Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom
Autumn 2022
Every Monday afternoon 10 sessions, Starting September 26
Part 1 – 4 sessions September 26 to Oct. 17, Part 2 – 6 sessions, November 14 to Dec 19
Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Place: Online – Zoom
Cost: $250.00 CDN plus HST (13%)
Seven years ago I (Sue) went to Salt Spring Island in BC and did a poetry and Zen retreat with Peter Levitt. I had been reading his book Fingerpainting on the Moon before I left for the retreat, which I bought second-hand because it was already out of print at that point. Peter and I talked at that time about the possibility of re-publishing this book of his on Writing and Creativity (think The Artist’s Way with a strong dash of poetry and Zen added).
Over the pandemic Peter and I worked together to make this happen, and I’m delighted to announce that in the summer of 2021 Piquant Press released the second edition of Peter Levitt’s Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom.
As I was laying the interior of the book out, I was also reading it again and I found myself really wanting to engage with these exercises in a deep way. But I know myself—I will begin with the best of intentions, and then will fall off the wagon and abandon my own creative delight as my work schedule gets intense.
If the pandemic has taught me anything about my own creative practice, it’s how being accountable to others will make me accountable to myself. So in that spirit, I led two 10-week workshops in Autumn 2021 based on Fingerpainting on the Moon and another in Spring 2022 with Peter’s blessing. All three workshops were incredibly rich experiences.
To read Testimonials from the first two workshops, please scroll below the booking form below.
| In this Course we will work our way through the material presented in Fingerpainting on the Moon:Creativity of any kind requires risk—the risk of being a beginner, letting go of control, or revealing intimate or even unknown parts of ourselves. It can also be a source of tremendous joy: the joy of giving voice to our deepest needs and imaginings. Taking a gentle and freeing approach to creativity, this book shows us the essentially spiritual nature of creative acts and helps us open our hearts and minds so we can express ourselves with courage, innate wisdom, and authenticity. No special conditions are required to create. We need not wait for inspiration to strike, or worry that it has abandoned us. Developed over decades of work with writers and other artists, the exercises, stories, meditations, and other tools in this book will:
• Connect us with our inherent and inexhaustible creative and spiritual source Synthesizing centuries of global wisdom from traditions that include Zen Buddhism, mystical Judaism, Sufism, Christianity, and Native American beliefs, and offering insights from such masters as Paul Klee, Itzhak Perlman, Allen Ginsberg, and Pablo Neruda, this book will nurture and sustain the artist in each of us, freeing us to generate work that is genuine, vital, and compelling. |
Interview with Peter Levitt about his book on Writing and Creativity at this link.
Author, poet and translator, Peter Levitt, lives with his family on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, where he is the founder and guiding teacher of the Salt Spring Zen Circle. |
REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP USING THE “BUY TICKET” BUTTON ON THIS FORM:
Testimonials from the Fingerpainting on the Moon Workshops, Fall 2021
Peter Levitt could not have hoped for a more devoted, engaged and engaging guide than Sue Reynolds to lead us through his generous and remarkable book. The whole experience was one of trust, encouragement, joy, and self-discovery with some raw and revealing creative writing to show for it. It was so nourishing to have spirituality recognized and called upon for its inspiration and heartbeat throughout the creative process. I bow. ~ Susie Whelehan
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Most enjoyable were the distinct voices answering ‘what was strong for you in this piece?’ It gave me ideas about what to notice in my own writing: beginnings, endings, concrete words.
I would recommend this workshop because it is invited but not mandatory to share; participants learn from the exercises, fellow writers and themselves as they write. ~ Claire Sullivan_________________
I would recommend this workshop to anyone who appreciates a gentle, creative, spiritual approach to writing. Sue is a master teacher of compassionate, nurturing, and inspiring workshops. ~ M.M._________________
Finger-painting on the Moon blends the wonder and wisdom of Peter Levitt’s amazing book with the sacred depths of an online circle that Sue Reynolds safely and skillfully holds–for delving into our creative process, naming our fears and blocks, welcoming our insights and personal truths and pouring this into powerful writing. This is an extraordinary journey into our own creative genius, resistance and all, towards the universal beauty that is creativity and creation. Sue Reynolds brings the book to life in an embodied way that is unique and magical. I ‘d recommend this for anyone wanting to dive deeply into creativity. ~ Kate Flaherty_________________
My morning walks have come more alive, a sort of creative meditation, rekindling a spark that had gone out, refilling my creative well. ~ M.L._________________
This workshop is second only to the seminal work of Pat Schneider Writing Alone and With Others in creating a motivation and an action oriented way of working with inner creative resistance. Sue is a gifted and generous facilitator and made room for the variety and presence of unique genius among all her participants. Her gentle guiding makes me a lifelong Sue fan. I will definitely join the next session. ~ A.F.