Calendar

Wondrous headed doe, with horns of a thousand branches and knobs
Thousand branches and knobs and of a thousand bright candles
Amongst its horns it carries the light of the blessed sun
On its forehead there is a star, on its chest the moon
And it starts along the banks of the shining heavenly Danube
That it may be the messenger of heaven and bringer of news
About our creator and caring god
$30/$20 early registration by December 4
FREE PARKING in Central Savings parking lot - click here for directions
This is a 4 week class that began November 14. Please click here to register for the class
Life Force Arts Center is open to the public during these hours:
Fridays, 1:30 - 6:30 PM and by appointment
Please stop in to enjoy our current art exhibit, The Waning Year, shop for art and jewelry, and learn more about our classes, events and other ways we share transformation through the arts.
Final Day: Silent Auction - Gabriel Gebka's painting "Staring at the Sky"
Saturday, December 14, 12:00 AM » 5:30 PMGabriel Gebka, one of Life Force Arts Ensemble's Featured Artists, has very generously donated two of his beautiful paintings, Staring at the Sky & The Naked Tree. (The Naked Tree has been purchased.)
We are doing a Silent Auction for Staring at the Sky.
This painting is 36 x 29 inches; India ink and acrylic on canvas.
Bidding is open from November 29 till December 14 at 5:30 PM. Bidding starts at $100 (retail price of the painting is $1800).
Bids
will be taken in person at Life Force Arts Center, 1609 W. Belmont,
Chicago, or by email to joan@lifeforcearts.org. Executive Director Joan
Forest Mage will send an acknowledgement of the bid by email.
The winning bid will be announced at 6 PM on December 14, 2019, at the close of LFAE's Holiday Party & Gift Faire. The painting may be picked up after the announcement on December 14, or by arrangement with Executive Director Joan Forest Mage.
Please
join the Life Force Arts Ensemble family for a jolly time at our annual Holiday
Party & Gift Faire.
Local
artists will be present with lovely one-of-a-kind artwork, jewelry, ornaments and
more, for you to find those special holiday gifts in a loving, peaceful, fun
atmosphere.
Enjoy yummy refreshments, including hot apple cider, Christmas cookies and Joan's homemade Butternut Squash Soup, and join in the sing-a-long of your favorite Christmas carols.
Admission is free. Everyone who attends receives a FREE door prize (from good St. Nick!) as a Holiday gift to you; prizes include artwork, jewelry, ornaments, books, crystals, CD's and cards!
The Wheel of the Year. Time, not linear
but circular. Round and round we go, and have always gone. Since the
beginning of time, humans, of every faith and culture, have found time
best tracked in circles. Humans have created stone circles aligned with
the seasons for at least 200,000 years. Everything in life falls
comfortably somewhere upon the spokes of the wheel of time. The times of
day, the seasons, the astrological calendar, the trees and symbols of
the Ogham, Alchemy, Festivals, ages of human life, the colors, musical
notes, emotions, tides. All of time, all of creation.
This is what we will explore in this year-long series of painting classes held once a month. Eight of our sessions will focus on the seasonal festival: Imbolc, Ostara, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lughnassadh, Mabon, Samhain and Yule. For these sessions, we will create acrylic on canvas paintings.
Four of our sessions will focus on the Wheel of the
Year Template as a whole. In these sessions, each participant will use
ink pens, markers, paint, and collage on acetate sheets to create a
multi-layered depiction of a personalized Wheel meaningful to their own
life path.
Our theme for December 15: Yule - December 21 (Winter Solstice)
At Samhain we honored, celebrated and welcomed the descent into, and return of, the dark - the beginning of the New Year, acknowledging that all beginnings emerge from darkness. At the Winter Solstice we reach the depth of that darkness with the longest night of the year. Darkness has reached its peak.
In his book The Pagan Family, Ceisiwr Serith says, "Now we start to wonder: will this continue? Will the Earth grow darker and colder as the Sun disappears into the south until only darkness is left? But at Yule a wonderful thing happens. The Sun stops its decline and for a few days it rises in about the same place. This is the crucial time, the cusp between events. The Sun stands still, and everyone waits for the turning.
"In our heads we know the light will return. But in the darkness of Winter, can we be sure? Do our hearts believe what our heads tell us? Will the light keep its promises? We all have moments of darkness, when we don't know how much deeper we will go before the light starts to return (or even if it will). The world has moments too; it understands us, and lives as we do.
"The
Sun does start north again and the light comes back. In the world, in
our lives, the light comes back. This is indeed something worth
celebrating, and it has been celebrated throughout the Northern
Hemisphere in remarkably similar ways."
The Festival of Rebirth and The Return of the Sun (Son) With the end of the longest night the dark is defeated with the Return of the Sun, the return of light, hope and promise. The Goddess gives birth to the Sun/Sun God. The Sun begins to wax and the days grow longer. All that is hidden will begin to emerge. This is the Sun's birthday! And it really is time to celebrate! The Holly King rules over the dark part of the year from Midsummer to Yule, he is God of the Waning Year. At Yule he surrenders his life to the young light Oak King, God of the Waxing Year and his twin, who rules over the light part of the year from Yule to Midsummer. Both rule for half of the year, both fight for the favor and love of the Goddess and both surrender their life force for the well-being of the land. In truth, they are one.
Yule, or Winter Solstice traditions are many and generous, and are shared not only with Christianity with the birthday of the Christ Child, but with many pre-Christian Pagan traditions and indeed more recent ones. It is difficult sometimes to identify their sources, but they are all very familiar in our Western culture even if we don't always recognize the symbology behind them.
All materials will be supplied and no previous
experience is necessary. The class will begin with a smudging and
guided meditation, and continue on with the painting session. Each
session will include a central space arrangement of items that speak to
the season and the spoke upon the wheel that is our focus for that
session.
Additionally, each student will be provided with a computer file, and a link to a YouTube Playlist that features a wide variety of supportive documentation on The Wheel as it appears in its many varied forms and focuses: images of Circles, Mandalas and Wheels of the Year from a wide variety of cultures and locations as well as stories and legends from around the world to be used as reference material for their study.
Preregistration is required due to material and supply orders that must be placed.
Sunday, December 15, 2 - 5 PM: Yule
Painting The Wheel of the Year series: 12 Sundays, 2 - 5 PM each day
Remaining dates:
- December 15 – Yule
Each session is paid for separately. Each class is $55/$45 early registration by one week before class. Attend 5 sessions and your sixth class is free! Each session is a stand alone class and you need not attend them all. However, the full experience of all 12 Sessions is HIGHLY recommended.
You must
complete the Voice & Movement Intro class series as a prerequisite for taking the Level 2 class.
Please contact Joan at joan@lifeforcearts.org to register for the Level 2 class. Click here for more information on Voice & Movement Intro class.
You must
complete the Voice & Movement Intro class series as a prerequisite for taking the Level 2 class.
Please contact Joan at joan@lifeforcearts.org to register for the Level 2 class. Click here for more information on Voice & Movement Intro class.
The Life Force Arts Wheel course is a
year-long exploration of the core principles of the Life Force Arts Method taught by
Joan Forest Mage