Yuletide Felicitations

Perhaps a little late, but we are only on the Third day of Christmas after all! I hope yours is a glorious Yuletide and a magnificent New Year!

UPDATE:

In case anyone was curious about who all these creatures are, here is a nifty key to their identities...

Ōut 'n' a-bōut

 

Winging It

A while ago I performed a Soul Retrieval for a client which turned into a Faery Doctoring session when we found out that the soul part I was retrieving also needed to have retrieved for her, the wings that she'd left in the Faery realm when she decided to incarnate as a human this time around. As an energy exchange for my part in bringing those wings from their world to ours, the Fae requested that I draw a comic about the experience - The two page comic below. I originally drew it after the session and only just finished inking it.

If none of the above makes sense to you and you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about, here are a couple links to my Perching Wolf Studios website where you can find information about Soul Retrieval and about Faery Doctoring. Meanwhile, please enjoy the comic below! 

 

If I Could Talk To The Animals...

I just started taking this class, for the second time, where we go to the various area zoos to communicate with the animal ambassadors, collect their prayers, and then do fire ceremony to release their prayers for them. We had our first session the other night where we did a shamanic journey to connect with an animal spirit guide to ask for guidance on how we can better connect with animals. This was my experience...

 

M-O-U-S-E

 I've been going through a lot of changes, and a lot of tears, lately. One of the things coming up again and again is my dreams of a cartooning career. I've been so focused on getting my Shaman practice going I haven't really been moving in the direction of my comics, at least professionally. So I've been pivoting slightly to learn how to bring my comics more into focus as a profession alongside my shamanic business. 

Then I watched a documentary on Mickey Mouse. Tears welled up in my eyes as parts of me started waking up that I'd forgotten. Looking beyond the sleek corporation empirical image, I once again was able to touch the innocence and magick I knew as a boy. The excitement returned that I once felt with every new Disney movie or cartoon for the new worlds I'd explore and the new friends I would meet. Through tears the realization dawned on how absolutely influential Walt Disney was on me. Pretty much everything about who I am today, from my whimsical, dreamer heart, and my belief in magick and wishing on stars, to my optimism and my spiritual outlook I owe in large part to Walt Disney.

“Remember, it all started with a mouse.”

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 27

The story of last year's Vision Quest continues! To read the entire series thus far, please click on the 'Dismem-boar-ment' label below. To read both pages of this current chapter, please click on the 'Ancestor Elder' label below. 

Thank you so much for reading!

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 26

And thus begins the next 'chapter' within my grander chronicling of my adventures on a Vision Quest from last year. To read the entire comic up to this point, please click on the "Dismem-boar-ment" label below. Thank you so much for reading! <3

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 25

After a long intermission, here is page 25 in the continuing retelling of my experiences on a Vision Quest last year. This page completes the portion of my quest where I met Herne the Hunter, but don't worry - There's plenty more to come! 

To read the Herne chapter, please click on the 'Herne' label below. To read the entire comic thus far, please click on the 'Dismem-boar-ment' label below. And to remain up to date with my latest comics, please click the 'Follow' button on the sidebar.

As always, thank you so much for reading! <3 

 

Xanadu

 

The Vulture Eagle

Recently I took a 6 week class with John Lockley, a South African Shaman, or Sangoma. Part of our class was tracking our dreams, and this was the most memorable dream during that time, 

UPDATE

I thought I was done with this page, but something seemed to be missing, so I started fiddling with it, adding stippling for some contrast, and ended up with this...

 

Drumbag

Just another typical day in the life of a shaman...

 

Whose Line, Dr. Quinn?

Before I started my Drawing Breath comic, drawing comics directly about my life and experiences, I drew a series of comics about my life and experiences through the interaction and conversations of my comic characters, kind of Mystery Science Theater 3000 style. I find it actually very healing as it allows me to step out of my head and observe my life from the outside as if it were a sitcom or something, bringing that extra little mental space for a healthy perspective. Plus it allows me to laugh at myself and remind me of the wider story arc and Hero's Journey that is my life. As Oscar Wilde said, "Life is too important to be taken seriously." With my trio of commentators, that is not a problem.

As of late I've gotten drawn into (literally) comics that are more involved and longer to finish, which is great, although it leaves little room for the fun day-in-the-life kind of comics that chronicle more of the inner workings and daily idiosyncrasies of my life that I love and miss doing. I am committing myself to at least a couple times a week drawing those comics which reflect more accurately the underlying vitality that makes up my life and supports those longer, more involved story lines. 

It's amazing what you can learn about yourself by drawing comics! 

p.s. There's an inside joke here in that I've realized over the years that, if I'm stressed out I tend to watch endless hours of Whose Line Is It Anyway, and if I'm dealing with romantic/heartbreak issues I tend to watch endless hours of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. :)

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 24

Here is the 24th page in my comic chronicle of last year's Vision Quest, in particular the part where I encountered Herne. To read the entire comic thus far, please click on the Dismem-boar-ment label below, and to read just the section about Herne, click on the Herne label below. Thank you!

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 23

Continuing with the story of last year's Vision Quest, and my meeting with Herne the Hunter. To read the entire series thus far, please click on the Dismem-boar-ment label below, and to read just the Herne portion, click on the Herne label. 

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 22

At the beginning of the comic, when I connected with Artemis, I figured enough people were familiar enough with Greek mythology that she probably didn't need an introduction. On my last comic page in this series, however, I introduced Herne the Hunter, and knowing that not as many people had heard of him, an introduction seemed appropriate.

I still remember vividly the moment I first read the words "Lord of the Forest" because they resonated so deeply inside me. There is a tightly knit web within me of my love of animals and nature, of camping and archery, of childhood heroes (Tarzan, Daniel Boone, Davy Crocket, Robin Hood) and my matron goddess Artemis, of the wild and innocent Unicorn heart that beats in my chest. Herne, the Lord of the Forest, is hard-wired into me. He's who I want to be when I grow up, which makes the pages immediately following this one so extremely humbling. 

Stay tuned!...

To read all the previous pages of this series, click on the Dismem-boar-ment label below.

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page21

Page 21 of my chronicle of last year's Vision Quest, and the first page of the next mini-chapter within the whole narrative, concerning my meeting with Herne the Hunter. Stay tuned!...

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 20

Here is the next page of my ongoing chronicle of my Vision Quest from this past September. It's kind of an in-between page, holding space between the Oak Bear story and the next little adventure. I'm already signed up for for this coming September's quest, so I'm hoping to have this all finished before then. :) 

 

Rocky Roots

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 19

And here it is -- Page 19 of my comic, chronicling this past year's Vision Quest, and the final page of the story-within-the-story of Oak Bear, a story told to me by a friendly oak tree while I was on my quest.

To read the entire comic so far please click on the Dismem-boar-ment label below. To read the complete Oak Bear story, please click on the Oak Bear label below. 

And thank you for reading!! 💖

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 18

 Here's the second to last page in my Oak Bear story, within the bigger context of this series chronicling my most recent Vision Quest this past September. To read the rest of the Oak Bear story so far, please click on the Oak Bear label below. And if you'd like to read all the previous pages up to this point of my vision quest, please click on the Dismem-boar-ment label.

Thank you for reading and please subscribe to this blog to remain updated on my latest comics! 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 17

The continuing story of the Oak Bear within the bigger story of my most recent Vision Quest. To read all of the Bear story so far, please click on the Oak Bear label below. To read this whole series thus far, click on on the Dismem-boar-ment label. 

 

Dismem-Boar-Ment page 16

Here is the next page of this story within a story from my Vision Quest in September. If you'd like to read the rest of this story thus far, click on the Oak Bear label below. To read all the previous pages of this series so far, click on the Dismem-boar-ment label