Notes from The Treehouse

Magic Tag

2008-11-02T16:53:00.003-05:00

I've been tagged by the magical Megs Bisbee-Durlam, a spectacular young woman & fabulous, spirited artist.

The six random facts meme

Here's the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself. (See below)
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. (See further below...) (I can only bring myself to tag 1)
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up. (I do not know what this means...)

Random Things:

1. My mother made a Jolly Green Giant costume for me when I was a child. This was likely my 1st experience with irony as I am- and was- quite short.

2. I love office supplies.

3. I am surprised & grateful every day that I am married to a very nice man.

4. My kitty is coming up on a solid 3 years of "pampering" per order of his veterinarian.

5. I have a desire to learn latin dance.

6. According to my life goal for 4 years throughout high school, I am now an International Diplomat.

I tag:
Julie Molina

and anyone else who would like to voluntarily be tagged.

Mirror, mirror...

2008-10-12T09:03:00.003-04:00

**Attention! Spoiler Alert. If you are participating in Fall Museology & wish total surprise, peruse no further!**

What is Museology? I'm a newbie, so I'm not a definitive source. Our fearless coordinator, Diane Barmore, describes the theme as "Musings from your soul, enlightening tricks or techniques, quotes that ignite your creativity, imagery that really sends you - anything that tickles your Muse." How cool is that?! Apparently, it happens twice a year, so the next one will be in the spring. Check out the sweetness of past volumes: http://groups.msn.com/MuseologyInternationale. Thanks for the invite, Joannah!

So, I completed my front page this weekend. This is truly quite something as it is not due 'til the end of the month. I'm fairly tickled with it! I think I often struggle with connecting with my own authentic voice- thinking the answer lies somewhere outside of me. If I just take one more class... if I just get that book! This was different. I'll write more for the back of my page. All of this being said, I must give credit for the inspiration for this face to Suzi Blu & the dress solution to Mitsi. XO

Authentic Girl

Phew...

2008-09-28T14:07:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's already been a week since my last post... yet, so much going on, it seems like more than a week's worth of time.

Journal Page w/ face from Judy Wise's class

Monday: Birthday party at Dunkin' Donuts at 6 am. Dearest Carol from Austin wicked surprised me with two packages. In the 1st were cocktail napkins inspired by a napkin a classmate of Janis' at AU had with which I became minorly obsessed- Martini Queenies. She was unable to find the exact one, and indeed the owner of the napkin said she had been unable to find more. It was just so amazing to me that Carol even remembered and tried. Then I found another package, and you can guess where this is going, there were the Queenies themselves! I was cracking up & so touched at the same time.
Thursday: Peter & I went to see Cirque du Soleil in Boston. It was quite exciting & great to share with Peter. It seems our pursuits are quite independent of late, so sharing some magic was a very good thing, indeed.
Friday: My wonderful friend, Tamara, made me princess for a day in honor of my birthday.
Saturday: My friends, Heidi & Gena (who I call Heilidi & LuLu- they call me Tink), have wanted to start their very own visual journals & have been dutifully collecting stuff for months. So, I kinda did a class for 2 & it was so much fun! I'm going to collect some photos & post soon.

It's my birthday & I'll cry if I want to... but I don't

2008-09-21T08:58:00.004-04:00

Okay, so how luck am I? I returned yesterday from a lovely visit with Joannah & her partner, Neil, in Cavendish, VT. This is the back view of her fab stone home. I arrived Friday afternoon & was treated to spectacular views, food, friendship, intelligent conversation, & lots of love from the goldens- not to mention a bookstore & a craft fair.

Neil was inside during this family photo. His absence from photo documentation in no way reflects the role he played in my wonderful visit. I so enjoyed connecting with him.

Now, I am headed off to a birthday brunch with my friends!

To Vermont, James...

2008-09-18T19:37:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow I'm headed to Vermont to visit with my new friend, Joannah, an instructor from Art Unraveled. Joannah taught a fab journaling class, Writing on Air, and I'm so looking forward to connecting with her again. I love Joannah's website & I must admit to a smidge of envy in her professional life as she teaches journaling classes, facilitates Artist's Way groups, & welcomes others to her Open Studios.

The Crooked Tale

2008-09-15T20:05:00.005-04:00

My experience at Squam inspired me to return to this process of journaling. I am reclaiming a journal I made in a class with Kelly Kilmer at Art Unraveled a few years ago. I love this book- but it's been having an identity crisis for a few years.
I don't have much in the way of completed projects to document my Squam experience. I concluded that a true honoring of the event & the inspiration of Judy Wise would be to follow-through and dive back into this process that I know holds meaning for me, take pictures along the way, and tell the book's story. So, here's my book: The Crooked Tale...

The Tragic Disappearance of Center

The project on the cover is from a class with Karyn Gartel (my rockin' roommate), also from a few years ago.

Mirror, mirror on the wall... There's the answer after all...

Journaling along...

and a treasure gifted to me by the lovely Carol from Austin 'cuz she didn't really care for the colors. It's even more luscious than this poor photo indicates...

And, meanwhile, Craftland is beginning to take shape. While my passion for journaling has been reignited, I've also had the opportunity to self-soothe with craft supply organization... Truly, I should've taken a picture earlier on in this process to accurately capture the drama.
So, back to work tomorrow, but all things being equal, I'll return soon with new installments to The Crooked Tale...

Squam Art Workshops

2008-09-14T08:31:00.005-04:00

I'm in that dazed space following a rewarding art retreat... Squam was wonderful!

The location was gorgeous- truly phenomenal. The food was fabulous. Now, you're probably saying that a picture would be good here... and you'd be so right. I'm not a very good blogger... yet....
Check out Andrew's blog for he is a much better blogger & photographer than I shall ever be & he has beautifully & diligently documented his experience there.
I am so going back next year & hope you'll come, too!
I did not stay at the location as it was only an hour and 15 from my home. Next year I'll stay, though. It really shifts the experience when you have both feet out of the day-to-day world.
The first day I took a class with Misty Mawn & then I took both the following days with Judy Wise. Fab, fab, fab. I'll post some pics soon!

Productivity & Potential

2008-09-05T18:08:00.003-04:00

My creative life is currently rich in potential- productivity, not so much.
I am thrilled to be attending the 1st (hopefully annual) Squam Art Workshops next week! I will be taking 1 class w/ Misty Mawn & 2 classes with Judy Wise (yippee!). And, as if that was not enough... Tall Betsy (See Once Upon a Time post) will be attending with me 2 of the days. And cheers go out to Andrew Borloz. There I was, all the way in Phoenix at Art Unraveled, kvetching about the drought of such opportunity in NH, when Andrew mentioned he was coming to Squam. I'll look forward to seeing him there.
And the extravaganza will continue, fingers crossed, at ArtFest next spring, where I'll have the chance to see Julie Molina again.
I just got a note from Susan (of Susan & Don fame), who gently pointed me in the direction of the Art & Soul workshops that have just gone up for Hampton, VA in May. OMG- I'm just not sure that I can do this all! I did, however, reserve a hotel room...
I just want to say how nice it was of her to send me the note. I just met her at Art Unraveled & now here she is sending me a note. Seriously, how cool is that, I ask?
Of course, you may note my avoidance of an update on The Treehouse. OK- it is true that indeed there has been no progress. However, my man has returned from his western adventure & the potential for progress has increased exponentially. As has my happiness... Awww....

Update from The Treehouse

2008-08-26T21:47:00.006-04:00

Okay, so I'm building a closet so I can move my clothes so I can move my bed so I can turn my bedroom into Craftland. Yippee! Great potential, however there is no creative progress. Therefore, truly there's no update...
But Don has pointed out my blogger-slackerdom & in the nick of time, dear Carol sent me photos from AU. Now they don't truly capture the glamour of these Austin gals, but they will confirm that they are indeed real & not imaginary friends (as I thought Don might have been at the beginning...).

Dear Carol from Austin & Modern Mark Maker Extraordinaire, Lisa Engelbrecht

Metal Artist & Jewelry Visionary, Susan Lenart Kazmer, with her devotee, Janis, who is truly much lovelier with her eyes open.

The Treehouse: What's In A Name?

2008-08-13T12:05:00.000-04:00

Whammo has been sitting on my lap & pointed out to me that people may be a-wonderin' about the name of our blog, Notes from The Treehouse. Well, within the ongoing addition project that has been the context for much marital bonding & communication development, is The Treehouse, my new room for quiet contemplation, computer escape, inspiration, &, who knew, blogging- not to be confused with Craftland, which will be downstairs & messy.

So, this is how it all began:

My idea was to excavate a small area for a frost wall & make that small area into a bathroom, leaving us the ability to expand our teeny galley kitchen into a normal sized kitchen. The next morning, my creative husband:

woke up with a plan for a 2-floor 15x20 addition that basically doubles the size of our cottage. With no formal plans in place, we- mostly him, though I was very helpful in the earlier phases of destruction & framing- have created this in a fashion much like my intuitive painting class. Here is our house sculpture:

Art Unraveled '08, Ch. Deux

2008-08-12T18:47:00.000-04:00

And yes, I even went to classes...
I had absolutely the best ones this year at AU. I found I was drawing on each of them by the end of the week, applying tidbits here and there from my various learnings & gleanings.

Monday's class: Tiny Portraits taught by Juana Martinez Neal.

This was from a pencil sketch I did beforehand inspired by the poem, The Journey by Mary Oliver, which was recently sent to me. How much fun can one person have in a day, I ask. And, as if that was not enough, I met Julie Molina (see Top 5 list)!

Tuesday was my daylong class with Carla Sonheim, Voice Lessons. I was inspired to take this class largely due to the name. I talk about voice all the time in my work (as a therapist). In the course of the class, we tried various media & worked on finding what spoke to us & what we were good at. Not sure exactly what I was good at, but we definitely figured out that I like to layer.

Tuesday night I had a class with Tracy Bunkers, Printblock Making MacGyver Style. I was fried. I just should not take night classes, and, whoops, I thought the class started at 7 not 6. Absolutely loved the name of this class, got several cool ideas, would like to take another class with Tracy in the future. I sense she has a swell sense of humor....

Wednesday: Day off!! Totally going to do that again next time. Massage!!
Wednesday night: Carla's Drawing Blast. Not sure how this was going to go as we had done many drawing exercises the previous day. Like drawing; drawing exercises: not so much. I'm so glad I took this, though. I could see some development in my marginal technical drawing abilities. Of course, as Carla pointed out, as a person who cares about Carla, I need to be more discreet in the accolades I present over the blind contour exercise sketching the funky frog, complete with pointing to what really looks like a glob on a page but truly was a remarkable feat. Not the best publicity for dear Carla. Despite my dorkdom and smearing of her teaching reputation, Carla assures me she looks forward to staying in touch.

Thursday: Modern Mark Making with Lisa Engelbrecht. She totally rocks. Great class. Need practice. Could take this over & over again... except for the 1st hour of calligraphy drill. Was bonking mid-day but dear Carol took good care of me & I rallied for the afternoon. Not sure if this was a low blood sugar event, dehydration, or a result of my jaw crashing into the corner of the wall as I slipped the night before due to the freshly mopped floor outside the bathroom that had shown no signs of mopping when I entered the bathroom.

Friday: Jumbo Wooden Treasure Deck with Leighanna Light. Great name, great class, great fun. Got to layer!

Saturday: Writing on Air with Joannah Merriman. This was a terrific class. Joannah is leading the life I dream of- leading Artist Way workshops, journaling classes, groups, Open Studio's, and trips. She's coming to Vermont soon & I look forward to connecting with her again. This was focuses on written journaling, but we did do one collage exercise which was particularly zestful for me.
And during the Shopping Extravaganza I bought this fantastic owl from Carla Sonheim. I absolutely love, love, love her. A classmate on Saturday & I have named her Ezmerelda. She didn't photograph very well- I think it must be her magical aura that disturbed the image.

And finally,
Sunday: Katie Kendrick's Poetry in Motion. I was so excited about this class, and it exceeded my expectations! It was an intuitive process, so we really let the images emerge- exactly the opposite of my 1st class of the week. Unfortunately, I was less than enchanted by the images that were 1st emerging as I so love Katie's faces.
As I left for lunch, I had one picture that was a giant snail with a city skyline and another that was a striking sunset. Not a face to be found.

As with so many things, the moral is: trust the process. I call this one Not a Snail.
I think my favorite is the second one:

Art Unraveled '08, Ch. 1

2008-08-12T18:31:00.001-04:00

Just returned last night from a fabUlouS week at Art Unraveled (AU) in Phoenix, AZ! I think this was my 4th year-the only art retreat I've attended. Though this year promises to have me branching out to others, this will always be my fav, I'm sure of it.
Phoenix in August? you might muse quizzically... Well, I'm the one who had a honeymoon in Pakistan. So, there you go.

Top 5 List:

1. Janis & Carol: How delightful they are. 2 spunkier gals you can't imagine. It seems the 3 of us can find humor in just about anything. It's a smidge amazing to me that our connection has only been at AU. Feel like I've been giggling with them forever. Wish I had a picture to share, but perhaps someone will share one with me at some point. Note to self: bring camera next time, particularly now that you be a-bloggin'.

2. Julie Molina: An incredibly talented artist without a shred of ego and with the biggest heart and sparkle in her eye! I bought one of her paintings- Yeah! I'm so hoping to stay in touch with her online and will look forward to seeing her next year- if not sooner!

3. Katie Kendrick: I've wanted to take a class with Katie since I was 1st struck by her wonderful faces in a magazine sighting. Her class, Poetry in Motion, was my FAVORITE of 8 outstanding classes. The intuitive painting process that was the heart of this class was so much fun! It was a wonderful day of mindful presence, creativity, and flow. All I had to do was get out of my own way. And, as if that was not enough, Katie herself is a delightful spirit to connect with- a gentle breath of fresh air & inspiration. I can't wait to take another class with her- yet one more reason to live in the state of Washington. She's also someone you'd like to have a slow cup of tea with.

4. Carla Sonheim: So, I 1st saw Carla not knowing who she was and thought "she looks like someone who would be my friend." Then I figured out it was her when I walked into her class, Voice Lessons on Tuesday. My inner dork lost all inhibition & spouted forth this tidbit to her within moments of being graced by her presence. She apparently has a high tolerance for dorks, however, and refrained from spurning me. I was fortunate to connect with her several times over the course of the week. Partially because I did a fine job of mimicking a groupie and took not only her Voice Lessons class, but also her Drawing Blast class on Wednesday night (I was scared I was not going to get into Voice Lessons). Carla is a magical, generous, and kind soul with wicked talent.

5. The Spirit: The mood at AU is so uplifting. Everyone is encouraging, happy to share, and pleased to connect. It is just a great group and such a well-organized event!

Once Upon A Time...

2008-08-12T18:14:00.002-04:00

there was a little girl named Betsy.
She's now, by age, a full-fledged woman, but by size not much bigger than the little girl (vertically, that is). One of her friends once called her a dust mite.
She apparently often feels compelled to refer to herself in the 3rd person, but I'm sure that's something she can work on in therapy.
One day or, to be truthful, for many days, she harvested images from magazines which she then collaged in color themes. It made her happy. Then the collages began to grow and become 3-dimensional. In chatting with a friend, quilt artist Betsy Cannon, formally known as Tall Betsy, she learned about Somerset Studio. The rest is a history of purchasing, expansive creating, traveling, learning that those funky fairies she made could be referred to as art dolls, discovering there was such a thing as an altered book (fondly called a wrecked book by the dust mite commentator), studio set-up and reset-up, and cool connections.
In a brave moment, she signed up to travel to Art Unraveled in Phoenix in 2004 (she thinks, but she's not great with numbers, chronology, or maps, for that matter). She is now officially an AU devotee and just this week at AU 2008 was inspired to branch out into the brave new world of blogging.