Saturday, May 31, 2008

Goodbye to a wonderful playschool teacher...

Good luck Patty with your new adventures...

Monday, May 19, 2008

"Mom, you have to come see... there are DAISIES in the tree!"




Its good that I have someone to pull me out of my studio once in awhile...

Monday, May 12, 2008

If you don't have plans for the long weekend and want a cartoon portrait drawn...Check out "Movies on the Square" this weekend. I will be drawing in Churchill Square for free from 8-10 pm as pre- movie entertainment (compliments of the City of Edmonton).

Date Night
Friday, May 16 Hitch (PG 13)
Starring Will Smith, Kevin James, and Eva Mendes
Language and some strong sexual references.
118 minutes

Family Night
Saturday, May 17 Alvin and the Chipmunks (PG)
Starring the voices of Jason Lee, David Cross, and Justin Long
Some mild rude humor.
92 minutes

Action Packed Night
Sunday, May 18 The Karate Kid (PG)
Starring Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita, and Elisabeth Shue
Some violence and language.
126 minutes

See you there!
Sit with me
I wish I had the time to sit still right now. Really still. At a "drop in" meditation class yesterday, my mind fidgeted the entire time, tapping its foot impatiently, wanting to get on with things. This life I live is such a busy, busy, busy life — a challenging path for a person who needs to have a really wide margin to her day. That wide margin now only exists in fleeting and usually unpredictable moments.

So, where I have been drawing recently?...at a spectacular Gala (with fireworks), an afternoon corporate party and a wonderfully happy 10 year old's birthday party...

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Messy Hands, Big Smiles and Creative Play.
I absolutely love teaching mixed media! I gave an inservice on Friday afternoon for 28 teachers at Satoo School. I thought of an analogy last night —of myself as a lifeguard standing on the edge a "creativity" pool. When I teach mixed media and creative journaling its about jumping into the pool and playing, enjoying the refreshing, rejuevinating feeling of the water. I'm not there to teach them to draw or to convince them that anyone can actually learn to draw (which is true, but that's another post). It's not about swimming a hundred metres or holding our breath underwater. We're not trying to improve our stroke or race laps or competitively dive. We're just wading into the pool of creativity and opening ourselves up to something that's already inside. We just do whatever we each feel like doing there. I bring the toys to play with and the instruction (when needed) and what people do is up to them. Remarkably they also all produce some amazing pieces— surprising even themselves. (See the photos of some of their work at the end) For some people its been a long time since they swam there (or even put on a bathing suit), so its great to see the sparkle in their eyes when they realize how much fun they are having. All those admissions and confessions of "I'm not really artistic" to me at the beginning of the class seem to fall by the wayside as they see the difference between being artistic and just enjoying creativity for its own sake.

I believe everyone is inheritably creative, its just that sometimes people have shut that door (and locked it). Creativity is an important tool in life no matter where your talents lie— in art, drama, cooking, sewing, gardening, accounting, organization, athletics, music, biology etc. Every direction in life can benefit from a little bit (or a lot) of creative play.
...and I'm here to make sure that no one drowns.