A Voggie Update

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.

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!

When is a Salad Spinner not a salad spinner?

When it is ORANGE! My mother-in-law got me this for my birthday, and I LOVE it! I am really diggin' the color orange right now, and this was such a pleasant surprise. Makes me want to eat salads and all other kinds of fruits and veggies that can be spun and dried!

Had a wonderful birthday dinner at a little Italian place nearby called Stefano's Trattoria. OMG....so good. Leila's recommendation...."You have to try the tortellini....it'll change your life!!" It is delicious but I'm afraid that by "change your life" that might mean changing into a big fat cow! Good thing I have my new salad spinner.

Birthday week is almost over!  I promise there is art in progress to come. I am working on several projects at the moment. Our Vein of Gold group has a show coming up at The Casselberry Art House, and I have about 6 peices to complete, and I'll post my progress. A lot of these are using different mediums than I'm used to. A lot of fun!

Cute birthday cake!

This is the cake that Tim surprised me with this year. So cute and delicious.

And he also got me this!!!! Awesome book by Stephen Pressfield. Have been wanting it for quite some time. Can't wait to see what magic it holds.
Happy birthday to Me!

Birthday Advice

Today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me! I have a tendency to celebrate all week long, and this year was no exception. To kick off the week, we went to the Lil 500, a go-kart race track that has been there so long that we went there when we were kids! It has probably been close to 30 years since I was there last! Leila loves it and I am so surprised at how well she can drive! She really takes the corners like a pro and still has time to pose for the camera in true-Leila form! Afterwards, we went to another local institution for lunch, Kappy's. A small drive-in, greasy-spoon type joint that has the best subs! and waffle fries with Ranch! YUM!

Later that day, I was treated to an impromptu mini-birthday party at my friend Lisa's place. We took care of a bottle of champagne and had a great afternoon relaxing and talking, munching bread and olive dipping oil. I left with shoes, a new bag, Chocovine and Pina Coladas, roses....so much...So much to be grateful for!

The next day I enjoyed a great dinner with the family at Bonefish Grill. All I have to say is that Bang-Bang shrimp and Ahi Tuna Sashimi makes me a happy girl. And so did the collossal brownie, ice cream surprise at the end!

Monday was my day at the beach. I usually try to go by myself to reflect and just to have "quiet time." The Old Skool Surf School was in session when I got there. It was fun to watch the kids learning to surf. I treated myself to a Banana Colada Slurpee and Mon Delice . It was a beautiful gorgeous day! All I really need is my toes in the sand and some little waves and I am lovin' life!

And that brings me to today...my actual birthday... I'll let ya know what happens.....

Oh, and my birthday advice....have fun at any age!

Focus on LOVE

It's wishcasting Wednesday, and this week Jamie Ridler prompts us: What Do You Wish to Focus On? I wish to focus on LOVE because love is all there is (man, did the Beatles have it ALL right!). I am a big fan of Marianne Williamson, and if anyone has read a Course in Miracles, the concept is that Love is all that is real, everything else is an illusion. Everything else is fear. So, I'm going to focus on love and finding love in every situation. It's there. And the way to find it is through gratitude!

Birthday Gift to myself

I recently took part Kelly Rae's e-course Flying Lessons and there was so much inspiration and knowledge that I often found it difficult to keep up. There is also a wonderful community of artists who were involved in this inaugural e-course that I am honored to be connected with. I am thrilled that the group is continuing to grow even after the course has finished. Not only is Kelly in the midst of growing and preparing for a birth of her own, but I feel like we all are. We are all at different stages of this process but it is truly beautiful how those that are further along are so openly willing to help those coming up and those who are just starting are there to hold each other's hands through the tricky parts. I'm kind of in the middle. My creative career is changing directions, and I'm figuring it out as I go along. All the while paying close attention to signs along the way that my artistic compass is on course.

I didn't own a copy of Kelly's book prior to the course, but have been checking it out from the library and trying to absorb all of the goodness in it on a limited time frame. I happened to stop into Michael's Crafts yesterday to pick up some dry erase markers (ours were lost on vacation???) and took a few minutes to browse the clearance aisle as I do. Slim pickins....wait...OMG...my heart skipped a little beat when I uncovered Kelly's book from the bottom of the bargain book bin. It was in perfect shape and 50% OFF!!! I held it in my hands with gratitude and made note....a little love from the Universe. This book is for YOU! Happy early Birthday!

Happy 7-11 everyone!

I have an undying love for this wonderful creation called a Slurpee. Although I do enjoy the cherry Icee occasionally or the watermelon Slushie from DQ, they don't even come close to the icy cold frothiness of the perfect Slurpee. The others can't rival all the flavors and the unlimited combinations that can be created...there's banana, raspberry, peach-mango, and the ever-elusive watermelon (purchased many, many years ago at New Smyrna Beach...undeniably the BEST Slurpee EVER). Not to mention the freedom to mix as you please. With a Slurpee, you are in control. And for those days, when you want to go old school, draw yourself a cuppa of pure, uncut Coke Slurpee.

During the school year, if the week has gone well and the spelling test is marked with a nice big A with a circle around it, we stop at the Sev on Friday for a cold one on the way home. And now that it is summer, we ride our bikes and reward ourselves for making it through the Florida heat with a Brain Freeze from slurping too fast. If you're like me and you lovva Slurpee, today is your lucky day. It's 7/11 and 7-Elevens everywhere are giving out free Slurpees to celebrate! So pump up the bike tires, rev up the car, or hop on your skateboard and go get yours. Slurp, slurp, slurp, and feel your cares melting away. Oh, Thank Heaven for 7-11!

Back to Reality

These are just a few shots from our trip down south to Sanibel Island. For some reason, I can only load 4 pictures at a time from Picasa per post. Anyone know how to get around this? I'll post more in another post. We had a super fantastic week. So many shells this year! Usually, we are conservative about what we take, as we have a bunch of shells already from many years past, but this year I felt an overwhelming need to take as many as I could. There were so many beautiful scallop shells and I just wanted to save them....for myself and from being covered in oil. The beach was much choppier than usual for the gulf with Hurricane Alex out there stirring things up. But, we did get some calm time in the warm water just floating along, digging our toes in the sand searching for sand dollars and other little creatures to meet. So fun! This week, back to reality and facing challenges on the homefront. Life is an adventure, that is for sure!

Juicy thoughts

There's nothing like some time away to stir up all the swirling ideas in my head. I just love all the stuff that passes through my brain and picturing what I can do with those ideas. If you're searching for possibility, take yourself out of your normal life for a little while. I can't wait to get back to my studio!

And the Guest Blogger is.....

KONA!
Hi all, my mom wanted me to pop in and say Hi to keep the blog going while she's on vacation with the rest of my family. I get to stay with Nana and Poppi this time which is much better than the other place with all the gates and dogs who snore all night! I have my nice comfy bed, not to mention the leather couches that I hop up on when they are out! They are over-feeding me with treats and basically giving me the royal treatment! Even though that is nice, I can't wait for my family to come home. Only a few days to go and I'll be pouncing all over them.....Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon!! (That's DOG for LOVE!!)