Links - JPC Artworks

I like to think of a “Links” page as the bookshelves in a person’s home. You get to know a person pretty well by seeing what kinds of books — or in this case, links — they have displayed. So my choices are personal favorites that reflect my interests. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list. I imagine I’ll be adding more from time to time.

I receive a lot of email asking me general questions about Goddess spirituality, contemporary neo-paganism, mythology and priestess training courses. If you have questions of a general nature, I would like to respectfully direct you to some of the following sites, as they are quite likely to answer all your questions, including the ones you didn’t even know you had!

GODDESS SPIRITUALITY
I love the Spiral Goddess Grove! Abby Willowroot’s Goddess eye-candy is everywhere, and information of substance as well. A wonderful place to learn about the culture of the Goddess.

You don’t need to buy one of those expensive coffee table books on the Goddess — just visit Lunaea Weatherstone’s Goddess Pages instead! Yes, Lunaea is a friend of mine, but I am honestly stunned by the beauty and clarity of these pages! Pour yourself a cup of tea and settle on in . . .

Lunaea also offers a wonderful online course called The Ninth Wave. It’s an apprenticeship in Goddess Magic and I have heard wonderful things about it. In 2001, Lunaea expanded her program — it sounds very intriguing, and I love the name: The Sisterhood of the Silver Branch.

I am an ordained priestess through the international Fellowship of Isis, headquartered in Ireland and led by Lady Olivia Robertson. Their website is full of information about the Fellowship — lots of great photographs, too.

I took my first class in Women’s Rites & Women’s Mysteries from Ruth Barrett back in the early 80’s. I will always be grateful to her for my early grounding in this tradition. Today Ruth teaches classes and workshops with Falcon River all over the country on magical and ritual skills for women. They also offer a training program for Dianic priestesses, both through Temple of Diana. I don’t have personal knowledge of this program, but I do know Ruth, and she is a gifted teacher.

Awakened Woman is a bright, articulate feminist ezine with well-written articles and beautiful art. Editor Stephanie Hiller focuses on “women’s healing and empowerment through the goddess, bringing the wisdom of ancient goddess cultures into today’s world.” This is my new favorite ezine!

Matrifocus is new to me but looks great! It's "an award-winning cross-quarterly ezine featuring art, columns, and features from Cultural Creatives and the Goddess Movement: thealogy, scholarship, goddesses, feminism, sacred earth, community, queer spirituality, women's health, mythology, and more." Take a look.

NEO-PAGANISM
The Witches Voice will keep you up-to-date on the latest news happening with Witches around the world. It's an incredible public service and a huge website. If you have any questions about contemporary neo-paganism, this is the place to go.

Circle Sanctuary is one the oldest pagan organizations in the country, and their website is a treasure. Circle is a “non-profit Nature Spirituality Center serving Wiccan, Shamanic, Goddess, Druidic, Celtic Mystic and other Pagan folk worldwide.” You'll find many answers to your questions here.

CALENDARS & HOLIDAY LORE
I am the happy webmistress of Waverly Fitzgerald’s School of the Seasons. Waverly and I worked together on The Beltane Papers for many years, and are happily continuing our professional association by collaborating on her web site. In my opinion, Waverly presents the most thorough and fascinating seasonal lore available. We have upload a new calendar page on the first of each month. Take a look!

TAROT RESOURCES
Please visit my own Tarot website featuring my deck in progress, Gaian Tarot.

I've posted many great Tarot resources on the Links page there!

MYTHOLOGY
Can Myth*ing Links (“An Annotated & Illustrated Collection of Worldwide Links to Mythologies, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Sacred Arts & Traditions”) possibly be the most complete guide to mythology on the web? Kathleen Jenks should be awarded a Golden Crown for this amazing site. (And I’m honored that she occasionally uses my artwork as illustrations on her site.) Links, links, links and more links. I love doing research on this site; I can get lost here for hours. If you’re looking for information on anything related to myth and folklore, you’re likely to find it here.

Catherine Kerr’s labor of love, Beyond the Fields We Know, is a lovely personal site exploring her interests in mythology, folklore and magic. I’ve quoted a couple of her evocative essays elsewhere in this site. As she says, “The world is full of stories, and from time to time they permit themselves to be told.”

I also love to visit Terri Windling’s Endicott Studio of the Mythic Arts. The site is a bimonthly online journal featuring works by many Mythic Artists — writers, painters, sculptors, photographers, and performance artists — including my favorite writer Charles de Lint and faery painter Brian Froud. Another site that demands a lengthy visit.

PAGAN-EARTH-GODDESS-SPIRIT MUSIC & CD’s
Well, I must admit to a certain amount of prejudice here, but I do love this man’s music, and I would even if he weren’t my beloved partner. Visit Craig Olson’s website to hear some great sound clips of his pagan-themed acoustic music with a “tribal spirit groove”! His first CD Beyond the Cedar Moon, has received rave reviews in the pagan press as well as locally here in the Northwest. Now that he’s finished building our straw bale home (which meant a musical hiatus of nearly two years), he formed a new band, called Cedar Moon, with a new rockin’ sound, and a new CD, "Hold On!"

Our friends Christopher Bingham and Sue Tinney, also known as Gaia Consort, have released two CD’s, Gaia Circles and Secret Voices. I love both these albums. Intelligent Pagan lyrics, great melodies and a rockin’ rhythm!

I’ve loved Ruth Barrett & Cyntia Smith’s music for many years, even before they became my friends. They are “internationally known fretted dulcimer artists and vocalists whose original music is inspired by myth, folklore, ancient symbolism, and the celebration of Nature.” My Ruth & Cyntia albums are some of my most prized.

In the summer of 2003, Ruth released a two-album set of seasonal songs, “The Year is a Dancing Woman: Goddess Chants, Songs and Invocations for the Wheel of the Year.” It's absolutely wonderful and you can order it through her new music company, Dancing Tree Music.

PRINT PUBLICATIONS
Here are a few of the magazines that have supported my work by publishing it over the past fifteen years:

SageWoman, Celebrating the Goddess in Every Woman. I write a column for SageWoman and occasionally articles, I contribute illustrations and cover art, and was the editor for the SageWoman Calendar for several years. It’s a happy association!

PanGaia: Creating an Earth-Wise Spirituality. PanGaia is my current favorite magazine; I like its emphasis on environmental issues and politics and how they are intertwined with spirituality.

Circle Magazine, formerly Circle Network News. My artwork often appears in these pages, and my last cover was the Fall 1998 issue, which featured Mananaan mac Lir.

The Beltane Papers, “A Journal of Women's Mysteries.” I was one of the founding mothers of the collective that resurrected TBP in 1992, after it had slept for several years. I have bittersweet memories of the “Golden Age” of TBP when I worked closely with Helen Farias and Waverly Fitzgerald on its pages, as well as with many other wonderful women and men. The Wheel turns, and all things change. TBP is now in the hands of another collective of passionate women.

COLORED PENCIL ART
A common reaction to some of my newer pieces of artwork is “I didn’t know you could do that with colored pencil!” Well, you can — that, and more! Visit the Colored Pencil Society of America to see the amazing work that’s being done these days with fine art colored pencils.

I learned most of what I know about working with colored pencils from Ann Kullberg. She has a wonderful ezine for colored pencil artists called From My Perspective. It’s a valuable resource for anyone who wants to work in this innovative medium. Ann teaches workshops all over the country — I highly recommend her as a teacher!

GODDESS & NATURE ARTISTS
I love looking at the way all these artists interpret some of the same Goddesses that I do. We use different mediums and techniques, and have different styles — yet the image of the Divine Feminine always shines through. If you’re looking for an image of a specific Goddess, chances are that one of these artists will have the one you want!

I’ve known Katlyn Breene since the mid-80’s when we both lived in southern California. Katlyn specializes in faeries and mermaids and gorgeous Goddesses.

Sandra Stanton paints the Goddesses of World Mythology. Her research is detailed and accurate, and her goddesses look like real women because, of course, they are.

I love Mara Friedman’s work because it’s so different from mine. Spiralling, swirling, dancing rhythms of color, light and shadow.

You probably know Hrana Janto’s work from her Goddess Oracle cards. Just lovely.

I love Mary Kelly’s paintings of Goddesses. They are bold and brilliant and colorful and pulsing with energy! Many of her pieces are based on her research on the textiles of Eastern Europe. I love these two series of paintings: Women With Wings and Shrine of the Black Virgins.

I met Sandra Santara in Chicago in the fall of 2000. She does stunning wildlife and totem symbol visionary artwork, “symbolically spiritual, connecting with the earthly realms.” Lots of great T-shirts and sweatshirts too!

Jessica Galbreth’s work is new to me. She specializes in fantasy art, faeries and nature spirits, characters from medeival legends and, of course, goddesses.

Kate Cartwright’s work is bold and clean, perfect for those great rubber stamps she makes. She offers a coloring book and beautiful notecards, too.

Lesley Crawford is an artist from the UK who does both realistic and expressive art “inspired by Mother Earth.” Her site, Gaia Art, is beautiful. My favorite piece is the one called “Sea Nautilus.”

Johanna Pieterman is another artist from across the Great Ocean. Her site, Celtic Circle Studio, showcases her wonderful “mystical colored pencil drawings inspired by myth and magic.” I love the soft, subtle effects of her colored pencil work.

Ann Swan is an amazing botanical artist also from the UK. Gorgeous colored pencil work, finely detailed and luscious.

My friend Wahaba Karuna lives in Maui, where she designs beautiful silk banners, prayer flags, robes and sarongs, all depicting Goddesses and other magical beings and mystical symbols . . . I love the mermaids the best, of course! The silk pieces are made by a family-run company in Bali, where Wahaba also leads retreats.

I bought and used some of the Goddess stencils from Goddess Designs to decorate my art studio. Too cool!

And . . . there are many, many more artists today celebrating the Goddess in their work. You can find some of them in the galleries at Alternate Realities in Art and Thought. How lucky we are. Blessed Be!

BANNERS AND LINKS
If you are interested in linking to my site, yes, please do! I now have two banners available for you to download and use, if you like. (Please be sure to place these banners on your own server — do not link to them here. Thanks!) Please link these banners to: http://www.jpc-artworks.com. Thank you!