nü Native Air and nü Native Earth were created with a team of creative people.  I worked with photographer Kevin Thom, bodypainter Sue Upton and designer Lissa Hill.

Like most of my ideas, the idea for this shoot came to me while I was hiking in nature.  I had already created the bean headpiece for last week’s photo and I knew I wanted to do more with it to pull out the rich browns and earthy colors. I was walking in Canterbury Hills in Ancaster, and I saw the tall grasses swaying in the wind. I thought this would be the perfect setting for another bean headpiece creation.

I started sketching possibilities.

I had extra bean pieces and created fingers that attached on to my own fingers.

The rust colored dress with black velvet leaf patterns was something Lissa Hill and I worked on together the year before. I had never really used the dress. It felt as if it was waiting for this shoot!

In order to pull the dress and the head piece together there needed to be some kind of body painting or tribal touch to make it feel earthy rather than too glamourous. I worked with Sue Upton to create the bodypainting to match the leaf pattern on the dress and echo some of the bean shapes.

Kevin Thom and I drove out to Canterbury Hills. It was a very cold day with strong winds that made the bean headpiece sound like a rattle every time the wind blew by.

We created a video from this shoot. You can watch the video here.

We also created 2 images.

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‘The Legend of nü’ Laura Hollick photographed by Kevin Thom. Makeup by Sue Upton.

Behind the Scenes creating The Legend of nü photo

It started on a fabric shopping adventure where I found the most beautiful magenta fabric with black poka-dots. It instantly reminded me of the nü symbol for the nü Business Mentorship Program.

I knew I wanted to created something with it so I started sketching possibilities. I never really know how something is going to turn out. I just dive into the creative process and let the process lead me and teach me what its message is.

I worked with designer Lissa Hill to bring my design to life. I’m great at imagining things, but not so great at tailoring. Lissa is a dream to work with, she started her design journey as a coutour Wedding Designer so she is masterful at making elaborate outfits fit seamlessly.

While on a hike one day I discovered dark brown bean-like shapes that had fallen from the tree. I instantly got the vision to use the beans to make Medusa-like hair. I collected them up and laid them out to figure out how I could transform them into hair.

I used a glue gun to attach the beans onto a hat form. The hat was then secured to my head using my hair. I love how they create a storm of aliveness!

Sue Upton created the magenta mask to match the magenta dress.

I wanted a mask to bring focus to the eyes. When we are creating the nü paradigm so much of the journey is about how we look at things and how we perceive our reality. I wanted to show that we can see the world the way we want.

Of course I needed to do some laundry before heading out to do the photoshoot! Being a Creative Spiritual Entrepreneur is about blending and balancing all aspects of life into one thriving ecosystem!

This photo was created in collaboration with photographer Kevin Thom. He is my creative soul mate. We have created dozens of photos and videos together. He totally gets my vision and evolves it to another level. I’m always blown away by what we create together!

Kevin and I scouted out the perfect location to do this shoot and we discovered this calm beach in Burlington Ontario.  These are test photos to get the lighting set up.

I love how the final image creates the appearance of a pending storm. I feel the nü paradigm is like a storm, but a storm of our own creation. When we perceive our reality in the way we desire we can view the storm as generating the energy needed to create the life we desire.

To watch a video from this photoshoot  click here

To learn more about the nü Business Mentorship Program

Watch for the new season coming soon!

We will be exploring the theme THRIVE in Soul Art TV Season 2.
What does it mean to you to THRIVE as a Creative Spiritual Person?

Ugly….was all I could think during a painting session this week.

Have you ever started a project with high hopes only to discover part way through it isn’t going the way you had hoped.
What to do when you have great expectations that aren’t panning out?!

Get your creative juices flowing with this quick exercise:

1. What are 5 things you can think of when you think of the color pink?
2. What are 5 things sticks could turn into?

To your creativity!

With his eyes wide open he allows himself to be available for the magical occurrences of reality. Then he applies his technical savvy to capture that moment.

I have personally worked with Kevin for many years. We recently published a book of our work called ‘live your spirit’.

I asked Kevin to be part of ‘The Photographer’s Series’ because I respect his work so deeply and I was curious what he would do for his photo.

Usually when we work together I bring a million ideas to the table. I come up with the concept, costume, set and team required to make a vision happen. For this shoot we worked very differently….

Kevin was solely responsible for the concept and vision of the shoot, and my role was to be a model and support his vision as best I could.

His concept for ‘The Photographer’s Series’ shoot was inspired by a musical track called ‘String of Pearls’. Kevin wanted to create something visual to express the idea of a string of pearls.

'String of Pearls' Laura Hollick photography & concept by Kevin Thom.

To create the pearl look he had me wearing a white wig, a silk wrap and a string of pearls. Everything in the composition was selected to add to the pearly feel.

We created two versions of the ‘String of Pearls’. Both have a dreamlike quality, but one focuses on white, while the other uses blue in the background and captures more of a funky atmosphere.

I guess a string of pearls can really work with many different modes and flavors.

Which one do you feel best communicates the concept of a ‘String of pearls’?

'Pearl Shower' Laura Hollick. Photography & concept Kevin Thom

To get the inside scoop on Kevin’s creative process, you can listen in on our conversation in ‘The Photographer’s Series’ interview.

To listen to the interview with Kevin Thom click here

To learn more about Kevin visit his website at www.kevinthom.com

My dad, Joseph Hollick, is an engineer. I grew up watching him design, build and construct things using his creative and logical mind.

When I started creating art, he taught me how to turn my imagination into reality. He instilled in me the necessity to use both the right and the left brain. I learned early on that if I wanted to create something it had to work both logistically and creatively.

Laura Hollick with her Dad, Joseph Hollick creating dragon sculpture. Photo by Sabrina Armani.

I often go to my dad with a sketch of one of my wild ideas and say:
“Can you help me build this?”
and he always says: “Yes”

I think he enjoys the challenge.

Every sculpture I’ve ever created has been influenced by my dad. Whether he was there building it with me or not, all of my construction knowledge comes directly from him.

Laura Hollick creating dragon sculpture with her dad, Joseph Hollick. Photo by Sabrina Armani.

During the creative process I can get a bit…..uhmmm…..crazy! (you know what I mean)
My dad always stays level headed and helps find a solution that fits.

Dragon sculpture framework, created by Laura Hollick with the engineering guidance of Joseph Hollick. Photo by Sabrina Armani.

This dragon sculpture would probably still be a pile of sticks if it weren’t for my dad.
When I was out hiking I discovered all these glorious sticks. I could see knees, legs and a head in them, but I wasn’t sure how to get it to stand up securely.

Dragon sculpture. Photo by Diana Wiggins.

It was a real engineering feat (and to be honest a complete experiment) to discover the dragon sculpture could withstand the Canadian elements. This sculpture was created for an outdoor exhibition I had at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. It was during the summer that had many torrential downpours. This photo was taken on one of the very few sunny days that summer.

Pink Dragon. Photo by Kevin Thom.

This dragon has seen many transformations, as have I. But because it has a solid foundation it can continue to grow and evolve. This is such a metaphor to me. Growing up with my dad has given me such a solid foundation, I know I can be and do anything!

Thanks Dad!

I’ve been a big fan of Jamie Brick for years. His work is stunningly beautiful and he manages to capture a magical quality in everything he creates. I recently had the opportunity to meet him and be a model for one of his sculptures.  Here is an image of Jamie’s sculpture using a cast from my body.

Laura Hollick by Jamie Brick. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Jamie works out of his studio in Kingston Ontario, which he calls ‘Bear Bottom studio’.  His current work involves taking casts of people’s bodies and transforming them into fantasy characters from his imagination.

Jamie Brick in his studio. Photos by Kevin Thom

I volunteered to be one of his models, curious to experience his creative process and eager to see how he would transform me into one of his magical creatures.

The process of having a cast done is quite intense. I was covered with a purple goop then layered with a cast material. It takes about half an hour to dry, which meant I was standing there naked for half an hour unable to move. There was a big lesson in patience and stillness during this experience. Here are some of the pictures from the process:

Jamie Brick creating a cast of Laura Hollick. Photos by Kevin Thom.

I’m endlessly fascinated by the creative process. Everyone has their own unique way of entering ‘the zone’ where magic flows. Being part of Jamie’s creative process was inspiring. I interviewed him after we had gone through the process to dig deeper into his journey as an artist and understand where it all comes from.

To listen to an interview with Canadian sculpture Jamie Brick click here
To learn more about Jamie Brick visit www.jamiebrick.com

When I’m in nature I often get visions and flashes of ideas that put me in direct communication with spirit. To honour these experiences I do what I can to make the visions a reality.

I had a vision of merging my body with a bird body, which is the basis of the ‘Red Bird Body Painting’ piece.  I approached body painter and makeup artist Sue Upton to see if she would collaborate with me on this project. She is a powerful creative force, so I knew that we could come up with a way to make this happen.

Here are some of the preliminary sketches as we try to figure out how this idea is going to become a reality…

Once we figured out a pose and a composition for the piece, we had to figure out what the bird would look like. Here are some of the sketches showing the various birds that were considered before finally deciding on the final one.

Here is the final bird painting…

This is a life size canvas bird painting, which serves as the backdrop for the body painting.

Although I am a painter myself, I felt it was important for Sue Upton to paint the bird so that it would match her body painting style.  She did an excellent job.

Creating this piece was a two day job.

There was a lot of preliminary work involved in figuring out the details for this piece.  The actual photoshoot was quick considering all the prep. time.  The final image was photographed by Kevin Thom.

Here I am as the Red Bird….

‘Laura Hollick as Red Bird’. Photographed by Kevin Thom. Painting& body painting by Sue Upton.

Body Painting is a unique creative process where the body becomes the canvas and the ground for an idea to take shape.  There is a quote by Henry Miller, that I’ve really taken literally:

“Whoever uses the spirit that is in them creatively is an artist. To make living itself the art, that is the goal.”

To me, this means that the true art is to become a living breathing expression of your spirit.  Body painting is one of the ways that allows me to become the art.

Do you want to see more body painting pieces I’ve been part of?

Check out when I was transformed into a tree with birds CLICK HERE

See how I was transformed into a blue forest CLICK HERE

Join me as I take you up the ladder of truth to tell you where all of my art and ideas come from….

To learn more about the upcoming LAUNCH Soul Art Workshop CLICK HERE
There are only a few spaces remaining in this workshop. Reserve your spot today!