The idea of body casting came from Sheila's sensitivity as an artist as well as her personal need to confront this distorted and idealized image of women. Her commitment is to the possibility of all women accepting their bodies as they are and to a public declaration, in the form of visual art, about who we are as women and our right to be that way. We are all artists. We all have the power and ability to create, for have we not created who and what we are? Are we not the author and painter of our lives? Art is not a technique or a medium--it's about exploring issues of self-expression. By using our own bodies as the "blank canvas", each of us finds the courage to engage in the inner confrontation and bring forth art, art as invention and creation, something new and fresh, designed by each individual woman, representing and celebrating all that we are and all the possibilities we can be.
After a well-developed process to create safety with each other, each participant makes a plaster-fiber cast of her body, which she reinforces, paints, and decorates. Each woman develops a tactile awareness of her body, its substance and texture, its curves, roundness, hollows - touching and sensing her form through her hands. As her relationship to her body begins to shift, the changes are integrated into the visual form of the body cast. We discover the Goddess in every woman, reclaim our personal power, and transform our body image. Women report an incredible bonding, truth-telling, unconditional acceptance, and a delightful new awareness of their bodies as sacred, precious, and ultimately holy.
"We were a bunch of sacred hussies--it was so much fun, and such a profound experience--to actually accept and love my body--as it is." Sing, holler, laugh, cry, and exhibit raucous, disruptive behavior. Know yourself as the wild woman you really are. Limited to 10 women, this workshop is 2 1/2 times the length of our normal weekends and costs twice as much, plus $100.
Sheila Richards is an artist, writer, and visionary who designed and leads the Sacred Forms Workshop out of her personal commitment to helping women move beyond a limiting, culturally defined body identity. In its place is a new identity as one with the Goddess. A well-known speaker, internationally presented artist, and mother of three, she is presently writing a book on women, body image, and the Goddess. She brings 25 years of political activism, teaching, and working with women's groups to her workshops, as well as a finely tuned sensitivity to what has become one of Rowe's most loved workshops.
"The first thing I confronted was taking my clothes off. I never ever undress in front of others, but the safe environment allowed me to move through that with ease. Next was being cast by the women in the circle. What a treat it was - both a healing and an intimate connection with HOME! This ritual was sacred, the beginning of completion and renewal simultaneously. The last stage of the process was just being with me the Goddess. We shared together, I wrote to her, sang to her, and listened to her. The listening was the blessing, for I uncovered and discovered the Goddess in Me. Painting and decorating her was transformational, for the more I painted her the more I was filled with self acceptance, dignity, and reverence. I thank you for the gift. Thank you for being included in my journey. My life is forever altered." -- Claudette C'Faison