set yourself free

"Free your mind and the rest will follow." That's the name of the game....
Set yourself free.

It's almost fire season.

Throwback Thursday - this is from the winter solstice last year. Still remembering this every day. Preparing for the coming hibernation & renewal time. I love feeling fall in the air.

unschooly art lab

Spring session - week 1, getting warmed up.

The idea behind this class is that I provide an opportunity for the kids to explore a variety of materials - drawing, water-based paint, sculptural, found images, & objects, but it is really up to them what they wish to create.  I am providing a studio environment for an hour and a half each Friday (this particular session is 8 weeks) for the kids to ponder, explore, and chit-chat while they make art together in a fun, low-pressure environment.  This is about process and discovery.  When you are an artist, sometimes that even means sitting and staring off into space for awhile - imagine that!  I bring in examples of my own work, I show them a variety of famous artists' work, and when I see someone doing something that reminds me of a particular artist, I bring it up on the internet and show them their kindred spirit.  The kids are invited to push the boundaries and definitions of art, and learn new skills in an environment of self-discovery and inspiration.  They are invited to come with questions if you are interested in learning specific skills.  I expose them to various movements in modern art and techniques of different artists to be inspired by as they develop their work.

coming out of rest & renewal

gettin’ my yoga and meditation on never felt so good
in front of a morning fire
burning off all the detritus of all the yesterdays
centering within myself
here, now, me, myself, and I
with all my imperfections and worries and fears,
all my insecurities
all my hopes and dreams
floating around together
settling down
releasing into the ground

arriving at stillness and silence
moving through stillness and birdsong and crackle of fire
feeling like I just crawled out of the cave
after a long winter’s sleep


we need this time
to ease into the day
this is how artists live, in flow
- not as servants to the clock

we need the time to be, to do nothing (seemingly),
to ponder, to daydream, to plan, to reflect
sometimes we build the whole empire in our mind
before one pen is laid to paper, or one brick is laid
sometimes we work for days with a furvor
barely eating, barely sleeping, fueled only by inspiration
we are creators
that is our natural impulse, our need, our drive, our catharsis, our necessity
when we are able to live in harmony with this compulsion
we are happy, we are healthy, we are free


FREE YOUR MIND AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW

reading lunch

Today my big Adobe is reading to Phoenix - I love watching/hearing her read these books to him that I used to read to her when she was much younger. And, the second is bilingual, and she did a pretty good job of pulling off the Spanish pronunciation.

pictures with words at art works now

   This Thursday at Art Works, we learned how to make images using letters and words as elements of composition, to create lines and fill space.
   The first image is one of my demos. We discussed creating a 'skeleton image', a simple composition to then fill in and define using letter forms in various ways. The younger students simply used one or two letters, or their name. 
   We also talked about 'people, places, & things'. What is your image about, who is in it, is it you, someone else, where is it?

new friends for WMNG!

Our first season of Words & Moves, Numbers & Grooves went so well!  Everyone worked so hard, we had extra rehearsals to prepare our presentation, and our Winter Solstice Showcase was truly magical, and deeply appreciated by the audience.  I have not had much time to blog over the past couple months, but I will post a separate entry about our show soon.

We are so excited to have new friends join us next session!  Students of Anna Bernanke's homeschool tutoring group, the Mt. Rainier Student Group, will be joining us for portions of the day this winter. 
They got to come for a sample of classes in mid-December, and everyone had a blast.  Here are some images from that day. 

monster pinch pots at art works now

This Monday, I taught Kids Create with Clay at Art Works Now in Mt. Rainier, and we made monster pinch pots! Really fun. It was a very small class, I think folks are still shifting out of vacation mode, but we had a good time!
   I am teaching all Kids Create classes there the next three weeks at 4:30:
Mon. - Clay
Tues. - Fiber Arts
Wed. - Color
Thurs. - Drawing
Come join us!  $7 drop-in! Can't beat it!  Great vibe. Always fun.

hoop jam at joe's

Love my neighborhood!

After Adobe got out of rehearsal with Joe's Movement Company, she and our two friends wanted to jump in on Hoop Jam with Noelle Powers for five minutes and wound up staying the whole time.

Hoop Jam is on Tuesday nights, 6:45-8:15, followed by a hot Zumba class. Get your workout on in Mt. Rainier at Joe's Movement Emporium!

successful first season & new friends for WMNG!

We had such a successful Fall season with the launch of Boundless Eclectic's new homeschool performing arts intensive, Words & Moves, Numbers & Grooves!  We worked really hard, then had a couple of serious rehearsals.  Our Winter Solstice Showcase was truly magical, and deeply appreciated by the audience.  I have not had any time to blog over the past couple months, but I will post a separate entry about our show soon...

We are really excited to have some new friends joining us for the rest of this school year & beyond.  Students from Anna Bernanke's homeschool tutoring group, the Mt. Rainier Student Group, will be joining us for portions of the day, and we will be tying in some of the academic work they are doing with our concepts for the the Winter season.  They got to come and join us for a trial of our offerings one Monday in December.  Here are some images from the first half of that day, when they experienced Words & Moves, doing improv, contact improv, and open mic.