blog - alena hennessy

Bali, Mexico, or India–Oh My!

June 5, 2019June 5, 2019

It’s been 7 years now since I began teaching retreats and I’ve experienced so much beauty from all them. Truth be told, they have enriched my soul in ways I never thought possible. Little did I know when I would begin this journey as a full-time artist that I would find a calling in empowering …

Ever After Giveaway!

May 14, 2019June 5, 2019

Dear creative friend, Ever After 2019 is now open for registration AND we are running a blog hop and many give-aways to kick off this fun news! (Scroll down for blog hop and give away info!) Please note: this is the last year they will run Ever After! So if you ever wanted to join Ever After in …

Sharing my Favorite Art Media!

March 7, 2019May 14, 2019

After years of receiving this question I am finally compiling a list of my favorite supplies (see them all together here)! If you are like me I know most of us are admitted art material junkies. For those of you who don’t know much about me, I embrace my style as a wabi-sabi, semi-abstract, botanical-loving, …

A Giveaway for the Overwhelmed

December 21, 2018March 7, 2019

“At Christmas, time deepens. The Celtic imagination knew that time is eternity in disguise. They embraced the day as a sacred space. Christmas reminds us to glory in the simplicity and wonder of one day; it unveils the extraordinary that our hurried lives conceal and neglect. We have been given such immense possibilities. We desperately …

Six Moons School: Now Taking Applications

October 22, 2018November 25, 2018

Update: we have accepted all applicants and all have but confirmed but two. So we have literally just two spots left! Apply today to reserve your spot. Would you benefit from personalized guidance for your creative style? Do you need help staying motivated to create or the courage and confidence to share your work? Do …

Our Oracle Deck is Finally Here!

May 23, 2018July 5, 2018

UPDATE: Our Mysteries of Love was successfully funded with over 344 backers raising almost $24,000 in 28 days! For now, you can buy the deck here on ETSY. So many thanks! This is a story that began 15 years ago and then took over 16 months or so to create. My mom gifted me my …

LifeBook the actual BOOK Giveaway

December 9, 2017November 12, 2017

Hello beaming creative! Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts has written a book! It’s called ‘Create Your Life Book: Mixed-Media Art Projects for Expanding Creativity and Encouraging Personal Growth’ and I get to give away a copy! Let me tell you a bit more about Tam’s new book in case you haven’t heard about it yet! …

What Do You Stand For?

November 20, 2017November 20, 2017

I’ve always had a soft spot for animals, their magic, their clear disposition or presence, and beauty (examples of how vast and mysterious the nature of creation is). I enjoy giving back to Animal Legal Defense Fund and Mercy for Animals. But lately, I’m driven in a different direction… and that is the protection and …

A Grand Giveaway: Winners Announced

September 4, 2017September 11, 2017

My annual giveaway is upon us and it’s totally the best ever. The list of super amazing prizes: ~ A space in my brand new A Year of Painting (going to be SO fab this year). ~ An original painting. ~ A **very sweet discount** to a retreat/workshop hosted by me. ~ One on one …

Life Book 2018 Blog Hop & Give Away!

August 27, 2017November 9, 2017

Hello everyone! I have some wonderful & exciting news! I am going to be teaching on Life Book 2018 next year! This is my 3rd time teaching for Tam and her crew and it has been a sincere pleasure each time. The connections I’ve made with past participants has been a joy. And as you …

A Love Letter from Me to You

August 9, 2017August 10, 2017

Dear beautiful you (or exquisite soul who is housed in a physical female or male body in this lifetime): You can feast again upon the senses, allow the distance from the past hurts to breathe into your space. The grief may not go away, it just changes form and your relationship to it. These scars …

Current Turn-Ons

August 2, 2017August 12, 2017

Appalachian Tropicals down the street, an orchid and air plant boutique in the mountains. Oh my stars, really? When I first walked in there I could hardly believe it existed. It’s incredible in there. Orchids are the most beautiful bewitching-alien plants come to visit us and remind us how devastatingly creative Source is. Red heart …

Giveaway Time!

May 30, 2017June 3, 2017

Hey everyone, I’ve missed you. I feel like its been awhile since we really connected. I’ve also been reflecting softly on what I can offer to you at this juncture after 11+ years of teaching art for the empowered spirit. After some thought this course came to me as I recall some of my most …

Mid-Life

April 27, 2017April 27, 2017

At 40 yrs old, I’m starting to really get that it’s no longer about me, its about us. These questions pleasantly ring inside me: Source, how can you use me for Love? How may I better serve? From our wounds come our deepest wisdom. My intention is to be even stronger now, less selfish, a …

New Website Party!

March 20, 2017March 20, 2017

OK y’all, a confession: its taken me over a year to complete my new website! For whatever reason, sometimes a process goes slower… and this is certainly true for my new site. But now here it is unveiled! A few major changes were made, with special attention going to readability especially for my online courses. …

When I Was the Forest

February 5, 2017February 10, 2017

When I was the stream, when I was the forest, when I was still the field, when I was every hoof, foot, fin and wing, when I was the sky itself, no one ever asked me did I have a purpose, no one ever wondered was there anything I might need, for there was nothing …

What Can Come of Our Brokenness?

January 18, 2017January 18, 2017

Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. – Leonard Cohen Just about everyone I speak to these days is feeling some sort of cracking or tearing at the seams. Our internal world feels it and the outside world reflects …

An Epic Giveaway!

November 16, 2016November 21, 2016

I’d like to commence a season gratitude and healing, so starting today I’m having my biggest giveaway of the year! ** Five spots will be given in EACH of my most beloved ecourses: A Year of Painting or A Year of Healing; plus, a scholarship to a workshop or retreat (these sell out very quickly), …

Artists for Love

November 15, 2016November 17, 2016

Here in the States there is a rumbling and an outcry occurring. It appears that we find ourselves in a divided construct within our beliefs, needs, and values. This week has also had wildfires like never seen before in Western North Carolina, or as my father aptly shared: “Mother Earth has a fever.” Last night …

Retreat.

October 5, 2016October 5, 2016

\ Some snaps of the Autumn Soul Painting retreat. My heart is so full from this experience… these women. Oh my stars. Words cannot suffice. There is an unseen and then seen magic and alchemy of healing that comes when women gather in the name of creative spirit. It is palpable and nourishing. It is …