THANKFUL

Thanksgiving just might be my favorite holiday of all. No, it's not the turkey or stuffing or mashed potatoes or even the pumpkin pie. It is the pause to reflect on the things for which to be thankful.

For me, thanks are due not so much for things, though I am grateful for a roof over my head and food on my table. No, gratitude for me is about people and connections, I think.

I am thankful for a supportive family unit that is healthy and whole. I am thankful for friends and relationships that give me joy and opportunity to grow. I am thankful for the opportunity to give back through the Sawdust Art Enrichment Fund--philanthropic arm of the Sawdust Art Festival--and for the many wonderful connections through this giving. I am thankful for creative juices that continue to flow. I am thankful for the opportunity to hold art workshops that fuel me in innumerable ways, not least of which is the delight I feel when joining together with the many creative students involved.

And, last but not least (and I'm certain I have forgotten so many things), I am thankful for each and every day in this beautiful place I call home.

EARLY THANKS CUZ WHY NOT?

 This angel of thanksgiving has arrived just a little bit early. Grateful for rain however light or heavy, she just decided to arrive as a treat before the ghouls show up for Halloween.

Other gratitudes that I share with her are for the joys of living here on this beautiful coast, getting to the booster of Covid vaccines, time with family and friends, GREAT groups for mixed media workshops, the blessing of pre-sales even before the Sawdust's Winter Fantasy begins,  the opportunities to give back through the Sawdust Art Enrichment Fund, and soooo much more. 

Life is good!

WHAT TO DO WHEN...

 For months now I have had a sign on my desk that reads "What can I get rid of today?" This has created a regular routine of finding things both small and large that really no longer seem to serve.

The other day I came upon a package of 5x7 mats that had come into my possession at some time in the past and not been used. Were they to be part of the clean out? Then I noticed the scraps and other set aside bits of alcohol ink play. Why not?

And so, while not exactly lemons and lemonade, the bits and scraps and the small mats have become small salable pieces for my summer Sawdust Art Festival booth. I have more of them and more scraps so I see lots of playtime ahead.

Come see me in Booth #205 just off the main aisle. 

COUNTDOWN...9...8...7...

Labels and more labels...

It's the final countdown....Yeah! Can you hear the musical accompaniment to that one?

There are mere days remaining until Preview Night at the Sawdust Art Festival. Everyone is busy putting finishing touches on booths and work and more. 

I'm down to the labeling of everything. This makes it possible to not be there ALL the time as sales can go to the Sales Booth.

It is going to be quite the celebratory year and everyone should "Expect the Unexpected."

Open June 28-September 1 10 am to 10 pm daily.

RESOLUTION AND BLOGGING

I resolve over and over to do more with this blog. Sometimes, I have a bit of success, but more often not.

Resolutions bring success and failure

This year let's see if perhaps by doing more and perhaps even failing more at creating what I want to within the blog I can actually achieve some form of success.

Some bloggers are able to write a blog daily. Dare I even reach for that with my past level of non-achievement? It would certainly more than double my rate of failure, that's for sure. Too big a push? Definitely, a leap of faith. Am I ready? Willing?

Each year I choose to embrace some factor and let go of another. This year what I have chosen is too daunting to even breathe aloud quite yet. Does a blogging challenge fit into it somehow? It absolutely could. And, yet, I hesitate....
(Pause while thinking this through...) (But is that any way to leap?) (Nah, but...)

OK. (The pause entailed transferring laundry from washer to dryer and folding what was in the dryer. Am I any more clear? LOL!!)

Still...what the heck...here goes: I resolve to more than double the output of this blog by writing two blogs each week for the coming year (oh, the naysaying voices at work in my head...hahaha.)

Here I go...one down and only mid-week! Hope you will join me in the journey.

ROAD TRIP, GLORIOUS ROAD TRIP!!!

There's truly nothing like the open road to foster creative thinking. Maybe it's the freedom of it. Over 3000 miles later my mind is filled with possibilities. With workshops, the Sawdust Art Festival Winter Fantasy, and a new year ahead, what could be better?
I'm looking forward to it all and hope you will join me going forward.

CROWS AND CRONES

Counting Crows...#3 of the series

At start of festival season I was sorely tempted to call my display of work "Crows and Crones," but the women weren't all old enough and there seemed not enough crows. It must have been the alliteration that captured my fancy :)
Meanwhile, I think I may have done enough women for now except for the exceptional custom one I can't resist. And on to more of the corvidae family. 
I know not everyone feels the same way I do about these intriguing creatures, but I cannot let that stop me from exploring new and different ways of capturing them. And I am curious to try a scrub jay or two as well since they are family members and reside here in the canyon.
Meanwhile, the little bird couple--some sort of finch, perhaps-- who have built a nest in our booth at the Sawdust Art Festival are sitting on the nest, singing along with the Tavern music.

DEMO...DEMO...DEMO!!!

Play

Sawdust Art Festival time is, among other things, time for demonstrating how one does his or her art. Each artist takes the time to create for the public view. This is one of my favorite things, as it not only fills some of the slack time (after all, twelve hour days are not always busy...and then there's the heat of the past week!)but it allows me to simply play with what is at hand in a small space. 
Some small tubes of acrylic paint. Scraps of watercolor paper. A couple of brushes and pens. A napkin or two. And off I go. It is a pleasurable way to fill my time and my obligation. Double win...maybe even a triple! Voila!

SUM...SUM...SUMMERTIME!

Booth #131--Sawdust Art Festival

It seems just a few days since I announced it was time to get down to it.  Now, because of Fourth of July festivities and excessive heat, it seems a very long time ago. 
As the cool breezes follow the cloud cover in this week I can remember what fun summertime always seems to be no matter how old you are or what activities you are doing. 
So this is your invitation to come to Laguna Beach and join me for good art, good food, good entertainment, and more. Check it all out at www.sawdustartfestival.org for sure.

I ALWAYS WANTED TO SAY THAT

A little collage perhaps

"Due to popular demand...." Yup! I always wanted to say that. So, at the request of a few students at the workshop last Sunday, on Tuesday I sent out an email to a few former students to see what interest I could scare up for a June workshop.
Well, scare some up I did. Today, the workshop showed as FULL. Since there will not be another studio workshop until fall due to my participation in the summer's Sawdust Art Festival, this is it for a while. I'm excited to do another one, especially so close to festival start!!

RUT OR SERIES??

"Resist"

Friend Catharine had a birthday recently. Here is the piece I made for her then.  It was so much fun to create something specifically for a person I know. 
There will be a lot of these pieces this summer at the Sawdust Art Festival. I had been asking myself the question was this a series or a rut until I did this one.  Not a rut, but sure a level of creating that I love.
Hope you will all come to see the entire collection/series this summer. 

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MAY?

Section of the 20 x 24 "I plead the first!"

Well, no question but that preparation for the summer festival has taken precedence for the past month. Still...I should have been able to get in a couple more posts. 
It was a busy month with birthdays and play dates with grandkids and creativity galore. Gotta say it has all been pretty much fun and I find myself giggling a lot!
There is almost a month left before Preview Nite and there is still much to be done, yet if I don't finish even another piece I will be fine. 
I look forward to the summer as it is going to be a great one, filled with joy and laughter and new friendships mingling with old.
Here comes summer!

HALF AND HALF?

Half way through May. Half way through Sawdust Art Festival booth building.Half way through many of summer's decisions. I am grateful for this dose of half full and am moving on completion of all (well, maybe May could slow down just a bit :)) 
Looking forward to the summer's art festival while still in the midst of springtime happenings. I am co-building with artist Laurel Meister and anticipate a joy-filled shared space. (This, too, half and half.) We are right near the entrance behind this year's "Selfie" bus.
I will be teaching my last Sunday Studio Workshop on June 4th and then all teaching for the summer looks to be at the Sawdust every Wednesday night (halfway through each week).
Sure hoping to sell more than half of the fun art I have created for this special summer festival and that more than half of you will come see me.

FALL STARTS AND FALSE STARTS

Several false starts in this journal entry

Autumn (or Fall) got off to a great start for me with a fun mixed media class I taught for the Sawdust After Dark program at the Sawdust Art Festival grounds.  Good folks, good fun, good art pieces, good wine, good cheese...what more could one ask? It seemed to me to bode well for the future and I have another fun start tomorrow with a Sunday Studio Workshop here at my home. It will be five hours of more mixed media exploration and jolly time (oh, yeah! and the great food brought by the participants to share.)
And, speaking of exploration, that IS half the point and the good time of mixed media and the false starts are merely the "price to play."  I for one am more than willing to pay up.

INSPIRATION

One Way just for roads--not art!

So often at the Sawdust Art Festival and in workshops I am asked (as so many other artists are as well) where inspiration comes from. There is no one way, that is for sure. Pablo Picasso said it so well I won't try to top it:  The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place:from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web. Nowhere does this seem more true than in mixed media work.  The mind of a child is likely a must as well, or at least the essence of that mind is necessary. And, as Picasso also said, inspiration has to find us working. I vote for doing more things like the 50 One-A-Days I did earlier this year. As soon as this festival season is over, I will be right back at it, I think.  I can hardly wait. Why don't you join me?

SUMMER BEGINNINGS

Beginnings

Beginning the summer's Sawdust Art Festival is a bit like the beginning of a mixed media piece. There is an idea, a concept, perhaps.  Some excitement and anticipation exists.  Then, some trial and error.  And, ultimately, the finished piece.  
We are now at the beginning of the festival period of 66 days.  I am recalling from all the previous years the things I love about this process that are so much like the creating itself. In just the one day I have been there the enjoyment of the visitors has been engaging and gratifying--a real boost to offset things like lights not working or not feeling quite "there" yet.
These opportunities to share and swap stories and revisit past times with old and new friends are unmatched.  The "finished piece" of the festival season seems far away on this Sunday morning, but it will be here all too soon.  In the meantime, the moments are here to explore, experience and enjoy. Curious to see how it goes, I lean into the joy of it all!