Talk about an enlightening weekend – authors, teachers and friends Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. (whose father wrote the beloved Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book) and TOCI founder Heather Ash Amara were our guests on the San Antonio stop of their spring speaking tour. The did their live webcast from the studio last night – hope you got to see it.
Afterwards, I asked Miguel to talk to SHARDS subscribers about art and the acceptance of our work – his answers are interesting and surprising. The bad news is that our work will never be accepted by everyone – but the good news is that we’ll learn a lot! I wish the sound were better (the iPhone was my only camera), but Miguel’s words are wise – and sometimes surprising!
At the end of this post, you’ll find a link to a great short video with Heather Ash on Living the Four Agreements. Thanks, guys, for sharing your practical wisdom with us!
Wow. I was just invited to speak at The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology(ASWM) 2014 National Conference here in San Antonio on March 28-30. How perfect! (Thank you, Susan Carlin and Sid Reger.) One of the great delights in my life is hearing from creative women all over the world who are using my Shard Faces in their own work, transforming them into the most amazing Spirit Dolls and unfolding their own myths. Here are some recent messages with photos:
From Vicki in Brisbane, Australia: It’s my first go at making one . . .she turned out absolutely beautiful and I was really happy with the outcome 🙂
From Karen in Washington State: I got the faces yesterday and started on my mermaid this afternoon. She is almost done! Her neck & body are all one branch and the arms are a 2nd forked branch I attached to her back. Working with your faces has opened the floodgates of creativity for me, I am having such a good time working with them.
       And I loved this note and picture from Vicky in Canada: I just had to show you the photo that my boyfriend took of my Spirit Doll this afternoon. The last sliver of sunlight was shining on her before disappearing behind our building. The star in the picture is actually captured in the crown that is on the full moon’s face. I actually cried because I was so touched by the picture and my Spirit Doll.
What a weekend at the Studio – I’ll let the videos do most of the “talking,” but the whole experience of learning to make felted constructions was just incredible. Jill Scher is an extraordinary teacher. I learned so much (as did we all) and came away with a fascination and respect for this process and the fiber artists who are felters. It’s such a tactile and color-rich craft – the wool roving is soft and beautiful and there are countless variations for using it in two and three-dimensional pieces.
Video one ( just below) shows the first day in which we made wet-felted wool scarves, and video two (at the bottom) shows us felting wool into a silk substructure. I hope you enjoy the videos – being there in person was pretty cool too! And, PS – I’ve invited Jill back in November – so stay tuned!
The Persian poet, Rumi, said “Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” There was a lot of that going on at the Studio yesterday as the Celtic Spirit Doll workshop participants unfolded the most wonderful, mythical creations. We were amazed at the beauty and variety of these little sculptural artworks! You’ll see what I mean in the video, below –
It was a lot of fun – now I’m getting ready for the fiberart felting weekend with Jill Scher – lots going on! Oh, and the winner of Alison Schockner’s lovely little heart pin is Judi Daughety – thanks for subscribing, Judi. I’ll see you soon with your gift! Happy new week, everyone.
So, it’s summer-ish here in mercurial San Antonio – a beautiful day in our neighborhood. First, a quick note – I just had a cancellation for tomorrow’s Celtic Spirit Doll workshop (a friend fell victim to the flu, boo) so if you want the eighth spot, email me quick. It’s from 3-5 tomorrow and it’s the usual (amazingly cheap) tuition of $55 with all materials included. And libations. And grub.
And now, for the Friday – er, Saturday Freebie! It’s a timely and beautiful little felt-and-lace brooch by my talented friend, Alison Schockner – perfect for Valentine’s Day! Alison’s creations are legendary – I have two of her wonderful sarong jackets and love them both. You can see her work here on her website. She’s so productive, and every piece that she makes radiates the fun and joy that she shares in her creative life and work. If you are a SHARDS subscriber by midnight tomorrow night, you will be in the drawing for this lovely art-to-wear brooch.
Finally, if the nice weather has you wanting to kick up your heels, drive out to the old Quihi Dance Hall and Gun Club tonight. My band is playing our annual benefit for Inner City Development. It’s a lot of fun for a great cause – here’s the info – YEE HAWWW! I hope I can stay awake past 10:00 p.m.!
I feel like a happy dog running around in circles, wagging its tail – ooh, ooh! I just found out that my intro video is up on the Artful Gathering online art teaching site! Check it out – the video’s on the front page!Arf! <wag> OK, I’m being insufferable – but still . . . there’s a lot in it about San Antonio, not just ME 🙂
It’s going to be a fun experience, and working with the other Artful Gathering faculty artists is a trip. Some of them, like Keith Lo Bue, I’ve admired for years, and others I’m just beginning to get to know, but they all do fabulous work. One of my favorites is fellow AG teacher Luthein Thye from Malaysia. Her small constructions reflect her love of fantasy and magic and she’s an amazing craftsman (craftswoman?) Watch her video if you get a chance and see the Malaysian village where she finds inspiration.
The Artful Gathering concept was developed by Zinnia Galliher. She’s got that rare combination of artistic talent and organizational vision that makes the AG group so rewarding to work with. Even though registration is still a ways away, I’d better get busy developing my lessons. But do look around the Artful Gathering site – there’s a ton of good stuff to discover. Yay! Arf! <wag>
All plans are on hold here in San Antonio – it’s icy! People in colder climates may not understand why this city shuts down when the roads get ice-slicked, but, believe, me, it’s a good idea since San Antonio drivers go a little nuts (nuttier?) when the “s” word (“snow”) is even mentioned. So I’m home, planning workshops and catching up on email. Alyson Stanfield’s blog today had a great quote from Niel Gaiman, English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio, theatre and films, so I’m copying it here for your reading pleasure, especially if you’re housebound and seeking creative inspiration:
“Remember, whatever discipline you’re in, whether you’re a musician or a photographer, a fine artist or a cartoonist, a writer, a dancer, a singer, a designer — whatever you do, you have one thing that’s unique: You have the ability to make art. And for me, and for so many of the people I’ve known, that’s been a lifesaver, the ultimate lifesaver. It gets you through good times, and it gets you through … the other ones. Sometimes life is hard. Things go wrong — in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art. I’m serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your trail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art. Someone on the Internet thinks what you’re doing is stupid or evil or it’s all been done before? Make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, eventually time will take the sting away, and that doesn’t even matter. Do what only you can do best: Make good art. Make it on the bad days, make it on the good days, too.”
This quote is from a commencement address he gave at the University of the Arts in 2012. The whole thing is enlightening, takes less than 20 minutes, and is a fine thing to watch when the weather outside is freezing. Stay warm, y’all!
Well, who woulda thought – the anniversary party was a huge success. If you were there, thank you! If you weren’t, there wouldn’t have been room!! Only kidding, but the joint was standing room only for about an hour. Incredible – I’m still floating around in the clouds, but it is back to the world of the working artist today. Shades of Green nursery, the prettiest nursery in the city, called for some more of my Sprig Shards, so I spent the day playing with little clay faces. Here are a few – they are still very wet, hope they can go in the kiln tomorrow. I need some new faces – time to hit the graveyard <grin>.
This Sunday’s upcoming workshop is called Collage on Canvas with Transferred Imagesand we’re going to be experimenting with TAP paper. One of my own favorite pieces is a collage that my friend Harold owns called Starling, and that’s the kind of look I’d like to demonstrate, except the participants are bringing personal photos. It should be fun.
Finally, congrats to Rob Keogh who won the long-distance door prize of a Lyn Belisle Studio t-shirt – Rob, send an email to lyn@lynbelisle.com and tell me the size you want and where to mail it. OK, back to the clay and year number two – woohoo!
Countdown to the First Anniversary Party at the Studio this afternoon from 3-6 – woohoo! Here’s an artful arrangement of door prizes guaranteed to promote the place – clever, no? I want one of the bags – guess I’ll make an extra one after the drawing’s over.
There are also over a hundred little Rune and Relic face shards. Each guest can choose the one that says “Pick me!” Speaking of picking, yesterday afternoon my dear and generous friend Ann Ash brought bowls and bowls of fresh-picked flowers for the tables. The Studio smells like springtime.
So why am I nervous?? I guess it’s human nature when you plan an event – some people seem to do it effortlessly. But, as Georgia O’Keeffe said, “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.”
So on with the party! Hope you can come – far-away friends, you guys are in the drawing for door prizes, too. And if I get anxious about the anniversary party, I’ll just click here and lighten up.
Happy Studio Anniversary – hope to see you all this afternoon, in spirit or in person!♥♥♥
I’ve invited award-winning Colorado fiber artist Jill Scher to the Studio for two felting workshops the weekend of February 8th and 9th. She send me an advance box of materials and samples which arrived yesterday, and I was just blown away by her work. I hope you can take advantage of these workshops (one on felted scarves and one on Nuno felting) – here’s the info link. And here are a few photos of some of her work. The felted scarf I’m wearing is a one-of-a-kind art piece, incredibly soft and light. I may have to buy this one and never take it off!
Consider joining us for this unique creative opportunity – a day of working with Jill at the Studio, lunch included, making your own felted one-of-a-kind art to wear. There is a limit of eight participants, and there are five spaces left at this writing. I’m sooooo excited!
Unpacking the box
Hand felted one-of-a-kind scarf, wool, silk mohair
