Giving Thanks: Almost a year ago as the holiday season began, Soul Portraits were born: here I take a look back at how my style developed and the Reiki within evolved.

This time last year I was about to begin the Holiday Joy Up, a 10 day journey with Hannah Marcotti. [There's till time to join for 1st December if you want to welcome in December with a difference.]  

Most of you may have read on my blog about my time visioning in Hannah's groups.  

Little did I know that the Holiday Joy Up last year was going to be something extra special. 

Within the group I got to know the most wonderful group of women, online, who are wholeheartedly becoming friends; women from all over the world too! As I was in the midst of drawing the guests for Sarah and Matt's Wedding Favours Project, which you can see here and here.    I offered up to the group the possibility of me drawing a few of them too.  

I thought maybe 10 may step forward, I was loving drawing these upper body illustrations and finding that I went into another space, in my head, when I connected with their photographs.  

So I posted this wedding favours image in the group and asked if anyone would be interested.

I was so taken aback by those who stepped forward for me to illustrate them in my Dollystration kinda style.  What started as 10, soon became 15, 20, 25, 40, 50, 60 and finally 75.  

I had not known what I was letting myself in for, but when I offered this up, I knew I had to honour it.

Hell, I wanted to honour it. 

This was huge for me.

These women then gradually started posting their photographs, in particular, their selfies, that they had taken that morning, with accompanying descriptions of how it felt to be posting these in a group where we were still all really getting to know each other.

This was BRAVE STUFF.

This is the very first Joy Sister I did: The Lovely Sheila. I have been honoured now to know Sheila this past year.

As I began to draw Sheila, I soon realised that I was channelling Reiki as I was sketching and then completing the colour. I was gently caressing her and sending her a distant healing treatment. I was boosting her image with symbols that helped with mental and emotional wellbeing, soothing past hurts and balancing any uneasiness in the present moment. 

It all seemed to evolve and I soon began to post them in the group.  

The comments that flowed really made my heart sing, and it just made me want to continue to do more.  

The second being the Lovely Angie, someone who I have got to know more as my pen pal and gratitude buddy.

These were the first 10 I did. 

As more and more Joy Sisters stepped forward, posting their photographs bravely, I found myself wrapped up in the process, fine tuning how I did it, stepping into the artist zone and creating a healing environment as I brought these illustrations to life.

I realised that actually that shape, form and boobies were missing so I soon started to integrate the real shape of a woman.  

I felt such Joy creating these wonderful images and what they actually represented for everyone.  They were an illustration, oh yes, not a caricature, but an illustration in my style; they were also a 'healing, by proxy'. 

Each and every woman received a distant Reiki healing, all the symbols contained in the image really do work their magic even when they're not being looked at. 

Fast forward to the end of the project a few months later

By early Spring I had completed 75.

75 is quite an amount isn't it?

I found my style develop every time pencil touched paper. 

It made me truly realise that when we practice at something every day, we most certainly will always get more proficient and skilful in that activity.  

At the very end I had a wonderful selection of Soul Portraits that made my heart sing and some of them were buying them off me and I was packaging them up and sending them all across the world, to USA, Canada and as far as Australia.

When I look back, nearly a year later, I give thanks to how my style has developed and how my weaved-in reiki healing has evolved too, within the image.

I give thanks to all the new women who have stepped forward for me to draw them.
I give thanks to the continued support from this group of women
I give thanks to the new women joining this group all the time.
I give thanks to the further development and appreciation of my art practice
I give thanks to my Muse Within, who helps and guides me through this process.

I now have many more tools to this healing journey including the the Digital Muse Mantra, Audio Meditations, Colourful Guidebook, plus the mini videos I have created over the last year.  You can catch them on Jules Dolly Tube here.

Tomorrow will be the last day of a four week Soul Portrait Muse Journey that I have guided 10 women through this past month; this journey is an audio visual healing journey and the group that has circled has been fabulous.  

I am so excited to be offering this again in January.  More details about that very soon. 

For now, sit back and watch the Soul Portrait Healing Story of this project that lit up my creative heart.

I know my style has changed and become more refined.  I have such fond connections to each and every one of these Soul Portraits that began this time last year.  I intend to frame all the remainder I have, in my studio.  

They are testament to setting a goal and achieving it.  

Now to move into 2014 with exciting new plans and stepping more and more into the Healing Artist Within.  

I hope you'll hang around to be part of it and watch what happens.

Till next time.
Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Chanukah, and soon to be Happy Holidays.

Jules xxx

Hi, I'm Jules Dolly

I'm a healing artist and guide, inspiring women to heal the way they see themselves with Soul Portrait Medicine. 

I want women to look their Divine Muse in the Eyes, recognising their beautiful self, right there and then. By creating original, hand drawn Soul Portrait illustrations, I lead women on a deeply profound online healing journey.

Weaving Reiki healing and symbols into each image, powerful magical totems are produced, these can then be used in healing spaces, altars, meditations and visual journals.

"She has many things to tell you, listen and you'll hear her whispers. This, is, Soul Portrait Medicine".

www.julesdollyart.co.uk
www.facebook.com/soulportraithealing 
@julesdolly (twitter/instagram/pinterest)

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