Jo Crawford is an artist, teacher and intuitive reader based in Berkeley, California.  Through her business, Crafting the Sacred, she works with women to access their intuitive wisdom and express their creativity.

 “Nurture your creativity by producing a lot. Expect the first hour to be about clearing house — see it as tidying up before a visitor arrives. You do a bit of vacuuming and dusting before you invite a guest. Fill up your internal space so your muse is very comfortable upon arrival.” ~Jo Crawford

Listen to Jo’s Art as Worship interview on Empower Radio.

Jo was born and raised in South Africa where she had her first art training in drawing, painting and fiber art in her teens.  She pursued a degree in Industrial Sociology and Adult Education at the University of Cape Town and spent several years of working in the non-profit sector. Jo relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 90s where she worked as a paralegal for the next decade.

In 2007, she took a leap of faith to leave her full-time office job and focus on her creative and spiritual path. Jo cashed out her 401(K) and embraced a year of self-discovery where she studied massage, herbs and tarot more deeply, went on spiritual retreats, meditated, slept late, made art, traveled home to South Africa, spent time with her loved ones, and delved into personal growth work.

It was during this time that Jo birthed her business, Crafting the Sacred, and recommitted to her creative passions of visual journaling, fiber and mixed media arts. She is currently working on the themes of Art as a Sacred Expression; Home and Belonging; and Fertility and Birth.

Jo says, “I have a lot of ideas. I keep notebooks of all my brilliant ideas —and they all feel brilliant at 2 am. Deciding which ideas to pursue comes down to questions like: What are my resources? How much time do I have? What do I have in front of me? What can I create right now? That will determine what urgency I have. Sometimes something keeps bugging me and it’s not really a choice then. I have to be the conduit to make it happen.”

She goes on to say, “Our creative force is a Divine force. We are creative beings and have to get it out. It doesn’t matter what your medium is, it doesn’t matter how well it’s executed or whether you ever show it to anyone else. It’s important to allow yourself the breathing room to get that beauty inside of you out.”

Find out more about Jo at www.CraftingtheSacred.com. Download her e-book, Follow Your Heart, and other freebies.

Listen each Wednesday at 9am Eastern on Empower Radio to hear another artist’s story. Share your art and your comments on the Art as Worship Facebook page. Namaste!