First Harvest 2020

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First Harvest 2020

As we continue through this journey of liminal space in the pandemic, we find it so important to pause and mark the ways the wheel of the year is still turning. Inspired by Lughnasa and Lammas, we decided to spend some intentional time this past weekend journaling and collaging our first harvest. We invite you to take an arts break. It’s so important to shift gears and consciously look at what’s going well. What are our current assets and how have we been growing through the challenges? It’s not too late to join us!

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Expressive Arts and Anti-Racism

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Expressive Arts and Anti-Racism

We at Yellowbird are committed to the work of anti-racism through education, self reflection, courageous conversations and using the arts to engage in an embodied dialogue with racism, privilege and colonialism in America. We are committed to using the arts to guide a new path toward an anti-racist society. Yellowbird is comprised of two white women who are personally and professionally committed to this intention. We stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Some key components of doing the work of anti-racism is to explore and get clear on how racism lives in you, how your privilege has impacted your life, how you feel and what you long for in an anti-racist society. It calls for a courageous look in the mirror. One way to approach this is by actively engaging with the images that speak to you, and make you FEEL something kinesthetically. We invite you to join us.

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Art in the Time of COVID-19

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Art in the Time of COVID-19

Last night, as I was preparing to go to sleep, I worried of what I might dream about. We had decided to give ourselves a “COVID Break” that day and we walked 3 miles, worked in the yard, did foot baths and watched an epic film on the power of knowing and telling our story, as well as the power of dreaming. It was the movie ‘Australia'. This blog is not about that movie, but it got me thinking about the pandemic from a different angle. How are we telling the story of this time through the arts? How will we tell it later? What are we dreaming of right now? What parts of ourselves must we sing back to us if we lose them along the way in all of this?

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Expressive Arts in a Business Setting

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Expressive Arts in a Business Setting

Imagine a ballroom full of tables, people seated in crescent rounds facing a projector and screen. They are in business attire, taking notes on tiny hotel notepads with tiny hotel pens. They sit listening to speaker after speaker and the occasional video. How do you feel when conjuring that image? Now, I love myself some work conferences. I think they can be great ways to inspire and share about new visions and collaborate with others. I also know that the environment described above can begin to numb me out after awhile. Now imagine the same room with everyone on their feet, small groups working together, balancing on different feet, jumping up and down, laughing and pondering whether it would be okay to completely drape themselves over the table and chairs or use the paper in their folders to make “keys on a piano”. How does that image make you feel? A bit different, no?

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Wonder Walks: Your Field Guide to Making Art in the Urban Wild

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Wonder Walks: Your Field Guide to Making Art in the Urban Wild

We’ve had a lot of moving pieces in our lives lately, how about you? The stress needle moving up the scale has encouraged us to return to practices that may have faded into the background. One of my favorite ways to do that is a Wonder Walk which immediately shifts my perspective. What is a Wonder Walk, you may ask? I am so excited to share with you! Here is how you take yourself on a Walk of Wonder:

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Connecting with Your Ancestors Through the Expressive Arts

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Connecting with Your Ancestors Through the Expressive Arts

We are in this special window of time during the year’s cycle where things are slowing down, we can feel the daylight shortening, and Summer is growing ever smaller in our rear view mirror. It’s a wonderful opportunity to savor the stillness and slowing down that Autumn can bring.

This time of year is also a wonderful opportunity to honor your ancestors; one of my favorite things to do! In light of the magical window of early Autumn and in gratitude for those who have come before us, I wanted to share a simple creative ritual to help anchor further into the season.

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