One Month in the Harbour City...

Well, it's been a bit of a roller coaster to be sure but I have moved to a more Joanna-friendly place and I've got boxes and bins to unpack and continue the sifting and sorting. OMG. Like where exactly did all this stuff come from and why oh why did I think it important enough to think that I had to move it across the Georgia Strait anyway?  And yes, it is a rhetorical question...

Oh well...In any case for Week Four I returned from Victoria inspired and energized and ready to create, create, create!  Nick Bantock is quite a character and his quirky sense of humour is very dry and British which I enjoy.

On Monday I was on Gabriola Island to help the Theatre Festival folk put together these banners that will block the light in one of the festival tents. Once I get unpacked somewhat anyway, I'll sign up for some more shifts to help out sell tickets and other jobs that they need volunteers for.

Due to my across city move I did not get to the Library Book Club or the Harbour City Newcomers BBQ. But now that I'm in my REAL home and can cut my expenses because it's a place where I actually want to prepare meals and hang out in I can organize my life and monthly calendar much better. Oh happy day....Amazing that 20 years of being in the Okanagan is so quickly fading into the ether of my memory. I'm finally exactly WHERE I'm supposed to be at last!

Fearless Painting

http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com/2011/07/fearless-painting-crash-course.html

Fearless Painting!

It's truly amazing what's out there on the net that just 'drifts' into your consciousness. In Vernon, I took a four week series of 'intuitive painting' classes but I would say I like the term Fearless Painting much better! 

http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com/p/workshops-retreats_24.html

Highlights of Week Two and Three in Nanaimo & Victoria

Like wow, I've been here for three weeks already and every single day is a joy and a blessing. Where to start since every day is a gift?

Some highlights include find a better light filled place to live, volunteering at the first ever Nanaimo BBQ festival earning my first day glo green t shirt. I also dropped in at the Harbour City Newcomer coffee time at Serious Coffee at Piper Bay/Beach, saw Savages and the Most Exotic Marigold Hotel and generally had a good time bombing around in Mavrik, my 2002 Mustang convertible. I finished reading 'Bride of New France' in anticipation of next Thursday's Nanaimo Library Book Club gathering and am now reading 'The Matchstick Men' about a couple of grifters. This book was made into a movie starring on of my all time fave actors, Nicholas Gage. You can love him (I do.) or loathe him (Many do.) but no one anywhere can say that he is boring...like ever. He has made some dubious choices in films but overall no one can play 'tortured' like Nick.  Bring Out the Dead comes to mind with Nick as a tortured ambulance driver who is haunted by a young girl that he was not able to save.

I also attended this fantastico collage/assemblage workshop called the Trickster's Tale in Victoria with Nick Bantock of Griffin and Sabine fame. Very inspiring and educational and I'm quite anxious to set up a proper studio to keep/start working on all kinds of fabulous mixed media and painting projects!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin_and_Sabine

Apropo Horoscope Today!

Sábado, 21 Julio 2012

 De Rick Levine

Thankfully whatever resistance you have recently experienced settles into the background now, allowing you to be more comfortable in your own skin. Use your time to tackle a creative project today, even if it doesn't have any specific purpose. The process of doing something strictly for your own enjoyment may unlock other more practical possibilities to pursue. Follow your bliss and enjoy the journey along the way.

Like wow! Is this 'on the money' or what?  I'm in Victoria this weekend to join Nick Bantlock and a talentend group of artists for Nick's Urgent Second Class Collage Workshop. Could very well change my...artistic...life!

The Trickster's Tail awaits...

http://www.nickbantock.com/workshops.php

http://jennstrom.com/video-lab/nick-bantock/

'We think of ourselves as having dreams but maybe it's the dreams that have us.'  Quote by Nick Bantock in the Knowledge Network video...

Four Week Soul Collage Course

http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=185&aff=70

I've done a one day class and most recently a one night studio gathering in Vancouver but this e-class sounds really useful and possibly one that I can use as a template for facillitating soul collage gatherings in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico!

Highlights of Week One in Nanaimo

Yes, I have...sold my house.
Yes, I do...live in Nanaimo, the Harbour City.
Yes, I have had some great fish and chips at a highway pub called Gryphon's Lair.
Yes, the sun is now shining and I've loved exploring my new city including an amazing range of thrift shops and also a place downtown called Very Vintage which is a consignment store for retro items. Will release my 60s Lava Lamp just as soon as I locate it.
Yes, I do have a new coffee 'home away from home' called Serious Coffee which is ONLY on Vancouver Island.
Yes, I'm totally grooving on living IN the Harbour City...at last!

Online EStore for Art

http://artistwebsites.com/tourartistwebsites/how-much.html

I think this is worth checking out. Probably better than just having an Etsy presence for sure!