My interest in things alternative started over 25 years ago. I had suffered from debilitating panic disorder--I was more than stressed or occasionally nervous. It was like the feeling of losing your child in a crowded store, or the panic when a plane is in a storm's turbulence. The fear didn't peak then subside--it peaked and stayed and stayed and stayed for hours.
I had to stop working. I could barely eat. I spent days in bed, in the dark, medicated and groggy. I missed my seven-year-old daughter's summer theater production because I simply couldn't leave the house. Fear of extreme heat was a trigger, so I had a some agoraphobia. I had the air conditioning so high my family was shivering, but freezing was the only way to stay calm. I discovered--as I bravely drove through the Midtown Tunnel one summer afternoon--that pharmaceutical medications for panic disorder didn't work. They also had side-effects I couldn't live with. After reading an article on reiki, I went for treatments, which led to rediscovering myself as an artist and practicing, in addition to reiki, xi gong and meditation.
The block in a circle is the Antahkarana healing energy symbol done in fabrics. The surrounding Japanese symbols are from a stencil designed by Jill McDowell. |
A friend mentioned the book "Indigo Children" to me, and that further sparked my interest in New Age concepts. That interest continued over the years, and I found books by Lee Carroll and Monika Muranyi fascinating.
This Indigo Child illustration uses a stencil by Judy Wise. |
I decided to call my book "New Age A-Z." I combined concepts from different New Age paths. Some of the pages are general, and others, like the X page, deeply personal. For X, I chose Xanthic, meaning yellowish, because during one of my first reiki treatments, my reiki master asked what was my favorite color. I replied "yellow" so she said "go home and paint yellow." That simple idea led me down the artistic path that I am now on. It gave me permission to be me, rather than try to paint what other people considered the right colors, subjects or styles. I had shied away from using straight out of the tube colors, such as yellow, for fear of being considered unsophisticated and artistically immature.
Shades of yellow, my favorite color, and a tapestry stencil make up this special page. |
I started my A-Z New Age journal by making my own journal from 140 pound watercolor paper. I hand-stitched the binding and constructed a book with 6" x 9" pages, and the cover slightly larger. The cover background is made from recycled teabags, with a white tapestry stencil over the teabags, and a golden angel figure on top. It is accented with some gorgeous lace, and the tie closure has some of my own handmade tyvek beads.
On each top corner, I stenciled the letter of the alphabet for that page using an art deco alphabet stencil designed by Gwen Lafluer. Rather than working methodically from A-Z, I worked on each page as inspiration struck.
Some letters were easy, like A for angels or E for earth. Some were challenging, like X for xanthic, and Y for Yawee, an ancient name for a doctor who is pioneering studies in energy healing and macro-entanglement.
Here's a few of my favorite pages. Some are bold and simple, some are muted and subtle, some have notes written on them explaining my ideas and thoughts.
A golden rooted, blooming flower grows out of the Earth |
Gaia, or Mother Earth, with a crown of leaves |
The background of a geometric Earth-shaped stencil was overprinted with leaf and thistle stamps for a very organic look. |
Freehand circles, spirals and joyful shapes were overprinted with a favorite shape--the paisley. A loosely painted flower adds to the joyful feel. |
A feminine, pink and gold portrait represent Mrs. Takata, who brought reiki to the Western hemisphere. |
A favorite stencil, Lacy Lotus, done in pink and white forms the background for the bold, loose flower, and vibrates with positive female energy. |
Here's my video of the whole book.
6 comments:
Linda, every page in your journal is so beautiful, I can’t even pick a favorite (although that Mother Earth Page steals my breath every time!) so much thought and wonderful layering creates a true work of art! xx
joy and ocean and native people stood out
now i will go back and view again
feels like a summer breeze passing my cheek
Beautiful and inspiring work - thank you, Linda!
The amount of love and emotion in each page is beautiful. Thank you!
Dear Linda,
This is a beautiful post and a delicious journal. Thank you for your courage in posting your story and for the lovely flip through of the journal.
I have been an Usui-trained Reiki practitioner for 37 years. I truly cannot imagine my life without Reiki. I'm so glad Reiki found you at a critical moment. (Of course it did!)
I admire your art tremendously and always look forward to your Insta posts. You are so inspiring!
Blessings to you,
Kay
Dear Linda,
This is a beautiful post and a delicious journal. Thank you for your courage in posting your story and for the lovely flip through of the journal.
I have been an Usui-trained Reiki practitioner for 37 years. I truly cannot imagine my life without Reiki. I'm so glad Reiki found you at a critical moment. (Of course it did!)
I admire your art tremendously and always look forward to your Insta posts. You are so inspiring!
Blessings to you,
Kay
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