Women’s Creative Spirituality Workshop. Build your own Traveling Shrine or Altar!

Join local artist, teacher & spiritual guidess, Susan Conrad Risse as she walks you, step-by-step, in the creation of a traveling shrine or altar dedicated to honoring your sacred self.

Come just as you are, straight from work or wherever, to play with us in this magical, whimsical & sacred playground of the heart.

All are welcome, no matter what you feel your “creative level” is. 
NO PREVIOUS ART EXPERIENCE is required.
When: Wednesday, June 19th – 5:00-8:30 pm
Where: Waimanalo Beach Cafe and Gallery
41-865 Kalanianaole Highway, Waimanalo 96795
(808) 783-4749 http://www.facebook.com/dabeachcafe

Included will be yummy food & drinks and ALL supplies.
If you have totems or elements of significance to you in this creation, please bring them along!

We will begin by gathering in circle to connect & ground with one another, as well as to visualize & set our intention for our evening journey. We’ll then gather our containers, personal items that you’ve brought plus anything that speaks to you from my personal ‘stash’ & begin creating!

I promise that you will not only open up your heart & have fun, but you’ll also leave with something that you’ve lovingly created. – Sound good?

Save your spot now for just a $20.00 non-refundable deposit. 
Remaining $30.00 balance to be paid by June 14th. ($50.00 total) Deposit through Paypal to susan@risse.com or drop off your deposit at the cafe to save your seat.

According to the dictionary, a shrine is:
1.) A place or object hallowed from its history or associations; as a shrine of art.

2.) A case, box or receptacle, especially one in which one deposits sacred relics.

3.) Ritual Altar: An altar that contains objects placed for specific intent which have deliberate symbolism. An altar created thoughtfully enhances the ritual’s meaning for the individual or group.

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Happy Earth Day!

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment & share my painting, “Earth Angel” with you on this most sacred of days, “Earth Day.” When I look at her and the way in which she is holding the Earth as tenderly & lovingly as a newborn baby in her arms, I am deeply reminded of the importance of treating our “home” with that level of intense care. Our planet & all of it’s abundant resources provide endlessly all that we need, more than we need, really. Yet we seem to be facing one crisis after another, much caused by our general lack of appreciation & abuse of what is more than enough. Let’s all take just a moment today to think of one way that we could tread just a tad more lightly on this Sacred Ground, and then try to carry that forward into our week, year, perhaps even our lifetime. Maybe just recycling a little more, or eating a little more organic food, or re-using, recycling, up-cycling or donating items, rather than just throwing them away. There really is no “away,” is there, because it all stays right here with us. It just gets moved to another place.

Thanks, as always for stopping by & for reading this & supporting me.

***”Earth Angel,” acrylic on canvas, original 16″x20″ painting is available for purchase, as well as prints, cards & giclees. This painting is not yet up on my fineartamerica.com store (Under Artist Susan Risse,)but there may be others there you might like. If you’re interested in purchasing “Earth Angel” just leave an inquiry below. Prices are comparable to that you will see on my other pieces in my fineartamerica.com store (Susan Risse)

Aloha nui loa!

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“More Than Enough”

Today I went to my chiropractor. My back has been in intense pain for the past 4 days. I got a massage on Tuesday, which was wonderful, & helped, but, by today I was quite desperate. Fortunately, I was able to get an appointment. I got “the full treatment, please,” which entailed some sort of “shock job” on my back, then over to the “electronic jabber” thingy, next, the “adjustment,” & on to the best part– the roller massage table!” Yes, indeed, I would say that was the “Full Treatment.” While I was lying there, however, my 9 year old daughter, who will not allow me out of her sight, was sitting there asking me, “How much longer, Mom?,” and my 12 yr. old son & dog were waiting in the car. So as I lay there, trying to relax & allow the treatments to better serve me, I had all of these distractions going through my head. And then I remembered what a beautiful Benedictine nun had said to me once, “Susan, there’s more than enough time; there’s more than enough of everything.” Even as I think @ this now, I find myself tearing up. There IS enough; I AM enough, I GIVE enough, I SUFFER enough, I CELEBRATE  enough, & yet, somehow, it never seems to be “enough.” So, then, what is “enough?” Therein lies the $64,000 question. I think that we get to decide what’s enough, & dig our heels into our own truth, no one else’s. So, after my appt., everyone was fine, & I thought, “well what if everyone else wasn’t fine?” Yes, I would have probably reacted in “Mother Mode,” trying to make everyone “happy, “so as to cause no distress to anyone other than myself, of course. Well, as I said before, everyone was fine, except for hungry, which I was, too, so that worked out fine, as my husband was working late. The kids, dog, & I went to “Taco Bell” drive-thru, with my BIG coupon book (A Holiday promotion I fell for, which has actually proven to be a “good deal.”)  We got our food & went to the beach park. We sat there, with our beautiful ocean view, eating our cheap food, &, you know, that was “MORE than enough.” As I watched the fisherman, jet-skiers, scuba boats, etc., I thought to myself, “well, if this isn’t enough, then I don’t know what is.” Afterward we walked the beach, collecting shells & rocks, gazing out to the sea, gathering our own “treasures” & just being together. I found my thoughts drifting…..thinking about my life. I LOVE where I live… love the weather, the beauty, the lifestyle, the opportunities…… But, I also felt a bit of a shift. Am I really enjoying this paradise fully? I’m not what one would call a nature-y type girl, i.e. hikes, camping, water sports, roughing it, etc., but I DO love nature & it’s unending beauty. I enjoy the views, the restaurants on the water, the flowy sundresses, the openness & so much more. But I’ve found myself thinking about all of the more adventures that are here for me, be it yoga on the beach, walking my dog on the beach, collecting shells, rocks, & sea glass with my kids, soaking in the glorious, salty ocean water! It wasn’t at all a negative thought about what I already enjoy, but, rather it was an opening, an expanding to how much more I can enjoy! And, as I drove home up the hill, with my dog & “my babies” in tow, I realized, “It was enough.”…….. Aloha & Mahalo, My beauties……

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