To Honor The Divine Feminine With Art

On June 8, 2004 there was a rare Venus transit across the face of the sun with the planet passing between the sun and the Earth. No one alive on Earth had ever witnessed this event since the last pair of Venus transits took place in 1874 and 1882, a hundred and twenty-two years prior. On June 5-6, 2012 we can expect the pair to the June 8, 2004 transit to occur.. There was much speculation that this Venus passage would greatly affect the influence of the feminine energy on our planet. As we all know now, this divine feminine influence is much needed in our world today to offset the powers of greed, dominance and war so that we may begin to care more consciously for the well being of our planet, nature and one another.
Though women throughout history have always taken the lead in being the care takers of others, the planet and those less fortunate, I believe this transit did inspire many women to do and be more. Women making a difference do not always make headline news, but I can assure you they are out there creating positive change. Many more women now than ever before are stepping up to the plate in politics; traveling to impoverished countries; speaking out for living green, caring for the planet and endangered species; assisting less fortunate women and children globally and creating non-profit organizations to help every living being and creature. I am an artist, and my journey as a painter did not escape this Venus influence. It came to me in a rather unexpected way in the fall of 2004.
I had just moved out of town to a beautiful, secluded ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico in the high desert. The property came with a real working art studio that had been built by a well known woman painter here. Though I can make do painting in almost any space, I am always more inspired when I am able to work in a “real” studio space. I had been staring at a big blank canvas for days, and decided to take a long walk in the hills for inspiration. I walked a long way, and laid down in the shade under a Juniper to rest before heading back. I dozed off, and when I awoke, I was surrounded by five coyotes. Three of them were laying there very intently, one was sitting and the other was pacing restlessly behind me. I had never known of coyotes attacking or killing a person which kept me from totally flipping out. But then, there was always a first time. I didn’t know what to do. Do I even look them in the eye? Do I just say hello and then head for the hills? Or do I run like hell? I considered all the options. It didn’t appear that these coyotes were going to be leaving. It was going to be a waiting game. So out of nowhere, I started to sing. I had memorized many songs while singing and painting. So I started in with Eric Clapton and Layla, then Bonnie Raitt with Nick of Time and Angel from Montgomery and on down the line with songs from Everything But The Girl, Gregg Brown, David Gray, James Taylor, Beth Orton and Patty Griffin. I just sang my heart out, all the while keeping an eye on this restless coyote behind me. I have no idea how long I sang, but suddenly the big coyote in front of me got up, approached me with a long, deep stare, then turned away and off they all went…just like that. I guess I was a bit in shock, and I ran the whole way home. I dug through my kitchen cabinets to find a half bottle of Tequila, and spent the next few hours nursing that in the hot tub.
That night I had a dream, and saw a painting where I was singing to the coyotes. At sunrise I was in the studio with brush to canvas. “She Sings To The Coyotes” was born. I left shortly after finishing that painting for a trip to Ireland with my two sons and a sister. I went back to my roots, and a family reunion with relatives I had never met. I had a long discussion with an Irish relative about Druids, Pagan rituals and Celtic traditions and particularly the role of women in all these. I told her my coyote story, and she commented on what a feminine response I had to what was a potentially threatening situation. And that conversation opened the door to a journey I would take into the sacred feminine through visionary art.
I returned home, and began a series of paintings to honor the feminine. By June 2005, I had completed thirteen large paintings on canvas. It was nothing short of a miracle journey that took me into uncharted territory with dreams, visions and healing of my own divine feminine. And I was not alone.
My coyote friends made regular appearances at my house. I came home from town one day to find them all congregated in my front yard, one of them even laying on the lounge chair. At night they would serenade me outside the bedroom door, and by day they would lounge among the rocks outside my studio. I really did not not know what to think. Maybe they wanted me to sing to them again? So I would play the songs I had sung to them, and sing along so they could hear me with the studio door wide open. My coyote pals came and went for months until my son came with his big labrador, and they soon disappeared for good.
I called my new series of paintings a Tribute to Venus. I guess you can even call it Venus art. I have since added five more paintings to the series since 2004…and “since a work of art is never a finality,” said the painter Robert Henri, ” but always the promise of more to come,” I am certain there will be more.
I will continue to honor the divine feminine through art, especially in these uncertain, challenging and changing times we are in. If we are going to survive and evolve as a species on this beautiful planet, we need the energy of hearts and minds to be compassionate yet full of faith and strength. We are seriously out of balance on the planet, and the return of the feminine divine gifts can help us create a new vision for all. For all women have been silently singing their songs and prayers for all life for a long time…and I know for sure the coyotes have been listening.