I’ve never been particularly drawn to Pele, of the Hawaiian-goddess-of-the-volcano-and-fire fame. I’ve never studied the mythology and I’ve only just now looked her up, after it came to me to paint a version of her . I’ve been working on a series of paintings depicting archetypal women as a form of shamanic soul retrieval.    It came to me during meditation yesterday that I wanted someone who would sit in the coals of the fire and burn up the dross.  As gold is heated to burn away impurities so its essential character can be revealed, just so the intent of my soul retrieval project was to do the same with me.  I saw someone sitting in the coals of a fire, with fire all around her, laughing.  The image of molten lava came to me and a volcano appeared behind her.  The name Pele came to me, so I began adding her to the series.  I’ve learned that Pele’s fires and lava are what builds and rebuilds the island she sits on.  Through volcanic activity, it is always being renewed.  Just so, this creat-ive force comes into our lives to cleanse, transform and rebuild.    I’m still working on this one, she’s now sitting in a lava flow.  Who knew lava would be so hard to paint 🙂 Continue reading →