On the last post, Ashley asked what my Vein of Gold group was about and also about an exhibition that is coming up... First, the VOG opening will be at The Casselberry Art House on Saturday, August 14, 2010. I would love to see you there!
Now, about our Vein of Gold group. About 6 years ago, I spotted an ad in one of the local papers, for a group called The Artist's Way. This is based on an amazing book of the same name by Julia Cameron. This book was patiently waiting for me on my bookshelf, purchased years before from a great little metaphysical book store in the neighboring town of Casadaga. Luckily for me, I went with my intuition and attended.
This group is what helped me to truly begin on my creative path and I will be forever grateful for it, and I cherish the people who are in my life because of this group. I can't begin to even go into everything that this group means to me....not only because I wouldn't know where to start, and also because time is not on my side this week, and I need to be acutely aware of where it is going. So maybe some other time I will delve into that. It is truly a long and winding road.
So, back to the VOG....basically last year a huge transformation occurred and the facilitator of the group, the awesome Cheryl, decided to take a break from the Artist Way group and form a branch off based on another one of Julia Cameron's books, The Vein of Gold. The second group is only 7 of us from the originals which is perfect, and we meet at different locations and discuss the book and everything else connected to our lives and our creativity, and it just magically flows. Which brings us to the exhibit. In the past, we have always had the art house for an Artist's Way exhibit during the summer and this year it was still available to us, so this exhibit is the collaborative work of the 7 of us "Voggies" based on the sections of the book called Kingdoms. Below is part of a project for the show wherein we all made plaster masks of our faces and then we are to take them in whatever direction we feel inspired.
The initial pouring of the mask was a feat in and of itself as your face is completely covered and you can only breathe through straws. It was truly an exercise in mind power and in breath control. The plaster is heavy and starts to warm as it hardens. I was okay and had to focus on breathing and basically block everything else out. Oh, and also try to squelch the urge to open my eyes. That would have been bad....very, very bad. I felt exhilerated and triumphant after the plaster was removed from my face. It has been a great project and I highy recommend it if you get the chance to do something like this.
Now, about our Vein of Gold group. About 6 years ago, I spotted an ad in one of the local papers, for a group called The Artist's Way. This is based on an amazing book of the same name by Julia Cameron. This book was patiently waiting for me on my bookshelf, purchased years before from a great little metaphysical book store in the neighboring town of Casadaga. Luckily for me, I went with my intuition and attended.
This group is what helped me to truly begin on my creative path and I will be forever grateful for it, and I cherish the people who are in my life because of this group. I can't begin to even go into everything that this group means to me....not only because I wouldn't know where to start, and also because time is not on my side this week, and I need to be acutely aware of where it is going. So maybe some other time I will delve into that. It is truly a long and winding road.
So, back to the VOG....basically last year a huge transformation occurred and the facilitator of the group, the awesome Cheryl, decided to take a break from the Artist Way group and form a branch off based on another one of Julia Cameron's books, The Vein of Gold. The second group is only 7 of us from the originals which is perfect, and we meet at different locations and discuss the book and everything else connected to our lives and our creativity, and it just magically flows. Which brings us to the exhibit. In the past, we have always had the art house for an Artist's Way exhibit during the summer and this year it was still available to us, so this exhibit is the collaborative work of the 7 of us "Voggies" based on the sections of the book called Kingdoms. Below is part of a project for the show wherein we all made plaster masks of our faces and then we are to take them in whatever direction we feel inspired.
The initial pouring of the mask was a feat in and of itself as your face is completely covered and you can only breathe through straws. It was truly an exercise in mind power and in breath control. The plaster is heavy and starts to warm as it hardens. I was okay and had to focus on breathing and basically block everything else out. Oh, and also try to squelch the urge to open my eyes. That would have been bad....very, very bad. I felt exhilerated and triumphant after the plaster was removed from my face. It has been a great project and I highy recommend it if you get the chance to do something like this.
So, here is my mask, I wish I would have gotten a shot before I painted it turquoise, but that is a lesson I am still learning. (Take pictures of every stage!!) My nose is a little crunked up, but the most important thing that I have learned so far about this process is ......the more I tried to get it perfect, the most I was losing myself. Ah-ha!! I started out lovingly, gently sanding and scraping the rough bits, and then turned into an almost frantic quest for symmetry and smoothness and PERFECTION! After I had sanded down one of my cheeks almost to the point where I didn't recognize it, I realized I was losing me. And I really, really wanted it to be me. So I took a deep breath and stopped all that nonsense and got down to the fun part...Painting!
I wasn't totally sure what direction I was going in, but my plaster self just looked so serene, so I just went with that.
I'm working with some DAS clay, which I thought I would love, and it turns out that I have mixed feelings about. And one of those feelings is frustration. But after a bit of work and experimenting, I was able to achieve the results I needed. If it's dry, I should be able to paint and put it all together tonight. And then it will be One down, a hundred to go....okay, maybe not a hundred, but seriously I have about 6 projects to complete before installation of the show this coming weekend.
My intention this week: To TRUST that I can do it. To center and focus all of my energy on time management and getting the projects done. And to not get bogged down by seeking perfection. There is something exhilirating about having to complete projects in a quick manner. I have been learning to go with my instincts instead of second guess. No time for that.
Anyhoo, Ashley, I hope that answered your question and if you're free I'd love to meet you at the show. Stay tuned for more project updates!
Wow, thanks so much for answering my questions as a blog post! I will put your show on my calendar. Your VOG group sounds awesome. I did something similar with The Artists Way and has such a wonderful experience. I have the VOG book as well as Walking in This World, but I haven't read them yet. I think I may need to pick them up soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
Ashley