Hello fellow artists,

Colors, shapes, music, poetry and movement open us to hidden passions, idiosyncrasies, hopes, joy, love and fear. The honest expression and exploration of these feelings yield very expressive art work and bring about healing on the emotional, spiritual and physical levels.

The artists featured over the last few days have used their art to explore and heal themselves. This healing often leads to a bond with a community of people who have gone through similar trials. There is a reaching out toward similarities and toward helping others become healed. Compassion is one of the end results of this process.

"In its deepest essence, the creative process is the same as the process of spiritual growth. Both involve struggle and have as their goals truth, beauty, simplicity and, well, love." -- from 99% INSPIRATION: Tips, Tales & Techniques for Liberating Your Business Creativity by BRYAN W.MATTIMORE

How can you pass this by?

Photographer Ginny Felch creates beautifully expressive portraits and fine art photography.

Her statement sheds light on another artist who has seen many difficulties in life while relying on her art to survive:

"Seeing the magic of light in life and in photography has contributed greatly to my healing and survival. People have wondered how I have survived my losses, and frankly, one answer lies in the simplicity of growing my roses and trying to capture the exultation on film and paper."

Ginny's 30 years of experience shows in the subtlety of her photographs. I hope you will visit her website. Ginny is someone to learn from.

Thank you to Ginny Felch for allowing me to publish this photo and statement.

Hello fellow artists,

Collage artist and writer Carol Es has experienced nearly every difficulty in life and still has achieved considerable success.

This inspiring statement from the Arts and Healing Network is about her life and work.

"Carol Es was born in 1968 in Santa Monica, California and began life as an artist at age six, drawing cartoons underneath tables in bowling alleys. A shy recluse, Carol spent most of her time alone while her family relocated more than 15 times before age nine. As a result, she attended school very little and any formal education ended before the 5th grade. By the age of 14, she left home to fend for herself, spending much of her adolescence in public libraries teaching herself to read. Now a dedicated and prolific artist, she lives and works in the Los Angeles harbor area, creating distinctive paintings. Carol has come to express herself wholly in her art, in her writing and curating exhibits after surviving a traumatic childhood of abuse, neglect, rape and disabilities. She has used her past experiences as the fuel for subject matter and has artistically transformed a broken past into something positive and hopeful, whilst carrying with it her humor and wit. While her work has been described as primitive and naive, she feels she is making these works as both an intuitive and deliberate result of her natural make up, rather than fitting into a particular genre. Much of her work includes paper collage or her own written prose - personal experiences laid bare and forged directly into the pieces, making them not only powerful works, but tangible pieces of personal therapy. Viewers can witness a distinct honesty in her work, which has won awards and shown nationwide. Her collectors are loyal and many. Carol has sold most of her inventory of over 450 paintings."

Know that the difficulties in your life can be fuel for your art work and that this work can help you overcome.

Thank you to Carol Es for allowing me to publish this statement and image.

We are born with the talent to be creative. As we grow up and take on the pressures of raising and supporting a family, we lose touch with this ability. I think that is all there is to it. Sounds simple, but finding a way to get in touch with the ease we had when we were children is a way to rediscover the artist within.

A few suggestions for getting back to that place:
-- exercise gently. Setting exercise goals that crank up your stress level is not the way to get in touch with your inner child. Be gentle with yourself.
-- take a yoga class, get massages, take long baths, meditate, do deep breathing exercises. Your body will respond. If you are very tight physically and lead a stressful life, this will take longer, but your body will respond.
-- before starting your art work, roll your shoulders, shake out your arms, do some stretches. Your art work will be more satisfying to you if your body is loose.
-- choose an art form and an art style that you love. If you do, you will lose yourself in it and find that you are relaxing without even noticing it.
--if you don't like the look of your art work, do some more. You will find that you will gradually figure out how to do work that you like.
-- don't force yourself to work longer than you want to. Forcing yourself will make you tighter.
--spend time with children while they are doing something creative. It can be catching.
-- don't be afraid to look silly. Take a close look at Picasso's work. What would have come of him if he had been afraid to look silly?
-- put your feelings into your art work. If you are angry, use angry colors, scratch holes in the paper, scribble and shout! If you are afraid, worried, sad, choose the colors and shapes that represent how you feel. Get it all out and then notice how you feel.
-- don't give up on yourself. If this is something you want to do, why not give it to yourself? Art and life are messy. The messiness of life can make great art.

Do you have other suggestions for getting in touch with that creative person inside yourself? Please comment.

Here are a few:
-- Starwheel Mandalas by Aya
-- Benny Alba
-- Visual Prayer
-- Healing By Art

For inspiration, be sure to read the artists' statements.

Your images can be added by going to "Comments," below. I would love to see them.