"There is an old legend that says we each have a wild, curious twin that was thrown out the window the night we were born, taking much of our vitality with them. If there was something we were meant to do with our few, brief years on Earth, we can be sure that the wild twin is holding the key."
~Martin Shaw
About the Exhibit
A Reflection from Curator, Shiloh Sophia
This Exhibit features paintings from Practicing Students of our Ritual 2021 yearlong medicine painting course. This course was designed by myself, Shiloh Sophia, along with Jenafer C. Owen in visual journaling and Cassielle Bull, with movement.
Throughout this yearlong journey, many teachings, practices and inquiries informed the making of art and story. As each one of our students was invited to discover a new arising myth that would be revealed from the art process itself, called Intentional Creativity.
We explored diverse topics like learning to live from love, catalyze by paying attention to day to day ritual as well as the environment. Every student was invited to explore 2 miles around their home and pay attention to trees, rocks, sky and creatures there. We were inviting ourselves to engage in the archetypal potential of what it means to be the Healed Healer. We also practiced personal healing through Medicine Painting, which is basically creating with an intent to heal.
Each one of us engaged in writing a mythical tale – a legend – which was designed from our relationship with ourselves and the self that is hidden, which is sometimes called the ‘Hidden Twin’. We also worked on integrating that hidden self into our day to day lives taking risks and seeing what would happen when the self we know and the self we don’t know come together to speak story and image.
Yet not everything was focused on the imaginary. We also dove into the mystery and beliefs about life itself and the world. But instead of going up to heaven up, and down to the underworld, we traveled across the Orbis Imaginalis – we went left to right, exploring the spaces on either side of us instead of the descent and ascent model. We went to places we hadn’t seen before.
Each of our students had the opportunity to share their work, to connect with one another monthly, to pay attention to the cycles of the moon and know where you were each day according to the moon. These paintings reflect an incredible connection to the hidden parts of ourselves being revealed and included in our story. Creating a union with our soul, psyche, body, and our relationship with Life itself.
Shiloh Sophia on the opening day of Ritual in January 2021
Ritual Students at Their Closing Call
Shiloh Sophia in Process with Her Ritual Painting
The RITUAL Medicine Painting Class will be available for instant access enrollment by May 2022!
For those who wish to embark on this incredible painting journey and explore Ritual, Medicine Painting, and Mythic Storytelling, your Hidden Twin awaits you!
Exhibit Media
Presentation
Museum Show
CLOUD CLAN: Spontaneous Story from the 2021 RITUAL Course by Shiloh Sophia
As a part of the RITUAL Journey, and in concert with our MUSEA Community ethos, each student was asked to become consciously connected to the lands where they are living, as well as discover the names of the Indigenous people groups who were and are the stewards of those lands. Specifically we became conscious of the 2 miles around where we live.
We as a community strive to be intentional in our relationship with life, to honor the flora, the fauna, the fungi, the water, the air, the minerals, stories, cultures, traditions and sacred places of the Many Lands in which we find our sense of place and practice Intentional Creativity. We acknowledge with humility and gratitude our interconnection, our place in the cycle, and our sacred responsibility of reciprocation, love, and respect towards our precious and beautiful home, the Earth and all beings.
"The wild twin rolls the dice a little. Without eros, without risk, there's no culture worth making. So this is a dangerous business, calling out to these brooding, exiled energies. But truth be told and nailed to the tavern wall, it's far, far more dangerous not to."
~Martin Shaw
Thank you for witnessing the exhibit.
We invite you to leave your comments and reflections below!
Special thanks to:
Shiloh Sophia for her dedication and inspirational guidance through this 13-moon journey.
Jenafer Owen for her inquiries and student support.
Casielle Bull for her graceful movement and mindfulness guidance.
trish o’malley for your support and wisdom shared with our students on their journey.
Exhibit Page Design and Concept
Amber Gould, Curatorial Director
Exhibit Virtual Presentation
Maia Lemann, CoCurator
Collaborative Curation
Shiloh Sophia, Curator
Promotion and Communications
Maia Lemann, Sarah Mardell and Amber Gould
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The Intentional Creativity® Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We are a self-funded Foundation, which means that your donations and our Museum Membership is what allows the Foundation to host Museum Exhibits, steward the MUSEA Museum + permanent collection, employ women - all graduates of MUSEA's certification programs - to run the day-to-day business of the ICF, offer grants to artists to assist them in creating and sharing Intentional Creativity workshops, offer Arts Activism events and programming, along with other programming and more. Without you, none of this would be possible. Thank you for your generosity and support!
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