Upcycled Icons -- Heros

My grandfather is my personal HERO.

The giving power of "As You Wish".  (What movie is this fabulous quote from?)

Time Grew Wings...

The summer has gone by so quickly.  I've been reminded how much life can change in a single blink of an eye.  In late May, I lost a dear friend and colleague to a scuba diving accident.  The blow to my soul cannot be described.  I've tried.  All the clichés come to mind:  "She was doing what she loved"; "She went quickly"; etc.  She lived life fully and didn't dwell on the negative for long.  She inspired all she encountered. She'll be missed.

As life carried on around me, 7 weeks later I was laid off from my company after 24 years.  A huge blow but as I examined my feelings about it, not as big a blow as I thought it would be.  What does that mean for me now?  Well, I'm taking time to take a few deep breathes and meditate on my next steps.  I am certain that creating and teaching will be front and center in my world.  The path that will take is another thing though.  That is what I will be pondering in the next few weeks or months. 

As my friend would say, move through it, take a deep breath and be open to all options.  Deborah, I will! 

Stay tuned, as I will be sharing the journey, the creativity, and the stages of my next adventures.  

Getting back in the swing..

Absenteeism...describes me to a "T". I've been away from the creative process a bit. Instead I've been enjoying cleaning out closets, our storage unit, the car, and anything else I can find. It feels GREAT! But now I'm juiced to get back on track and back to the creative process and back to the fun and joy of it all.

I did some painting tonight and move a journal along so I can finish it soon. I have two of those chipboard shaped journals -- one star shaped and the other a flower! I painted the flower pages in autumnal colors. When dry, I'll start the embellishment soon. Tomorrow we're babysitting. Maybe I can get the kids to finger paint...My husband is frowning over that one. We'll see. Maybe we'll just bake instead. Now he's smiling!

Interesting though - when you start creating physically you realize that you never stop creating - ideas are filling my head - almost overwhelmingly so and I just keep adding ideas to my creativity notebook. (Best recommendation I ever got was to start a creativity journal!)

Of to jot some things down before I forget!

Retreat

36 hrs and counting ... to CREATE Retreat! While Sue and I are taking the same class, we aren't taking it the same day! But I'm doing a surface design class that will net me 2 yards of "designed by me" fabric! I CANNOT WAIT!

Sue's making an apron and not just any apron of course! We'll post photos don't worry! I'm really looking forward to taking two classes with Jane Lafazio. Her watercolor journals are gorgeous and I hope to "develop" my drawing talent.

Something Sue and I talk about incessantly is how inspired we get at events like CREATE. How much we want to run home and design, make art and play. These types of events truly keep up our momentum and stimulate our ideas. The opportunity to learn new techniques inspires our confidence and leads us down new design pathways.

I know this retreat will be such fun and end up in so much more art!

We'll see.