Mt. Kilimanjaro: From Summit to Embracing a Name and Identity

This summer I was asked by the inspiring Angela Aguirre who is a Women’s Leadership Coach in Los Angeles, CA. She also leads women’s soul circles, which I have had the pleasure of attending when she visited Hawai’i last year. She is a true leader in healing and I personally experienced great healing in her presence and with her guidance of our women’s circle. So when she asked me to create a special painting for her daughter’s bedroom, I was so honored and was absolutely ALL IN to help create her vision and bring it to life.

Learning about the meaning that Mt. Kilimanjaro held of her and her husband was very moving and inspiring it. Through their journey of summiting this grand mountain it became, not only an experience, but also a symbol of what they wanted their daughter to embrace into her identity. The experiencing of summiting this mountain became part of their daughter’s name, and an even more powerful part of identity she can now grow in to.

Knowing all this, I used their energy and intention as I created this painting. I wanted to capture the truth and grandness of this mountain as I imaged each step they took to get to the top. I also wanted to make sure to capture the whimsical nature that comes with the beauty and growth of a young child.

More images of her room were featured on Domino Magazine and can be found here: https://www.domino.com/content/reading-nook-for-kids/

Photo by Amy Bartlam, Interior design by Designstiles Irene Lovett

Photo by Amy Bartlam, Interior Design by Designstiles Irene Lovett

THE TREE GODDESS

Painting ‘Tree Goddess’ was quite the journey! I took her on in many stage and got to know her and myself in the process. I was commissioned to create a large painting for a new office space and I was free to chose what to paint! I knew I wanted to paint a tree as I wanted her to represent the growth and new roots that were being planted in the new office. I began very confidently and was in the “flow” of painting. I was very pleased with where I was when I took a break to take a look at my progress. I was so excited to see a slight silhouette of a woman in the trunk of the tree! I was so excited that I immediately began to add more paint in an attempt to enhance her visually, but then I realized way too much paint had been added and it looked…TERRIBLE and a little scary!! I decided I needed to take a break. I let myself think about whether I should keep going with this painting or to start over. After a couple of weeks of space, I decided to keep going. I had the idea of adding some gold leaf to the area with too much black paint. I kept working with her and trusting. Eventually, she became something new! I no longer visually saw the woman that I initially had, but I kept the essence of her in the painting.

Here is the caption I wrote on my Instagram post when I finally completed Tree Goddess:

“I came back to my tree today and added gold leaf over the area where I added too much paint. I realized that the woman in the tree emerged so that I could see her and know her. I kept her essence and wisdom throughout the tree with gold and specific symbols. The gold leaf represents her wisdom and moves from the top of the tree down the spine and throughout parts of the branches. Swipe to see details. Last photo is of the over painted version. 😂♥️🙏🏼 It’s been a while since I had to work through a “mess up” but it’s a reminder to me of keeping with it and trusting your intuition. I almost gave up on this one but I’m glad I stayed with her!”

Painting once again teaches me how to trust!