HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

In honor of Halloween and Day of the Dead I wanted to share this little piece with you. I made it as my trade for Journalfest, and all of the images are hand carved stamps by moi. I hope your day is spooktacular and you eat lots of candy, watch great movies, and have fun dressing up!

Back from Journalfest

I am back from the first ever Journalfest, hosted by Teesha and Tracy Moore, held in Port Townsend. Three days focused on what I most love to do (art journaling) was bliss. The classes were so varied as well as the students work, which really shows how diverse keeping a journal can be. The top left image is the cover of my journal in progress. Actually, all these pages are in progress, because very often there is just time to get an idea started, and it gets fully fleshed out later. My first class was Impulse Collage with Anahata Katkin (top center, top right, and bottom left). This was a phenomenal class for me. I feel that I already have a way of working and style that comes through my pages. But it is still forming, growing, and being influenced. Anahata is so generous with sharing her stylistic techniques which allowed me to see more ways of working an image and page. LOVED IT! And the student work was incredible in that class.

Day 2 was Love and Fear with Traci Bunkers (center left and center middle). This class was more internal and emotional, which is what I am about most days anyway. So it felt good to do writing about goals and affirmations and then translate that into pages. Much more work to do, but I am loving the direction these are headed in.

Day 3 was Words and Pictures with Theo Ellsworth (bottom right and bottom middle). Once again Theo got me thinking about drawing and doodling in a way I hadn't before. That there isn't a need to "make a drawing", but rather it can be an organic, growing process. I really learned something about myself. That though I am inclined to journal with collage and paint, drawing is incredibly centering for me. Time stands still when I put pen to paper, and the act of drawing becomes not only a record of my emotions and my life, but an act of meditation too. This is not a new feeling for me, but one I had not fully recognized. My hope is to make drawing a daily morning practice, because it seems to focus me and keep me from getting too scattered/distracted.

There is plenty more to share. Chad went with me to the retreat and it was such a good experience for him. We explored Bainbridge Island, Port Townsend, and Seattle at the peak of fall. So I have more pictures to show later once I have fully reentered. Many thanks to Anahata, Traci, and Theo. Each of you gave so much and I am deeply grateful for the learning and pure joy I experienced in your classes.

Here are the pieces I made in my recent intro to Silversmithing class. Taking this class was a dream I've had for as long as I can remember. My father made jewelry in the 70's before I was born and when I was an infant. I didn't grow up with him, but I did inherit his jewelry and have worn his pieces throughout the years. I remember wearing them as far back as middle school, looking at the rings on my fingers, the cuff on my wrist, and wondering how they were made. Now I have so much more appreciation for the massive attention to detail and laborious steps it take to finish one piece. And this is coming from a very patient person. It is definitely not a medium conducive to instant gratification. But the zen of sawing, the success of solder working it's magic, and making something from nothing is quite appealing. Needless to say I am about to start my next class.

Look at this crazy weekend weather we had! The trees were still a mix of summer green and fall gold and red when the first snow hit. Beautiful to see those rich colors contrasted with the stark, white snow. Now it is back in the 60's in typical Colorado fashion. It was a bit of an early snow, but so enjoyable. I went on my first "winter" walk of the season taking pictures of fresh snow and autumn leaves in the cold morning. The rest of the weekend was spent in the studio, journaling and painting. Looking forward to many more such winter weekends.

Sinners & Saints

This is a pice I did for a Round Robin journal project I am currently involved in. The theme of this journal was saints and sinners, so I chose the image accordingly. It was fun to create the good and the bad using the same angel/saint image. More subtle than the classic icons of evil, and much more human in that regard. Most of us delicately weigh our options, not really choosing between two polar opposites, but doing what is best in that moment. Only in hindsight do we usually see what our mistakes have been, and rarely are they worth regretting. Every twist and turn, every choice brings us to where we are now and helps to form who we will become. The next journal coming my way has such a great theme, Book of Magic Spells. I am so lucky to be able to work on this one during October!

Seven Year Anniversary!

Today is my seven year wedding anniversary! Can you believe it? Neither can I. I guess what they say is true, time really does fly when you're having fun. That magical day was one of the best of my life thus far, marrying the love of my life, and seeing my family come together in a way I had never experienced before. Family, friends, divorced parents, stepparents all there for us. Sharing in our moment. Some had never met or had been distanced by years, but the drama was nil. It was just me and Chad and our love, all of our joy, and this special life. Words can't do it justice, but it was a milestone with or without the certificate. Thanks to everyone who has supported our relationship, watched us grow and evolve, and continues to be a part of this life of dreams we are choosing to live.

Married seven years, together eleven. Look at these freshy young faces. We are still young, but its hard to believe we were this young when it all began. Funny how life is, how things happen too fast or too slow or opportunity knocks at the strangest times. Looking back I can't believe what I was ready to handle at such a young age, and yet most of the time I still don't feel like a grown up woman. A married woman of seven years who still feels like a girl and is trying to live her dreams every day with this wonderful person by her side. I love you Chad.