Laurene “Madhu” Honeyman
Here’s a little bit about her:
Laurene "Madhu" Honeyman
I grew up along the banks of the Red River in St. Vital, Manitoba. The River was my first Guru, opening me to the mysteries of life and providing an abundance of rich clay, excellent for sculpting! Beginning yoga and meditation at age 13, contributed to my growing love of symbolism, contemplation, imagination and the sacred. I later moved to Montreal where I enrolled in the BFA program at Concordia University, majoring in studio art. After five years at CU I won a sculpture competition in Virginia, moved there, and finished my degree at UVA. I bought an old farm house along the James River and had an abundance of space inside and out to create to my hearts content. Heaven.
While in Virginia, I also studied and practiced the ritual art of India and the ceremonial art of Elizabeth Cogburn (New Song Ceremonials, NM), in relationship to personal transformation as well as community celebrations. My explorations with these mediums have deepened and they continue to inform my creative choices since coming to the Pacific Northwest in 1991, whether it be in painting, sculpting, poetry, public art, music, dance, spiritual theatre, story telling, community celebrations or collaborations. I’ve been living at Terra Spirita in Point Roberts, WA, since 1997.
And here’s how she answered my 6 questions about creativity:
What inspires your creativity?
Creativity Itself. Space. Time to look. Time to listen. When I simply stop, and “be” in whatever space I am in, take a good long look – like watching a river, listen to and watch the ideas that flow from inspiration, intuition, imagination, Source, I am always filled with something beautiful that usually gets documented in words, sounds or images. From these, a piece will some day be chosen to be born and emerge as a finished form – or not. I love the creative mind. The beauty of Nature. Light. The great mystery of Life and the resilient, relentless, creative ways in which we humans engage in creating meaningful relationships with It. The power of love, kindness and compassion. And of course, other people inspired, vulnerable, sincere or authentic in some way.
How do people respond to your creativity?
Lotus
Hmmm. Respond to my creativity, rather than my creations, you ask? I’d like to think that people are inspired, better yet, are motivated to follow a thread of their own creativity and become engaged themselves. I don’t stop to ask but sometimes I notice things. When I sing I see a soft open glow in people’s eyes, face, heart. Something is being touched. I see how people’s sense of self changes, alters, morphs into a new perception and deeper appreciation of who they are or could be when I facilitate their engagement into a creative act. They become so innocent and pure, like they are watching in awe as a new part of themselves are being born right before their eyes. Unexpected and delightful. I heard someone fainted once upon seeing one of my light sculptures. Apparently they had a dream of it prior to seeing it. My paintings seem to need an educated eye for modern art, to be appreciated. Some people seem to look cleansed and grateful, more “whole”, after being engaged in some kind of spiritual theatre with me. I do see people become overwhelmed or startled sometimes. I love the “biggness” of the creative flow, how it fills me up and expands. Anything seems possible. I might juggle a lot of possibilities before choosing and refining. It is not everyone’s comfort zone. At other times, when I’m really focused, I’m just not there. No fun to be around. People just leave. In any case, it’s all a mystery to me. I myself always wonder “how did this happen”? I can’t believe I did something when it’s done. It’s better that way. I’m so grateful to be a part of it though. I hope people see the creativity in themselves when they see it in me. Being creative saves lives. It saved mine.
What is the wildest journey your creativity has taken you on
Oh my. So many stories. For sure, without a doubt, the wildest journeys are always the ones that happen unexpectedly, spontaneously, in the moment. There is some kind of power of Life that picks me up and suddenly I’m doing and/or saying/singing things without a thought about it to make it so. This is what you might call spontaneous transformational space – or “happening”. Transformational in that there is such a definite shape shift of energy. It is always filled with power, joy, a kind of transcendence …. often ending in laughter, whether I’m alone or not. Magic. Pure magic. So satisfying. Cheshire cat contentment.
Who loves you for your creativity?
I have no idea. Except, the older I get, the more I love me for my creativity. It is one thing I trust about myself. It’s a golden thread Home.
In which ways do you see yourself as Breaking New Ground?
Most, if not all, original cultures have this ceremony that I give the generic title of “the Hole and the Pole” ceremony to. It will be either the most important or one of the most important ceremonies. A few simple examples are the Yoni and Siva Lingham, Sun Dance ceremony, May Pole dance. I discovered this while preparing for and teaching a course called “Sacred Art and Symbols” almost twenty years ago. I wondered, what were people trying to do? What does it symbolize for the collective consciousness? For hundreds, if not thousands of years, peoples of different cultures have been doing this ceremony independently of each other. Fascinating. I believe it is pointing to our innate drive to reach our potential as fully conscious beings, balanced with the polar opposite energies of existence. This is a worthy consideration, especially when you consider Carl Jung’s claim that the symbol is the most powerful invention of humankind as a tool for transformation. Partner this with Joseph Campbell’s vision that if the peoples of this precious Being we call Earth are going to survive, we have to come up with a new myth, i.e. new symbol(s), that we can all relate to in order to harness a common will to good, and we have a challenge that is worth pursuing.
When I add all this to the possibilities of public art in urban or rural “places”, I see the potential in using symbols in order to transform – but this time accessible to everyone, non-religious, and in alignment with the growing global consensus on the essential need for sustainability (and what that is). If myself and others consciously explore this potential, we might see an original power of art (pick any discipline), with its transformational potency, emerging in public places effecting the peoples and space around it in positive ways that we can only begin to imagine. Remember the stories of sacred ancient architecture in the East? For example, everyone who passed under a certain archway would find themselves in tears, their heart opened in some way.
Designs for these universal “hole and the pole” symbols, that may be used in public spaces, have been filling my notebooks and studio for years. Noting, that these two symbols must now have equal importance (unlike a lot of ancient rituals where the pillar element got all the attention, as it were). Expanding this to envisioning/designing community gatherings/celebrations to invite this transformational energy/potential round central themes – is a natural next exploration. If sustainability is simply defined as social, economic, environmental well being …… then the building blocks to achieve this will naturally be communication, co-operation, collaboration, co-creation. From this arises natural celebrations, expressing the joys of life. Joy is a perfect antidote to fear and violence, leading to the resolution of greed and poverty. This contributes to creating healthy communities which are essential for producing a sustainable world.
So the “New Ground” I wish to explore, embrace and energize is through new forms of transformative power through encouraging creative engagement, defining unifying symbols and producing them for public exposure through public art or performance, and contributing to the creation of community celebrations.
This includes co-creating new community rituals and ceremonies, which many of us have already been doing for years. I don’t remember where the quote comes from, but I heard “The rituals must change as the people change, or the people will die”. In order for rituals to change our belief systems must change. I think we are all getting on board with the belief that our planet needs all of us to work together in order for our species to survive. It is my hope, that while I facilitate my own transformation, that I may serve and contribute to the “New Ground” of our collective emergence.
What’s next for you?
I’ve been visioning, mapping and meditating for over four years as to what could be possible for that last little bit of the last remaining undeveloped shoreline in Vancouver in South East False Creek, between Cambie Street Bridge and the now constructed “Olympic Village”. How precious is that space! I would like to see the community members of the City of Vancouver have a voice as to what wants to bloom there. Along the way in this process, maybe two years ago, I was invited to a workshop given by the Women of Vision and Passion, featuring Dolly Hopkins. Within the first five minutes of experiencing Dolly I thought “Oh my World! That woman has got it!” Dolly has such an enormous gift to lift people out of their seats, their heads, their caves, their noes, their plateaus, their whatever it is that is stopping them from more of their own natural power joy juices. She is truly a queen of creative engagement. So right now Dolly is kind enough to slowly walk with me around the good ol’ Sun Dance pole of possibilities, considering how to initiate a Creative Community Celebration 2010 upon this very land mentioned that deserves our precious attention, vision, decision …. and celebration. Aside from this, I’m working on a machete for a public art potential as well as writing….. and the never ending gardening that nourishes so deeply the fruits of gratitude …..
And here’s something that inspires her creativity:
As far as what inspires me lately….. in the past year I have really been inspired by Larry Brilliant’s talks on why we can and should be optimistic in and for the world today. You can find some of his clips on YouTube – for example Larry Brilliant: the case for informed optimism. Unfortunately my favourite – talk at Dreamforce a year ago, is no longer available.
Thanks Madhu! — Can’t wait to see what you cook up next!
“These gals are shaking the Tree, gathering up around them the fruits of creativity.”
