Seasonal Shifts: Winter as Root & Room
Join the January Wake & Walk Challenge | Space to Create
It’s the Sunday after Christmas and finally finally some pockets for quiet, for rest, for room to reflect and be still—made all the sweeter in contrast to the joyful (sometimes chatoic) bustle of the holidays with family.
With the Solstice, we also welcomed winter. I tether myself by these shifts and transitions, finding grounding in the spacious container of a season to settle into. When taking the routine to ritual in my creative practice, winter is the root, the center. Here we can find grounding, clarity, a place to rest and (re)center. Winter is the precious pause, where we find potent stillness and the call to listen.
Slow Flow Studio began with a nod to Summer with in first session on the power of play and our first full season was fall—it was a season for gathering our curiosity and noticing the second bloom, collecting what we needed from our book as oracle, The Creative Act, honoring the gift of reflection alongside artist Katie White, and preparing for the shift in season by making room. It’s been a gift to slowly and thoughtfully shape this space together, and I’m looking forward to what the coming season will bring.
Our theme this winter will be space to create, paying attention to how we claim physical space for our creative space, how we hold space energetically, how we interact and observe space and the objects around us, continuing our work of making room for our practice as artists.
January Exploration: Wake & Walk
There are so many annual traditions to start the year, but before fixing anything in place or narrowing my focus, I find it’s important to root into my body. I’m inviting you in a daily challenge to get out and walk soon after waking as a way to create mental space at the start of each day.
Slow Flow Studio members can find accountability and check in via a Chat thread—we’ll share how it’s going, insights and thoughs, and encourage one anther along the way.
February Slow Flow Session: Still Life
Still lives have a rich history, and we’ll explore making and/or recording our own vignettes and still lives in our own homes, studios, or creative spaces—considering objects and interiors and how we capture or composte them.
March: Artists at Home
Throughout the season, you’re invited to read along for our winter book club pick: Artists at Home by Susie Hodge. We’ll use it as a reference point and filter to continue our consideration of home, room, and the space we’re shaping for ourselves to root into the year as it unfolds.
The most ancient spirtitual wisdom was cenered around the predictable shifts in seasonal energies. Rituals revolved around sowing, reaping and the cycles of light and darkness. The seasonal rhythsm correlate with our bodily rythms . . . Our dream and inner life grow more insistent in the winter darkness…
—Joan Borysenko, Pocketful of Miracles, quoted in Simple Abundance
Of course with space comes possibility, and our focus may evolve and shift slightly as we lean into our curiosity and unearth new discoveries. If you’re craving a bit of space to find or prioritize your creative practice this season (whether it’s art, writing, or simply the creative act of living), you’re welcome here and we’d love to have you. The Wake & Walk challenge kicks off January 5th!
In the meantime I have just one page left in my sketchbook, and I’ve collected some creative delights in this hand-crafted artist’s box to make marks and let colors and materials mingle. I’m spending the coming week sleeping in, sipping tea and drinking chocolate, making lists and reading, and gathering with friends to celebrate the new year.
My this in-between week bring you unexpected joys and the space you might be craving.
To your delight—
Nikkita
Looking forward to all of this💙