Lucy H. Pearce - Creatrix: she who makes

Other titles by Lucy H. Pearce

Medicine Woman

Burning Woman

Full Circle Health: integrated health charting for women

Full Circle Health: 3-month charting journal

The Rainbow Way: cultivating creativity in the midst of motherhood

Moon Time: harness the ever-changing energy of your menstrual cycle

Moods of Motherhood: the inner journey of mothering

Reaching for the Moon: a girls guide to her cycles

For my creative tribes of blood and soul.

And the creative lights that have shone the way for me.

Copyright

Copyright 2019 Lucy H. Pearce.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by Womancraft Publishing, 2019

womancraftpublishing.com

ISBN 978-1-910559-49-9
Also available in ebook format: ISBN 978-1-910559-48-2

Cover and internal art by Lucy H. Pearce.

Cover design and diagrams by Lucent Word.

Parts of this book have been adapted from articles or chapters previously published in:

The Rainbow Way

dreamingaloud.net

Rebelle Society

Facebook posts

Naked Money

Juno magazine

Permissions

The author has sought, as far as possible, permission to reproduce quotations used in this book and has abided by fair use policy. All quotations and ideas have been referenced to the best of the authors ability. If you feel that your words or work have not been fairly acknowledged, do not hesitate to contact the publishers and this will be rectified in future editions.

Praise for
Lucys work

Lucy H. Pearce is a luminous voice in global change a voice that calls out for a return to balance of the feminine and masculine energies to heal the very world all beings depend upon to continue existing preferably thriving.

Paula Youmell, RN, Wise Woman Nurse, author Hands on Health

Lucys prose is poetic, raw and dances on the edge of outrageous where outrageous means to defy what we have been taught and have accepted to our detriment.

Jane Meredith, author of Journey to the Dark Goddess

Lucys book is a gift of beauty that feels like a waterfall of sweet nectar flowing upon the flower of our soul. Walking beside us each step of the way, she encourages our unfolding dance of creativity with a rainbow of inspirations and ideas. Guided by Lucys vibrant support, each woman will traverse her unique path of creative self discoverya path that leads us to the exquisitely fulfilling experience of inner communion and outer expression.

Mara Berendt Friedman, celebrated artist of the sacred feminine

All your books contain magic, its just incrediblethey are like a nest, a cave to return to when needed, always there and always offering appropriate guidance, insights, security and a safe container.

Stphanie Ratsimbazafy

Welcome

to the Book

The first book I wrote changed my life.

I have since learned that books have a tendency to do that. You start writing them because you think you know enough about the subject, and quickly find yourself undergoing a drastic education in every aspect of yourself and the topic in order to bring forth the book.

My first book, The Rainbow Way , was written for myself as a new mother, struggling to find time to be creative as a way of preserving my own sanity. It was a cry in the dark: for answers, for methods of making creativity happen, and for a tribe of creative women. I felt utterly alone and deeply strange for my unstinting need to create. Until I became a mother I had taken my creative needs for granted. It was only when my time and energy to create were severely limited that I realised how central they were to me as a person.

I knew I was onto something when the idea for the book first hit me: there was nothing like it out there. I took Toni Morrisons sage advice: If theres a book that you want to read, but it hasnt been written yet, then you must write it. And so I, who had consumed several thousand books as an avid reader, wrote my first book and then walked the well-worn path of desperate wannabe author looking for a publisher.

After several rejections I found a publisher and my first book won gushing endorsements from many creative heroines of mine. It hit number one in multiple Amazon categories in the UK and US. It seemed I was correct in my hunch: creative mothers were yearning for encouragement and support. They were longing to be seen and heard and helped. My book was doing good in the world. And it wasnt just mothers. Creative men were seeing the impact it was having on their female partners, and were reading it. Women without children, who were trying to find time to fit creativity into their lives, were buying it as a gift for sisters or best friends, but reading it first. I had thought that the market was saturated with books on creativity for a general audience. But it seemed there was still much of value that readers were getting from my book. I was intrigued, but too busy working on other projects to follow it up.

But the emails kept coming. Messages telling me of tears as they read it. Of manuscripts that had been put away that were now being dusted off having read my book. People coming back to painting after years. New blogs, poems, magazines, businessesinspired by my book.

It was incredible. Humbling. Exciting.

Since then I have written lots more books and started a publishing company more aligned with my own vision: one that celebrates womens creativity, supports them emotionally as they launch their work, pays them fairly and promotes them sustainably. I have taught creative blogging, self-publishing with my Be Your Own Publisher e-course, creative writing via my Your Authentic Voice e-course. I have danced the line of creative expression with my WORD+image course, as well as mentoring many creative souls. Each day I have new conversations about creativity with women and men around the world. I have been interviewed multiple times for print magazines and podcasts on the topic of creativity. I have written many blog posts and a couple of anthology pieces on the subject. And read even more widely on it. In short, I have been amassing material on the topic, and am delighted to finally share it in one place. It is exciting to have the opportunity to incorporate the insight and experience I have had into my own creative practice and making a creative living, in the years since writing The Rainbow Way .

Though I still find it terrifying, I also find it immensely satisfying, starting conversations about the profound, overwhelming and transformational experiences of our human lives. So many of us are longing to partake in these raw, hard-to-articulate discussions about the experiences of creativity, spirituality, sexuality and birth-giving that shape every layer of our beings. We have so little opportunity within our culture to give voice to and share notes on them. Often we find we lack the courage, the words to express our feelings or a safe space to start that conversation. Many of us are looking for people like us: creative communities, collaborators and tribes, but dont know quite where to start, because even owning our creativity, coming out as a Writer or Artist can be so challenging. Putting our work out into the world even more so. Making a living from it can seem nothing shy of impossible.