The power of words is honored at Shawnee Falls Studio. As well as art classes, SFS offers inspiring and life-changing classes rooted in reading, writing, and discussion. Accompanying worksbooks are offered for sale as well as selected published books pertinent to creativity, spirituality, women's studies, life's depth and beauty. Exquisite hand-made blank books by a Nova Scotian artist, small journals, original notecards, and books of poetry by Gwendolyn are also available for sale.
Classes
Herstory 9-Piece
A unique course for women who want to understand themselves, Herstory 9-Piece is for the writer, poet, artist, mother, working woman, and homemaker. It is for the little girl still inside of you and the old crone you may become. It is for the longing and sensitive being you hide and the open and active giver that you are. It will touch your past, present, and future, your loves, and the lives of those you care about; but most of all it will clarify your place among women. We will read widely and write frequently, finding our own stories in those who have gone before. We will discover our innate creativity. We will do-like women so often must-more than time allows, more than we are capable of, as we search for "the more" in life. For some, this will be a spiritual journey; for others, an awakening; and for all an affirmation of womanhood as we stitch together the fabric of our lives, piece by piece, like a strong and beautiful quilt. Gwendolyn received a grant to create this course which she has taught to women of all ages for many years. She has written a 100-page syllabus to accompany the course.
The Art of Arts
Spiritual Direction has been called "the Art of arts". "Direction" is misleading in this ancient term, for spiritual direction is not about being told what to do. Rather, it comes of listening, intuition, contemplation, and trusting one's inner voice or guiding principle. In this course we will learn about those who have practiced this ancient art and will begin-or continue-our own practicing.
Books for Sale
Shawnee Falls Studio offers a selection of books that inspire and transform lives. Every book is a favorite of Gwendolyn's--one she has found helpful in her own life as well as in teaching and helping others. Themes range from creativity to home to women's studies to spirituality. The following list of books is in no particular order so that serendipitous findings, like roaming through library shelves, may happen. Each listing is among those books available at Shawnee Falls Studio and each is followed by Gwendolyn's brief review. Please phone your order in to SFS at which time tax, shipping and handling will be calculated.
Letters To A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. If you are an artist or writer or if you love to create anything this book will remind you why you do what you do and encourage you to live out your passion to the fullest. It's message seems to be: Never doubt what you love but go into it fully. I made this book required reading for all my advanced art students at one point. It is especially inspiring for the high school/college person but its message is timeless and valuable for any age. This late-nineteenth century/turn-of-the-twentieth century German poet will renew your confidence in your self and your creative ability just as he did the many young people who wrote to him with questions. I re-read this wise but short book of 123 pages annually--if not more often. (1934, reissued in paperback 1993, $6.95).
Sweeping Changes by Gary Thorp. "Where does all this dust come from and what does it mean?" Discovering deeper meaning in the ordinary tasks of life can make meditative experiences of sweeping a floor or cleaning a bathroom. Home is much more than a chore-filled place where we keep our stuff. It is a reflection of who we are as human and spiritual beings. Within our homes and in the maintenance required to keep them is potential personal peace and wise teaching. A California Zen Buddhist, the author offers a viewpoint about housework that can inspire new ways of seeing ourselves and our home work. (2000, hardback, $19.00).
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf. Absolutely eloquent, this masterpiece by famed writer Virginia Woolf was first published in 1929 but it is timeless--seminal in the field of women's studies--and I would add vital reading for all women, regardless of age or circumstance. I have used it in every Herstory 9-Piece course I have taught and every time I glean something powerful and new in the re-reading. (1929, paperback, $9.00).
If You Want To Write by Brenda Ueland. As the subtitle explains this is a book "about art, independence, and spirit". The author's honest and enthusiastic presentation of what it is to write and how to accomplish the craft is inspiring. Whether you are an amateur or professional Ueland's style and passion will fire you up to immediately grab pen and paper or word-process for the shear joy of the work. But the author's truth is broad and equally applicable to all creative endeavors. (1938, re-issued 1987, paperback, $11.95).
Dance of the Spirit by Maria Harris. In seven practical and spiritual steps Maria Harris takes a woman to the place where her spirit is understood and her freedom of expression found. By questions, exercises, creative implanting, and fine writing, the author helps the reader "dance" into her own true identity, awakening more fully to her genuine selfhood. I have watched this book transform many lives. It has long played a significant part in my Herstory 9-Piece course. (1989, paperback, $13.95).
An Unknown Woman by Alice Koller. More than any other book I have recommended this one to young women searching for themselves--and as many older women have loved it equally. Included in the bibliography for the Herstory 9-Piece course I created and teach, this book is almost raw in its honesty. One has to face oneself in the reading. The poignant and true story of a courageous young woman on a journey of her own self-discovery and self-analysis reaches a place in the heart of every woman who reads it. Those who I have suggested read it have been changed by the experience. (1981, paperback, $16.00).
Writing For Your Life by Deena Metzger. What does it mean to create? What is the life-giving force embedded in writing words on paper? How is writing a healing endeavor? How can we find our voice and be part of that creativity? Dena Metzger inspires us all with her own life story, also with the stories, myths and archetypes of others, and with the special insight only one who has gone into the dark and returned can offer. She shows us how to go to that inner place we would be blind to if it were not for the uncovering that writing words enables. We each have a story. This book helps us find ours. (1992, paperback, $16.00).
Enduring Grace by Carol Lee Flinders. If we would find the spiritual peace we seek we could do no better than to search the lives of those spiritually driven women who have gone before us. The extraordinary (and at the same time ordinary) lives of seven women mystics, among them my favorites, Julian of Norwich and Teresa of Avila, reveal the courage, devotion and inner God-rooted confidence that spiritual direction in one's life allows. Flinders' book offers scholarship, readability, and links women of the past to our own spiritual journey in a truly inspiring manner. (1993, paperback, $16.00).
At the Root of This Longing: Reconciling a Spiritual Hunger and a Feminist Thirst by Carol Lee Flinders. This is the only author for whom I mention two works-I simply cannot leave either of these fine books off my list. Any religious woman spiritually searching will find hope and inspiration for her quest here. (1998, hardback, $21.00).
Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women Writers On Spiritual Quest by Carol P. Christ. The title conveys it all. I forgot to whom I had loaned my heavily-underlined first copy and never got it back-I felt as if a good friend had died to live without this book at that time. I highly recommend it for anyone seeking God and seeking to understand herself. It opens windows and doors and breaks through clouds. (1980, paperback, $9.00).
Women's Ways of Knowing by Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule. As the subtitle indicates, women's distinct ways of knowing deal with women's "development of self, voice, and mind". If you have ever wondered why you never quite feel you measure up in a man's world or if finding your voice in a male-dominated society has not been easy, perhaps a reading of this book will provide answers. A vitally important work, this book contributes much to my Herstory 9-Piece course every time I teach it. It will change your viewpoint and inspire courage. (1986, paperback, $17.50).
Tapestries of Life: Women's Work, Women's Consciousness, and the Meaning of Daily Experience by Bettina Aptheker. Scholarship, stories, insight, metaphor, and analysis are beautifully woven together in this intelligent work depicting woman's unique ways of knowing that stem from her dailiness. I found this book to be very helpful in my own journey. It pulls together imagery and information in a way that ignites discovery of what it means to be a woman. A fine companion book, in my opinion, to the previous listing by Belenky. Today both are essential mainstays in my Herstory 9-Piece course. (1989, paperback).
Far From Home by Schlissel, Gibbens, Hampsten, and Schissel. We are all wanderers-on journey to find home-that still point of our longing. To leave the familiar for the frontier or to stay where one's roots are is an American tension that women of the Westward movement and today's woman share. Having moved 28 times in my own life, I fully appreciate the stories of these pioneers and their contemporary counterparts. This is a surprising book. A book of historical fact and of philosophy. I love it. There are no better stories than those of the women who left all and went West and there is no better read of the Westward journey than this. (1990, paperback, $15.00).
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. The path to creativity is a spiritual one and Julia Cameron invites the reader's journey in this direction through the wonderful tasks and projects the author suggests. I have used the author's suggestion of practicig "morning pages" for years and encourage my students to also adopt this creativity-inspiring habit. With the reading of this book anyone can find her creative self. (1992, paperback, $15.95).
Zen and the Art of Making a Living by Laurence G. Boldt. What is your purpose, your reason to get up in the morning? If you are not sure, then this book will help. Comprehensive, detailed and inspiring, this book tackles all the fears and phobias connected with unemployment and unproductive work by revealing how we can all creatively design our life work or career. Relying on words of sages and philosophers, artists and wise men of all sorts, the author takes us gently through life's wilderness to a growing place where we can stand confident in who we are and what we are here to be and do. Exercises throughout make this 600-page read highly interactive and life-changing. This book works as hard as you do. It makes a perfect gift for college grad or one turning fifty. (1992, paperback, $17.95)
Cries of the Spirit edited by Marilyn Sewell. Women's spirituality bursts forth from this collection of more than 300 poems and pieces of writing by fine women writers such as Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Mary Oliver, Marge Piercy and Alice Walker. I use a number of these pieces in my Herstory 9-Piece course because they poignantly deliver woman's story. Whether the theme is ironing shirts, intimacy, brokenness or the divine, these pieces wrap the reader up in the telling and comfort by resonnating with our true feelings. This is a book I would recommend for the library shelves for all women. (1991, paperback, $20.00).
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeliene L'Engle. For years I would say "this book is my all time favorite book in the universe". But then I began to have others. Nevertheless, it remains at the top of my list for its powerful insights for artist, writer, woman and spiritual seeker. I have used quotations from Walking on... in all my syllabi and currently have one of my favorite quotations on my gallery wall: "the artist is someone who is full of questions, who cries them out in great angst, who discovers rainbow answers in the darkness, and then rushes to canvas or paper. An artist is someone who cannot rest, who can never rest as long as there is one suffering creature in this world. Along with Plato's divine madness there is also divine discontent, a longing to find the melody in the discords of chaos, the rhyme in the cacophany, the surprised smile in time of stress or strain. Perhaps the artist longs to sleep well every night, to eat anything without indigestion; to feel no moral qualms; to turn off the television news and make a bologna sandwich after seeing the devastation and death caused by famine and drought and earthquake and flood. But the artist cannot manage this normalcy. Vision keeps breaking through, and must find means of expression." (1980, 1989, Paperback, $9.99).
Shelter For the Spirit by Victoria Moran. This book is doing in print precisely what I set out to do with Home Works: to show the importance and potential for creating a harmonious home, begining within oneself and then manifesting the interior outwardly. (1998, Paperback, $12.00).
Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson. Thorough information on everything about home from the pragmatic to the inspiring will be found in this complete volume of over 800 pages-an ideal gift for the newly married or any home library. (1999, Hardback, $35.00).
Feeling At Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want To Live by Alexandra Stoddard. Again, here is a book that is doing precisely what Home Works is all about. With thoughtful quotations on the margins of every page from the likes of Thomas Jefferson and F. Scott Fitzgerald, provoking questions and encouraging ideas, this accomplished interior designer/author helps us all solve problems and come closer to a satisfying, inspiring home. (1999, Hardback, $28.000).
The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs. From money to lifestyle to nutrition this work of nearly 500 pages covers it all and helps us recover in our lives what matters most. In simplifying our point of view and habits we shed stress and become richer in spirit. Through the experiences and stories of others as well as an immense amount of information, Luhrs offers a new vision plus the strategies and resources necessary to achieving a more meaningful life. (1997, Paperback, $20.00).
Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction by Margaret Guenther. One of the inspiring books I read recently while in seminary in a spiritual direction master's degree program, this work walks the beginner through what spiritual direction is all about with clarity and warmth. Really a misnomer, spiritual direction is the opposite of directing someone; rather, it is all about holy listening and compassionate living. The author is wife, mother, teacher, and priest and writes with the enlightenment of her experience in all four capacities. (1992, Paperback, $11.95).
A Place For Everything: Organizing the Stuff of Life by Wolfman and Gold. With superb photographs and simple text the authors bring the beauty of organization to light. A home must reflect order if harmony is the goal and this work inspires our efforts in that direction. (1999, Paperback, $25.00).
Sometimes I Have To Hold My Own Hand: Poems from Five Decades by Gwendolyn Evans Caldwell, (paperbound, 8.5" x 11", 53 pgs., $22, includes shipping)
