From the red rocks of Sedona to the white wonderland of Tahoe, I sit here surrounded by winter blankets of snow swathing the Forest Portal of our home.

We arrived back Monday evening, still vibrating in the energy of the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse – also a Super Blood Wolf Moon – and I’m just now fully integrating back in time for today’s Whimsical Wednesdays share from the Artist’s Corner.

We were away between Friday 1/11 and Monday 1/21, enjoying quite a full vacation and igniting of the new for 2019. Since we were driving, we decided on a stop-over in Las Vegas the first night to break up the drive – only exploring out for delicious comfort vegan food at The Modern Vegan for both dinner and early brunch, but the rest of our time was spent in the magick of Sedona’s high vibes.

We spent several days on our own anchoring in the energies, as Sedona welcomed us back, and then the rest of the time was with dear friends who all journeyed there from both the Grand Canyon and Tahoe to reunite.

I also had the chance to connect with two sweet friends that live in the area, we set intentions and sent out prayers from the Peace Garden two separate mornings, and of course we sampled all the great vegan eats and some new finds!

Every day was filled with tons of outdoor fun and exercise that tallied up to 60+ trail miles we ventured on foot and bike in 8 days – although I only went mountain biking once and Dave went three times making his mileage come to 74.

We thought it would be fun to see just how much adventure our feet take us on. 🙂

Unlike past blogs, I won’t be recounting our entire trip, but instead will be focusing on how Sedona was actually the birthing of my art and the “art of living” for me.

If you’d like to see a full photo journaling of the adventure, you can find all the beauty and adventure at my Instagram page here, even if you’re not on Instagram:

TaniaMarieArtist – (If you see two overlapping white squares in the right hand corner of a photo it means there are several photos to each post. You can click on them and then click the arrows to venture through)

It was interesting that our friends asked me about my time in Sedona, having me recount the evolution of my experiences with her energy since the beginning.

Although I now experience flow, joy, and tons of nature immersion, it wasn’t that way at start. Her powerful vortexes asked of me to dig deep, purge, cleanse, heal, and strip away everything I knew how to on a daily intensive that lasted for nearly two years. My journeys then were journeys into the inner sanctum of my heart and I only ventured out on small occasion to walk or drive somewhere where I could meditate, anchor in the work I’d done, set intentions, and receive insight for what was next. Other than that, I had no contact with anyone and in fact, had made a clean break from the life I had before.

I can share more another time, but it was very intense and hard work.

It also opened the door to my artistic journey I’m on now.

Although I drew nearly all of my life up until that moment, for joy and only once for actual pay, it wasn’t until I started uncovering layers within myself that I decided to purchase some oil paints, canvas, and start truly painting for the very first time in my life while on this inner journey living in Sedona.

It didn’t happen right away, but the more I released and healed, the more I felt the call to express myself on canvas.

The first painting I created was for my parents – it was an oil painting of Venice they have in their living room today – an image I replicated from their travels there. I just jumped right in, as if I’d been painting all of my life, but in actuality I was simply moving the energy that I had released from within that echoed of my lives on this earth and the artist within me that had always been there.

Upon completion of this painting, I then created some symbolic paintings that seemed to echo not only the healing and insights I’d received, but the messages of empowerment and transformation that were taking place.

I also created a few charcoal pencil portraits of my grandparents and others.

In essence I was tapping into the well of creative energy as a form of communicating what was within me and channeling through me, while also adding layers of healing that aided the work I was doing – giving myself therapy on every level imaginable and with every tool available that I knew of and was learning along the way.

My art became a form of self expression, much as this Super Full Moon in Leo has beckoned forth from us all – to shine like the light that you are and to birth new creative things from the power within that you embody innately.

It was in Sedona when this creative birthing took place, that I knew art or creative expression was an important part of who I am and what I needed as the breath of life to bring through.

And since, I’ve continued to channel creativity, as it flows through me in its many forms of expression that shift as I do.

It is also then that I realized life could be lived as a form of art and how the “art of living” started to manifest as my way of life – everything seen as a way to create beauty and inspiration, as well as to paint my way through experiences and weave the story I wanted to tell with different strokes of colors and feelings that reflected my essence.

From then on, even though I would still have more layers to journey through, I lived much more presently and with intention.

Sedona helped bring me back to the core of who I am and it was up to me how I wanted to paint the rest of my journey from the heart.

So while my first encounter with Sedona was intense, there has always been a love affair with her energies, knowing she supported exactly what I needed. Since that time, every trip thereafter has been softer and more joyous, flowing, and activating, igniting major shifts and leaps at just the precisely aligned moments.

I was always a willing partner to her dance, but I’m no longer struggling to keep up.

Creativity continues to ooze from each encounter with her and greater inspiration comes forth, providing me choices and new possibilities.

This trip was no exception, as I found myself not only receiving inspiration on the new, fun images I’ll be creating next, but also found myself dancing with yet another potential timeline I hadn’t entertained before.

I didn’t know until the trip was approaching that we’d be there for this powerful Full Moon Eclipse.

Perhaps many of you also felt its potency and like something has shifted and/or released. It seems as though things are moving forward and receiving a green light, after a thoughtful pause for a bit.

I shared this with a dear friend about my experience with it:

The eclipse was a powerful experience, although gentle too. We actually had opportunity to watch half of it with an astronomer and telescope, which was very cool to see it so clear and close. It was very clear in the evening and then a thin veil of clouds emerged, which made it symbolic, to me. It did not affect viewing, but I could tell there was still a very thin veil – so as if those layers are very close to full reveal collectively soon. The astronomer had about 4 telescopes set up and we could see star clusters as well, like the Pleiades. We left to go back to our Airbnb home because we had to pack and leave very early the next day for the long drive home, so I watched the second half there. The house was perfectly situated with the moon right in front of the main sliding door and windows and patio, so I watched the whole thing. It was very moving because at the same time I got word that a favorite bunny of mine (that I’ve followed on Instagram for a while) had passed right as the eclipse was darkening. I saw that he’d become ill earlier that day and I had a feeling something might happen. It was very potent to say the least, and being that he reminds me of my male bunny, Cosmo, because they had the same exact special needs and the same unconditionally loving demeanor and expressions, it hit me hard. It was quite something that this bunny, Flynn, had chosen such a powerful portal just like my bunnies Cosmo and Joy had, to depart – one on Samhain and the other on Summer Solstice Full Moon. It wasn’t random and it just clicked in a bunch of things, as well as felt like a big shift. Very heart opening and moving. So, it did ignite some memories, but also a seed of new. A lot through the bunnies, but deeper levels. I’m not sure as of yet what the new entails, but that it is a seedling awaiting choices that can ignite new timelines.

Something very profound hit me while watching the eclipse, which I haven’t felt in the past with other ones. It was special and sacred to come through rabbits, whom I hold most dear and reflective for me and my life. They, too, symbolize creative abundance and fertile impetus for the new. The Moon, of course, has a large rabbit on it. 😉

I received a big hit to my heart and core of what is a must for me to do right now.

The rest is a story yet to unfold, but will do so as I support this creative expression to live as the art of me – my creative contribution to the new beauty we’re weaving together as a collective.

New Etsy Shop Update:

Originally there was intention to start a Giveaway this past Monday 1/21, but with travels and such things shifted and Astrid has chosen this Friday 1/25 to begin the Giveaway instead. This will take place on Instagram.

There’s potential of things shifting with the shop launch date, which is set for Friday 2/1, but for now it’s still that date. I will be checking in with Astrid and my other star bunnies, as the days unfold here. I have a lot to prepare for the launch, and two items have been delayed until the 8th or sooner due to an office move my printer is undergoing.

I always trust my rabbit familiars with their impeccable and keen navigation, so I’ll defer to them if they want us to go ahead and launch on 2/1 with most of the items, adding the two later that first week of February. (Laura mentioned that the Lunar New Year is not until the 5th and the 8th the Moon enters Aries, so who knows what the bunnies have up their thumpers!)

Or, if we’ll just launch everything together when I know they will all be ready.

Either way, it’s coming up very soon and I have lots to prepare. So I’m off!

It was a wonderful trip away and I’m also happy to be back. I hope you all had a great week and that the energy of this Full Moon Eclipse has ignited a creative transformation within you too.