joyouslybecoming

come take a winter river walk with me

  

to a place i never tire of wandering

 
  

through every season

 

pieces of the river disguised as twirling snowflakes

 

or ice taking a rock heart prisoner

seeing firsthand there is a flow, even under the frozen places

flowing all around the frozen parts, melting them

big enough to hold everything just as it is

 
ever changing patterns and textures

     

my touchstone to the nature of impermanence

the occupier of each shape

every form and space

all sentient beings

and all nonsentient beings

i love watching the changes i see here

it reminds me to open wide, to see every moment with fresh eyes.   

 

 

late night painting and occupied

After weeks of feeling dry as a bone creatively, last night I felt some juiciness again and now find myself wanting to hole up in the studio and do nothing but paint. It's unrealistic but the drive is so strong when it desends on me - there is rarely a half-way when it comes to passion.  

It may look like this site has gone vacant - it's been forever it seems since i posted. But I'm still here and quite occupied, happy, busy, and hopeful that I can get back to some form of regular writing soon. I have weeks laid out ahead of me, full of time and space, room to breathe, paint, and enjoy my life. So many choices I often get overwhelmed, make several starts, and stick with the ones that have deadlines or clammer for my attention. I've been ripping my house apart - it feels outdated and I find myself longing for a home that reflects me in it somewhere, the heart of me. It's going to be a huge project that will take a long time (will it ever be finished?) and I'm hopeful that some of my talented decorating friends will give me tips along the way.

I will be back soon (really) with more. Thanks for coming back, for not giving up on me - I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment, I really do.  xox

Valley Ridge Art Studio Registration

Registration opens Monday, December 7th, 2009, at 9:00 AM CST for all workshops at Valley Ridge Art Studio. I am so happy to to be going back to Kathy and Bill's "little piece of heaven" for my third year in 2010, this time to teach a 3 day workshop entitled "A Big and Tall Book", where students will learn how to create a gorgeous book from scratch using cardboard and a combination of mixed media materials and experimenting with variety of techniques with paint, collage, encaustic, and faux encaustic.

If it sounds tantalizing, you can go here to see samples of a book and read a full description of the workshop. In past years, some workshops have filled within the first 5 minutes of open registration, so it's important to register sooner than later for the workshop(s) you wish to attend. I hope you'll join me there...