SelfPortrait

Happy Heart tonight!!!

Homework...

 

Facing my fears... working on some selfportrait pieces... our Italy homework from Misty before she left... I will keep you posted on my journey!

Little reminders...

When I was in Italy, Misty generously gave me two original pieces that were her demo's in the classroom and she gave us all 2 postcards of her artwork in our packs. All of which are just so beautiful... and honestly a real treat for me.  The chances of me ever being able to get an original of Misty's work - well who knows.  I love the prints she gave us too.  Sharon also gave us all a postcard of one of her artworks. Renee gave us all a little art gift in a little brown bag that had one of her pieces of art on it.  I had ordered one of Jenny's print before I headed to Italy and she brought me an extra print of her previous work.  Jenny also gave each of us a postcard size print of one of her paintings.  Now I have a small Misty and Jenny Collection happening.  All these lovely pieces together with 3 of my own original pieces were framed and ready to go up this weekend, in my diningroom. This area is mainly blue and white so I had been collecting white frames.  I had a general idea of what I wanted for this wall... It was lovely to see it coming together.  I would still love to add John, Lorraine and Dot's artwork to this collection! But for now I have little reminders of Italy and the beautiful people I met there... every day!

 

 

This picture doesn't completely do it justice but it's the best I could get.  This wall has completely transformed my diningroom.

 

Home Sweet Home...

38.5 hours after leaving the Monastery – I landed in Cape Town.

 

Man, it had never felt so good to get home and be welcomed back by my sweet little family, as it did on this day.  I was shattered.  It was the longest time I had ever been away from them and it wasn't something I found easy to do.  I will never forget their kindness and grace in giving me this time and space to do this. In many ways, I feel they were as brave as me to let me venture across the world to paint. I think they journeyed every step and every moment with me through Skype and Facetime, with my pictures and stories.  This was huge for us as a family, I think it's one of the most amazing and positive moments that have happened to us as a family in a long time.

 

Maybe somewhere in us living life, surviving things {really difficult things, at times} and moving swiftly through the child-raising years... we forgot to dream... Dream out loud, dream impossible dreams.  And sometimes, when we give ourselves permission to do this seemingly frivilous thing, just sometimes they come together and they become real gifts. Stolen moments in time.  Precious and cherished memories.

 

 

This trip meant so many things to me and I know I will spend months unwrapping this incredible gift that I received.  But I love what it showed my girls about following their dreams and following the call on their lives.  I love that it showed them, that sometimes I am more than just their mum and if nothing else, I know I have made them so proud of me!!

Last quiet moments in Orvieto...

I was the last one to leave Orvieto so I got to see everyone leave... One by one everyone started leaving for their long journey’s home… Misty was the first to head out and left in the early hours of Saturday morning, then John by mid-morning and then Dot and Jenny headed off in the afternoon. Saying goodbye to beautiful people is never easy.  Lorraine, Renee, Sharon and I spent most of Saturday in the studio, after a beautiful walk around the market and Orvieto.  Again, we worked late into the night painting in the studio... I cherished these final moments together.

On Sunday, Sharon and I got to spend another full day together in the studio and it was lovely having quality time with her and sharing our life stories,  practicing our new skills and learning new things from Sharon.  She too, is a wonderful teacher in her own right.  Again, Monday was full of goodbyes... I was a bit emotional about saying goodbye to my new friends but I spent my last full day in Orvieto painting quietly outside  and I also spent final moments walking the cobbles, visiting churches and taking more beautiful pictures.  Knowing I was staying a bit longer than Bill and Kristi, made me so nervous because I knew if something went wrong, I had no "go to" plan.  I had no one to phone in the case of emergency because everyone else would already be on their planes and I would be all alone in Italy.  It made me feel rather vulnerable.

 

Coming down to the Refectory on this final morning, I knew I would be dining alone.  At first I was overwhelmed by the empty room and the silence.  But after a while, the silence became beautiful to me and I so appreciated this quiet time.  I was all packed and I was ready to face my extremely long  journey home.  I knew I needed one more visit to the Blue Bar for my final cappuccino and a final Facetime chat with my hubby.  I also needed one more beautiful lingering walk around Orvieto before I headed out.  I loved all the walking we did in Italy.  I said my goodbyes to the locals who had become our friends for the week and got my bags and headed to catch my bus to the funicular…  After each accomplished step in my journey home, I let my family and Jenny know where I was.  This made me feel less alone and more connected.

Day 5 - Small tributes and a bit of show 'n tell...

There is something special that comes out of allowing oneself to be vulnerable by sharing with one another... Although we had painted together all week - putting ourselves out there on display was emotional and a little nerve wrecking.  It was also in these moments that we knew and understood our time in the studio was now really over... and that wasn't easy for any of us.

 

I have to say without a shadow of doubt - that every artist produced a piece of art that totally became one of my favorites during the week.
 

 

 

 

 Beautiful people making beautiful art!

 

Our studio time was officially over.  Misty was leaving first thing in the morning and John was leaving mid-morning.  Saying goodbye is never easy.  What an incredible week with Misty... Generous with her knowledge and her skills.  Generous with giving us things before she left... And so generous with her time.  I was so blown away this week by everyone's generousity, with sharing skills and knowledge, art supplies and tools.  Being part of this amazing group has touched something deep inside of me, something I wasn't expecting but something I will cherish forever.

 

Meeting beautiful people in a beautiful place making and doing beautiful things is what makes beautiful memories.

Day 5 - Beautiful final moments in the studio...

We all hoped this moment would never come, we were warned it would come quickly and it did.  It's so bitter sweet.  It's been an incredible week of working so hard with full schedules and we all knew it must come to an end but yet our hearts just weren't ready.
 

Misty started our time off, as usual with incredible tutuorials and as we all sat around her taking in everything we could from her, our incredible teacher - everyone was relaxed and laughing.  There was something special in the class today... I couldn't put my finger on it but I think it was that we had bonded.  In our short time, all coming from different parts of the US and me from a different part of the world - we all had one common thing running through us... that we were all artists and we all in fact, spoke the same language, the language of art.  I wasn't prepared for how powerful that would be, to be around like-minded people in this specific environment for this specific time.  It was truly an honor to be part of something this incredible and this life-changing.

I love this pic - of Misty, John and Dot.

Misty at work - just incredible to watch her in action

 

Our classroom after a week of play... really lived in

Today was so exciting because after this tutorial - Misty showed us how to put together a collage.  Another first for me - I have never done a collage before and I was completely overwhelmed.  My fear was tangible for me to the point of nausa until I started and the more I worked through it - I just fell in love... I have since done 3 collages and they are just beautiful creative play.  I still have a way to go in what I'm doing but I know I have started something that completely ministers to my artist child...

 

My first attempt... Still have some work to do but it's love for sure...