Carol, Nancy and Magic

My life is entering into an almost magical phase. I'm very glad right now that I know what adversity truly is because if I didn't, I might not be able to appreciate the spell I'm under these days. Even as things with my father progress in the usual manner for Alzheimer's patients, the opportunities being offered to me because of my work are easily balancing the grief to joy ratio in my life right now.

On Sunday, I'm heading to the Crow Timber Frame Barn for a week spent in the company of two extraordinary teachers- Carol Soderlund and Nancy Crow- and a collection of fiber artists from around the country. I know from past experience with week-long art retreats that each one is a unique, transformative experience. I feel like I should be pinching myself every few minutes to make sure I haven't gone to sleep and started dreaming!

As if that wasn't a wonderful enough way to end what has already been for me a very creatively exhilarating year, I was, after all, offered the opportunity to to give two 2-hour demo sessions for Open Studios at the Houston International Quilt Festival! If you read a recent post of mine on the subject, you saw that I was keenly hoping they would give me the chance to demonstrate my Stacked Journaling technique, and it turns out that they liked the photos I sent them of the collage projects I wanted to demo! I'm incredibly flattered and pleased.


Knowing I will have to fill 4 hours of art-making activities has me redoubling my efforts to create "kits" for Stacked Journaling collages.

These kits consist of metal flashing and heavy mat board bases plus companion deli and copy paper collage elements. Making them not only gives me material to use in my demos, it also is excellent practice for timing myself and for finding ways to work cleanly without access to clean water or electricity.

For the first hour of each Open Studios session, I will demo how I use paint and Stacked Journaling to create these collage bases and papers, and for the second hour, I will demo how I assemble the collages.  More details later on all that, though. I hope to meet some of you on the convention floor this November!

Finally, I get to round out the year in fine style by co-teaching a Make It University class with fellow Sketchbook Challenge artists Jane LaFazio, Sue Bleiweiss,  Leslie Tucker Jenison, and Jamie Fingal! More details on that later, as well, I promise!
 
I know that this very modest exposure I'm receiving is fleeting, like most things,  but I'm okay with that- it only means I will hang on all the tighter to these experiences. I'm going to keep my eyes wide open for this, friends- I don't want to miss a thing!

Happy creating (and see you in a week!)