Brass&burgundy

07/22/2023

04/15/2023

New post over on Instagram!

03/01/2023

I will be posting only on Instagram going forward: https://www.instagram.com/brassburgundy/

You can reach me there or through email.

Thank you!
Deena

16 Followers, 19 Following, 10 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Brass&burgundy ()

02/24/2023

There is just one week left to purchase a ticket for the series of Incarnation Cross Tea Meditations at Amethyst Retreat Center.

Ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/incarnation-cross-tea-meditation-registration-484419330257

02/22/2023

Did you know I teach art classes too? This summer I will be partnering with Perry County Council of the Arts to offer 2 different art classes, and I will be a guest teacher for Amethyst Retreat Center's Children in Nature program!

But during the school year, I teach art classes for the Perry County Homeschoolers group. Next year we will be focusing a lot on observation using pencil, charcoal, and collage. Some projects were inspired by the two awesome books in the 2nd picture:

Drawing Workshop for Kids by Samara Caughey (I love this book so much!)

Collage Workshops for Kids by Shannon Merenstein

As I was preparing next year's lessons, I realized how I had encountered similar concepts in my own art education.

Photo 1: pencil drawing; copy of an existing artwork
3: a pencil sketch of a still life I set up in high school (those bears were salt and peppers shakers!)
4: pen, an exercise in showing texture (I believe this was a decanter)
5. charcoal, I believe this was a timed 30 second gestural drawing. These exercises are so helpful for getting out of your head and just laying down the broad idea of something very quickly.
6 & 7: more recent collage work I've done. Next year, one of the high school projects will focus on creating a pattern from an object.

02/20/2023

Story #2!

In a Human Design chart, there are areas that are colored in and others that are left white. What is colored is considered definition, and what is uncolored is considered openness.

Each open center has a Not-Self theme associated with it. This happens because open centers tend to be where we feel immense pressure to adopt behaviors that are not inherent to us. Seeing where we are open to this conditioning allows us to begin to shed patterns that aren't healthy for us, while retaining the wisdom that it is possible to acquire through our open centers.

I love the open center Not-Self themes. I laughed out loud when I read mine, because it was like being called out on my s**t. Definitely remind yourself to not take it all so seriously!

Here are the Not-Self questions for my open centers (to find yours, you can create your chart at mybodygraph.com):

Open Head: Am I thinking about things that don't matter? (My answer: Yes, always! lol) Am I trying to answer everybody else's questions? Am I actually inspired by this?

Open Ajna: Am I trying to convince everyone that I am certain? (This might be my favorite, because it likes to show up in my relationship a lot in really stupid situations. Like when my partner asks me where I put something, and I answer very confidently...and that's totally not where I put it. Haha!)

Open Heart/Ego: Do I feel like I have something to prove? (I have found that this is a really unconscious theme for me, with many layers to peel back.)

Open Solar Plexus: Am I avoiding confrontation and truth? (This is like the, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." theme.)

Open Sacral: Do I know when enough is enough? (The key with the open sacral, I feel, is to sometimes just disengage with the energy of others. If you can start to recognize yourself getting carried away, take a bathroom break or something. A quick moment to just tune in with your own energetic capacities can really set you straight again.)

02/20/2023

Helpful Podcast day!

Episode on Definition in Human Design: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-w6tzk-f24286

Episode on Openness in Human Design: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ezc5w-f40370

Amy & John of The Human Design Collective have such an insightful grasp of the Human Design system. Many of their guests have also been experimenting with their Design for decades, so I love hearing about their experiences over time. Their podcast is one of my favorites, and the episodes above are a great starting point for understanding two of the core concepts of Human Design.

Find Amy & John: https://humandesigncollective.com/

A high-frequency community space to connect with others and support your unique life purpose facilitated by certified guides in Human Design

02/13/2023

When I first talk to someone about Human Design, I often get asked about how it has helped me or why I find it so beneficial. I also have really wanted access to the personal stories of others through the lens of Human Design. Such stories can be very hard to come by, so I am going to start sharing some of my own.

Story 1: Finding out I am a Projector

Learning I was a Projector was like being given permission to exhale. It felt so true and like the biggest relief. One of the things that resonated the most was the Projector strategy: to wait for recognition and invitation.

I knew that when I tried to push to make things happen, it felt wrong and didn't turn out the way I would have hoped. It felt like the wrong kind of struggle, like a big energetic, "NO."

And, having reviewed my life, I found that I had the most success when the right people simply found me without any effort on my part. Throughout my life, all of my best experiences came through invitation. When I was young, I was invited to join groups or participate in competitions without having pursued them at all. When I was older, my best jobs came from someone recommending me to the employer - jobs I didn't even know about until they were offered to me!

On the flip side, the memories I feel the most bitter about involve situations where I tried to make something happen on my own.

Learning about the Projector strategy was an invitation to let it all go. If I want to take an action now, I choose to be curious about it and detach from the results as much as possible. I am also practicing just being, sitting with the discomfort of waiting, and learning how to be more at ease with it. And I am building trust that if I follow my interests, I will attract the right people and experiences in right timing.

:)

02/13/2023

I wanted to share a podcast episode from Amanda Barnett, aka Barney+Flow: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ADfc1hqRg9UBoklwwcZfO?si=BGzC3tIxSLeKNRYDTFBpbQ

For me, this episode felt like a loving reminder of a fundamental truth. Whatever tools you choose to use or path you walk in life, may it bring you back to yourself.

A little backstory: I used Barney+Flow's yearlong membership to The Collective to learn about Human Design and investigate my own chart. I loved the format, which was ideal for the way I like to learn (insane deep dives and contemplating information repeatedly and from multiple angles LOL).
You can find Amanda here: https://www.barneyandflow.com/

Magnetism | Human Design | Astrogeography

02/02/2023

These are examples of interpretations such as you would receive at the Incarnation Cross Tea Meditation event. Each individual receives targeted contemplation questions during the meditation. Then we come together in a cozy environment to discuss what thoughts and feelings came up!

If you are interested in exploring your Human Design, Gene Keys, or astrological placements from a contemplative perspective, join us starting March 9th. :)

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/incarnation-cross-tea-meditation-registration-484419330257