In Search of Self Love...

every artist should watch this 35 minute movie about life as a creative soul...enjoy

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

In Search of Self Love : 

A simple yet healing short feature video narrated by artist Rita Loyd. In this video, Rita, as an artist, tells how the creative process taught her to love herself. She also speaks about the true meaning of self-love and what she has learned in order to incorporate self-love into all areas of her life. Rita makes it clear in this video that true self-love comes from the spirit rather than from the ego. As she tells her story, the visual of the video is of her painting the image "Embrace all that you are with love." Be inspired by her simple yet powerful message.

(r)Evelation...Day 1

"Circumstance does not make a woman, it reveals her to herself",  paraphrased James Allen from As a Man Thinketh

(r)Evelation

The circumstances of my life these past few years have (r)Evealed much to me...I have grown as a woman into my own place of freedom. The best part was uncovering the freedom to live an emotionally authentic life...my life lesson. And I have never been as excited and passionate as I am about this platform...

This is Day 1 of the unveiling of my new business platform. I will give you a little nugget with each post... This (r)E-Branding is a result of my stepping into my life purpose...embracing who I am fully and (r)Everently...and stumbling headlong down the path with joy and wild abandon!!!

Last week I offered a sneak peek with (r)Evolutionary Times...This is a time of (r)E-Engineering, (r)E-Purposing, (r)E-Branding and (r)E-Invention at (r)ebecca E. Parsons Studios, Inc.

It started with a significant (r)Evelation... By revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in few words. --Eph. iii. 3.

Revelation \Rev`e*la"tion\, n. [F. r['e]v['e]lation, L. revelatio.]
1. The act of revealing, disclosing, or discovering to others what was before unknown to them.
2. That which is revealed.
3. (Theol.)
(a) The act of revealing divine truth.
(b) That which is revealed by God to man; esp., the Bible.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

The (r)Evelation... I am a Spiritual Business Visionary who has a life purpose of leading the transition of women entrepreneurs into The Age of Aquarius.

1) Women Entrepreneurs Stabilizing our Economy,
2) Women Entrepreneurs Reinventing How Business is Done, and
3) Women Entrepreneurs Living Fully in Their Spirituality.

You might say, “This is a really BIG Vision.” And I would agree. How will this happen?

By creating Women Led, Spirit Fed TM companies that will become the employers, the role models, and the innovators of a new way of doing business. The old way of doing business has not served our economy, our planet, or us. It is time for massive change…time for new ideas and thinking…it is time for women to step fully into our innate abilities as leaders, heroines, and nurturers.

Stay tuned for the next step…

standing in my own way...

"standing in my own way" - 2009 acrylic and plaster on canvas

this painting just happened as so many of mine do...most of you know by now that art is prayer for me and i believe The Artist is a Spiritual Explorer...so i will share my creative process and let you peek into the experience of this painting...

when i create i set an intention asking the universe (God for me) to let flow through me what i need to know...this opens me to any possibility and clears they way for happenstance and synchronicity to emerge...

i sit with the canvas and my palette...when i feel pulled toward a color i dip my brush and off we go...i am usually going to paint a background for future work when something appears that takes me in a surprising and new direction...this is what happened during this painting session...

i have been troubled lately by thoughts that i am off my life's path...a feeling of wandering helplessly without any destination...like i am moving under water, v e r y   s l o w l y....

so this painting started with a thin coat of venetian plaster (so it will have a fresco look and feel)...then it went to aqua, very wet with lots of movement...then yellow as the sun shining through the water...the figure began to emerge and became more distinct, too distinct i thought...so i scraped it back a little with the edge of a spatula (the tool used to apply the plaster)...as i scraped the second figure appeared very close in front of the first figure...with bright light bursting forth...

at this moment i understood the message...i am standing in my own way...for a variety of reasons that i do not need to share here...yet the message came through loud and clear to me...

when i finish painting i usually sit with the painting and let it speak to me...i usually journal during this process...this painting had much to say to me...if you look closely to the left of the standing figures you can see another figure seated in a chair...with head slightly bowed...it is my spirit waiting patiently for me to get past this obstacle and get back on my life's path......

WOW! POWERFUL STUFF...

i am sending your here to read a powerful post...it is exactly where i am today....that crossroads is here...choices i so do not want to make or hoped i never would have to make are upon me...and i must step out blindly on this path of mine, not knowing what lies ahead or even if there is an ahead...but i must move on anyway...my heart beating and i wonder why...

Today's Intention...to get out of my own way and resume my life's journey...

an artistic journey with kindred spirits...

student work from class at John C Campbell Folk School in January

What is Creativity?

an Ability...the ability to imagine or invent something new.

an Attitude...accept change and newness, be willing to play with ideas and possibilities, develop an outlook of flexibility and the habit of enjoying the good, while looking for ways to improve it.

a Process...continually strive to improve ideas and solutions, by making gradual alterations and refinements to your works.

students during drumming part of class

Creativity is not the ability to create something out of nothing (only God can do that), but the ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas. Some creative ideas are astonishing and brilliant, while others are just simple, good, practical ideas that no one seems to have thought of yet.

Everyone has substantial creative ability. Remember how you were as a child! If someone gave you paint and a brush, you painted. If they asked you to sing, you sang out loud. If they asked you to dance, you danced with joy. 

I recently read that if you walk into a first grade class and ask how many are artists, almost all children hold up their hands. If you walk into the same group of children in fifth grade and ask them how many are artists, only one or two will raise their hands. So somewhere between the first and fifth grade, creativity is suppressed or removed by the educational system. And it often takes decades to reconnect with your creativity, if at all.

So this is what I attempt to do in my "Artistic Journeys for Kindred Spirits" workshop. 

students at work

Workshop Mission and Goals

The mission of the workshop is to experience the communion with your higher self or your soul in a way that allows you to excel at your artform. We will play or relearn to play. We will write, draw, paint, tell stories, dance and drum. We will work with the reckless abandon of a child. We hope to set your creative soul free.

When students leave I hope that they know that their art is more about what happens as they work than the actual work of art itself. Robert Henri author of “The Art Spirit” says, “What we need is more sense of the wonder of life and less of the business of making a picture.”

I want them to know that you have something valuable to say with their art. I lead them through journeys that stretch them from their comfort zone. Some resist vocally, some quietly. I facilitate, they teach themselves so that the projects become internalized with the hope that they can and will continue to grow creatively when they are home.

We explore ways to expand our creativity through a series of exercises including a guided visualization technique, automatic drawing and writing, map making, memoir, and storytelling. Throughout the workshop, the exercises will focus on ways to:

1. Become overly curious
2. Be childish
   
3. Find inspiration in the world around you
   
4. Discover and use images from the unconscious
   
5. Seek out problems
   
6. Stimulate your perceptive abilities
   
7. Suspend judgment
   
8. Get over the fear of failure
   
9. Celebrate failures
   
10. Give yourself permission to fail
    
11. Give yourself the time to create
    
12. Engage your imagination with life journey memories
    
13. Work collaboratively
    
14. and much more...

There is strong social pressure to conform and to be ordinary and not creative. Don't cave to this pressure. 

class collaborative nature collage

work in progress...

what is on your easel today???

i am working on these four angels right now...i am teaching a creativity workshop titled "Artistic Journey with Kindred Spirits" at John C. Campbell Folk School the weekend of January 23rd...i am doing these for sale in the gallery while i am there...

i am totally taken with the angel on the upper right...i paint intuitively...with little pre-planning and let each figure develop as it will...the background is venetian plaster (one of my favorite grounds to paint on)...i love to work on several paintings at once so i can let things dry before i mess them up...i have a tendency to do that if i paint one at a time...how do you work???

on a personal note...after 3 years on the market and $125,000 worth of reductions...there is finally someone interested in my home...please lift a prayer that it may sell quickly...

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats....

One of my most useful discovery tools is a SWOT Analysis. I use it often and almost always use it with the artisans I coach. The process always gets me to focus in on my next big idea (and I have a million ideas). It helps me:

1. Determine what personal attributes are helpful to achieving the objective;
   
2. Determine what personal attributes are harmful to achieving the objective;
   
3. Determine what external conditions are helpful to achieving the objective; and 
   
4. Determine what external conditions could do damage to the performance.

 my visual SWOT analysis

What is a SWOT Analysis?

A discovery of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats  for a specific goal. A personal SWOT Analysis is a powerful technique to identify your Strengths and Weaknesses and to examine the Opportunities and Threats you face. A business/career SWOT can help you discover and develop your unique niche which utilizes your specific talents, abilities, and opportunities to the fullest.

Download your SWOT Analysis Worksheet PDF file . This is with my compliments to do your own analysis.

As an artist it is helpful for me to create a visual SWOT Analysis as shown above. I illustrate my strengths after I do the above form. During this illustration process I work through many ideas and usually have an answer when I am finished with the artwork. It is a type of visual journaling also that I allow to flow intuitively.

Identification of your SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for the success of the selected objective may be derived from your SWOTs.

The first objective is to determine whether the goal is attainable, given my SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable, I must choose a different objective and repeat the process.

If, on the other hand, the objective seems attainable, my SWOTs are used as source information to the creative generation of possible strategies, by asking and answering each of the following four questions, several times:

• How can I Use each Strength?
  
• How can I Improve each Weakness?
  
• How can I Exploit each Opportunity?
  
• How can I Mitigate each Threat?

When used in a personal context, it helps you develop your career path in a way that takes best advantage of your talents, abilities and opportunities.

What makes a SWOT analysis particularly powerful is that with a little thought, it can help you uncover opportunities that you are best suited to do. By gaining a clear understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats before they possibly cause you problems.

Possibly the best outcome of a SWOT analysis is the ability to craft a strategy that allows you to differentiate yourself from your competitors, capture your fair market share, and compete successfully.

How to use the tool:

To carry out a SWOT Analysis, print out our free worksheet, and answers to the following questions:

Strengths:

1. What advantages (for example, skills, education or connections) do I have that others don't have?
   
2. What do I do better than anyone else?
   
3. What personal resources do I have access to?
   
4. What do other people see as my strengths?
   

Consider this from your own perspective and from the point of view of the people around you. And don't be modest, be as objective as you can. If you are having any difficulty with this, try making a list of your characteristics. Some of these will be strengths!

Click for a great checklist of strengths.

Weaknesses:

1. What could you improve?
   
2. What should you avoid?
   
3. What things are the people around you likely to see as weaknesses?
   

Again, consider this from a personal and external basis: Do other people perceive weaknesses that you do not see? Do co-workers consistently out-perform you in key areas? It is best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible.

Opportunities:

1. Where are the good opportunities facing you?
   
2. What are the interesting trends you are aware of?
   
3. Useful opportunities can come from such things as:

A useful approach to looking at opportunities is also to look at your strengths and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities. Alternatively, look at your weaknesses and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating them.

Threats:

1. What obstacles do you face?
   
2. What are the people around you doing?
   
3. Is your job (or the demand for the things you do) changing?
   
4. Is changing technology threatening your position?
   
5. Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten you?
   

Carrying out this analysis will often be illuminating - both in terms of pointing out what needs to be done, and in putting problems into perspective.

Mindtools says: A SWOT matrix is a framework for analyzing your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats you face. This helps you to focus on your strengths, minimize weaknesses, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available.

I encourage you to use this for decision making, especially business decisions. Let me know how you like it and if it helps you.

Information for this article was taken from:
Mindtools

Cre8Tiva Returns...

I am a little bummed that i am missing salon in chicago this year...i just could not manage to make it happen...but a load of hugs and good wished are streaming from me to the other members...i miss you terribly...and i trust that vic will run the dance committee with aplomb without me...if you are near chicago this weekend, stop by and see the talent of the best of the best in the world in the decorative painting industry...tell 'em i said , "hi"... it is open to public May 22-25 at the International Union of Painters & Allied Trades, 1905 Sequoia, Aurora, IL...

Geesh...I am so sorry that I seem to have lost track of myself and my mission with this blog of late...i've been alternating between waves of humility and gratitude, with a good dose of self-pity attributable to fear, fatigue and frustration....after my half-hearted weekend pity party, i am happy to report that i am doing much better...it is a new day, a new attitude...and a new me (well, it's the old me with a lot more life lessons under her belt)...

i am most grateful for all the concerned e-mails and phone calls from readers...i will not be able to respond individually for some time, but please be assured that I am doing well spiritually again...a long sunrise walk on the beach this morning with my trusty companion sir chancelot was remarkably healing...i am not fully recovered, but have donned my big girl panties and found the strength necessary....a big hug to each of you...

Cre8Tiva sat quietly while i did what i had to do to survive...she made herself known this weekend...we were able to produce a great piece of art this past few days...it was one that had been stirring around in Cre8Tiva's right brain for some time...we painted intuitively...i think she is amazing...her eyes especially...

"flowers in her hair" 2008, acrylic on canvas 11' x 14" #1 in my Mermaid Portraits Series...

close up

let me know what you think...she is going to be the first piece in my etsy shoppe....i know that i promised it would be open in April, but i was a little sidetracked...

drawing and under painting

in process...the middle is not always the end!!!

hey that's a great new motto for me..."the middle is not always the end"...the journey continues...

Don't forget to visit my other blog, The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer click here...

The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer continued...

I am fully aware that this was serendipity now...this was the first glimpse at my life's calling...The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer... we can fly...we can soar... -Rebecca E. Parsons


How have I been led to this place...The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer...I have been on a journey for several years, with no idea of exactly where I was heading. When I began all I knew was, once I was called to go, I had no choice but to move out in the direction I was led.

The Readers Digest version of how my life's journey has led me to today- I have been creative all of my life. As a dancer, writer, journalist, and visual artist I have explored many pathways. I danced until I broke my neck at age 23. Having to find another outlet for my creativity, I began to paint and design. This led to a long career in graphic design. In the mid-80s, I rediscovered my love for painting and began a long lucrative career in decorative arts as a muralist. Graphic design led me to become a magazine editor for the past 10 years and to freelance jobs with some of the world's largest corporations (i.e. Kimberly-Clark, Prudential, IBM, GTE, BellSouth, Scientific Atlanta, Ernst & Young) and the US Olympic Committee. Murals and faux finishing led me to teaching, speaking engagements and writing as a regular columnist for several magazines. Another spinal break and subsequent surgeries brought me off of the ladder and into my own artwork.

Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road. -Dag Hammerskjold

But there is another side of me that requires nurturing as much as my creative side - my spiritual side. I was always a Sunday church-goer and volunteer. After the death of my mother in 2000, I began a journey into deeper prayer, consciously setting aside time each morning and evening for prayer. That led me to praying the hours as monks and nuns do. What I discovered was the more you pray, the more you want to pray. And you begin a journey into a relationship so vast and fulfilling that you desire to have that always present in your life.

This led me to seek a Spiritual Director in 2002. I was torn because I believed that in order to follow my spiritual self, I would need to abandon my creative self. With my director's help, I have been able to come to the understanding that my art does not conflict with my spiritual life, it enhances and enriches it. Two years ago, I entered a 4-year formation program to become a Spiritual Director myself.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -Jeremiah 29:11

My heart has been called to move my art explorations out into the world. I even bought Art as Prayer.com in 2007. Last week, after breaking my foot and slowing down, both worlds came together. During a contemplative/meditative session while asking for Divine guidance, I was given the outline of my future...my ministry...my calling...

The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer...

I have great clarity about all my past pathways, the fulfilling as well as the missteps. Each has had a part that has prepared me for this new path. The years of struggle with my art, the years of writing and teaching, the education process of becoming a Spiritual Director...all have led to this new doorway...the threshold of the rest of my life. It was opened to me and I have walked through it...filled with anticipation and excitement....

I consider myself a contemplative artist. My work is a combination of meditation and exploration...I cannot deny that part of myself that is so deeply rooted in faith and belief or the part of me that brings forth my visual voice from the work of my hands. I sometimes long for the peace of mind of the Buddhist monks, who have reached the place where nothing of this world can affect them...negatively or positively. They exist on a level where they are one with the Divine...I have glimpses of this place, but am still striving for it.

2007 was a year of deep lessons for me...moving, reflection, renewal, creativity, upheaval, unease...all brought with them major growth. I find growing edges of myself everyday and I am learning to embrace the me that I am today...at this moment. Those times that I was able to live in the present brought the biggest rewards...peace of mind and heart...and creativity beyond my wildest dreams. I am living proof that God had bigger plans for your life, than you could ever imagine...


When I am fully in this thing I call intuitivity (the confluence of intuition and creativity) I am most alive and in complete sync with that part of me that always has the answers and always knows where I should go...I want to spend an abundance of my time there from this point forward...and I invite you to accompany me...

My life will be about helping others become artist/explorers. I am led to discover how to let my divine intuition create without editing...I will let go of preconceived notions...I will play...I will find my unique, individual visual voice...and I will begin to use it powerfully.... and I will teach you how to do the same. I am so excited about the future...

I have started a new blog called...The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer...here...it will be the place where I can teach and reach others on the same path...an atelier of sorts...a place of intuitivity....

My dear ones...May the spirit of a new year fill your home with an abundance of love, laughter, and joy! May the magic of the moment bring peace to your heart all year long! May your creativity take you to amazing places and may you experience the resulting bliss! Much love to all of you and your families....

I have been truly blessed since beginning this magazine a mere 12 months ago...I have deep connections with some of you and am developing new ones almost daily...I have people all over the world that I truly care about and I look forward to our daily contact. I thank each of you who come here to visit my little corner of the universe...my prayers and love are lifted for you every day...

I promised some big news today...I have a major life Announcement and a very special GiVEaway...the following came to me during a meditative period a few weeks ago...afterward I began to journal and the following flowed from my pen...

"Doorway for a Spiritual Explorer"

As I head through the doorway of a new year, I find myself invited/guided/led/called to take a new path...one called

The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer

...I am led to discover how to let my divine intuition create without editing...I will let go of preconceived notions...I will play...I will find my unique, individual visual voice...and I will begin to use it powerfully....

I believe that we are born into this world with our own special message...if we never find a way to voice it, the world stays incomplete...as we stay incomplete...so we must ask ourselves today...what is it that only I have to say...and do I have the courage to speak it?

What I know for sure is that I do not want to die with my artwork still inside me...be it my song, my dance, my book or my painting...I am compelled to bring it forth into the world...give birth to that voice only I can speak with, and make the art only I can create.

I have to stop being totally invested in the outcome...what I want or hope the result to be...and instead become invested in the journey itself...that gift of time when all external things dissolve away...when time seems to stand still or fly by...that spiritual experience known as creative flow...

We come into this world with a special piece of the universal puzzle...and if you don't find that piece of you that belongs outside yourself...that belongs to the whole of the universe...and if you never bring it forth, the universe is missing a piece...and you are missing that piece also...the whole will never be finished or complete without that special piece that is you...

I could not stop writing...it must have been three or four hours later when I became sensory aware enough to review my writings...contained within I had the foundation of a retreat, the scripts for a series of videos, and the outline of a book...

So I have walked through this doorway and we are off on this new path this year...one that promises many discoveries as we explore our intuitivity (intuition and creativity)...I invite you to come with me...

In honor of this very special day for me, I am gifting one reader with a print: "Doorway for a Spiritual Explorer" ...see the creation of this piece here... I have held this painting close to my heart since the day it was painted October 2, 2007, the second day of my Reinvent-tage Retreat...It will never be sold...and prints will be limited to 10...

My statement about the painting, "The figure is looking back into the darkness of what she is leaving behind...as she heads toward the light...she will never look back again...she is growing into herself an her destiny...becoming stronger and more brave with each step...her steps are sure...her path is glowing brightly for her to follow...she remains open to possibility..."

At the time this was painted, I asked if this painting was the result of "skill or serendipity"...I wrote about the process,"This painting just took shape...I allowed it to happen...remaining open to possibility...many possibilities presented themselves while I was painting...I stayed with them until they led me where this painting was supposed to go."

I am fully aware that this was serendipity now...this was the first glimpse at my life's calling...The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer...read more about how I have been led to this place in my next post...

The GiVEaway process... between now and 12 midnight Sunday...leave a comment on this post describing your creative journey...so far, present, or future...and I will choose one name from a drawing to be announced Monday morning...