Lifebook 2013 May Lessons

I'm so behind on my Lifebook lessons, but AFICC took priority for awhile. I'll write about the conference in another post. Another obstacle has been music practice for Nurses Week. Tomorrow my husband, a friend, and myself will be playing at a potluck to celebrate nurses. I'm not too nervous right now, but just wait 'til tomorrow!

 

I'm in the process of downloading this week's lesson by Shiloh Sophia McCloud, but want to catch up with The April lessons first. I hate being behind.



This lesson is taught by Effy Wild. I am, however, compelled to finish the earlier lessons before treading into May's lessons.

Radical Wellness Program

I just received notice of a new course/program by Tamara Laporte, called "Radical Wellness." Sounds like it's right up my alley. The course starts in May, and will (hopefully) coincide with my goals of improving my health. http://www.willowing.org/radical-wellness/

I've been enjoying some of the other courses Tam has taught, so I'm excited for this one. I've been working hard at following "The Artist's Way" lessons and journaling, and I just started week 3 of a new (for me) change in my diet [so-far-so-good!]. I see this course as just bringing everything together.

Vacation!

Today is my first day of vacation, and the only fully day I have to pack and prepare for AFICC. So much to do, so little time.

There's some homework to do before one of the classes, and I hope to get that done today. There are a few more supplies to gather. And then there's the huge job of packing and making sure everything fits. I hope to bring a couple dolls for the displays, and maybe one for the auction.

I hope to take photos during the conference and post them here. Or maybe I'll be having too much fun to do this.

Lifebook 2013 April Lessons

This lesson was a lot of fun, though it took me quite some time to complete. This journal page is a small accordion book - I had to scan the panel in segments, so when it's open, you see a row of four birds. The song "Ripple" is by the Grateful Dead.

 This week we received an audio meditation by Erin Faith Allen to help honor and ground ourselves.
In addition, Tam posted an art prompt this week:

"Create a portrait in limited colour using black,
white and a smidgen of pink and rose". 

Here's my "Bottoms Up" page, taught by Aimee Dolich

 

Lesson by Joann Loftus. Watching it today, but can't play until I'm done packing and preparing for AFICC.

This lesson is by Dawn DeVries Sokol. Can't wait to get started!

April Showers

It's been over two weeks since I last posted. I've finally got a weekend off! And it's absolutely pouring outside. And windy. A perfect day to stay indoors and be artistic.

I just finished another assignment for my Lifebook 2013 class (I added photos to the March Assignments post), and I hope to finish the next lesson this morning before the grandson arrives. I think this one will go much more quickly than the last. My goal is still to complete every assignment.

I've been diligently writing my "morning pages" for The Artist's Way that I began three weeks ago. I never thought I could write three full pages longhand every day, but I have. Yesterday I went on my weekly "Artist Date." I wanted to see if the art supply store in town was still there and check it out. It was just where I remembered, and I wonder why it's taken so long for me to get down there. I spent $100 - supporting the local economy ;-)  I realize I spend very little time in town, other than driving to and from work and going to the grocery store and local Jo-Ann's. My Artist Dates have given me a chance to change that.

Last week the weather was really nice on one particular day, so I took my camera and went for a walk for my Artist Date. Here are a few photos. There were birds everywhere, and their songs filled the air. See the tiny speck of a blue heron? I have never been able to get a decent photo of these shy birds. In the background is my neighborhood, and you can see the Astor Column at the top of the hill.

The Artist's Way

I've been reading "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. I've had the book for a number of years, but just picked it up again. I wrote my first three "morning pages" this morning. Didn't take long to fill the pages - guess I had a lot on my mind. Question is, can I keep it up?

Now I need to pick an "artist date" for this week. These are solo excursions. There are a few galleries in Astoria I've never been to . I may do that. Or I might check out the fiber studio (though it's closed every time I drive by after work). 

The Perks of Insomnia (or what I did instead of sleeping)

I can hardly believe AFICC (Columbus, Ohio) is next month. I've got some homework to do before the conference, and supplies to gather. I was so excited to use my Frequent Flyer Miles for the FIRST TIME ever. That sure took the $$ pressure off!

Last AFIC (2011, I did not attend), I was able to design a quick doll for the designer booklet Cyndy Sieving assembled for participants. This booklet was a very cool idea, and as a contributor I got a copy of the booklet as well. Here is "Mirabelle," my primitive contribution.

The past 8 months or so have seen a dramatic decrease in free time for me, so when the March 1st deadline came and went, I was a little sad that I wouldn't be able to contribute. Then Cyndy extended the deadline. That, combined with a horrible sleepless night (spent ruminating on so very many things), I essentially designed a little doll in my head, instead of sleeping, while tossing and turning. Of course, I paid for it dearly the next day at work... don't worry, all my patients survived the day.

I had a few hours this weekend, so I was able to put my idea down on paper as I created the actual doll ("Toobies"). It was like the work was already done. It's a pretty silly doll, but one that goes together quickly.

On my to do list (since visiting New Orleans last summer) has been to design a "Voo Doo" (or "Good Intentions" doll as its benevolent counterpart), and this design fits the bill perfectly. While Cyndy's booklet is limited to one-page-only, I hope to expand the pattern to include all sorts of variations.

Lifebook 2013 March Lessons

I'm not quite done with my first March assignment, taught by Tamara Laporte - I must wait for some alphabet stamps to arrive. I'm probably going to paint the border around the heart with a darker brown, possibly with yellow/gold highlights. There are messages of gratitude to various family and friends written in the tubes glued to the page.

 

My alphabet stamps arrived, and I like the darker paint around the heart. The word "Gratitude" is stamped onto twill tape.

 

 

  

Today I finished my Week 11 assignment, taught by Michelle Kral (Mitsy B). For some reason, I had trouble with this one - not with addressing the bad aspects of myself, but making an "ugly" page. For the cover (below), I chose sickly green, yellow and black paints, and scraped those colors on with a credit card. I added mud brown spray inks, then splotched on yellow ochre and lettuce green paint. And I liked it. I didn't think it was ugly, and I was ok with that. I like it better that way.

 

For the inside of this pop-up page, I continued with browns, ochres and greens (teal this time). I used my alphabet stamps for the first time. And yeah, it bugged me that I misaligned some of the letters (refer to the "Perfectionist" quality). It was fun making the pop-up shapes, too. Michelle provided templates for these.

 

 

Yesterday (April 6) was a productive day. Not only did I finish the two previous lessons, but I also completed this one, taught by Mindy Lacefield. It went pretty well for the most part, until I sprayed a workable fixative on the whole thing and some stamped ink from an underneath layer bled through the face on the shorter girl. It was an interesting look, but it was not what I had in mind and I was quite peeved. So I did the best I could to paint over the stains. Lesson learned - spraying VERY LIGHTLY the first few times might have prevented this, or possible using gesso instead of white acrylic paint for the face.

The first layer on the background was a poem by Rumi, which filled the page entirely with overlapping handwriting in a variety of colors. I've seen quite a few references to Rumi on various journaling sites, so I had to look him up. Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. In 2007, he was described as the "most popular poet in America."

 

  

This week was an video interview with Dion Dior. What an amazing and inspiring woman!

 

A few 2012 Hoffman Challenge Dolls

Colleen Babcock has some Hoffman Challenge dolls posted on her blog HERE.  I've got the challenge fabric for 2013, but haven't given any thought to what my doll will be.

Don't forget to send me photos of your Hoffman dolls! I've begun setting up the Hoffman pages on my website, so as the dolls start coming in I'll be featuring them.

The Hoffman site has the 2013 fabric posted, as well as the rules for this challenge:
http://www.hoffmanchallenge.com/

Two Sally dolls completed!

I've finally finished two commissioned dolls, dressed alike (like the prototype I made last year). I'd forgotten how much fiddly hand sewing there was! They were made side-by-side, so while they look very much alike, there are a few little differences. I made a third doll as well, just have to finish sewing buttons and snaps on the dress, make the hat, and add the hair.

Doll 420

Doll 419