Hello Creatives!
I'm Meg Vellejos McCoy, artist and inner life wilderness guide. I live off-grid in a one room cabin with my husband and two dogs on 40 wild acres abutting the national forest in Eastern Washington. It’s a joy to be here with you in the exploration of the inner landscape and how we can create rich, meaningful work from imagery found within our inner fringes.
Shimmers and Shadows is a mixed media class exploring the inner shadowlands and the shimmers that guide our way. We’ll begin with a deep guided imagery journey into the inner landscape, inviting archetypal symbols and presences to reveal themselves as guides for our creative and spiritual journey. As we bring who and what we find on the journey to life, I’ll share techniques on creating a shadowy mess with stabilio pencil – and then reigning it in. I’ll also share how I paint without sketching, working with shapes abutting shapes to create definition while working swiftly to start a piece.
I love both of these approaches as a recovering perfectionist who has often gotten stuck in the beginning stages of a piece. This is an aspect of the shadow work we have the opportunity to navigate as artists: allowing ourselves to play, make a mess, not know where a piece is going and allow a piece to be as it is in it’s imperfections as proof of the journey.
Our final project will bring all (or some) of the pieces we created together in a gorgeous final mixed media project that can live on our altar, holding the potency of our encounter of the shimmers and shadows found within the inner world.
Within the “shadowlands”, that which is not fully known to our conscious selves, are gifts and Mystery. These are the “shimmers” we uncover by being willing to go within to encounter them. As we allow ourselves to touch base with what is just out of sight, we open to new depths of delight, pleasure, and fulfillment.
It's my delight to be your guide as we play in the realms of shimmers and shadows.
“Look more inside to Live more outside.”
Class Is Open
Only $67.00
{ LIFETIME ACCESS & DOWNLOADABLE VIDEOS }
Here's a description of each of our special projects:
WARMup lesson : The Journey
Let's drop in.
We're going to begin this course with a deep guided imagery journey, a meditation that will lead you into the inner landscape and hopefully reveal some archetypal beings and objects that will infuse your works with deeply personal meaning and may potentially act as altar objects for the inner life season that you're in.
We're touching in on the shadowlands in this class, and this might sound a bit intimidating, but it's really about uncovering the gifts and Mystery that is just out of our conscious sight. Sometimes we think shadow work is looking at the stuff we don't like about ourselves. Truly, this is an exploration of that which we don't know about ourselves. Art is a profound portal into touching the inner mysteries in right size for who and how we are today. Fret not, my friends, this will be FUN!
Lesson 1 : The Guides Of The Shadowlands
We're going to begin to translate the guides and allies encountered in the journey by creating three 30 minute sketch paintings that capture different aspects of what was revealed.
We're working quickly for a few reasons:
To keep loose
To capture threads of what was found in the journey while they're still alive and shimmering
To gather a stack after lessons one and two of our own references to use as either inspiration or as elements of collage within our final project.
We'll work with stabilo pencil and clear gesso to create messy, shadowy captures of three beings encountered within the Journey: The Gatekeeper, The Ally in The Mirroring Waters, and of what we see as the energy of ourselves in wholeness. Then we'll reign in the shadows with acrylic paints to bring them into more brightness.
Lesson 2 : The Talisman and Helpers Of The Shadowlands
Now we're going to turn towards the symbols, objects and More-Than-Human helpers that were revealed in the Journey.
You're invited to find reference pictures that touch on three important archetypal things that were revealed to you in the journey. These allies may have arrived at any point in your journey, including where you arrived, the path, within the mirroring waters.
You can always warm in with the three objects that came through for me:
The Lotus
The Ouroborus
The Hummingbird
We'll lay out the backgrounds and block in the shapes with big brushes. Then we'll go in and refine the details for each piece, bringing them into vibrant life!
“There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus.”
Lesson 3 : Savoring The Shimmers Of Eternity
In this final lesson we'll bring the elements of the journey together into one piece, creating what I would call an altar piece that reflects our inner world and this journey to the shadowlands.
It's possible you'll wish to use elements of the prior works like collage in your final piece as I did with the hummingbird - or - that the smaller pieces will serve as guides/references for the final work. We'll create a background of collaged elements, and then bring the stabilo back in for our sketch and get a bit messy and shadowy, playing in the mystery for a while before we bring in the light and bright with our paints.
Let's dive in and see what shimmers and shadows!
lesson 4 : The Shimmers
We'll elevate one, some, or all of the smaller pieces (and if called the final work) made in the process into altar pieces by highlighting the shimmers in each piece with imitation gold leaf and gold paint. I love to allow pieces to sit for a few days before bringing in the gold to allow each piece to mature within understanding. The gold then holds a presence of alchemy in the process of allowing the inner life imagery to move from inside, to outside and back in again. You are entirely supported in trusting the process as it moves through you!
Bonus Lesson : 30 Faces 30 Minutes
An extra supporting resource for creating quick portraits.
To support you in your journey of working quickly in capturing portraits, I've included a self study course I recently released all about creating 30 faces in 30 minutes.
Class Is Open
Only $67.00
{ LIFETIME ACCESS & DOWNLOADABLE VIDEOS }
Who is this class for?
This class is for artists of all levels who are ready to explore the intersections of inner life and creativity, particularly the realms of shadow and bringing things into the light of that which is more known. If you want to learn a pathway to creating meaningful, personal work and some new techniques, please join me. It’s in my experience that practice leads to more presence in the process, and that’s what we’re after. We can't get it wrong, and we'll never really get it done.
HERE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF Meg's WORK
Class Is Open
Only $67.00
{ LIFETIME ACCESS & DOWNLOADABLE VIDEOS }
SUPPLIES LIST
This is a list of what I’ll be using in the class.
These are suggestions, know you are welcome to use whatever you have on hand and what you love.
Acrylic Paint - Colors I use are listed
Cadmium Red Medium Hue
Teal
Payne’s Gray
Ultramarine Blue
Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue
Cadmium Yellow Light Hue (Neon)
Titanium White
Fluorescent Pink
Gold