Moonly Review 🌑 Artists of the Artfaire
Unlocking closed doors, Being an Artist, and Shifting patterns at Will.
Good day, kind human!
I hope you're feeling relaxed and well today.
If not, then perhaps this electronic letter will light a tiny spark of joy. Tiny spark is often enough.
It takes a spark of a cigarette landing on an unfortunate heat-burnt land, to set it on fire.
It takes a blink of an eye to allow a tiny glimpse of Fear into ones heart, eventually ripping it apart from within.
And, despite all tension-causing circumstances flying around like crystal daggers ready to pierce, it takes a brief moment of heartfelt physical touch, to connect and heal.
What a life.
I am sitting in front of the Stewards House, looking at a cut out piece of a Pokemon card glued to my journal next to a sentence written in handwriting that isn't mine:
I FEEL JOY TO TAKE YOU OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. FINALLY SOME COLOR!
The comment doesn't refer to a Pokemon card, but a previous page in my journal, which is now covered with silver.
As I flip a few pages backwards, I reach my squares for the currently unfolding Moon cycle, and they are not only not square anymore but also, for the first time include colour.
All it took is to acknowledge a simple truth:
Everyone is an artist.
(That includes you, of course.)
Artists are a tricky breed. They run around spaces with a frantic "I have a wonderful idea!" look on their face, keep misplacing objects, and get confused in the most charmingly annoying ways.
But, they also have the capacity to create the most wonderful moments, which can, and, in fact do change the world.
I'm an artist too, and during the Abela Artfaire I had my first exhibition of my Infinity Squares, showcasing selected scans from my journal, from the very first squares from 2017 on the left, towards the current Moon Cycle on the right. What a journey that was.
During the Artfaire, I also facilitated the process of co-creating community generated art, which also acted as a group-vibe-sensing tool and a space for deep connection - all with a simple journal. I'm really excited about bringing this new practice to communities, parties, and gatherings.
Journaling Art + Community Weaving. Serious Fun. Dreams Unlocked.
Here are two community-generated poems, inspired by the title Unknown Unknowns, a combination of words that stayed with me after encountering a Wizard on my path.
Left by Liz, Right by Cori
Abela Art Faire (and the build up towards it) felt like a portal, allowing me to access my artist self, and invite it to come out to play with other artists. That poor artist self guy has been sitting in the corner of my soul, creating stuff in the dark, since a project that he poured all his energy into, kicked him in the teeth and created a deep trauma.
It hurt. It healed. But the artist stayed hidden in the shadow for years.
Fortunately, circumstances surprised me with a recent plot twist where a suddenly escalating conflict raised to the surface and, suddenly... BOOM! There's tension, drama, and pain, which (somewhat surprisingly) fueled me with a lot of creative energy.
But it's not really a surprise. All it takes is my sailing training allowing me to firstly and most importantly not panic under any circumstances. And then remember that it will all make sense in hindsight, and hindsight, just like morning, will arrive anyway.
So, as the ArtFaire begun I stepped into TDF's Cabinet de Transformation, picked the appropriate outfit, and begun to create - which in my case means creating playful containers for co-creation.
Here's a scan of co-created flow during the Art Cacao Ceremony I had the honour to offer:
And here's a page from a "Do you want to co-create an art piece in 10 seconds" challenge.
My favourite part is the question written by a local kid, living in the tiny village of Abela, asking: why do we like Abela a lot. It's wonderful to have local people participating in what we create at the Dream Factory, and ask genuine questions.
Damn, everyone who was at the Art Faire was a Master and/or Magician of sorts.
There's a saying that:
When then the student is ready, master will appear.
In the past month and a half I keep finding new masters: Master Healers. Master Dreamers. Master Playful Spirits, Master Enablers... In the most interconnected way, threads of my life are weaving together, and doors long stuck, suddenly become wide open.
Coming back from Nowhere to TDF was transformational in many ways.
First of all - Traditional Dream Factory is pretty much a permanent regenerative Burn. That's not a bad place to live. Not bad at all, especially given that a Burn is a context, and a context I feel naturally connected to.
In this potent environment I kept deepening the healing within one of two areas of my life that are not yet in full alignment (sounds sooo mysterious, I know), and, oh boy, a lot of progress was made.
After first doors were open, the feeling came to start aligning the second area, and, like by a flick of a magic want, another Master appeared out of the forest and showered me with precisely what I needed.
Magick.
Or, perhaps, just Being in the right place and the right time, and allowing the Universe to keep conspiring in our favour.
So now, I'm sitting here with a beautiful feather in my hair, Being an Artist, a Summer Steward, a Squirrel Assistant, a Forest Wizard, and a Dragon in the Sand.
Speaking of dragons, there's a sentence that will stay with me for a long time:
We are burning pain away with Love.
May your pain dissolve into bliss, leaving you relaxed and tension free.
Michał
ps. Here's my Moonly Video for you:
Click here if it doesn’t load.
A list of what I'm excited about right now
Receiving the title for my first book as a gift from a Unicorn
Co-Starting the Entrepreneurs Club at TDF
Touching my Spirit Animal
Experiencing most incredible magical concert by the Tree of Abundance at TDF, by Ptelepathetique
Bringing Regenerators together for a Village Builder Mastermind - which feels like a quantum leap for my life trajectory.
Incubating an article about the conflict transformation process at TDF
The second half of my TDF Stewardsheep
Reconnecting with a certain Dragon when the Universe aligns again. Full Trust.
Holding another Love Ceremony (I have a feeling there is one more I will be holding this summer)
Bringing co-created community generated art containers wherever I go (invite me!)
Slackline, slackline, slackline
And Life in general, which includes you, of course.
✨🐸🌳