The Nine Magical Butterflies A Creative Journey to Transformation

Within the heart of happiness lies the ability to believe in yourself. In order to do that, you must trust the process, both on the page and in life. After a traumatic experience that shattered her notion of what life was supposed to look like for a mid-thirties woman, Marina Billinghurst turned to the one thing she’s always been able to count on: watercolor painting, in all of its imperfections, that’s where she practiced letting go. She learned to face her fears. Giving in to the transformative process, it helped her heal. This is when she painted The 9 Magical Butterflies. This symbolic representation of change is what Marina wants to share with you. A non-scientific approach to art therapy as a way of exploring emotions, no artistic talent required! It’s simply about you, your brush, and what flows through it. Imperfect art is such only if we believe it to be so, and moving past that block can help free you in other aspects of life. It’s in the creating; the magic of the paint going from wet to dry, that transformation lies. Allowing that process to happen organically is the key. It was for Marina, and she hopes it can be for you, too.

Marina Billinghurst is the founder of Art of Marina Inc., a Gallery Boutique tucked away on the Naramata Bench. Originally from the West Coast of Canada, she moved to NYC at eighteen and travelled the world before moving to her nest in Toronto where she worked as a creative director in the Fashion Industry. Marina finally had the job, husband, and life she thought she wanted. But one day something tragic happened, and the shattered dreams of being a mother caused her to fall into a depression and really question what her purpose on this planet was. Marina picked up her paintbrush and started to feel better. She found painting to be her ultimate healing tool—like a release ceremony. She painted her way through her pain, sadness, and despair and it started to lift off the page and fly away like butterflies. She soon discovered that the art of letting go is best found through the process of artistic expression. Now, happiest when she’s sharing her gift with others, you can find her in her studio most days, live on the internet teaching her community how to paint, and fluttering around in her signature kimonos, adorned in her art. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Marina moved back to her home province of British Columbia, where she lives with her husband, their dog Chino, and their cat Stormi.