joyouslybecoming

New Beginnings

Spring is full of them, fresh shoots, the most brilliant greens on tender leaves, and lots and lots of rain again this year if you live here in the Puget Sound region. I've been sharing my studio table with flowers and vegetable starts for the past two months, and both they are I are anxious to relocate into their soft earth home outside.

Here it is May 31st, and still the temps drop into the forties at night, not a great environment for the warm loving tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. But I'm putting them outside anyway, with the hope they'll find their way to health, beauty and abundance. This is only part of my brood, lots of planting to do in the coming days once they're hardened off.

And new beginnings for my pregnant daughter Heather and son-in-law Jeff

and my precious grandkids

They are getting ready to make a big move, from living an hour away from us to across the country to South Carolina. I'm readying myself for this huge change, that will be impossible to prepare for as I already feel an emptiness in the hollow of my stomach thinking about it. And yet, there is happiness there too, for I'm sure this time will bring new adventures and lots of sunny weather to them. But empty nest is hard, I already know that, but I have  feeling I'll experience it in a new and even broader way soon.

More changes, big ones coming to my art. and that means a studio make-over. I am doing a major reorganization and purge, moving things and painting the only big wall I have with a fresh coat of white in preparation for my new painting adventure. I'm going to start painting big. Very B I G. And putting down paint in an entirely different way. Using different tools and materials. I am ready to abandon the old and step into something new, even though it feels scarey and will no doubt bring up all kinds of emotions as I move into unexplored terrain, leting go of rules and sure-fire ways, my map, the one that has worked for me in the past. I'm entering a new begininng, I feel it. This is the reason I took this year off from teaching, and now I'm here. All this time and space spreading out ahead of me to experiment and play in. Joy!

And.....I'll be teaching a painting workshop at An Artful Journey next February, one of my very favorite venues, located in the mountains of northern California. Registration opens July 12th at noon PST, so mark your calendars; because the venue is small, classes can fill fast. I am fortunate to be coming back to teach for the second time and I can say with complete assurance that everything about my time here was fantastic - I can't wait to go back and I hope you will join me there!

 

my latest adventures

Because too much time has past from my last post to catch up, I'll just start a few steps ago. Here's a painting I did "just for fun", and it shows too, don't you think?

Since I wrote last, I've been to Malibu and taught a wonderful group of women for two glorious days (I wish I had pics but I didn't take out my camera, even once. shame. but I know you love photos so I took a pic of some of my salt collection instead. The big rock is one I found on the Oregon coast.

A few days after I got back from Malibu, we flew to Denver to celebrate our youngest daughter's college graduation. Not only did she graduate with honors, but was also mother to 1 1/2 year old Jackson during this last leg of the journey. We're so proud of both our daughters.

Three days after we got home from Denver, I drove myself to Portland where Judy and I drove together to meet up with friends Stephanie and Sue for a 3 night very-little-slumber party, that included great food, coversation and art making. 

Sue is going to make this one into a pillow

One of the most fun things we did was collaborative fabric paintings - we'd paint for a time period then pass the work to the right where the next person worked on it, and so on.

This was one I took home and I've been playing around with stitching

this is the other beauty I took home

I'll end with a glimpse of stephanie's deck- rail-walking-chicken

 

 

 

some of the things I'm excited about and grateful for...

This coming weekend I'll be teaching Painting with Passion in Malibu, CA - yes, we'll even have  a view of the ocean! I've been busy putting together packets and organizing my thoughts and packing up my art gear. I love painting, I love teaching, and I love the ocean, so this is a match made in heaven.

You can probably guess from the picture what I'll be doing when I'm not painting and creating with my fellow artists... I'll be walking on the beach feeling the sand under my bare feet, inhaling lungs full of invigorating salt air, and listening to the mesmerizing sound of the waves. I've already checked the weather report, warm and sunny, perfect weather. There are a couple spots left in the class so if this weekend getaway has your name all over it, come and join us! You can find all the information you need here.

And just in case you haven't heard, mark your calendars for what is sure to be nothing less than an online  plaster extravaganza for all of us mixed media artists. I've attended real time classes from both of these talented women and they are not only wonderful artists, but two of the most generous and caring teachers on the mixed media teaching circuit. Their book will make it's debut next month (of course I pre-ordered mine months ago), just in time for students to reference for this class. If you want to unravel the mysteries of plaster from a couple experts, you can sign up for their class here.

And then there is this...I'm anxiously waiting for my copy, one I preordered the minute I could. Some of you may have had the opportunity to take a class from Misty, either in person (if you were extremely lucky) or online. In either case you know what a generous and gifted teacher she is, and this book promises to be full of all wonderful things "Misty". If you haven't ordered it yet but realize that it is a must-have book, go here to order yourself a copy.

A few of the other things I'm grateful for right now... fresh nettles growing in the woods, full of wild nutrition, for my body that is getting stronger and more fit, for the sun breaks we've been getting here in the Pacific Northwest, and for so so so much more in this beautiful life.