Category Archives: Inspiration

How to (not) get rid of old T-shirts

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Hand-made T-shirt Yarn Carpet 1 (Detail) © Imke Rust
Hand-made T-shirt Yarn Carpet 2 (Detail) © Imke Rust

Finally we have an Internet connection at our new home. We have been camping here since the beginning of the month, while renovating. Everything is full of dust, but slowly things are coming together and on Sunday we will move the rest of our furniture and stuff here.

The move forced me into a new hobby (lets see how long it lasts…).

My husband wanted to use the move to get rid of a whole bunch of old t-shirts… and I know that this is exactly what one should do when moving. But…

As many of you already know, I find it difficult to throw away things, especially if there is a slight chance that I can reuse them in some different way. I must pay tribute my mother and grand-mothers for early inspiration to do this. And all of them were practical women and I am grateful that I have been able to learn and receive this gift from them, too. I also am grateful for my dad, who is an engineer and farmer, and who always knows a plan to make my ideas workable, when I am at a loss. So I am bowing to these wonderful people with this post and work.

I knew that I could not just keep the t-shirts, without having a convincing plan for them straight-away and putting it into action soon. Fortunately I remembered that I have seen a tutorial on the internet, about how to make yarn from old t-shirts. And saw a lovely crocheted round carpet on Pintrest, which I wished I could get for our new house…

So re-purposing became a plausible plan with which I could convince my husband to hang on to the t-shirts.

Preparations: Rolls of T-shirt yarn © Imke Rust
Preparations: Rolls of T-shirt yarn © Imke Rust

My father’s mother taught me to crotchet when I was about 4, and since then I have never touched a crochet needle again. In fact, I disliked needlework so much, that I fought for my right to rather join the boys in the woodworking class – and succeeded, becoming the first girl in Namibia who was allowed to do woodwork at school. (Yes, till that date we had gender specific classes at school.)

Humble beginnings © Imke Rust

Humble beginnings © Imke Rust

My sweet mother-in-law bought me a crochet needle, after I told her about my plans and that I did not know where to find one. So in between the hard physical renovation work I started to crochet…

First completed carpet © Imke Rust
Second carpet (in progress) © Imke Rust

…and I am having so much fun, that I am already busy with the second carpet, recycling my own old t-shirts.

And we are so much looking forward to using them in our new house!

Hand-made T-shirt yarn carpets (one still in progress)© Imke Rust

Hand-made T-shirt yarn carpets (one still in progress)© Imke Rust

Wishing you all a wonderful and inspired weekend!

Imke

Post 101

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When I pressed ‚publish’ on my previous post, I got a note from WordPress – where my blog is hosted – telling me that it was the

*** 100st blog post***

I have written.

Wooohhhooo! I almost cannot believe it!

I must say, I enjoy writing for this blog so much! I only post when I feel I have something to share and not by a set preset schedule forcing me to post at a regular interval. So every post is written with love and joy, and I am excited about sharing it every single time, otherwise I would not post it. And yes, there are a few texts which I have written, but not posted. I was not totally happy with them, so they either were deleted, or saved to a special folder for possible later corrective surgery if there were elements in it which I liked or felt are important.

I am so grateful for all my wonderful blog followers who keep coming back, reading and commenting or liking what I write and share. If it were not for you, it would be no fun and would make no sense to keep writing and posting.

So here is a big roaring

Tiger Thank you

Thank you!

to you all!!!!

Thank you for being a witness to my art, my ideas and my life. It means so much to me!

You probably did not expect another blog post so soon, since I told you last that I will be moving and busy. I just felt the fact that I have just posted my 100th blog, needs some celebration and I might just forget till the next time I can post again… So I have written this post earlier and could schedule it to post today. (WordPress is kind of cool with such things.)

Here is to celebrating 101 posts!

Here is to celebrating 101 posts!

Sometimes I enjoy putting on my panther ears and some facepaint, and for this celebration it seemed perfect.

And while sharing my little private celebration picture with you, I thought of sharing some more interesting information about me, which you might not know.  I am working on another business idea and have been setting up a webpage for it. As I find the ‘About’ pages of artists and people often so boring I wanted to come up with something different for that page.

I will not tell you about the business at this stage, as I hope to do a proper launch soon, but I will share with you the one page which is introducing me. It is called: I am.

**********

I am

I am Imke Rust – the artist and creator of your personal Intuitive Art Elixir.

And, YES I am also

  • a rainmaker in training
  • an artist in love with ideas and concepts
  • inspired by possibility and wonder
  • intuitive, creative and solution orientated
  • a romantic spirit in awe of the mystical and spiritual dimension of life
  • as well as a practical realist and sceptic with an eye for detail
  • sometimes a little bit goofy

I believe in

  • the power of gratitude
  • the goodness and beauty of this world
  • magic, miracles, totems and spirits
  • the creative process as a healing and transformational force
  • efficiency and practicality
  • being responsible for my own happiness
  • … and chocolate when all else fails.

I love

  • my husband and my family
  • darker shades of pink, like fuchsia and magenta
  • the Namib desert
  • being creative and daydreaming
  • uncovering deeper and alternative layers of wisdom, connections and patterns
  • inspiring and thought-provoking conversations with friends
  • researching and musing over the connections between different believe systems, traditions and alternative healing methods
  • solitude and rest, lots of rest.

I feel really passionate about

  • living an inspirational, abundant and beautiful life.
  • shining a light and being of service to make this world a better place.
  • helping you getting in touch with your own wisdom, creativity and intuition.

I know

  • That there is always a way.
  • That art and ritual can be a powerful healing tool.
  • That ultimately all is love.

And some more worldly information:

I was born in Namibia. Love made me split my time between my home-country and Berlin since 2010.

I am an award-winning artist with a BA degree in Visual Arts from the University of South Africa. I have exhibited extensively in Namibia and internationally in solo and group shows, won several awards and stipends and been invited on residencies. I also have been a curator at the National Art Gallery of Namibia and co-founded and managed an extensive art and cultural exchange program between the partner cities Berlin and Windhoek, running over several years.

Want more of the nitty-gritty? Then click here for my official artist CV.

************

Ok, that’s it for now! Hope to hear from you and to be able to post again soon. If I am not replying immideately to your comments, please have some patience, I am probaly busy renovating or unpacking. Or going for a walk through the forest… but will reply soon!

I love you all!

 

Times of Change

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Recently sold artwork (via my Facebook artist page) Mixed media on 170m/g2 acid-free paper, A4.

Untitled (Blaue Kudufrau) – Recently sold (via my Facebook artist page) Mixed media on 170m/g2 acid-free paper, A4.

Social media is awesome!

But also a bit complicated… There are so many easy ways to share my arts and ideas with friends and strangers, connect and get feedback and interesting conversations happening. It is also a challenging world to navigate, as I post on this blog, on Facebook and sometimes on Pintrest and Twitter. And I post very different stuff depending on the general idea of what a blog or a Facebook page is used for.

I realised that many people who follow me on Facebook, miss out on my blog posts and my blog readers do not get to see all the art which I post on Facebook…

When somebody mentioned to me that they love to see much more of my art, I realised that in my blog posts I focus mainly on ideas and concepts in my art. On Facebook I try to post an artwork or sketch per day (except weekends), with brief news or info. So there you see what I am up to much more regularly. Yet I also know that many people are not on Facebook – and I totally understand you.

I love making art and being creative as a way of life, but just as much, I love sharing my art and ideas with people. I hope to inspire, to bring happiness and joy, to provoke some new and different thoughts or alternative perspectives. With that in mind, I am considering posting more often to share more of my art and thoughts, maybe in occasional shorter, news-style posts. I am still not sure how exactly I can and want to do this best and ensure that it is still lots of fun and interesting for you, without becoming too much.

The best way to find out how things work best is to try it. So I guess I will just slowly feel my way forward and would love to hear your feedback.

Recent Art

As I have just mentioned, I regular post new art on my Facebook page. I enjoy the immediateness of it. FB followers see the image in their news feed and can press the ‘LIKE’ button when they enjoy what they see or they can easily leave a comment to which I can reply. And recently the fact that more people see my art there has led to increased direct sales.

Always be your imperfectly perfect self... Acrylic and pen on the back of a discarded Toffifee (choclate) box... approx. 15x15cm

Another work which was recently seen and sold via my Facebook artist page: ‘Always be your imperfectly perfect self…’
Acrylic and pen on the back of a discarded Toffifee (chocolate) box… approx. 15x15cm

Facebook is also the platform where I share experiments, sketches or little projects which will probably never see the inside of a gallery, a frame or somebody else’s house. I might consider to share some more of that on my blog in future too.

Here are some recent images:

Magic Sticks. I bought myself some funky new colours and had some dried rose stems which needed some love. This is the result. (Posted on FB on 17th of July)

Magic Sticks. I bought myself some funky new colours and had some dried rose stems which needed some love. This is the result. (Posted on FB on 17th of July)

Just finished this one... no title yet. Mixed Media on 170g/m2 acidfree paper, A4 (Posted on FB, 12 July2014)

Just finished this one… no title yet.
Mixed Media on 170g/m2 acidfree paper, A4 (Posted on FB, 12 July 2014)

'I just smell that this is going to be an awesome week! - Can you smell it too?' Pencil sketch from my sketchbook, posted on FB on 21st July 2014.

‘I just smell that this is going to be an awesome week! – Can you smell it too?’
Pencil sketch from my sketchbook, posted on FB on 21st July 2014.

 

New Moon – New Beginnings

But before you expect a whole lot of new posts in the next few weeks, I have to tell you, that it might still take some more time before changes to happen. Because we are moving!!!

We have bought a little house in a little village just outside of Berlin. The house is really sweet, but even better: it comes with a beautiful garden (with a very own cherry tree!) and a lovely outside building and garage, which we plan to convert into a studio. Another absolute bonus is that the area is really pretty awesome and idyllic. There is a large forest just 100m down the road, the Havel river meanders past about five-minute walk into the other direction and there are several pastures for horses in between. We are so excited! And cannot wait to finally get the keys at the end of this month and start moving in and doing some renovations.

I have the feeling this move will be the start of a new magical time in our lives. I cannot wait to be closer to nature again, see how a desert girl can adapt to the forest and real running rivers, picking cherries and planning my own herbs and vegetables again!

Depending on how soon we will have our internet connection installed there and finished the move and the renovations, I will probably write the next blog from our new place, sitting under a tree…

Here is a sneak preview of our new place and surrounding area (click on the thumbnail image to see a larger view):

Our new home!
Surrounding area
The Havel running past close-by
The garage doors, leading to my new studio and will hopefully soon be replaced with glass doors to let in more light.
This is the inside of my future studio, with a view onto the garden.
Such beautiful flowers in the garden. But also lots of herbs and berry shrubs are already there!
The house is heated through an ancient oil heating central ‘Kachelofen’. That will be adventorous, and I hope I won’t freeze.
Our very own cherry tree – well, ok, we will share with the birds and the squirrels…
The back garden with outbuildings which will turn into our studios.

Wishing you all a great start to this new week! May the new moon energy fill you with wonderful energy!

Rainmaking Experiment #3

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Notes – Rainmaker Experiment #3:

Finding the rain inside of me

23/01/13 – Farm Otukaru, Namibia

A hot day - dry earth, clouds on the distant horizon and an empty dam. Ideal to start this experiment.

A hot day – dry earth, clouds on the distant horizon and an empty dam. Ideal to start this experiment.

Be.
Rain.
Have the intention.
Imagine.

Have fun.
Lighthearted play.

Notice.
The bringer of rain.
The wind.
Swaying my body.
 
Recognize it everywhere I look.
My blue toenails like large water drops.
The butterflies…
The clouds on the distant horizon.

Blue raindrop nails and butterflys attracted by them...

Blue raindrop nails and butterflies attracted by them…

Feel the heat.
Be grateful for it.
 
Touch a tree. Climb it.
Touch the earth. Caress it.

On my favourite tree - in awe how they survive through so much dryness and still have grey-green leaves.

On my favourite tree – in awe how they survive through so much dryness and still have grey-green leaves.

Caressing and climbing a tree.

Looking down at the earth…

Touch water. Play with it.
Throw it into the air to create drops.

Happiness.

Throwing water drops...

Throwing water drops…

Use my fingers, dipped into water
To paint raining clouds on rusted surfaces.

Drawing water

Drawing water

Raincloud painted with water on a rusted drum. drying quickly.

Rain cloud painted with water on a rusted drum. drying quickly.

Use a stick to draw a raining cloud
On the dry sandy road.

Believe.

Rain cloud drawn onto dry earth with a stick

Rain cloud drawn onto dry earth with a stick

Notice how I sweat.
Being in touch with my own wetness.
Be grateful for the water inside of me.
Pouring out.

Take a cold shower,
A cool, wet relief.
Closing my eyes,
Imagining the cold water as rain on my skin.
More gratefulness.

Drops start falling outside.
Finally.
Rain.

Finally it is raining

Finally it is raining

Today it is raining in Berlin. The rain reminded me of my rainmaking experiments in Namibia. I always wanted to share the notes and pics I have made of this experiment, but the time never felt right. So, sitting with a grey sky and the sound of rain outside of my window, I am enjoying the memories of some time gone by and sharing them with you!

This also links up nicely to my previous post about rituals, explaining how the ancient rainmaker or shaman would connect with the spirit of the rain through a ritual.

Today I am grateful for the rain and joyously breathe in the fresh, wet air!

 

 

A Wedding Ritual

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Inspired by a previous post about my interest in totem animals a friend lent me an intriguing book called Tafassasset – Regentier und Zauberbilder. Felsbilder der Sahara und Spurensuche nach dem afrikanischen Geist. (Which would probably translate as follows: Tafassasset – Rain animal and magical images. Saharan rock paintings and the search for traces of the African Spirit – by Edgar Sommer.

The book is beautifully written and contains some interesting ideas and concepts helping me to understand more aspects about the potential inherent power of the image and art making.

Loosely explained, the author implies that the ancient rainmaker or shaman would connect with the spirit of the rain through a ritual. The spirit first manifests through language and song and then materialises through dancing. Finally the painting of this process against a cave wall conserves and binds the ritual, and by that also the spirit, in time and space.

I love learning about different traditions, rituals and beliefs and then picking and combining the best parts or those that make sense to me in my own life. I improvise a lot – either out of necessity or out of curiosity. And also because I have never been comfortable with blindly following what others do… it has to fit and make sense for me.

So, today I wanted to share with you a wedding ritual, which I have made-up created for our wedding. I wanted to honour the role played by family and friends in a marriage and celebrate the joining of the two separate families and set of friends who have now been brought together (and met each other for the first time) through our union. I could not find any meaningful ritual that I resonated with, so I made up my own.

I mused over the ‘spirit’ I wanted this ritual to connect with and represent: love, an eternal bond and the interconnectedness of the people close to us…

Bond – binding together – different lives touching,
intertwining,
sharing and creating something new.
Weaving.
We are all like threads in a beautiful cloth…

I liked the idea of weaving and of threads representing each person.

We asked every wedding guest to bring along a ribbon. I created the symbol of eternity, an 8 on its side, from wire. I found a cord made out of three strands, representing my husband, myself and our union.

On the final day of our three-day wedding celebrations, we all joined on the beach at sunset, for everyone to weave their ribbon together with ours around the eternity symbol.

Getting started with our wedding ritual on the Swakopmund beach. © Imke Rust

Getting started with our wedding ritual on the Swakopmund beach. © Imke Rust

I had no idea how it will work out, but I guess that was part of the ritual too. I trusted that together we would find a way to make it work. It anyway needed joined forces to make it possible.

Yes, it was confusing and difficult to figure out, there were some struggles, some disagreements and lots of willingness to find a way to make it work. Advice was given and also rejected. Help was offered and accepted. Some were more involved than others. And eventually we completed the task. Together. Perfect.

My personal wedding ritual... weaving our lifes together. © Imke Rust

Our own wedding ritual… weaving our lifes together. © Imke Rust

Helping hands, weaving strands. © Imke Rust

Helping hands, weaving strands. © Imke Rust

It turned out to really represent what life as a couple and part of an extended family is about. The intention of a loving bond for life is set, and everybody in his or her own way becomes part of it. Problems are solved together and eventually we have an intertwined, beautiful, colourful, knotted, patched, perfectly-imperfect life and relation to show for it.

Everyday I am reminded of this, when looking at the final symbol of our love and the love of our families and friends, hanging above our bed. Its spirit contained in time and space.

The final object. Manifesting the spirit of honouring and celebrating the love and support of our family and friends. © Imke Rust

The final object. Manifesting the spirit of honouring and celebrating the love and support of our family and friends. © Imke Rust

I am grateful, that my family and circle of friends has grown in such a beautiful way through my marriage. I am grateful for each colourful, unique thread that weaves into my life and makes it so exciting and worth living.

And I know these threads are only a small symbolic part of all the invisible ones of all other family and friends in our lives. People who are touched by us and whom we touch, weaving our own threads into their spiderwebs. 

How to create miracles

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As you probably know, I am a big believer in miracles. They do happen, all around us, in big and small ways.

Happy by Imke Rust (Ink on 250g/m2 acid-free watercolour paper, 14,8 x 10,6cm)

Happy by Imke Rust (Ink on 250g/m2 acid-free watercolour paper, 14,8 x 10,6cm)

Very often we are waiting for that one big miracle to happen! Like winning the lottery or living in eternal bliss… And then we are upset if that never seems to happen.

That always reminds me of the joke of the guy who prays for weeks to win the lottery, until he really gets upset with God and vents his frustration about his prayers not being heard. Suddenly a voice thunders down from heaven, saying: Meet me half way – buy a ticket.

So, whenever I am waiting or hoping for a miracle to happen, I wonder if I have done my half? Have I bought the ticket?

Sometimes it is so very simple: I always wish for the miracle of being able to do what I want to do with total freedom. Just create whatever I feel like. Instead usually a little insistent voice in my head rumbles: NO – you can’t do that! That will not sell! That is too easy! No way, what will people think if you paint like that?! Now, really, do you think any gallery will take you seriously when you show stuff like that? Ok, that is pretty neat, I like that – BUT how do you think this will generate any money? Remember, you need to pay your bills…

And so it goes on and on, and sometimes I find a successful way to navigate through this and be kind-of-happy. Until I realise that I have more and more work, and still very little income. Then I work harder at doing things, which I think will be better suited to generate an income, improve my career options and become a successful artist. This usually ends up with me being frustrated and depressed. And feeling like lifting up my fist to the sky and say: I have done my part, now where is that miracle of total creative freedom without financial worries I have prayed for?

During one of those frustrated times a different, kinder and gentler voice suddenly popped into my head and matter-of-factly said:

Some miracles you just have to create yourself.

What? Me? How? (I have already tried all those little tricks which I have read about, such as visualisation, praying etc.)

And then I realised: Yes – I can!

Sure. Even if it is for short periods of time, I can just choose to be happy and do whatever I like. I will not starve immediately. No seriously bad things will happen if I take an hour or so of my time and create whatever I feel like… I just need to make the choice and do it!

And so I created this miracle. An hour or two of blissful and fun painting of pretty stuff and trying my hand at lettering – just because I felt like it.

Some miracles... 3 artworks by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, each 21 x 29,7cm)

Some miracles… 3 artworks by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, each 21 x 29,7cm)

Too often we are waiting for something outside of us to happen or change. From now on, I am committing to always find what I can do to bring me closer to create my own miracles. And do it. It is a blissful feeling to see all the potential miracles around me.

You might say: oh well, that’s too easy and not going to be a long-term solution. Granted, I have to keep repeating it. I think that would be possible, if I just choose to.

So here is another real big example from my personal experience.

Many years ago, I wrote down a list of things I truly wished for in my life. I read all about manifesting whatever you want and I decided to try it out. One point on the list was a real biggy. I had bad eyesight and needed to wear glasses. I hated that. And I wanted the universe to give me perfect eyesight so that I would never need glasses again.

You would agree – if the universe got that right, then I really would truly believe that nothing is impossible. It was on the list and so I waited. And waited. And waited. A few years later I found the list again, and ticked of some stuff, but the big wishes like the perfect eyesight were still unchanged. Nothing has miraculously happened. Maybe I just had to admit that it was a bit too idealistic of me to believe that it could happen.

I pondered about this for a few days until suddenly I had a small epiphany. I just received some money, which was owed to me for a long time, and I did not really expect to ever get it. I believed that it is not good to let money lie on a bank account, it would be better to invest it into something. But what? What would be a good investment for me? Something that would not depreciate in value? Something I really wanted or needed?

A few of my friends had done eye operations and were really happy with the results and suddenly it struck me that this money would be able to cover the cost of such an operation.

The miracle was there for me, I just needed to make the choice and buy the ticket.
I did.
Within a few weeks of preparation and five minutes of operation I had perfect eyesight. What a miracle!

Imke at the Goodman Gallery, Cape Town

My first public outing after my eye operation, celebrated with a visit to the Goodman Gallery in Cape Town. (March 2011)

I often thought miracles would have to come falling from the sky in some supernatural manner. There might be some that do, but most are pretty damn ordinary miracles. I mean, isn’t it just totally amazing that it is possible to laser your eyes and within 5min have perfect eyesight? Wow! I am still in awe and so incredibly grateful!

So, remember:

Some miracles you just have to create yourself.

And you can!

Panther Dreams by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, 21 x 29,7cm)

Panther Dreams by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, 21 x 29,7cm)

 

Falling in Love With the Unknown

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Cherry Blossoms Close-up

Cherry Blossoms Close-up

On Easter morning we went for a cycle trip, when we noticed that the street was lined with thousands of pink flowers. More leaves were floating down from the pink blooming cherry trees with every new breeze. What a beautiful view!

A lady was watching from the window ( I heard that this used to be regarded as the favourite pastime of Germans for many years, before TV took over), as we stopped and started to pick up hands full of these fresh blossoms and packing them into my shopping bag. Curious about our actions, she asked, what we plan to do with it and was not too impressed when I told her that I do not know.

I really did not know. I just knew they were pretty, they were abundant and available and easy to collect. And I knew I would find something to do with it…

For two days I just did not have the time to even think about it. On the third, I knew the time is running out, as the petals will start to rot. I enjoyed watching the petals float from the trees, so I thought lots and lots of floating petals would be something fun to film.

Fortunately my husband and his daughter had a bit of time and were willing to assist me on the very vague idea and so off we went with some cameras, the buckets of petals and – in the last moment I thought of taking along our mirror as a large round shape.

The vague idea turned into a bit of frustration, as we tried to find a way of doing it and make it look good. Look good for me from an artist point of view and look good for my husband who is the expert in filming. But the beauty of creativity and working with what you have, is that if one idea does not work out, there are millions of possible alternatives. And there is always something one can do.

Maybe it is not the grandest of projects or delivers the most spectacular results, but we sure had lots of creative fun, excellent teamwork and a great time together. There might be a short video one day and there are some photos.

And we brought some excitement and beauty to the life of some people and dogs who passed by ‘a woman in a tree playing cherry blossom fairy’…

Being the cherry blossom fairy sprinkler

Being the cherry blossom fairy sprinkler

Alarmed dog who was not allowed to investigate

Alarmed dog who was not allowed to investigate

The camera crew seen from up the tree

The camera crew seen from up the tree

Creative assistants having fun

Creative assistants having fun

View from the tree

View from the tree: My favourite image…

Displaced mirror with petals

Displaced mirror with petals

Spring Circle

Finished Work: Spring Circle

The Rise of the Phoenix

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Peacock Medicine by Imke Rust (Ink on paper, 20x20cm)

Peacock Medicine by Imke Rust (Ink on paper, 20x20cm)

Many old traditions believed that a person is guided and protected by specific animals throughout their lives. Not only the American Indians had totem traditions, but all over the world people believed in the power of spirit animals.

Some of you might already know from my last blog post, I have been doing an online ‘Totemic Arts Apprenticeship’ course with the wonderful guide-ess and teacher Emelie Archer Pickett, discovering my totem animals and how to work with their lessons and ‘medicine’ in our lives. We cannot choose which animal will be our totem animal, they choose us, according to our life lessons which we need to learn.

Believe in totem animals or not, I really think that at least considering them and their messages in our lives can help us find alternative insights and solutions to problems and added wisdom. Long before I have heard about totem animals, I often looked at my cats and thought: what would they do in this situation? (Usually their advice was to lie in the sun, stretch and roll over occasionally, watch the birds and most importantly: stay calm – unless you are hungry, in which case you go eat and then return to the sunny spot – a huge life lesson for me!)

Ok, now I have found out that we have a foundational or main animal as totem, supported by a whole gang of 11 other animals. There are many different views about this, so just stick with me on this one.

I call these animals my gang or circle, and the leader is a rather shy, sometimes grumpy black leopard…

During the course I found out that the peacock is a possible member of my gang, too. Sometimes we have resistance towards certain animals, or we wish for other animals that are not part of our totem make-up, ’cause they seem so impressive. So even though some of the teachings about the peacock resonated with me, I was not really convinced. Resonance to anything is usually a good sign that you are on the right path and to start further investigations.

Or you can just ignore it totally. Which is what I did.

Some weeks ago, I felt stuck in a certain situation in my life and I looked to my black leopard for help, but as usual the shy lady was withdrawing into her cave instead of coming out and being fierce (which is what I hoped for from my totem or power animal). But I learned that black leopards are pretty elusive and misunderstood… and well, they are the smallest of the large cats, so they might sometimes really be safer off in the cave or on a tree. (You can see a picture of her snoozing in her cave here)

Ok, I could not tempt her out of that cave and I had to go my own way. Which lead me past the communal rubbish yard. In the corner of these eyes I noticed a large frame in between the bins.

I just looooove old, discarded stuff like that. Cool stuff which one can possible re-use or recycle, and so I went for a closer look. It was an original oil painting of a peacock. The painting was in a perfect condition, just the frame was damaged on one corner. (At least it seemed that the leopard has lend me her eyes to easily spot the prey.)

A peacock… well, well – animals have strange ways to make themselves noticed in your life. And as an artist, I could never ignore a painting like this!

Found Peacock Painting by S (or V?) Wolters. Undated

Found Peacock Painting by S (or V?) Wolters. Undated

So I rescued the peacock and painting from the dumpsters and took it home, knowing I will now have no excuse to not look deeper into this totem animal. I also wanted to share my findings and excitement with the fellow tribe of people who are doing the course with me.

When I opened up our Facebook group’s page, the first thing I saw, was a picture of a peacock with the person who posted it saying: I just found out that my totem animal is a peacock – any other peacocks out there? And while I was writing about my experience, another person also shared that she found out the peacock is one of her totems. Three peacocks in one day… not bad. I just love considering this to be signs from the universe.

What is a peacock’s medicine you might want to know?

Here are some teachings: For one the peacock most resembles the descriptions of the phoenix, so it is considered a symbol of death and resurrection. The Peacock can also help you on your spiritual Path, and breath new life into your walk of faith and they can increase your self-esteem levels.

The bird is a symbol of integrity and the beauty we can achieve when we endeavor to show our true colours.

(Showing my true colours is the reason, why you suddenly get to read so much about totem animals and other magical stuff, visions or fun ideas from me.)

Because of the many ‘eyes’ on its tail it is connected to wisdom and vision – i.e. ‘seeing with a thousand eyes’.

Totem fun: Phoenix or the Peacock Eyes. (Ink on paper, 20x20cm. By Imke Rust)

Totem fun: Phoenix or the Peacock Eyes. Not exactly a thousand eyes here, but a start… (Ink on paper, 20x20cm. By Imke Rust)

You can connect to or use this animal medicine through meditating on the specific animal, wearing or surrounding yourself with images or objects of the animal or its colours, paint them or alternatively incorporate their lessons in whatever way makes you happy and feels right to you. There are no rules.

Even though most of the peacock lessons resonate with me, one stood out: the rebirth or phoenix aspect. Why? Since this bird (painting) got rescued from certain destruction, risen from the death and now has started a second life in our kitchen. A real phoenix!

Now he is playing with the other members of the gang, adding its strength and beauty to the mix. 😉

Totem Fun (Imke Rust, Ink & watercolours on paper, 20x20cm)

More totem fun (Imke Rust, Ink & watercolours on paper, 20x20cm)

Connecting the Dots

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I am on a mission to connect the dots of my life to finally figure out some important things. As part of that, and for some fun learning, I enrolled into an exciting course learning about totem animals and how they can help and guide us in our lives.

The course gives so much food for thought. Even though I initially I enrolled in the hope of ‘just some creative fun’ to add spice to my serious soul search for deeper answers, the course has completely drawn me in and provided such a lot of serious and exciting insights.

Between happily jumping into the fun world of the animals and wonderful kindred human souls who are part of the course or tribe and drawing back in resistance to so many different issues, I have managed to delve deep and hold on to this crazy ride.

I am trying to really let myself go with the flow and allow things to happen. And that is what I want to tell you about.

Black Leopard Sleeping

Black Leopard. Sleeping

Ok, so my main foundational totem is the black leopard. I guess I need to write much more about that at another time, but now I am onto something very different and more immediate. I had been thinking about how the leopard pulls its prey into a tree, to keep it safe from other bigger predators. Two other totem animals of mine move into trees (or live there) for safety.

Then it struck me, that I had a vision about myself as a tree two days ago and because it was so striking I made a small painting in my sketchbook about it.

I felt as if I was a tree growing from the top downwards, with the bottom trunk and roots missing.

The tree could not bloom or produce leaves until those parts eventually grow and connect it with the earth and its nurturing soil and water, its hold and steadfastness. A place to be.

Floating Tree

Floating Tree (quick sketchbook drawing)

I took a photograph, in order to be able to share it or continue working on it in a digital format. When I downloaded it, I realised that there were still a whole bunch of other older photographs I have taken, but not downloaded yet…

Interestingly they were mostly of trees – treetops in the mist and a wire baobab tree that we got as a gift for our wedding. And of the bottom of my coffee cup, where the residue has left…. You guessed it: the shape of a tree floating in the air.

Coffee grounds tree

Coffee grounds in my mug:  can you see the floating tree?

Wire Baobab from Namibia

Wire Baobab Tree from Namibia – another photo found still on my camera

My favourite tree is the Baobab. So I looked up its symbolism. Its protective, nourishing and healing and can survive in harsh climates, because it stores water in its trunk. It is also a symbol of strength…

It is also known as the ‘upside-down tree’ – according to myth, the gods planted the tree upside-down in error.

Which reminded me of my initial version, of the tree growing from the top to the bottom and also about something I created just over a year ago, when I felt depressed and generally pretty lost:

Sometimes the world seems upside down

Sometimes the world seems upside down

These are so many dots connecting and I will have to ponder about the lessons that entails. So I decided to write it down. While writing, I thought I could just as well post it as a blog. I thought that this is probably a bit too spiritual and way-out for my main art blog and I decided to post it first on my Baobabs, Magic and Art blog.  And then it struck me that even the title of this blog adds another dot to connect to the mystical tree…

And it led me further to another poem and image, which I had made and posted on there in June last year:

trying to grow new roots

Trying to grow new roots
In a foreign land
With my feet on unfamiliar ground

Trying to become grounded
Return to the earth
And feel at home

Drawing strength
From below
From belonging

I have no roots
Here
Yet

© Imke Rust

And hopefully I will eventually find or grow my roots so that this tree won’t be floating around in uncertainty anymore, but will find its place and grow into a big nurturing, protective, creative and healing tree. 🙂

Wishing you a beautiful start to the week!