Monthly Archives: January 2013

Saturday night boot-skootin’

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Once a year I get to grab my guitar and hit the road to Quihi, Texas, a small town on the outskirts of a slightly larger small town called Castroville. My buddies and I in the Medina Mud Band (loosely founded in 1979 and still going strong) throw an annual fund-raiser for Inner City Development, a non-profit community group that does great things for San Antonio’s West Side. There’s dancing, beer and tamales, a fantastic Silent Auction, and a chance to do the two-step at one of Texas’ oldest dance halls. Here’s a little homemade video from last year’s gig. So if you’re around this weekend, come out to Quihi and have a great time for a good cause. quihiflyer2013_new

Faces in new places

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I’m wrapping up the weekend with some photos from other artists who have used my shard faces in their work. Two of these are Spirit Dolls (we’ll be making our own in the workshop on March 3rd). One is from Otter in Canada and the other is from Angela, who lives in Maine. The other photo I just got today from Chris, who took the shard face workshop on Sunday (there’s another one on Feb. 17th) and finished her necklaces today. Nice work! It’s inspiring to see how others use these little faces.

Friday Freebie – another absolutely invaluable free tip

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I learned this from a jewelry designer friend – I have a favorite pin that’s shaped like a kimono, and I like to wear it, but it’s kind of large and heavy and it slips around and always seems crooked. My friend showed me how to cut a short length of drinking straw and slip it onto the rod part of the pin. Close the pin clasp around the straw. Then you can slip a thin leather cord or a very thin chain through the straw and turn it into a pendant! Check it out – it’s very simple and very cool.

 

Nice thought for Tuesday

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The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have.
–Leonard Nimoy
Most sharing is not of material things but a sharing of our spirit, our forgiveness, and our respect for others. We can cultivate a generous spirit by reminding ourselves that we have enough. We have enough to live well, we are surrounded by love, we have been forgiven for many wrongs that we committed, and life is filled with interesting adventure. When we share from this sense of abundance, our feeling of well-being only grows.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

First workshop at new Studio –

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The first workshop was so much fun. I don’t know if it was the new space or the combination of personalities, but we had a blast. And this is just the first half! Yesterday we made the clay faces, and then Wednesday we’ll meet at Ann Pearce’s next door to do the beading and jewelry creations. I’ll take photos of those so you can see how the final pieces turned out.  If you’re interested, there’s a repeat of this two-part workshop on February 17th. Thanks to Chris, Jill, LeAnn and Susan – I had a fantastic time with you guys.

Studio Opening: Afternoon Delight

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Yesterday’s informal opening at the Studio was just fantastic – thanks to the 100+ friends who dropped by to eat, drink and celebrate the space. My only regret is that I did not take *one* picture once people started arriving because I was enjoying talking to everyone. If you were there, thanks for sharing a delightful afternoon – and if you couldn’t be, please come any time that you are in the area. The Studio is now officially blessed by friends! The first workshop, Earthenware Adornments, is this afternoon and I just can’t wait to play in that space. Here are some pictures before guests arrived – even the bathroom and kitchen look happy!

br checkin food inside kitchen outside

 

New Workshops, New Studio

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Today’s the Studio semi-official opening – hope you can drop by. I was hoping my awning sign would be up, but, alas, it’s still not ready so you will just have to use your fine creative imagination. It’s a Zen banner, Grasshopper.

However, I did want to tell you about two new workshops in case you wanted to reserve a spot before I put out the sign-up sheets at the opening party today at 3:00. I’m excited about both of them – they will be new territory for me, although I’ve studied both subjects. Just email me if these sound like something you’d like to learn more about – Spirit Dolls (March 3rd), and Mala Meditation Bracelets and Prayer Flags (March 17th). Here’s the info – click on it for the printable version. Hope to see you today at the Studio! Come hungry. It’s a place of creative belonging – and noshing.

spiritdolls

 

Friday freebie

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Well, it’s a free tip, anyway – this is an instant spa treatment for dirty hands. Mine are always covered in paint or dirt from the garden. Here’s whatcha do (and you probably have everything right by the kitchen sink) – put a spoonful of sugar in your palm, add six or eight squirts of hand lotion, then without using water, scrub and rub your hands together for about a minute. Rinse well with warm water, dry with towel, and voila! You won’t believe how clean and soft your hands are. Try it and share this tip with all your dirty-handed friends 🙂

 

School starts tomorrow

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I still have a day job! Meeting the new Trinity students is always so much fun – we kind of test each other out to see how the semester might go. If you’re curious, you can see my class page at Trinity at this link (click below) and follow along throughout the semester – not sure why you’d want to, buy you never know!CSCI

Speaking of links, I’ve created a Facebook page for the studio where I’ll post events. It’s easy to remember. Just go to facebook.com/creativebelonging – hope to see you soon on FB.

 

Studio updates

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studiobanner

I’ve just finished a small re-do of my website homepage with the new studio logo and a heading that says Lyn Belisle Studio: A Place of Creative Belonging. That’s pretty much expresses what I want people to feel in that space – a haven to create and learn with joy and without judgment.

Whether it’s a workshop, a poetry reading, a computer lesson – there needs to be a sense of serenity, anticipation and accomplishment.  One of my favorite comments from a past workshop was “I amazed myself!” Oh, yeah! That’s perfect.

The poem that inspired the Studio slogan is House of Belonging by David White. If you would like to read it, go here to the Panhala site. I subscribe to this site and never fail to enjoy the daily poems – this one is particularly special.

Hope to see you Saturday at Lyn Belisle Studio: A Place of Creative Belonging! 🙂