Cha Cha Cha Changes in the Studio!

A couple of days ago, I cleaned up and rearranged my studio. I have realized that I do this at least once a year, sometimes twice and always at the time the season changes. It usually takes a few weeks for me to notice that I feel anxious and vaguely uncomfortable, my studio is cluttered and frantic looking, my artwork has become stunted and feels forced, and I need a change. This year that time was this past Friday.

I picked through all of my supplies, moved my desks around and recycled anything that was taking up space but not useful. It feels amazing. My studio feels bright and fresh again. I am ready to paint again, full speed ahead!

New and Ongoing Projects

Companion Journal to Gaia's Calling

Here's a sneak peak at the journal title Page!

I have been working on a companion journal for my book, Gaia's Calling - A Journey to Rediscover the Magic of the Natural World and your connection to it, for about a month now. I have the content all done and edited I just need to get into the template for the publishing company I have chosen to use. For the book, I used CreateSpace, a self-publishing company that is a sister company to Amazon.com. For the journal, I am using LuLu.com because they offer a spiral bound option that CreateSpace doesn't have.

All of that is to say; I spent about three hours on Saturday trying to get my template to translate correctly Into LuLu.com's publishing software only to realize at the end of the day that the template I was using for a 6X9" size journal does not print on white paper. It is only available on cream colored paper. Since this journal is about more than just writing, (it has a creative expression element to it for which you the journaler are encouraged to get out your favorite pencils, crayons, pens, etc. and draw) cream colored paper isn't going to work. So today I have to choose a different template size that does print on white paper and copy-paste my manuscript into the new template one page at a time. Ugh! It's a labor of love, and I really cannot wait to share this with you when it's done... but Self-Publishing is ALOT of work and requires a significant amount of patience. If you are working on a self-publishing project right now, hang in there, you will make it through!

Workshop Series

The idea for the companion journal came to me while I was working on creating a Workshop Series around the book Gaia's Calling. In my book I encourage readers to take the book outside with friends, read to each other and work through the meditations and exercises. The instructions for most of the meditations and exercises suggest that the reader record their experiences in a journal. Bringing the two together in a workshop series felt like a natural progression.

I have mentioned this workshop briefly on my Facebook page but I have given no details. So here's a preview of the series just for those if you who read my blog post:

Magic of the Natural World Workshop Series will consist of four separate sessions. Each session will be different and will take place at different locations outside in the natural world. The basic structure of each session will be as follows:

Opening Circle: come together in circle, say hello and get centered
Read a Chapter from Gaia's Calling: talk about the chapter, answer questions.
Perform the meditation or exercise that corresponds to that chapter.
Use the Gaia's Calling Rediscovery Journal to record our experiences and deepen our practice.
Come together in circle and discuss our experiences.
Move on to the next chapter.

Materials included in this workshop:

Gaia's Calling Book
Gaia's Calling Rediscovery Journal
Small Canvas Tote Bag designed and illustrated by me (will hold all your materials).
Faery Circle Supplies in a Cotton Draw String Bag
Prismacolor Colored Pencil Set - 24 Pencils
Pencil Sharpener

Magic of the Natural World Workshop Series is designed to strengthen your connection to our beautiful planet and yourself. I am honored to share this sacred practice with you. I will have an information and sign up page on my website and be making an announcement soon!

Open Gallery

On Saturday I held the first ever open Gallery at my new gallery space in Peterborough, NH. I had one visitor, who I enjoyed talking with and who purchased a few items. Thank you! I consider this to be a success and will be holding open Gallery Days at least once a month going forward.

Open Gallery days are days that I will be available to talk about my artwork, creative process and answer any questions you have. During this time you can also purchase my artwork for sale in my gallery as well as my book, oracle cards, printed note cards, prints and other watercolor items I have for sale.

Last Weeks Paintings

Last week, I completed one painting. It was actually a sketch that I did in my painting sketchbook, but it is still a painting. :-) In this painting is the symbol for the Throat chakra; something I have been working with since being diagnosed with metestatic Thyroid Cancer in 2008. The cancer is in remission and has been for about seven years, but I still work on healing my Throat Chakra and I am still learning how to speak my truth and allow my authentic self to come forward. My artwork is one channel I use to express myself freely. In what ways do you express your truth?

Upcoming events

In only two weeks I am holding a Group Watercolor Painting class. The sign-up deadline is Saturday June 2nd. Here are the details of this exciting class. Be sure to mark your calendars and sign-up before it's too late!

Join us on June 9, 2018 10am - 1pm for a small group Creative Expression with Watercolors class. Explore your inner creative, tap into your higher-self, and complete a project to take home.

We will start with a meditation for creativity to allow ourselves to open up and let go of any fear we hold around creative expression. After our meditation we will continue with instructions for simple watercolor techniques as we get to know our materials and how to use them. We will spend some time playing and practicing the techniques we have learned before we start on our take home projects. Throughout our time together we will have intermittent breaks for conversations, snacks and to allow the paint to dry (a very important technique in Watercolor Painting.) This three hour class is a beautiful way to practice self care and let go of the stresses of life for a bit.

Take Home Projects

Watercolor Painting, mounted to white matt board and framed in a black frame.
Watercolor Notecard mounted to a note card complete with envelope and protective plastic sleeve.

Your Class Includes

All materials needed for take home projects
Snacks and refreshments

Plus the following materials you keep and use again for future projects

Paint Brushes ( 1 round, 1 flat) and a
A travel pallet with 15 different watercolor paints