Being Busy updates and an announcement

In my last post I promised I would update you on how I was getting on with some other classes and workshops I'm doing or getting behind with.  It is a very long post but please stick with it.  Or just scroll down to the bottom for the announcement.

Firstly One Little Word and Documented Life.  I have been combining these and really not enjoying it.  I haven't totally given myself to the Unplanner which has weekly art journaling type suggestions.  I really only kept a 'diary' of what I had been doing.  So as a result of Pathfinder - more on that later - I decided to discontinue the Unplanner in its previous form. I also decided not to continue with the I am tags.

I decided to keep track of what I do each day on the calendar on the back of each monthly divider and concentrate on One Little Word.  In April I went to Florida to attend a Ladies Getaway and I stuck the programme cover onto the April divider.

I filled in a key activity from each day on the calendar.  April's OLW task was to define what life was like with more of your word in it.  I attended Pathfinder right at the end of April so I have only just completed this task.

I was trying to exercise every day but that didn't always happen.  The photo on the May divider is of Lacock Abbey.  We went to stay at a B&B in Lacock for our wedding anniversary.  We didn't stay in the Abbey!  However the B&B was absolutely five star.

I signed up for an online class Art & Spirituality because it has been written by someone I know.  It is excellent but requires a daily commitment each week.  As we went away at the beginning of week 2 I got behind.  Still I can keep all the PDFs and do the course when I have time.

So on to Pathfinder.  This was an excellent day with Anneliese Bates.  I've done art workshops with Anneliese before but nothing like Pathfinder.  She provided us with an A5 sketchbook and we coloured the backgrounds however we wanted and then she asked questions.

The class was described thus:  This workshop is aimed at anyone who doesn't know what direction they really want to take, whether you have a new business idea, thinking of a big life change, a change in career or even moving home, Anneliese will guide you through the thought process step by step, interspersing it with art for which you need no experience.

Included in the workshop is a journal that will be become your working thought process, beautifully decorated and personalised with your own artwork and full of your thoughts, dreams and how to make those become a reality.

We will explore the changes you want to bring about, the things that are stopping you, and ways to overcome the obstacles.

I had gone with the idea of looking at whether I should stick with art journaling or concentrate on textile art or do both.  A somewhat simplistic idea in the light of what happened.

The first question was what were you unhappy with in life at the moment and what did you want to change.  I did add a couple of things to my answer.

Anneliese continued to ask questions and we continued to write down our personal answers.  The best part was as there weren't many of us that we were able to ask questions and make comments.  Discussions ensued which helped clarify our thoughts.

Here is a really key page.

When I got home I wrote down all that I had signed up for!  No wonder my head hurt holding all that information in my head.  I went through the list and decided which ones I should stay committed to, which ones I should give up on entirely and those that I had online lifetime access to and could do when I have time.  I have also withdrawn from the Cas Holmes weekend workshop.

This was a really useful page that I did at home.  Some of what is written here came out of the discussions we had on the day.

However you know me, I ignored my own advice about not signing up for anything else and enrolled on a 9 weekend course called Experimental Textiles led by Kim Thittichai which starts in June!

We had also talked about decluttering.  We had loads of boxes of my Dad's stuff in the conservatory - they had been there 2-3 years.  I had made a half-hearted effort to get them sold at an auction but had kept putting it off.  We also had over 300 owls that Andy collected as a child and other collections of stuff.  And stuff it is.  However I emailed a different auction house who accepted everything I listed and we took it all to them - 18 boxes of stuff.  They are sorting it into lots and it will all be put in an auction either in June or July.  Result!

Just as I was sorting out the boxes of stuff to take to the auction house this article popped up on my Facebook newsfeed.     How to declutter and let go of family treasures

I thought this was excellent from that article.

• Memories take up space in our hearts; stuff takes up space in our homes.
• Memories last forever; stuff breaks, gets lost, and fades away.
• Memories bring joy; stuff brings stress.
• Memories are honoring; stuff is diminishing.
• Memories bring peace; stuff brings chaos.
• Memories actually matter; stuff really doesn’t matter at all.

I feel much more in control of what I am doing although there is still much to work through.

Well done, if you're still here having waded through this post.  And now for the big announcement.

Drumroll please!

This is my 998th blog post.  Wednesday will see my 999th.  And on Friday we will celebrate
1000 with a giveaway.


See you on Friday.  Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Who has influenced my mixed media art?

Over the last few years I have attended lots of workshops and signed up for so may online classes that I've lost count.   I thought I would share with you some of the shops and people who have helped me and taught me over that time.

Art from the Heart is an excellent bricks & mortar shop with a very stong online presence.  I have attended many workshops there.   My credit card groans whenever I go to Harrogate to a class.  I'm going there next weekend for 3 days of workshops with Seth Apter.

Dyan Reaveley is now well known as a Ranger Signature Designer.  However I met her first at Art from the Heart when I went to my first ever workshop there.   She has a distinctive style.  I interviewed her for my series on Celebrating UK Artists.   You can watch her videos on the Ranger YouTube Channel.

Dina Wakely has been a guest tutor at Art from the Heart and I have loved the workshops I've attended.   Several of the classes have involved making books which I love.  She also introduced me to the idea of having white space on mixed media pages.  This really appeals to me.   You can also find Dina on the Ranger YouTube Channel.

Artist Trading Post started as an online business with workshop space and then moved to a b&m shop and has now returned to its online roots.  I love the variety of products that Jamie stocks.  My credit card used to groan when I visited for workshops there too.

Wanderlust is a new year long venture from Jamie and Kasia Krzyminska (aka czekoczyna).  There will be videos& PDFs on techniques but the thing that got me interested is that "Wanderlust will give you an in-depth knowledge about products, media and tools".  Of course I signed up - won't you join me?

Anneliese Bates introduced me to various mixed media techniques.  She held these workshops in Derbyshire which was great for me because it was so much nearer to my house than Harrogate.  I love Anneliese's style and enjoyed her workshops immensely.  I was really disappointed when she gave up hosting them but I am thrilled that her new venture Fox & Bear is doing so well.

Michelle Ward produces amazing stencils both for StencilGirl and for her own website Green Pepper Press.  I have just invested in a whole lot of her stencils for my Venice project.

Carolyn Dube produces the best teaching videos on the internet (in my opinion).  She is so generous with what she shares for free on her blog and YouTube channel.  She also has fee-based classes that are such value for money.  I particularly liked the Stencil Play class.  You really should check them out if you like mixed media art.

And last but definitely not least, Valerie Sjodin.  Her art blows me away.  Valerie is another tutor who is very generous with the skills and information she shares.  I love her online classes but sadly don't give enough time to practice so my art hardly ever looks like hers.

I've really enjoyed looking back to see what and who has influenced me over the years.  What are your favourite shops, favourite artists or online courses?  Please share them in the comments below.
 
Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Artist Trading Cards

On Friday I went to another workshop, Mini ATC Art Journal,  at Artist Trading Post.   Anneliese showed us how to make ATCs and we made a little book to keep them in.    We made a few of the cards in the morning and then in the afternoon inked and stamped the pages of the book.

Yesterday I made these 12 ATCs to go in my book.

Here are the covers of the book

And now all the pages ready for me to journal and to doodle to my heart's content.

Of course, there's a real possibility that it will never get any further.  The journaling is always the hard part.  However I've booked to go on a journaling workshop ~ so you never know it might get finished!