Updated: Jul 24, 2018
Art as my spiritual path .
I am so glad I decided on my Business name as LIFE IS...
Hello I am Sheilagh Margaret Mercer on FaceBook . Yes I have two accounts yet use the one that has my spiritual name “Saran Prem Kaur”.
I am the Art Junky from the Face Book page Golden Bliss Art Studio.
My spiritual journey started off as an illustrator for many magazines and manufactures. Where I can now sum this up as Professional Artist/ Art Instructor and Shamanic Practitioner. What a wonderful Art career I have had , all because I never gave up on myself.
Being an art instructor has taken me many places , and yes it’s only one part of what made me who I am today. I like accepting commissions now and then for my art pieces, but being creative is rooted in all my relationships.
As a Mentor of mine once said “Why threaten relationships. Everything is a series of sacred relationships”.
My business has had different names over the years S.M. Illustrations and Art by Sheilagh. I finally chose this one called LIFE IS...
Who am I .... I feel I am a voice for Mother Nature . The Art we create, is called self expression, it’s our own creativity. Being visual is my strongest authentic language ever since I can remember. At 5 years old I would draw nothing but horses. No one could get me to draw anything else . You see I was a very different child and animals where my friends. I could not relate well to people as a child. That made me different right from the get go.
Art represented my authentic Language. Being highly visual, it helped to make sense of my world where I had turned off hearing as a result of bellowing angry parents .
Art was like my Angel , my therapy and joy to express what I found “Beautiful “. I was sensitive to the wonders of Nature . So for a long while I was in my own little world. That was a good thing because I could detach from the drama going on around me . Art was my friend. I tuned into the animals, plants and Mother Nature for me was so Beautiful . I had no idea it be my spiritual path. Mother Nature never failed to inspire me .
This was the basis of my beginnings . It was wonderful actually to have the opportunity to be on my own to develop the strong drawing skills I have today. I could have been swept away in a life of a different path ... only my Horse, Justin kept me rooted in Nature and Art.
The logic came from my Husband, who created the balance in our relationship and I was the intuitive part added to the mix.
That dynamic changed with the birth of our child.
We spent a beautiful time while our daughter was growing up. We all explored creative expressions together . It was a way to express and relate deeply to one another.
My husband is an artist too. He was in love with art . As a family we expressed ourselves through the things we made . It helped the strong love we have for each other in a dysfunctional world going on around us.
Being in a creative family has helped us remain sane in an insane world . I love this about us.
When the ills of the world was going on around us my husband inspired us. One example is our interest in leather work . Today my Daughter is one of the best leather corset makers around . Her art is based in fibre art to this day.
So how did I shift towards my own Art Business?
My ‘Why’ came from my love of seeing people enjoying their own creations. So, I made it a rule in my classes that we never judged someone else’s creation , not even our own.
Classes where geared to inspire others. I would say to my students, “ Tell me what you like in your own work.... not what you don’t like.”
It helped them focus on what worked ... and investigate that.
Too often people focus on what they do not want and ignore the rest . We know energy flows where our attention goes. So our attention is on what works, not what doesn’t work .
How did I start off this business? It sure did not start off this way, as I had enjoyed a sheltered life . As a stay at home Mom and wife, this led to lots of time to hone my skills . It was a bit lonely creating by myself once my daughter started school . I did art all my life and mostly on my own and then sharing what I loved with my daughter and husband I found there was so much more joy in the sharing and “THAT’S “ the juice that gave my art an expanded purpose. That was It! My wish was to help others know we all have “ this natural inner creativity”.
Creativity has many forms . None more important than another ! Yet it was important that people share their creative side. I love the clothes my daughter creates as a fashion designer. She too loves the instructional side by teaching sewing , my husband teaches Stain glass.
As an Art instructor I love sharing what I do in art as a Multi Media Artist. It all started with my strong drawing skills. Being given up to an Aunt and Uncle at 11 years old was not a bad thing , it was my therapy as it kept a focus on my love of Nature and my visual expression intact.
It’s my strong link to nature . It’s a gift I love sharing. When I teach it’s more like showing how I go about doing any art by demonstrating it to others as an instructor of Watercolours , Woodcarving and Chalk Pastel Paintings. I place an emphasis on encouraging others to choose what works for them once they understand some techniques, and learn about building a painting, or following a Pattern in Woodcarving or how to choose the backdrop colours in Pastel painting to build upon . I feel it’s important to encourage a persons own creativity. We are all creative beings. Many more can be a voice for Mother Nature . Come walk with me it’s fun!
Love Sheilagh ❤️
Spirit Reflective Artist
https://www.sheilaghmercer.com/
Spirit Horse, Justin