This week we cozy up in the bath with Austyn Weiner, who we finally had the pleasure of hosting at her first Secular Sabbath earlier this summer. Austyn found herself fully immersed in our sensory soundscape on Shabbat. Now, she’s back for a more intimate conversation where we get to know her: a deep-thinking, witty-humored, large-scale oil painter. We dive into her thoughts on art, philosophy, and self-exploration. We discover what elements of connection have an impact in her life. From refining her creative practices to reshaping her outlook on the intricacies of familial relationships, this moment in time is full of change as Austyn realizes she’s entering a significant new phase in her life. Austyn discovered her passion for creating when a middle school teacher saw her need to channel emotion into physical form by giving her clay and receiving it back in the form of a deranged object - her heightened emotions mysteriously settled once that the energy was transferred into an object form. From that point on, Austyn found that creating art was nearly a form of therapy. It was an outlet for intense self-expression, which manifested itself in how she creates today. Austyn has discovered her need to create is perpetual, as she thinks about painting, the elements of paint, and the way oil works all while trying to relax on a vacation. Art has become larger than life to her, both physically and metaphorically. Her paintings themselves have grown to be large-scale works of art in a larger-than-life studio. This large format method brings her back to a humble state of dwarfing herself in comparison to the canvas; her works become autobiographical in this way. Austyn aims to eliminate the stigma of good or bad art, instead asking the viewer to reimagine finished artworks as expressions of emotion that reflect the artist’s tangible experience.Growing up in a Jewish family allowed for a heightened sense of intimacy for Austyn, with instated practices to best spend time together. Austyn’s Jewish upbringing tied not only her immediate family together, but linked them with a worldwide cultural community. With the pros and cons of any religion, she chooses to focus on the softness that comes from generations before her. She finds beauty in Judaism and is in awe of all of the many ways in which one can be Jewish, loving the ways in which rituals develop idiosyncratically from one family to the next, one denomination to another, and even country to country. Relishing in the beauty of difference and a curiosity for the dynamics of people, this throughline is also prevalent in her work. It is also what initially drew her to Secular Sabbath and our  thread of connection we share in our upbringing within the culture of Judaism. Seeing the building blocks of community and creative freedom happening in front of her eyes at our Summer Soiree, she felt an immediate understanding of our desire to awaken the sensory self in everyone just as she’s been exploring her own journey of rediscovery. She finds the Secular Sabbath approach lovable with inclusive day-of-rest practice, outside of religious, spiritual, or agnostic belief systems.Full of wisdom, energy, and expanding ideas, Austyn shares with us a world from which she’s come, and leads us to where she’s going. So please enjoy this tiny window into a big soulful inner landscape that exists within Austyn Weiner.To join Secular Sabbath membership, you can find us at secular-sabbath.com/membership. Joining grants you access to our Inner Circle community of sensory-exploring like-minded people, where you can gather with us locally in LA for monthly meet-up experiences, and pop-up events around the globe, and partake in our exclusive ambient online community. Ready to dive into the dialogue deeper? Join us on our Discord channel.See what we get up to at @secularsabbath.