I have been NCSW’s registrar from its earliest days. As a professional potter, I was so grateful for the chance to engage with other potters and to learn from the amazing clay professionals that NCSW brought to the Northeast, that when the position opened, I offered to contribute my database skills.

In 1993, I founded and ran Vermont Clay Studio, an educational center with a ceramics exhibition gallery which had exciting monthly shows of the work of artists from around the U.S. But after 9 years as Executive Director and a total hip replacement, I reluctantly moved away from the crafts world to follow new personal and professional interests, and a strong desire to help cultivate consciousness, creativity & compassion.

I had a deep awakening experience while doing dream therapy and was moved to share my new insights through teaching. So I began to offer clay classes on “creating from the unconscious” … an attempt to foster technical and personal growth in others and myself. It was exciting, and impactful for my students, to explore using creativity as a tool for self-development.

Then I was introduced, by a community of Vermont Sufis, to the Enneagram—a profound personality system and tool for self-awareness, that was amazingly accurate and practical. I decided to study it, and trained for 6 years, and became an expert, certified to teach and coach using the Enneagram (for more info: enneagraminstitute.com).

Besides the Enneagram work, my creativity and intuition now find expression through the Soul Collage® process (official site: soulcollage.com). This is an expressive arts practice done individually or in community; it works with the language of symbols, dreams, and archetypes. It encourages self-discovery, and provides a way to do personal inquiry as a means to access inner guidance. Basically the cards form a deck with four suits, focused on aspects of one’s inner and outer life. So, for instance, you identify one of the many inner parts of yourself (like “Inner Observer,” or “The Bitch,” or “The Gardener,” or “The Perfectionist”)--or you identify an archetype that is arising in your life (like the Creator, Light Bearer, Healer, etc.)--that you want to get to know better. Then you create a 5” x 8” collage on poster board stock; these become your own personal tarot deck. The images are powerful sources that carry lots of metaphorical wisdom that one can consult when one wants to—like if you’re at a crossroads in life, or have a decision to make, etc.

I have a BFA in ceramics from Mass. College of Art in Boston; I trained as a painter before moving to ceramics. 3D is my “home” but I love the visual arts, too, and thoroughly enjoy collaging right now. During my life, I have used clay, paint, wood, words, and collage to put form to experience, to explore and keep my imagination alive. I believe creativity—the possibility and solutions it finds—is necessary more than ever in our time.

Here is a sampling of six of my cards: Out of the Frame; Mom (deceased); 4th Chakra, Gorilla Wisdom; Light Bearer; Authenticity; The Gardner.

By Jeanne Haskell, NCSW Registrar