Well, my bags are packed...

...or at least I've started.

Getting ready for a sold-out mixed media playdate in Kimberley is no easy task, especially when it's with fifteen new and not-so-new friends.

There will be tons of rich colour,

 mark-making implements,

mediums up the ying-yang (as our family expression goes),

and bags of student supplies to boot.

By the time I get finished packing today, the studio will be unrecognizable, the floor will be unseeable, and the car will be groaning with the thought of the load it will carry tomorrow.

I couldn't be happier - what could be more fun than playing in a huge studio at Centre 64 in Kimberley for the weekend.  You know it's going to be a blast!

Getting back...

...into the thick of my artistic life has been a bit of a challenge this month.  I've been setting up playshops, nailing down details for a September show, and getting back into the groove at Puffin after a hiatus for a couple of weeks.

Mulling over a way to use my creative bent in the community has me organizing a fun morning at Puffin, for those who just love to play in the studio.  Called Marking Your Mark, we're going to create some bookmarks and donate them to the local  library for a fundraising effort.

Along with the ever popular Gelli playshop, I'm introducing a new class called 'Burn, Baby, Burn', to teach students how to create their own stencils.  It's one that Gelli-obsessed students have been asking for, as the ultra-thin stencils are a delight for Gelli printing.

Of course, there can be no planning in the studio without some play, so the Gelli plate got a bit of a workout!

You can find out more details about these classes, and others, here.  And while you're having a look, I'd like to know how you and other artists in your community further the arts.  I love ideas that create awareness of the arts, raise funds for worthy causes, and profile artists in a new way. Your comments can help share ideas.

Art drool....

...is currently very deep in the studio, because I got a fabulous package this week, all the way from Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith in the UK.  We've been connected on Google+ for a while now, and I admire her wonderful style and colour sense so much.

 As you can see, both sides of the package were a feast for the eyes

 and the contents even more so.  Our 'tag exchange' for the month was themed Gelli prints  (yup, I LOVE 'em), and Zsuzsa sent me four full sheets of them!

I'm a great fan of paper napkins as well, and the ones that Zsuzsa included in her gift were a delight. I know that Alice Saltiel will love the bottom right one especially!

 The tags themselves were so rich and colourful (apt, too, I might add)!

I can't thank you enough, Zsuzsa - I could see that you'd had me in mind the whole time you were putting this together.  It had me even more excited to tear into the Gelli print playshop I'm doing at Puffin this week!

Speaking of learning, John and I both did some of that this week.  We took a 3 hour Illuminating workshop by Bart Bjorkman at Puffin  and I was stunned to actually complete a lamp in that time.  If I can do it, so can you, and Bart's running another one on November 25.  Do register (at Puffin) if you're free that evening.  John's lamp (below) is gorgeous, and mine, not shown, is pretty amazing too.  I'm thinking about making another for a Christmas gift.

Do tell me in your comments how you're gearing up for the holiday season.  Are you making your gifts this year?  Are you creating new things?  I'd love to hear about your forays - do feel free to add a link to your post about it!

It's been a roller-coaster ride...

...like no other these last couple of weeks.  My studio is chock-a-block full of partly finished projects (what else is new, right?), from this bottle awaiting a final coat of varnish

Mermaid's Song

to a journal loosely packed with paper and ephemera additions,

a gooey layer of Kroma Crackle medium on top of a gessoed box,

some tape waiting for a Gelli printing session to be reborn as washi tape,

and a video workshop in the making.

It's no less crazy at my Puffin workbench either, where another bottle is in the works (not sure what ghoul is at play here, but there is certainly some Halloween in the air),

and a book sculpture starts to take form.

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And just in case you think this has been a rather colourless post, I'll leave you with some close-ups of the bottle...

That Kroma crackle certainly looks different when it's dried and painted, right?

I hope you're having as much fun in your playroom!  If not, consider joining me this next while here in Creston - we've got some fun sessions for you here.