Inspiration Journal class with Donna Downey!

On the way to a family event last week, I was able to stop by Charlotte, NC to see the amazing Donna Downey again and take one of her classes at her studio! (Donna's blog here!). The studio is absolutely beautiful and Donna is as gorgeous as ever :)...

The Inspiration Journal - Creating a Visual Diary class is a 3 hour mixed media/art journaling workshop. Donna's website describes it perfectly:

"A hands-on exploration of your inner artist as we work together creating your visual legacy. The inspiration journal has become the hallmark of my creative play and growth as an artist. This workshop promises to challenge you to look at yourself as a creative soul and will encourage artistic growth with each page you complete. "

I really enjoyed experimenting with new products and techniques and feel a whole lot better about 'letting go' now. The ladies I worked with were all so helpful and talented and it's so inspirational to work in a classroom surrounded by Donna's work...

Donna is a really fun instructor too - she always makes me giggle :)

I worked really hard and felt very proud of my 'war wounds' at the end of the day :).

The amazing Etta!

While we were visiting friends in NC, I got to meet the amazing Etta! Here she is showing me her basement studio. I have never seen such an amazing creative space in someone's home before!

I think I have about 5 different colors of sewing thread...maybe 6...

And her work...OMG...totally gorgeous...

Sewing is her favorite thing...which explains the stockpile of thread :)...

Although it seemed to me that she can pretty much make anything...

I took about a million photos and have some great ideas for Christmas gifts now...if there's time of course...I can't believe it's August already! Thanks Etta for everything - not only are you an amazing artist but a great cook too. Hope to see you again soon :).

You Do the Dishes!

We went over to 'You Do the Dishes' (our local pottery painting studio) yesterday with Jen and Mya (blog here!). We used to go there many years ago for a weekly girl's night out and I'd forgotton how much we used to enjoy it! I also remembered what a great creative atmosphere it is and their fabulous specialty teas, coffees and treats. It was really nice to see how busy they were when so many businesses have been forced to close. We took advantage of one of their many specials too so the whole experience was a real bargain!

Jen made a box and Mya a kitty cat and an icecream...

Maddy made a spotted lizard and a rabbit and I made a cupcake moneybox...

They all turned out really well :)

Donna Downey's 'Beloved' class

It's been over a month since my Inspired retreat so I was really ready to try creating in a group setting again. Turns out Donna Downey herself (Donna's site here) was doing some classes at The Villages so I signed up for 'Beloved' - her six hour multi media scrapbooking class. Not only is she brilliant but Donna is so amazing friendly. I took Mike, Maddy and Nana to meet her too:).

During class Donna was able to answer tons of questions that I've had since I started trying out her style of work and she chatted with us all day. She has a really quick sense of humor and had us all laughing even when things didn't go exactly as planned:).

I didn't quite get done during class but worked most of the night when I got home to finish up so that my new precious book didn't join the huge pile of half-done projects in the garage ;). I'm really thrilled with how it came out in the end!

Thank you for everything Donna - you are such an inspiration!

Father's Day crafts...

It's so difficult to buy (let alone make) gifts for Father's Day! We wanted to put some time and effort into making something for Mike this year and were really proud of our creations in the end:). Here is Mike's 'Starbucks' lunch tote made from recycled Publix bags...

And while we're on the coffee theme - Maddy designed a cup holder so that he doesn't burn his fingers...

 

Hope he likes them!

My Inspiration Journal princess page...

I did a page using an old photo of Maddy for my Inspiration Journal this week and I'm so happy with how it came out!

My Inspiration Journal

I've been following Donna Downey's blog (Donna's blog) for a while now and each Wednesday she shares a new page from her Inspiration Journal and a video showing how she created it. At the moment I am going through a transitional phase in my life and love the idea of using art to help me through this process. I bought one of Donna's blank canvas books while I was at the Inspired event and I've done two pages so far. While I'm finding my groove I am following Donna's style fairly closely. Once I get comfy with my inner artist it will be interesting to see what comes out! For now though, it's great to learn process, while I process :)...

The Roswell Incident...

I had a special surprise in the mail today. The girls I met at Inspired had decorated one of the canvases I left behind with personal messages and sent to me in the mail! It totally made my day - how sweet! Here are my 'hugs on a canvas'...Thank you ladies:)

Inspired!

I had such an unbelievably amazing time at 'Inspired' - Donna Downey's Art Retreat in Charlotte, NC. It was a birthday gift for my 40th from Michael and a complete surprise. I have no idea how he knew that I really wanted to go and it actually made me cry when he told me I was going :). Inspired is a 4-day event with workshops covering a wide variety of different arts and crafts. All instructors are really well-recognized in their respective fields and the classes were small enough to get individual one-on-one instruction with these incredible women too. As soon as I arrived I was greeted by Donna and her husband Bill as if I was a long-lost friend! They are so incredibly friendly and made me feel so welcome:). I have been following Donna's 'Inspiration Wednesday' videos on her blog forever and it was great to see the actual finished products. I bought a blank Inspiration journal so that I can start one of my very own ;).

We were given a goodie box when we checked in and giveaways throughout the event. I only just made the baggage weight requirement on the flight home I had so much stuff! I loved my handmade nametag and apron the best:)

My first workshop was with Christy Tomlinson (Christy's blog here). I was really excited about this one since I love her work and have been wanting to create a 'proper' multi-media collage forever. I was thrilled with my creation in the end and wanted my first piece to reflect my gratitude to my husband for everything...

The following morning we had class with Trish Baldwin (Trish's blog here) to play with wax.

Encaustic is an area I know nothing about which was pretty apparent in my end result! I 'threw my dolly out of the pram' a bit and actually disposed of my piece because it was so rubbish and everyone around me seemed to be creating masterpieces. So childish. Ironically, in the end I think I learned my most important creative lesson in this class, i.e. to let go and try new things with an open and positive spirit. I realize now that just because something isn't comfortable at first doesn't mean you won't learn to love it and create something amazing:). The next class was jewelry making with Becky Nunn (Becky's site here). I learned a bunch of new techniques to get a more profession-looking result and got the opportunity to play with products like Gel Du Soleil...

At dinner, Donna had everyone sing 'Happy Birthday' and congratulate me on my recent 15K. Donna has been such a running inspiration for me since she completed her Half Marathon so it was very special coming from her:).

The next morning we printed onto canvas and fabric with Alisa Burke (Alisa's blog here).

It was really good to get messy and let go :). I thought about how well Michael must know me now to have booked this trip and remembered the House of Blues where we met...

In the afternoon we worked with Lolly (Lolly's blog here) to make a fabric tree picture on canvas. I felt ready to get a bit more 'creative' and make something different in this class. I decided on an owl to serve as a reminder that one of the (few) upsides to aging is acquiring wisdom:). Hot-gluing jute on to the canvas required a massive amount of patience (not exactly my best attribute), so after 4 hours of literally blistering my fingertips with hot glue and nearly losing my ever-loving mind, it was so exciting to have a result that was truly my own :).

At Tracie Lampe's class (Tracie's Etsy store) we learned how to fuse plastic together to make purses. I love the idea that you can create from trash and help the planet a little ;)...

Here are some of Tracie's fabulous designs...

We actually turned this...

Into this...:)

I think in the past I have considered art as primarily a solitary activity. Creating in groups was a total eye-opener for me so now I'm following some blogs to stay up-to-date with both events like this and local gatherings also so that I can continue to create in this way.

All of these ladies were so creative and I learned so much from each of them. Brenda for example had painted a case to bring her art supplies in. She was featured in the latest edition of Art Doll magazine and it was the first time she had even submitted a piece!

I haven't done anything like this before and found it a bit intimidating at first since all of the ladies I met were so creatively talented:). However I can honestly say that every single person I met was really friendly and aside from learning so much from my classmates we had a lot of fun too. It seemed like I laughed from the minute I got there to the minute I left! Learning and laughing - two of my favorites :) Thank you ladies, thank you teachers, thank you Donna and thank you Michael for an amazing, inspirational experience that I will never forget...