There's a Reason They're Called Re-TREATs

click photo to enlarge

I always ask my intuition what it wants me to do everyday. Last month it told me I MUST clean out my bedroom closet. I obeyed. I let go of tons of singer and dancer outfits from my past finally admitting that they are my past and I need to create space for the new.

I found this photo taken at the Teesha Moore Play retreat. Though I attended this retreat in 2009...memories from it still return whenever I'm creating art. There are a number of artists in this photo who have come to the forefront since this retreat...such as Ty and Marcia Schultz (huggy couple in row 2 of Play Retreat photo) who are teaching all kinds of cool art courses at retreats. There's Carla Sonheim (seated slightly behind and to the right of Teesha in Play Retreat photo) who the following year put out this book

  and is taking the drawing world by storm. Tiphoni (Row 3 on the right in Play Retreat photo....Teesha's talented daughter is also teaching and creating and doing amazing things) http://tiphoni.blogspot.com/ 

 And I can't leave out the mesmerizing drawing genius Theo Ellsworth. (Next to Tiphoni in Play Retreat photo)
Teesha is always doing something cool and I love to keep up on what she's doing in that wildly creative world she's created.... http://teeshascircus.blogspot.com/
I enjoy looking up people I've retreated with and see what they're up to. That retreat was filled with fascinating artists who I still need time to research and catch up with. 

Now I get why my intuition told me to do something as mundane as clean my closet. There was a treasure of inspiration within one little photo hiding in my closet waiting for me to research and discover the cool things artists are doing with their gifts. Always trust your intuition no matter how crazy the idea it sends you may feel!

Can You Relate?

I'm thinking if you read this post you more than likely can relate to both this photo montage and the following link. I hope they both keep you sparked to stay on your creative path.

I did not make this cool photo montage visual commentary. In fact, I'm not sure who did. One of my fellow ARTbundance™ coaches posted it on our group site. I wish I knew who to credit it to!

Here is another very cool link to an interesting exploration of the dichotomy of being a creative person.... http://talentdevelop.com/articles/TCPTPT.html
Know thyself and stay on the path no matter what!

Come With Me on a Virtual Gallery Visit

American Icon Mini from Ripley's Believe It or Not! on Vimeo.

Today I'm doing as many artists do....going on an inspirational gallery trip online while still in my pajamas.... and inviting you along with me.

There are so many artists out there doing inspirational artsplorations. Here are a few more who have used cars as their canvas...(scroll down the page a bit)  http://listverse.com/2011/02/07/10-bizarre-things-cars-have-been-covered-with/ I seem to remember a guy who covered his car in buttons a few decades ago, but he didn't make the list. I wonder how many more cars who didn't make the top ten are out there celebrating the OCDness of object as art supply.

Here is the link to the husband-wife team who created the Swarovski Mini-Coup. Get a load of their prolific wealth of artistic works! http://www.burkittandburkitt.com/ Do they ever sleep? 

 Here is the link to the knitter/crocheter/ future art therapist who did the Ferrari http://www.lauren-porter.co.uk/

Thank you for spending time with me on this cyber gallery trip. With all the money and time we saved on this inspirational trip...now we can afford that art tool or supply we were holding back from investing in!

The 3 T's..Talent, Taste, and Timing

I sure miss Andy Rooney and his curmudgeonly entertaining rants. I guess he preferred realistic art to interpretive art! Expressing feelings through shapes, colors and textures didn't digest well with his sense of taste. Steve Jobs believed aesthetics/taste could be taught. Can it?  

Here we see Jean Paul Gautier's recent line of fashions honoring the late Amy Winehouse.

It was received with much controversy. Was this line a thoughtful homage to an unique

icon? Or was the timing off and it was too soon for those still experiencing the grieving process? Did it honor Amy's personal style? Or did it focus on her dark times?

Both these video clips bring up artistic self-expression. Does any artist have control over how 

their creative expression is interpreted? We just never know. To express anything at all in public

is such a vulnerable act.

Comedians, musicians, performers, marketers, inventors, designers, entrepreneurs, humans, etc. all are familiar with the importance of timing. It can make or break an intention. And as long as there are diverse beings and life experience tastes will vary.

How often do creatives hold back putting their work out there because of fear of judgement?

These two videos show that even when an artist is established and well known the potential

for adverse reaction never goes away.

It seems, in time, artists learn to separate the message from the messenger and that our

sincere intentions are what matter more than how they're interpreted.

Ooops! Wait! Forget everything I just said.

Art Imitates Life---A Creative New Year to YOU!

Do you think the designer was hungry when they designed this airport stairwell? Creatives are the coolest! May you be surrounded by an abundance of fun and cool creative beings in 2012!

Feeding my Beadiction

I don't know what it is about beads, but I found out I love working with them very late in life. I found that out about writing, too, about ten years ago. I guess there are so many art forms to explore anymore that you may not even know you love something until you take it for a test drive. A great class of beading skills I just took for a test drive was a bead embroidery class with Leonie Hartley-Hoover. http://www.leoniesomniumgatherum.blogspot.com/
These photos are a couple of samples of techniques we learned in class. She is fun to talk with on the class forum. She has a very rich life of experiences and a wealth of bead knowledge and skills. My fave thing is she's into bead abuse...and flower abuse. She encouraged getting those beads to do what you want them to do by coaxing them all over the place until they behave. She also beats flowers to dye fabric, but not in this bead embroidery class. These forms of abuse don't require restraining orders...just a love of art.
The bottom photo is dedicated to Leonie's "bead abuse"philosophy. There's a larger piece assignment in class and I'm currently in a love-hate relationship with mine....that's abuse too. I design all I do with this love-hate thing going on, so it's just part of the process. It just makes the project take a little longer. I hope to be able to post it when it's complete.

Art and Soul-Portland

 I have always wanted to experience the Art and Soul Retreat I've heard about for years. I also adore Portland, OR, so I spent weeks making "trades" (little gifties that attendees can stop and trade with you) and I also spent intense time creating a hat for their hat contest. I packed mostly art supplies and very few clothes, knowing I'm going to inherit huge amounts of swag and souvenirs and that my clothes are going to get art goo on them anyway.

I had the immense honor of taking the Charm Buffet class with Peggy Kryzyzewski. It was an entire day of nonstop charm skill learning and creation. I did not want it to end! Each charm we learned how to create was more exciting than the last. Peggy is on my life list of incredible instructors. She has the gift. She made us all feel like family and at home being who we are. Her enthusiasm was contagious and her creativity outrageous! So generous with her info and help. And I was blessed to sit next to her class assistant, Kia, who was so very helpful to everyone and made helping us top priority. Both Peggy and Kia are such experts at what they do!

This is a class photo that lovely fellow classmate Melinda is allowing me to post. Please check out her wonderful blog Melinda's blog This was Rogene Manas' Rogene's site way ultra cool Human Nature Relief class. It was well worth traveling across the nation to learn from Rogene! Everyone in the class was so gifted and friendly as well. The pieces everyone created were gorgeous! I was so into this class that I didn't bother to eat lunch. The art fed me.

Here is another photo Melinda let me post. Right after I overheard a conversation how gesso can be removed with alcohol if it spills, I got some on my fave Andy Warhol tee shirt. I have accumulated such a wardrobe of "studio outfits" since I've dedicated to the art world.

This was the hat contest. The theme was garden, but I asked beforehand and was told we could do any theme we wished. I had garden designs I drew in my ideabook, but the one that begged me most to be created was the city/country theme. It was a metaphor for what I'm going through accepting making art creation a business.

I spent hours needle felting, machine quilting and baking polymer buildings for the city in the front half of this hat. The city represents the business side of art. I have many dreams at night of cities and it's always symbolizing business. On the back I quilted and needle felted mountains. This symbolizes the solitude of the creative process.

 I put a road block of road work and construction workers around the back. I made signs for the road workers out of shrink plastic. In design school we were always reminded to keep the back of the piece interesting too. The road block represents the artist blocks I get when I know I'm creating something to exhibit out in the world. The stars, the moon, and the windows in the city (and on the hat ties) all glow in the dark. This piece was way not fun to take on the plane arriving or returning. On flights, it doesn't matter if it's art...it has to fit under the seat which caused several sessions of having to fix broken parts coming and going on the trip. It was also stepped on and bumped into a number of times. I didn't win any category of the contest, but I gave myself the 'Most Challenging Traveling with Hat Across the Nation' award by buying a "vintage outfit" which I rarely do because it usually gets covered in paint or art goo with this artsy lifestyle.

                                         Here are the contest winners:

Best in Show--Mary Ellen Schree

Mostly likely to be Worn in the Garden--Peg Glyndenege

                                      Most Fitting of Theme on the left--Maureen Conway.
                             The one on the right won Most Original Design---Angela Thoma.

                                       Here is another photo of the display of contest entries.

                                With street statues like this---is it no wonder I adore Portland?

Portlanders were so helpful in helping me find my way around the city to explore. Two women on the street car highly recommended going to Savvy Plus. I am now a huge fan of this shop and owner and recommend it highly as well. It has way way super cool outfits. And this wonderful lady, Gaya, owns and runs the shop. She makes each customer feel so welcome and important. She was so fun to talk with! This is where I purchased a cool outfit prize for "Most Challenging Traveling with Hat Across the Nation" self-proclaimed award.

I had such a special time in Portland. It's one of the coolest cities on the planet. Portlanders are a special breed of friendly people. And I was so impressed of the top notch instruction, students, and experience of Art and Soul.