Goodbye - Hello!

Hard to believe that another year end is on our doorstep.  It has been an exciting year for me and Colour Garden Studio.  The usual ups and downs mixed with good connections with people near and far.  

Word is getting out there about my classes in Lumby and my online classes through Zoom Video conferencing are fun and well attended.  I love that I have connected with people in the North America, Europe, Australia and India.  It's a privilege to get a tiny glimpse into their lives, What a remarkable technology that allows us to connect in this way over a common interest.  I am still amazed by it all when it works well!  Such connections matter more and more in a challenging and changing world. 

I am one of those who are very fond of Boxing Day, when it's all over and I can sit and digest all the experiences and food without having to do too much, (except open the fridge).  It's also a time when I can take a look back at the previous year and look forward to the next. Sometimes, I am glad a year is gone and look ahead to the New Year that holds it's promise of things to come.  A threshold in time.

Have you ever heard of an Idea Bank? Well, that's a spot where you write down all your ideas,. It could be on your device or in a notebook or journal.  I have a journal with a tab I have labeled IDEAS. They all go in there, the good, the bad and the meh.  In about October I had an new idea.  I want to introduce more people to SoulCollage in a gentle and fun way. So with the largess of the White Valley Community Centre, I hosted the first FREE SOULCOLLAGE SATURDAY, card making session.  Instead of a fee, people were asked to bring items for the Lumby Food Bank and they gave BIG!  

There were 9 of us in all and we sat for an afternoon, cutting and pasting images that grabbed our attention.  I endeavor to make this a monthly session on the LAST SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH until it warms up then we can decide if we want to continue through the spring and summer.  It was a great afternoon of Soul tending and I hope more will join in the fun next year. 

There was lot's of colour about for the Zentangle TangleTown Workshop in November too.  A full class of happy tanglers learned how to use tangles in a cute winter scene.  

Just about every year around this time, I look for ornament designs.  So this year, I discovered a different one and am offering a NEW workshop; The Spinning Zentangle Ornment on Saturday, December 21st from 9:30 to 12:30 at the White Valley Rec Centre in Lumby.  As usual all supplies will be included.  Click on the Classes and Workshop Tab to find out more and sign up and pay online. 

Warmest regards to you and yours for a safe and cozy Christmas Season,

Loretta

Embracing November

I must say I do struggle this time of year when the sun is obscured by cloud and or fog. Like right now I can't see past the houses across the street.

So, this year, instead of getting into a funk about something I have absolutely no control over, I decided to celebrate it with my Zentangle Art.  I have been tangling to the YouTube videos of Romi Marks (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8u9nvCY25rzbWKMsx7LqfEK4rOK4CfqT) If you know my usual work, I like to use bright colours in my artwork with bold contrasts, so this use of muted tones is a real departure, but I am kinda liking it.  In the piece above I used ergosoft coloured pencils over my usual buttery prismacolors.  They are a bit harder so they create more of smoky feel.

When I began, I thought about the colours of late fall, before the snow comes to brighten things up.  The greys, bronzes, dark golds and yellows which are so deep and rich. I used a lot of shading with the pencils too to give the piece some depth.

I chose a golden yellow for the center Zengem stone. This reflects what I see out the kitchen window early in the morning if the sun is shining. It bathes all the dried grasses and plants with this lovely golden hue.

But, I haven't forgotten my colourful ways! Click on over to my workshop page where you will find information on the next workshop in Lumby, November 16th!  It's going to be fun and energetic enough to lift any of life's fog.  See you there!!!

Oh! And just like that the fog has lifted and it's bright and sunny again.....like life!

Tangled Twig Assemblage by Loretta West

Autumn is here for sure, no denying it any longer, my flip flops are out and my socks are in!  I love this time of year as creatively my mind it is bursting with ideas.  I have way more ideas than I have time, that's for sure. 

 As Thanksgiving approaches I think about what a gift all this creativity is....even when the "brain rats" with their ideas keep me from falling back to sleep in the dark morning hours.  Better out than in, I always say, so I have been making these cool assemblages to hang my Zentangle art and other found objects from and it has been really fun to do.  At present I am offering this as an online demo, but I am thinking it would make a very fun workshop in Lumby this winter too.   I will let you know when the next demos will be coming up via Zoom Video Conferencing.  www.zoom.us

I have also been thinking of what to offer in October as a workshop in Lumby and have been tangling these cool and slightly creepy Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls which utilizes a LOT OF COLOUR!  Which translates to FUN!

I will be doing the hard part of drawing the skull shape for you and then ease you through the tangling with step by step instructions.  I can hardly wait to see what you do with this idea.

So below are the details and if you'd like to sign up online please click on this Buy Now Baby Button! Otherwise contact me at lorettawest18@gmail.com or call/text 250 938 4308 to pay another way.

And that's not all!!  If you sign up and pay by 5 pm on Oct 18, 2019 your name goes into the bin for a free drawing for some Cool Art Supplies, so don't dilly dally!!

Age group

Adult 16 and up $35.00 CAD Youth age 11 to 15 $20.00 CAD Adult Gift Certificate $35.00 CAD Youth Gift Certificate $20.00 CAD

SPRING SPRoINgS Slooooowly.....

Some years it seems like spring will never come. So here I sit in the middle of March looking at the snow piles that surround my house....harumph!  Very thankful that the walks have cleared so I can walk upright again without the watch-for-ice shuffle.  Now don't get me wrong, I do love winter as I love to ski and snow shoe in the smokeless air. But.... by about the end of February I am ready to get my hands in the dirt again and feel the warm sun on my skin.

Winters can be hard on bodies, especially as we age. (just ask a snow bird)  I find that in the winter my joints are certainly less than supple.  We are so fortunate to have someone in Lumby who can help us to move better and make peace with gravity.  

When we first moved here, my body was pretty stiff from moving boxes around and my low back was very cranky.  I did the usual to try to relieve it, yoga, massage, heat, ice, SI belt, acupuncture and all provided temporary relief which I was grateful for, but none helped me more than when I attended a Feldenkrais Class in Lumby.  I had taken classes before lead by my physio years ago and decided to give it another go. I met Carie Bicchieri, the Feldenkrais practitioner and after one class with her, felt much better and  with repeated classes felt better and better.  So now it is my go to when any body part feels stiff or stuck, which is pretty much....a lot.   Feldenkrais involves no stretching or aerobic activities, just gentle sequencial movements within your range of motion, so that you unwind slowly and gently.

I noticed just how light and relaxed my body felt and how clear my brain was after a Feldenkrais lesson, more so than with yoga (which I still do and enjoy).  Then the wheels started to turn, how to marry Feldenkrais with my Art For BEing practices like Zentangle and SoulCollage, into one BIG WORKSHOP??  So I approached Carie and she was game to try. 

Together we have created a day of  Relaxation and Fun where we Carie will lead you in a gentle Feldenkrais lesson and I will lead you in the Creative Play side of things using Zentangle, Collage, and lots of Colour!

We are Calling it a SPRING BREAK FOR BODY AND SOUL and hope you will join us on Saturday, April 13th.  Click on the Workshop tab and you can see more and sign up! 

Wishing you warm Spring Days!