The Practice Sessions: Elizabeth Shepley of Owl Create
welcoming a new series with an old friend
Hello beautiful human,
Today I introduce a new feature into An Inviting Space, one that I’ve envisioned and imagined from the very first post I wrote back on 2/1/24. For a year now the ideas have slept and stirred, dreaming themselves into being like seeds in the cold winter ground. An Inviting Space has always been meant to be a place of community—and like anything that’s alive, the seeds for this had to take the time they needed to grow and uncurl themselves.
Community. How to manifest such a thing here, in a way that feels sustainable and nourishing to you, to me, to this Space?
Introducing The Practice Sessions.
Named in honor of my father, and of course there’s a story.
When I was growing up, my father was an English professor at a small liberal arts college, a college whose campus was just up the hill from our house. My small feet scampered through the halls and offices of many professors and I knew whose candy dishes to raid. I grew up with one foot in small town America and one foot in the halls of bucolic academia and that explains a whole lot about me. The important thing about this is that all through my childhood, my professor father was also a musician who devoted his time at home to practicing multiple instruments: drums, piano, guitar for a while, trumpet for a briefer while, and vibraphone (if you don’t know what that is, imagine an electric marimba). My brother and I didn’t know how unusual this was. Didn’t everyone’s dad play multiple instruments and carve out practice time with an almost religious zeal? Of course, in such a household we also were required to play and practice multiple instruments … but that’s a tale for another day.
Upon retirement from the college, my father turned around not even three times and took up his second life and to this day is a member of a jazz quartet that plays throughout eastern Iowa. And yes, finding, making and protecting time to practice is still one of his main (pre-)occupations. He is one of my models for the truth that a human being can do more than one thing and live more than one life and do it all quite well, with joyful grit and enthusiasm. And he’s also a model for the value of practice— that regular, repetitive, sometimes boring devotion to slowing down when you have to and getting it right. Taking time to figure out the tricky parts. Mostly, showing up for yourself and your craft and art. Again and again.
So these will be our practice sessions, to share and discover, uncover, recover ways to grow our art, our craft, ourselves. I have a growing list of creatives I’ve invited to contribute to this space. Every so often (hopefully more often than not) I’ll publish a Practice Session column and feature someone else’s voice and practice. (I might pop in with my own occasionally too.)
Our practices and practice sessions, whatever they are and whatever they lead to, help us become the creative, resilient folk we want to be. They help us thrive through challenging times. Why wouldn’t we want to share these with each other and practice together?
I’ve invited each guest to answer a series of questions, to give us a sense of who they are and what they’re up to. Those of us behind the paywalls of this Space will have the opportunity to learn or share in a specific practice that these featured creatives have found helpful…whether that’s a piece of writing, photographs or sketches, a video, a zoom circle, or a link to click to tomorrow… whatever practice each featured guest chooses to share, in whatever way feels right to them to share it.
I’m so excited…
So without further ado and blather from me, I gladly share with you my friend and supercreative guest, Elizabeth Shepley of Owl Create.
I just want everyone here to know that I am cheering for you all, and we’re alright. Your presence here in An Inviting Space is irrefutable evidence that you are alright and that there’s enough good stuff in the world to help us find our way through the dark times.
I want everyone to know that I’ve granted myself full permission to be relentlessly hopeful and steadily optimistic. I am able to allow it because I’ve been through hell-and-back a few times, and every time I get through it, the world is a bit brighter and I see a bit clearer. I am committed to providing trauma-informed care in all that I do and in how I be. Trauma and adversity are part of every hero’s journey, and I’m here to shine the light on others as they begin to recognize they’re the hero of their story and start to take aligned creative action in the making of miracles.
As a wordsmith, conjurer, connector, and maker of pretty (and not-so-pretty but pretty fun) things, I keep the light on for others and know where to find help when my own gets dim. I know, I know. I sound a little woo-woo, and I can count on one hand, and still have fingers left over, how many years I’ve been tuned into the power of woo in my Atmosphere. “Woo” as in “wooing,” as in the gaining of love, as in love for everyone, including the eager little artist in the mirror ready for showtime on the world’s stage of daily living.
Some ways that I fulfill this mission is doing my very personal work of creative recovery and healing from the inside out, and I also guide others through their own creative recovery journeys in private mentorship and coaching as well as small group coaching and Creative Recovery Circles. I’m also a Human Design enthusiast and an advocate for using all kinds of tools to support creative recovery through what I call creative re sourcing: the creative reuse of provisions to cultivate holistic well-being. In other words, I help people audit what they *do* have and leverage those resources for their own well-being, and the best part is that we track the impact of their well-being throughout their sphere of influence noting the miracles that unfold as they shift their culture from the inside out.
If it feels right, stop by to receive a helping of genuine hospitality and soulful creative connection.
The Five Questions for the Practice Sessions
What are your current fascinations?
How much space do we have here? I’ll start with the obvious. I’m completely fascinated by stories and how humans go about daily life often completely unaware or in denial of their creative power as the narrator of the story. I’m fascinated by the human brain and the human body and their power and capacity to work with the narrator to bring the story to life. I’m fascinated with the questions - the curiosity - my own ferocious curiosity that I used to hide away but now play through on the daily. I’m fascinated by everyday heroes out there changing their stories and overcoming adversity and trauma and breaking cycles against all odds. Humans are incredible. I’m fascinated by the choices that move people towards fear and towards love. I’m fascinated by synchronicities and the subtle ways the Atmosphere rises to meet the storyteller’s intentions whether that storyteller has made them conscious or not. I’m fascinated by the sleeping and the dreaming and the waking and the making.
What does a “delicious day” consist of, for you?
Julia Cameron says in The Artist’s Way, “Life is meant to be an artist date. That’s why we’re created.” Intentional creative living is making every day an artist date. Understanding this as one piece of my mission has helped me fill my plate with delicious days! I’m saying yes to things that fill me up, and when the process asks for resources to go towards something that seems less appetizing, I add a little seasoning or garnish to make it taste better. My delicious days are filled with love and care for myself, my family, my community adjusting the pie slices accordingly to meet the day’s rhythm while honoring my capacity and doing the best I can. It’s a practice. I let it be. That makes it even more delicious.
How do you take care of yourself?
I’ve been dripping that content since I showed up here, so I’m going to shift my approach a little here and make a list.
I wake up (most days) at least 3 hours before I expect to answer any scheduled appointments or tasks.
I look at myself in the mirror with love.
I practice listening to my body’s cues and answering as soon as I get it. I’m still green with this one. Do you know how often I defer basic functions until I get this one more thing done? Be right back, I need a drink of water.
I practice mindfulness. I’m a natural multi-tasker, and a mindfulness practice helps me satisfy my need for multiple channels of stimulation without overwhelming my processor.
I drink coffee the way I like it and let it be satisfying and nourishing without guilt.
I also drink lots and lots of water because I love it. I also tend to run hot and get dehydrated without it :)
I write morning pages (as prescribed by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way).
I dress to feel comfortable and express myself.
I keep a rose quartz heart in my pocket for grounding, protection and a little more love. It’s also an anchor in my mindfulness practices as a sensory, tactile tool.
I also keep a pendulum in my pocket in case I experience decision fatigue and “just wish someone would tell me what to do.” The pendulum helps me get out of my own way so I can hear what I would do without the interference from the decision fatigue.
I eat small meals at mealtimes. This is also a practice because I’m still learning my body’s true cues for hunger and nourishment.
I collect snippets of stories throughout my creative living shenanigans that give me anchors to tap into later. Things I heard and saw and insights gathered.
I go for walks.
I dance.
I take Artist’s dates.
I read and reread books.
I intentionally learn new things on the daily.
I check in with my people on the regular.
I set boundaries and know my standards.
I take aligned creative action to live a good story.
I allow for rest and 6-8 hours of sleep every night.
I ask for help, even when I can’t name what I need exactly.
That seems like a good place to stop for now. There’s more for sure, but I think you get the idea.
We are the stories we tell. I’m curious if, at this point, you sense yourself moving into any new stories, or if there are stories you feel you’re recovering?
Everything here (in this Practice Session & in this chapter of my creative life) feels new for me. I recognize myself as an evolving creature with evolving needs, and I am leaning into unconditional love as I grow to understand it as my natural essence. Unconditional, as in without conditions. I’m questioning all the stories. I’m giving myself space to linger with and cultivate more good feelings. I used to buy into this story that good things don’t last and that I can’t enjoy what is because it’ll go away. Truth. Everything goes away. That’s the cycle of life. That’s the beauty and the miracle of it. Here now. For a little while. Creating what I want in this now moment.
Let’s include a gratitude you’d like to share with us…a person, or a place, or something you’d like to express gratitude for who has helped you arrive at this moment.
I want to thank my little artist self who never gave up on me even when I tried to give up. She kept the light on. I used to think that there was some outside force that swooped in and rescued me in my darkest moments. My partner for 22 years of marriage used to get the most credit for such rescues, but I see now as I look back that it was always that curious little creator who brought a wide-eyed relentless hope and steady optimism to shed a little light on the situation. Sometimes she sent an SOS that asked for the help I didn’t have the words to speak. Sometimes she highlighted a glimmer to remind me that we’re alright. She’d make it known that the fetal position has its benefits and it’s quite cozy. “Maybe if we just sleep on it?” she’d suggest, and we make it to a new day. A little bit of love from the inside.
Thank you Elizabeth for your generous sharing!
Keep reading below for the practice she shares with us today.