Genesis Art Cards by Liane Wakabayashi
Natsumi is an old friend who popped into mind the other day. It’s one of life’s mysteries how people come and go in life, only to resurface like dolphins from the deep, many years later, crossing oceans and time zones to arrive mid-conversation, as if no time had passed at all.
She was one of my earliest Genesis Art students, eager to become adept at using the Genesis Cards for drawing out intuitive wisdom in the art we make.
Natsumi was also a gifted artist, a healer, and a translator. We lived at polar opposite ends of Japan, and despite our very different East-West backgrounds, as we drew together using the Genesis Cards, synchronicities between what I drew in Tokyo and what Natsumi drew in Kyushu, brought us close.
By seeing connections in our art, we could share deeply of ourselves and celebrate more than meets the eye. We could both see that drawings didn’t just from the subconscious mind, but they came from the heart. To see connections is a logical activity. To celebrate those connections in heartfelt discussions brought us to experience the ultimate band length that girdles the earth and heavens above, the band length of love.
I’ve been teaching Genesis Art for 22 years, and until Natsumi, I’d been offering classes from my studio in Okachimachi or in retreats in beautiful locations around Japan, like Hide Takayama in Gifu, in Shiga prefecture, in Kyoto and Kamakura, and closer to home, the picturesque Sotobu area of Chiba’s Boso peninsula.
She was one of my earliest Genesis Art students, eager to become adept at using the Genesis Cards for drawing out intuitive wisdom in the art we make.
Natsumi was also a gifted artist, a healer, and a translator. We lived at polar opposite ends of Japan, and despite our very different East-West backgrounds, as we drew together using the Genesis Cards, synchronicities between what I drew in Tokyo and what Natsumi drew in Kyushu, brought us close.
By seeing connections in our art, we could share deeply of ourselves and celebrate more than meets the eye. We could both see that drawings didn’t just from the subconscious mind, but they came from the heart. To see connections is a logical activity. To celebrate those connections in heartfelt discussions brought us to experience the ultimate band length that girdles the earth and heavens above, the band length of love.
I’ve been teaching Genesis Art for 22 years, and until Natsumi, I’d been offering classes from my studio in Okachimachi or in retreats in beautiful locations around Japan, like Hide Takayama in Gifu, in Shiga prefecture, in Kyoto and Kamakura, and closer to home, the picturesque Sotobu area of Chiba’s Boso peninsula.
Natsumi became my first Zoom student and I’ll never forget that feeling of opening up the computer and there she was, popping into a tatami room in Setagaya that doubled as an art studio and writing room. Over the course of several months, the white walls of her office filled with the drawings and paintings she did while we met on line and between meetings.
The power of Zoom—and the challenge—is how to sustain the energy built between meetings. By giving art assignments that took Natsumi out of her house to places she didn’t normally go—like playgrounds and the Zoo—her creative world and identity as an artist expanded both on and off the computer.
Following a trip to the zoo, Natsumi sent me a jpeg of a pair of flamingos that enchanted her to draw. She watched the flamingos relate and drew them as if eaves-dropping on a conversation. For someone who had become a bit of a recluse, drawing the flamingos was a way of both admiring and sharing vicariously their pleasures of connecting. We spoke about how her drawing actual became a portal for her to enter right into the flamingo’s private world.
The power of Zoom—and the challenge—is how to sustain the energy built between meetings. By giving art assignments that took Natsumi out of her house to places she didn’t normally go—like playgrounds and the Zoo—her creative world and identity as an artist expanded both on and off the computer.
Following a trip to the zoo, Natsumi sent me a jpeg of a pair of flamingos that enchanted her to draw. She watched the flamingos relate and drew them as if eaves-dropping on a conversation. For someone who had become a bit of a recluse, drawing the flamingos was a way of both admiring and sharing vicariously their pleasures of connecting. We spoke about how her drawing actual became a portal for her to enter right into the flamingo’s private world.
Then, a most surprising thing happened. Her eyes lit up. She pulled back her chair and excused herself while she ran to the closet to fetch something that she just had to show me.
Natsumi came back toting a stylish and hilarious cloth shoulder bag made out of fabric to resemble a flamingo. The pouch sat at her hip while a long flamingo neck served as the strap. She’d purchased that flamingo bag in a moment when her alter ego, the zany extravert, took control of the purchase. And she promptly forgot about that bag soon after stashing it at the back of the closet.
Natsumi started going out with her flamingo bag, garnering looks, praise, and laughter. She wore it with a smile that led to bold conversations.
Natsumi came back toting a stylish and hilarious cloth shoulder bag made out of fabric to resemble a flamingo. The pouch sat at her hip while a long flamingo neck served as the strap. She’d purchased that flamingo bag in a moment when her alter ego, the zany extravert, took control of the purchase. And she promptly forgot about that bag soon after stashing it at the back of the closet.
Natsumi started going out with her flamingo bag, garnering looks, praise, and laughter. She wore it with a smile that led to bold conversations.
I’ve noticed that there’s a definite type of person primed for Genesis Art. They’re more introverted. They spend more time at home out of choice. They’re creative and find pleasure in their home company. But they also realize that they thrive in a community with people of shared values and interests. Making art is a beautiful way for introverts to share.
I know because I’m a classic introvert too. I also know when I’m off balance because I’m missing laughter, eye contact, and deep listening in my life. When I can share myself through drawing, art can feel like a hug sent out to the world and multiplied by hugs right back.
I know because I’m a classic introvert too. I also know when I’m off balance because I’m missing laughter, eye contact, and deep listening in my life. When I can share myself through drawing, art can feel like a hug sent out to the world and multiplied by hugs right back.
Liane Wakabayashi offers Genesis Art workshops and private intuitive art coaching on Zoom. She can’t wait to get back to Japan to offer live retreats too. To learn more about Genesis Art see: www.genesiscards.com.
Photos accomapanying this essay provided by Liane Wakabayashi.
Photos accomapanying this essay provided by Liane Wakabayashi.
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