She's back...

Ages have passed and lots has happened since I last wrote on this blog. However, I am back now and settling into my new home in the charming town of Jacksonville, Oregon. This has been a huge move for me, out of a big house with a amazingly spacious studio into a much smaller place with my studio space being wherever it is I decide to work!! Not the ideal situation, but it will do for now until I discover what is next for me.



Teaching at Art & Soul in Portland was such fun for me this time. (It helped that I didn't get sick this year as I often do when I stay in hotels for any length of time, work hard, play hard and am around tons of folks mingling germ pools.) It really helped being in the same room for three days in a row and not having to unpack and pack all those supplies every day. My assistants Christine Hendry who is my daughter, and Lisa Crawford did a fabulous job and made mine so much easier. I am always amazed at the creations that come out of the workshops and am thrilled by the joy people have in exploring and learning and the pride they have in their accomplishments fills my heart.



I received some very good feedback about how the workshops could be tweaked, things I could cover more thoroughly, and ideas for change. I cannot say enough about how helpful thoughtful feedback is. In the bookmaking workshops it is a real challenge to complete a project in a day. Along with the sheer amount of tasks to complete there is the finding your way to creative, right brain activity and then having to switch to more linear, left brain work near the end of the day. If any one out there has anything to add that could help improve the experience, please let me know.



So we instructors come home from an event and have to wrap our heads around creating proposals for next year and have them submitted by the end of the month. Usually I get a bit pissy and resistant about this, but right now I have ideas and excitement riding on the energy created in the workshops.

All these years I have been teaching at various venues I have always brought most if not all the supplies. Next year that is changing, I will try to do things the way the other instructors have been doing for a long time and have students bring most of their supplies. I know this is a hassle and an expense and I will try very hard to not have you bring anything you will not use. What I want you to know is that Maria who owns the store Collage in Portland will have an on site store for all Art & Soul events. She will be able to have most if not all the supplies you need for my workshops (and most other classes) waiting for you when you get to the event if you pre-order with her. The suggestion has been made to Glenny that in the future this information be posted on the website so that when people are choosing their classes they will know they can easily get the things they need. Using the Yahoo group site for Art & Soul you will be able to communicate with other participants and do some sharing on supplies too.



I will be applying to teach at Art & Soul Portland 2010 and am toying with the idea of applying to Art Fest. I haven't taught there in years and many people don't know it was Teesha Moore of Art Fest who actually gave me my first opportunity to teach at the national level. It was great to see Tracy and Teesha at Art & Soul playing and taking classes themselves.



My workshops in Hampton 2010 are filled (joy!) and Madison Wisconsin registration starts soon, we'll see how that goes.

There is still space in the 2010 three day retreat An Artful Journey in February 2010. http://www.anartfuljourney.com. I am excited about teaching at this event, having three days with students and doing very different things than the book forms. Check it out!

The sun is shining, the leaves are turning and I am going for a hike. More later.

LOTS OF SNOW

We have been having a bit of snow here in Southern Oregon and a lot up here on our mountain. We had about 17 inches over two days. This is very unusual. A few years ago we had 20 inches, but usually we have one or two snows that drop a few inches and melt pretty quick. This is lasting and we nestled in for a couple of days. And the snow still didn't melt so we had to plow out to the paved road a mile and a half away. Once out there we found the roads clear and everyone going about their lives as usual. This always surprises me. I think everyone around must be snowed in too and hunkered down in front of the woodstove like we are.
So I petted cats, made some Christmas presents and some new books. I love the new books. It's a wonderful thing to love what I make. I come in from the studio all aglow and full of satisfaction. Soft covered books are very appealing to me right now. I do some that are what I call Bound Art because there are lots of pages of different sizes filled with art bound up with the blank pages. And I have been doing single signature books too which are so sweet and easy and make nice gifts.

BOUND ART BOOKS

Lots has been going on around here. Nort, my husband and I have been working on my Etsy site which is now up http://www.albiesmith.etsy.com so I hope you will take a look and any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And I have been working on this blog which I said I would never do but, well, Leighanna Light insisted I could and should so I am. She and I have a very special relationship which goes back many years to when she lived in Southern Oregon also. She was working at a stamp store and I taught book making classes there. We have mentored and encouraged each other in learning, teaching and just plain navigating through life for a long time now.

The other big thing that has been wonderful and consuming a lot of my time are our two kittens, Stella and Bella. They are a little over 4 months now and we got them when they were 2 months old. They are sisters and they are loads of fun. Stella is the calico and Bella the gray tabby.

I have been out in the studio a lot lately. The colors just call to me. I've been playing with my hand carved stamps and the stencils you will see info on below. So there are many new books in the works.

And I just got the email confirming the acceptance of my proposals to teach at Art & Soul in Portland OR in 2009. I will be teaching 3 classes. One is a two day and two are one day classes.

It started to get cold here but it is sunny up here on my mountain. Down in town, on the valley floor, it gets foggy a lot in December and January. I forgot that and thought it might be time to move back down to be closer to people and things I want to do out there in the world. But then I went into town yesterday and felt the cold and the fog and I am thinking maybe we'll stay in our paradise a bit longer.