My Journey to Art and Soul

Earlier this month I went to an AWESOME conference of artists called the Art and Soul Retreat. It was held in Hampton which is the town next to mine! I was so excited to find something like this so close to home. I signed up for three classes. I made collages, soldered houses and made a bracelet with beads, shells and beach glass. Oh my gosh I was in heaven and I had so much fun!
Vendor night was over the top. The coolest most unusual stuff, things you don't see everyday and art supplies that I normally have to order onlne. I can't wait to go again.

This is what I wrote as a thank you to Glenny, the organizer of the event. I was really excited when she wrote back and asked if she could art it up and share it with others! This stepping out of your comfort zone stuff has some pretty awesome payoffs.

Here are the things I discovered:

Kindness, friendship, connections, and community
Diamond glaze (can you buy it by the gallon?)
I am compelled to create & there are others that feel that way too
Cardboard cones with ribbons and stuff glued to them sounds really weird but look really cool.
Soldering isn’t so scary! And when Sally Jean (and Mr. Sally Jean) are teaching you how to solder, it’s just too awesome for words!
Wings on stamps (and perhaps a set of my own)
Collage with Traci Bautista is fast and fun.
Liquid water color spray stains your hands for at least three days (and your wedding band makes a nice stencil on those stained hands).
People can and do live their own authentic, artistic lives and for three days I did too.
I love brightly colored hair (I’m thinking aqua may just cover my gray better than the brown dye does….)
Having hands covered in paint and glue makes people wonder what the hell you’ve been doing.
I definitely want that tattoo I’ve been thinking about.
I would gladly trade all my 40% Michael’s coupons to have a store like Collage in my town.
Making yourself step out of your comfort zone to try new things leads to wonderful experiences.
I’m jealous of people who get to be creative for a living.
How to drill a shell and beach glass…oh & etch copper…and bead it all together for an awesome bracelet my friends covet.
Being able to say something like “So do you make ATCs?” and not have people say “What’s that?” is priceless.
Sharing is good (Okay original credit for that one goes to my mom, but it never hurts to reinforce those lessons)
There are other people on this planet that feel the way I do about Sharpie markers and have them in all the colors too.
No matter what anyone says to the contrary I am an artist…if for no other reason than my heart tells me so.
Oh and one more thing….going back to work is hell after a weekend in art heaven!