We're Off to Asilomar...

Yes - this is my art retreat eve. Tomorrow morning we depart for the Art and Soul retreat at Asilomar on the Pacific coast between Monterey and Carmel. Just up the road from the famous Pebble Beach. I'll be staying for 4 nights surrounded by rustic beauty.

I'll have many exciting things to report when i get back. Remember the ceramic fish we were asked to alter?

Here is what i did with it! Yes - a mermaid. Turned the fish on its tail so to speak. Since i figure there will be many mermaids - i wanted mine to be extra special, a mermaid artist! She painted a mini painting of the windswept trees that grace the northern California coastline, used one of those adorable mini canvases and easels they sell at Benjamin Franklin. I drew her in pencil then coloured in with oil pastels. Then glued on all those mini beads ONE AT A TIME. No seriously. Not my thing. I covered her tail with glue and poured on the beads. A nice mixture of blues and greens and a touch of glitter made a nice scale-y effect. Then did the same with her hair - using gold and orange beads. A shell bikini top, a few more shells here and there and done!

Today has been spent packing for the trip. Well not packing really - cus that would mean that things actually got PUT into a suitcase or something. All i have done today is shop for necessities like cookies and chocolate and trashy magazines. Things to amuse me in my cabin after a long day of creative pursuits. Then i bought all new toiletries - you know - smaller size shampoo and lotion to fit in the new makeup bag. Then i spent literally two or three hours playing with art supplies - coordinating ribbon, selecting embellishments, picking out pens and arranging them in neat piles on my dining room table. I am taking three workshops and there is a long supply list for each one. In addition to all the usual tools required, i need to bring fabric, wire, beads, ephemera, paper, boxes, clay, paint, etc.,etc..

I also finished up making some ATC's to trade - versions of they 4x4 fat book page - with the windswept trees photographed above and discussed on an earlier post. Now i just have to make a major decision to be DONE and start actually packing. You know how, Diane, just start putting stuff INSIDE the suitcase, stop fussing and get on with it. This is supposed to be a major stress reducer - and i sure to need it. Does it really matter in the scheme of things if i am missing a button or bauble? of course not.

Oh - and while i am talking to myself, hey Diane, all the clothes on the bed? They have to go INSIDE a suitcase as well.