Youth Poetry

I am starting up a new blog here specifically for the youth art program. I wanted to share a poem that was an honorable mention in the Juvenile Hall Poetry Contest in April, for National Poetry Month. Please check out the new blog for updates and info on the project featuring some of the art and poetry created by at risk youth.

No More!

You smile at the edge of sight,
and I turn to see you. No More!
You whisper between words,
and I hush to hear you. No More!
without you I am in darkness,
and the sun hides beneath the world.
No More! Will I ever be held down,
or be a menace to society. No More!

Mother's Day at Tilden Park

We spent yesterday at Tilden Park with my mom and stepdad Teen. We had a great time with a picnic, and then a tour of the Botanical Gardens and ending at the Merry Go Round. I have never been to Tilden Park. My mom hadn't been since she was a kid. It is a lovely regional park with lots of picnic sites, and activities for a fun family day. Located off Fish Ranch Road just before going through the Caldecott tunnel, it runs out over the hills between Berkeley, Oakland and Orinda. On the way in there are some vista points with fabulous views of the entire San Francisco Bay. There are some lakes, a steam train, the Brazilian Room which is rented out for weddings and parties, horseback riding, pony rides. I was amazed at all the things they have out there. Donald, our friend from the Hall Closet runs the Merry Go Round out there. They do it up special for Christmas, and a special haunted house spooktacular theme at Halloween. If you live in the area, give it a try. Spring was a nice time, everything is in bloom. Pascual was surprised that such a large forested area even existed on the border of Berkeley and Oakland. I thoroughly recommend taking a look at your local regional parks website, and go see what is available in your area to explore. You never know, you may discover a new favorite place that you've never seen before. Here are some photos from the day.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Traveling for treasures

As anyone who knows me is aware, I will travel FAR with a big empty car to find cool art junk. I stop at all yard sales and flea markets, and I am always on the lookout for something I can use in my art classes with the kids.

My brother is turning a small box truck into a motorhome, with a garage in the back for his son to haul his motorcycles. I am thinking... hmm... I would like one of those for myself... I could fill it with supplies, and take it around to all the art retreats around the country, sell stuff at the vendor nites, and have lots of space to store stuff, and a place to sleep at nite while traveling around. It is the new gypsy wagon. Can't you see it, with a cool painting on the sides that says the art gypsy... It gives me a lot of ideas...

Soul Collage

Pascual and I went to a Soul Collage workshop on Valentines day, and he was such a great sport... Helping me make collages and visiting with all the ladies. He did some really cool ones himself. You can learn about Soul Collage here. It is a process of making your own personal power or divination cards, to help you look at issues in your life. It is a very personal and spiritual process. I want to start doing them with the kids in Juvenile Hall. These are the first two cards I made on Valentines Day.

When you are done making them , you go around the room and everyone reads their own card in what is like a channeled space. Another person scribes what you say and reads it back to you. I found this lady Sandy the facilitator on meetups.com and she is wonderful. If you live in the Bay Area, I would recommend a trip to her workshop to make some cards, it was a wonderful experience. I took my mom on Saturday and we both had such a great time...

I liked the fountain image, but when I turned it upside down, it looked exactly like the image I picture when I meditate, of what source energy looks like pouring down over me. I found the planet images to represent universal energy, and this is what came out... "I am the one who is the universal source of energy. I am the one who brings all the posibilities of the universe into being. I draw from many existances throughout the universe. I am all that is."

I loved the pregnant belly image, and I love clocks, I collect a lot of clock imagery. I had chosen the background of a firey star galaxy photo because I loved the colors. I put them together, and then went looking for a earth photo and found this one was perfect. I made the card in less that 5 minutes, the energy and creation if it just flowed. This is what I channeled: "I am the one who creates a new time in the world. I am pregnant with the possibilities of a new way of BEING on this planet. It is time to nurture and give birth to new ideas, taking the time to love ad grow while treating the planet with reverence and respect. My time is NOW. "

These cards I made on my second workshop day with my mother. Mom LOVED it, and had a lot of great information to share with everyone. Of course, she ROCKED at the channeling... but then she is a pro...

"I am the one who is drowning under the weight of unnecessary burdens. I add to these burdens by continually taking on more. The universe sends me tasks and challenges in small manageable pieces, and yet I let them overwhelm me. I need to be like the ice cube, and learn to float on top of the emotions, to stop fighting the current and let my life flow."

"I am the one who takes time to nurture herself. I am the one who moves effortlessly in a pain free body. I am grounded and centered when I make time for myself."

I have been trying to get the boys in my class to see beyond the images they are selecting... to find something different in the images that could make them something else entirely. I showed them these collages, and they were inspired. The light bulbs were popping on all over the room, and now I think they are getting it on a whole new level.

I love this medium... Any other Soul Collagers out there?

Happy Valentines Day

I had a sweet valentines day with my honey... I made a Paella and tapas for him, and homemade chocolate truffles. Of course I forgot to photograph them... He bought me lots of Chocolate... In Catalonia they celebrate a sweethearts day in April where the women buy the men books and the men buy the women a red rose... We usually attend a Catalan party celebrating this holiday in the city with our Spanish friends. Pascual is getting more accustomed to American traditions... He says ours are Hallmark holidays and Spanish holidays are religious... and the Spanish have many more holidays that we do. No wonder they are so relaxed over there, they get a long weekend every month just about.

Here is a photo of the heart box I got in the Diva Swap from Jeri. I LOVED everything in it... So many cool things, and some I have never seen before. She altered a chocloates box and filled it with all kinds of artful goodies. Thanks so much Jeri... it was PERFECT!

Art at the Alameda Antiques Show

Wow is all I can say... a beautiful day spent by the bay with my very oldest and dearest friend Kellie... we celebrated 30 years together as friends last year... We have been together longer than any of my husbands. She has been through it all with me over the years, marriage, divorce, childbirth, deaths in the family, sports, sleepovers, drunken teenagers... We live a 5 minute drive away, and yet are both so busy, we never see one another... We made a promise to make time to hang out and do crafty things together....

I was walking the show snapping away like a tourist, and she would hightail it away from me when I started snapping. I usually ask first when taking photos. but one lady kind of got mad, and asked me to ask first... I told her it was to post on my blog, so people could see all the awesome things at the show, and then she said OK and was really nice about it...

I was so inspired by all I saw out there today... If you need some ideas, or are feeling creatively stuck... take a stroll to a local art or antiques show... Just being around different stuff can be inspiring... I was looking everywhere for the german doll man... This guy has a friend that sends him dolls he digs up from an old doll factory in Germany... He had a ton of them last time I was out there... If anyone knows where I can get some of those dolls, please send me a link or email me with some contact info.... I bought some sari's for $5 each, and some little bottles for $1 each... and a photo of a WWII Japanese American Soldier in uniform at one of the camps... oh and a bag of jewelry for $10....

If you have any favorite flea markets and would like to share them with me, I am compiling a list, and will be posting a directory on my blog soon... so please email me with your tips for the best places to find cool vintage art junk... We will post it on the Art Junk Gypsy resource list... I will travel FAR for good art junk...

SO I am sharing some photos of all the COOL things I was inspired by at the show... I saw more and more vendors making things with old objects and turning them into art...

Green Youth Project Art

Here is some artwork the young men at Juvenile Hall have been working on in our classes on Tuesday nights. They will be finishing them tonight, and I will share more photos. The assignment was to use images of President Obama to create the artwork, and then to use words and journaling to describe their own Yes We Can message... changing it to a Yes I can... Some of them were hesitant, and started in with, "Well, he never went to juvenile hall, or jail..." and I asked them if they were going to let the circumstances and things that happened to get them incarcerated define who they will be for the rest of their lives... "Well, no..." they agreed... I asked them, "So what do you want to do when you graduate from Juvenile Hall University? What are your dreams? Talk about them in your books..." I am excited to see what they come up with, and was pleasantly surprised with the work they have done so far. When I asked what they liked about Obama, they said he was "real" They especially liked the photos of him with his family, and shooting hoops and pool.... they all agreed they hope he can "Keep it real" during the tough challenges ahead of him in his presidency.