{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
I really can’t tell you when I first learned of Nicola’s ethereal images, but they captured my imagination from the first time I saw them. I had decided to go to the fall Squam Art Workshop partly for scheduling and partly because the workshop offerings were not really fiber-based (the June Squam offerings skew much more toward the fiber arts in general) but collage, and mixed media and jewelry making and photography. Things that were not in my comfort zone. At. All. Time to experience something new.
I was soooo excited to see that she was coming all the way over from North Yorkshire in England to teach at Squam and I was fortunate enough to take a workshop with her. “Finding your Inner Muse”. Que the hand clapping and jumping up and down. If that wasn’t enough, there were two of us in the Thursday class so we got to spend loads of time on our projects.
First up… Finding our muse. We had brought/collected items that had some meaning for us, that we were drawn to….of course we had each brought many things, so we had to whittle them down to 6 (ok, 7 snuck one in ) write about each of them, create kind of a collage and then form a statement to guide our work. (It was really much more in-depth and thoughtful, trust me this is the cliff-notes version)
After lunch it was time to take the photos that evoked our muse. Let me just say at the outset that I love to take pictures but I am in no way a professional photographer. I couldn’t get my (just purchased and taken out of the package) remote shutter release to work, my camera was a little wonky on the tripod (which I had used several times before ) and my long lens decided to stop working… oh and did I mention that it started to rain…and Nicola had to tutor me on the proper way to fling fabric to make it look effortless
…in the rain, when you’re on the dock in your bare feet and a nightgown and a prom dress rolled up underneath for a petticoat…It was fun anyway and Nicola and our helper and my classmate were lovely and encouraging and so so patient with everything…and I’m very happy with my images… just a little bit of magic and a whole lot of learning.
When we were done with my photos, we worked on several photos of my classmate who was expecting her first baby and wasn’t sure she would ever have a photo of herself expecting. We made the most beautiful photos for her and then we all had a good little weep.
Sublime. Divine. Nicola’s magic on the moors transferred to a lake in northern New Hampshire. Thank you Nicola for your grace and generosity in sharing your work and yourself, it was a day I won’t soon forget xo
I have been delaying writing this post because, really, I am having a wee bit of difficulty putting my weekend at Squam Art Workshops into words. To be honest, last year I attended the Ravelry weekend at Squam Art Workshops and I felt a little lost as it seemed like everyone there already knew 100 other people, and their knitting was a.maze.ing. I knew no one and I was swatching an afghan. Then I met my cabin mates for the night and got in to the swing of things, and shopped at the ArtFair, and I felt a little better. Still not super-thrilled …. but, I decided I really wanted to give it another shot. I had heard about SAW since it’s inception and I wanted to go and have the entire Squam experience. I’m so glad that I listened to that little voice inside that said … go…give it another go…you will get so much out of it…this was the year.
I packed up the big grey bus and headed north to Squam Lake, to a big cabin called El Dorado and a big gang of fabulous, crazy women and a chance to make art for the weekend. And it was sublime and relaxing and oh so much fun.
The best parts?? here ya go…
*magical woodland-where fairie houses appear in the night and wood sprites leave wreaths to mark the trails (sorry so blurry!)
*magnificent northern lake-complete with haunting calls of an elusive loon
*kindred spirits ready with a smile, a hug, a glass of wine and hours to sit on a dock or in front of the fire and talk about life, art, and the essence of being alive
*phenomenal teachers to guide you on your artistic explorations with kindness and generosity
*a glimpse of the universe in the milky way and the northern lights against a background of infinite stars
*time to make art, to laugh, to walk, to swim, to chat by the fire, or just to be quiet and listen (photo by cjweinstein)
The gathering of like minded giving souls is magic. The setting is sublime. The lake will be calling us back again, I know. It was lovely and restorative and far far too short. Thank you Squam…see you next year! xo.
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
I am a seeker…what exactly I’m seeking…well, that’s kind of the point of the whole thing now isn’t it…maybe the seeking and the journey are really what is important, not just the destination. Or maybe, unlike what we’ve been led to believe, there really is no destination just a never ending amazing journey.
As part of the journey, I seek out like minded kindred spirits and sit at their (most times virtual) feet. Yesterday I started another piece of the journey with Brene Brown . If you don’t know Brene from her Ted Talk (which you must must must listen to… right after you finish reading this) or her books (which are a must read particularly the Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly, both of which I have read-and re-read) Well get the on the computer and to a bookstore!
Brene is teaching a 6 week eCourse in partnership with Oprah based on her book the Gifts of Imperfection. I jumped in at the last minute and I’m embarking on this journey with a few good friends in my back pocket and art supplies in my hand.
So exciting…and I wanted to share our first assignment…Permission slips.
Remember when we were kids and you brought home that 1/2 sheet of paper that was your permission slip for the field trip? Yeah, you know, the one that still smelled like the mimeograph machine and had vaguely purpl-ey black type? Mom would fill it out and you’d bring it back to school so you could go to the zoo or the museum or wherever. As adults, we need to write our own permission slips to ourselves. Because sometimes, darn it, life is big and scary …. BUT it’s OK if you’ve got your permission slip…
Here are mine..
I give myself permission to…Be afraid and do it anyway…Be a complete dork and totally uncool…Seek joy wherever I go and whatever I’m doing…Take time for myself…Not be all things to all people…To just try, and not necessarily succeed…To mess up, to fail, to try again…To say YES more…Practice BRAVE…To have ideas and act on them… To make a creative home.
No go…write your own…be BRAVE…have fun! Join me on the journey
triggsey 