t mind cleaning up after! Great fun indeed!  The ability to play, to be a child, to lose all sense of self-consciousness and of “doing it right” or having the “correct answer” is one of the rewards of honoring the call to live as an artist in these contemporary times.

6. I can make my own schedule according to the rhythms and cycles of nature.

Sunrise, sundown, seasonal changes, daylight savings, planetary shifts and the cycles of the moon.  I love all of these changes that we get to experience affecting our daily lighting, moods, temps, and keeping the energies alive and fresh.  The ability to be in sync and in harmony with these ever-changing cycles is one of my favorite aspects in keeping my microcosmic creative process in tune with the macrocosmic flow.

7. I get to break the “rules.”

The art world and the world at large operate on many layers of unspoken and spelled out rules and regulations.  One of the best characteristics of being an artist is the fact that although there are these tangible parameters that exist like the art world “market,” art fairs, galleries, critics, etc, bottom line–there is no True North for artists.  To walk the path is to create your own.  This is what is meant by breaking the “rules,” even those we make for ourselves; to create, innovate, re-invent and be willing to fail and to keep going is part of this journey.   One of my favorite quotes on this topic is from Marina Abramović , “When you repeat, you really lose respect for yourself… For me, the studio is a trap to overproduce and repeat yourself. It is a habit that leads to art pollution. Nothing new happens. You don’t surprise yourself. Artists are here to risk, to find new territory. Risk, especially when you are a known artist, includes failing. It is an essential part of process. Failure is healthy for your ego.”

8. I get “free dress” every day, not just sometimes.

The artist in her “free dress” mode. ©LEAD

I love fashion and I love creative self-expression, even if this means wearing an old tank top with worn-in yoga pants and Havaiana flip-flops!  One of the best parts of my day in the studio is the freedom I have to wear whatever I please, especially if this means my most functional and comfortable clothes.  I have worked in many job settings from corporate to educational institutions and have certainly worn the heels, the stockings, the pencil skirts and dry-cleaned shirts.  I loved those days too, and believe me, I will do it when necessary, yet nothing beats comfort and the freedom to move and get dirty without constrictions or limits!  Love my painting clothes!

9. I can work from home with a short commute of two flights of stairs=smaller carbon footprint.

As an artist, I have mainly worked from a home studio, a designated work space ranging from a small room to an outdoor studio to a garage space.  The best part of this setup is the commute is ideal and I feel so much gratitude that I can be green through my choice to work from home.  One of my last teaching jobs included a brutal commute during rush hour, round-trip to the far side of downtown Los Angeles.  That was certainly the toughest part of my day, waking up at 5am and getting home well past 6pm reminded me of what I truly value in life ~ quality time with my loved ones and less time in a car on the roadways!  A friend once said to me, “The quality of your life is reflected in your commute.” Wow.  Check this out.

10. I get to express myself and share my gifts and talents with the world!

The artist with Water V at a recent art exhibition in Southern California. ©LEAD

And, lastly, I feel immense satisfaction from getting to be an artist today.  With so many ways to share our creations and expressions through social media outlets, networking and the internet overall, it’s such an easy pleasure to create and know that I can share my artwork with the world without many obstacles or fuss.  Success is guaranteed when we share our unknown with our community and keep on creating from our essential truth.

I leave you with these inspiring words for the artist in us all from one of my favorite artists of all time.

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant — there is no such thing, Making your unknown known is the important thing — and keeping the unknown always beyond you…” — Georgia O’Keeffe

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear your comments here, reach out via my facebook page, or email me at artwork@lorieneck.com.

May your days be filled with a sense of wonder, love, creativity, adventure and play!

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Art to Awaken Your Heart, Nourish Your Spirit

www.lorieneck.com

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