March 25, 2026 • 50 mins
Text me what you think of today’s episode!
Some healing happens by talking, and some healing happens when your hands finally tell the truth your mouth can’t. We sit down with artist Devorah Brinkerhoff, creator of Soul Portraits, a mixed media process that helps people turn trauma, grief, and life transitions into art that feels like relief in the body and clarity in the mind. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not creative,” or you’ve treated creativity like a luxury instead of a tool for survival, this conversation flips that belief on its head.
Devorah shares what it’s like working in the gallery system for decades, why she refuses to create for approval, and how she realized creativity wasn’t just something she did, it was something that helped keep her inner world from “coming out sideways.” From her Oregon studio, she explains how Soul Portraits use the literal materials of your life like letters, photos, journals, and meaningful objects to honor the past, anchor the present, and reveal who you’re becoming. She also breaks down the three ways people work with her: guided workshops, a self-paced course, or sending materials for a commissioned piece when engaging the memories feels too intense.
We also explore worthiness and identity: how painful messages get learned early, how to trace where they started, and how creativity can build self-trust in real time. The big takeaway is simple and brave: what happened to you isn’t who you are, and you can peel back the layers until you feel that truth again.
If this resonates, subscribe or follow, share it with a friend who needs a lift, and leave a five-star written review. What’s one object from your past that still holds emotional weight for you?
Previous Guest Links from episode intro:
RESET Your Buttons with Mary Elizabeth Murphy, S1 Ep1
The Entities of the Emery Estate featuring Christy Parrish - Soulseekers Paranormal NE
Devorah's Links
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SPEAKER_05 (00:00):
Just a reminder: make sure you hit subscribe or
follow wherever you're listeningto this podcast.
And two small things you can doif you enjoy the content that
will have a huge impact on thepodcast.
Tell a friend about us, andconsider leaving a five-star
written review on your favoritepodcast app.
(00:23):
These two small things help thepodcast become more discoverable
to others who may enjoy thecontent.
Thanks, and here's this week'sepisode.
SPEAKER_02 (00:52):
Just being able to be creative like that.
Something I've always wanted.
SPEAKER_03 (00:57):
And then I decided to get another hive, and that
turned into a lot of hives.
SPEAKER_00 (01:02):
As long as I can do that, I want to be a good
citizen.
Help people out.
SPEAKER_05 (01:08):
Putting themselves out there, taking chances, and
navigating challenges along theway.
SPEAKER_04 (01:15):
I I absolutely identified with having stage
right because, you know, anytimeI went on stage, I just felt
like I was having a hot attack.
SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
Very first lap, very first practice session, I
crashed, turned the car upsidedown, made a spectacle of
myself, and I got back on thathorse and started riding again.
SPEAKER_05 (01:31):
As they pursue what makes them happy and brings them
joy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
As long as people are having a good time and I
have the opportunity to putsmiles on people's faces, I love
what I do.
SPEAKER_03 (01:43):
I have done things that I never thought I could do.
To have somebody tell me howreal it looks and how, you know,
from their actual memory.
Because that's telling me Icaptured what I was trying to
get.
SPEAKER_05 (01:59):
Welcome to Assorted Conversations.
I'm your host, Helen.
Hello, hello, hello, and thanksfor tuning in.
I hope you're all doing well.
Here in Massachusetts, it'sstarting to look a lot like
spring, but I'm still waitingfor it to start feeling like
(02:22):
spring.
The snow from our blizzard of2026 is is almost all melted,
believe it or not.
It's only taken a couple months.
The sun is shining, but ifanybody has any pull with Mother
Nature, please ask her to getthe temps out of the 20s for us.
It's almost April for crying outloud.
(02:45):
Before we jump into this week'sconversation, just a few updates
to share.
Previous guest, Mary ElizabethMurphy, who shared her Reset
Your Buttons model with us, hasrebooted her Reset Your Buttons
podcast and dropped season one,Episode 1 on March 24th.
(03:06):
So run, don't walk, to listenand watch and subscribe.
I love seeing what previousguests are up to.
Another update from ParanormalInvestigator Christy Parrish.
She and the Emery Estate wererecently featured on a gripping
and very active episode webseries from SoulSeekers
(03:29):
Paranormal New England.
And she's got more in store forher own series coming up.
We'll keep you posted on that.
Links to the Reset Your Buttonspodcast and the Soulseeker New
England episode are in the shownotes.
Now, this week's conversation isall about letting creativity
(03:50):
become an avenue to heal frompast trauma, transform your
perceptions of yourself, andcreate self-connection with the
truly beautiful, strong, andbrave people we all have within
us.
Take a listen in this week'sepisode, and I'll see you on the
other side.
(04:15):
Today's guest believes art isn'tjust something we create, it's
something that can heal us.
She's a professionalgallery-represented artist of
more than 30 years and thecreator of Soul Portraits, a
transformational process thatblends mixed media art with deep
spiritual and emotional healing.
(04:37):
Her work began with her journey,tearing up journals,
photographs, and mementos fromher life and reconstructing them
into a powerful visual stories.
What started as expressionbecame transformation, releasing
trauma, shedding limitingbeliefs, and reclaiming her
(04:57):
authentic self.
Now, from her Oregon studio, sheguides others to do the same,
helping them turn pain intoempowerment and reconnect with
their soul's truth.
I am so happy to welcome DevorahBrinkerhoff to Assorta
Conversations.
Hi, Davora.
Hey Helen.
(05:17):
How are you?
SPEAKER_07 (05:18):
How are you?
I'm good.
How are you?
Happy to be here.
SPEAKER_05 (05:21):
Oh, I'm happy to have you.
So you're a gallery representedartist for 30 years.
What exactly does that mean?
SPEAKER_07 (05:33):
It means that you connect with different galleries
that like your work and you likethem, and you enter into a
relationship where they'reselling your work and taking a
commission for it.
SPEAKER_05 (05:47):
Okay.
Okay.
And what kind of what what didyou mainly work in?
SPEAKER_07 (05:54):
At the time, you mean what media did I I was
doing oil on canvas.
Like that was that was my go-tofor more than than well, for so
many decades.
I was gonna say more than 30years, which is true.
Mixed media was sprinkledthroughout that and really it
(06:15):
transitioned to predominantlymixed media since since about
2019.
Okay.
SPEAKER_05 (06:24):
And I mean, how how early were you involved in
creating art?
SPEAKER_07 (06:30):
I can't remember a time when I wasn't creating art,
whether it was like mud pies inthe backyard or you know, making
forts out of haylofts, right?
I it's all creativity.
So drawing, like traditionaldrawing and painting, it was
always part of my world, whetherit was coloring books or just
(06:51):
scraps of paper.
I was pretty much always drawingor doodling in the margins of
any paper that was within arm'sreach.
SPEAKER_05 (06:59):
Oh, that's funny.
I used to too.
It never panned out for me,though.
I just didn't have the talent.
SPEAKER_07 (07:06):
I see, I just want to argue with you, Helen,
because I don't think it's abouttalent.
I, you know, I think that itdoesn't have to be a career, but
it is such a source ofwell-being that if you enjoy
drawing and doodling andwhatever creative source that
you have, I was like, get to it,woman.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (07:26):
Oh, that's that's funny.
Because as I take notes, Ieither take them in an outline
or it's a diagram and I havearrows going everywhere, almost
like little mini flow charts.
Yeah, perfect drawing.
So funny.
So as as you worked through 30years as a gallery represented
(07:47):
artist, that's amazing.
That's that's an awful lot ofwork.
What were, you know, as youcontinue to work through and and
work with the galleries, whatwas the experience like?
SPEAKER_07 (08:00):
For the most part, I had really positive experiences
with the galleries.
There were certain things thatare just part of that system
that I want to push back againstand did push back against just
naturally.
I was never somebody that wasgoing to do 30 of the same
paintings.
I there was no way.
(08:22):
So I, you know, I know peoplewho who do do that, and I just
would have been so incrediblybored.
So there was no signature likelook from me.
I think there's a a thread ofstyle, but I was always changing
and evolving.
And so my work really reflectedthat.
When I was pregnant and hadyoung children, I painted in a
(08:48):
very different way, like in away I had never painted before
or since.
And so that work I'm alwayslike, huh.
What version of me created allof that?
And, you know, looking back, Iunderstand it.
Hindsight is 2020.
I understand it a little bitbetter.
But it really, I was one tofollow where creativity wanted
(09:11):
to lead.
And that was always true for me.
Always, always.
Even in the beginning, before,you know, when I was just in
high school and making, makingartwork, I was also taking
classes at the local collegebecause I had run out of new
classes to take in high school.
And people would look at my workand say, well, why won't you
(09:33):
make that prettier?
That why won't you make thatlike more pleasant?
And I and I was like, Well, it'spleasant to me.
And and it was just somethinginternal that I was following.
And so that, if anything, thatwas kind of the edge in
galleries because they wouldnever know what they were gonna
get from me.
And I think that made themuncomfortable.
(09:54):
Not always, because some of whatthey got from me like did
really, really well.
And they're like, I want more ofthat.
And I'm like, well, yeah, it'sif it strikes me, yeah.
Right.
And and so I was even like, it'snot even really striking me.
Like, there's just somethingelse that I'm following.
Yes, it's a part of me, butthere's a bigger thing happening
(10:15):
that I just really respect andand don't mess with, you know.
SPEAKER_05 (10:20):
Yeah, it you know, it it's funny uh thinking about
and and and kind of knowing, youknow, what you do now.
Uh-huh.
Preparing pieces for galleries.
Like I could see like there'sthere's other opinions that are
going to get involved, and I cansee I can sense that that would
be stifling.
SPEAKER_07 (10:41):
Yeah, it didn't work very well for me.
And and and I there was reallyno animosity.
Like I really enjoyed workingwith the different galleries
that I worked with.
I would get frustrated if there,if I received a message of,
well, that's too naked, it won'tsell.
And I'm like, you don't knowlike who's gonna resonate,
right?
There's this like projectedassumption and also with a goal
(11:06):
of selling.
And for me, it was never aboutlike, of course, I want my work
to sell, but more than that,what I really got excited about
and still get excited about isthen when people resonate with a
piece, something inside of themis waking up, coming alive.
SPEAKER_05 (11:23):
Right.
SPEAKER_07 (11:23):
It's their relationship to themselves that
matters.
It was never, and then they thenthey want to be in relationship
to that part of themselves on adaily basis.
And I love that.
Like that's that's amazing.
SPEAKER_05 (11:37):
Right, right.
SPEAKER_07 (11:38):
Well, but I'm not sitting there saying, like, oh,
I'm gonna paint this so I getthat.
SPEAKER_05 (11:43):
That I couldn't do that.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
I'm gonna paint this becausethis is what people are looking
for and this is what's going tosell.
So it's kind of the differencebetween creating for approval
and creating for fulfillment.
Yes.
Yeah.
At what point did you begin tofeel a shift from creating for
(12:06):
approval to creating for truth?
Or was that just your mainmethod all along?
SPEAKER_07 (12:13):
I think that was my main method all along.
When I had a desire orexpectation, when my ego was
involved, because of course itfeels good to sell, like ego is
involved, and that's normal.
I don't reject that at all.
When I started to get reallywrapped up with if something did
(12:36):
well or didn't do well, thatturned me back towards why why
am I looking for that?
What is what is missing insideof me that wants to fill it up
with external validation orapproval?
And it was always a question ofhow can I return to to what's
(12:56):
meaningful to me for me ratherthan the other way around?
It's an inside out kind ofthing.
It starts inside and then andthen reaches the places and
people it needs to reach.
Did I answer that?
SPEAKER_05 (13:09):
Yeah, you did.
You did.
You absolutely did.
When did you first realize artwasn't just something you did,
but it was something that didsomething for you?
SPEAKER_07 (13:22):
That is a great question.
And I kind of giggle now becauseit took me a really long time to
clue into that.
It's only really in the last 10years, 15 years, that I was
like, oh, this is helping merelease my own inner world so
(13:43):
that it doesn't come outsideways, right?
Because prior to that, it wascoming out sideways.
And I just think like if Ihadn't had creativity as an
outlet or wasn't actively usingcreativity as an outlet, I would
have been so much more harmfuland so much more of a mess than
(14:04):
I already was.
So I didn't really, really,really understand what
creativity was doing for meuntil probably about 10 years
ago, where I'm like, oh wow, ifthis is helping me like this,
we're really missing this wholetoolbox, right?
It's it's a whole nother, I justwant to say, like, basket of
(14:28):
gold that we don't really dropinto and and utilize, and and we
could, right?
Yeah, we we we really could geta lot out of it.
SPEAKER_05 (14:36):
Yeah, I I I think, and again, my you know, it's
just my opinion.
I I think a lot of folks look atdoing art, painting, sculpting,
you know, doing anything likethat as relaxation and just
relaxation and enjoyment.
(14:57):
And and I don't think a lot alot of folks, although art
therapy has been around foryears, I I still don't think
mainstream folks view creativityas as a means to help them heal
from trauma and from stresses.
SPEAKER_07 (15:13):
Yeah.
No, I think it's really easy todismiss.
And there are so manygatekeepers within the creative
fields that say only if you goto that school, or only if you
got into this dance company, oronly if you're, you know, a
five-star whatever chef andwhatever restaurant in whatever
city, then you're a legitimatesource.
(15:36):
But but as soon as it becomeslike a pressure, again, means to
an end kind of outcome, we losesight of how like joyful it is
inherently, just when we're inthe process of making, simply
for the to see where it's gonnatake us, right?
(15:57):
Like I sometimes know where apainting is going, but I never
know how it's gonna get there.
I might have an idea before Iget to the studio or a dream I
had, an image that caught myeye.
But for the most part, there isno end goal.
I and and I feel like it isdisrespectful to the process, to
(16:19):
the open-endedness of andpossibility to say, I'm gonna
make it and it's gonna look justlike this, and this is how.
And some people work like that,and that's great.
And there's nothing wrong withthat.
That has not been where I havegotten that hit of
self-connection and joy andpeace and freedom, the kind of
(16:39):
moving from my mind into myheart wisdom, which is just
joyful.
Like it feels so good.
And so it's that feeling.
Again, I can't go into thestudio and say, well, I'm going
for that.
It either happens or it doesn't.
But I it's more like turning achannel out of one, out of
personality, out of expectation,and entering into a different
(17:03):
space that says, I am open andready.
That's gonna be so liberating.
SPEAKER_05 (17:07):
Because, you know, when I think of my day-to-day,
it's you know, there's a lot ofthings you do because they're
expected of you or you'reresponsible for them.
And to be able to cut loose andjust be creative and say, this
pen is gonna go wherever it'sgonna go, yeah, has to be really
liberating.
And but but very hard to do ifyou are so used to being
(17:32):
buttoned down and beingresponsible and doing what's
expected.
SPEAKER_07 (17:37):
It's true.
It is hard.
And I think, especially with thepeople that come to me, they're
very used to following directionand wanting to know how and what
steps to follow in order to getsuch and such result.
And and so much of what I teachis is like, can you suspend all
(17:58):
of that and enter into a deeperplace inside of you that already
knows and to practice thatinternal self-trust?
And it's practice, right?
It takes time to turn off therules and to tune into
possibilities.
SPEAKER_05 (18:15):
Yeah.
I'm sure you you hear it prettyoften.
I don't have a creative bone inmy body.
How do you help coach somebodythrough that?
SPEAKER_07 (18:28):
Well, I just say that it's emphatically not true.
And we're all born creative, andwe each have our own creative
language, our own fingerprint ofcreativity that helps connect us
to us.
So, whatever that is, right?
It can be gardening, it can becooking, it can be dance, it can
(18:50):
be music, it can be a podcastlike what you're doing.
Like we all have the creativelanguage that's unique to us.
And so the joy is finding outwhat lights you up, and that is
your creative language.
So we we tend to make it sonarrow, like what is creativity?
And I just want to really openup that definition to what makes
(19:15):
you excited, joyful, and whileyou're doing it, lose track of
time.
Whatever that activity is, iscreativity.
SPEAKER_05 (19:26):
And so, since you've discovered all of this for
yourself and within your work,what was going on at the time
that you kind of put the piecestogether and it led you in the
direction of creating soulportraits?
SPEAKER_07 (19:45):
Well, I was in a really, really dark time in my
life.
I had just been sued by myparents and my husband's parents
and excommunicated from myfamily.
Oh god.
And um, I did not know what todo because I didn't know who I
was without them.
(20:06):
And we had certainly had adifferent challenging
relationships.
I had always been that that onein the family that kind of quote
unquote didn't belong, like inthe Sesame Street pictures, like
which one doesn't fit.
I didn't really fit and I made alot of people uncomfortable, not
(20:26):
intentionally, but just the wayI move through the world is a
bit challenging, I guess, forfor the rule following, kind of
very, I don't know how to sayhighly educated.
Do this to get, yeah, do this,get this degree, and then get
(20:47):
that level of success.
And, you know, so I I washeartbroken and I was dealing
when I got pregnant, I it was ahuge triggering part of my life.
And it uncovered that I hadalways wanted to have children,
(21:08):
like really always.
And when I finally got pregnant,I was like, why don't I feel
over the moon?
And it wasn't just because I hadterrible all-day sickness, it
was because I had an earlychildhood sexual abuse history
that I had completely buried anddid not know of.
(21:28):
And so having something elsethat wasn't me in my body felt
very wrong to my body.
And all of my alarm bellsstarted going off.
And it led down this 10 yearprocess of sort of uncovering
what that means.
And really, in doing so, much ofmy early life started to make
(21:53):
sense.
So actually, it was a relief tohave that information.
SPEAKER_05 (21:58):
I am so sorry that's happened to you.
SPEAKER_07 (22:01):
Well, it was awful, right?
Like, and and for me, there'sand it was interesting because
there was a moment, severalmoments at different times where
I'm like, I don't want to dealwith this.
Like, I don't know how to dealwith this.
And more than anything, I'mterrified of what will happen if
I actually say what's going on.
(22:22):
Like, what is the fallout goingto be?
And and that heartbreak, theonly way I knew how to deal with
it was to lean in, right?
Because I I couldn't stand thisidea of people thinking so
poorly of me, but I alsocouldn't change how they felt
about me.
There was no amount ofexplanation that was going to
(22:44):
shift their viewpoint.
And so I reread all of thoseletters and I reread the legal
documents and I sifted throughphotographs and I revisited, you
know, fear and anger and hatred,but I also revisited love and
connection and support.
(23:04):
And in doing so, it was so clearto me that none of it, it was
all experience.
And underneath thoseexperiences, at the end of the
day, who I am underneath thoseexperiences is what matters.
And can I live from that versionof myself?
(23:24):
And that's what soul portraitsare all about like ripping up
the layers and the limitingbeliefs and the false
identities.
Like, who are we beneath those?
And every time I rippedsomething up, it was like a
little somatic relief.
I didn't have to, I didn't haveto explain my story.
I let the materials speak forme.
(23:46):
I didn't have to worry aboutgetting the words right.
I didn't have to worry aboutdefamation.
I didn't have to worry aboutany.
I just let the materials speakfor me.
And I was making everything moredigestible.
Every time I ripped somethingup, it became something I could
integrate and automaticallyacknowledge.
(24:08):
Like I could acknowledge everyversion of myself that I was
revisiting and saying, I seeyou.
SPEAKER_05 (24:14):
Right.
SPEAKER_07 (24:14):
And I haven't seen you, right?
Like I've exiled you myself,I've pushed you away, I've
judged you, I've criticized you.
And in this process, I'macknowledging you, I'm accepting
you, I'm allowing you to havethe space.
SPEAKER_05 (24:28):
Yeah, it was something that happened to you.
It is not you.
Exactly.
So what was your first step ingetting to that point, but then
discovering that, hey, thismight be able to help other
folks too.
SPEAKER_07 (24:45):
Well, that same day, because I just it was probably
like four or five hours that Ispent like revisiting and
ripping and gluing materialsdown.
And I stood back and I I I wassort of in this just other
world, right?
The world of creativity.
But I stood back and realized inthat moment what I was doing and
(25:09):
it and and I felt so different.
There was such very potent senseof relief that there was this
awareness in this process ofknowing that just what you just
said, like this experiencehappened and it's not who I am.
(25:30):
It doesn't define me.
And that was a it people say Ilike AI says it all the time and
it drives me crazy.
And I'm just about to say it.
It was a game changer to realizethat.
Like, like everything shifted,and and I realized that it's all
perception.
Everything is learned,everything.
And we we were our lives arebeing run by these experiences
(25:54):
of a seven-year-old or athree-year-old, and that those
are the programs running in thebackground.
And without awareness, likewe're sort of powerless to do
anything about it.
And I felt the change inside mybody.
It was like releasing stuckenergy, and I was a different
person in a matter of hours.
SPEAKER_05 (26:11):
So you pretty much realized in the moment that you
were healing.
SPEAKER_07 (26:17):
Yeah, I don't know that I would have said, Oh, I'm
healing.
I just felt like such a sense ofempowerment and relief.
And then I spent the nextprobably four years doing that
on repeat for myself, just likemore and more and more.
What other layers can I peelback?
What else can I let go of?
Who am I underneath this layer?
Who I am, who am I underneaththis next layer on repeat?
(26:41):
And then I and then I was like,oh, I'm going to open up the
invitation to friends andfamily, and then I'm gonna open
up the invitation to thecommunity and then really see
like how this can help otherpeople in real time.
SPEAKER_05 (26:57):
Yeah, so it became not just your personal process,
but something that you couldshare with others.
SPEAKER_07 (27:05):
Yeah, I felt like I had to.
Like despite being a totalhermit and not really liking to
be in front of an audience or acamera, I was like, I I have to
because this is too powerful andtoo easy not to.
SPEAKER_05 (27:23):
How did you come up with the name Soul Portraits?
SPEAKER_07 (27:27):
There are so many iterations.
I I feel like lived experiencekind of piles on top of our
essence, on top of who we reallyare.
And so this idea of peeling backto get to the core of who we
are, and that underneath it allis the soul that we came in
(27:47):
with, the soul that wants us toexpand and experience freedom
and joy and empowerment.
So they're not really about anykind of likeness or capturing,
because who can capture a soul?
Right, but it's more about canyou reconnect with the truth of
who you are, aka your soul.
(28:10):
And so that's that's how thename came to be.
SPEAKER_05 (28:13):
And what makes this different from traditional art
therapy?
SPEAKER_07 (28:19):
I think of therapy in general as going in to just
talk, talk about your life.
I think of art therapy astalking about your childhood,
and I think of soul portraits asworking with the literal actual
materials of your life and yourchildhood to see what they have
(28:40):
to say, that version of you.
I really believe in energy andthat our we leave, we have an
energetic signature that likeour fingerprints are the same
from birth till death.
So I think of soul portraits asthe energetic signature.
(29:02):
And when we pick up a letter ora photograph, the energy of who
we were when we wrote orreceived that letter, when the
photograph was taken, is in thephotograph.
It's in the letter.
And I don't even care if youmake a photocopy of the letter
or the photograph, it's then inthe in it gets transferred into
(29:24):
whatever it is that you'reworking with.
So I think of our materials as adirect representation of those
versions of ourselves,energetically speaking, and that
when we're working with them, wego back in time to when those
experiences happened.
And as we engage with them andreally acknowledge them, then
(29:46):
they're free to move on.
And we've released all of thisenergy that's like trapped in
our body.
SPEAKER_05 (29:51):
When when somebody sits down to create a soul
portrait, well, actually, youoffer this in in a couple of
different ways.
Why don't you share the thedifferent ways folks can connect
with a soul portrait?
SPEAKER_07 (30:06):
So I there are there are three different ways.
One is a workshop, and I tend toorganize those around like a
certain a specific experience.
So divorce or suicide or orveterans, for example.
And then people can also get geta course and do it themselves in
(30:29):
their own in their own space attheir own pace, and they can
come back to it as they'reready.
So there's a lot of flexibility.
Well, there's really a lot offlexibility with all of them,
but that's the course.
And then the third option is acommission.
And so people send me theirmaterials and I do it for them.
And the same thing happens, it'sjust energy.
(30:49):
And it doesn't really matter whois witnessing the energy, it
matters that it's witnessed, andthat's what helps it move.
And so people often send metheir materials when they are
struggling to engage with theirmaterials themselves because it
they feel flooded by it if it'stoo overwhelming or too
upsetting.
(31:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (31:11):
And so But does the final piece actually help them?
Like what where is their healingor what did they get out of the
commissioned piece?
SPEAKER_07 (31:21):
So I love it when I love explaining this to people
as like you go ahead and send mewhat you think is unacceptable
and and so quote unquote uglyabout you, and I will send you
back your beauty.
So when people work with medirectly, I am witnessing them,
their story, their livedexperience, but through a lens
(31:44):
of love and compassion.
Because I've made like so manyof my own mistakes and have
really walked through my owntrenches, there's no part of me
that wants to judge anyone.
And I'm talking, I have satacross the table from people who
have murdered, raped, sexualviolence, like the whole nine
(32:06):
yards.
And it's, I have a lot ofcompassion.
It's not about judging anyone.
Again, I'm not condoning it, butI'm saying, how do we hold this
so that it we can stop thecycle?
And part of that is likeallowing stories to be told,
whatever they are, whichincludes everyone who's been
greatly harmed by them.
(32:27):
I can go down so many rabbitholes there.
So I'm gonna try and stay ontrack here.
So the process itself is likethree-pronged.
The materials are about honoringthe past.
The there's a portion of it inthe in the center of the middle
of the process that is reallymeant to anchor who people are
(32:50):
right now in the in the moment.
And so if I'm working with them,there's a little bit of a back
and forth.
Like what poem, what quote, whatfree writing do you feel
captures you in the moment rightnow that resonates right now?
And I'll rewrite that in my ownhand to capture and anchor who
(33:10):
they are now.
And then the over image, whichis the main focal point of the
piece, is who are they steppinginto?
What is the beauty and powerthat they are ready to step into
as a reminder about what'spossible and who they know they
are underneath all of it.
So, so that's so that when theyget this piece back, what
(33:34):
they're really focusing on isremembering that they've
survived everything and thatthere's a chance to step into
somebody who's more powerful,more free, more empowered, and
excited about who they'rebecoming.
So, who have you been and whoare you becoming is what they're
(33:55):
about.
SPEAKER_05 (33:55):
Oh, fantastic.
Well, what are the typicalreactions when folks get their
pieces?
SPEAKER_07 (34:01):
So I always get a little nervous because the over
image is channeled essentiallyand very much based on the
material and what images comethrough while I'm working with
somebody's material.
So I never ever know what it'sgonna be ever until it's done.
And then they never know whatit's gonna be.
So I make sure ahead of timethat people like resonate with
(34:23):
my style, but really they feelsuch a sense of relief, whether
they're doing it themselves in acourse or a workshop or or me
doing it for them, it's a it's asense of relief.
And like, oh, I didn't have anyidea like how beautiful I am,
(34:43):
right?
That's like because I'm seeingtheir power, I'm seeing their
beauty, I'm seeing their love.
So, and then I'm showing themthat version of themselves that
they have a hard time trustinginside of themselves.
I think trusting is the rightword that they don't know is
possible.
(35:04):
So I I show them their beauty.
And so when they look at it,they're reminded, oh, wait a
second, I'm more than I thoughtI was.
I'm more than this experience,I'm more than the divorce, I'm
more than this, whatever.
SPEAKER_05 (35:16):
I think everybody can can use a little of that,
even if there isn't, you know,past trauma.
I think everybody's got thisstinking thinking voice in their
head and need to check up fromthe neck up on occasion.
SPEAKER_07 (35:28):
Yes, totally.
All the time, really.
Yes.
SPEAKER_05 (35:31):
For for folks that do the the workshop with you and
they want to do it on their own,but they they want your input.
Um when they sit down with you,what are they often bringing to
you?
SPEAKER_07 (35:47):
Do you in a workshop or in what in the court?
Like so people have access tome, you know, they can ask
questions.
Is that what you're asking?
Like in a community coachingkind of thing.
SPEAKER_05 (35:57):
Um like in your in your workshop.
I'm assuming I'm just picturingthat there are, you know, five
or six people coming to theworkshop because they want to do
it themselves.
They want to do it in person andthey want some guidance from
you.
So, you know, what are the typesof materials folks bring?
SPEAKER_07 (36:12):
People bring people really what I love is that they
know what ahead of time, likethey have an idea pretty
clearly.
Because the question is alwayswhat is the experience that
you've had that you feel like isstill like really getting in
your way or running the showfrom from behind the scenes or
next to you or taking over thecar ride?
(36:35):
They bring those materials.
So often it's you know, lettersand photos and journals and all
of that, but people, one personbrought like hundreds of bottles
of nail polish because she shehad been in a uh very violent
relationship, and her ex hadactually tried to kill her.
(36:59):
And in the really I know it getspretty dark, in the
relationship, he chose heroutfit, and every day she had to
paint her fingernails andtoenails to match whatever
outfit he chose.
And and so she brought nailpolish and dumped them out,
Jackson Pollock style, on hercanvas, and then in nail polish
(37:22):
over the top wrote trust yourgut.
And that was her piece.
And so, yeah, and it's anything,anything goes.
People have brought in metals,people have brought in that
they've then smashed and likeput the chunks on it.
People like really anythinggoes.
(37:43):
People have brought in ashes forloved ones who have passed when
I'm doing a commission.
Sometimes people send me ashesto fold into the paint that it
turns into this remembrance, youknow, that goes beyond an urn or
a burial plot that says, here itis.
I'm honoring my relationship tothis person, and I've given
(38:06):
grief a safe place to land outof my own body.
Wow.
Like, how do I address how do Iaddress these two babies that
were born, still born, or right?
You know, so so people know whatit is that they want to bring,
and there are no rules.
Like you will know.
SPEAKER_05 (38:24):
Wow.
What what changes do you witnessin your clients as they're
working through this?
And and again, probably talkingmore about the folks that you
see in a workshop.
SPEAKER_07 (38:36):
I see people practice that connection to
themselves in real time, whichfeels good.
And so it's this starts off withhow do I do this?
Am I doing this right?
Is this okay?
This photograph isn't layingdown well.
Like there are tricks to how toget the materials to do what you
want them to do.
(38:57):
But more than anything, thetransformation goes from
questioning and uncertainty toI've got this.
Like, I know how to do this.
I just am following this innerpart of me, and it feels so good
to do that.
And then they know what it'slike to tune into their
intuition, to tune into theirown answers, their inner wisdom,
(39:22):
and take that out into theworld, into their daily lives.
And so it's that sense of reliefpaired with empowerment that
happens in a matter, well, itdepends on how long the workshop
is, but the length of theworkshop.
SPEAKER_05 (39:38):
Wow.
That's fantastic.
Does any does anybody ever reachback out to you and check in or
do you reach out to formerstudents?
SPEAKER_07 (39:47):
I try to leave them alone unless they want to
connect with me.
I love hearing from them.
And I love it when people likeI'll get out on a random Tuesday
afternoon, somebody will send mea snapshot of their piece that
they made and say, Oh, I justnoticed this thing that I hadn't
seen before, and I got this newinsight, and it's so awesome.
(40:09):
Or notice how the sun hit thiscorner, or thought of you today
because I felt a reconnection tomyself that I haven't felt since
the workshop.
And like it's so nice to hear.
Yeah, I love hearing frompeople.
SPEAKER_05 (40:25):
It's beautiful.
But for someone who feelsinvisible or unsure of their
worth, where would you tell themto begin?
SPEAKER_07 (40:35):
That's such a great question, Helen.
It's that's a really hard placeto be.
And there's a reason why they'rethere, right?
And so I really want toencourage that that that lens is
a learned lens.
It's not the truth of who theyare.
(40:57):
And if they lean into ratherthan avoid where that came from,
if they were to lean into it andstart asking questions about
where did I first receive thismessage and what materials are
associated with that message?
And is that message really true?
Do I want to keep that messagealive?
Do I want to do somethingdifferent?
(41:20):
And of course we want to dosomething different.
Are we willing to sit withfeeling that lack of worthiness
and question its truth?
I would ask them to beginrevisiting their the different
versions and layers ofthemselves.
(41:40):
And ask, like, what's underneaththat version?
What's underneath that layer?
Because if we peel it backenough, we're gonna get to this
ember inside of us that is justpure love.
And that's that's where therelief is.
I like that.
SPEAKER_05 (41:55):
I like that a lot.
SPEAKER_07 (41:57):
Like, keep going, just please keep going.
SPEAKER_05 (42:00):
Yeah, yeah.
I uh but I can also see, and andI've been in that in the uh
situation at times where you youcan't see the forest through the
trees or the trees through theforest, however that goes.
SPEAKER_07 (42:14):
Yeah, exactly.
Me too, and it's extremelypainful, and you have to take it
on faith that you're more thanyou think you are.
Yeah, like always.
SPEAKER_05 (42:24):
Yeah.
Why do you believe creativity issuch a direct pathway to the
soul?
SPEAKER_07 (42:32):
Because I think we're all born creative, and I
think that when we are in thatspace of doing something
creative, again, whatever yourcreative language is, I feel
like it connects us to ourinherent divinity.
So, and I and I don't think youcan if if you're in that space
(42:53):
which is so joyful, I think it'shard to dismiss the power of it.
And and if we started to live intrust of our creativity, just
imagine what the world would belike today.
SPEAKER_05 (43:07):
Right.
My God, all the problems willwould be solved.
SPEAKER_07 (43:12):
Right?
Everyone needs to do a soulproblem.
There you go.
And maybe several.
Several.
I mean, seriously, I've done somany.
It's like a meditation now,right?
Like it's just meditation.
It's just another form of ofself-connection, which
meditation is.
So creativity is play, right?
Creativity is play.
(43:33):
Play connects us to that otherpart of us that is what I think
is our our divinity.
Yeah.
And and what a great way to movethrough the world, like through
play.
And again, like if play for youis is cooking, like I don't like
cooking.
I would love to come eat yourfood.
So, right?
Like we can all work together sothat our creativity is in
(43:56):
benefit, is in service of all.
SPEAKER_05 (44:00):
What a great world it would be.
Right.
So what's what's next for foryou and for soul portraits?
SPEAKER_07 (44:09):
Well, more and more are commissions.
Like I started doing mini soulportraits just because they're
they're they're more practical.
Like I love working large.
My my work can be like six byeight feet wide.
Not very I love it.
Not very many people have thatwall space.
(44:30):
So I started making little oneslike for people on on the
outside of journals.
So to make really personalizedgifts for for somebody who loves
to journal or small eight byeight inch ones, which was a
challenge for me to go from likeseven by eight feet to um to
eight inches.
I'm like, there's no way.
And then it I it turns out thatit's really quite fun.
(44:52):
And the materials just they Ifollow them, I follow their
lead.
And I always ask for more thanwhat they think I anybody can
use.
But that's really what I'm doingmore of now, so that they can
fit into small little nooks oron somebody's altar.
Or I mean, people have such neatceremonies these days.
(45:14):
So they're soul portraits partof it.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (45:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (45:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (45:19):
Where can folks find you on the internet and see your
work and learn more about soulportraits in case they want to
connect?
SPEAKER_07 (45:28):
So I have a couple of different pages on Facebook
and on Instagram.
On Instagram, it's just my name,Devorah Brinkerhoff.
That'll take you to SoulPortraits.
And DhakeArt is also onInstagram, and that will take
you to my art page.
And they there's so much overlapthere because one just naturally
(45:49):
leads to the other.
Right.
Um, and and that's the same forFacebook as well.
I have a Soul Portrait page,which is just Soul Portraits
with my names, and DevorahBrinkerhoff is sort of like a
mishmash of both of them, andthen an art page, Devorah Haik
on on art on Facebook.
SPEAKER_05 (46:11):
I will I will have all those links in the show
notes so folks can connect withyou and see your work and
hopefully commission a projector get involved in a workshop.
SPEAKER_07 (46:21):
Yeah, they're fun.
SPEAKER_05 (46:22):
Lastly, what what's the one thing you hope your work
will bring to others?
SPEAKER_07 (46:34):
Self-connection.
I I love thinking about howthis, whether they're making it
themselves or resonate with apainting that I've made in the
past, really what they're doingis connecting to themselves.
And I love that.
We're always like the paintingsare a bridge between me and
(46:54):
whoever buys them.
But really, whatever it is thatresonates with them is the
bridge to a deeper level of whothey are and their own
self-connection and and therelationship that we have with
ourselves to me is the mostimportant relationship we can
have.
SPEAKER_05 (47:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And in bringing that to others,what what do you get out of
that?
What does that bring to you?
SPEAKER_07 (47:21):
Oh, I get so excited.
I get so excited becausebecause, right, like you were
talking earlier, that place ofsuffering.
Like I spent so many years notonly feeling unworthy, but but
really apologizing for my ownexistence.
And that is a prison that Inever want people to live in.
(47:41):
And so if people are engagingwith me in my work, there is a
deeper mission of self-love andself-compassion and
self-forgiveness that that isreally my mission.
It and it just happens that itcomes through the tool of art
and creativity.
(48:02):
It's it is constantly theinvitation to love ourselves
more.
And when people resonate with mywork, they want, they're
resonating with that messagebecause that's what that's the
foundation of what my work is.
Even if it's even if I'mpainting something like that's
pretty ugly, quote unquote,really it's like, can you accept
(48:25):
the ugly parts of yourself andlove them too?
Right.
So it all comes back to uglyisn't even real because it's
just a platform for you to loveyourself more.
SPEAKER_05 (48:36):
Interesting.
It's a completely differentperspective for me.
SPEAKER_07 (48:42):
Yeah.
Okay.
Nice.
SPEAKER_05 (48:45):
Well, Devorah, thank you so much for all of your
time.
This has been fantastic.
I love what you do, and I lovethe healing and the awareness
and the self-connection thatyou're bringing to folks.
So thank you for doing what youdo.
SPEAKER_07 (49:01):
Thanks, Helen.
My pleasure.
SPEAKER_05 (49:12):
Wow.
Through Soul Portraits, whatDevorah is bringing to folks in
need of healing from anything: handling grief, navigating (49:17):
undefined
transition, finally conqueringself-esteem, and so many other
things that bog us down, sap ourjoy, and distort our perceptions
of ourselves is trulyinspirational in my opinion.
She shows us it's okay to seeevery layer of ourselves, even
(49:41):
the ones that are dark, ugly, orpainful, and pale them back to
reveal the beauty and the lightunderneath that's being covered
up by lived experiences andmisunderstood perceptions so we
can reconnect with our authenticselves.
If you or someone you love isstruggling, please consider
(50:03):
looking into Soul Portraits tosee if Devorah could help.
Jump down to the show notes forlinks to her work and Soul
Portraits offerings.
And while you're down there,don't forget to connect with me.
All links to my socials areincluded as well.
Thanks for listening, and I'llsee you in two weeks.
Just a reminder: make sure you hit subscribe or
follow wherever you're listeningto this podcast.
And two small things you can doif you enjoy the content that
will have a huge impact on thepodcast.
Tell a friend about us, andconsider leaving a five-star
written review on your favoritepodcast app.
(00:23):
These two small things help thepodcast become more discoverable
to others who may enjoy thecontent.
Thanks, and here's this week'sepisode.
SPEAKER_02 (00:52):
Just being able to be creative like that.
Something I've always wanted.
SPEAKER_03 (00:57):
And then I decided to get another hive, and that
turned into a lot of hives.
SPEAKER_00 (01:02):
As long as I can do that, I want to be a good
citizen.
Help people out.
SPEAKER_05 (01:08):
Putting themselves out there, taking chances, and
navigating challenges along theway.
SPEAKER_04 (01:15):
I I absolutely identified with having stage
right because, you know, anytimeI went on stage, I just felt
like I was having a hot attack.
SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
Very first lap, very first practice session, I
crashed, turned the car upsidedown, made a spectacle of
myself, and I got back on thathorse and started riding again.
SPEAKER_05 (01:31):
As they pursue what makes them happy and brings them
joy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
As long as people are having a good time and I
have the opportunity to putsmiles on people's faces, I love
what I do.
SPEAKER_03 (01:43):
I have done things that I never thought I could do.
To have somebody tell me howreal it looks and how, you know,
from their actual memory.
Because that's telling me Icaptured what I was trying to
get.
SPEAKER_05 (01:59):
Welcome to Assorted Conversations.
I'm your host, Helen.
Hello, hello, hello, and thanksfor tuning in.
I hope you're all doing well.
Here in Massachusetts, it'sstarting to look a lot like
spring, but I'm still waitingfor it to start feeling like
(02:22):
spring.
The snow from our blizzard of2026 is is almost all melted,
believe it or not.
It's only taken a couple months.
The sun is shining, but ifanybody has any pull with Mother
Nature, please ask her to getthe temps out of the 20s for us.
It's almost April for crying outloud.
(02:45):
Before we jump into this week'sconversation, just a few updates
to share.
Previous guest, Mary ElizabethMurphy, who shared her Reset
Your Buttons model with us, hasrebooted her Reset Your Buttons
podcast and dropped season one,Episode 1 on March 24th.
(03:06):
So run, don't walk, to listenand watch and subscribe.
I love seeing what previousguests are up to.
Another update from ParanormalInvestigator Christy Parrish.
She and the Emery Estate wererecently featured on a gripping
and very active episode webseries from SoulSeekers
(03:29):
Paranormal New England.
And she's got more in store forher own series coming up.
We'll keep you posted on that.
Links to the Reset Your Buttonspodcast and the Soulseeker New
England episode are in the shownotes.
Now, this week's conversation isall about letting creativity
(03:50):
become an avenue to heal frompast trauma, transform your
perceptions of yourself, andcreate self-connection with the
truly beautiful, strong, andbrave people we all have within
us.
Take a listen in this week'sepisode, and I'll see you on the
other side.
(04:15):
Today's guest believes art isn'tjust something we create, it's
something that can heal us.
She's a professionalgallery-represented artist of
more than 30 years and thecreator of Soul Portraits, a
transformational process thatblends mixed media art with deep
spiritual and emotional healing.
(04:37):
Her work began with her journey,tearing up journals,
photographs, and mementos fromher life and reconstructing them
into a powerful visual stories.
What started as expressionbecame transformation, releasing
trauma, shedding limitingbeliefs, and reclaiming her
(04:57):
authentic self.
Now, from her Oregon studio, sheguides others to do the same,
helping them turn pain intoempowerment and reconnect with
their soul's truth.
I am so happy to welcome DevorahBrinkerhoff to Assorta
Conversations.
Hi, Davora.
Hey Helen.
(05:17):
How are you?
SPEAKER_07 (05:18):
How are you?
I'm good.
How are you?
Happy to be here.
SPEAKER_05 (05:21):
Oh, I'm happy to have you.
So you're a gallery representedartist for 30 years.
What exactly does that mean?
SPEAKER_07 (05:33):
It means that you connect with different galleries
that like your work and you likethem, and you enter into a
relationship where they'reselling your work and taking a
commission for it.
SPEAKER_05 (05:47):
Okay.
Okay.
And what kind of what what didyou mainly work in?
SPEAKER_07 (05:54):
At the time, you mean what media did I I was
doing oil on canvas.
Like that was that was my go-tofor more than than well, for so
many decades.
I was gonna say more than 30years, which is true.
Mixed media was sprinkledthroughout that and really it
(06:15):
transitioned to predominantlymixed media since since about
2019.
Okay.
SPEAKER_05 (06:24):
And I mean, how how early were you involved in
creating art?
SPEAKER_07 (06:30):
I can't remember a time when I wasn't creating art,
whether it was like mud pies inthe backyard or you know, making
forts out of haylofts, right?
I it's all creativity.
So drawing, like traditionaldrawing and painting, it was
always part of my world, whetherit was coloring books or just
(06:51):
scraps of paper.
I was pretty much always drawingor doodling in the margins of
any paper that was within arm'sreach.
SPEAKER_05 (06:59):
Oh, that's funny.
I used to too.
It never panned out for me,though.
I just didn't have the talent.
SPEAKER_07 (07:06):
I see, I just want to argue with you, Helen,
because I don't think it's abouttalent.
I, you know, I think that itdoesn't have to be a career, but
it is such a source ofwell-being that if you enjoy
drawing and doodling andwhatever creative source that
you have, I was like, get to it,woman.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (07:26):
Oh, that's that's funny.
Because as I take notes, Ieither take them in an outline
or it's a diagram and I havearrows going everywhere, almost
like little mini flow charts.
Yeah, perfect drawing.
So funny.
So as as you worked through 30years as a gallery represented
(07:47):
artist, that's amazing.
That's that's an awful lot ofwork.
What were, you know, as youcontinue to work through and and
work with the galleries, whatwas the experience like?
SPEAKER_07 (08:00):
For the most part, I had really positive experiences
with the galleries.
There were certain things thatare just part of that system
that I want to push back againstand did push back against just
naturally.
I was never somebody that wasgoing to do 30 of the same
paintings.
I there was no way.
(08:22):
So I, you know, I know peoplewho who do do that, and I just
would have been so incrediblybored.
So there was no signature likelook from me.
I think there's a a thread ofstyle, but I was always changing
and evolving.
And so my work really reflectedthat.
When I was pregnant and hadyoung children, I painted in a
(08:48):
very different way, like in away I had never painted before
or since.
And so that work I'm alwayslike, huh.
What version of me created allof that?
And, you know, looking back, Iunderstand it.
Hindsight is 2020.
I understand it a little bitbetter.
But it really, I was one tofollow where creativity wanted
(09:11):
to lead.
And that was always true for me.
Always, always.
Even in the beginning, before,you know, when I was just in
high school and making, makingartwork, I was also taking
classes at the local collegebecause I had run out of new
classes to take in high school.
And people would look at my workand say, well, why won't you
(09:33):
make that prettier?
That why won't you make thatlike more pleasant?
And I and I was like, Well, it'spleasant to me.
And and it was just somethinginternal that I was following.
And so that, if anything, thatwas kind of the edge in
galleries because they wouldnever know what they were gonna
get from me.
And I think that made themuncomfortable.
(09:54):
Not always, because some of whatthey got from me like did
really, really well.
And they're like, I want more ofthat.
And I'm like, well, yeah, it'sif it strikes me, yeah.
Right.
And and so I was even like, it'snot even really striking me.
Like, there's just somethingelse that I'm following.
Yes, it's a part of me, butthere's a bigger thing happening
(10:15):
that I just really respect andand don't mess with, you know.
SPEAKER_05 (10:20):
Yeah, it you know, it it's funny uh thinking about
and and and kind of knowing, youknow, what you do now.
Uh-huh.
Preparing pieces for galleries.
Like I could see like there'sthere's other opinions that are
going to get involved, and I cansee I can sense that that would
be stifling.
SPEAKER_07 (10:41):
Yeah, it didn't work very well for me.
And and and I there was reallyno animosity.
Like I really enjoyed workingwith the different galleries
that I worked with.
I would get frustrated if there,if I received a message of,
well, that's too naked, it won'tsell.
And I'm like, you don't knowlike who's gonna resonate,
right?
There's this like projectedassumption and also with a goal
(11:06):
of selling.
And for me, it was never aboutlike, of course, I want my work
to sell, but more than that,what I really got excited about
and still get excited about isthen when people resonate with a
piece, something inside of themis waking up, coming alive.
SPEAKER_05 (11:23):
Right.
SPEAKER_07 (11:23):
It's their relationship to themselves that
matters.
It was never, and then they thenthey want to be in relationship
to that part of themselves on adaily basis.
And I love that.
Like that's that's amazing.
SPEAKER_05 (11:37):
Right, right.
SPEAKER_07 (11:38):
Well, but I'm not sitting there saying, like, oh,
I'm gonna paint this so I getthat.
SPEAKER_05 (11:43):
That I couldn't do that.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
I'm gonna paint this becausethis is what people are looking
for and this is what's going tosell.
So it's kind of the differencebetween creating for approval
and creating for fulfillment.
Yes.
Yeah.
At what point did you begin tofeel a shift from creating for
(12:06):
approval to creating for truth?
Or was that just your mainmethod all along?
SPEAKER_07 (12:13):
I think that was my main method all along.
When I had a desire orexpectation, when my ego was
involved, because of course itfeels good to sell, like ego is
involved, and that's normal.
I don't reject that at all.
When I started to get reallywrapped up with if something did
(12:36):
well or didn't do well, thatturned me back towards why why
am I looking for that?
What is what is missing insideof me that wants to fill it up
with external validation orapproval?
And it was always a question ofhow can I return to to what's
(12:56):
meaningful to me for me ratherthan the other way around?
It's an inside out kind ofthing.
It starts inside and then andthen reaches the places and
people it needs to reach.
Did I answer that?
SPEAKER_05 (13:09):
Yeah, you did.
You did.
You absolutely did.
When did you first realize artwasn't just something you did,
but it was something that didsomething for you?
SPEAKER_07 (13:22):
That is a great question.
And I kind of giggle now becauseit took me a really long time to
clue into that.
It's only really in the last 10years, 15 years, that I was
like, oh, this is helping merelease my own inner world so
(13:43):
that it doesn't come outsideways, right?
Because prior to that, it wascoming out sideways.
And I just think like if Ihadn't had creativity as an
outlet or wasn't actively usingcreativity as an outlet, I would
have been so much more harmfuland so much more of a mess than
(14:04):
I already was.
So I didn't really, really,really understand what
creativity was doing for meuntil probably about 10 years
ago, where I'm like, oh wow, ifthis is helping me like this,
we're really missing this wholetoolbox, right?
It's it's a whole nother, I justwant to say, like, basket of
(14:28):
gold that we don't really dropinto and and utilize, and and we
could, right?
Yeah, we we we really could geta lot out of it.
SPEAKER_05 (14:36):
Yeah, I I I think, and again, my you know, it's
just my opinion.
I I think a lot of folks look atdoing art, painting, sculpting,
you know, doing anything likethat as relaxation and just
relaxation and enjoyment.
(14:57):
And and I don't think a lot alot of folks, although art
therapy has been around foryears, I I still don't think
mainstream folks view creativityas as a means to help them heal
from trauma and from stresses.
SPEAKER_07 (15:13):
Yeah.
No, I think it's really easy todismiss.
And there are so manygatekeepers within the creative
fields that say only if you goto that school, or only if you
got into this dance company, oronly if you're, you know, a
five-star whatever chef andwhatever restaurant in whatever
city, then you're a legitimatesource.
(15:36):
But but as soon as it becomeslike a pressure, again, means to
an end kind of outcome, we losesight of how like joyful it is
inherently, just when we're inthe process of making, simply
for the to see where it's gonnatake us, right?
(15:57):
Like I sometimes know where apainting is going, but I never
know how it's gonna get there.
I might have an idea before Iget to the studio or a dream I
had, an image that caught myeye.
But for the most part, there isno end goal.
I and and I feel like it isdisrespectful to the process, to
(16:19):
the open-endedness of andpossibility to say, I'm gonna
make it and it's gonna look justlike this, and this is how.
And some people work like that,and that's great.
And there's nothing wrong withthat.
That has not been where I havegotten that hit of
self-connection and joy andpeace and freedom, the kind of
(16:39):
moving from my mind into myheart wisdom, which is just
joyful.
Like it feels so good.
And so it's that feeling.
Again, I can't go into thestudio and say, well, I'm going
for that.
It either happens or it doesn't.
But I it's more like turning achannel out of one, out of
personality, out of expectation,and entering into a different
(17:03):
space that says, I am open andready.
That's gonna be so liberating.
SPEAKER_05 (17:07):
Because, you know, when I think of my day-to-day,
it's you know, there's a lot ofthings you do because they're
expected of you or you'reresponsible for them.
And to be able to cut loose andjust be creative and say, this
pen is gonna go wherever it'sgonna go, yeah, has to be really
liberating.
And but but very hard to do ifyou are so used to being
(17:32):
buttoned down and beingresponsible and doing what's
expected.
SPEAKER_07 (17:37):
It's true.
It is hard.
And I think, especially with thepeople that come to me, they're
very used to following directionand wanting to know how and what
steps to follow in order to getsuch and such result.
And and so much of what I teachis is like, can you suspend all
(17:58):
of that and enter into a deeperplace inside of you that already
knows and to practice thatinternal self-trust?
And it's practice, right?
It takes time to turn off therules and to tune into
possibilities.
SPEAKER_05 (18:15):
Yeah.
I'm sure you you hear it prettyoften.
I don't have a creative bone inmy body.
How do you help coach somebodythrough that?
SPEAKER_07 (18:28):
Well, I just say that it's emphatically not true.
And we're all born creative, andwe each have our own creative
language, our own fingerprint ofcreativity that helps connect us
to us.
So, whatever that is, right?
It can be gardening, it can becooking, it can be dance, it can
(18:50):
be music, it can be a podcastlike what you're doing.
Like we all have the creativelanguage that's unique to us.
And so the joy is finding outwhat lights you up, and that is
your creative language.
So we we tend to make it sonarrow, like what is creativity?
And I just want to really openup that definition to what makes
(19:15):
you excited, joyful, and whileyou're doing it, lose track of
time.
Whatever that activity is, iscreativity.
SPEAKER_05 (19:26):
And so, since you've discovered all of this for
yourself and within your work,what was going on at the time
that you kind of put the piecestogether and it led you in the
direction of creating soulportraits?
SPEAKER_07 (19:45):
Well, I was in a really, really dark time in my
life.
I had just been sued by myparents and my husband's parents
and excommunicated from myfamily.
Oh god.
And um, I did not know what todo because I didn't know who I
was without them.
(20:06):
And we had certainly had adifferent challenging
relationships.
I had always been that that onein the family that kind of quote
unquote didn't belong, like inthe Sesame Street pictures, like
which one doesn't fit.
I didn't really fit and I made alot of people uncomfortable, not
(20:26):
intentionally, but just the wayI move through the world is a
bit challenging, I guess, forfor the rule following, kind of
very, I don't know how to sayhighly educated.
Do this to get, yeah, do this,get this degree, and then get
(20:47):
that level of success.
And, you know, so I I washeartbroken and I was dealing
when I got pregnant, I it was ahuge triggering part of my life.
And it uncovered that I hadalways wanted to have children,
(21:08):
like really always.
And when I finally got pregnant,I was like, why don't I feel
over the moon?
And it wasn't just because I hadterrible all-day sickness, it
was because I had an earlychildhood sexual abuse history
that I had completely buried anddid not know of.
(21:28):
And so having something elsethat wasn't me in my body felt
very wrong to my body.
And all of my alarm bellsstarted going off.
And it led down this 10 yearprocess of sort of uncovering
what that means.
And really, in doing so, much ofmy early life started to make
(21:53):
sense.
So actually, it was a relief tohave that information.
SPEAKER_05 (21:58):
I am so sorry that's happened to you.
SPEAKER_07 (22:01):
Well, it was awful, right?
Like, and and for me, there'sand it was interesting because
there was a moment, severalmoments at different times where
I'm like, I don't want to dealwith this.
Like, I don't know how to dealwith this.
And more than anything, I'mterrified of what will happen if
I actually say what's going on.
(22:22):
Like, what is the fallout goingto be?
And and that heartbreak, theonly way I knew how to deal with
it was to lean in, right?
Because I I couldn't stand thisidea of people thinking so
poorly of me, but I alsocouldn't change how they felt
about me.
There was no amount ofexplanation that was going to
(22:44):
shift their viewpoint.
And so I reread all of thoseletters and I reread the legal
documents and I sifted throughphotographs and I revisited, you
know, fear and anger and hatred,but I also revisited love and
connection and support.
(23:04):
And in doing so, it was so clearto me that none of it, it was
all experience.
And underneath thoseexperiences, at the end of the
day, who I am underneath thoseexperiences is what matters.
And can I live from that versionof myself?
(23:24):
And that's what soul portraitsare all about like ripping up
the layers and the limitingbeliefs and the false
identities.
Like, who are we beneath those?
And every time I rippedsomething up, it was like a
little somatic relief.
I didn't have to, I didn't haveto explain my story.
I let the materials speak forme.
(23:46):
I didn't have to worry aboutgetting the words right.
I didn't have to worry aboutdefamation.
I didn't have to worry aboutany.
I just let the materials speakfor me.
And I was making everything moredigestible.
Every time I ripped somethingup, it became something I could
integrate and automaticallyacknowledge.
(24:08):
Like I could acknowledge everyversion of myself that I was
revisiting and saying, I seeyou.
SPEAKER_05 (24:14):
Right.
SPEAKER_07 (24:14):
And I haven't seen you, right?
Like I've exiled you myself,I've pushed you away, I've
judged you, I've criticized you.
And in this process, I'macknowledging you, I'm accepting
you, I'm allowing you to havethe space.
SPEAKER_05 (24:28):
Yeah, it was something that happened to you.
It is not you.
Exactly.
So what was your first step ingetting to that point, but then
discovering that, hey, thismight be able to help other
folks too.
SPEAKER_07 (24:45):
Well, that same day, because I just it was probably
like four or five hours that Ispent like revisiting and
ripping and gluing materialsdown.
And I stood back and I I I wassort of in this just other
world, right?
The world of creativity.
But I stood back and realized inthat moment what I was doing and
(25:09):
it and and I felt so different.
There was such very potent senseof relief that there was this
awareness in this process ofknowing that just what you just
said, like this experiencehappened and it's not who I am.
(25:30):
It doesn't define me.
And that was a it people say Ilike AI says it all the time and
it drives me crazy.
And I'm just about to say it.
It was a game changer to realizethat.
Like, like everything shifted,and and I realized that it's all
perception.
Everything is learned,everything.
And we we were our lives arebeing run by these experiences
(25:54):
of a seven-year-old or athree-year-old, and that those
are the programs running in thebackground.
And without awareness, likewe're sort of powerless to do
anything about it.
And I felt the change inside mybody.
It was like releasing stuckenergy, and I was a different
person in a matter of hours.
SPEAKER_05 (26:11):
So you pretty much realized in the moment that you
were healing.
SPEAKER_07 (26:17):
Yeah, I don't know that I would have said, Oh, I'm
healing.
I just felt like such a sense ofempowerment and relief.
And then I spent the nextprobably four years doing that
on repeat for myself, just likemore and more and more.
What other layers can I peelback?
What else can I let go of?
Who am I underneath this layer?
Who I am, who am I underneaththis next layer on repeat?
(26:41):
And then I and then I was like,oh, I'm going to open up the
invitation to friends andfamily, and then I'm gonna open
up the invitation to thecommunity and then really see
like how this can help otherpeople in real time.
SPEAKER_05 (26:57):
Yeah, so it became not just your personal process,
but something that you couldshare with others.
SPEAKER_07 (27:05):
Yeah, I felt like I had to.
Like despite being a totalhermit and not really liking to
be in front of an audience or acamera, I was like, I I have to
because this is too powerful andtoo easy not to.
SPEAKER_05 (27:23):
How did you come up with the name Soul Portraits?
SPEAKER_07 (27:27):
There are so many iterations.
I I feel like lived experiencekind of piles on top of our
essence, on top of who we reallyare.
And so this idea of peeling backto get to the core of who we
are, and that underneath it allis the soul that we came in
(27:47):
with, the soul that wants us toexpand and experience freedom
and joy and empowerment.
So they're not really about anykind of likeness or capturing,
because who can capture a soul?
Right, but it's more about canyou reconnect with the truth of
who you are, aka your soul.
(28:10):
And so that's that's how thename came to be.
SPEAKER_05 (28:13):
And what makes this different from traditional art
therapy?
SPEAKER_07 (28:19):
I think of therapy in general as going in to just
talk, talk about your life.
I think of art therapy astalking about your childhood,
and I think of soul portraits asworking with the literal actual
materials of your life and yourchildhood to see what they have
(28:40):
to say, that version of you.
I really believe in energy andthat our we leave, we have an
energetic signature that likeour fingerprints are the same
from birth till death.
So I think of soul portraits asthe energetic signature.
(29:02):
And when we pick up a letter ora photograph, the energy of who
we were when we wrote orreceived that letter, when the
photograph was taken, is in thephotograph.
It's in the letter.
And I don't even care if youmake a photocopy of the letter
or the photograph, it's then inthe in it gets transferred into
(29:24):
whatever it is that you'reworking with.
So I think of our materials as adirect representation of those
versions of ourselves,energetically speaking, and that
when we're working with them, wego back in time to when those
experiences happened.
And as we engage with them andreally acknowledge them, then
(29:46):
they're free to move on.
And we've released all of thisenergy that's like trapped in
our body.
SPEAKER_05 (29:51):
When when somebody sits down to create a soul
portrait, well, actually, youoffer this in in a couple of
different ways.
Why don't you share the thedifferent ways folks can connect
with a soul portrait?
SPEAKER_07 (30:06):
So I there are there are three different ways.
One is a workshop, and I tend toorganize those around like a
certain a specific experience.
So divorce or suicide or orveterans, for example.
And then people can also get geta course and do it themselves in
(30:29):
their own in their own space attheir own pace, and they can
come back to it as they'reready.
So there's a lot of flexibility.
Well, there's really a lot offlexibility with all of them,
but that's the course.
And then the third option is acommission.
And so people send me theirmaterials and I do it for them.
And the same thing happens, it'sjust energy.
(30:49):
And it doesn't really matter whois witnessing the energy, it
matters that it's witnessed, andthat's what helps it move.
And so people often send metheir materials when they are
struggling to engage with theirmaterials themselves because it
they feel flooded by it if it'stoo overwhelming or too
upsetting.
(31:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (31:11):
And so But does the final piece actually help them?
Like what where is their healingor what did they get out of the
commissioned piece?
SPEAKER_07 (31:21):
So I love it when I love explaining this to people
as like you go ahead and send mewhat you think is unacceptable
and and so quote unquote uglyabout you, and I will send you
back your beauty.
So when people work with medirectly, I am witnessing them,
their story, their livedexperience, but through a lens
(31:44):
of love and compassion.
Because I've made like so manyof my own mistakes and have
really walked through my owntrenches, there's no part of me
that wants to judge anyone.
And I'm talking, I have satacross the table from people who
have murdered, raped, sexualviolence, like the whole nine
(32:06):
yards.
And it's, I have a lot ofcompassion.
It's not about judging anyone.
Again, I'm not condoning it, butI'm saying, how do we hold this
so that it we can stop thecycle?
And part of that is likeallowing stories to be told,
whatever they are, whichincludes everyone who's been
greatly harmed by them.
(32:27):
I can go down so many rabbitholes there.
So I'm gonna try and stay ontrack here.
So the process itself is likethree-pronged.
The materials are about honoringthe past.
The there's a portion of it inthe in the center of the middle
of the process that is reallymeant to anchor who people are
(32:50):
right now in the in the moment.
And so if I'm working with them,there's a little bit of a back
and forth.
Like what poem, what quote, whatfree writing do you feel
captures you in the moment rightnow that resonates right now?
And I'll rewrite that in my ownhand to capture and anchor who
(33:10):
they are now.
And then the over image, whichis the main focal point of the
piece, is who are they steppinginto?
What is the beauty and powerthat they are ready to step into
as a reminder about what'spossible and who they know they
are underneath all of it.
So, so that's so that when theyget this piece back, what
(33:34):
they're really focusing on isremembering that they've
survived everything and thatthere's a chance to step into
somebody who's more powerful,more free, more empowered, and
excited about who they'rebecoming.
So, who have you been and whoare you becoming is what they're
(33:55):
about.
SPEAKER_05 (33:55):
Oh, fantastic.
Well, what are the typicalreactions when folks get their
pieces?
SPEAKER_07 (34:01):
So I always get a little nervous because the over
image is channeled essentiallyand very much based on the
material and what images comethrough while I'm working with
somebody's material.
So I never ever know what it'sgonna be ever until it's done.
And then they never know whatit's gonna be.
So I make sure ahead of timethat people like resonate with
(34:23):
my style, but really they feelsuch a sense of relief, whether
they're doing it themselves in acourse or a workshop or or me
doing it for them, it's a it's asense of relief.
And like, oh, I didn't have anyidea like how beautiful I am,
(34:43):
right?
That's like because I'm seeingtheir power, I'm seeing their
beauty, I'm seeing their love.
So, and then I'm showing themthat version of themselves that
they have a hard time trustinginside of themselves.
I think trusting is the rightword that they don't know is
possible.
(35:04):
So I I show them their beauty.
And so when they look at it,they're reminded, oh, wait a
second, I'm more than I thoughtI was.
I'm more than this experience,I'm more than the divorce, I'm
more than this, whatever.
SPEAKER_05 (35:16):
I think everybody can can use a little of that,
even if there isn't, you know,past trauma.
I think everybody's got thisstinking thinking voice in their
head and need to check up fromthe neck up on occasion.
SPEAKER_07 (35:28):
Yes, totally.
All the time, really.
Yes.
SPEAKER_05 (35:31):
For for folks that do the the workshop with you and
they want to do it on their own,but they they want your input.
Um when they sit down with you,what are they often bringing to
you?
SPEAKER_07 (35:47):
Do you in a workshop or in what in the court?
Like so people have access tome, you know, they can ask
questions.
Is that what you're asking?
Like in a community coachingkind of thing.
SPEAKER_05 (35:57):
Um like in your in your workshop.
I'm assuming I'm just picturingthat there are, you know, five
or six people coming to theworkshop because they want to do
it themselves.
They want to do it in person andthey want some guidance from
you.
So, you know, what are the typesof materials folks bring?
SPEAKER_07 (36:12):
People bring people really what I love is that they
know what ahead of time, likethey have an idea pretty
clearly.
Because the question is alwayswhat is the experience that
you've had that you feel like isstill like really getting in
your way or running the showfrom from behind the scenes or
next to you or taking over thecar ride?
(36:35):
They bring those materials.
So often it's you know, lettersand photos and journals and all
of that, but people, one personbrought like hundreds of bottles
of nail polish because she shehad been in a uh very violent
relationship, and her ex hadactually tried to kill her.
(36:59):
And in the really I know it getspretty dark, in the
relationship, he chose heroutfit, and every day she had to
paint her fingernails andtoenails to match whatever
outfit he chose.
And and so she brought nailpolish and dumped them out,
Jackson Pollock style, on hercanvas, and then in nail polish
(37:22):
over the top wrote trust yourgut.
And that was her piece.
And so, yeah, and it's anything,anything goes.
People have brought in metals,people have brought in that
they've then smashed and likeput the chunks on it.
People like really anythinggoes.
(37:43):
People have brought in ashes forloved ones who have passed when
I'm doing a commission.
Sometimes people send me ashesto fold into the paint that it
turns into this remembrance, youknow, that goes beyond an urn or
a burial plot that says, here itis.
I'm honoring my relationship tothis person, and I've given
(38:06):
grief a safe place to land outof my own body.
Wow.
Like, how do I address how do Iaddress these two babies that
were born, still born, or right?
You know, so so people know whatit is that they want to bring,
and there are no rules.
Like you will know.
SPEAKER_05 (38:24):
Wow.
What what changes do you witnessin your clients as they're
working through this?
And and again, probably talkingmore about the folks that you
see in a workshop.
SPEAKER_07 (38:36):
I see people practice that connection to
themselves in real time, whichfeels good.
And so it's this starts off withhow do I do this?
Am I doing this right?
Is this okay?
This photograph isn't layingdown well.
Like there are tricks to how toget the materials to do what you
want them to do.
(38:57):
But more than anything, thetransformation goes from
questioning and uncertainty toI've got this.
Like, I know how to do this.
I just am following this innerpart of me, and it feels so good
to do that.
And then they know what it'slike to tune into their
intuition, to tune into theirown answers, their inner wisdom,
(39:22):
and take that out into theworld, into their daily lives.
And so it's that sense of reliefpaired with empowerment that
happens in a matter, well, itdepends on how long the workshop
is, but the length of theworkshop.
SPEAKER_05 (39:38):
Wow.
That's fantastic.
Does any does anybody ever reachback out to you and check in or
do you reach out to formerstudents?
SPEAKER_07 (39:47):
I try to leave them alone unless they want to
connect with me.
I love hearing from them.
And I love it when people likeI'll get out on a random Tuesday
afternoon, somebody will send mea snapshot of their piece that
they made and say, Oh, I justnoticed this thing that I hadn't
seen before, and I got this newinsight, and it's so awesome.
(40:09):
Or notice how the sun hit thiscorner, or thought of you today
because I felt a reconnection tomyself that I haven't felt since
the workshop.
And like it's so nice to hear.
Yeah, I love hearing frompeople.
SPEAKER_05 (40:25):
It's beautiful.
But for someone who feelsinvisible or unsure of their
worth, where would you tell themto begin?
SPEAKER_07 (40:35):
That's such a great question, Helen.
It's that's a really hard placeto be.
And there's a reason why they'rethere, right?
And so I really want toencourage that that that lens is
a learned lens.
It's not the truth of who theyare.
(40:57):
And if they lean into ratherthan avoid where that came from,
if they were to lean into it andstart asking questions about
where did I first receive thismessage and what materials are
associated with that message?
And is that message really true?
Do I want to keep that messagealive?
Do I want to do somethingdifferent?
(41:20):
And of course we want to dosomething different.
Are we willing to sit withfeeling that lack of worthiness
and question its truth?
I would ask them to beginrevisiting their the different
versions and layers ofthemselves.
(41:40):
And ask, like, what's underneaththat version?
What's underneath that layer?
Because if we peel it backenough, we're gonna get to this
ember inside of us that is justpure love.
And that's that's where therelief is.
I like that.
SPEAKER_05 (41:55):
I like that a lot.
SPEAKER_07 (41:57):
Like, keep going, just please keep going.
SPEAKER_05 (42:00):
Yeah, yeah.
I uh but I can also see, and andI've been in that in the uh
situation at times where you youcan't see the forest through the
trees or the trees through theforest, however that goes.
SPEAKER_07 (42:14):
Yeah, exactly.
Me too, and it's extremelypainful, and you have to take it
on faith that you're more thanyou think you are.
Yeah, like always.
SPEAKER_05 (42:24):
Yeah.
Why do you believe creativity issuch a direct pathway to the
soul?
SPEAKER_07 (42:32):
Because I think we're all born creative, and I
think that when we are in thatspace of doing something
creative, again, whatever yourcreative language is, I feel
like it connects us to ourinherent divinity.
So, and I and I don't think youcan if if you're in that space
(42:53):
which is so joyful, I think it'shard to dismiss the power of it.
And and if we started to live intrust of our creativity, just
imagine what the world would belike today.
SPEAKER_05 (43:07):
Right.
My God, all the problems willwould be solved.
SPEAKER_07 (43:12):
Right?
Everyone needs to do a soulproblem.
There you go.
And maybe several.
Several.
I mean, seriously, I've done somany.
It's like a meditation now,right?
Like it's just meditation.
It's just another form of ofself-connection, which
meditation is.
So creativity is play, right?
Creativity is play.
(43:33):
Play connects us to that otherpart of us that is what I think
is our our divinity.
Yeah.
And and what a great way to movethrough the world, like through
play.
And again, like if play for youis is cooking, like I don't like
cooking.
I would love to come eat yourfood.
So, right?
Like we can all work together sothat our creativity is in
(43:56):
benefit, is in service of all.
SPEAKER_05 (44:00):
What a great world it would be.
Right.
So what's what's next for foryou and for soul portraits?
SPEAKER_07 (44:09):
Well, more and more are commissions.
Like I started doing mini soulportraits just because they're
they're they're more practical.
Like I love working large.
My my work can be like six byeight feet wide.
Not very I love it.
Not very many people have thatwall space.
(44:30):
So I started making little oneslike for people on on the
outside of journals.
So to make really personalizedgifts for for somebody who loves
to journal or small eight byeight inch ones, which was a
challenge for me to go from likeseven by eight feet to um to
eight inches.
I'm like, there's no way.
And then it I it turns out thatit's really quite fun.
(44:52):
And the materials just they Ifollow them, I follow their
lead.
And I always ask for more thanwhat they think I anybody can
use.
But that's really what I'm doingmore of now, so that they can
fit into small little nooks oron somebody's altar.
Or I mean, people have such neatceremonies these days.
(45:14):
So they're soul portraits partof it.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (45:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (45:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (45:19):
Where can folks find you on the internet and see your
work and learn more about soulportraits in case they want to
connect?
SPEAKER_07 (45:28):
So I have a couple of different pages on Facebook
and on Instagram.
On Instagram, it's just my name,Devorah Brinkerhoff.
That'll take you to SoulPortraits.
And DhakeArt is also onInstagram, and that will take
you to my art page.
And they there's so much overlapthere because one just naturally
(45:49):
leads to the other.
Right.
Um, and and that's the same forFacebook as well.
I have a Soul Portrait page,which is just Soul Portraits
with my names, and DevorahBrinkerhoff is sort of like a
mishmash of both of them, andthen an art page, Devorah Haik
on on art on Facebook.
SPEAKER_05 (46:11):
I will I will have all those links in the show
notes so folks can connect withyou and see your work and
hopefully commission a projector get involved in a workshop.
SPEAKER_07 (46:21):
Yeah, they're fun.
SPEAKER_05 (46:22):
Lastly, what what's the one thing you hope your work
will bring to others?
SPEAKER_07 (46:34):
Self-connection.
I I love thinking about howthis, whether they're making it
themselves or resonate with apainting that I've made in the
past, really what they're doingis connecting to themselves.
And I love that.
We're always like the paintingsare a bridge between me and
(46:54):
whoever buys them.
But really, whatever it is thatresonates with them is the
bridge to a deeper level of whothey are and their own
self-connection and and therelationship that we have with
ourselves to me is the mostimportant relationship we can
have.
SPEAKER_05 (47:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And in bringing that to others,what what do you get out of
that?
What does that bring to you?
SPEAKER_07 (47:21):
Oh, I get so excited.
I get so excited becausebecause, right, like you were
talking earlier, that place ofsuffering.
Like I spent so many years notonly feeling unworthy, but but
really apologizing for my ownexistence.
And that is a prison that Inever want people to live in.
(47:41):
And so if people are engagingwith me in my work, there is a
deeper mission of self-love andself-compassion and
self-forgiveness that that isreally my mission.
It and it just happens that itcomes through the tool of art
and creativity.
(48:02):
It's it is constantly theinvitation to love ourselves
more.
And when people resonate with mywork, they want, they're
resonating with that messagebecause that's what that's the
foundation of what my work is.
Even if it's even if I'mpainting something like that's
pretty ugly, quote unquote,really it's like, can you accept
(48:25):
the ugly parts of yourself andlove them too?
Right.
So it all comes back to uglyisn't even real because it's
just a platform for you to loveyourself more.
SPEAKER_05 (48:36):
Interesting.
It's a completely differentperspective for me.
SPEAKER_07 (48:42):
Yeah.
Okay.
Nice.
SPEAKER_05 (48:45):
Well, Devorah, thank you so much for all of your
time.
This has been fantastic.
I love what you do, and I lovethe healing and the awareness
and the self-connection thatyou're bringing to folks.
So thank you for doing what youdo.
SPEAKER_07 (49:01):
Thanks, Helen.
My pleasure.
SPEAKER_05 (49:12):
Wow.
Through Soul Portraits, whatDevorah is bringing to folks in
need of healing from anything: handling grief, navigating (49:17):
undefined
transition, finally conqueringself-esteem, and so many other
things that bog us down, sap ourjoy, and distort our perceptions
of ourselves is trulyinspirational in my opinion.
She shows us it's okay to seeevery layer of ourselves, even
(49:41):
the ones that are dark, ugly, orpainful, and pale them back to
reveal the beauty and the lightunderneath that's being covered
up by lived experiences andmisunderstood perceptions so we
can reconnect with our authenticselves.
If you or someone you love isstruggling, please consider
(50:03):
looking into Soul Portraits tosee if Devorah could help.
Jump down to the show notes forlinks to her work and Soul
Portraits offerings.
And while you're down there,don't forget to connect with me.
All links to my socials areincluded as well.
Thanks for listening, and I'llsee you in two weeks.
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