Doistic (Taoistic) Art

I was recently approached by a Chinese newspaper as they wanted to do an interview with me. I was very curious as to why, I don't speak Chinese and don't know a lot of Chinese. I was very flattered and also extremely curious, so I asked him when he arrived.


He explained that my images and especially my "Healing Art" Philosophy  mirrored Daoism, also known as Taoism. I was very impressed and thought I needed to know more about this.


Along with Confucianism, “Daoism”  is one of the two great indigenous philosophical traditions of China.


Taoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy which promotes living simply and in harmony with nature, and going with the flow.


The Yin-Yang symbol exemplifies this view. The black represents the Yin the white represents the Yang. Yin is also associated with weakness and passivity and Yang with strength and activity. The symbol shows that within the Yang there exists the Yin and vice versa. All nature is the balance between the two.


I was amazed when I read this as I have always associated with the Yin Yang and have worn one around my neck for the last 15 years.


I have found along with many others that the peace and harmony in nature can be felt by us if we stop and take the time just to be.

I hope that as you view my images you will take the time to do just that, take time to just BE. 

Why does it cost so much?

A lot of people want to own good art but they balk at the price.
What are you getting for your money?

Why do you buy art?
Is it for an investment, or to create the living space that we want, be it for the home or office.
When you are decorating your home, do you just want to fill a blank space or are you looking for something that tells people a bit about yourself, through your style and your interests?
Are you looking to create a certain atmosphere? Do you want the room to be inviting, to stimulate conversation, to relax yourself and others, to create a healing space within the chaos of life?

If you are looking to do any of the above except just filling a blank wall I would encourage you to look at real art, not mass produced wall fillers.

When I take an image I am trying to create an image that will bring the healing and peace of nature to those who invest in my art. I want to increase their quality of life as well as their wellness. I try to capture not just the image, but also the feeling of the place I am photographing.

People often have no idea what it cost me personally to take an image. I have fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis, so any activity I undertake costs me in pain and in the reduction of anything else I can do, but for me it also brings me healing and enables me to feel that I still have something to contribute to society.

Once I have taken the picture, the art work has only just begun. I process the image so that the feeling of the place comes through. I make sure that the image itself is of the highest quality and I create the final image with love and add healing to each image.
I am a Reiki master and as such I add distance healing to my images so that no matter where you are when you are viewing it, it will bring you the healing you need.

Strange I hear you say.

I believe that nature has a great healing ability on its own, but I realize that when we are out in nature it is the energy of the place that also helps with that healing, so with reiki I add this energy back to the image so it becomes a living work.
Something that will bring you a lifetime of health and pleasure.

As such I only have my images produced to the highest quality while at the same time keeping my prices as affordable as possible. Most businesses add a 100%+ markup on everything they sell. I add between 25% and 50%. I am able to offer such good prices because for me this is a gift I am able to give you. I use the money I earn to keep updating my skills and equipment and am supported financially by other means.

I hope this blog encourages you to look for art that will do more than decorate a room, but that will be an investment in you health and wellbeing as well.

This is an example of my "Healing Art- Waterfalls on Uluru" set in a lounge area

If you require a specialized size please email me & I can organize what you require and send you pricing for it.
My artwork can be viewed at the Busselton Art Gallery or at http://www.juliakharwood.redbubble.com/

Child abuse

Have you heard the latest, apparently giving kids time out is corporal punishment and is soon to be banned in daycare centres in Australia. From there one can guess where it will lead...parents won't be able to use time out.

Apparantly we should allow kids to set there own limits!!!

Then we spend millions trying to fix our teen crime problems and ultimatly blame the parents...this is a nanny stat gone mad.

Yes this is a healing art blog and as such all manner of healing and health issues are addressed and beleive me this will be a health issue of the future.
Already they are saying we have a generation of nacasists, children that we have raised with an exaggerated sence of self from never being able to tell them they are anything other than brilliant. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge beleiver in being positive and building up our kids, but lets build there self esteem, not there egos.

Maybe it should be a prerequisite for would be parents to do parenting classes and poloticians in roles related to child upbringing should have to have had children!

What are your thoughts on all this and what ways will we have to teach children healthy boundaries?

Create a Healing Place

What is a Healing Place?

To me a healing place is somewhere you can go to take time out. A place of quite or soothing music. A place you can be on your own. A place that is nurturing to the body, mind and spirit.

I am fortunate, my healing place is the beach. I have a beautiful beach down the road which except during holiday season is deserted. I walk down on the white sand and it massages my feet, the wind gently blows my hair as the suns rays warm my skin. I look out across the vast ocean and know that all is well in the world. I am at peace.

We are all Disabled!

We are all disabled in some way, it is part of the human condition.

Please explain?.....

Disability does not have to be a physical thing we can see or a mental illness we can quantify, it can be emotional scars, chronic conditions, and much more.

Lets look at the definition of "disabled"

According to Wikapedia:
"A disability in humans may be physical, cognitive/mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these."

In plain English, a disability is something that affects the way we get along in society.

For example.When we see a blind person we automatically realize they have a disability, they usually have a cane or a guide dog to help them, but are they any more disabled than the person with emotional scars that no-one can see and that continually gets hit by the preverbial bus when it comes to realtionships.

If a person was physically hit by a bus we would see the damage, either as a fatality or serious physical injury, but what about the person hit by an emotional bus, we see them all the time, people constantly making poor choices and then lamenting about how bad things always happen to them. These people are just as disabled as the blind person,  in some cases more so, as they don't see they have a disability and take the necessary measures to compensate for it.

So why write a blog about it?

Because I believe that if we realize that we all have disabilities we will realize that people with obvious disabilities are no different than the rest of us. We are all people, all trying to get along in society the best we can. People with disabilities do not need to be condescended to or treated any different to anyone else, we are all in the same boat.

Also unless we realize we have a problem we can't treat it. How many people have we heard of have a disease but no symptoms until it's too late, but if it had been caught earlier it could have been cured.
The same goes for disabilities, as we recognize them we can take steps to either overcome them or learn to live with them in a productive way.

So the question is, "What disabilities do you have?"
Do you have allergies, a chronic illness, arthritis, chrones, pain, emotional scars from previous relationships, your upbringing, your religion, your nationality, over sensitivity, lack of emotional connection.....the list goes on and on.

Perhaps now is a good time to rethink those with disabilities and realize we are all the same. Next time you see someone with an obvious disability smile at them knowing you to have your disabilities, just not as obvious and may we all work towards a healthier life, physically, spiritually and mentally.

I have many disabilities and have found that nature is a wonderful healing balm and I receive that healing on a daily basis through my photography and immersing myself in nature. I realize many people cannot do this & so I have "Healing Art"  prints that you can have in your home or your office or even a care facility to enable you too, to experience the healing balm of nature.

I wish you peace, love and happiness....and remember for ALL of us healing is an ongoing process...be kind to yourself and others.

Signiture Series

I have created a signature series of images that would be great for interior designers or offices. A way to introduce the Healing Art of Nature into the workplace. Check it out and let me know what you think. If you have any special requests for particular images in this format let me know & I will see what I can do.

Healing Art Photograhy

Tropical Sunset

What is healing art photography????
Good question. I beleive that spending time in nature helps heal our bodies, our souls and our minds. So often today life is so fast paste that we get up, go to work, come home, do the chores, go to bed and then start all over again the next day,. Never having time out to destress and it is that that is behind so many of the ailments we suffer today. Spending time immersing yourself in nature is very healing & theraputic.
BUT i hear you say, I don't have time. Thats where healing art photography comes in. I take images of nature and  make them available for you so that if you can't get out in nature, nature can come in to you. Be it in the office or the home. Put a healing art image up on your wall and spend 5 minutes a day, at least, just sitting and looking into it, imaging that you were there and feel the stress dissapaiting out of your body. I am amazed at how even looking at a nature screensaver for a few minutes will lift my mood, give it a try and see for yourself. I have a collection of images at http://juliakharwood.redbubble.com/ that you can also look at.
I hope you will find this helpful and benificial.
Please remember to click on the "Follow" button to follow this blog and I will keep you up to date on new images and specials as well as helpful articles and links.