lil paw$

thank u kindly 2 Creatrix Magazine 

4 publishing "lil paw$." 

https://creatrixmag.com/lil-paw/

"Tuning into the waning beauty and wisdom of the Moon/La Luna 🌚💜 @kelly.shaw.nyala shares with us 3 poems following dreamscapes, heartaches and cycles of the divine female human body ..."

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a few notes on my book writing

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"my book is personal storytelling ~ 

this storytelling is as art-centered as possible-- i pull from my body of creative concepts + share my performance art imagery as it aligns with my words.   

i also discuss my recovery related to (living with) Complex PTSD, the healing of intergenerational trauma, my path as a pattern-breaker, & more. 

... hope is often the thread, & beauty always winz, but a bitch is also getting hella real & a lil ratchet, which i acknowledge is an approach that won't be 4 everyone."
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“The speaking will get easier and easier.
And you will find you have fallen in love
with your own vision ... And you will lose
some friends and lovers, and realize you don’t
miss them. And new ones will find you and
cherish you. And at last you’ll know 

with surpassing certainty that only one
thing is more frightening than speaking your
truth. And that is not speaking.” -Audre Lorde

** “I want to get to that place where

I don’t have the strength to 

hide anything.” -Bobbi Jene

** “In understanding your past, you
give your present and future, a
chance.” -Chani Nicholas

** “Forbidden anger, women could find no 

voice in which publicly to complain; 

they took refuge in depression.”
-Carolyn Heilbrun

** “Telling your story is a part
of thriving.” -Reverend Saundra Porter Thomas

** "Shame dies when stories are told in safe places." 

-Ann Voskamp

** "Sharing our stories is a form of self-care. When we see ourselves in each other we open a gateway of permission to feel less alone, less vulnerable, more fortified, more free." -Rachel Cargle

** "To cancel generational curses, stop keeping family secrets hidden." -Stanley Carter

** “If you are silent about your pain, 

they will kill you and say you enjoyed it.” 

-Zora Neale Hurston

** "Gentle reminder: When you are not verbalizing it,

you're storing it. Speak your truth." -@sistersvillage

** “We can transform silence into language 

and action.” -Audre Lorde

** “Check in with the ways that you
justify changing the truth to protect
others’ feelings, or more accurately,
to protect others’ feelings about you.” 
-The Hoodwitch

** "You're a victim until you're able to 

articulate your victimhood-

and then you're a threat." -James Baldwin

** “... radical forgiveness permits you to
do some internal reflection, remove the
victimization, feel the feels, and reveal
to heal.” @amberthealchemist

** “Once you become aware, 

you become responsible.”
-Iyanla

personal concept:

i don’t need to start over;
i need to speak up.

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diary of a meltdown has been forming for some time-- since shortly before my 35th birthday in July 2017. in February of 2018, i gave the project its working title-- i also began to collect and organize focused research. in late April of this same year, i conducted two pertinent interviews for the project too ~ all shortly after i got my hands on a treasure of an ETHNOGRAPHY about the relationships between
foreign women with the local men of Puerto Viejo,
Costa Rica, the place i'd called home the last 3 years.
holy shit, did the light bulbs start to go off--
i had the framework for what i'd experienced; there was
compassionate scientific data that was helping me to
understand the experience i'd personally had in the last
year+ in an abusive relationship.

peep me on INSTAGRAM for creative updates along the way.
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CREATRIX MAG: silverfish

i am so excited 2 team up with the beautiful artists of CREATRIX MAGAZINE!! read my poem published to their forum-- silverfish.

this poem is very cancerian for its dreamy memory richness. often, my realm of dreaming is so very intertwined with the serene & shamanic experiences of my daily (waking) life, which u may see/feel both in my poetry & performance art. 

thank you, Katie Cercone & Jana Astanov. 🐾

~ image: words laid upon a Marissa Arterberry Oya inspired watercolor ~

#CREATRIX #CREATRIXMAG #CREATRIXCULT #sisterhood #therealest #womenartists 

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Artist's Statement

kelly shaw nyala (née Willman) is an experimental/outsider performance artist. as a performance artist, she blends sound, installation, & ritual- she gravitates towards sites in nature.

her largest project to date, new/mind/ritualz, launched in the spring of 2014; it is a 56-movement performance art offering released one movement at a time. n/m/r ultimately explores memories, demonstrates moments of personal growth in the present, & invokes rituals of healing + action for the collective future.

 

with deep listening & humbled permission as the foundation, the artist navigates ongoing intimate conversations with womxn creatives, medicine women, Indigenous elders, social justice voices, & trauma survivors, resulting in art material that threads itself throughout new/mind/ritualz.

 

kelly praises Gawd/Gawde$$ as Black & Femme- an honoring that appears in her every work. she expresses rich relationships to Oshun, Yemaya, Oya, Mami Wata, & prepares to spend time with women in Afrika. in addition to a daily art practice, an Afrikan-rich spiritual practice inspires her deeply.

 

kelly identifies as an empath + introvert, a feminist, bruja, reinita, bad bitch, homebody, poet, writer, rapper, beadworker, a practiced shadow worker, mental wellness advocate, generational trauma pattern breaker, an anti-rape activist, independent researcher, & an experiential voice on recovery with Complex PTSD.

 

the artist's work has been highlighted on The Global Fund for Women's blog, Alexandra Arts, ART 511 Magazine, & CREATRIX Magazine. she was recently a part of EMINENT DOMAIN, an intersectional feminist explosion held in the art district of NYC's Chelsea at the former Robert Miller Gallery.

 

kelly was raised among the cornfields of Eastern Iowa, & has lived in Brooklyn, Costa Rica, Thailand, & Philly.

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projects:

~ new/mind/ritualz as on going.

~ book: working title, diary of a meltdown. creative writing that is personal, pastel-infused, & intermittently research-driven.

~ post production: debut short film, we were bb armadillos, a DIY + lofi expression that safely encapsulates the full-bodied emotionality of the human experience whilst highlighting the artist's complicated cord-cutting from the Caribbean of Costa Rica.

~ kelly's golden rose: my one-woman art biz featuring beaded adornment, zines, art prints, & more.

~ brewing: my debut EP releases as audio, then becomes a visual album (!) ~ upcoming: participation in Emomé Art Festival in Togo, West Africa (2023) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (sacred beingness) * i am in a self-loving relationship with me & me- i reclaim this relationship as my priority. * i reclaim my right to self-heal, to be the sweetest mother to myself. * there is nothing wrong with me. (repeat often.) i reclaim & treasure my humanness. * i reclaim my right to understand & choose healthy relationships with fellow humans- these bonds are rich, trustworthy, & lasting/sustainable. * i reclaim my right to an inner-circle & an abundance of solitude. intimacy is gorgeous medicine sometimes- so is my intentionally orchestrated alone-time. * i reclaim my ancestor's wisdom by coming back to the Earth & living more simply, quietly. time spent in nature is always a solution. * i am defining my personal feminism. i reclaim my right to invent my own way. * i dismantle patriarchal conditioning, shame. by reclaiming my personal power & growing my voice, i encourage the collective, namely fellow women, to do so too- this is work from the inside out, an ongoing practice. * i claim my right (my consent) to be seen & experienced as an artist. it is your choice to view (or not) my work- my creative intention is not one of imposition. * i embody & deny no part of my descent ... the exploration of all shadows. i do not hesitate to speak about my sadness & rage, which is real, but not constant. i therefore reclaim my right to be whole, not just shiny & performative to please or peace-keep.

* i trust myself more & more & more.

* i am ultimately RISEN into my divine feminine- on my own terms & in my own time. i accept that i may waiver. when i waiver, i bathe in honey-rivers & pastel-oceans ... i reach to a trusted gal-pal.

* i speak to the injustice i see in the world, not as a graceful expert, but as a human who is learning. i protect marginalized peoples & promote equality within all cultures. * i continue to exercise forgiveness of myself & others- this practice is on-going. i acknowledge my ability to make better choices now vs. then. * i live in JOY as often as possible. in living joyfully, my inner-child is incredibly active. i create stability for myself & i self-care voraciously- it's an unapologetic priority.

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influences/interests:

Audre Lorde, Reverend Saundra Porter Thomas, Irma Kaye Sawyer, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Lorine Niedecker, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Erykah Badu, Miss Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, Angel Haze, Alewya, FKA Twigs, Tyler the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, 6lack, Erik Schoster, Steve Narvaez, BLK ZEN, BigChief Demond Melancon, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ana Mendieta, Yayoi Kusama, Yoko Ono, Sage Stargate, N3VLYNNN, Raisa Flowers, Arhia Kohlmoos and each of her sisters, Beth Breese, Marissa Arterberry, Shay DeGrandis, October Abel, Sierra Frost, Ashley Hess, Tarana Burke, Gogo Ekhaya, Gogo Thule, Indigenous/Tribal Cultures (particularly the wisdom of elder womxn,) bitchcraft, ghetto brujas, dreamwork, non-traditional yoga & meditation approaches, Shamanism, animal medicine, darkhorse juju, enchantress juju, ice queens, the ocean, sea creatures, floating, personal space, personal power as reclaimed & forever intact, privacy, quiet, discernment, glitter, legacy, loyalty, pitbulls

concepts:

holyhoney

honey-meets-fire

ratchet-grace

*circle of protection*

©: kelly shaw nyala, 2019-forever

 

SUPPORT the ARTIST 🍓🍓🍓

kelly shaw nyala by Megan Murray
for new/mind/ritualz

kelly shaw nyala by Statia Grossman