Showing posts with label Sacred Vessels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sacred Vessels. Show all posts

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Playing is Crucial for Artists


Goof off, and don't worry about the end result
Aside from creating artwork, I cannot think of anything much more important for an artist than PLAYING. Yes, you heard me...playtime. We have playdates for kids, and recreational time for grown-ups. We need set play days for artists!

Serendipity and maybe fate brought me back together recently which a group of artists I met when teaching my class Spirit Boxes, Sacred Vessels and Shrines for the very first time many, many years ago. These amazing women are now all accomplished artists, and I remain honored to know them. When one of the group was recently diagnosed with cancer, she requested that we re-form the artist group we had back in the day. These are the pictures from our first play day get together, where we played around with collage papers and paint. We were joined by another artist's sister, the fabulous Linda Lenart McNulty, and had us a time!

Fellow artists Gail Crum and Cheri Lenart Cann at play.

Jill Milenski finishes up her collage while Gail Crum searches her stash.

Old friends Jill and Cheri

No, Gail's not reading the newspaper. She is working with her collage papers!

Thanks for hosting, Cheri. Sending you love and light!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Appreciating Life With Eyes Closed

Gayle's assemblage in progress


I  hurt my eye last weekend, but I have no idea how or when I managed to do it. When I finally went to see my eye doctor, he found the scratch, and told me it could have even been caused by a stray hair blowing in the wind. I guess this might be a downside of having long hair. In any case, once again I was forced to STOP: stop what I am always doing, which is working, and close my eyes; rest. God, I hate that!

Maybe you have a similar personality, and maybe you don't. Years of journaling and self-examination prodded by observations from my loved ones have taught me that I feel best about myself when I am accomplishing my goals. For me, this probably comes out of my childhood, growing up in a large family, and trying to be noticed in a good way. The end result, in my adult years, is that I have a very difficult time shutting down. My active artist's mind races through the day, and thinks all through most nights, as ideas flow into my consciousness and spill over into my dreams. I love that!

This week, I was left unable to actually bring my ideas into fruition, as my hurt eye failed to cooperate. I was left pondering ideas, and thinking of lists of what I wanted to do next. The situation was aided by the fact that two of my young grandbabies were here all week while their parents traveled. There is nothing like caring for babies to make one stop and smell the roses. They are a constant reminder of what is important in these brief lives we live. Stopping the whirlwind of self-absorbed brain activity to sit down on the floor and play, make lunch, read stories and cuddle is a good way to remember that the number of hugs and memories of being loved are a large part of what makes us who we can be.

Yesterday, I was able to get back to work. My week ended on an especially high note in my Be a Pro workshop. I had a great class of eight articulate and ambitious seekers, and the discussions were lively. I felt buoyed, and I hope the participants felt more empowered to find their ways forward as artists and writers.
Later this month, I will be teaching a workshop I call Spirit Boxes, Sacred Vessels and Shrines. We'll be making personally meaningful assemblages from found objects. Hope those of you who live locally can join us. Now...back to my journal lists. Have a great week, all!


Gayle's Reflections of Mexico assemblage