My friend Ann Leach is a visionary who is passionate about doing good through art. Her first project raised money for Ukraine by inviting artists to make and sell dolls based on the traditional Ukrainian Montaka model.

Ann has expanded her reach with a world-wide call for Elemental Spirit Dolls. She invited me to help, and we are joined in this project by photographer and graphic designer Waldinei Lafaiete, who will produce an amazing catalog of the accepted art dolls.

You are invited to enter this call and to share your vision of Healing the Planet through the creation of a spirit doll, Wanderer, Neo-Santo – whatever creative figurative form you choose.

Helen Layfield, British fiber artist and scholar, will act as Juror. Besides the photographs of the dolls, which will be for sale to benefit Friends of the Earth, there will be essays by Barb Kobe, Joanna Powell Colbert, and other artists whose studio practices are grounded in nature and conservation.

For all details and answers to questions about this unique initiative, click on the image below:

This brand-new workshop follows closely on the heels of The Wanderers, one of my most popular workshops ever.

One of the reasons I like small-scale workshops like Secrets of the Spirit Box is that both experienced artists and beginners can use them as little “meditations” when there is a bit of time and space in the studio between big projects. These assemblages provide a stress-free exercise in design and decision-making using materials that we usually have on hand.

I’m really excited about the Secrets of the Spirit Box. With three hours of videos, this engaging class shows you how to transform simple materials into a magic box assemblage with lots of places to hide secrets. Like The Wanderers, you can customize and adapt the ideas endlessly.

Also like The Wanderers, the workshop tuition is just $39 and the videos are downloadable and available forever – at least as long as I am around! You can go to the class link and view the Introduction for free.

The Secrets of the Spirit Box

Here are some more photos that I took while I was working on this project.

There are several parts to making a workshop like this in case you are ever interested in doing your own.

First, of course, comes the idea. I like to think of things that are almost fail-proof and always educational and enjoyable. Then you need to make some prototypes or samples to make sure your ideas are realistic and match your original concept in clarity and simplicity of process.

Next come the filming – break it down into manageable segments. I did one segment in this new workshop in which I made a Spirit Box from start to finish in one hour, no breaks. That was hard because I kept seeing new possibilities as I worked, but stuck to the plan anyway! (Some workshop designers film with their iPhone, but I use a Sony video camera on a boom stand.)

Then comes the editing. I use three different kinds of software depending on the project: Adobe Premiere Elements, Windows Movie Maker, and Vimeo Create. You can get a free 30-day trial of Adobe Premiere Elements to see if you like it. And, yep, you gotta just sit there and learn it. But learning is good.

And finally, you share your workshop online. I like Teachable a lot. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good option for me right now. If you want to do a practice workshop, try uploading your video to YouTube and see what response you get. It’s an interesting entry sharing platform.

Sharing what you know with other creative people is important and keeps you connected to the community of makers and artists.

So here’s MY latest share:

Secrets of the Spirit Box

I”d love to have you join me! Thanks for reading!

In the wonderful way of things, I just received a photo of a Spirit Doll from Ireland that brings me great joy.

I “met” the maker through my Etsy shop. Her name is Linda Newman, and she’s from Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Also, in the wonderful way of things, she has visited the studios in Mulranny where Lora Murphy hosts Painting with Fire.

Linda ordered some little clay faces from my Earthshards shop – when they arrived she wrote, “Your beautiful spirit doll faces arrived today. Across two countries and an ocean in perfect condition. They are all talking at once and I have tears to hear them!”

She told me a bit more about herself – it sounds like heaven.

“I’ve a little farm with loads animals n bee hives n gardens. Just time to LIVE now n get off the wheel.”

And then just two days ago, I received this photograph – look! And then read about the animals that make this creation so special, below.

Linda writes, “Her hair is Lambchop wool (Lambchop is her sheep), and a lock of mane from my dear pony Bobby, guinea feathers from Ethel, my intention is on a heart under the chamois dress. She is nesting in the child pepper wreath in my kitchen so I can see her every day.”

“She has a sharing of animals that were very dear to me. Lifting Bobby’s mane and burying my nose in his beautiful scent underneath was my treasure.  Mind you Ethel got a fright from a fox recently and has absconded to the neighbour’s woods. I had to retrieve her when I get back. Her husband Fred doesn’t seem to care she is living a field away. A modern relationship. I’d gathered those feathers after I cried n thought the fox got her. But she was too clever!”

I feel as if I know Bobby and Ethel and Fred and Lambchop. What a book that would make! Perhaps when Michelle Belto and I go to Ireland to teach next year at Mulranny, I can actually meet these rascals – and Linda, too!

Linda just asked, “I have a bag of washed n carded wool from my sheep Lambchop, which is a natural creamy colour but has little seeds and bits of dried plants still in it. Would you like some? I can send you some. Will make very interesting hair.”

Wow, yes!! Hair from Lambchop?? Lucky me – I can’t wait to see what that magical Irish wool will inspire. Thank you, Linda!

Life’s connections invite us to respond to them with a thrill of wonder – keep reaching out, keep connecting. You’ll receive joy in return.

Pointe du Hoc cliffs

We’ve just returned from a two week trip to the Normandy Beaches where the most significant victory of the Western Allies in the Second World War took place on June 6, 1944. The D–Day military invasion that helped to end World War II was one the most ambitious and consequential military campaigns in human history.

Both of our fathers fought in the Second World War and this trip felt as much like a pilgrimage as a history lesson.

I’m still processing the profound personal effects from this trip, but the experience taught me that it is impossible for the human race to be unaffected by war. It also reinforced the idea of the universal hero archetype who starts with a humble birth, then overcomes evil and death.

The story of Pointe du Hoc defines heroism. Pointe du Hoc was the location of a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts. On D-Day, the United States Army Provisional Ranger Group attacked and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs while being fired on by German soldiers from the clifftops.

When we visited the location, the bomb craters and bunkers were still there at the top of the high cliffs. Wildflowers bloomed around the ruined machine gun bunkers.

I collected a few wildflowers from this place as well as rose petals, small sticks, sand and shells from Utah Beach and Omaha Beach. These Shards of remembrance will ground me in the feeling collectiveness and gratitude I felt while walking the sands of the Normandy beaches.

Part of our duty as artists is to pass on tradition and preserve our cultural history in various formats, to express human emotion and help us all to feel hope and peace of mind. I’m not sure how this profound journey I took will manifest itself in future artwork, but I know that it will. These little Shards will be a starting point.

A French family at the American Cemetery in Normandy

The church at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, the first town in Normandy liberated by American paratroopers

I had planned to wait until Monday morning to publish this post, but Monday morning is kind of a busy time for a lot of people. So, surprise!

I worked this weekend finishing the new online workshop called Wanderers. It’s done! I love it! It was such fun. I really put myself on the spot, not knowing how the final pieces would turn out, but they look just like themselves!

Here are the two new Wanderers, demos from the workshop, who now inhabit this planet – one is free standing and one is wall-hung. You’ll watch them getting built from start to finish in the video lessons.

Those of you who are SHARDS readers know that if you enroll in the course right now, you have a Coupon Code. Coupons are new to me, but it’s a great way to thank you for subscribing to the blog and for being interested in new workshops.

The Workshop has eight videos and is over three hours long (in manageable bites). You have lifetime access. Tuition is $39 (cheap!) but for the next three days, you can use a coupon for $10 off (cheaper!). The code to put in when you check out is WANDER10. It will work until 6:00 PM on Wednesday, July 27th.

Oh, yes – here is the link to the course:

WANDERERS: Enigmatic Figures Wrapped with Grace and Spirit

I cannot thank you enough for the encouragement and the good feedback.

If you find any glitches in the new workshop, please send me an email – and have fun Wandering!

Luna, Lyn Belisle, Mixed Media on folded paper, 30×40″

TAH DAH! New mixed-media class in my online Studio Classroom,  starting today! THE ENDURING KIMONO: FORM AND PATTERN

My old, old, OLD friends remember when my signature pieces were large-scale origami kimonos done with mixed media techniques before any of us knew what mixed media was. I loved these pieces and still go back to folding origami as a meditative practice.

This course was developed during the Pandemic as one of my first online teaching classes. It’s an all level exploration of paper folding and surface treatment which results in really enchanting paper kimono forms that translate into all sizes and formats.

I haven’t posted a new class to my online Teachable Studio in quite a while – part of the purpose of getting this course ready was to remember how to use Teachable! But it all worked, and the course is up with five instructional videos. The introduction is a free preview, so please take a look.

Boro Kimono, Lyn Belisle, 11×14″

But wait!! There’s more – for SHARDS peeps, there is a Coupon Code! I wanted to learn how to create coupons, as well, so I actually made one for a $10 discount code. The regular price of the class is $29 (cheap) but with the discount, it is only $19 (cheaper). The code is KIM19 and it is good until next Friday. Just go to the link below, check out the preview, and if you want to join the class, use the code for your discount in the check-out coupon box. I tried it myself and it seems to work – whew.

THE ENDURING KIMONO: FORM AND PATTERN

Meanwhile, I’m having my first group in-person workshop at my San Antonio studio this weekend – wish you were here! Stay safe, stay cool.