To ArtFiberFest With LoVe...

I am now back to San Diego, back to our little home, back to my lonely husband, back to my day job, back to more creative projects....and despite catching a cold, I am feeling unusually refreshed, empowered and full of hope. A few years ago I decided to explore a different path with my art- After teaching art workshops for college students I discovered a love for sharing my knowledge, my crazy creative process and myself with others...(which goes against my typically shy and quiet nature) I found a new confidence that came with interacting and sharing my passion-where there was no fear, no insecurity only the feeling of a fit. Teaching became my goal and I have been rewriting my journey as an artist ever since. After teaching lots of smaller classes Teesha took a chance on me by accepting my proposal to teach at ArtFiberFest- here I was a fine artist and painter with an idea to teach painting and how to cut up canvas paintings up and sew them into something new at a fiber venue! I have to share with all of you out there how much is meant to be embraced and how wonderful it was to have the opportunity to share my process with you. Ruth wrote on her blog that teaching for her is intoxicating and I completely agree!!! It was magical watching everyone find their voice in each of their classes and in each of their projects. It was inspiring to see so many people with different backgrounds and experiences come together and bond over the one thing we all have in common and that is an uncontrollable desire to create and connect with others who create. To top off my experience I made the trip alone- which was not the original plan- The plan was to have my husband join me for a little R&R and assist me with all my stuff- which all went down the tube when he was called into work and couldn’t make it. It is funny, I used to do everything by myself with no fear but being settled and married I have learned to depend on him to catch and assist me when I am nervous or afraid. This was not an option this time and it is funny because making the trip out to Port Townsend, with a car load of stuff, not knowing anyone (except Ruth) and jumping into my first retreat teaching experience felt like a big deal to me and I have to be honest-I didn’t want to do it alone!!! But in this new little adventure, I found a piece of myself that I lost a long time ago...don’t get me wrong my hubby is actually a feminist and supports anything I do but being married sometimes your lose yourself a bit and it is easy to forget how empowering it is to conquer something on your own. Being alone through this whole trip brought me more confidence, courage and hope that the things that I am working for (no matter how big) are attainable even by myself!! The whole experience was unique and special and I have to thank Teesha and Tracy and Tiphoni for creating a venue for wonderful things to happen! It brought a new confidence, a renewal, an opportunity to find myself in a different way. I look forward to more time spent teaching and connecting with more creative people out there- everyone of you inspire me!!!

ArtFiberFest Highlights and Shouts

It is Tuesday and I am FINALLY relaxing at home (parent's house on the Oregon Coast). I have been taking time to organize all of my thoughts and pictures from ArtFiberFest to share on my blog. I must say that I had such a wonderful time having the opportunity to teach at a fiber venue was like a dream come true for me because it means that I was able to make the transition from a fine artist and painter into fiber territory- love it! The best part was meeting so many wonderful, creative and open people. I spend so much of my creative time either alone or often with people who are just not like minded- so to get to spend 5 days with individuals who love the same thing was so nice and a comfort to me!

Highlights and Shout OuTs- in No Particular Order!!!

***All of my students being SOOOOOOOOOO open to my "no rules" rule and "limited direction" style of teaching.

***Watching Heather create a super cool graffiti purse complete with and ball and chain strap- LOVE IT!!!

***Getting to meet the lovely and amazing Liz- love her beautiful blog and all of her creations are ALL gorgeous eye candy!

***Watching Gail let go and have fun with paint...and even make a mess-

*** Exploring Downtown Port Townsend

***Beach combing by myself in the wee hours of the morning.

***watching everyone go wild with spray paint and stencils

***watching the the yellow leaves fall from the trees

***Seeing all of the amazing purses that my students created from their own graffiti paintings-

***Spending time having fun with Ruth Rae...I love Ruth even the the bathroom is fun with her!!!

***Listening to the haunted toilet flush in Seminar room

***Loved staying in a scaring but funky captains house!
***Meeting Lisa Engelbrecht- she is the sweetest and most talented rebel calligrapher!!!

ArtFiberFEst Part 1

I am still traveling and made it back to Oregon with a happy heart!! Though I am tired from all of the activity- I am so inspired and energized by my time in Port Townsend with so many wonderful people! I am preparing a LONG post about my experience teaching and all kinds of shout outs to all of the amazing people that I met but it will have to wait until tomorrow because I only got 3hours of sleep last night and my brain is fuzzy!! Stay tuned for more!

Made It!

So I made it to Port Townsend and I must say that I am in much better spirits since my last post! Things are feeling better and I am exited to be at ArtFiberFest and to be in the Pacific Northwest- my old stomping grounds. I made it here this afternoon with time to do some exploring and picture taking! Now it is off to our kick off meeting!!! More to come!

Relief!!

I am officially prepared for teaching at ArtFiberFest (well almost) my problem is that I am never finished doing anything- it's kinda a problem!  But I am finally feeling relief and have so much fun stuff for vendor night including hand painted fabric with lots and lots of splatter! 

Thankfully I have started to catch up with other creative projects and have finally updated my esty shop with all kinds of new goodies including one of my favorites- 

The Large Graffiti Clutch- custom!

A Glimpse

Just a glimpse into my morning...still working, creating, painting, gathering stuff for teaching, preparing for holiday sales, trying to be productive as possible - all while holding onto gratitude for the many amazing things that I have to be thankful for. More to come!

Esty Update

I have been working on starting to add new wallets and purses to my etsy shop...slowly but surely it will happen! So here are two of my new series- that combine some fun combo of patterns!

Quilting Arts

Check out my article on canvas books in the latest Quilting Arts Magazine!

A Little Something...

A little something I like to call PROGRESS!!! I have been working during every spare moment- evenings, weekends, mornings before work and lunch time to produce a nice collection of things to sell at ArtFiberFest, Etsy, and all kinds of holiday opportunities! I am FINallY feeling more on top of stuff- the things that I make are labor intensive because I am literaly creating yardage and yardage of canvas paintings with lots of layers which usually means lots of drying time AND then I am cutting and sewing and turning all those paintings into one of a kind accessories which = TIME CONsumING!!! But I have reached a point in my process that I finally have a stock pile of painted canvas ready to be sewn up into lovely creations AND even better I have a stock pile of handmade product- feels so good!!

A little preview.....





and if you are attending ArtFiber Fest many of these items will be for sale during vendor night and if you are not attending but are interested in purchasing a custom purse or accessories feel free to email me or stay tuned for Etsy shop updates with all sorts of goodies for the holiday!!

Glimpse

Just a quick glimpse of  my special little space where I have been spending every single spare moment lately!

Got Pattern?

Once again another weekend spent working non stop! But in my never ending attempt to constantly push myself to be more creative I am proud to say that I created some lovely canvas full on interesting and fun patterns made completely by yours truly. After a few short breaks spent browsing through my favorite fashion mags I decided I needed some more textured and interesting canvas for accents in my purses AND I am so happy with the results!