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Zen Houses Online Workshop

Zen Painting Online Workshop

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Start Where You Are





"Be the silence that listens."   Tara Brach


What a whirlwind weekend and a hot one at that!  I don't know about you but here in North Carolina, it's like an oven when you open the doors and step outside.  I'm permanently wearing my hair up with a head band to control the sweat dripping down my forehead.  Appetizing visualization, isn't it? Sorry about that!  I have to laugh because the above picture was taken outside--what was I thinking trying to work in 95 with a feels like 110 heat out there??

(PS..the winning entry for my class giveaway is announced on this post....read on to see if it was you!)



awww much better...I may never do my hair again now that I fallen in love with  big old head bands!



As I was trying not to melt over the weekend, I spent a lot of time working on my upcoming classes at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point  this weekend along with working on projects for my newest online classes set to be released in about 6 weeks and a few other misc projects.   After all, if it's too hot to play outside, then we might as well art it up this summer, right?  Here's a peek at a couple of things I've done recently in case you want to see:



I'm obsessed over patterns and rocks as you might have guessed based on some of my latest  paintings!   I really think I'm going through a 'grounding' and foundation stage of my life and art. It seems to keep coming back to me in a variety of ways no matter what my original intention was.

The first rock painting above was a sampler for the larger painting right here.  Many times I like to test out ideas on small surfaces before I go big.  Not always, but sometimes. It's a great way to work out ideas or to practice techniques before becoming overwhelmed with a large painting.

I took a little side trip with a friend of mine in search of inspirational houses for my paintings along with texture and patterns.   When seeking ideas,  sometimes it's best to get beyond your 4 walls and  see what's happening out in the world.  I can play with this picture in photo shop or some other editing program and really get some interesting colors and  texture to inspire me for some future paintings. I also like the faded lettering peeking out on either side.  Be observant!


My friend and I also took a rode trip back to our home town in NY together for the holiday.  Knowing that I was looking for houses, barns, and landscapes that were interesting...we made a few stops to take in the sites and gather up inspiration.   The trip took extra long but who cares, right? Stop and find the barns ;)  It's all good.



I still need to finish packing all my supplies for the classes this weekend--that's an overwhelming task to me when I fly.  Oh my goodness, I've been procrastinating doing it because I'm afraid I will either forget something so I want to be doubly triply sure that I have all I need, and also because I am still using some of the supplies I need for the class in my work this week.  I have to draw the line in the sand and I think today is it kids. It gets packed and I need to move on to something else.

Have you ever obsessed about something so much it put you in a state of inaction?  I've collected everything, It's all staged, but I have yet to pack it despite it needing to get done like yesterday!  Something crazy is going on in my mind is all I can say! lol   Anywhoosers, this is what I've been up to in part over the weekend and in the past few weeks.

Now for my other announcement today, I ran a little contest over the weekend which I am giving away a spot in my upcoming workshop,  Zen Houses and boy oh boy, did the comments come in with some GREAT tools you all are loving!  I could go broke just reading what you favorite new supplies are on your table!  If you missed it, go back and check it out! The drawing is closed however and the winner is....tadahhhhh:




Lori Bradford said...
Tough choice, picking a favorite, but I'm going to go with my Gelli Plate. It's so fun to lay down paint and stencils and just let things happen.

Im going to share your post on my facebook page Lori Bradford's Art and my Instagram. I enjoy your classes a lot and hope that others will too.

www.loribradfordsart.com



4 comments :

Pam L. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pam L. said...

First, congratulations to Lori!!! Yayyyyyyy! (I love hearing about folks winning contests. 😀) And to you, Jodi, I have been in that begin again place myself, and am in one right now. Sometimes though, we have to determine...are we beginning again (which implies rebuilding or picking up where we left off) or are we simply beginning (which says building new, new life, new season, new now). The beautiful part is that only the person starting can know which is true for his or her life, and how they fully embrace the "beginning" (verb) can make all the difference.

Blessings!

xo pam

Pam L. said...

(I deleted my first comment because auto-correct had changed it enough to wrangle up what I was trying to say. LOL!)

Caroline D. said...

Your new art continues to inspire me Jodi!! Beautitious (heehee) stuff I tell 'ya! I am looking forward to the zen houses and don't mind the delay a bit. Your workshops are top notch with tons of video and info, so I know you work a lot and work hard to make it that way. I'm actually beginning the 1st zen class now so that will give me more time too. I wanted my summer to be "Caroline's artsy summer"... LOL... and here it is with July almost over! I just have had one thing or another draw my attention away from art and I'm struggling to reclaim my art time back, so I can sorta relate, even though I don't have any deadlines for an art business like you do. Congrats to the winners of your class seats! See you "there"!