A selection of images and text from Telling Secrets (Listed by chapter) 1. Awakening 2. Masculine/Feminine 3. I Feel 4. The Burden of the Past Is the Seed of the Future 5. Accepting the Cure 6. Soul Journey 7. Sacred Heart 8. Celebration   Order a copy of Telling Secrets  Telling Secrets An Artist's Journey Through Childhood Trauma This web adaptation of Telling Secrets contains about 35% of the printed version. Art has long been an effective and valuable means of exploring and communicating social and spiritual crisis. Nevertheless, it was not until the twentieth century that the feminine crisis of the soul began to be examined in the visual arts. The paintings included in Telling Secrets speak of emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse, specifically within the home. They depict these experiences and their effects in later life. These effects are so hidden that many of us who have been actively entangled seem to be unaware of them. The viewpoint is that of the female child and the woman she later becomes. However, the grief, despair and pain inflicted on the victims, survivors, perpetrators and family members affects us all. The crippling results are handed down from adult to child for generations. The first step in stopping child abuse and domestic violence is to acknowledge those crimes. My art, like therapy, explores connections through time and inner space. It speaks of aspects of myself interacting through time - adult to child, child to adult. It refers to the ability to join hands with one's true self and interact with the past in such a way as to affect the future. Past events, feelings and intentions may become transformed, creating new possibilities. The work in this book expresses the search through the layers within. The process of painting brings these excavations to the surface. The dreams associated with the images in this book are usually from the night before or after starting a new painting.  The interconnections of the dreams and images are not always readily apparent to me.  It is the process of viewing the art and dreams in retrospect that has yielded glimmers of enlightenment.  Dr. W. sometimes worked with dream analysis in our sessions, however, I have not included dream interpretations per se, rather, I simply mention connections that I see with the paintings or my process of growth. I try to think of all of the characters in a dream as aspects of myself.  So when my husband, Dick, appears in a dream, he represents an inner masculine, usually one who is my friend or guide.  I see dreams as parables told to us by the personal and/or collective unconscious.  As such, others can find their own meanings in my dreams just as they might in a story or a poem. The exhibition and publication of my images sets them free, allowing them to travel from my sphere to yours, going from the personal to the collective. I offer you my images, my dreams and my reflections. Order a copy of Telling Secrets