Day 2

Started my day watching the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena - my friend Teresa took this photo of the Girl Scout float celebrating 100 years of Girl Scouts - I was a Brownie and Girl Scout and my Mom was always our leader back in the Washington, D.C. area where I grew up - I was able to donate $5 each and they put my Mom's and my name on one of the little viles that are holding each of those yellow roses - my Mom (who's recouping in rehab from a fall) was thrilled when I told her  - I thought it was pretty cool myself! Still have my uniforms and my badge sash - it was in Girl Scouts that I first explored visual art!

Spending this day off re-grouping - with my Mom's fall and dealing with all the medical personnel long-distance for the month of December, I wasn't able to prep for the new year - so taking today to make plans and do as much as I can so I don't feel the overwhelm of the year moving on without me ready that is sure to take over the rest of the week - that's how my head works!

Signed up for a wonderful year long project online - free - called Book of Days - you can still sign up - going to prep my book tonite and jump in -http://wildpreciouslife.com/

Also participating in the Sketchbook Project (2012) again - thru Art House Co-op - of course I haven't done one sketch but have all month and will jump into that as well -  http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject2012

Am also getting my pages ready for the Fat Book technique project at Art Unraveled 2012 - that will be auctioned off at the Conference in August - if you've never been - check it out - this year will be their 10th anniversary and having attended for many years, I can tell you it's worth every penny! www.artunraveled.com

Brainstorming with ideas for places I can teach - both online and in-person - if you know of any please feel free to share with me - as well as places I can sell my art -

Off to get things  in order and continue on my day ... hope you too are getting ready for a great year ahead!

New Beginnings - 2012

Saying adieu to 2011 and saying hello to 2012 is a welcome task for me - to say 2011 was a tough year is putting it mildly (for many of us) - but with endings come new beginnings - a chance to begin anew - to breathe a bit easier anticipating the unknown and have your heart skip a beat with excitement - that's how it is for me - I like the look of how the numbers 2012 look visually - there's just something very comforting about those numbers...


I don't do resolutions - but rather set goals for myself - goals that are measurable and that I can create action steps to accomplish them - and then I pick one word to guide my year - last year it was "self-care" - this year ... I have given myself till tomorrow to decide (since tomorrow is a holiday!) but it will be something that relates to helping me to step into the spotlight and let me shine - to become visible with my art and all that relates to it - I come to this decision since I have always been the support for others and their creative endeavors - now it's time for me to support me!  I will be sharing this things here to keep myself accountable - 


A couple of things are in the works to be announced very soon - first, I will be teaching one or two online classes at reasonable rates - stay tuned for that announcement shortly - I will also be teaching some workshops here in LA and hopefully some in other locations - TBA - 


And now some good news ... a piece of my artwork was selected in a blind judging by a curator from LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) to be in a catalog for sale - mine was selected from 1066 submissions - one of 93 pieces to be in the catalog - it will be affiliated with  an international women's art group celebrating their 40th anniversary and having their convention in LA in February - very excited!  Those of us selected to be in the catalog will be honored at a reception at 825 Gallery in LA - What makes this even more special is that my Great Grandmother's photo is part of this piece - it's as if she is smiling down with approval and support for me - 

This piece of my art can also be seen as the cover art on Kelly Kilmer's yahoo group "Art Gang LA" - 


That's it for now ...more to follow during this 1st week of 2012 - leap year - wishing each of you and yours a very healthy, happy and creative new year - hugs - Reva (Los Angeles) 

Day 5 - Every Day Art Month

I've been doing art every day this month but haven't posted every day .... I'm signed up for the Art Every Day Month challenge online - and find the prompts keeping me active - basically been sketching briefly and continuing to make my vision accordion book for my goals/plans for the rest of the year and next year as well -

                                 http://creativeeveryday.com/art-every-day-month

front and back covers - accordion book 

front/back cover inside before attaching to accordion book

Accordion book beginning stages

Faces

Bird wing 

Art Every Day Month

Have decided to step away from Facebook and Twitter and return to my original blog - and the best way to do that for me is to reconnect to the Blogging community and to create art every day - so I found Leah Piken Kolidas' blog where she is offering a daily connection for the month of November - since she's done this for the past 9 years (where have I been?) I decided to jump in - so here it is day 1 -



http://creativeeveryday.com/aedmlogored.gif

So I start with a quickly made accordion book - using water colors on scrap paper - I will be adding pockets to the pages and then creating tags with activities and goals (something like a vision board but in book form) to help me plan the next three months and beyond into 2012. My idea is not to make the most creative or beautiful book but just something likable thrown together quickly to serve a purpose.










I plan to do a variety of things this month - giving myself permission to just do whatever I feel like - as long as it's art - that can be drawing in my journal - prepping for classes - making pages for the chunky technique book for Art Unraveled 2012 - working in my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project - or whatever else comes up - just as long as I do something! I'm trying to create a habit that seems to have fallen by the wayside for a variety of reasons - most of which don't really matter - just getting back on the horse so to speak! So stay tuned and see what comes out of this motivational experiment - want to join me? You can still sign up by clicking on the link and signing up with Leah - what have you got to lose? Happy Creating!!!

One Time Only Opportunity!

I could spend a lot of time explaining why my blog has been silent since August - but I'm anxious to tell you about my exciting offer - so I'll say it simply....Facebook!

I'm very excited to be teaching a one day class at a new venue here in California on Sunday 11/15/09 - it's out in Augora - horse country - in a beautiful space owned by Lisa LaRosa. (lisalarosa.blogspot.com) As many of you know, besides my work as an artist, I am also a Creative Life Coach and work with all types of creative people. I like to incorporate some of my coaching tools into my classes so that my students come away with more than just art techniques and a completed project, but also have new skills to use in other areas of their lives as well.

I know that money is tight for everyone so I am making this special one-time offer - when you pay for this class I have made special arrangements with Lisa to include lunch with my class - and for the next 5 students to sign up - you will get a one hour phone-coaching session with me (value $100) for free. So for $140 - you get a one day class - a free lunch and a one hour phone coaching session valued at $100 - amazing!

If you're still on the fence about taking this class or spending the money on yourself....think about this - the techniques you will learn in this class and the project you will create could be a gift for a friend or loved one for the upcoming holidays. One gift out of the way and a day of art and relaxation for you!

So go over to the site - click on my class and sign up - be one of the lucky 5 who get the extra perks! I promise you a day filled with art, laughter and more - after all this is all about you!

The Gifts of Teaching ....

Finally coming up for air after another amazing week in Phoenix at the 7th annual Art Unraveled.  I must admit that I've been having withdrawal - as many have.  If you've never been to an art retreat and to AU in particular, there's magic that happens from the moment you set foot in the door of the venue.  Life as you know it in the "real world" is temporarily suspended and it's like being at camp, a carnival, school, and a big sleep over with your favorite cousins. Thank you, Linda, Chuck and crew and all the talented teachers for another wonderful event...more about my trip in a later post.

This past Sunday, I had the distinct privilege to do something else that I adore - teach a class.  For me, teaching is like nothing else I do in my life.  When I teach, I'm able to guide others in exploration and experimentation, while being of service to my students.  While doing this, I too get gifts from my students...the joy I see when they discover that they can indeed create;  the switch they make from feeling intimidated to exploring the tools, medium and their creativity with enthusiasm; and experiencing the students exuberance and gratitude at the end of the class. 

Nancy Dolan - from nurse to artist 

Another gift of teaching for me is introducing eager new students to the world of collage and mixed media and art in general.  Yesterday I had that privilege.  I watched as one of my students with no knowledge of this medium or the tools we use, dove in and created a beautiful book.  Watching her walk through uncertainty, which turned to smiles and laughter as she allowed herself to play and get in touch with her creativity, warmed my heart.  Being in her shoes not too long ago, I was thrilled to pass the torch.  

Carol Rothman - former kindergarten teacher now 2nd grade teacher to artist 

Marjorie Grace-Sayers - music teacher/musician - mother of four - turned artist 

Yesterday,  a small group of students joined me in a spontaneous last minute announced class at VIVA Gallery upstairs studio in Sherman Oaks.  As we gathered, an opening for a new exhibit was happening downstairs in the gallery, which made for a festive mood and an inspiration for my students.  The class was called "All About Me".   We discussed how as women, we are nurturers and caretakers in many areas of our lives.  I asked the students to give themselves permission to focus on "me" (each of them) for this class.  Some found that it was a difficult task making that switch.  

Carol Rothman with her completed book - her word was "evolving" 

Carol's back cover 

Carol's front cover - with stitched pocket and hand made silk tie-died ribbons

Nancy Dolan's book - her word was "becoming"

Nancy's back cover 

Nancy's front cover using found objects 

Each student was asked to think of a word or words that best described where they were in their lives at this time.  They were to keep that word in mind as they created their accordian book.  Using beautiful papers, crackle paints, distress inks, stamps, ephemera and more, the students created "a place"  just for them and their thoughts and dreams.  The results were beautiful and the few hours spent creating art and focusing on themselves was enlightening for all who participated.  

Marjorie with completed book - she chose "All About Me" as her words 

Marjorie's front cover

I am so grateful for the gift of teaching and for the students who allow me to share what I know with them as they explore their incredible creativity.  Life is good and I am truly blessed. 

Disintegration Project - The Big Reveal

Taaa- taaa- taaa- daaaaaaa! Get ready for the big reveal of the result of participating in Seth Apter's wonderful Disintegration Project on his blog The Altered Page - over 100 artists participated starting back in January of this year. We were to place all kinds of ephemera etc out in the elements and leave them until August 1 when we would share what happened on our blogs. Living in Southern California I was at a bit of a disadvantage compared to my northern and east coast artist participants. I placed my pages of an old dictionary tied with twine and some shipping tags on my little balcony and made sure that when I watered my plants I watered my art experiment too. Since we have very little rain where I live I figured that would be okay to help it along a bit and add to the aging of the sun on my pages.

My original post (January 28, 2009 - Disintegration - Seth's Project) on this blog about this project allows me to see the difference in aging and disintegration that transpired over eight months. I began to create an art piece as I looked at my aged dictionary pages. Here's what I created using the rolled dictionary pages, the aged dictionary cover, aged and weathered shipping tags, some netting and twine all glued to cardboard (the backing for watercolor paper tablet that I saved).



The tags say: Words Without Knowledge Bind Thinking...I came up with them after completing the binding of the dictionary pages under the netting. I love words and learning and teaching and somehow this art piece speaks to me.






A million thank you's to Seth and to all the other wonderful artists who participated.







If nothing else comes from this art piece - this is enough. Enjoy and I welcome your comments!

PS - a small disclaimer about my photos - had to take them with my cell phone because my camera died last night! Double click on the photos to see a larger version with details.