it's pathetic how few images i came home with from artfest. and i swear i say this every time, and yet again, there are only a handful of photos that i collected while away. there is so much going on during artfest that i never seem to get the opportunity to load up my camera with images of everything around me... which means i am totally absorbed in the moment... which i consider to be a wonderful thing... & by pulling out a camera i just might break the flow of creative-vibrant energy that happens during artfest! still... i lament & wish i had more images.
i think it's about time the word "artfest" gets put in the dictionary, with the definition being something like: an art retreat where like minded souls of all kinds come to connect; with extreme amounts of creative exchange, artistic influence, and an abundance of recharge for the soul. however, it might need a small disclaimer: it's so much creativity jammed into 3 days that it could and very well might change they way you go about your life.
and so, as you may have guessed, it was another fabulous artfest. although, i swear each year the time there speeds up and it's over way too quickly.
i wish i had lots of work from my students to share with you. i tried, i really did, but then i got caught up in the moment and didn't seem to get as many photos of my students work as i had planned. if you have work from my class and would like to share it you can...
something i have wanted to do for a long time now is set up a flickr group where anyone that has taken a workshop with me can post their work from the class. finally... i have set it up... here is the link. If you have taken a workshop with me at any point {offline} and want to share what you created in class or afterwards using the techniques I shared with you please do on the flickr group.
as soon as i got home from artfest i had to start preparing to leave for art & soul...
once i arrived at art and soul i checked into my room and threw open the curtains, much to my delight, what did i see? a perfectly blue sky with a few soft clouds and a red balloon floating up, up and away. hopefully there wasn't a teary-eyed child with an empty raised hand watching it float away. it was an easy reminder to be in that moment...after the whirlwind of artfest, preparations for art & soul, and driving all afternoon... unlike the balloon, i had landed. i knew i didn't have time to grab my camera in attempts to capture the site, so i just soaked it up and when the balloon was out of sight i stayed a little longer and watched as the clouds scurried along.
the next 4 days were filled to the brim with creating art! i was saturated with that feeling of being connected to my students and to what i love to do. we played, painted, made books, painted some more, created a few drawings, slept and ate a little, painted some more, and then packed everything up and went our ways. the more and more i teach the more i feel at home when i arrive to a workshop. i see dear familiar faces and love meeting new ones as well.
at both artfest and art & soul i had a wonderful group of students. i feel so blessed after these experiences, to be joined by like minded people, to be able to share what i love so much, to live so purely in the moment, and then to come back home to my family and my studio and my solitude, and all that allows me to reflect on what was.
if you were at Artfest or Art & Soul and took my class... thank you so very much! 
and now...without further ado {i have always wanted to say that}
the time has come...
my book has arrived. and let me just say this... wow.
how very exciting. unreal.
what a feeling to hold it in my hands, leaf through it, and see all the work & love i poured into it. it feels so, so, so very good. honestly, i never thought i would write a book of my own. i resisted for a little while, but now that i have it here with me, now that i hold it in my hands, i would do it over again in a heartbeat! i learned so much along the way and feel that i put as much into it as i had to give at this point of my life. now it's out there, waiting to find its way into other hands.
i find it perfect timing that it is released at this time of year, being that it's called unfurling, everything here in virginia is doing just that... including myself.
lastly...
i've updated my 8tracks by adding a new playlist and my photo-blog by posting my most recent gathering of photos...
if you'd like you can also follow me on instagram...my username is misskodachrome. if you aren't familiar with this site/app and love taking photos check it out... it's highly addictive.
next time i stop by here i will show you what i have been working on in the studio and hopefully-maybe my esty shop will be updated by then, too! ;)
