joyouslybecoming

another afternoon by the river

i know you've heard it before, and if you come back, you'll hear it again - the forest and river where i live is a magic place, i do believe it is. from the time i leave the porch of our house and set foot on the trail, i feel the heaviness that often sets up residence inside me, deep within my solar plexis, begin to loosen its grip, and i feel a shift in my mood, a lightening taking place. being in these woods, no other human creature about, time disappears and i feel a silent deep peace, wanting for nothing. Residues of this peace follow me back home when it's time to go, no matter how dark my mood may have been walking in. it's magic. i feel grateful beyond words to have this healing place...

finished...

a couple more class samples

this one isn't quite done; I still have borders and some stitching to do.

These fabric wallhangings are so much fun to do and I'll be demonstrating several options to choose from, which explains why my samples all look different from one another. I did some catching up on my blog reading and after reading DJ's and Stephanie's posts about their incredible experiences teaching at Valley Ridge recently, I felt my own excitement bubble to the surface in anticipation of my first teaching experience there in September. I've heard teachers and students alike rave about Valley Ridge - the beautiful and bucolic surroundings of this southwestern Wisconsin retreat center, the wonderful studio with plenty of room to work, and the way hosts Kathy and Bill go above and beyond to make classes a memorable one-of-a-kind experience for attendees. There are still openings in my workshop, so if you've been thinking of a way to pamper yourself while spending a relaxing weekend making art in the company of other creatives, i hope you'll think about joining me there...

Sharing some art

Here are a few samples I made for a class I'm teaching at Random Arts in a couple weeks...

Compassion in Action

I read this wonderful list of 25 Ways to Help a Fellow Human Being Today on the ZenHabits site - take a peek.

home again

We had such a wonderful time in Colorado, the trip was jam packed with interesting sites and beautiful people. The dress shopping was a big success and quite painless, I'm so relieved - i was lucky to find something early on that was lovely and a great price.

Here we are at the gorgeous Red Rocks, an outdoor amphitheater. Isn't my grand dog Brody sweet? Walter is in the visitor center, checking out the exhibits and posters.

Marissa took us to a very old and famous zoo in Colorado Springs. I am normally not a zoo goer - seeing the animals in captivity, especially the primates makes me feel so sad, but seeing all the animals was an incredible experience (and sad). I had never seen African animals so up close, what wonders they are. Here are a few of the 200 pics I took there, aren't digital cameras the best invention?!

Back to preparing for my classes in North Carolina...

farewell

walter and i are flying to denver in a few hours to spend 5 days with our precious youngest, marissa. she and her fiance, mick, have major planning underway for their december wedding on the coast of Riviera Maya in Mexico. Hanging out with my lovely girl will be a delight - spending a day shopping stores for the perfect mother-of-the-bride dress in just right mint green for me on the other hand... well, let's just say, what we won't do for the love of our children. Wish me luck and no stuck zipper incidents, please.

a walk in the woods

i braved it, wobbly leg and all. it's been over 3 weeks since i've been on the trail, seen the glint of the sun on the river, and my heart felt like it was the only thing that might ease these heavy blues that have been plaguing me, if only for a time. so i braved it - slowly, very slowly and carefully i set my feet on the trail until i entered the green canopy of trees, the wind blowing through the branches. i couldn't go all the way down to the water, too many uneven spots where it would be too easy to lose my fragile footing but i could spy it from where i was, hear it bubbling. beautiful. peaceful. always a way out and back to myself here, i wish i could carry it home. but i do, really, sometimes, when i can, when i remember...

here are some of the photos i took on my little journey- i wanted to share my beauty with you here in the hopes of adding to your own.

And a photo I took a couple days ago, looking out at the walnut tree, the sun setting in the west, and a poem by Jane Kenyon called Evening Sun...

Why does this light force me back

to my childhood? I wore a yellow

summer dress, and the skirt

made a perfect circle.

Turning and turning,

until it flared to the limit

was irresistible. . . The grass and trees,

my outstretched arms,

and the skirt

whirled in the ochre light

of an early June evening.

And I knew then

that I would have to live, and go on

living: what a sorrow it was; and still

what sorrow burns

but does not destroy my heart.

i'm late, i'm late for a very important date

a very white rabbit is doing circles, round and round in my mind, singing this refrain to me this morning, over and over and over. i've never been a graceful multi-tasker, i'm more like a furrowed brow multi-tasker, which is why i detest multi-tasking. "but why detest it?", i ask myself, it is what IS right now - many things and people calling for my attention. it's the doing one-at-a-time-without-thinking-about-the-rest-of-them that challenges me. so, so... the best remedy for me at this time i decide, is stop typing for a moment and take three deep breaths...whew(done). now, write a catch-up blog post (doing) then go outside and sit out on the porch with the dogs, where the wind is blowing up a cool gentle breeze, i can smell the sweet aroma of lilac out there, and listen to all the sounds...different bird songs, including the busy-body woodpecker with his rat-a-tat-tat, the spring green poplar and dogwood leaves humming in the wind, the faint sound of the river in the distance, and the very occasional whiny of a horse, bark of a dog, or car motor in the distance. after i've done this for a bit, i'll come back in, hopefully with a much calmer mind, to tackle the many undone-yet-to-do jobs, one at a time, in the present moment.

my shadow on a carpet of apple blossoms

i finished up and mailed off a proposal to teesha for teaching a class again at artfest next year. i only sent one, i only want to teach one, i want to take two classes, i love taking classes at artfest. i could have worked out 2-3 proposals, allowing teesha to have more to choose from, maybe increasing my odds of getting accepted again (SOOO many amazing teachers apply) but i only got one done and that feels just fine.

a page i painted last night, i was feeling a little down...i'm so thankful to be able to paint my feelings out... (not down today though :-)

i still have lots to do yet to get ready for my weekend teaching adventure at Random Arts  in Saluda, North Carolina mid June. It will be my second year teaching there. and I have no doubt I will love it as much as I did last year - my students were just the best and Jane makes the whole experience run as smooth as silk. And the meals she caters in for us at lunchtime, ooooh laalaa, heaven for the tastebuds and a site for sore eyes as well; you can be sure i'll be taking lots of photos of all of it. and i'm so excited to be taking a mini side-trip after teaching to visit dear misty and her family in virginia for a few days - so much goodness i'll be packing into that week, so much to look forward to.

another painting i finished this weekend entitled "sunshine on the street of dreams"

speaking of family, here are a few photos i've taken of the sweet grandkiddos over the past few days - spending time with family tops everything, there is nothing sweeter, nothing, nada.

they heard there was a hole in the sky

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