The Artist's Way Week Nine: Recovering a Sense of Strength

The women arrived a little tired and emotionally drained, but by the end of the evening they reported feeling energized and inspired! Our creative activity for the evening was making dream sticks, sometimes referred to as spirit sticks. I initially got the idea for this project when I was in Yachats last November and went into one of the several cool art galleries in that cute little coastal community. One of the artists in the gallery had taken pieces of driftwood and wrapped them with fibers. Accompanying the dream stick was a little printed message about placing the stick next to your bed for protection and sweet dreams. While on that beach trip, I found myself on the beach gathering pieces of driftwood so I could make my own. I also spent time last fall at Bush Park after a storm gathering interesting shaped branches, many with lichen and moss still attached. Last night I spread out a big plastic tablecloth and dumped my large collection of sticks onto the floor. Each of the ladies then chose a stick that had the shape and texture that appealed to her. I had set out a large basket of fibers and lots of tidbits for embellishment: copper wire, seashells, starfish, sea glass, beads, and Tibetan prayer bells. The ladies dove in with their usual enthusiasm and each designed and created an individual piece. By the end of the evening I was wishing it wasn’t so late because their creations so inspired me that I wanted to get to my studio and begin creating my own new designs! Here is what they created from a pile of sticks:







A side note. Each week I ask the women to bring an object to share that represents the theme of the chapter for that week. Last night our theme was strength. One of the ladies brought two sculptures for show and tell and we were all so taken with their beauty and sense of comfort and strength and how well they fit in with our centerpiece that one of the ladies said, “You’ve got to take a picture of that.” The artists who designed and made these lovely ladies are Shelley and Michael Buonaiuto.