The Art and Healing of Heidi Darr-Hope

Art and Healing.  Powerful passionate works for me.  I’ve been teaching art and healing for over 20 years.  I’ve been making art for over 40.  But not until this year, did I personally feel the terror associated with a serious health scare.  2017 was a tough year, but I was able to forge a deeper relationship…

Read More

Creating Brave Retreat at 1440 Multiversity

1440: Stunning New Retreat Center. Join us for Creating Brave

I am thrilled to be offering this Creating Brave Retreat  at 1440 Multiversity, a stunning new center nestled in a magnificent forest of of redwoods just outside Santa Cruz, California.  This campus is carefully crafted to nurture, educate and inspire! Bring 2017 to a Close by Gifting Yourself Time Step Outside Your Life Pause to…

Read More

Unity in Sharing Art: Amulets and Talismans

Sharing with you a closer look of my Kitchen Altar.

Sharing Art – A Courageous Act   Sharing art is a act of trust. It is an act of bravery. Because our creations are tender, innocent newborns, they need protection and nurturing care. Thus, it is anxiety-producing to place our creations in the spotlight for other eyes to see. Yet by sharing our creations in a safe…

Read More

Harvest Despacho Giveaway Contest

despacho ceremony: sacred creations

What is a harvest despacho? Despacho is an Andean amulet-making ceremony, in which the despacho-maker brings various elements into an object and then ritually sends it off. They are traditionally made by Andean shamans for a variety of (often transitional) occasions, from birth rituals to rituals honoring the dead. In a sense, a harvest despacho…

Read More

Despacho Ceremony: Sacred Creations

A Despacho Ceremony

A despacho ceremony is an ancient indigenous ritual of the Andean people of Peru. Despacho literally means to ship or dispatch something.  Creating a despacho is an intentional, focused sacred ceremony in which an amulet-like bundle is filled with natural, biodegradable ingredients. These ingredients hold symbolic elements that represent the prayerful intentions of the despacho-maker.…

Read More

October’s Nature Mandala Giveaway Winner

  Congratulations to Twitter follower @LoveSoulShine from California for winning our Nature Mandala Giveaway competition! Her beautiful floral mandala (pictured left) was inspired by the belief that “Love is what connects us all.” This is a wonderful, important concept, and we couldn’t agree more. She will receive a set of Derwent colored pencils as her prize.…

Read More

Honoring Death: Dia de los Muertos

Pondering death teaches me about living.  I have learned that to honor life, I must also honor death.  But recognizing that death is a natural part of the process of living is not something most of us want to face.  It is hard to come to terms with the idea that death isn’t something to…

Read More

Creating Brave’s Nature Mandala Giveaway Contest

What is a Nature Mandala? Mandala, the Sanskrit word for circle, is a universal symbol of balance, wholeness and unity. Healing Icons, and our upcoming eCourse hub Creating Brave, uses them to quiet the constant buzz of our busy lives and distill our focus to the present moment so that each moment is fully lived.…

Read More

Creating Brave eCourses: Survivorship

Mindful Survivorship Mandalas

  Survivorship: to endure to live through to live beyond in spite of a danger, adversity or hardship Frankly, haven’t we all dealt with survivorship in some form or another? Although the word is usually associated with cancer survivorship issues, the residue from a life altering event can cling to us, becoming chronic if not addressed. Underlying issues…

Read More

Art as Healing eCourse: Behind the Scenes

Creating Brave: Mindful Mandalas, an art as healing eCourse

In January, it was a glimmer of an idea: Art as Healing: Beginning an eCourse.  Creating an art as healing eCourse was an overwhelmingly daunting experience for me but with the help of some talented people, the process was actually invigorating.   I want you to meet some of the ones who bolstered my confidence and encouraged this…

Read More