Journal Pages

I didn't take many art supplies with me to Mexico. Watercolors is what I used for the most part; my trusty glue stick, some gel medium, brushes, and a few small bottle of acrylic. Scissors, dates stamps, a stamp pad, gesso and about a jillion pens. Okay, I guess I did take quite a bit of stuff but I missed a lot of my favorite stand-bys too.

One of the reasons I took an encaustic class while I was there was because I felt I'd go crazy to go a month without dipping into the hot wax.

Now that I'm home I'm tickled to have access to all my acrylics, resins and papers that I like to use.

I think what i missed the most though was not having Photoshop to play around with. I think altering photographs and printing out images that speak to my subconscious are a huge inspiration for how I work.

I spoke to a friend in San Miguel who urged me very strongly to come back and teach a journaling class there.

I'm thinking about it.

In the meantime there is the paradise of Malibu on the horizon. I've been working on the packets and imagining some of the things I want to share in class. I've never had 2 days with a journaling class before and I'm really excited about being able to get into the painting techniques and writing prompts that I haven't had time to include in the past.

I celebrated a Birthday last week and it was really, really good. When I was younger I fretted over Birthdays. Thinking that getting old would be boring and that I would have to grow up.

All I can say now is "ha ha ha ha ha". What did I know? Certainly not that life would grow richer and more free with every passing year. That experience is a wonderful ground to stand on. That the spirit gets younger with time. That was my Birthday gift this year. Embracing my age, my experience, my blessings. 

"First you are young; then you are middle-aged; then you are old; then you are wonderful.
Lady Diana Cooper (1892-1986) English socialite and actress