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"Permission to Create" with Autumn Skye - #93
77 Plays18 days ago
In this episode we sit down with visionary painter Autumn Sky (@autumnskyeart, AutumnSkyArt.com) for a heartfelt conversation about creativity, courage, and trusting the process. 🎨
Autumn shares how art has been a guiding force since childhood, how she turned creativity into a livelihood without losing the magic, and why giving ourselves permission to create is some of the deepest healing work we can do.
We explore:
- Art as both spiritual practice and career
- Perfectionism, productivity, and staying playful
- The “crunchy” parts of the creative process and what they teach us
- How creativity helps us walk through mystery, change, and big life pivots
Autumn also talks about her retreats on the Sunshine Coast of BC and the next evolution of Heartwood Cove, an off-grid eco-retreat for art, healing, and deep reconnection.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re “good enough” to make art, or how to protect the soul of your creativity while building a life around it, this episode will feel like a loving, wise mirror.
✨ If this conversation nourished you, please like, subscribe, and share it with a fellow creative.
✨☕This episode is sponsored by www.BecomeLucid.com Lucid is a functional mushroom and nootropic brand designed to fuel mental clarity, focus, and long-term brain health. Their flagship product is a premium mushroom coffee blend infused with clinically studied nootropics—crafted to deliver clean energy without the crash.
✨🎶MASSIVE Thank you to Dub Sutra for their beautiful opening music. Check out their incredible music catalogue online. https://dubsutra.com
✨HOSTS
BETSY FINKLEHOO is a healer, an author, and mindfulness guide who blends somatic healing, sound therapy, and mindset awareness to help people feel grounded, connected, and empowered. As a longtime practitioner and Insight Timer teacher, she weaves practical tools with intuitive presence, offering experiences that support personal transformation and intentional living. Betsy is the creator of The Power Affirmation Journal and Power Affirmation Cards, along with a growing library of products and audio practices that help people build healthy rituals, release old patterns, and cultivate a life of joy, clarity, and inner freedom.
http://poweraffirmation.com/
JOHN HALCYON is full-time Love Ambassador. He is the founder of Hug Nation youtube channel and daily zoom gratitude circles. He is co-founder of the Pink Heart Burning Man camp and the 1st Saturdays project for people experiencing homelessness. In his free time he coaches groups and individuals on how to live joyfully and authentically. http://LifeStudent.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Host Introductions
00:00:00
Speaker
On today's episode, we have an incredible conversation with artist Autumn Skye. We dive into some of her creative genius around roadblocks to creativity, to cultivating her craft, mastery. We talk about our own personal journeys with our own art and so much more.
00:00:19
Speaker
Enjoy the episode.
00:00:25
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Stay Sparked. I'm Betsy Finkelhoo, the creator of the Power Affirmation Journal and Somatic Bodyworker. I am John Halcyon Stinn, love ambassador and host of the Hug Nation podcast.
00:00:39
Speaker
We always love starting with gratitude, so I'll spark us off with some gratitude this morning. My gratitude is for orchids. I ah have become a collector of orchids over the last few years, and they are such teachers for me. They give me such an opportunity to pay attention to the subtle cues of watering, and they're so unique, each of them. And I'm just so grateful for my growing collection of orchids.
00:01:07
Speaker
Lovely. Yeah. ah If you are listening and not viewing, you might not know how enthusiastic I am about plants, but I am a plant lover and love hearing that.
00:01:20
Speaker
Well, my gratitude is i have been feeling so grateful for the women in my life. I had a couple of conversations recently realizing just how incredible my mom is.
00:01:33
Speaker
And then last week, got a chance to be in person with Betsy and my beloved Lisa and her best friend, Alexis. And I was just realizing that, wow, like the world would be a very different place if all men had friendships with women like you all. So feeling very grateful.
Expressions of Gratitude
00:01:52
Speaker
Oh, thank you. and you're getting a ah new friend popping in. Autumn Sky is here What are you grateful for this morning, Sky? Well, besides being grateful to be here,
00:02:05
Speaker
i um i am also very grateful for my immediate... environment of my beautiful studio and the sanctuary of the space.
00:02:16
Speaker
um It feels like a beautiful calm amidst the storm sometimes. And regardless of what is going on on the periphery, I can really settle into the space and, and on a more intimate level, the sanctuary of my body and just really remembering that I've just on a daily basis, give gratitude for my health and, and experience.
00:02:41
Speaker
my vessel that I get to care for as I traverse. And I'm also grateful for yummy dark roast coffee.
00:02:49
Speaker
Yum. Thank you. Well, that's a perfect segue, actually, because we're going to give a little gratitude and shout out to our sponsors, Lucid. it is a mushroom nootropics coffee alternative drink. It's so good.
00:03:04
Speaker
we have a variety of kinds that we try. um There's chai. There's the coffee. There is um the dream, which is my favorite. It's like a hot chocolate with mushrooms and nootropics. So thank you, Lucid. Check them out. Becomelucid.com to try yours today.
00:03:22
Speaker
you know, I, this weekend I had a, a men's group brunch and I had a thing of hot water and Lucid laid out. I felt like I was giving like a presentation, but by the end of the brunch, I had all these fanatics. It was, uh, felt good to spread the word.
00:03:40
Speaker
It's so good. Yeah. Get your brain firing. So good. Well, also, my gratitude is just the way that my heart is feeling a flutter and such a good way to get to be here with you, Autumn Sky. it is such a joy to have you in my life and get to now bring you into this conversation to share your magic because your magic has inspired me for years We met in 2012 at Symbiosis, and it was just like instasis. Oh, there you are.
00:04:09
Speaker
and then I just started following your art journey and started becoming a collector, actually, of your art. If you haven't found her art, make sure you check out her
Autumn Skye's Artistic Journey
00:04:19
Speaker
website. It has her whole shop and all of her products and prints on autumnskyart.com. I personally am the proud owner of multiple prints and tapestries and the card decks and journals. And you have really had such a positive influence on my environment with your art.
00:04:39
Speaker
There's just so many different varieties that you put out with animals and beautiful flowers. goddesses and just I'm just lit up by your art and inspired by the way you just have seemed to have a waterfall of creativity that comes through you and you have been serving people and teaching them about creativity And also just really excited to talk to you about your current projects with your land projects and the the growth and evolution. So just starting us off with the gratitude for you to be here. Thank you so much for making the time to join us in this conversation today.
00:05:16
Speaker
Thank you for the invitation. it's so lovely to connect with you both and and yeah and to continue this dance together and and get to know you more in this way as well. It's really it's really special and and it's my delight and honor.
00:05:30
Speaker
Yay. Amazing. And this is the first time you two are meeting. So I'd love to actually instigate. Halcyon, do you have any questions to start us off for Sky? I do have a number of them. The first question is Your art's amazing. You're so prolific.
00:05:48
Speaker
And from hearing through Betsy and others, you seem to be received very well in the world. But I'm curious, was there a time before you had external validation ah ah for your art? And what was that like? And how did you continue to to plumb your creativity when maybe the world was not telling you and and purchasing from you? Mm-hmm.
00:06:16
Speaker
Well, it's always it's always been a present force in my life. Since my oldest memories, there's just been this innate drive to make art.
00:06:28
Speaker
And all through my childhood and um teens, it was very encouraged. And that is truly the biggest blessing of my life is that I was never told not to make art. So it really was was my constant. And um I have an entrepreneurial ah piece of me, maybe it's my Capricorn moon, that really um has always sort of sought to share share with the world and to reciprocate and to feel um like the flow of commerce. And that maybe is through my, um through my childhood, we didn't have a lot of money. So I, I quickly realized by the time I was even,
00:07:12
Speaker
seven or eight that if I wanted pretty things or delicious things that were not on the dinner table, I needed to source them out. And so i was always making friendship bracelets and hand drawing little cards and having a booth and having, having um ice cream cones. Me and my friend would buy boxes of ice cream. Remember, you'd get like boxes And um selling ice cream cones on the steps of the community center in our little town. um and sent And then as I grew into my teens, as of 12 and 13, I started doing Christmas craft fairs and summer art fairs and that kind of thing. And just really experimenting with having my work out in the public and and talking about it and exploring the exchange of energy and commerce around, wow, you...
00:08:02
Speaker
You're going to buy this from me. Now I can buy from my friends sitting beside me and how that energy just keeps flowing and circulating. And so there was never really a point that it wasn't my career, like all the way through my teens. It was still always my focus. I was doing commissions and custom pieces and craft fairs. And it was just always sort of my mentality of even though I was also waitressing and getting part-time jobs through my teens, art was sort of my go-to for my joy and my play as well as my
Overcoming Artistic Challenges
00:08:43
Speaker
service. And I knew that um since I was a child, I just had this like innate relationship
00:08:51
Speaker
push inside of me, in my bones, that I was here to make art and share it with a lot of people. So it's really felt like a mission that is at times relentless, and um always, always beautiful and full of grace.
00:09:07
Speaker
And so the world has just continued to to receive it. And it's amazing to see the pieces go out into the world and out into homes and hear stories come back of how it's affected them.
00:09:23
Speaker
I just, ah yeah, it's, it's always been there. So I'm grateful. Thank you world um that I had. I'm grateful that I haven't had that um sort of dark night of the soul of the artist where it's not, um it's not making sense.
00:09:43
Speaker
Instagram algorithms are a whole other topic and I don't get it and that's annoying, but so the actual recification of energy is very true and consistent.
00:09:57
Speaker
Beautiful. Yeah. I love that so much, especially the part around being encouraged from a young age. You know, like that sparks for me because it's like, well, how can we as adults just continue to fan the flames of younger generations to just keep making art? Because you never know how that positive encouragement can really start to, you know, let that spark become a flame and turn into this really beautiful passion and service of the world.
00:10:24
Speaker
Yeah, most people in some way are told not to make art. There's a lot of different ways that we're told not to, um whether it's by society or parents or siblings or teachers or the get a real job mentality. There's a lot of um a lot of hindrances to the creative flow, and we carry that with us as adults and in body and body.
00:10:51
Speaker
and really embody those voices that tell us that we're not good enough or that that's a waste of time or whatever it is. And then we run up against that inert in certain simple ways. Like even when we're dancing or sitting in conversation, we think that we're not creative. So we feel like I don't have a place on that dance floor.
00:11:13
Speaker
I don't have a, in that conversation that isn't about something that I know or Like our curiosity is stifled. And so that's part of my big work is to really sit with people as they sit with their inner child and help them give themselves permission to tap into that creative flow that's infinite and available.
00:11:37
Speaker
Yes. And the breakthroughs that can have when just the internal dialogue shifts and how much can come through just from shifting some of those belief systems. yeah I bet you can see that a lot in your workshops a lot yeah yeah e yes I teach like very practical step-by-step process of carving worlds out of nothingness and representing form and structure in light and shadow but so much of it is truly that light and shadow work it is sitting face to face with a mirror and
00:12:12
Speaker
being present to all of those stories and all of those voices that come up and then just forgiving them and being okay with them. They don't necessarily just go away. That's not the goal. The goal is to do it anyways and to reconnect with the delight of, of the creative process and like the humbling, humbling nature of that journey.
00:12:36
Speaker
It's, it's really beautiful. I think it's such important work ah that we something in our culture pushes us to think of artistic expression as performative and therefore judged.
00:12:51
Speaker
you know You're either good at it, you know ah worthy of compensation or not. And if you're not worthy of compensation, then it's a waste of your time you should be embarrassed. And to try to shift your brain into...
00:13:05
Speaker
I am a human and have creativity. It should be expressed because it is innately part of what I am. It's hard. It is super hard to to to get out of the the judging mind. So I i appreciate you helping people.
Balancing Art and Professional Obligations
00:13:21
Speaker
Yeah, it is hard. And it's it's like the the judgment of is it good enough or it's not happening fast enough or it doesn't look like I think it's supposed to look to be good, quote unquote good.
00:13:35
Speaker
That's a huge piece. And then on the flip side of that, like I'd say that my... My sort of um point of tension is around productivity.
00:13:47
Speaker
So because it is my career and it is my passion, it is my joy and my mission, It's hard for me to make art without the sense of of productivity in my mind. It's like every hour is usable. i have to be productive. It has to be, you know, shareable. And going to the beach and just drawing in the sand is a beautiful pro practice to get out of that. Or making art with kids and then just letting them...
00:14:18
Speaker
have at her and scribble on top. That's a beautiful way to, to push through that. Like this, these sort of creative Drano moments where you can just really flush out that creativity because we get all backed up with all the expectations and the what ifs and the enoughness and the, you know, fears and doubts and must sell this.
00:14:41
Speaker
There's a lot of things to it. try you do i brainbook Yeah, creative Drano. You know what one of my creative Drano is? Sometimes if I feel that pressure to be productive or to like get it out on time or and oftentimes that's what kind of clogs the system. It doesn't like the creative flow doesn't happen when I put that pressure on myself. And so my practice is to do a different medium.
00:15:06
Speaker
And so sometimes I'll be like, you know what, this is I'm trying to make a deck, for example, I'm working on another deck. And if it's not flowing and I like, all right, I think i'm going to make a collage.
00:15:17
Speaker
And the collage is for no one. It's for me. I might even throw it away. And something happens in that. It just like clears out this the clutter of my the pressure of my mind.
00:15:29
Speaker
So I love that concept of like creative Drano. Yeah, dancing can be that or a drawing in in the driveway with your kids and big pieces of chalk or ah doodling. And I would say doodling in the phone book, but that doesn't exist anymore. Doodly.
00:15:48
Speaker
And then now going yeah And then wiping your face with it and letting it go. Really, yeah. See if we can put, and this is a challenge I give myself on a regular basis too, because I see that in myself. Like I have so many sketchbooks and I love the concept. Like when I see people that are so committed to their sketchbook and just these beautiful drawings that just sit between pages I love that.
00:16:15
Speaker
And it's so hard for me to make time and space to dedicate things to a page in my sketchbook, let alone a whole book, because I can't, well, I could, but i I don't make prints from it and doesn't go into my card decks and it doesn't go into my books and it doesn't go onto the wall. And it's really, um yeah, it's it has to be, it's that whole like human being, human doing and creativity is a is something that has to exist in both of those worlds.
00:16:50
Speaker
I have a question. Yeah, for you, ah based on that that the the balance of being a professional at because often in in coaching situations, I'll have someone who wants to quit their job and make jewelry.
00:17:05
Speaker
And I usually say, please think about this a lot because having to listen to your landlord's demands while trying to listen to your muse can be really hard. And I'm wondering if what is your guidance in that regard?
00:17:21
Speaker
h Yeah, it's um I definitely caution around that as well. I'm all for saying quit your day job and leap headfirst into your dreams.
00:17:32
Speaker
And if you love to make art, if whatever it is that you do, that some beautiful heart centered cathartic experience that you find joy and play and healing and catharsis in, it's like it's so intimate.
00:17:50
Speaker
And then if you think, oh, well, i I love to make art and I've been painting for a couple of years now or making jewelry for a couple of years and people seem to like it and they I've even sold a couple pieces. It's natural to say, well, maybe I should turn this into my my bill payer and maybe I should turn this into my vocation.
00:18:13
Speaker
And when we do that, there is a relationship shift that I would really draw attention to for the sake of the preservation of that relationship that you've been growing.
00:18:27
Speaker
If we all of a sudden put those demands, like you say, you you're listening to the demands of your landlord, um All of a sudden we're taking something that's so intimate and vulnerable and beautiful and full of grace and play and no expectations. And you're saying you have to pay for my phone and my food and my all of these things.
00:18:48
Speaker
It just will change it. And
Maintaining Joy in Art
00:18:50
Speaker
naturally with that change in relationship, your process is going to change that creative flow that feels really like effortless and like it's flushing out old stories might become more about um how you present to the world and the response you get. It can be really easy to fall into ah the The feedback that we receive, whether we get applause or criticism, can be bolstering and really a helpful, or it can be totally depleting and and destructive.
00:19:29
Speaker
And so we really need to, if we're going to focus... in our art for a vocation, find that center point first in ourselves that says, I do this because it is my joy and it is my birthright and it is my mission, not because somebody told me it was good.
00:19:53
Speaker
And I'm not going to stop if somebody tells tells me it's not good. I need to really find that center point, that sovereignty of the creative, the creative eye and the creative heart that So that I'm not swayed by the world around me. And also just know that it is going to change that relationship. So what I would usually suggest to people is maybe go down to four days a week at your job.
00:20:17
Speaker
ah And then you have or go down to three days a week at your job and then you dedicate three days of wo your art and then one day a week off. um And so you can find a balance point without putting all your eggs in that basket. That would be the advice I'd give.
00:20:37
Speaker
Super helpful. i love how, or i I hate, but there's often the compliment when people see something that you've created that they liked, like, you could sell that.
00:20:48
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, thanks. Yeah, I had direct experience with that. I was, ah you know, getting feedback from people that the clothes I was making were really awesome and maybe you should start making for other people. So I started doing that and I i did stop doing what my passion and joy and main source of income was.
00:21:10
Speaker
to pursue this art. And I did it for a while, but I noticed a very distinctive moment when i was having to track how many things I had to make in order to make my rent.
00:21:23
Speaker
And then all of a sudden, i was not inspired to make those things. It was in service to my my survival. which changed the relationship to the muse. So I love the way that you spoke to that. And it's, it's so true to just keep checking in What is my, why, why am I creating?
00:21:40
Speaker
And, you know, how can that really serve beyond survival?
00:21:47
Speaker
Yeah. It's really, um, when there's, when there's like a, an obligation it definitely can not always, but it definitely can, um drain the inspiration or block the inspiration. I find personally, a lot of people do great with commissions. They love to do commissions and portraits and, and what, whatever, like the, the feedback of other people and becomes a collaboration in that way.
00:22:14
Speaker
Um, but really my, um, how I work is that I need to be able to listen on a very deep level to the inspiration that's flowing through.
00:22:27
Speaker
And if I have somebody else's expectations and voice in my ear, I can't hear that inspiration as clearly. I can't trust it and I can't act on it because I need to check in with them. And so years and years ago, I vowed to not do commissions.
00:22:42
Speaker
I don't do custom work for that reason. Because my process is so about listening. That I need to have that the voice of the divine, the main voice on the mic.
00:22:55
Speaker
And yeah, I love to take suggestions of other people. And I can, if you say, I want a painting that's blue, sure, I can do that. Or a painting with water theme, I can do that. But it that needs to be pretty much as specific as we get. Because it takes me on a journey that I that i don't even try to control, let alone somebody else.
00:23:16
Speaker
I love that. And that actually is a perfect segue to a question I had for you around any ritual practices that you have when you are starting something new. that How do you create that sanctuary for yourself to really get quiet enough to listen?
00:23:34
Speaker
i think that it's because it's been such a consistent part of my life. It's really, um i don't need a whole bunch of fluff and incense and when I come into my studio i every time give thanks for this space I'm so so blessed to have this sanctuary um i light a candle i might burn some cedar or some sweet grass um and I take a deep breath and I get to it
00:24:08
Speaker
And at the same time, I can also paint ah at the kitchen table or paint in the middle of an event with thousands of people around me or paint at the airport or on the plane. Like it really, it's not, i'm I don't have a conditional experience space holder for my creative zone. My zone goes with me wherever I go. And I think that that's all through childhood. I was just always miss making art. My mom would say, it's nice out, go outside. And so I'd gather up my art supplies and I'd go outside with my art supplies. So it doesn't feel like it has to be a certain structure in order for me to get in the zone. The zone happens in that dance
00:24:49
Speaker
Between me and the canvas, whatever it is. and And breath is a big part of that. And presence and play and curiosity. But I can listen to music or I can listen to podcasts or I can hang with friends and chat or whatever. It it doesn't feel like it needs to be super.
00:25:08
Speaker
Mm hmm. Yeah, I would imagine by now you have well over 10,000 hours of painting, which is a level of mastery that it's in your bones, right? It is just like embodied in you.
00:25:22
Speaker
and I love this quote I just recently heard from Daniel Schmachtenberger, which is once you obtain a certain level of mastery, it is our moral obligation to teach.
00:25:34
Speaker
And I think that that is the next part I'm really curious for you because, you know, it seems like you've been hosting these retreats for some time now and having people come up to your sanctuary up in northern BC. And now you're working on this next part of that. And so I'd love to hear any inspiration for you around how it's been teaching, hosting people. I mean, there's a whole other realm of creativity. Yeah.
00:25:57
Speaker
Hmm. Yeah, for years and years, I'd have people asking me if I taught. And i used to just sort of back away and say, no, no, no i I don't know what I'm doing. I just do it.
00:26:09
Speaker
I don't have a formula. But then if people would ask me specific questions about materials or process or technique, I could answer very thoroughly. So I realized that I actually do have...
00:26:22
Speaker
a base of knowledge to share. It's just because I am self-taught, like I tried art school for a year and it was definitely not what I was looking for. So I've really just learned by doing.
00:26:33
Speaker
And so because of that, i might not have the language that art school has, but I do have a base of knowledge that's quite extensive and Yeah, I probably have 10,000 hours sitting here in the studio of the work that's sitting around me, let alone in my whole body of work. It's really, it is so time consuming and every brushstroke teaches me.
00:26:55
Speaker
So it's that continues to grow and build on on just the experience of of the the tactile, very physical process and the emotional internal world that's also working.
00:27:09
Speaker
going on the journey of the creative process. And so about 18 years ago, i connected with Una of Bella Retreats um in Costa Rica. I met her and Heidi, who is um she was managing a retreat center down there. and and ah Silver Armonia. Yeah, I was
Teaching and Hosting Creative Retreats
00:27:33
Speaker
there too. i don't I don't think we were there at the same time, but yeah, Josh and Heidi, you know,
00:27:39
Speaker
and so the And they just sort of cornered me and they said, look, Skye, we want you to teach a workshop next year, a year from now. This was based around InVision. A year from now, all you have to do is show up and do what you do. We'll take care of everything else.
00:27:55
Speaker
So they basically just sort of... like baby birded me into, like corralled me. and ah And it really flowed beautifully. It was such ah ah such an incredible experience. And I realized, okay, I teach the same way I paint.
00:28:11
Speaker
So there's definitely a balance point of showing up a little bit of planning and and some structure, but also then tuning in getting out of the way and allowing the process to move through and allowing the words to move through as they're needed. And so then Una and I did another eight in different places all over the world. We did Bali and Hawaii and um Mexico and Australia. And it's just been incredible. And then now for the last three eight years.
00:28:43
Speaker
I've been teaching more locally here. My husband, Neo, and I have a beautiful property on the Sunshine Coast of BC, and we have a beautiful little retreat center called Heartwood that we've been bringing students here so that I can have them in this incredible space of my studio.
00:29:01
Speaker
has high ceilings and vintage chandeliers and it's a beautiful piece of land with a waterfall and a hot tub and it's just gorgeous. We've built little cabins in the woods and um that having four to four or five retreats a year where people can come and deep dive for anywhere from...
00:29:20
Speaker
three or four to nine or 10 days, and just really sink into the land in this very, very special part of the world. And to connect with their, their inner child, their creative muse, their own unique style and their own unique so voice that comes out on the canvas.
00:29:41
Speaker
And it's never ceases to amaze me. People always laugh at the end and laugh, cry, say, I thought I was coming to learn how to paint. And really what we're doing is learning how to love ourselves through all of the what ifs and oopses and ahas and all of the mystery that comes with the creative process. We're just learning to be really gentle with ourselves. And when we can be really gentle with ourselves and learn to love ourselves in that creative process, we can learn to love others in their creative process and all of their oopses and all of their oohs and really just stay
00:30:20
Speaker
present and curious to the unique creative process that we're all on individually and collectively. And really what the creative process teaches me and what I try to impart to my students is we don't have to have all the answers.
00:30:38
Speaker
We don't have to know what it's going to look like or where we're going. We just need to be present in the moment and show up in the fullest way we can in every moment with curiosity and compassion and play and how it it will take us forever.
00:31:01
Speaker
in places that we could never have imagined if we tried to control that journey. So yes, we show up, we hone our skill, we do a little planning, we we plot the map, but then we also have to let spirit move through us and lead us where we need to go. And people's paintings are miraculous.
00:31:20
Speaker
They really are full of surprises along the way, and they end up so beautiful, regardless of their their experience. Some people come that have never painted or haven't painted since they were five years old and told that they were terrible at painting.
00:31:34
Speaker
And they come and they surprise themselves again and again and again at what they're capable of with those tools and the time and the creative permission.
00:31:44
Speaker
And it's fabulous.
00:31:49
Speaker
Testify.
00:31:51
Speaker
Oh my gosh. I can see why Betsy loves you so much. I'm inspired. Yeah. I, I, I had the, I think you described every artist's near pornographic fantasy of having somebody say, Hey, just show up. We're going to set up a whole retreat for you. You just show up and be your beautiful self. Like,
00:32:14
Speaker
Oh, yeah, that's that's divine. Yes, I love that so much. You said that container for empowerment. Painting is just a medium to help people to get in touch with the love inside of themselves and so all kinds of personal growth that happens within that.
00:32:31
Speaker
It is such a template for how we navigate the world and how we walk. It's really like the creative process teaches us in every step of the way stay like life is a creative process. So we don't want to just jump to the punchline of life and be laying on our deathbed and saying, oh, now I see it. No, that's what we have to be present in each moment or even jumping to the weekend or jumping to next summer. Like it's people will say, oh, are you looking forward to blah, blah, blah.
00:33:05
Speaker
I said well, what yeah, I'm looking in that direction, but I need to stay present in what is. And the painting teaches that. It teaches really being present with every single breaststroke, whether it's the first exciting, like, ah, juicy, vulnerable breaststrokes on the canvas, or whether it's the tedious finishing, right?
00:33:27
Speaker
All of it is very important and every step of it is so beautiful. So sitting with that process of the stories that come up and the faith that's that's really imperative in that creative process will teach us how to navigate experiences in our life.
00:33:43
Speaker
how to navigate decisions or movement or change or tragedy or confusion or
Life Lessons Through Art
00:33:49
Speaker
mystery. It's really, it teaches us to really be present and know that, okay, I will, I don't understand right now, but I will look back and I will see that that part of the painting or that part of life was exactly like it needed to be. Even though it hurt, even though I'm painting over something that I just spent two weeks painting, like even though it feels like I made a mistake, I know that it's part of the greater tapestry of what's being created. Even if I undo that, I'm still, I'm still wiser for that process. Mm hmm.
00:34:32
Speaker
Yes, I love that. And to add on to that to the lessons of to just keep going, even if you think you you messed up or it doesn't look good or maybe i don't know, rather than giving up, just keep going. if you need to put another layer on top.
00:34:49
Speaker
or just keep the process going. And that's what it's taught me, painting, but also sewing and a lot of different art that I play in And then also the other lesson, I love talking about life lessons, the metaphors that we get to learn through it all, is the power of taking a pause.
00:35:06
Speaker
You know, when you're so in it, And paintings especially because you're looking at it so close up for so many days or however long. And then sometimes when you just pull back and you're not looking at it for a few days and then you come back and have fresh eyes.
00:35:21
Speaker
And it's so powerful to learn how to shift your perception on life situations as well. When you're maybe in a challenging situation with ah another person and you're so in it and you can't figure anything out. Sometimes that pause is so powerful. And then you come back with fresh eyes and you can see different solutions and perspectives and Yeah, it really i love the perspective is so key.
00:35:47
Speaker
Really, like just that's why friends can speak into our experiences, into into our circumstances and say, oh, I see. It's because you hate your job or you're in a controlling relationship like they can see it.
00:35:59
Speaker
Right. People on the outside. And um but when we're sitting with our nose a few inches from the canvas, it's hard to really see the big picture sometimes.
00:36:12
Speaker
I love how you described your initial ah teaching with with a little maybe doubt. you know you hadn't You're not bringing a ah body of classwork knowledge that you have.
00:36:26
Speaker
um But as you're describing what you're teaching, it's these the the this this fundamental, hard-earned, experiential lessons of life.
00:36:39
Speaker
And I think i think that that you know as we look to the future and as in a world where information is just infinitely available, the access to embodiment of practices is is going to be the real treasures of the future.
00:36:57
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah, whatever your creative form is. And Betsy's talking about sewing. Sewing will teach you on such a deep level of follow through and continuing to show up. I'd swear like three quarters of sewing in my experience is problem solving and taking out stitches and redoing things if you're making up your own patterns. And oh man, it's humbling and patience. Yeah.
00:37:21
Speaker
paid measure So many projects do we all have stuffed in some drawer somewhere where we're like half the stitches are taken out and I can't be bothered because. Yeah. Or if your machine's not working and you just have to like really, okay, I'm going to source this little problem with the bobbin or whatever it is to stay patient and committed. It really has been a practice for me to cultivate that level of patience and watching where the agitation is actually getting in the way.
00:37:49
Speaker
And to learn how to kind of compartmentalize agitation and go like, oh, this is actually making the situation of discovering the solution much more difficult. So I'm just going to go ahead and take that agitation and put it over there.
00:38:02
Speaker
And then write that solution. It actually perpetuates it, really. Like, talk nice to your machine. Talk nice to your coaches. If water, like, if you subscribe to the work of Dr. Emoto with the water crystals, right, and how we speak to water affects its actual, like, physical structure on a cellular, like, molocular molecular level, and we are made of water, how do we talk to ourselves in those moments of crunchy process?
00:38:33
Speaker
And how do we talk to our paint as it's going on to the canvas? It's very, very tangible the way that we can affect the medium that we're working in.
00:38:45
Speaker
And so that's how painting teaches us or the creative process at all. It teaches us, yeah, what what is what are the the words and the voices and the stories that come up when I am in those moments?
00:38:59
Speaker
And how do navigate bigger things in my life that I might make a mistake or say the wrong thing or you know, go down an avenue that I didn't, I didn't intend or that I've changed my mind on? How do I talk to myself? Do i am i angry that I've made that mistake? Or am I going to just sit with that inner child and say,
00:39:24
Speaker
it's o okay, bird you're doing great and we're going to shift now and we're going to stay present, but we're also going to pivot and go in a different direction or take a leap of faith here and totally shift things.
00:39:39
Speaker
It really is, it really, really teaches us how to walk with grace and how when we stay in that curious point, we stay in that compassionate place The problems or mistakes can usually transform into blessings and wisdom.
00:40:03
Speaker
And they resolve in miraculous ways that maybe we wouldn't have been able to foresee. But yeah, if we're swearing at our sewing machine, it's probably going to keep...
00:40:16
Speaker
do the long Yep, exactly. And then it actually stores up in the body to tension, right? Tension in the body equals dis-ease, right? The more we get that kind of tight feeling and anger, frustration, and annoyance, all of that, it's natural, but we don't have to hold on to it. The longer we hold on to the more um we hold in our tissues.
00:40:37
Speaker
So, yeah, it's it's even a service to our bodies to just find that place of kindness and self-love and patience. And i love that little internal pep talk to your inner child. It's really such a gift to be able to have that kind of ah awareness and presence to be able to do that and keep going, you know.
00:40:59
Speaker
I really want to underline the significance and and the difficulty of undertaking a creative ah learning process when i you're it's not something that you are are familiar with or are good at. And ah even combining it with therapy, because it the things that get stirred up ah are so deep and at least for me I just finished a six-month chorus season that was led by my fiance and and getting into singing and and the that it was not enjoyable for me for months and but i I it helped me to
00:41:44
Speaker
really shine a light on the the the voices inside me, that the the early traumas that were judging and that were causing so much, ah you know, blockages in my expression. And it was a a super powerful experience.
00:42:01
Speaker
But, um, I think it when it knowing that I was doing it intentionally as a growth process really helped me get through the parts that were not fun. yeah they They were a struggle.
00:42:14
Speaker
And i had to keep remembering that this is you chose this path because this is growth. At six months, though, I was on fire and concert went great.
00:42:27
Speaker
Yeah, it's really, um I think in this day and age with everything being so immediate and instantaneous and like go, go, go. And you don't even have to wait and line at McDonald's anymore. You can call ahead so it's ready for you. And like, oh man, like the the like slow food, the slow fashion, the slow processes have really been drowned out in the the noise food.
00:42:55
Speaker
fastness, of Black Friday sales and go, go, go. And like so fast. and you know, if you're scrolling on Instagram and you just you have to be able to digest things in a matter of milliseconds now to to discern whether you want to give it more attention or how much attention do we actually have? Are we willing to open the more section of reading somebody's writing?
00:43:20
Speaker
And breathe actually the bottom, or do we want it to just appear in that first little paragraph? And so if it's our own process of learning a new skill, we've sort of lost the long game mentality in...
00:43:36
Speaker
In how things actually work. If we want to become good at something or or learn something new, we have to be willing to sit with it being uncomfortable for a long time. Just like if we're weight training or learning a new instrument or whatever that is, it it takes a long time of being bad at it.
Art and AI: A Discussion
00:44:00
Speaker
Or, you know, not well versed at it.
00:44:04
Speaker
And I think that that's where like the AI art has really swept the world as well as people are like, oh, cool. I don't have to learn how to paint anymore. I can just these visions that are like impeccable. And it's it's really like because people are like, oh, well, everybody should have the opportunity to make art.
00:44:25
Speaker
Even like people, like, how privileged for the artists to only be able to make art. And then the flip side of that is, well, some of these people have spent 50 years honing their skills to be able to make these visions. And and they have not spent that 50 years doing whatever it is that you're a master at. So what is your mastery? Yeah.
00:44:51
Speaker
And really like allow that to be your perfect puzzle piece of the tapestry of the collective and know that you have a specialty. Maybe it's many specialties. And that's not to say that we can't learn new specialties.
00:45:06
Speaker
You can join the chorus and maybe you get the solo next year. And that is so beautiful that we can build that. But you're not going to get the solo on the first on your first day of singing.
00:45:17
Speaker
And that's OK, because Suzanne over here has been singing and training her voice for 30 years. So she gets the solo today. It's really, i think, really like applauding and holding up the people that are willing to put in the time for things while also giving opportunity for everyone to to be elevated by it and to learn from it and to have the same opportunities.
00:45:50
Speaker
it's It's really a fine balance that we're in right now of like honoring the masters and knowing that new masters are being born every day. Yes, yes, yes, yes. So many sparks of inspiration. i feel it so deeply. Just you're touching on something that speaks so deeply to my soul around how art and different types of expression are actually a medium for self-cultivation.
00:46:20
Speaker
It's really so beautiful to be reminded that even in this world where people can make art at the click of a button, it actually is bypassing our opportunity for our own personal growth process.
00:46:33
Speaker
You know, and you spoke to the canvas as a mirror. And like really inviting the paint to teach you to to come with that humbleness to receive what the mirror is reflecting back to you about belief systems or, you know, deep childhood programming or whatever it might be. Because when you click a button, there's no access to that.
00:46:56
Speaker
It's kind of instant gratification. You see something beautiful it's like, ooh, dopamine or whatever, you know, these chemicals going off in our brain that's cool. But then you're on to the next thing and you you miss out on this opportunity to grow as a human, to evolve as a soul.
00:47:10
Speaker
My friend uses the analogy that it's using a forklift at a weightlifting competition. Yeah. Sure, it's effective, but you don't build the muscle.
00:47:24
Speaker
and And really, like, the holistic benefit of that is not yet determined. For me, the the the true fruit of the creative process is in the crunchy moments of mystery and curiosity.
00:47:42
Speaker
And with any practice... That's where the fruit is. With meditation, it's not in pure zen bliss. It's the sitting with your voices inside you, sitting with the resistance and doing it anyways.
00:48:02
Speaker
All of those things with so jumping off a cliff into the water. Like, sure, being in the water after is fabulous. But then why did you walk up the cliff?
00:48:13
Speaker
And why did you allow your body to hurl itself off the edge? Otherwise, you just go swimming and watch other people jump off the cliff. So true. but Like, what is our, yeah, what is the why?
00:48:28
Speaker
Is it just for the finished product? You know, that's available. Sure. But then, like you said, you bypass the process, which truly is not giving your it's not giving you the fruit. It's not giving you the nourishment of the creative process.
Future Plans for Heartwood
00:48:47
Speaker
It might feel tasty and sweet. And it's just like, you know, it's that fast food dopamine hit of sweet and salt perfection. But there's no substance there.
00:48:59
Speaker
it's It's hollow. and need to build it we need to grow the carrots and then grate them and then stew them like we need to go through the process of making the thing in order for it to make us o
00:49:19
Speaker
i love that so much go through the thing in order for it to make us ah So good. I'm feeling so much inspiration from this conversation. And before we move towards the kind of closing up, I want to really check in with you about your about Heartwood, because i had the privilege of getting to visit this beautiful land up off the Sunshine Coast. And even just the journey to get there is kind of similar to what we're talking about. I mean, i I took a plane and a ferry and a car and there was like, you know, such a beautiful, beautiful journey to get there.
00:49:53
Speaker
And um you've put so much love into this space. And I have had the privilege to understand that there is something new coming through. And so I'd love to provide that space for you to share a little bit about what's in the works and share with our listeners about Heartwood.
00:50:09
Speaker
Thank you for that. Yeah, this land has been such a gift to us. Neo and i have been here for five years and it's felt like Such an anchored, rooted, inspiring home.
00:50:21
Speaker
um We've cultivated it so beautifully and had so many people visit. When you came to the wedding, that was an epic three days of many people on the land. And and that's, yeah, it's our joy to share it.
00:50:34
Speaker
And we thought we would be here until our... We ripe old, old ages. And then a few months ago, we simultaneously had a pivot of spirit and direction and um have refocused our sites on a new property.
00:50:50
Speaker
and That's an hour from here, an hour south. So it's still in the same community. It's on the Sunshine Coast, but it's a little bit south. And it said boat access only, off grid, incredible piece of land.
00:51:02
Speaker
um So Heartwood will become Heartwood Cove. We're looking for the new stewards of our current land, which um we just really trust it'll go to the right people. It's four and a half acres with little cabins and a dream studio and a gorgeous house and a pool and a hot tub and all the things. We're just trees, the trees.
00:51:21
Speaker
he ah It's so magic. So really trusting that the the right people will come forward to purchase this land, and which will enable us to shift to the next land. um So this new property is on Nelson Island. It has 3000 feet of spectacular waterfront and turquoise water has a little private Island, three quarter acre where we'll have meditation circle and welcoming space um and a boardwalk going to it. It's so dreamy. And then it has old growth, original untouched forest on the back of the property, probably 12 to 15 acres of it.
00:51:57
Speaker
um So really being able to preserve and steward that and protect it ah feels very, very important and exciting. um And so we plan on building 15 to 20 cabins and a beautiful, big pavilion space, four-season event space that yeah will overlook the most spectacular waterfront with whales going by and sunsets. And it's a dream.
00:52:24
Speaker
So really building that venue to be able to host retreats um in a bigger way. So my retreats have sort of been the the pillar and the foundation of our retreat center so far, but we haven't had a space to have other facilitators come. And we get asked very regularly because there is a need in this part of the world um for venues, um but we just don't have the the space because it would displace me from my studio. I would need to move out all my supplies and then have somebody else move in and then I'd have to move back in and it would just would be quite a process. So we always figured we would build another building for that to be able to have other facilitators and other kinds of retreats.
00:53:05
Speaker
And now we realize it's going to be on this new land. And so we'll, we just really, we want to welcome um all different kinds of retreats based in creativity, in holistic health and healing, in um spirituality, in forward thought, in so many ways. We want to have conferences and symposiums and concert series ah and and have people come with the opportunity of reconnecting with the wild.
00:53:35
Speaker
Because it's off-grid, because it's boat access, it's very remote, but it's also very accessible. It's only a half-hour plane from Vancouver or 10-minute boat ride from Sultry Bay, which you drove right by. So it's very it's it's easy to get to.
00:53:50
Speaker
it just is out in the wilderness because of the nature of being boat access. So people can come and have this opportunity to really relax into themselves, to really connect with the water and with the trees. and with the land and the animals and really be held in the wildness of that sanctuary and therefore connect with themselves, with each other, with whatever they're exploring, whatever they're learning, and just really unwind and um and dig deep.
00:54:24
Speaker
It feels very, very timely, very exciting. And it has been our absolute, like talk about the, the, the what's and the mysteries and it's we don't know how yet like we're still so we're still calling in um one or two investors that feel aligned and inspired by the project ah we have most of what we need but we we do need an extra infusion to be able to secure the land and to start building the infrastructures um there are some buildings already on the land but we need we need to scale it up
00:55:00
Speaker
So we can offer a really comfortable, really beautiful, i like eco luxury and while also being embedded in the wild. So definitely connect with us if you have any, if you have any inspiration around that and really just trusting it'll be in perfect timing. And it'll all make sense because it feels alive in us and sparkly. And I've learned through my life and my husband, too, to trust that even in the face of the mystery and to really just go forward, be diligent, show up and surrender. That is exciting.
00:55:38
Speaker
Wow. Inspiring. for having you both visit yes I feel it I mean you just painted the picture of the vision it's already done it's already happening i can feel the depth of conviction of that of your voice it's already happening and such an inspiration to feel that just knowingness This is what's happening. And we're here to do the due diligence to make it come to life.
Embracing the Creative Process
00:56:07
Speaker
You get to be the ones that carry some of these ah physical things into bring the thought to form.
00:56:14
Speaker
It's so beautiful. I'm so excited to visit. Yes. And maybe like maybe Halcyon, maybe we could go together. I can take my my plane. Yeah, we'll your plane. Yeah.
00:56:28
Speaker
a podcast symposium so we can gather multiple podcast hosts to weave together and yeah we're in the studio and and the whole works i love i'm holding the vision with you so beautiful what i love i love love love this conversation and i feel like it's a perfect timing for us to gather some closing sparks um so helsey anyone to share any closing sparks before we wrap Yes.
00:56:59
Speaker
Wow. I really appreciated ah your perspectives and insights. And ah my closing spark, i think, is recognizing that as AI is able to deliver things that we perceive as beauty,
00:57:21
Speaker
We're bypassing the process and the obstacles, which means the growth required to get to a destination. And just as it does not do ah anyone a service to save them from their struggles because they will won't become the person that they have the potential to be, it doesn't save us, doesn't help us to save us from the process of learning how to do things on our own. And...
00:57:48
Speaker
working through the the beginner stages and growing. And i I'm leaving with an even deeper appreciation of of that not being good at something until you're a little bit better at it.
00:58:04
Speaker
That's it. Yeah. Letting yourself be not good until you' get better. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My closing spark. um I keep having this feeling that it's time for me to get a big canvas.
00:58:18
Speaker
And as we're, you know, approaching the winter season and I'm here in Asheville, it's only my like third winter here. i love winter because it really for provides that container to be inside.
00:58:29
Speaker
And so imagining what it would feel like to approach this canvas from that place of seeing it as my mirror. And so thank you for that. That's really such a powerful perspective. And so I'm super excited to go get a canvas and to talk to my paint, talk to my paintbrushes and see what wants to come through and allow that to be much more than making something pretty.
00:58:57
Speaker
but really allow that to be a sacred space for me to discover myself and all my parts. So thank you for that. Thanks also to you and for that canvas.
00:59:12
Speaker
And no wonder your art has such a high vibe because it's like you're talking to your paint.
00:59:20
Speaker
How about you? do you have any closing sparks for us? It's sparking all over the place. um Yeah, just really the the deepening on a daily basis of that faith in the process and um and however that looks, whatever aspect of life that that's calling forth in me, whatever...
00:59:47
Speaker
Things are happening on the peripheral that are outside of my control. Just really staying in the curiosity and in the presence of the great tapestry of life.
01:00:02
Speaker
And um yeah, what that looks like. I have behind my screen here in my periphery, I have, I think, six unfinished paintings.
01:00:16
Speaker
And then yesterday I started a brand new one. So staying really, um really gentle on myself of the the shoulds and the finish your dinner before you eat your dessert kind of ah mentality. And also just turning, being willing to ah turn my attention towards what feels alive and what feels most important in this moment, even if I don't understand what that is yet.
01:00:45
Speaker
Yes. So good. So beautiful. ah Well, I know I mentioned your website at the beginning, autumnskyart.com. Is there anything else you would like to tell our listeners how they can find you? Anything else that would be supportive to you as well?
01:01:04
Speaker
Yeah, ah you can find me on Instagram and Facebook, both under Autumn Sky Art and follow along on some of my process and and just little snippets and pontifications here and there.
01:01:20
Speaker
um I also just released a coffee table hardcover art book last year. So that's really exciting to me. and I'm already dreaming into my next one, but that has 160 pages and lots of my own writing and beautiful collected quotes from other people, as well as full page spreads of my art.
01:01:40
Speaker
And yeah, just... So grateful. Come paint with me.
01:01:48
Speaker
Once we get some clarity and um hence just have confirmation around this land, we'll be launching our next retreat season. and Even as we're building, we'll probably host a couple smaller painting retreats. So we'll still keep it rolling. And yeah, so just take follow along, join my mailing list and stay up to date on that and Come paint and we'll have a wonderful time.
01:02:14
Speaker
You get to meet your mirror. Yes. I love that. And get to meet yours from Hubby too. Yeah. unique is
01:02:26
Speaker
Well, you should definitely go directly to your site to shop. But I've also listed that coffee table book at a site that is just up until the end of the holiday season at shopping.hugnation.com. I'm soliciting...
01:02:44
Speaker
Friends, you, if you're listening, if you create anything or make anything, it's a ah list of products that we can buy as gifts for one another. So as we we can double gift, we can give a gift to the recipient and a gift to the creators of beautiful things. So if you've got a gift or a service that's available.
01:03:00
Speaker
ah Reach out, send it my way, and we'll have you listed in the directory. And the rest of all my silliness, wackiness and solemnness is at lifestudent.com.
01:03:11
Speaker
amazing what an awesome offering Kelsey and thank you for that um and mine power affirmation.com so you guys can find some of my products on there as well I have new moon and full moon ritual cards affirmation cards a journal that helps you reprogram your limiting beliefs and some other fun stuff on there um and then I also have this deck in my hands right now that is autumn sky it has so much of her beautiful art and You might even find that on her website. This is a really great gift.
01:03:44
Speaker
um So normally we close up with an affirmation, but how do you guys feel about closing up with a pulling a card? m but Okay, here we go. All right. What is a card that is going to be for us today to feel that inspiration?
01:04:00
Speaker
woo Equanimity. Balance your emotions. Avoid polarizing beliefs. Be willing to change your mind.
01:04:11
Speaker
Cultivate inner peace and neutrality. Seek new perspectives to deepen understanding and stay compassionate. Beautiful. Awesome.
01:04:22
Speaker
I love this so much. Thank you so much, both of you, and especially you, Autumn Sky, for joining us today. So grateful. So there's lots of sparks just burning inside of me.
01:04:36
Speaker
um Just a little note on that deck. um that I call that a living deck. So I started in 2018 with 33 cards. And now I believe that you have the 66 cards. So i've every couple of years, I've released 11 new cards. So now it's nice and thick. um So the deck grows with you. And I've just...
01:04:56
Speaker
I now am in the final process process of the proofs for the newest 11 cards and they're available as pre-order on my website now. So if you already have the deck, you can get it separate and you shuffle it, shuffle that 11 new cards in and it grows with you and evolves as you do.
01:05:14
Speaker
Oh, I love it. I can't wait to order mine.
Closing Remarks
01:05:16
Speaker
Yay. Well, thank you both so much. It's been such a delightful conversation, so deep, and I appreciate you both so much. I've Real pleasure to meet you. Stay sparked, people.
01:05:35
Speaker
Has this conversation sparked you? Send us a note or leave a comment on the Stay Sparked Instagram page or YouTube channel. Reviewing us on Apple Podcasts really helps too. But most helpful of all is when you share us with a friend.
01:05:49
Speaker
We are so grateful to our sponsor, Lucid, makers of delicious functional mushroom and nootropic drinks. And special thanks to Dub Sutra, creators of our beautiful intro and ending music.
01:06:00
Speaker
Find links to me, Betsy, and all of this good stuff in the show notes.
01:06:06
Speaker
Stay Spark friends.