Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

I've been away for a very long time, both physically and mentally.  New year, new directions, leading me back to where I need to be.

There's nothing like 2 weeks in glorious CA to revive a person, especially when you return to NC and temperatures below 40, dressed in your wispy short-sleeved warm weather attire.  Reality revisited!

For the last few nights I've been unpacking from CHA.  Stacks of catalogs to look through now with no distractions.  One order has arrived with many more to come.  I've rearranged the studio yet again, moving furniture but also art.  New canvas art has been hung, art dolls have been shifted around the studio to new perches so I can appreciate them once more.  Everyone tells me how energized and creative they feel in my studio but without the occasional facelift, I tend not to see it.  So by shifting and reworking areas, I'm hoping to rediscover some of my inspirations from projects past.  Last night I was mostly discovering dust!

Look at that explosion of color.  My first visit to Disneyland in CA.   We arrived just in time for the parade and I swear I got all choked up when it first began...the music booming.  Felt like a little kid...overwhelmed.  Hate to admit it but we didn't know all the characters, which hardly mattered.  It was magnificent.  But I was drawn to all those colors, thinking about how I could transfer that to the pages of my journal.

New classes will be taught in the studio this year, including several guinea pig classes.  An acrylic album class, an acrylic CARD class!, an art journal of techniques class that of course will be my favorite, and so much more.

I placed a big order for tape at CHA...washi tapes in SO many patterns & designs, fabric tape, and wait for it...LACE tape.  There's a class for sure.

New stencils should be arriving any day and that will be another class...on canvas.  But students will have the option of a stretched canvas to hang on the wall or Claudine's sticky-back canvas so it can be adhered to a book cover, storage box,  tote bag, apron, or even cut up for cards.

I'm most excited about the order I placed with Ranger for Dyan Reaveley's new stamps, stencils and sprays.  Probably won't receive any of that til the end of March or first of April according to my email acknowledgment, but oh how worth the wait!

Another class I'm excited to offer is a small accordian book working with paints, ribbons & fabric on paper.  Woo Hoo!!  It's a twist on my techniques class, introducing a few new things.

Tonight I've got the girls coming over for a bit of fabric stamping.  That should be interesting.  Some are bringing totes and aprons.  I've got quite the collection of aprons pulled out but I'm thinking about one of my white men's shirts that I wear in the studio.  And I found a stash of little cloth drawstring bags that need a little something, so they may see some action tonight as well.

Since my one-day mini retreat in October went over so well I'm toying with the idea of another.  I can tell you felt beads, paper, buttons, wire, and more will be involved.  Interested?

Back tomorrow with a rave and a rant.  Do come visit, won't you?