Upcoming Classes

Here are a few of my upcoming classes for August.   Email me with questions.   Click on the titles of the classes to go to the registration page and find out more.

 Watercolor for Relaxation

August 4, 2018.    9:00 am - noon

So often we sit down to creative work with the heavy expectation of creating a masterpiece...or at least something that will bring compliments from viewers.  The purpose of this class is to let go of the expectation of creating something perfect and finished and replace it with the calm of simply observing what the paint and water do together.   No expectations, just fun.  

We will play with color, learn how different pigments react with water, experiment with salt and plastic wrap effects, play with abstract compositions and a few other surprises.  

This class is appropriate for all levels of skill, including people who have never touched watercolor before.  [It will probably be hardest for people who are used to trying to paint 'something' instead of just playing].     Click on the title of the class above to register.

Color Mixing Bootcamp

August 4, 2018.   1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

For all creatives working in color!  You will learn how to mix any color you want using only 2 sets of primary colors.  

Appropriate for all mediums.   I will demonstrate with transparent dyes, but you are welcome to bring paint, colored pencils, fiber, ink, etc.  It will be useful for you to see how different mediums mix. Contact me ahead of time to make sure you bring appropriate primary colors. Click on the title of the class above to register.

The Artist's Way:  Getting Started

August 18, 2018.  1:00 PM  4:30 PM

Julia Cameron wrote The Artist's Way as a method for helping creatives identify their blocks and release their creative flow.   In this one-time class, we will start the process together and get you on your way to a happier and more productive creative life.   

If there is enough interest, we will schedule regular meetings to go through the entire Artist's Way or Vein of Gold books.  Click on the title of the class above to register.

Support is an important part of the process.   If you're an artist looking for better balance between your art, professional and personal lives, please feel free to check out and join my facebook group - 'The Well Balanced Artist'.  We are there to support each other in the journey.  

Balance

The theme for this month is 'balance'.  Balance is hard for me.  I do a lot of things, wear a lot of hats, work as efficiently as I can to be as productive as I can be, which means I often neglect things that are good for me and which feel good when I do them, but do not meet my very strict definition of  'productive'.  I love how I feel when I'm productive.  I don't love how I feel when I'm neglecting something and get out of balance.

Lately I feel very out of balance.  To get back in balance, I answered these questions:

A.  What are the things/goals I'm trying to accomplish and work toward these days?

• Am I making progress?
• Do I feel good about that progress

B.  What am I neglecting?

• Has that neglect caused problems?   What are they?

C.  Do I want to continue feeling out of balance?

• What specific things do I need to do to address the things I'm neglecting?
• How much time will I set aside to address these?  (Doesn't have to be a lot)

D.  What strategy will I use to free up the time I need to do these things?

• What things will I no longer spend time on?  
• What boundaries will I instate to protect my time & focus?
• What physical space do I need to have available?
• What reminders do I need?

E.  Who do I have to support me? [This one is not easy for me, either.]

• My accountability partner is _______________.
• My cheerleader is _______________.

F.  How am I going to reward myself for doing this stuff (based on difficulty/effort)?

• My little reward is _______________.
• My medium sized reward is _______________.
• My OMG-I-really-did-this reward is _______________.
• My accountability partner who will make sure I reward myself is _______________.

My current issues have to do with a creative practice and a meditation practice.  I need to schedule these into my day.   I have very reasonable and measurable goals.  My meditation practice is five and a half minutes.  [Seriously.  Go to that link and read about it.]   I set a timer.   My creative practice should be at least 10 minutes.  I'll set a timer for that one, too. 

The challenge for me with these is that I do them better when I'm in the right head space and I haven't been, so it's hard to sit down and sketch or meditate.   I think my strategy for this is to do them first thing in the day, then give myself a really awesome reward when I've done them for so long.  10 days?  30 days?  [Note:  I'm not interested in doing them everysingleday-all-or-nothing.  30 days with the occasional skip is still 30 days and that would be awesome.  They don't have to be 30 consecutive days.]   I'm still thinking about the reward thing.  It brings up other issues I have about being deserving of rewards.   I have more work to do on that.   Maybe I should give myself a reward for accepting a reward?  I'll keep you posted. 

Two Kinds of Support

© Robin Edmundson, 'Ironwood tree under snow', photo.

Hello my lovely friends!  We've been talking about the people who are in your tribe.  How have you been doing with that?   Are you finding wonderful people to add to your tribe?   Have you been able to release people who are no longer supportive of you?  Remember: tribes are dynamic.  It's OK if there's some coming and going.  You are changing.   Your needs are changing.

There are two very important types of tribal support that you're going to need as you make changes in your life. 

The first type of support is validation.  You need someone who is very supportive of where you are right now.  Someone who validates your feelings, understands where you're coming from and who steps up to defend you from the villains in your life.  This kind of person helps you feel safe where you are.

The second type of support is reality check.  You need someone to call you on your bullshit. Someone who doesn't accept your excuses and who doesn't let you off the hook.  They help you accept responsibility for your life and remind you that you have the power to make the changes you need to make.  They are the ones who help you think and act differently. They make great accountability partners.

Sometimes you can find both kinds of support in a single friend [Keep that person, but be clear on what kind of support you need when and be able to communicate it.  They can't read your mind.] 

Most of the time you'll need to identify different members of your tribe for different roles.  When you need validation, you can talk to Ann or Zoe.  When you need strategy, you can talk to Betty or Yvette.

Get support in a helpful order.  In general, when things get scary or dramatic, you're going to need validation first.  You want enough validation to feel safe, loved and capable but you don't want to wallow. When you feel safe, move to  reality checking, accepting responsibility and making changes.
 
Who in your tribe helps you feel validated?    Who in your tribe gives great reality checks?  I would love to hear about the people in your life who have helped you in these ways.  Please leave a comment and tell me about them.

Body

Painting at a gallery walk earlier this year.  [Photo: Claire Jenness]

This month I've been trying to focus some gratitude on the Mind-Body-Spirit triangle.  Aging is no picnic, but I do feel a lot of gratitude that I still have a lot of energy and can teach my body new tricks - like painting and learning how to look at things a new way.   These past couple of years have been deeply rewarding in a lot of ways.  I'm grateful for those experiences. 

The Mind-Body-Spirit thing also reminds me to have balance in my life.  Something I'm not good at, but have made a priority for the next year.   It's part of my quest to live my best life now.  To that end, I've started a new facebook group for other serious artists who are working on their businesses and who need a supportive place to ask art biz questions and discuss all of the issues inherent to balancing life, art, business, family etc.

And I'd like to invite you to join our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all that that entails.