Thanks to Amy Krueger for these colorful shots from the June workshop in my studio.
We produced lots and lots of paper!
Gorgeous blow outs!
Colorful pulp in tubs.
http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/generalinformation-westcoast.htm
There are still spaces in all 3 of my one day workshops there.
So what have I been doing with my time anyway? Well, you know how life is, this takes some attention and that takes time and the days flow on.
In the spring, Christine Webb of The Artist's Nook in Colorado hosted me for three days of workshops. It was fun to renew friendships and make some new ones. I was so pleased to be invited back for my third time there and very honored by the gals who traveled from out of state to work with me. Marcy and Don McKenzie took fantastic care of me for the 5 days I was there. Some highlights of that part of the trip were seeing a bookcase in Marcy's studio FILLED with the many books in many styles that she has made over the years, a day trip into Rocky Mountain National Park, the visit to Estes Park and the wonderful scrapbook and art supply shop and also the independent book store there. And the fudge from the candy shop wasn't half bad. Besides all that we visited a sculpture park and the Governor's Show which was filled with art made by Colorado artists. I was very taken by some cowboy art, the paintings done in tempera and the scratchboard art, done in great detail, of wildlife. All in all we had a full schedule in Colorado.
From there I flew to Philadelphia and stayed outside the city with my dear friend Polly. She lives in Chester Springs with its green, green rolling hills and stone houses and winding roads. The arty part of that week was a coveted visit to The Barnes Foundation gallery. If you have not heard of this collection, google The Barnes Foundation and maybe see the film The Art of The Steal which you can rent if you use Netflix. We spent the afternoon immersed in masterpieces by Renoir, Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, and many other artists. I thought that would be the highlight of that visit but what really moved me was spending time with Polly and her sister Janey who flew in from Wyoming towards the end of my visit. The only other time I had been with both the sisters together was about twenty years ago at their mother's funeral. So it was a treat to see them having fun, laughing and joking and just loving being together.
From Philadelphia I took the high speed train to D.C. where my dear friend Ann Georgia picked me up and whisked me off to Sperryville, Virginia and her homestead in the hollow. There we sat on the porch watching the bugs and birds and the breezes ripple through the grasses. We also got to visit friends who are also artists and look at what they had going on in their studios.
As far as creating goes, I have been working on the landscaping at the little house I moved into last summer. In fact today a bunch of trees I bought at a nursery sale the other day are getting planted. I chose birches and maples of varying colors and textures. Yummmm. I think the contrast with the native cedars will be interesting.
And I have started painting again with my teacher who is visiting from British Columbia.
Oh, and I had a fabulous time making paste paper and handmade paper after the 5 day workshop we did here at the studio in June. Those gals really inspired me and our visits to the local stamp and art supply store helped too. The photos are from those wonderful days.
There were lots of choices with several mediums to explore and book forms to create so everyone got to sample what interested them and concentrate on what really did it for them. Here are some examples of playing with the dyes.
As the hours passed and the days moved on everyone’s work table reflected their style. Several of my tribe showed up; those who work in chaos. And then there were the folks who kept order in spite of the volume of papers they were accumulating. How do they do that?
With a little one-on-one time with me even the neatest, most organized person in the room can be induced to let go, let it fly, work fast, get messy, not understand, and then bring it all into focus and love it. Well, they might not like the part when they do not understand. But they get over that.
One of the things I loved about the classroom we had this time was the big white erasable board that I used for lists, diagrams and instructions.
Here’s a sheet of paste paper with the river rock pattern from the stencil from http://stencilgirlproducts.blogspot.com/
A whole lot of beautiful books were made. 
An Artful Journey is such a wonderful experience in part because it is a relatively small event. There were 5 teachers instructing in various mediums. The conference center is surrounded by nature and Cindy O’Leary really takes very good care of us.
The next An Artful Journey takes place February 23rd-27th with DJ Pettitt, Katie Kendrick, Tory Brokenshire, Flora Bowley and Albie Smith offering 3 day workshops. I am limiting my class to 12 people so if you are interested sign up as soon as registration opens sometime in July. Check out Cindy’s blog for more photos of this year’s event http://artfuljourneyretreat.blogspot.com/
and Kelly Warren has some great info and photos too. http://happyshackdesigns.blogspot.com/
I want to thank Mikki Lesowitz and Carmen Tangherlini for sending me the great photos you see in this blog entry.
