Bodhisartva ..... Art/Spirit/Life

What a difference a year makes

Artfest withdrawal. I am having it BIG time. Right NOW!

This is the last year for Artfest - and I am not there. Last year, I was there.  It has been a spring ritual for years.  

For those who are wondering what I'm talking about, Artfest has been an annual art retreat for many years.You live, eat and sleep art.  You talk art.  And oh yes, you make art.  You play, you laugh, you walk in the rain lugging 68 pounds of art supplies half a mile.  There are 500 people and you feel you know them all.  You take 3 classes with some of the most fabulous teachers around.  You live by the water in funky old military base housing, which you share with ghosts.

In other words, you are in HEAVEN.

It's a loooooong climb to get there........

Fly into Seattle, take the ferry to the island, drive over the Hood Canal, pass the paper mill (phew), drive through town and into the fort, maybe see some wildlife.

Check into Officers' Housing. Have a talk with the ghost.  Decide to ignore it but turn on all the lights anyway.

 

 See some friends.  Drink some sangria.

You soak up everything from every teacher and every student - every technique, every smile, every success, every failure. Then, you journal about it.

You write and paint and pay attention.

Your drink wine and eat yummies and get silly.

Then, too soon, it's over, but not really. Because when you leave, you never forget. Because now you have learned to fly.

Love and Food

I remember all the many many years of cooking dinner for my family.  We sat down together almost every night - Mama, Papa, three girls.  The food was pretty basic but healthy and it gave us a chance to talk and laugh and share.  I miss that full dinner table now that my daughters are grown up and on their own.

However - there are benefits to having adult children, especially ones who love to cook.  Especially one who lives with me.

Now, this is not just any pasta. You are looking at HOMEMADE pasta - made fresh just before cooking.  It was fun to watch her make it and even more fun to eat it.

Add to that the joy of these fabulous roasted root vegetables, courtesy of the Brooklyn daughter - who knew carrots came in so many different colors?

All three of my daughters are great cooks - and inventive ones.  They remind me of myself at 20 - always trying new things, getting fancy.  Now, I am so focused on other things in my life, preparing food is at the bottom of my list.

How about you?  Do you cook every day and love it?

 

 

Getting My Feet Wet

Well, yes, it has been raining here, but that's not what I mean.

I am going back to teaching art classes.  I had quite a run years ago, long before my bookbinding fetish started. This time around, I am teaching bookbinding in all its variations.

First class - Long Stitch Binding.

Sunday at Zinnia in South Pasadena. A small class but fun and talented ladies, assisted by the wonderful Joe and Ali the Cat.

Skillful hands.

Intense Concentration.

And, voila!  A book!

The folks at Zinnia are great and even let us stay late to finish up. Not to mention keeping Ali Cat off the table and out of the glue!  

 

Lessons learned:

#1  Next time, schedule more time.

#2  It's even more fun than I remembered!

Hope you can join us next time.

East Coast Visitor

Does it get any better than this?  Her presence fills up the house.  A visit of a few days is never enough.

 

I was lost and now am found

I know it's shallow of me.  

But the sight of this, after weeks of not being connected, makes my heart sing.  Oh joy, oh Facebook, oh email.

Bookbinding Class at Zinnia

I'm so excited to go back to teaching!  March 18th at Zinnia is S. Pasadena, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Details and links will follow, but for now, please share my excitement! I love bookbinding and handcrafted books so much that I'm delighted to be able to infect others with the joy.

For the first class, I'm doing the oh, so easy "long stitch".  All the above are long stitch journals - see how versitile it is?  And the best part is that the pages fold down flat so you can easily write or paint or draw.  

 

Join me?