Awakening Artistry | Success Stories: Celebrity Spotlight

Celebrity Spotlight: Jan Phillips

Jan Phillips' own quest has led her into and out of a religious community, across the U.S. on a Honda motorcycle, and around the world on a one-woman peace pilgrimage. Blending east and west, art and activism, reflection and ritual, Jan's transformational presentations inspire consciousness and commitment. A visionary with her eye on the future and her heart in the present, she is an invigorating speaker and story-teller who weaves music and imagery into all her presentations. Her biography appears below.

1. Tell us about a time when you were in fear about your creative career journey and you didn't think it would go anywhere...

There was a time, before I committed 100 percent to believing in myself, that I vacillated between faith and doubt in my ability to support myself as a working artist/author/activist. In my moments of doubt, I'd check the classified ads looking for jobs I could stand to do, but nothing ever matched my vision. When Marry Your Muse came out in 1997, I quit the job I had as a writer for financial publications and declared out loud to everyone I knew that I would never again have a traditional job or anyone over me I called a "boss." I started to perceive myself as a woman of great wealth, considering my newfound riches of time and freedom. I worked as hard on marketing and left-brain business building as I did on my creative projects, and eventually worked myself into the day when I knew I could leave doubt behind and let my faith carry me forward into the life I know I came here to live.

2. Tell us about a time when you were feeling confident about your creative career journey and you absolutely knew you were going to be okay....

I know I'm going to be OK everyday because I live my life in joy and service. I dedicate a portion of each day to the Great Silence, and every decision I make is informed by this Essence. I feel that I'm in collaboration with the Creative Spirit and my courage and diligence is rewarded with success on every level.

3. How did you discover your passion?

By responding to the crises of my times. I made a peace pilgrimage around the world from 1983-85 and as a result of this published my first book which has opened all other doors to me. The motivation was to use my art in the service of peace (I traveled with slideshows and music from the U.S. Peace movement through 22 countries, sharing my work with thousands of people.) It gave us an opportunity to find our oneness and it transformed my spirituality, my politics, and my sense of identity.

About Jan Phillips:

Jan is the author of God Is at Eye Level - Photography as a Healing Art (Quest Books, 2000), Marry Your Muse - Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity (Quest Books, 1997), Making Peace - One Woman's Journey Around the World (Friendship Press, 1990), and editor of A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind (Breakthrough Press, 2000). In Spring 2005, Skylight Paths Publishing is releasing her new book, Divining the Body—A Pilgrimage to the Sacred Self.

Jan teaches annually at the International Women’s Writing Guild Summer Conference (http://www.iwwg.com) and conducts creativity and spirituality workshops throughout the year. She has taught in over 23 countries and has had her work published in the New York Times, Spirituality and Health, Ms. Magazine, Newsday, Christian Science Monitor, New Age Journal, National Catholic Reporter and Utne Reader.

Marry Your Muse won the 1998 Ben Franklin Award presented by the Publishers Marketing Association and the 1998 Athena Award presented by Mentor/Protégé Magazine. Making Peace was placed on the recommended reading list for United Methodist Women. Jan has a CD of original music, All the Way to Heaven, and Sounds True Audio has released a 6 tape program of her work, The Marry Your Muse Workshop (http://www.soundstrue.com).

Her photographs have been exhibited at the National Women's Hall of Frame, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Los Angeles County Museum, Tyler Art Gallery, the Children's Museum, Sarah Lawrence College Gallery and in several international venues.

She is a co-founder of Syracuse Cultural Workers (http://www.syrculturalworkers.org) publishers and distributors of socially-conscious artwork, and was the editor of their Women Artists Datebook, In Praise of the Muse, for three years. She has won awards for outstanding writing and photography from the New York Press Association, the National Organization for Women, the National Catholic Press Association, the National Federation of Press Women, the National Religious Press Association and the Syracuse Press Club.

As an artist/activist, Jan's commitment to spiritual healing and social justice resonates in her work. She weaves music, humor, imagery, and stories into presentations that inspire and inform her audiences.

Read other Celebrity Spotlights:
     Steven Lane Taylor
     Mark Albion
     Shawna Carol
     Raphael Cushnir
     Bonnie Marson
     Oriah Mountain Dreamer
     Various Celebrity Wisdom
     Jan Phillips
     Scott Cluthe
     Tim McCarthy
     Rhonda Britten

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