This is a guest blog post and ‘client spotlight’ written by past vision board workshop attendee Marina Dempster about how her vision board has taken her on a journey of revelations… ‘From Vision to Unexpected Revelations’ is a story about how a particular dream/vision on Marina’s board materialized and spawned further growth and inspiration – for herself AND her family – in the most surprising way. Enjoy…

“The vision board I did with Lisa has had so many magical nuances and surprises and has been so grounding and inspiring for myself and my whole family who can see it and support me in my dreams…I want to share one of my vision boards synchronicities…

(credit: https://www.kettlesyard.co.uk)

I picked an image of one of my favourite spaces a very special public art museum belonging to Cambridge University, as representative of the ’shared sacred living space’ for my vision board that I wanted to create in my home. A few weeks ago, I randomly found a reference to their having a web cam of the very spot in my image, so I could look at it ‘live’ whenever I wanted. I shared the link with my father (who took me there when I was young), and it was only now that he conveyed or I understood that it was the very spot he gave a guitar concert by moonlight in 1963 while he was a student at Cambridge. But what I never realized was that the founders of Kettle’s Yard, Jim and Helen Ede, were like family to my grandparents, both having lived together in Tangier, Morocco, pre-war where the Edes, both artists/curators and influential connectors, dreamed up their vision for Kettle’s Yard, ‘the idea of somehow creating a living place where works of art could be enjoyed, inherent to the domestic setting, where young people could be at home unhampered by the greater austerity of the museum or public art gallery and where an informality might infuse and underlying formality. I wanted, in a modest way, to use the inspiration I had had from beautiful interiors, houses of leisured elegance, and to combine it with the joy I had felt in individual works seen in museums, and with the all embracing delight I had experienced in nature, in stones, in flowers, in people.’

Currently, the museum is also sharing creativity prompts (https://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/pebblechallenge/) much like the art journaling prompts I have been sharing during the pandemic. Theirs are based on one of my favourite installations in the space, a spiral of collected spherical pebbles which is on the cover or a beautiful coffee table book called, ‘A Way of Life’ I remember thumbing through as a child. It is no wonder I was so drawn to that image. (My creativity prompts can be found on my insta stories under ‘Prompts’ @marinadempsterstudio)

Going down this rabbit hole of rediscovery, initiated by the instinctive pull of that image, has shown me my deep resonance with the Edes’ dreams personally and professionally – and also has shown me that my dreams are actively growing things – belonging to me and calling me to rise to the magical potential of every moment and every day.

(The Orchard Lyceum where I last exhibited in October, and currently work as artist-in-residence and mentor – across from Trinity Bellwoods Park)

I am discovering that living with this image of Kettle’s Yard (and each of the other images on my vision board) is allowing me to dream bigger than ever before and seeing, with immediacy, how my deepest desires are actively unfurling and connected to the present. I am now noticing the open chairs in the Kettles’ Yards image are much like the open chairs I installed in my last exhibition called ‘In the time being.’ (https://www.marinadempster.com/in-the-time-being), how my values are aligned with my husband’s and children’s and where we can elevate and support each other in our individual and collective growth.

Thanks to my vision board my purpose as a multidisciplinary artist, dot connector, community builder and creativity mentor is clearer every day – clouds of fear or agitation pass more quickly than ever before having the tool of the vision board as both an anchor and invitation. It is exciting to find that am catching up with the power of my vision and intuition. I see that our lives are much like the spiral of pebbles… a collection of defining moments, the perfect result of a natural gradual accumulation, which allows us to create something of impact with time.

My current fibre series available for acquisition is called ‘in//habit’ (https://www.marinadempster.com/inhabit) – a donation of 10% of sales goes to The Pine Project in Toronto because of their unique nature programs that feel in beautiful alignment sharing a desire to empower people of all ages to sit in stillness, pay attention, and connect with nature….and ultimately to take personal responsibility in the care of oneself, one another and the environment. Art invites contemplation in public spaces, the home and with body, mind and spirit.

 

 

I am also particularly loving functional co-creative art commissions lately – my cushion pieces draw attention to the power of the open-hearted inner and outer dialogues we have starting at ‘home’. (https://www.marinadempster.com/dear-friends-near-enemies)