Swept Up in Artsy Adventures! A Recap and Giveaway!

Over the last several weeks, I've been on a whirlwind adventure that's spanned from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the Midwest and back again.  It's already the 2nd of November so before all the creative goodness fades away, I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the month AND offer you a fun giveaway at the end of my post that you don't want to miss!!  

  As you can see from this picture, I've been painting...painting a lot!!  Preparing for studio openings, classes, solo shows, my shop and....don't fall over....for my a NEW book I'm writing!!!  Oh my goodness, all of this is truly a dream come true. I'll be sharing the journey of writing and composing my book over the next 12 months as YOU are a part of it just as much as I am!
In the middle of getting ready for my fall teaching tour, I also worked on HUGE project with my friends,  Jan McClay and Jean Skipper:  Jan  opened a new studio not far from my hometown and Jean and I are lucky to be 2 of the working artists who have their studios in the new shop.  

The new studio space includes a class room space,  2 working artists plus our managing artists space along with the work of over 15 North Carolina artists.  As you can see from the smiling faces, we are thrilled to be here!!!!   We already have started a great line up of classes and events and we are barely a month old..be sure to like our facebook page to keep up to date on all the fun 'happenings'!

You can see part of my studio beside of the classroom space.   

Just prior to our grand opening at the studio...and I do mean just prior to it.....I spent a few days over at Random Arts in the western part of our state (Saluda, NC) teaching 3 days of workshops to an incredible group of students!  I truly love this space!  It was great connecting with old friends as well as meeting lots of new people over the course of the weekend.

                    I never get tired of hearing all about these artists lives, inspiration, and stories that they tell during our time together. I'm constantly reminded how connected our lives are in so many ways!

After returning from Random Arts, I hurried back home and finished putting the final touches on my solo show at Artful Living Group in Carolina Beach. I returned from Random Arts on Sunday evening, got the final touches on the show stuff on Monday then headed to the beach with only a couple of days to spare before the show opening on Thursday, October 1st.  

When one has a solo show, it's not something that just comes together in a blink of an eye...but rather it's a compilation of months and months (if not years) of work.  I've been working on many of these pieces for the better part of the last 6-8 months if not longer, it was so satisfying  along with a teensy eensy bit stressful seeing each and every piece fit together like a jig saw puzzle.  No two things were alike of course, but when each of the pieces were shown together, I could see finally what I had been envisioning in my head for the longest time.      To me, that is success....or at least one facet of success: "To see your vision become reality through many moments which fit together into the sum of all parts".    

I kinda skipped the order of things that have gone on over the last few weeks..so sorry--anyways   so after my show at the beach, I immediately came home for our Grand Opening at Creative Studios, October 3rd.   It was sooooo much fun seeing our community, friends, and family come out to support us that day!  You could feel the buzz of excitement as our guests wandered through the gallery, checking out our studios, work in progress,  sifting through the selection of art supplies and many other gifts we are offering.    I hope if you are ever in the area, you, too stop in to see us!
(Hours and location can be found HERE).

As much fun as I was having at the new studio, work was calling me about 950 miles away towards another group of  incredible artists in Louisiana, Missouri where I was a guest instructor for 3 days of workshops at Kristen Power's shop and studio, "The Moon and the Maker".  What fun I had with this crew!!

As you could see, among the art, we had tons of moments of laughter and silliness!!!

No doubt, we all were meeting lots of new friends and reveling in the creative atmosphere all around us!   This was really more than a group of workshops,  Kristen created a retreat like setting with breakfast, lunch and tons of supplies to be shared with all.   I am looking forward to heading back to see my new friends next October!!!

So that was my Columbus Day weekend...see what I mean, it was a whirlwind few weeks!

But...that's not the end of the fun...nope....

I pretty much washed the clothes in my suitcase, got the boy all straight with his practices, school events, games and stuff he needed, re-packed my suitcase, got an oil changed, did a bunch of shopping and more packing, before I headed East to our Outer Banks, NC as the next week ReMe Retreats was commencing. I landed there on the 18th-with the rest of the organizers before the students started wandering in the next day for 5 nights and 4 days of creative recharging on the island of Ocracoke   

This retreat was our 4th in 2 years and as always, we all were just floored at the diversity of our guests, the range of talents, the warm hearts and open minds.  We had such a wonderful experience, and speaking for all of us who spear headed the retreat,  Jean, Penny, and our house mother Debbie,  we all are so lucky to have had the pleasure to host all of these women once again.

 From Texas to Maine, we had guests representing several states and although similar in their creative instincts, they were as different as could be in their day to day life outside of art.  As I say that, we all found many common bonds to tie us altogether in our experiences, some that made us laugh, stories that made us misty eyed, and other truths spoke that gave us all great reflection within ourselves.

We are all lucky indeed to have traveled together in order to share this experience, and I hope we all connect again soon!

Setting up for our first day of class with me--look at this great crew!

I could go on and on about the wonders of ReMe and the magic of the island, but I'll end this section by showing you the glorious sunset on the sound that was right outside our front doors.   

September and October have  been  simply  amazing and inspiring to say the least!

I think I mentioned at the beginning of the post (story, novella) that I had a giveaway for you and ...ta-dahhhhh here it is!!    You may or may not have heard that I recently had 4 DVD's published by F & W Media (Cloth Paper Scissors, North Light Books, etc) this month so I am going to be doing a few giveaways over the next few weeks that will include a signed DVD and a few art goodies to go along with your project.

In this special prize pack, if you win, you will receive the DVD, "Expressive Watercolor on Yupo" along with a 12 piece set of Twinkling H20s, a few sample sheets of Yupo paper and who knows what else. If I have more than 100 comments, I will add even more goodies to the pack!

So how to enter to win?  Please leave a comment at the end of this post and tell us about one of your creative or other fun memories from the last several weeks. We want to hear about your adventures.

To receive 2 chances to win,  you can simply share this post and then come back here and comment, letting us know where you shared.

I'll take entries from now through Monday November 9th---but PLEASE, keep coming back all month as I will have more giveaways, and tons of artsy inspiration to share with you!! :))

PS....PLEASE be sure to leave a way for me to get a hold of you if you win, not all comments link to a live blog anymore so if you can leave your email , it would help me tremendously! :)))

If you already  purchased this DVD and win, perhaps you can give your winnings away as a holiday gift.  PLUS...don't forget you will receive some artsy supplies, too!!

To see all of my newly released DVD's please check out the home page of my website:

Click HERE

Thank you as always for checking out my blog! I'll try next time not to be 'gone' for so long and do shorter posts from now on..lol :))

Artfully Yours,

Jodi Ohl

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Check out my 2016 workshop schedule!  Chances are, I may be in a state close to you!!

2016 Workshops