Tessa Elisabeth shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Tessa , it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Painting. Art is my main channel for creativity, and although getting to work in a field I love is a dream, sometimes I forget the joy of why I loved to do it so much in the first place. I have a fond childhood memory of painting acorns with my mother. As far back as I can remember I’ve always loved the arts, but painting is the one I truly enjoy the most. No matter the season that life has thrown at me, picking up a paint brush is my favorite way to express what I’m feeling and always helps me find myself again.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Tessa Elisabeth, I am an artist and creator. I began Moon Sluice in 2016 as a channel for my creative endeavors. Starting out as a creative writing outlet, it has grown into a much larger, ever evolving project. My personal art style is very vibrant, I use lots of color inspired in large part by nature and the people around me. I like to animate everything and invent lively characters that tell a story with symbolism that often carries a deeper meaning. I of course share my own artistic creations, but my focus lately has been on teaching therapeutic art workshops and curating art events in my local community. Moon Sluice is a brand with a mission to inspire and build a world of conscious creators, healers, artists, etc. The aim is to make and share art that awakens what Carl Jung dubbed “the collective unconscious.” This intention flows as an undercurrent in every project that I pursue. I recently completed an Art Therapy Certification, and am very interested in the benefits that the process of art making has on the mental wellbeing of human beings and society as a whole. The name Moon Sluice comes from a small road sign I read driving in the North Georgia Mountains once, “Moon Sluice Path.” A Sluice is a passageway that allows water to come through when opened, and the moon has long been associated with the unconscious, and the pull it holds over the ocean’s tides. As we know our bodies are made of mostly water, and if the moon has such an effect on the tides of the ocean, how too must it effect our Earthly bodies. So in short, a Moon Sluice is any being that keeps the “sluice” of the heart open to the messages of the unconscious, allowing spirit and unique creativity to pour through.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Ah, human connection, a necessary and difficult dance. It could be said that some of us spend our whole lives searching for the key to this quest. I like how this question has an equality feature to it, posing the cause to the breaking as well as the potential of restoring a bond amongst two beings. If I’m thinking of my personal experiences with bonds that have broken, I would say my reasonings for really cutting someone off has stemmed from disrespect of personal boundaries after repeated attempts at calm communication seeking agreement. When I say agreement, I’m including the ability to agree to disagree. Some beings are not capable of peaceful parting due to their own inner turmoil. This often leads them to lash out which can take forms of manipulation, and harmful behaviors, often crossing the rules of engagement that had been formerly agreed upon. It is disheartening when this happens, because if you do love and respect yourself, at the point when someone continuously disrespects you, it begins to impede on your pursuit of happiness. So at what point do you have to pull out your sword simply to defend yourself? Ideally, and I am known to be an idealist, I believe if we just don’t see eye to eye, there’s no reason we can’t part peacefully. Best of luck on your journey, I must be on my way to mine, ya know?
As far as what restores a bond, I would say acknowledgement of former harm done to another and an ability to at least sympathize, if not empathize with the pain of another must be present. After that, actions following the new agreement after reparation must be made. Otherwise, the same dynamic will repeat and it would become a loop of constant ups and downs, never moving forward or evolving. I would say most bonds don’t break from intentional disrespect or hurt, but rather from miscommunications. Perhaps someone said something based on their understanding and another understood it from a differing perception and felt slighted. Communication and a willingness to put yourself in another’s point of view are crucial if that gap is to be bridged. There can be no reparation without communication and a willingness to examine and potentially shift ones own perception on a subject. This is where I believe some of the most magic in human bonds can transpire. When authentic communication happens, and differing viewpoints are able to meet and alter each other, new ideas and ways of being are born. It could be said that were it not for our ability to exist in relation with one another, we may not exist at all, for we would all be one. From the one came two, then three, then four, etc. In my opinion, our bonds are a major part of what make life worth living, and restoration of a broken bond is always cosmically beautiful.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
How strong my will is. Nothing will teach you how strong you really are like the feeling of sitting in your pain with no end in sight. Especially when you created the problem. Every illusion of escape will beg you to give in to the easy path, but you know the only real way to the other side as a whole and hopefully better being is to allow the suffering to transform you. Surrendering means losing some part of yourself as a result, and an acceptance of whatever new image wants to take shape. It can be easy to get caught up in identifying with suffering too, rather than releasing the old version of you that suffered, and allowing a new paradigm to form. If all I had ever experienced was success, I would surely be met with a hard time the moment of my first failure, which would ironically enough, cause suffering. There are many paths up the mountain, but I think pain is a key in an alchemist’s toolbox for spinning gold.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
Balance of power. No matter what it is, a classroom, a group of team members, a family, a community, if there is not a balance in the power dynamics, as a consequence, the structure will descend into chaos. This is the cyclical nature of existence itself: Chaos, Formation, Order, Rigidity, and Chaos again. I’d like to think I hold pretty firm to keeping power dynamics in check no matter the situation, which has a tendency to put me at odds with anyone who is in power and seeking to keep it that way. “Everybody wants to rule the world.” I’m not saying I’m not willing to follow a good leader, but I believe a good leader maintains a balance of power by surrounding themselves with others who keep them in check. This might look like remaining open to changing a technique if it is necessary for the good of the whole. However, I often find it an unpopular persepective, that even if I strongly believe in a cause, if the person leading it has become too rigid to hear when the way they are running things has become harmful, then perhaps it is time for a reformation.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
All the time. I think it’s only human to never stop seeking the next frontier. I’ve found that sometimes too, the journey to accomplish a certain goal can change you so much that you no longer desire as much what you originally sought out to attain. That’s okay though, metamorphosis is fun. I do feel though that over the years I’m learning to stop for a moment, at least, and appreciate the view before beginning the descent on my way to climb the next mountain.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.moonsluice.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonsluice.art
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonsluice
Image Credits
All images are my own.
