Book Review of Sacred Art A Hollow Bone For Spirit Where Art Meets Shamanism by Imelda Almqvist As a sacred art student of Imelda’s I was eager to get my hands on this book. Her teachings have had a profound impact upon me journeys within journeys unfolding and unfurling as the art is created. This is a truly inspiring book taking you on a journey of the history of art from rock paintings through to “modern” day art. A journey which shows how art, region, science, alchemy and cosmology were all once interwoven and how unfortunately they became split in our need to break things apart. Your thoughts, ideas, perceptions of art are stretched – everything is art when you look around and within. And then another journey is embarked upon a journey of self-discovery as you are invited to drop down into a new place, to hollow yourself out, deeply immerse yourself in a place that has no room for ego. For me at the Introduction to Sacred Art Workshop the most important and powerful part was starting by burning my limiting beliefs and this book does the same. The first activity is burning your own limiting beliefs, all thoughts of I am not an artist, I can’t draw, paint, create, will fade away as you drop into a new place as you become a hollow bone and you begin to make your own Sacred Art; with opportunities to meet other beings, gods, goddesses along the way, work with them and let them speak through your art. Imelda begins to weave all that we have split apart back together and encourages us to do the same and encourages and inspires you to see how they are all interlinked, all part of the one web of life. Imelda’s passion and thirst for the subject shines through, her excitement at continuing to learn herself, inviting you the reader to delve into the work of other authors and artists; new books to learn from and art videos to watch. The same can be said for your own work during her Sacred Art Retreats; journeys become deeper and a richer experience, the art created afterwards continues the journey, more is revealed within the words, the colours, the fabrics, all are part of the journey. The art is interwoven with all that happened within the journey and more, weaving back together the threads of all that has been broken. Her teachings will take you to another level coming away feeling that something magical and profound has happened to you and your life will never be the same again. As you weave your way through the book and activities I feel sure that you will begin to look at art and the world around you in a whole new way. You may well find some of your beliefs of not only yourself but the landscape around you challenged and this in turn encourages an exploration and work with your own shadow. No artistic skills or shamanic experience required. This book does exactly what it says; it teaches you how art and shamanism meet and how you can create with them. Best of all it’ll widen your perception of art and allow you to let your ego move aside and make your very own Sacred Art. Sacred Art isn’t something to be just read about, it is something to do, something powerful and profound. I urge you to fully immerse yourself in this book, to become a hollow bone unleashing your inner artist from shy stumbling steps to liberation. https://www.sacredawakenings.co.uk/single-post/2019/02/25/Book-Review?fbclid=IwAR0LmMw_U0KFPOXzh6eWLqRRD_WnF8icpO1QO9XaoalCEeF ~ Lyn Hill , Independent Blog Review at Sacred Awakenings: https://www.sacredawakenings.co.uk/single-post/2019/02/25/Book-Review?fbclid=IwAR0LmMw_U0KFPOXzh6eWLqRRD_WnF8icpO1QO9XaoalCEeF9tIreXDFyUzE

Sacred Art, a Hollow Bone for Spirit is a new book from Imelda Almqvist. As the title suggests, this is a book about sacred art. However, it’s published by Moon Books (this is where I first ran into Imelda) and Moon Books is not set up to do lavish, image-heavy publications. As a consequence, this is a book about sacred art that doesn’t have any images in it. This limitation has, I think, paid off rather well and led to a book that invites its readers to think and imagine rather than showing them what sacred art is. The art in this book exists primarily in your head. By this means, you might start to see the forms sacred art could take for you, rather than being focused on what other people have done. There is nothing to be intimidated by, or directed by about how the art *should* look. How you imagine the art as you read the book may well take you towards your own process of sacred art-making in a way that being shown other people’s work might not. In many ways, this is a philosophical book. There is a steady stream of small activities to explore, but the bulk of the book is an investigation of the nature of sacred art. As someone who trained as a fine artist and has worked with art in various capacities for many years, Imelda knows a great deal about art. She’s also been working with shamanism for a long time, and is well qualified to speak about the role of art in a spiritual and shamanic context. While shamanism is the focus of the book, you don’t need to be on that path to benefit from reading it. I think this is an ideal text for people exploring the bard path as well. There’s so much to chew on about how and why and what we create, that anyone interested in exploring any form of creativity linked to any Pagan path will likely find something they can use. In the absence of art, and being light on the how-to instructions, what this book leaves you with is the clarity that sacred art is something you do. It’s not something other people tell you how to do. It’s not something other people can give you marks out of ten for. You do not pass or fail on human terms here. If you can take onboard the philosophy and open yourself to working in this way, what follows is your personal journey, for which no maps are available. For anyone serious about this journey, the book is rich with suggested reading and other resources to check out. You could take this on as a workbook and treat it as the core content of a spiritual art course, read all the extra materials, do all the exercises, and see where it takes you. Equally, you can read it from a place of curiosity and see what sticks. Imelda is clear that everyone needs creativity and everyone has the scope to be creative. For some, that will mean a devotion to sacred art, but the rest of us will benefit from whatever we are able to do. Find out more about the book here – http://www.shaman-healer-painter.co.uk/info2.cfm?info_id=225883 ~ Nimue Brown, Druid Life blog, Independent Blog Review: https://druidlife.wordpress.com/2019/02/24/sacred-art-a-hollow-bone-for-spirit/?fbclid=IwAR2Gok4H-wqFtGNpGl920Reed_bE_sr1B5aWk9ePSzyvEF3aEKEOjU9v1iw

What a gift Imelda Almqvist's work is for our global community! Rarely have I met someone with such a spiritual and creative force. Imelda has truly studied through research and her spiritual practices the deeper ceremonies that shamans have performed for tens of thousands of years. And shamans and shamanic cultures share the mysteries of the universe through their art. Imelda has brought the power of Sacred Art alive so we can once again inspirit own lives, our living spaces, and our community. Sacred Art is a remarkable book filled with a wealth of insights and stories that will inspire you to step into the magical world of art and craft. ~ Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval