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Rebirth - An original Raven spirit painting by Sandra Kunz
Ceated September 2018
36 high x 48 "wide x 2" deep
Acrylic paint on wood panel
The sides of the wood panel are painted black so the painting looks finished and does not require framing.
I have payment plans to make purchasing my original artwork easy for you. Contact me if you are interested in hearing more!
 
The meaning of the Rebirth painting
On July 31st my family and I had a fire in our home that claimed about 95% of our belongings and changed my life from the inside out. 
 
Why the fire happened has many layers and meanings and it happened for so many reasons it hurts my head to think about it. But I'm not writing to talk about why it happened I'm writing to talk about what has come after the fire.
 
Fire is a great cleanser. It wipes out everything to create space and fertile ground for new growth. The charred remains and ashes feed the new growth and it can be a beautiful process of pain, vulnerability and the birthing of new life.
 
This painting titled Rebirth was a huge part of my healing process. I started painting it about two weeks after our house burned and we were in our new home. In retrospect I can't believe that I was able to focus on it so soon after the fire but then again it was paramount in my process of connecting with my emotional body, being present with it and expressing it, which to me, is the essence of authentic art.  The reason (in my head) that I started the painting so soon was that it was supposed to be a commissioned painting for a client that hired me before my house burned to create a painting for her. The most amazing aspect of this project is that my client experienced the fires in Fort Murray 2 years ago. She did not end up purchasing the painting in the end but the process of it's creation was very eye opening for me and showed me just how intuitive a painter I really am. You would think that I would know that without question by now but I suppose I had not really thought about it until my intuitive process was challenged by this project. 
 
The painting you see above is not the first, or second, or third version of the painting I did for the client but about the 5th version. It went on a journey with this painting and ended up coming out of the other side with a story to tell.
 
I preface this story in saying that I lay no blame what-so-ever on this client. I take full responsibility for not honouring my boundaries and listening to what my inner wisdom was telling me, and most importantly for not celebrating my intuitive gift and process. This is why I needed to experience this, so I could see for myself what pain and suffering I cause myself when I am not being deeply honest with myself and trusting that it is the only path to my freedom and abundance. The project began differently than my commissioned projects normally do. Normally, my client and I determine the animal spirit that I will be painting, often through my animal spirit guided meditation and I go to work channeling the soul imprint that is the essence of the animal spirit's gifts they hold for the client. The client usually receives the painting with open arms when it is complete. They trust me because they have seen my work and appreciate it for it's authenticity. This project was different however and I was influenced by my need for money at the time. I even allowed the price of the finished work to come down substantially and it was especially different because this was not an animal spirit painting for my client specifically as much as it was a piece to match the interior of her home. She also had a print of a painting that I had done 10 years ago and I feel she really wanted me to recreate that painting for her. The piece I created 10 years came from an authentic place within me 10 years ago and has stood the test of time. It is still a wonderful and powerful piece, but I am not that person now. I explained that but I'm not sure we were on the same page or that we were ever on the same page. Before I started my client wanted to get progress photos of the painting as I was working which is not how I work but I agreed to send a photo when it was at about 80% complete.
 
Fast forward two weeks....the painting was at 80% complete and I was very pleased with it. It was exactly as it needed to be, 100% authentic and stunningly beautiful to me. I was, however,  very apprehensive about sending her a progress photo.  I did send it to her though and that is where the project really went sideways. She was not pleased at all. She said that all she saw was fire in the sky, the ravens did not look like ravens and the ground was the incorrect perspective.  Basically every aspect of the painting was wrong to her and I was absolutely. heartbroken. I told her I needed time to decide what I was going to do, and this is where I abandoned myself.
To read further go to: https://www.strokeofsoul.com/single-post/2018/10/15/Rebirth-After-the-Fire
 
What is the difference between an animal spirit and an animal totem or power animal?
I believe animal spirits will come and go throughout your life and help you by guiding you in the way that they can according to thier gifts or medicine. These gifts are the attributes that the animal carry and most animal spirits carry many gifts/attributes or medicines. You will experience the animal spirits if you do a reading with my deck The Messenger Cards or with another Animal Spirit Oracle Deck. An animal totem or Power Animal is an animal spirit that walks with you on your whole life journey whether you are aware of it or not. If you find out what your animal totem is then you will see that you exhibit many of the gifts that that animal spirit. Or, you may be repulsed or fear that animal in which case you may want to look at embracing the gifts of that animal spirit as you may be rejecting those gifts within yourself. To know your animal spirit is to know yourself better. I believe that is the secret to life! To know yourself better in whatever way calls to you and to live your life as you and nobody else.
 
Much love to you on this blessed journey,
Sandra Kunz