Hello - again

Hello again blogger buddies.  We had a wedding to put on for one of our daughters.  Oh my.  Great fun!  Lots of planning!  Lots of creating!  Did I say lots of planning?

During the wedding-planning stage-of-life I took a sabbatical from blogging.  My path back in is taking Kim Klassen's Round Trip class.  So glad the class started immediately after the wedding.

After filling up the MacBook Pro's disk twice now with "too many pictures" I knew I had a real problem with storing files and I wanted to learn Lightroom.  The first two days of class have been all about LR basics of file storage.  No wonder I was confused about what to do.  Thank goodness Kim can lay out a path.  Taking a class from Kim is like having a friend sitting next to me here at the kitchen counter coaching me along my own path.

I'll be checking in with my blogger buddies from previous classes over the next few days.

It feels good to be back.

Oh - and two weeks before the wedding, my camera quit working.  stopped.  the end.  very big ugh.  Purchasing an new camera was not in the budget.  HAD to buy a new camera.  After going back and forth over what to do, finally purchased a Sony NEX 5 for the wedding and to send it on the honeymoon with the newly weds.  I'll send my Sony a55 off to the camera hospital in Texas this month.

Another "Oh" - my iPhone never made it back from the reception.  So right now I am phoneless and cameraless.  Very strange to travel without my two best friends hanging out at my side.

#takeamoment

Finding the time. Being conscious of time. I'm realistic about having it all. It's a selective process.

I have a time value awareness to my schedule. Wake early before the house, except for the dogs. They always seem to wake, I ignore them in the morning. Exercise with the TV (no travel time). Make tea and gather my art pack. Find a quiet spot... Outside is wonderful now!

Still. Something. Missing.

Paging through a fab little quiet book from my simple collection, a voila moment. The missing words. From Mary Oliver. It's always a poet or one simple phrase, isn't it?

"Every day I walk out into the world to be dazzled, then to be reflective.". Mary Oliver. (so glad she shares her brilliance with us)

I'm missing that reflective part. Where to find THAT time? Sheesh.

While watering my drought stricken flowers I pondered and pondered. Then pondered again. Another dazzling moment... I don't have to have pencil and a notebook to be reflective. Reflective can be done with thoughts alone! Duh. Duh. Duh

Or in twitter speak, which I love, #takeamoment

Busy and Avoiding

Many things going on - moved a daughter back to college.  Four of us, all women, tallest 5'2" and a Budget rental truck .  It was interesting - to say the least.  And Kansas is hot and those cicada's are noisy and BIG.  The drive back was long.  And for the most part - flat, hot, empty and lots of dead cornstalks in the fields.  Tough on the farmers and their families.

Back to work and all that entails.  Catch up.  On the Gerbil wheel.  Love my work, but it is busy.

Still have to take some time for the BTS class - the last week of class.  I want to do the photo tricks!

And - sigh - have taken on the "project manager" side of another daughter's wedding.  We had hoped, she and the fiance would pick up this job.  Not happening.  Some folks are just not project managers for a big project.  I had to come to grips with this.  Calmly come to grips with it.  I am being calm.  Really. Have been creating long (really long) lists of everything that needs to be done.  Next up - assigning responsiblity and deadlines for my lists.  Monday nights are gonna be "wedding nights."

Onward!  This is gonna be exciting!  October 2012 wedding.  oh my gosh!

Class samples. ASCP

Annie Sloan chalk paint (ASCP) class last night. My experimenting color choices: Barcelona Orange, Old Ochre. Decision time today: what to paint? Using what colors? And which technique? Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and I need to catch up with BTS or pay for the extension.

Too many ideas. Not enough weekends!

3 techniques below, all with wax applied. Clouded Stipple, two-color exposed, one-color rustic.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I'm taking a class tonight featuring - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Not from Annie, but from a nearby store that sells her paint.  So, so, SO excited.  I've painted a couple of things already, but now I'll get to learn some tricks of the paint and wax - expanding my knowledge of creative ways to use this incredible paint.  "Why incredible," you ask? No sanding or stripping involved - just get painting!  My kinda painting...

Here's Annie's blog.

And there are lots of pinterest photos, too - search on Annie Sloan.

Contour drawing

Internet speed here is v e r y s l o w. not able to watch videos for class so I will catch up once I return.

Still life contour drawing follows. Each day a few more of the abc's of drawing. Tomorrow sketching at the Rio Grande early in the morning. Sketch model in the afternoon. So excited!

I'm going list...

I leave tomorrow.  For a creative art week.  At the Mabel Dodge Luhan House.  Sas Colby is our guide, instructor, creative mentor.  Here's the workshop description.  The week is much more than the description.

I've attended many times before (so lucky, I know).  Being able to drive and just toss everything I need into the back of the car and not worry about packing and shipping is a blessing.

Plus, Sas encourages us to explore what we want to explore: creative instruction, a boundary pusher.  This year - I'm ready for the ledge again.  This year's ledge: Paint.  Not the itty bitty stuff I have been playing with.  Not the gentle, cute stuff.  (oh wait, there may be a rabbit.) This time - paint, on a canvas (I bought one big-ish canvas) and have several smaller ones.

My list for Studio in the Sky 2012:
1. paint.
2. large.
3. acrylics.
4. feel the color.
5. #takeamoment to #enjoythemoment
(hash tag speak for Take A Moment to Enjoy The Moment)
6. Read list - at least daily - on iPhone.

Thanks for the list idea Kim and Xanthe (BTS Guides).