Above The Door News © Sara Post 2006
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth
find reserves of strength that will endure as long
as life lasts.  There is something infinitely healing
in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance
that dawn comes after night and spring after winter.         
                                            --Rachael Carson
Four Leaves, Sara Post, 2005
Standing here at the beginning of a new year many experience a feeling of spareness—of being like the twigs and branches we see outside, stripped down, laid bare.  We have heard the annual call to discard everything that no longer need—from ill fitting clothes to outgrown ideas. We are anxious to move on, either to completion of things begun and not yet finished or to new projects and perspectives.  There is a time, here and now, between the release of the old and the embrace of the new that like our still winter world asks us to give attention to growth not yet visible, but surely and powerfully taking place.

Rosalie Wright, Sunset Magazine editor, writes about the winter world:

 January is the quietest month in the garden…But just because it looks
 quiet doesn’t mean that nothing is happening.  The soil, open to the sky,
 absorbs the pure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under
 fodder into usable nutrients for the next crop of plants…earthworms
 tunnel along, aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds
 and bare roots to come.

We experience a parallel preparation for new growth by absorbing nourishment (spirit) and by allowing agents of change (new ideas, inspiration) to open our minds and hearts.  In reflecting upon this time of unseen change, we understand that our intentions will be silently gathering energy as we begin again a new cycle of growth.

January SoulStudio: 
Janus: It’s About Time (Looking To the Past and Future)

This month we will be considering the role of time in our lives. The ancient god Janus, whose two faces look to the past and future, is the god of doors and gateways.  He is also associated with the journey (passage of time). In our own acutely time centered age, how do we deal with deadlines and schedules?  How do we see our youth or aging?  Do we control our time or does it control us? These questions and the role of past and future in determining the present are all part of January’s SoulStudio.  SoulStudio meets for card making and introspection Friday, January 13 6:30-9:30pm and Saturday, January 14, 9am-noon.  Investment: $40. To reserve your space, contact Sara by phone (530)758-3613 or email sara@abovethedoor.com

SoulStudio Schedule

The SoulStudio schedule for January-June 2006 is now up. Take a look at the Schedule page for the details. I hope you’ll resolve right now to give yourself the gift of attending at least one SoulStudio session in 2006!

SoulCircle: Reading and Writing From Cards

Many of us have beautiful decks of SoulCollage cards and although we treasure them, we find that after a while, we rarely look at them.  A small group, SoulCircle, formed in October with the aim of getting to know and use our cards by consulting them through readings and exploring their meaning by writing.  We were intrigued with Seena’s idea that making cards is a way to reveal ourselves to ourselves and to show ourselves to others.  We wanted to learn about our cards in the context of a sharing group. The group made a commitment to three months of working together. We have experimented with several reading and writing styles and have been surprised and excited by the depth we have discovered in our cards

Blessing Reading

The Blessing Reading is a way to share some of your most cherished cards and to receive equally special cards from others. Those of you who attended the Solstice SoulGathering participated in a variation of the Blessing Reading. 

Here’s how the original reading goes:  Each participant chooses the same number of cards from her deck as there are members in the group.  Since our group has six members we each chose six cards that we particularly love.  The cards are placed together to form a deck and then shuffled.  Each group member chooses six cards by going around the circle six times drawing one card at each turn.  We then look at the cards we have drawn and considering each one, give five away, one to each member of the group and keep one for ourselves.  Each card is given with the intuition that it
somehow “belongs” to the person who receives it. Participants then read each card in turn going around the circle six times until all the cards are read.  Readings start with asking who has given the card and why. The person reading then reads the card for herself—intuiting meanings she finds in the images. With the reader’s permission, the card maker may add information about the card. All commentary is written down by a scribe for participants to keep after the reading. Each card is given and received as a blessing.
For larger gatherings each participant brings one special card for a Blessing Reading.  At the Solstice SoulGathering, we created copies by scanning all the cards and gluing the card images to matte board. Each participant showed her card to the group and told us a little about it including why she had chosen to share it. We then combined all our copied cards into a group deck and each of us drew a card at random with the understanding that should your own card come back to you that particular energy would be doubled for you. After we had drawn cards each participant shared her feelings and intuitions about the new card she received. Only one of our group of fifteen received her own card—the last drawn—and was delighted to have it back!  The rest of us went home with a new card and a special blessing for the solstice.  

SoulCircle Has An Opening

Most of the current SoulCircle group has decided to continue to meet together. We have an opening for one new member. If you think that a card reading and writing experience with a special group would be the perfect addition to your SoulCollage work, contact Sara for more information.   

Printmaking in Italy and Greece: Summer 2006

Have you been dreaming about combining travel and art making?  Here’s an interesting way to make that dream come true.  Linda Goodman, a bay area artist, has been leading summer art workshops in printmaking in Italy and Greece for ten years. Here’s her website with information about both workshops:  www.artmondo.net There will be an informational meeting January 8 at Linda’s Oakland studio.  Contact Sara for details.

Hand and Spirit: Expressive Arts Workshop January 14-February 4

Hannah Hunter will offer an Expressive Arts Workshop through the Davis Art Center at her home studio on Saturday afternoons 1/14, 21, 28 and 2/4 from 1-3 pm.  Please contact DAC (530)756-4100 or email davisart@dcn.org for information and registration.

Last Words

           Roots and wings.  But let the wing grow roots
and the roots fly.
                                             --Juan Ramon Jimenez

Time/No Time, Sara Post, 2005
Holding Together, Sara Post, 2005
Roots/Wings, Sara Post, 2004
Tall Tales, Sara Post, 2005
January 2006 Newsletter