Kiala Givehand is a multi-passionate artist, published poet, bookbinder, printmaker, fountain pen collector, and road trip warrior who is passionate about astrology, sacred

geometry, mandalas, other ancient intuitive guidance systems, and storytelling. She believes in surrounding herself with ordinary humans who live extraordinary lives and gathering with people who make her laugh and love uncontrollably. She lives a life intent on cultivating happiness and, along with her husband Damon, is the co-creator of the Sacred Makers Soul Retreat @ Squam Lake. Kiala guides women from all over the world through creative & spiritual awakenings and teaches them to find what makes them happy and pursue it without regrets. She is on a mission to demystify creativity, spirituality, and handmade books in order to make them accessible to anyone who wants to gather their ideas, images, and stories in order to deepen their relationship with the Divine.

She is the creator of the Mixed Media Inspiration Deck, the visionary behind Pull Pen Paint, the hands that created The Book-in-a-Day YouTube series, a SoulCollage® facilitator, a Cave Canem fellow, a Voices of Our Nations (VONA) alum, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Follow her shenanigans on Instagram. 

Instagram  Website  Online School   Creative Tools

What does Art is Magic mean to you? 

I used to think that only a select group of people were chosen to be artists. I thought they somehow had been given these magical powers that made them able to create, draw, illustrate, and bring forth powerful images from thin air. I thought they were filled with magic. Then I learned to bind my own handmade journals and I felt my own magic emerge. Art IS magic. It has the ability to pull out of us that which we have yet to discover. Art and magic live inside us from birth; living with intention and connecting to our intuition is how we reveal them. When I sit down to create, write, draw, stitch, or bind a book, I am conjuring magic that ends with my definition of art. I am creating out of thin air, just like those chosen one's I once envied. And here's the thing...you were chosen too. You are magical too. This class -- Art is Magic -- is about helping each of us remember that we have magic living inside us. 

 What is currently inspiring you? 

For the last 10 years or so I have been increasingly obsessed with all things sacred, divine, and esoteric. I've been devouring books, classes, and conversations where we talk about astrology, tarot, sacred geometry & mandalas, divination, goddesses, numerology, and law of attraction. The things that surround these discussions and all of my research keep me inspired and full of ideas for things to write and create. I'm inspired by what feels joyful and nourishing. I follow those feelings and allow the words "WHAT IF" to support me. I'm also inspired by others creatives who also identify as seekers, mystics, healers, and guides because when we are in community, we are stronger and more inspiring to each other. Lastly, I am finding more and more that returning to "old" creative projects is inspiring me, so I guess I am inspiring myself. 

Do you have any creative rituals?

Absolutely. I thrive on rituals & routines in my daily life, so my creative practice is no different. Some of my tried-and-true rituals are: 

1. I light candles in my studio space to clear and shift the energy before I sit down to begin. 

2. I write down 10 things I am grateful for before any creative work starts in my space. 

3. Meeting once a month with my creative community for art making is one of my favorite rituals. 

4. I have a special invocation I read when I am feeling a lull in my creative energy. This always helps me remember how sacred, special, and magical my hands are. 

5. And of course, using my Mixed Media Inspiration Deck as a way to start a creative session is one of my favorites.