Where attention goes, energy flows

I recently went on a yoga retreat to the Dominican Republic for 5 days. Now mind you: I am a single mom to 2 elementary school girls with a stretched income, about 1 year out of a marriage that was unhealthy for me. I did not write that last sentence to get a “poor Sofia” reaction from you. But the fact is, I have been through a lot. Making choices for myself now that I have turned towards a new life can be extremely hard.

So I stressed over if I should do this trip. Then once I booked it, I stressed over leaving my kids with my parents. And I stressed over traveling. And I stressed over spending money on myself. I think you get the point.

When I got to our beautiful accommodations, it was a bit of a shock to my nervous system. I realized I felt lost, like I didn’t know what to do with myself, and everything felt unreal.

The next day I could tell I was tense and having trouble letting go and relaxing. This saying popped up into my head: “Where attention goes, energy flows.” I started to unwind. And unwind more, and more. Like a ball of twine tightly wound up but rolling around and coming loose.

I chose to put my attention on my relaxation, giving in to my surroundings. I intentionally made myself lie by the pool. I intentionally made myself eat slow. I intentionally connected with my new friends. Yoga. Yoga is always intentional.

By the time I was home I felt different. It was hard jumping back into reality. But something in me has changed, for the better.

I now know it is ok for me to do things for myself.

That saying of where attention goes energy flows: turns out it is a Tony Robbins quote. But I must have heard it at some point. I am not even a follower of his. Interesting how the mind works, isn’t it?

Paintings

I picked up a studio at the Greenville Center for Creative Arts this past April…..just to paint! And it has become a haven for me. I feel I have always been a painter at my core. I do love experimenting with other art techniques, and I did study textile design for my BFA at RISD. But ultimately it is paint that draws me in. Acrylic, oil, or even gouache…..doesn’t matter. It is the feel of the brush with the paint in my hands on the canvas or paper. It is the connection between my mind and the final piece…..a process that takes faith. It starts with an urge to paint, and over time the art reveals itself to me. I just have to show up to do the work.

My studio at the Greenville Creative Center for the Arts (GCCA), all work by myself, Sofia Sayer

Tarot

I picked up reading the Tarot for myself about a year ago. Something about it just drew me in. I was gifted the Rider-Waite deck, then I bought a book to help me read it….and I was hooked.

Above is The Rider-Waite deck, definitely the most recognized Tarot deck today. The art is by Pamela Colman Smith, who was a bohemian woman living in NYC at the time, and she completed the art to be published in 1909. I learned she attended Pratt in Brooklyn! I find this so interesting, myself being a graduate of a similar art college, Rhode Island School of Design.

…… So I decided I needed to illustrate my own deck.

Art I created for the “create collections” online class by Victoria Johnson

Here is how it started. I took an online art class called “Create Collections” by Victoria Johnson. The assignment was to illustrate a bird and a butterfly. Which I did, as you can see in the top right piece of mine. This is gouache and digital procreate. Then I created the coordinating pieces you see here. As I was working on these pieces it dawned on me that they needed to come to life, and I believe the Tarot is their path.

The Emperor Tarot card

I spent more time sketching out my plan for this deck than I have illustrating it so far. Since there are 78 cards, it is a lot to think about. I have decided to pursue animals, flora, and some sacred symbols. I envision the deck being paired with a small book explaining the symbolism in each card.

So there you have it! This is my big project that I have been working on between other projects, and life of course. I hope to post more progress for you another day!

Portrait studies

The summer of 2021 was full of art making adventures for me. I spent the majority of this time with a focus on portraits in particular. I enrolled in a 3 month long class at SVA in NYC to learn oil portrait painting. The class was taught over zoom with the fine artist, John Parks, as my instructor. I also did a few pieces through a Make Art That Sells class with Lilla Rogers. I discovered I really love creating portraits! Below are images of what I created.

Oil under painting, created over 1 class session of about 3 hours.

This piece I made in Procreate. The lettering is hand drawn by me.

This was a quick oil painting study I made in about 2 hours. 12 by 16 inches.

I spent about 6 or 7 hours on this oil portrait. The details of her dress were really fun for me! 11 by 14 inches.

This is the actress Viola Davis. I created this in procreate.