Queen Joker
Victim
Prostitute Gambler
Saboteur
King Guide Servant Judge Child MK Shaw Vampire
St. Augustine FL
O
ne of the consistent threads woven through my CST experience has been the lesson that each archetype has a light side and a shadow side. Paying attention to the shadow instead of avoiding it or dismissing it can foster a more authentic expression of who I am. If I am not willing to embrace both the light and the shadow, then I am stunting my own development and preventing my growth into wholeness. Earlier in 2021, I used the medium of Gelli printing to explore the Child archetype with simple silhouettes. In this work, I returned to an early print and wanted to add the element of the shadow. The tall yellow figure is the light side and the mottled blue figure is the shadow side. Layering the silhouette of the child with the jump rope on
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Mother
top of both the light and the shadow represents my desire to accept both sides of myself. In preparation to create this work, I wrote my shadow a letter. I wondered what would happen if I invited my shadow out into the light. Would I be afraid of what I see? Would my shadow disappear or would she bask in the attention and step into center stage? What important messages might my shadow Child have to tell me? Rather than run from my shadow Child, I can listen, learn, and with some effort find a welcome partner who wants the same thing my light Child does: to be recognized and valued. Isn’t it a beautiful irony that my shadow sheds light on me?
