New Growth

Spring is a time of renewal. It is a time when we see clear signs of change. We watch the buds pop out on the trees. We hear the birds call to each other. We feel the warmth of the sun return to our parched land. All along this renewal was preparing to take place. Under the dry grass lay signs of life just out of our view.

I feel a renewal taking place in me too. I have had a very productive winter and feel lots of chance emerging just under my sight line. I feel it and know it but haven't seen it quite yet. I am expanding and feel both excited and terrified. My challenge is to stay balanced so I don't topple over in either direction. Keeping these two powerful feelings in harmony is not small feat. But I know I am up for it.

I have lots to share but not quite yet. I promise to keep you posted!

March Break

How not to been seen at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa.

Well we did like so many other parents we headed to the museums at march break.

It was just nice to be able to get on the road and not worry about a snow storm putting an end to our journey.

We had some fun visiting family and generally touring around.

The Last Week Of The Man Code E Course

Well this is the last week of my ecourse The Man Code. I released the last assignment this morning. It felt like giving birth-without the pain.

I have really enjoyed this course. I loved putting the material together as well as the class discussion and images.

We had some laughs and some shift in perspective which was the point.

My hope is that we will all go forth and see the man world with a little more humour and curiosity.

I have run my ecourses five times now and I have taken two ecourse at the same time. So I think it is safe to say it is time for a break. I have enjoyed the whole process but now need to sit back and really think about what I have learned. I still plan to run the courses but not right away.

I want to slow down a little and let my brain percolate. I want to see what comes up next. So as I wait for the Spring to come I am deep in reflection, a place I love to be after a very productive time.

The Last Week of My Painting Course

Well this is the last week of the e painting course that I have been taking. This is supposed to be about composition. I don't have any real idea what makes good composition. I just know what I like when I see it.

This was based on a technique that I learned in a real-time painting class that I took last summer. The instructor had us paint a design with black, in this case paynes grey, then put another painting on top of the black. I am sure that she had a better way to describe it then I just did.

I have enjoyed the class because it had me painting every week. Without the class I wouldn't have picked up my paint brush as often. I might have attempted one painting this winter but the class motivated me to keep up with the assignments.

Would I take another e painting course? I guess I would prefer something a little bit more intimate. Given that there were over 300 students I wasn't able to keep track of who was who and who painted what. There were over 300 paintings posted each week! I would like to have gotten to know some of the artists better and perhaps that is more easily achieved in either a smaller class or a real-time class.

Time To Reflect

With the boys safely occupied I was able to skate on my own, take pictures and reflect. What a wonderful opportunity I had to think about all I have learned and experienced this winter.

Designing and constructing e courses has taught me much about how to combine images with ideas. I have discovered how much I love to do this. I knew that I was visual but being able to put my ideas to pictures has opened up a whole new means of expression for me.

Taking e courses has taught me much about how others see. I have learned what it feels like to be a student in the e universe. I have discovered that I like the smaller more intimate classes where I can interact with a handful of other students.

I have also learned this winter that taking art classes and painting regularly makes me feel happy. Funny that I had forgotten just how much pleasure I get from picking up a paint brush.

I watched a video of the artist Milton Glaser www.ted.com/speakers/milton_glaser.html who said, "art is whatever remains". I love that idea.

I also love the idea of using art as a means of accessing what is often not easily put into words. My work as a therapist is often so full of emotion that cannot be adequately articulated.

All of my experiences have influenced my thoughts on the direction that I see my working taking. I want to focus on the development of methods to access and express the unexpressed.

What I want to do is find a way to free the girl within, the woman, men and boys so we can play, enjoy life, to find acceptance and inner peace.

I want us to develop a way of life where we can remain engaged and capable of curiosity indefinitely!

That sounds like a good goal.

Good thing I like something complex to sink my teeth into!

MID-WAY THROUGH THE MAN CODE!

This is a great shot that Tracy Olan http://www.beautifuldayto.blogspot.com/ took for me when I asked her to help me gather images of men for my Man Code ecourse.

Here we are mid-way through The Man Code. We are having lots of fun. We are taking lots of pictures of the ways men live. It is so interesting to go in search of these images and learn what they really mean.

We have had lots of discussion with the men and boys who live amongst us. They have been more then willing to share their opinions on the way they live.

We have also had a few laughs along the way. Some of what we are learning is just plain funny!

Still Painting Away!

Still painting. I finally put brush to canvas and came up with this one. The assignment was to mix paints, not just pull them out of the tube! Well, busted, I do use the colours from the tube most of the time. But there are such great colours. I usually don't get to sit down to paint long enough to mix and complete a project before the paints dry out. So from the tube has be the way to go for me.

I just want to do my art and have even gone as far as using a black sharpe on canvas because I had one kicking around for writing my kids name on his school stuff. I could get in and out of a canvas with a sharpe with minimal mess or fuss. Sometimes you have to be resourceful to be creative!

The course is fun and 300 students strong! So imagine how many paintings there are at this point! In fact, there are so many that it is hard to view them all. All wonderfully creative people and some amazing work.

What is good for me is the assignment. They are making me think in different ways, plus I am painting which I love to do.

This is the last week of Sublime. I have run the course 3 times now. I think the next move for me with Sublime is to give a one day workshop. I hope to do that in the Spring. I may run the ecourse again in the Fall.

The Man Code is in week two. I have had so much fun coming up with the assignments. I have been running around with my camera getting shots of the man world. It is so interesting to see what you find when you really start to look!