February Newsletter + Opportunity for Stillness

Aiko's Hands - Imogen Cunningham, 1971

In a career that spanned seventy years, Imogen Cunningham created a large and diverse body of work — from portraits, to nudes, to florals, and to street photographs. In a field dominated by men, she was one of a handful of women who helped to shape early modernist photography in America. (source: getty.edu)

Many of us have been experiencing harsh winter weather, the bitter cold and blurry white silence sweeping in and threatening stillness in a system of hustle and deadlines. The earth endures, quieting all but the roots long-enclosed in her care, cleansing her palate of all that she can no longer nourish for the season. The vibrance of renewal settles in as she focuses on frigid and steady breath, driving all life to seek her warmth as we await the first sprouts of Spring. Let us embrace ourselves in her loving arms and find peace in this time. May we accept her invitation to pause, reflect, and rest in gratitude for a season of opportunity in repose.

If we weren’t unanimous

about keeping our lives so much in motion,

if we could do nothing for once,

perhaps a great silence would

interrupt this sadness,

this never understanding ourselves

and threatening ourselves with death,

perhaps the earth is teaching us

when everything seems to be dead

and then everything is alive.

Excerpt from “Keeping Quiet” by Pablo Neruda

Our inaugural Maestra Masterclass was a beautiful way to embrace this quiet season. Sofi von Trapp guided women of all walks of life toward their creative values, inviting new perspectives to continue embracing their truth and strength.

As women, our values and internal needs are often swept aside. We are considered caretakers, expected to nourish everyone around us with a silent and complacent smile. We are so grateful that these women chose bravery in the face of doubt! At Virtuosa Society, many of our strengths and passions are driven by visual arts and performance. While we love sharing these with the world, they more importantly share a deep connection with other women whose creativity craves a different means of expression.

We came together to nourish ourselves and each other, enlightened by Sofi’s guidance to cultivate our creativity as a community. As our founder Katie put it simply, “Women have the power to do that.”

Our lovely attendees had some great feedback as well:

Thank you to all who attended - women like you are the reason we strive to establish a more kind, accepting, and loving society for everyone.

We have another Maestra Masterclass in the works for August 2024. Be sure to follow us and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates!

It is our honor and pleasure to introduce Meghan Shanley as our new Elevation Conversation coordinator! 

Meghan Shanley is a singer, songwriter, speaker, and author of the children’s book Vincent Plays His Part. Her performance journey began in 2001 when she won the title of Miss Virginia. Her platform during that year focused on building self esteem in youth, a topic that has stayed close to her heart through the years. She still travels the country speaking in schools bringing messages of hope, inspiration and encouragement. Meghan has been a featured performer on the Food Network’s Paula Deen Wedding Special as well as Hallmark channel's Hollywood Christmas Parade, where she performed one of her original songs. For the past 8 years Meghan has toured with the high energy band Jessie’s Girls which has taken her all over the globe! This past November she was cast as Violet Shiner in the show Shiners, a first of its kind residency playing at the Woolworth Theatre in Nashville TN.

Her passion for creating showed itself at a very early age and hasn’t stopped since. Meghan is so excited to be a part of this incredible collective of inspirational women!

The Virtuosa Society App is now LIVE! Our full library of resources is now just a few taps away for all members, with more coming soon. Virtuosa Society Members are now able to access microcourses, the complete Elevation Conversation Library, and more in the palm of their hands! You can download it now from the App Store. We are working hard behind the scenes on the Android version, so stay tuned for the latest updates.

Our very first Group LIVE Elevation Conversation was such a joy that we are integrating it into our new seasonal perspective. Virtuosa Society members now have an outstanding invitation to our quarterly Garden Party, a joyful virtual gathering of creative women where we will share our ideas, inspiration, goals, and plans for the current season. Get ready for some motivation straight from Mother Nature herself as we tend to our gardens of creativity in 2024.

What better day for a Garden Party than the first day of Spring? 

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 19th! 

And what better nourishment for your body and soul than a CocoGlow blend? Check them out and you'll see why we're huge fans!

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As humans, we have been long conditioned to embrace the ways of the world and man-made systems within society, hearing at every turn that hard work is the way to success. Our journey at Virtuosa Society has inspired us to embrace a natural way of being, transitioning with the seasons as ancient as the earth. We are here to uplift, encourage, and help fellow creative women thrive, tending to our gardens of creativity and sowing the same seeds within others to challenge the societal standards we all face. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

With loving serenity,

Caia Claire & the Virtuosa Society Team

The earth’s every season has a clear intention: 

to nourish, cultivate, flourish, and renew.

May our nature be as nature herself.

I am seasonal.