Wisdom at the Crossroads
Welcome to Wisdom at the Crossroads. I am your host, Amanda Onchulenko and I am excited to invite you into my studio practice, remotely. Together let’s pause the rhythm of the day as we dive into the backstories of an artistic life, my life, exploring lessons learned through creativity and inspiration. We will reflect on how some of my favourite paintings have evolved and what wisdom I have found at the crossroads where action and presence meet. Each episode will end with a short meditation or reflection as we strive to be inspired and find a quiet pause in the busyness of the day’s activities. I will look forward to connecting. In the meantime, may you be more, be present. And do a little less. See you on Tuesdays!
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
This episode begins and ends with friendship and gratitude. Art and life evolve when we release our expectations and trust in the roundabout ways the world works. What is meant to be is always meant to be.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of Resonance in my blog!
The Meditation
The meditation is 10 minutes long in this episode. Find it at 9:18 in the recording.
It is an invitation to join me on a late summer beach walk, to go with the flow of what the universe offers.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Get your flow flowing this episode as we take in a transitioning season and journey down a new visual path where colour theory is just a theory.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of Flow/The 100 Acre Woods in my blog!
The Meditation
The meditation that follows at 8:37 in the recording adopts the mantra:“It is, I am, we are…” to remind us our only constant is change. It is a short 14 minutes of self care. I hope you’ll tune in.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
This episode shares stories of community and creativity and how the two came together to create The Healing Blanket Project, one thoughtful and colourful stitch at a time.The story begins with the Healing Blanket post-pandemic as she fledges her nest and moves into Ronald MacDonald’s new house in Winnipeg.Listen in on the podcast or read up on the blog to discover what happens when a delicate, white tulip grows 2 meters tall, and what supportive magic happens at the crossroads where action and presence meet.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of The Healing Blanket in my blog!
MeditationThe meditation continues the healing theme. Listen in for 11 minutes of self care where we invite softness and ease in on the breath. Stay tuned as we are reminded, to pause, to accept the gift of stillness and to be open to receiving all the support the universe offers, wherever we are.
Find the meditation at 15:30 in the recording.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Oct 25, 2022
Tuesday Oct 25, 2022
We chat about the subjective process of commissioning art and the fact that a refreshed painting is one that was once finished, then finished again.With a hint of whimsy and freedom, we are reminded how we interpret art depends on our perspective and what we are ready to see.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of A Celebration of the Poppy in my blog!
Poppy + Root Chakra MeditationThe meditation Is a guided self care pause and definitely one for the books. It celebrates the power of intention and encourages us to act instead of react.Believe me your airport experience will not be the same with this oasis creating technique in your meditative suitcase.
The meditation is 12 minutes long and begins at 10:20 in the recording.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
We’ve all heard the saying “it takes a village” and I am so grateful for mine.In today’s backstory, we journey to a community of neighbours and friends along the western shore of Lake Winnipeg.
The area’s iconic swimming piers come into focus with the painting “Pier Support”. Art becomes a colourful off-season reminder of the value of our connections, to place, to ourselves, and to each other.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of Pier Support in my blog!
Pier Support Meditation
The guided meditation in this episode reflects on transitions and the potential for new beginnings that come with seasonal change. Tune into your body during these 10 minutes of reflective pause that begin at 7:44 In the recording.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
This episode takes me back to a weedy incidental green space where I am reminded of the cyclical ways our journeys connect to our past and to each other.“Riverside”, the focus of todays conversation, is part of the “Sweet Suite”, a series of small paintings that freely bloomed on panel this summer in the studio.It is the result of my recent travels along the road less travelled, down memory lane that came full circle into the present. The process allowed for a lovely moment not looking back but pausing reflectively.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of River View in my blog!
River View MeditationThe meditation practice is inspired by the idea of a reflective pause. In this episode the meditation begins at 5:28 In the recording. It is 12 minutes of tuning into the body, listening, relaxing and allowing yourself to accept the pleasure of the pause.
Join me for a few precious moments of refreshment and fill your cup to overflowing before you take up the reigns in the rest of your day.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
This story starts out with an intention that turns a blank canvas into a beginning. The episode touches on a compelling pair from the archive that puts personal perspectives into context and helps us to realize there are no wrong answers when it comes to art.
“Blue Gums” are the real star of the show. They evolved through a (challenging for me) less is more philosophy into a refreshingly simple composition and visual legacy.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of Wonderland in my blog!
Blue Gums MeditationThe meditation begins at 8:36 in the recording. Pause with me this episode for 15 minutes of energetic refreshment. Be reminded, we all grow when it rains.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
In this episode, we chat about the idea of ritual in the work of art where the intention of an action is key and nobody is sitting around eating cake waiting to be inspired.
“Wonderland” is part of a recent batch of paintings trending large on 4 foot panels. This diptych takes us on a journey through process, like Alice’s, but without the use of hallucinogens.Music as muse helps to silence life’s noise and transport us to a crossroads where we are not lost but found, fully present.
Join in to discover an evolving soundtrack to studio practice and learn which David, Joni, Jack, John and Richard currently serenade this soul practitioner at the studio.Check out the expanded show notes and an image of Wonderland in my blog!
Wonderland MeditationThe meditation is 10 minutes long today. It begins at 8:41 in the recording.
Process and practice are at the core of this invitation that allows a glimpse into a very personal and formerly private meditative writing ritual.
Connecting to the wisdom we all have access to is the end goal here. Listen in to rest your heart in the details of your own story.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Sep 20, 2022
Tuesday Sep 20, 2022
An Everywhere of Silver is the story of a winter landscape in a summer cottage. It is the story of a journey and adjusted expectations.
This little painting recalls an attempt to take to the road less travelled if only for a little while. It holds the story of a rained out adventure that ended with a gentle reminder and inspiration for a whole new body of work.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of An Everywhere of Silver in my blog!
An Everywhere of Silver MeditationThe meditation is 11 minutes long in this episode. It begins at 6:22 in the recording.
Taking a break in our own company can be priceless but how often do we afford ourselves that opportunity?
The meditation is a guided journey to an incidental green space in dappled pockets of sunshine. There’s a little elemental magic in getting quiet and being aware of all that is small.
Join me here to engage in a moment of respite, to allow haste to evolve succinctly into ease.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
We celebrate connection in todays backstory. Connection to our past: relationships, spaces and places and end up in the present musing about imagination and a sisterhood evolving in vibrant colour on the paint wall.With the example of “Crossroads”, a marker at the beginning of a new chapter in my studio archive, we are reminded that creativity is a powerful journey.Marks made in expression are made in many mediums and sometimes might not be a physical action at all.
Life evolves.
Cast across distant memories our backward glances might offer us a little perspective or contextual insight but the present moment is where we live and what will always lead us forward.
The road less travelled beckons as we grow and evolve into the highest version of ourselves.
Check out the expanded show notes and an image of Crossroads in my blog!
Crossroads MeditationThe meditation is 10 minutes long in this episode. It begins at 10:12 in the recording and takes us on a journey into my impression of a landscape, to a candy coloured windbreak.
Together we’ll allow intention to lead our tranquil breaths to pause between actions on an imaginary journey of self discovery.
What whimsy will build around you at the crossroads where action and presence meet?
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦
Instagram: @mandartcanada
Website: https://www.mandart.ca/
Blog: https://www.mandart.ca/blog
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