Greater Boulder Edition
A once in a lifetime experience...
Henna Pampering specially for mothers Commemorate * Celebrate * Create Personal Photography Pregnancy * New baby at home * Breastfeeding Families are always welcome * Personal * Intimate
By appointment with the fabulous SarahKate
SarahKateButterworth.com SarahKate74@gmail.com .... 303-345-1516
Summer time sunrise with a full moon setting over the Flatirons of Boulder, Colorado! This mama has a cherry blossom design.
Elizabeth’s skin really likes henna - it came out so dark! She had already decided on a blooming lotus and owls when she sat down in my henna chair. It’s easy to see the lotus in this picture; you can see the owls and Elizabeth’s the whole design being created at the Artfull Mother website.
Art*full Mother Devoted to the Interests of Mothers and the Art that Empowers Them
Creative Director: SarahKate Butterworth Lead Grip & Technology Specialist: Rob Butterworth Editor: Stacey Malik
Contributing Writers:
Erin Witbeck
Creating Sacredness Through Henna SarahKate’s Interview with
Jenevieve Russell
Kirsten Westby Fire
Models: Bindi Jaime Dzien Elizabeth Erin M Sarah Erin W Betsy Emily Baily Sanam Kirsten Alli Morgan Erin M Genevieve Lyndsay
Time Lapse Henna Painting!
Welcome to the Summer issue of Art*full Mother Magazine! I am so very happy to be sharing my art with you. Painting henna, taking photographs and creating works of art have been my constant companions throughout my time as a mother. Art empowers and helps me express my passion to celebrate what it is to be a mother. I hope you enjoy these pure images of women like you and I embracing motherhood, art-fully. Blessings, SarahKate SarahKateButterworth.com
Here I am with my latest volume of art honoring motherhood with henna! Volume 5: Blessed Belly, Blessed Baby, Honoring Motherhood with Henna Tattoos!
Creating Sacredness through Henna Imagine
receiving permission to embody your experience, fully. Whether that includes basking in the light and shadow, sitting with joy and pain, accepting a sense of empowerment as well as fear. Live the marrow of life, rather than just scratch the surface. There are many choices we make that help shape our experience. Henna is something that enriches experiences through both art and ritual. It gives us an opportunity to create an intention, a “family crest,� as one prepares to molt out of an old self and into new skin. Henna encrypts pictures and totems symbolically for a new mother to embody. This ancient art of recognition and symbolic language/ritual has become a profound way to help our culture embrace rites of passage. Whether preparing for birth, becoming a woman, marriage, sickness, grief or death, our society is exploring ways to embrace and honor these once taboo subjects.
Henna is a medium that invites us to mark these passages with intention.
Erin came to me during her 2nd pregnancy and asked for a farm design with fruit trees, bees and chickens ~ along with blooming lotus flowers. Erin is a powerful leader in our community; she creates sacred space for mothers in classes and as a doula. She is pictured below with her family. ~SKB
To walk in beauty and be adorned and reminded of your intentions, fears, wishes and hopes as the dye temporarily tattoos the skin with symbols of what was, what is, and what will be. This experience can be as profound as choosing a name for a baby, or to help prepare to lay one to rest. This artful offering is painted upon palms of our hands as we surrender to possibility and the soles of our feet to help us root to the Earth and our deepest knowing. It is an ancient language universally connecting women through generations and cultures. Although temporary, it becomes emblazoned upon our skin. Initially, thick lines of a tar-like puffy paint residue set with lemony-sugar water are encouraged to brighten with the sun. After a day or so, these lines begin to chip, crack, and eventually shed, exposing an amber mosaic language of stories upon skin. After experiencing this firsthand, I recently encouraged a friend to do the same. This friend is preparing to birth her baby girl, who has been diagnosed with a rare genetic syndrome, which may prevent this little one to live soon after her birth. Therefore, the henna painted upon her mama’s palms and belly is part of her story. The images she chose to hold close to her heart remind her of Spring unfolding: the power of both fire and the serenity of water held in the palms of her hands while a beautiful Cherry tree in full bloom covers her belly with deep roots tapping into her intuition. There
is a moon shining down on one side of the tree, and bright sunshine on the other. This henna captures this baby’s story line (a common storytelling tradition in the Australian outback) and life. When words can no longer serve our needs or ability to express, art is something that can transcend those boundaries. Henna is something that offers a sacred experience for us as well as each other. It invites a deepening into the unknown. For children coming of age, women entering into their wisdom as Maidens or Crones, losing a loved one, transitions, celebrating a family lineage, and many other traditions or rites of passages waiting to be claimed, marked and witnessed. In our culture, there are many reasons to celebrate or honor life as well as death. This sacred tradition asks us to claim our story and allow others to witness our canvas come to life.
When words can no longer serve our needs or ability to express, art is something that can transcend those boundaries. ~ Erin Witbeck lives in Lyons, Colorado and can be found caring for her family in addition to creating and holding sacred space for mothers and mothers-to-be.
Pictured above: Bindi, our gorgeous cover model. Bindi is pictured here with her daughter (soon to be big sister!)
Here is Baily pictured in front of the Flat Irons wearing a design with two peacocks, a mandala and sunflowers. See this design materialize in th time-lapse video http://www.artfullmother.com/summer-2015/time-lapse-video
Interview with Jenevieve Excerpts of my conversation with Jenevieve Russell in my Henna studio when she recieved her very first henna tattoo on April 8, 2015. SARAHKATE: I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jenevieve Russell to give her her very first henna tattoo. While I painted, she told me about the first birth she attended and how at the tender young age of 19, she discovered her passion for supporting women in childbirth and was immediately excited for her next opportunity to be at a birth. Jenevieve is bright, smart and beautiful, one of those women who seemingly could do anything and chose to serve pregnant and new mothers. A good place to find Jenevieve is her office at the JOY Collective, a group of healers (mostly women) providing warm, personalized support for women, primarily relating to childbirthing, pregnancy, breastfeeding, parenting, birth counseling & trauma support, body work, and more. While playing a significant role in the creation and day-to-day operation
of the JOY Collective, Jenevieve is also well known for her work as a Birth Doula with Maria Gonsalves-Schimpf and as a Psychotherapist. A special touch for creating spaces where women feel safe & supported makes Jenevieve especially effective in facilitating groups like Sacred Motherhood, Parents with Infants, Healing Birth Stories and Pregnancy Circles. Jenevieve Russell is an important member of Boulder’s Birthing Community, truly an Art*Full Mother. I hope you enjoy this excerpt from our time together... “I’m really a community builder, my educational background is in sociology and psychology, but it is just in my nature too. I can’t go some place without thinking about how to connect everyone. I did that in my own pregnancy, when I knew I was pregnant and a conscious single mama, I decided to have a party. It was my way of telling my community I was pregnant. I called it the ,“It Takes a Village Party,” and I was asking for their support. I had one friend who was Jewish, she said I’ll make sure your baby learns about Judaism. I had another friend, who said: “I love nutrition and I’ll make sure you guys know about nutrition.” A couple guys there offered to be the men in our community, which was otherwise almost all women. My It Takes a Village Party started these intentional connections for me, and I have been building them since. SARAHKATE: How amazing that you had the insight to start building this for yourself from the very start! Finding your mama tribe is a challenge for each woman as she transforms into a mother. There are so many ways that women find
and midwife brought over a microwave meal when I was pregnant, I thought what are you doing with that... that... “food” in my house? She matter of factly said, “This might be actually more beneficial to you, Jenevieve: “I was at a breastfeeding- than stressing out about making one in some place in Boulder, where more salad.” I didn’t understand a bunch of us got together (this is right away but she gave me permisbefore social media, so it was just sion to do something I needed - baby sort of a word of mouth thing) at this is resilient, baby is going to be okay place where someone had been asked and you’re going to be okay, taking it to leave because they were breast- easy is really important. feeding. I had fed him earlier, so he wasn’t hungry! It was really funny, I had these guardians, “my wisdom trying to nurse this baby who wasn’t holders” who would randomly pop hungry at a breastfeeding-in. I met in and say: “so what if this was ok?” some of my great friends at sponta- During my pregnancy and early parenting, I had to learn how to relax neous events like that.” more. Every Tuesday I would clean the house, and after I had a kid I SARAHKATE: It’s these mama just couldn’t do it anymore, I had friends that help keep our sanity! to embrace chaos. I had to let go of Jenevieve: Yes! It is the mamas schedule and perfection, let go of that can be real and authentic that being in control of everything and inspired my sanity. I remember all open to the rhythm of my life. I had to the things I stressed myself out about, open to these new layers. Asking for like eating all organic, eating raw help, wow, that was hard! Relaxing vegetables. I remember a dear friend and not having to make everything each other and create a network of support and I never tire of hearing of all the ways they connect. I listened to Jenevieve share how she met her community...
happen ~ it was a lot of learning, and continues to be. That’s what I bring into my professional world - the knowing of all those things that were hard for me, and creating community and support for other mothers.” As I finished up her design and our conversation wound down, I reflected on how happy I was to have had this time with one of the Boulder Birth Community’s leaders.
Sanam
Sanam choose this flowery doodle for her henna belly design. I liked it so well that after I painted it on her belly, I redrew a version of it for for my upcoming book of henna designs, “Inspired Henna Designs� that I am finishing up. Look for it around Christmas on: www.SarahKateButterworth.com.
Fire My house caught on fire while I was giving birth.
death is paper-thin, and so I felt the inferno regardless. The flames scorched my belly and seared my thighs, as my baby heaved and hoed towards a tiny emerging light.
No one told me, as I was crowning…I mean eyes-rolled, back-arched, p u s h i n g - l i f e - i nt o - t h e world-crowning…that the flames on my front porch had reached three feet high, nor that my brother and dad slipped silently from the birthing room to confront the blaze with wet towels. But when you’re birthing, the veil between life and
The fire began from a circle of thirteen. Thirteen women infused candles with blessings for this very night and so, when heavy labor started, we lit them for strength. But no one was minding the little flickers as they quietly reached out for one another across the air, grasping onto each other’s tendrils to form a more powerful union.
They melted their wax-prisons together and opened mouths to the ceiling, their cries for oxygen echoing my delivery wails. No one remembered the candles because they were watching me, riding the contraction-waves, treading desperately to stay afloat. And as I crest upward, head thrown back for air, I glimpse a burst of light across the seas. Like the first sign of dawn, the reds and yellows on the room’s horizon rise magnificent. My nose belies my eyes, however, and a
familiar thought surfaces with the scent, something is burning! Before I can catch my breath to warn them, baby thrusts it’s head into my pelvis, using feet against sternum for leverage, and implores me to give way. “Move bones!” it screams inside my head, and my body reluctantly obeys. I sink back down between swells, all previous thought lost in the dark waters. Hourlong minutes later, I emerge again, rising with the tide, gasping for breath. This time, I see the sun rise in the background and with all the air left in me I yell,
“Fire!”
I met Kirsten in 2010, we created this mandala /peacock/butterfly design, to celebrate her pregnancy of her daughter (pictured on the left). Fire is the story of her daughter’s birth. The photograph on this page and the following three pages are from her latest pregnancy with her son.
Everyone turns in unison to finally see the glow of thirteen fire-fairies on the brink of escaping that old wooden irthing-bowl. They, like the baby, are making a final push for more room. My brother tries to blow it out, releasing a cloud of black smoke into the air, sending the fire into a raging dance of joy. The screech of the alarm jars everyone from the flame’s hypnotic trance and, for one delicious moment, even I forget I am in labor. I watch my entourage scurry to stop the incessant squawking from the little white box. The Hulk jumping into action, my husband rips the box out of the wall, throws it across the room, and barks orders for someone to remove the burning vessel. Flames streak across my vision and the whole sky ignites as the midwife’s, “PUSH!” re-enters my consciousness. I hear they fought valiantly, the coven of thirteen sparks, and in their final stand they managed to destroy half our porch. With each thrust of my womb, like the beat of an ancient drum, the men beat back the flames in rhythm. Protecting my life, so that I could give life. As if all that heat needed somewhere to land, a fire embedded itself into my daughter that day, burning her a path into this world. She was literally born from the ashes of our home, baptized into being by the fiery blessings of thirteen waxen-witches, her arrival scarring the earth, leaving a blackened silhouette on the mountainside to forever mark her place. Kirsten Westby is an activist and a writer who has been working professionally in the human rights field since 2000, specializing in the human rights of women and girls in war zones. See more of her writing on the HuffingtonPost.com
Commemorate
SarahKateButterworth.com
with Henna
Erin: Ganesha henna for her 1st pregnancy in 2012, Goddess henna for her 2nd pregnancy in 2015.
Genevieve is shown above at her Blessingway, and below with her brand new baby girl! The henna lasted through the birth ~ SKB
Welcome
Community Partners Hello everyone! I want to take a moment, to acknowledge our new Community Partners, by including their ads in this, the second part of the Summer Issue, 2015 of Artfull Mother Magazine. Below you will see the ads for some very worthwhile, woman run businesses. If you like what you are seeing here, be sure to give them a big thank you, when you see them next! Peace, SarahKate Butterworth, August 2015