Journeying South Again

Putting the fall in snowfall

 I managed to get a taste of winter in Alaska with an early layer of snowfall before we left and had a  graceful cross country ski out back on the old trail.

We had a full deck of plans as usual this time of year which involved several states and visits and a road trip.

My first adventure after was down in the Hill Country at Lucky Star Art Camp

I had met the organizer Lisa at Squam Art Retreat a few years back when she was one of my roommates. It was her dream to manifest a women's art camp down in the Hill Country of Texas and she made it happen. I vowed to give my self a treat after a very business filled summer of pretty much focusing on my handmade component business.  

I felt I had been neglecting certain aspects of my creativity like the mixed media and journaling that I had been doing a few years back.

My retirement pastime has turned into a full time job it seems!

I  I took a workshop with Mindy Lacefield called "Field Notes" and this guy emerged

I let myself do some freeing journal pages there

I was glad I brought along some of my papers from a Ro Bruhn Etsy set!

We did some reflective nature walking

I took a Mixed Media alchemy class with my friend Corrine Gilman

She challenged us to using just a three colors in our palette and the rest is  just letting your muse go on walkabout.

I took a class on How To Write a Story With write Katherine Center.

She gave us some exercises to loosen us up

I met some great people at the camp and boy did they feed us well. Such a gorgeous location on the Guadalupe River

 After Camp was over we explored a bit in the town of Gruene

Took a short detour to Maine to visit my mum and celebrate my aunt's 94th birthday.

So glad we did. We lost dear old Martha just a few days after her grand birthday party. She had said she wanted to go out in style like her brother Raymond (my father) after a nice celebration.

I guess the those Rogers are true planners.

I ate some incredible seafood stew!

and then headed oback to Austin and got a room at this iconic hotel

It was too cold however to see the bats come out from under the bridge

Sage wisdom at the pizza joint.

We road tripped it back to Arizona and I am back in full production mode for a spell as my shop has been vacant for a bit too long.

I really needed the refreshing break and replenish my well.

The numi-sticks torch fired copper enamel matchsticks are proving ever popular and I try to come up with some different styles.

These are "Painted Desert"

I returned to my vintage tin plate stash and had the idea to cut them up to see how they took the enamels.

Success with the experiment. I love the ghost image of the old paint and the uneven application of the enamels revealing the distressed tin.

I am so pleased to use the frit I made for some more subtle effects

Trying out different finishes

I made a series with murrini

and good old beads

This lady followed me home one night when i visited a neighbor that was down-sizing.

I've named her Bea after my mother in law that I never met...also Bis-Bea

Did I show this already. Some lampwonk that I made way last month

Back to doing my daily desert neighborhood walkies.

Glass mosaic cactus

It's good to be home again