Creative Compost

I really had to laugh when I serendipitously stumbled upon Artists In Blogland color-this-quote challenge for May.  The premise: a quote is offered and if you’re inspired you create something specifically related and then share it.

The quote:

Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.    ~ Pablo Picasso

What a perfect opportunity to share what I’ve created.   But first a little background.

As many of you know, I try to live an intentional life; honoring the sacred in the everyday, paying attention to rhythms.  One of the things I like to do when it’s time to move on, is take a moment to review and close out the old energy with gratitude before opening the way to the new.  It can be a simple thing or something a bit more formal, but the transitions between months and seasons can be a great way to practice this.

In April I attended a spiritual retreat and one of the things that I came to a new understanding about was how unhelpful old stories are.  How liberating to release our ties to them; to release them back into wholeness and move on.

When I came back I knew I wanted to create some sort of ritual/touchstone marking this shift.   As I was paging through my We’moon date book it occurred to me what to do.  I pulled out the April moon phase calendar page, chopped it up and used it to make paper.  The old form released into something new. 

We had a record breaking amount of rain in April, and my mind kept turning to the old adage “April showers bring Spring May flowers.  So I used a bit of rainwater in my papermaking as well. 

Once the paper was made – I did a few small sheets – I used a couple to put together a little tribute to the May flowers that made my garden such a delight.

So there you have it, the old destroyed to create the new.

A calendar page similar to the one I cut up:

My front page:

My inside pages.   I like little pockets to hide little treasures.  The envelope contains some journaling, and I have tiny messages slipped behind the prints of of flowers.

While we still have another month of Spring, this has really felt like a full, complex, holding-much, kind of season to me.  And so I’m sure I’ll be doing a lot of reviewing at the time of the Solstice when we roll into the next season.  It’s been a while since I’ve done a closing out the old/opening the new season call with my peeps, but I’m certainly feeling like I want to do one next month.  We’re moving into a new phase of our journey, a new passage.  That’s really what each new season is.  And I think it’s important to always move with intention and attention – to be fully present, so we can reap the benefits of what has passed and be open to receive what new gifts are available to us.   If you’d like to join me on the call next month you can sign up here.

So tell me what have you been destroying so you can create something new?  What new creations are lighting you up?  Has this Spring felt extra full to you?   Leave a comment, you know I love to hear.

And do pop over to Artists in blogland and see what other’s have to share about the Picaso quote.   I’m also linking to Lori Moon’s May flower challenge, and invite you to visit there as well.