A Hot Month

Ohmigosh, it is too hot! Having stated the obvious, I'll go on with an update for July. We had a great opening for Christine Tandy's show, "Starscapes". Once again, I failed to get pictures, this time because I found my camera's battery needed recharging. So you'll just have to believe me when I say the place was packed! Chris is a wonderful artist, and also a therapist in private practice. Her pictures are still at the Art of Your Life Studio, so if you missed the opening and would like to see them, let me know.

Last chance for Altered Alchemy, meeting this Sunday the 22nd from 12:30-4. We'll have some experienced alchemists and some new folks, so all levels are welcome. We now have air conditioning! So, if you're looking for a cool place to make art this weekend, come alter books with us!

I've been busy teaching my PSU Women's Studies class, "Women, Creativity, and Healing." The students are delightful and adventurous and I find it so energizing being on campus. I am also a new member of the Advisory Board for the Queer Resource Center on campus. The Center is a friendly and diverse resource for those identifying as Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Trans, Questioning, and their allies.

Starting in the fall, I'll be teaching weekend classes for the PSU extended campus program. These will be at Mt. Hood Community Collage and and PCC Rock Creek. I'm going to be doing the short classes on women artists of the past. The students will each do a creative project on the women covered for the last part of the class. No art experience needed!
The classes are:
"The Abbess and the Entrepreneur": Medieval painter, writer, composer, and abbess, Caterina dei Vigri, and Italy's first professional woman painter, Lavinia Fontana. Oct 26 & 27 at Rock Creek, PCC.

"Living to Paint and Painting to Live": Italian Renaissance painters Artemisia Gentileschi and Sofonisba Anguissola. November 16 and 17 at Mt. Hood Community College.

"Emerging from Shadows": Italian painter Marietta Robust and French scuptor Camille Claudel. January 25 & 26 at PCC Rock Creek.

"The Helpmeet & The Courtesan": Dutch painter Judith Leyster and Italian poet Veronica Franco: Mt. Hood Community Collage.

I'm excited that I'll get to share information on the lives and work of these extraordinary women who dealt with obstacles and challenges many of us still encounter today.

The picture shown above is a sketch for a series of mixed media pieces on the six wives of Henry VIII. In doing some reading about them I was, I hate to admit, surprised about how educated and highly intelligent most of them were. More on that later.

You know, as I write the above I realize I'm doing a lot and I haven't even listed it all. Yet sometimes when I just relax, I feel like I should be Doing Something. Of course I know, as do we all, that relaxing and letting your mind drift or having fun with friends is essential to us as humans and necessary for artistic and other inspiration to keep flowing. Still, the Puritan Ethic is alive and well. So here, for me, and for you:

Blanket Permission to relax and be! Lie on your blanket on the beach, in the park, on your bed, and breathe. Savor. Expand.


I recently attended the open house for Linda Womack's new studio. She is a fantastic encaustic artist and teacher. She has just put out a gorgeous and easy to follow book on how to do encaustic painting. Linda has been teaching for several years. She now teaches at Collage on Alberta and will be doing classes from her new studio. I highly recommend her for beginning and advanced classes.

http://www.lindawomack.com

Keep cool and stay inspired!