My Mane Blowing in the Wind: February 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 932

Daily Journal Page Challenge..Day 932: A Sacred Alliance

Why do I like this photo? I think I like all of the feminine energy, and that this man (seemingly the husband and father) likes it too. Loves it, and is maybe open to the beauty and magic of it, perhaps in awe at times. Now, I could just be projecting my own feelings, and I'm sure there are more than enough times that a man in such a situation has wished to be in another place. But somehow, in this photo, there is something very loving about the scene. You can almost feel it.

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 931

Daily Journal Page Challenge..Day 931: Romance

A bit of a maze, I'd say."Romance" in all of its comings and goings and explosions and beauty. It can be the most glorious thing in the world and the most devastating. I think a lot of it has to do with those chemicals we emit when you first meet someone who might possibly become your mate. This scientist studied the relation between loving, being dumped, and the brain's related activity. She quotes a lot of poetry in the process. Love her approach and her analysis.

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 930

Daily Journal Page Challenge...Day 930: Loving, Losing, and Believing

This could also read "Loving, Living, and Believing" or "Living, Loving, and Believing" or "Living, Losing, and Believing" or even "Losing, Living, and Believing." There seems to be a myriad of choices but one element is constant and that is "Believing." And this is true in my life: No matter what happens I have faith in something, some principle, some feeling greater than myself and yet a very strong component of my self.

Friday, February 24, 2012

A Host of Workshops: Retrospective

Marilyn's "Between Kisses" AB Spread (Collage Cafe 1.21.12)

Here are photos and links to more photos (click on the captions) to Express Yourself! Workshops and Collage Cafes that I've held over the past few months. An assortment of women and men from the Bay Area keep proving to me how rejuvenating it is for the average human being to create something artful! Making art is a way one can be brave and take risks in expressing oneself without having to think too much about it. This is especially true I find with altering books: accomplished artists can renew and expand their creative spirit, and so-called "non-artists" can easily discover their creative side with the added benefit of the pleasure of seeing something that only they could have created. Marilyn (above) came to a collage Cafe and had this to say about it:

"Thank you so much for the collage cafe and more! t was so nice meeting you and your wonderful studio, jewelry, journals and inspiration! I did 3 more pages when I got home! I lovelovelove them... I can see the growth already. Again, thanks for all the fun and inspiration!"

Janet's Back Pocket AB Spread (Express Yourself! 2.3.12)

Janet's work was a great example of an artist trained in a specific area (mono print) who desires to experiment in another medium. Her use of color and choice of images is bold and experimental. Janet said this about the workshop:

"I had a wonderful time at Virginia's Introductory class. What fun to play with all those art materials and to start to transform a regular book into something so rich and original. I've wanted to learn to do "altered books" for some time and when I first met Virginia and saw one of her books, I knew she was the one I wanted to learn from. And I loved working in her studio. Everything you need is there. I look forward to going to her "Cafe's' and learning and playing some more in my book! Thanks Virginia!"


Express Yourself! at Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA (1.28.12)

My Book Passage Express Yourself! workshop in January was a lot of fun for me and the participants. Attendees ranged from "I've never done any art" to people who had attended art school. A fun note were two women friends who each brought a teenage granddaughter. Here's what Leslie (she created the above spread) said about the experience:

"I attended your Altered Books Workshop in Corte Madera, along with my granddaughter, sister-in-law and her granddaughter. We all had a wonderful experience and hope to continue altering books (and maybe our lives). Thanks again for sharing your talent with all of us. Each of us came away inspired to explore and develop our own artistic abilities."

Monday, February 20, 2012

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 929

Daily Journal Page Challenge...Day 929: What Happens When

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 928

Daily Journal Page Challenge...Day 928: Still Purring

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 927

Daily Journal Page Challenge...Day 927: What Lies Beneath

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 926

Daily Journal Page Challenge...Day 926: Never Look Back

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 925

Daily Journal Page Challenge...Day 925: Live Life in Full Color

Daily Journal Page Challenge -- Day 924

Daily Journal Page Challenge...Day 924: Art Garden

In My Studio: At Home

Even though I have my larger and beautiful public art studio, I've kept my studio at home in one of the spare bedrooms. I removed a lot of furniture and collage materials and supplies and took them to the new studio -- but things just seem to keep multiplying and accumulating here at the home studio so it keeps evolving. I like having a place where I can assemble my jewelry and solder without worrying about the fumes, and a place to create some journal pages when the mood strikes. It's slowly evolving into some semblance of....me and my creative spirit. Things Take Time.