ArtMaking as Playful Prayer: Icons

My ArtMaking as Playful Prayer class officially ended today - we're going to get together one more time, but our official classes are over. It was really a pleasure spending six weeks making art with Maggie, Diane, and Robyn, and I'm wanting to share some of what my awesome students made . . . starting with these wonderful icon shadowbox shrines.


We started with iconic divine imagery, and then made it our own with gesso, sharpie markers, and paint. The one featuring the delightful juxtaposition of Aphrodite and the Virgin Mary above is Maggie's. Maggie's the one who got me hooked on Jacquard Lumiere paints, and she does a great job of using their Hi-Lite interferance paints here, though the photo doesn't do it justice.

This lovely sewing saint is Diane's - the tiny spools of thread are such a lovely touch, and she did a great job using the scrapbooking paper to define the space inside the box.

This contemplative beaded Buddha is Robyn's, and I love the way the beads create a veil while emphasizing the depth of the box and layers of the Buddha's halo. It really makes you want to look in, doesn't it?

I'll share some more of the projects we worked on later this week . . .

It's Been Like a Really Long Monday . . .

Earlier this month, Bitter Betty talked on her blog about how January can be a lot like a really long Monday . . . and boy, this one's been a doozy! You know, one of those Mondays where you start a new job and wind blows shingles off your roof and you're getting ready for Bargain Hunting 101 and you decide to reorganize your office . . . It's been exhilarating, overwhelming, and exhausting . . . and there just hasn't been much time for blogging.

In the midst of all of this madness, it's been wonderful to be teaching the Artmaking as Playful Prayer class - I've got a great group of women in the class this winter, and it's really rejuvenating for me to spend time making with them. The first night, we did intuitive collages:

We each pulled a bunch of images from old National Geographic magazines, just ripping out the ones that appealed to us in some way, and then sorted them into four groups . . . just to see what kinds of patterns emerged in the images. I encouraged people to make four distinct collages, one collage from each grouping of images. My groupings ended up focusing mostly around color - though there were certainly other patterns that emerged.

This one is brown and blue, and I like the repetition of the striding people and the curving shapes. It's fascinating to me how my mind will work and work to make a story out of it . . . to make meaning, not just connections. Yet, if I let the story get in the way, the piece becomes forced and it loses that spontaneity and spark. There doesn't have to be a story for the artmaking to be meaningful . . . the real meaning in the work comes from being mindful, from being fully in the moment and open to the intuitive impulses.

And that is something that is all too easy to forget on a 31-day Monday spent chasing down a to-do list.

I'm Alive! And I have a question about your studio . . .

Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm alive. I've been up on Whidbey Island, Washington for the past week doing a writer's retreat with my writer/editor friend Jill Kelly. I've been working on book to go with my ArtMaking as Playful Prayer class for more than two and a half years, and, with Jill's support, I'm finally making some good progress! I'm starting a new session of ArtMaking as Playful Prayer on January 20th, and working on the book is getting me really jazzed up . . . It's designed as a home workshop for those who can't make the class, or a home companion for those who do. So, in honor of fresh starts and the new year, I'm going to leave you with this tidbit from the second draft of . . .

Chapter 4
Studio: Making Sacred Space at Home

Making Room for Art

It is one thing to go off to an art class once a week and another to work alone at home. In the class, there are other people taking the same risks you are. There are supplies to choose from and a space to work in and permission to make a mess. You know that when you come back the next week, the supplies and the space will be there. There is a teacher or facilitator who is cheering you on, giving you ideas and information about materials, and hopefully setting guidelines that make the space a safe and fun place for everyone to explore. Yet, even if you’re blessed with having a great workshop environment, you’ll end up wanting to do some work at home or in your own studio space.

Over the years, I’ve gone from having a corner workspace in my bedroom, to the use of a larger space in a mildew-prone basement, to the glorious converted two-car garage I now call my studio home. Some full and part-time artists rent studio space outside of their home, and some continue to work for years from that corner in the bedroom. Whether the space is in your house or not, you want to have at least some space that is yours alone and not used for any other purpose; a space where you can leave your supplies set up and works in progress out and visible. This way, you can sit down and work for a few minutes here and there, and you are always walking by your project – catching it out of the corner of your eye and letting your subconscious work on it, too. It keeps your artist within out and visible and taking up space; it identifies artmaking to be as much of a priority as sleeping, cooking, or bathing. It becomes as easy to add a bit of color to a piece as it does to heat up leftovers in the microwave, check e-mail, or flip on the TV.

The reality is that in the beginning, your workspace will probably be in your house, and you probably share your house with other people who may or may not understand what you’re doing. Your home may be small and you might not feel like you have any space to claim for art, or that the spaces in your home are too public for the purpose. You may have children or housemates who would take great delight in using your art supplies, but might not have the same notions of privacy or respect for materials and works-in-progress that you might need. You might be working on things that you simply don’t want other people to see.

For a bare bones home studio, all you need is something to make marks, something to make marks on, and a place to be while you make marks. Here are some ideas for setting up a studio in a small or shared space:

The One-Wall Studio
I once met a woman who had simply dedicated one wall of her kitchen to painting. It wasn’t a large space, but she had tacked cardboard to the wall and floor to protect it, hung heavy paper on the wall to paint on, and then had a tray with her paints on it that could be easily repositioned. It was always there, and it was easy for her to step in and paint without the production of setting up her space each time she wanted to work.

Ok, I'd love to know what you think - and what your studio or artmaking space is like! I'm planning on posting some more of my ideas for making small studio spaces tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Night Lights, Big City: Long Day

Well, ok, it's a little city. Little enough that someone like me can be on TV - twice, no less! I started off the day today demonstrating a jewelry technique involving recycled bicycle inner tubes on local morning show AM Northwest. You can click here to watch the video or wait until tomorrow and I'll have a complete, step-by-step demo posted here on the blog! (My other five minutes of fame - demonstrating how to make memory magnets on the same show - can be viewed here, if this sort of thing amuses you!) And a big "Thank You" to Jen of DIY Lounge and Maria of collage for hooking me up with this sweet gig!

I ended the day on an equally arty note, this time with my Artmaking as Playful Prayer Class - we started in on shrines tonight, but I just had to give you a peek at what we did last week:


That's right! We made Guardian Night Lights with shrink plastic - the one above is kind of a fire dancer, and the one below, well, she's a successful and serene multi-tasker!


We started the class by talking a little about archetypes, and then dove into a writing exercise. I had folks draw two tarot cards (tarot decks are chock full of archetypes, by the way!): one for their Ally, and one for their Adversary. We did some writing about what we loved and feared in those figures - and it was pretty amazing what came out! And of course, I did the exercise too. My Adversary related to getting distracted by pursuing too many goals at one time - so I decided to embrace my Adversary, and turn her into a friend! Here, she is capable of doing the many things she loves, while still staying focused on the big picture and grounded in reality. A girl can dream, right?

If you want to do this at home, you can pick up shrink plastic at just about any art store (I, of course, get mine at collage - gotta support those small, local art stores!); I got the night light blanks from the kyle designs wholesale section!

Yes, I'm feeling a bit obsessed with shrink plastic lately . . . Maybe CraftyPod could do a show on it . . . if they haven't already!

Transition Times (and an Offering to the Sign Gods)

I always used to say that I hated airplanes, but loved airports. I still dislike airplanes - I always feel a little claustrophobic - though I love their speed and relative efficiency. And I still generally like airports - they are places full of anonymity and possibility: you can go anywhere and become someone new, up to a point. You are limited by your baggage.

But transitions are still difficult. The transitions that occur in airports when you're trying to make connecting flights and navigate each airport's unique security requirements (don't get me started on Heathrow's International Arrivals Terminal) are more difficult since 9-11. And of course there are those airports that the Sign Gods* have abandoned utterly (like LAX or Katmandu International), perhaps for lack of the proper tributes or the worship of other gods.

Starting a new class, with new students, is also a transition of sorts. I started a new Playful Prayer class on Tuesday with a wonderful group of women. I was still a bit fuzzy headed from travel, but the class went reasonably well and is off to a good start.

We usually do mandalas during the first of the six-week classes. It's a good grounding and centering introduction to the practice of intuitive and devotional art. The class was small enough that I was able to work on my own mandala:

It incorporates bright, frenetic color; luggage tags from our "lost" luggage; punched circles from our boarding passes; tickets to Tulum area attractions; and images from the travel brochures. At the very center is the logo for Mexicana Airlines, a logo which also very much resembles the pyramid-shaped temples so common in MesoAmerica prior to colonization. This collage is only loosely a mandala - there is a central focus, radial symmetry. But it is more of a whirlwind in search of a place to put down. All that energy from transition needs to go somewhere.

*A note about the Sign Gods: I have traveled a great deal by myself across the United States and around the world. Yet, everywhere I go, when I am most in need, signs appear that guide me: the image of the leaning tower of Pisa with an arrow pointing straight ahead; the sign that reads "Baggage Claim" is six languages; the friendly rectangle letting me know that a much needed Rest Stop is only 10 miles ahead; even the strangely angular outline of a woman on an otherwise unremarkable door that spells "Thank Ye Gods, Relief is Near!" These are all evidence of the Sign Gods whose will is done by lowly shop merchants and bureaucrats the world over. Generally, chaos results if we defy them or ignore their will.

Fame in the Blogosphere, or, NaBloPoMo is Over - Now What?

Well, fame would be a bit exaggerating things a bit - I ran into Eyecon Arts at a gallery opening last week and she totally recognized me from my blog! Came up and said, "hi" and we got into a lovely conversation about teaching! Then, I got blogged . . . Alley Arts, a participant in Artmaking as Playful Prayer, blogged about the class! How cool is that?

NaBloPoMo is over - I did it! - I blogged every day during November, so I doubt I'll be blogging every day during the next few months - but it has been amazing to start really following a few blogs on an almost-daily basis. It's amazing the tidbits you can pick up! Thanks to MK5, I know what quilting gloves are and what it is to quilt in the ditch - and I got some great Scrabble tips!

So what happens after NaBloPoMo? I skip a day of blogging, and throw my annual Holiday Craft Party (which really needs a catchy new name, folks!). It was the first time I'd had a bunch of people over to play in my studio * - a converted two-car garage attached to my house - and so I finally christened it: The Hearth. (see how "art" appears in the middle of the word? feel the warmth?) This is the heart and home of Eyes Aflame . . . egads, I'm getting a little weepy! Time for pictures . . .

Believe it or not, these were taken as the party was winding down, and I finally remembered to pull out my camera . . . check out Susan in that amazing hat! Pele looks on in . . . well, Pele looks on. Michael is totally concentrating on getting his switchplate covers just right . . .


And here are the stars of Scarlet Star Studios . . .Gretchin and Sven! Gretchin made these amazing little snow folk (look close!) . . . and Sven crafted a creature with magnetically attached poseable - and removable - arms!

And this cute couple - Chama and Sandy - met at one of my Holiday Craft Parties - three years ago?! Four years ago?! My, how time flies . . . See how gettin' crafty and gettin' your art on just brings people together? And keeps them together? Ok, I'm getting weepy again!


On a groovy note, Sandy brought a really cool card idea to the party . . . I've got to figure out how to do a demo of it for you . . . but in the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for TWO great gifty demos this week . . . inspired by my Holiday Craft Parties!

* Added later: A month ago or so, for a Women's Networking Group meeting, I had six or seven folks over to the studio - and that felt like a warm-up.  The fifteen to twenty who showed up for the Holiday Craft Party?  That, well, that was a full-on christening! And yeah, I really think the space can work for classes . . . hmmm

Poetry from Playful Prayer

At the end of six weeks of Artmaking as Playful Prayer, I ask each participant for a phrase that sums up their experience. Then, I use all their phrases to create a poem. Here's the one from this latest class, the one that ended on Monday:

To me
What a treat
The class was enriching
Fineness pasted down and ironed on
To have three hours set aside each week
To my soul, my individuality, and definitely my instincts
To play, make art and get a tad messy
That goes on glittering.

So, my wish for you as you enter this hectic and delightful holiday season - go on glittering!

Studio Day

Ah, the glory of (almost) an entire day spent in the studio . . . I really need that kind of concentrated art time . . . Today, I experimented with printing plates made from pieces of foam rug gripper and friendly foam and even foam weather stripping. In other words, if it's even vaguely foamy, I'm experimenting with making a stamp/printing plate from it and printing it on fabric.

The Artmaking as Playful Prayer class finished on Monday, and I've got a Memory Jewelry class that starts tomorrow. And I've been cleaning up from the Secret Society Sale last Sunday, and prepping for the Dinnergrrls Holiday Bazaar this coming Sunday . . . It's a miracle I got in the studio for any personal work! But I need that time . . . especially after a Playful Prayer class ends. I need time to digest what's happened. Time to incubate. I got some really wonderful and thoughtful feedback about the class, about creating more meaningful transition times. And I've been digesting that, considering different ways that I might meet that need without sacrificing the structural looseness. All while I print little houses and little birds with nests on fabric. So soothing.

And yesterday's teaser? Old appliqued quilt blocks (from yet another quilt that is not to be) that I'm turning into pillows to sell at the Dinnergrrl's Holiday Bazaar this weekend . . .

Today, I'd Just Like to be Squirrel Girl

Either the one from Sweetie's online comic book, or the one that hangs upside down in the tree in my backyard in order to feed from the bird feeder. The first is sexy in a butch rodent kind of way, can kick butt and has a long fluffy tail. The other one is quite deliciously zaftig in a cuddly yet athletic way, can do 30 crunches while hanging upside down and has a long fluffy tail. (At first, Sweetie and I thought she might be pregnant, but we've been watching her for over a month now, and squirrels usually mate in December and June, with gestations in the 30-44 day range. So, unlikely.)

Today, I would like my mission to be simple: kick butt, eat seeds, fluff tail.

You notice blogging is not on the list.

You notice, too, that I resorted to listing seven random facts about myself yesterday instead of talking about any sort of creative enterprise. The creativity is definitely happening: I had a wonderful Playful Prayer class last night which resulted in a couple of great conversations about process, and how a piece will change as you work on it, how you can often spend a lifetime pursuing work that allows you to express a particular thing and still not quite get it, but revel in the process. I led the group in one of my favorite writing exercise (based on Pat Allen's Art is a Spiritual Path) where we engaged in a stream-of-consciousness dialog with our work. I also worked more on my fiber pieces about Nepal, and developed some new stamps using foam insulation tape that I can't wait to try out. Wonderful stuff.

In fact, that's been one of the great things about NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). I commit to posting every day. My blog is about creativity. And guess what? There really is something to write about every single day that relates to my creative journey. My creative life really is that fully integrated with my everyday life. Woo-Hoo!

It's just that some days, I'd rather not write about my creative process or the things that inspire it or feed it or result from it. I'd rather be Squirrel Girl. And Squirrel Girl doesn't blog. She gorges on seeds, then hides some away in secret stashes for a cold day. She incubates. She mates in December. And maybe June. She kicks butt. She fluffs her tail.

And I'm just betting she watches Project Runway.

Loose Ends . . .

I thought I'd share how a couple of pieces have progressed . . . one was the mandala that I started the first night of Artmaking as Playful Prayer . . . I started working on it, then photographed my own hands, my own lips, and my own vegetables to incorporate into it . . . I also photographed some of my own lipsticks . . . The orange and lemon slices are plastic fruit that I bought and made photocopies of! Anything I can do to build my own library of images . . .


And here's the four-part self-portrait that I started at Traci Bunkers class at Art and Soul . . . I changed up some of the collage, and added a few color washes, and it definitely feels more unified. Can't say I'm crazy about it, but it feels resolved - and I learned a lot from doing it. Incubation is your friend.

And whether a piece is "likable" or not is probably one of the least important things about it.

Masks and Myths

These are the masks the Artmaking as Playful Prayer participants made this week - we also did Touch Drawing (a type of intuitive mono-printing developed by Deborah Koff-Chapin) - which warmed people up. For me, the Touch Drawing always breaks things loose . . . and I think it made the mask-making much more organic. I'm really hoping to attend the in-depth Touch Drawing Workshop next summer . . . maybe tomorrow I'll post some of the ones I did this week.

With masks, we get to invent new identities and try on ancient archetypes. We get a chance to act out our own myths and stories. In some spiritual traditions, the masks worn to represent different deities in rituals and dances are considered too powerful for anyone save trained priests or shamans to wear. While poking around a friend's blog today, I found a link to the Endicott Studio, an on-line journal dedicated to mythic arts. Artwork that deeply engages us in the expression of myths. What a yummy thing for fall . . .

Collage Materials - Delivered!

They're not really collage materials in the traditional sense of the word - they're vegetables. And they came to my house via Pioneer Organics. Yet, there they are - delivered - and I've been taking "glamour shots" of them to incorporate into my collage work. I love working with images of vegetables and fruits (kind of like skulls and birds, but different). This photo frenzy? It's all part of my transition to using only my own and public domain images in my mixed media art so that I can publish and reproduce my work. I really want to respect the work of other artists . . . and the food shots in Real Simple have been so tempting . . . their photographers have a genius for capturing the natural beauty of produce. Those images are now relegated to use only in my personal journals! So - I must learn to do my own! Next up: creating my own images of hands and lipsticks . . . then maybe I can finish the mandala I started in the first Artmaking as Playful Prayer Class this fall!

More Back to School!

My friend and fellow creativity gal, Gretchin Lair, and I both run in-depth creativity experiences several times a year - she does Artist's Way, I do Artmaking as Playful Prayer. And each time, we check our schedules to see if we can attend each other's classes, and each time, the answer is "no." My fall Artmaking as Playful Prayer class started Monday - and it's a marvelous group! We dove into Mandalas, and I gotta tell you, every time I run that slide show, I get excited about Mandala making all over again!

Yet it is a sad thing in my life that I only occasionally get to work with Gretchin. The good news is that Gretchin has regular free Collage Nights and $10 Guided Intent art experiences at her studio, Scarlet Star Studios, and sometimes I can make those. Last week, I headed over for a Guided Intent . . . LifeMaps. We had to draw. Now, I am very lazy with my drawing. It's not the most exciting part of artmaking for me (can you say COLOR?! SHAPE!? TEXTURE?!) so I do a lot of photography, collage, and painting that incorporates these other images. But, like I said, we had to draw and I was game.


So, I played with watercolor pencils - something I haven't done in years! It was great to be fun, playful, cartoony . . . and I discovered that I like to draw worms. With eyebrows. And cowboy boots.
Worms with eyebrows just seem so much more expressive, don't they? And this particular worm has a secret desire to wear a red satin dress and be a lounge singer. A lounge singer with large, expressive eyebrows and pouty red lips.


That worm and I have some very strange things in common . . .

Back to School

The past month or so has been like "back to school" for me - taking classes at Art & Soul, getting my own class schedule up for fall, and then taking a class with Wendy Huhn at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts here in Portland (yes, a hoity-toity place that still actually uses the word "craft" in its name - wow). Wendy Huhn is a very cool fiber artist who lives here in the Great Northwest and the class I attended was called "Transferology" - oodles of cool techniques for transferring images to paper and fabric (yes, those are some of my samples above).

I had a lot of fun, met some other very cool mixed media artists, and got some great ideas for the pieces I'm working on for the December Gresham Arts Council Show "Postcards from Afar." It was great to see how the other folks in the class worked and experimented, see what their process was like, then see some finished stuff live and in person, and then go check out their work on-line! I love looking at other artist's work - These are the participants with websites that I know about: Trisha Hassler - who mixes fabric and metal in her work, quilter and fiber artist Gerrie Congdon, and mixed media artist Mar Goman (go to the site, click on "Artists" then on "Mar Goman").

Workshop: $$$
Supplies: $$
Getting to see other artists at work: Priceless!