Jan Phillips is a multi-talented woman who is an award-winning author, photographer, multi-media artist, workshop leader, and founder of Syracuse Cultural Workers, publishers of artwork that inspires justice, diversity and global consciousness. In the introduction to this seven-hour workshop, she shares how her life was changed by a nun in a Catholic school who through positive reinforcement convinced a shy and socially awkward little girl to believe in herself and her creative potential. Today Phillips is doing the same: inspiring others to "dance with the Divine."
Contrary to the view that only certain exceptional people are creative, the message here is that we are all called be artists. We can design each day and use our gifts to serve others. Through intention, attention, and imagination, we can make the Divine visible in this world. According to Phillips, we all have access to an inner wisdom and inspiration that can bring beauty, passion, and justice into our daily lives. She calls this working with our "Muse."
The material on these cassettes is organized around the principles elucidated in "The Artist's Creed" (see the excerpt) by Jan Phillips. She is convinced that creativity will bloom once we take a vow, promise to be true to our calling, and affirm the sacred dimensions of our work. The 12 sessions include ideas on making time for creativity, dealing with space and silence, living in the present moment, seeing happiness as our essential state, opening up, making a leap of faith, and having faith in what we create. Phillips also includes insights on dealing with creative "blocks" and answering the seven questions that every artist should answer. Follow this link to an interview with the author on the Sounds True website: http://store.yahoo.com/soundstruestore/interview-phillipsj.html.
