A week after the Taos art retreat I am still basking in the  memories...and I like to work on adding additional elements to some journal pages started on the trip. Above are 4 pages (or spreads actually) that I worked on this week; on the black page I added some blue acrylic pen, a ribbon piece and the BLue Fish tag, on the simple ink sketch of the Mission Church I added cut-outs from a gallery card I had brought back. The Blue Fish pillows were fun to finish along with the spread where I sketched all the participants while we waited (endlessly) for our lunch at the Market. I was not happy with that spread which seemed chaotic, so I played with a new technique for sketching a drop of water. It still is a  confusing page but I like the water and the mini sketches of the ladies waiting for lunch. In all the Travel Journal classes I encourage students to take the pressure off and consider finishing pages after the trip. It is a nice way to cull your collection of brochures, maps, etc and take time to "digest" the experience. 

Oh my gosh...what a terrific weekend with all the Taos women! Amie, Robin, Eileen, Toni, Maryanna, Susie and Hattie kicked off the weekend with me Thursday afternoon as we explored the Casa Benavides and all the quirky rooms.  The weather was perfect; some magnificent clouds, delicious air and azure sky with shadows that were filled with rich violet contours. We began our retreat with the creation of our pocket journals (leather long stitch) then walked to Doc Martins for dinner and enjoyed the hat-wearing waiter (and Robin's great sketch of him  from memory!). Amie, Maryanna & Susie joined me for an early morning walk around Taos to get the body moving (and to see all the birds!) before our work began, then after breakfast we prepared some pages in our journals before heading to the Taos Pueblo for a terrific tour (think: blue eyed guide!). We had some time to wander the town over lunch, then on to the Millicent Roger Museum for a delightful guided tour along with some sketching time as the shadows grew. Toni and Eileen found the RC Gorman gallery (along with some great shops) before dinner time on a little patio where Robin discovered Frito Pie. We had some evening time in the studio to create nested journals and woke to a cloudy day on Saturday and the greeting of Elsa and Nicole who arrived in the dark to experience a classic Taos sobriety check. Off we went to the St Francis mission church for an hour of sketching and exploring; then as the sky cleared we headed to the Blue Fish studio (and clothing store) space.  Hattie & Susie "did some damage" and had a blast trying on the unusual and beautiful garments; we all enjoyed the amazing views from the porch. The rusty truck, buffalo (or are they horses or cows?!), mountains and clouds filled our pages and worked up an appetite which was (not quickly) satisfied with lunch in the garden below. Saturday afternoon we played with crayon batiks, working on the journals and just going with the art retreat flow. Nicole and Elsa had a chance to play with the sprays, Hattie, Susie and Leslie had a mini room-mate reunion and the Arlington ladies squeezed out the last little bit of their Taos time. Amie created a magical batik and suddenly it was time to pack up and head to dinner!
What a great time. It was such an honor to work with everyone in this gorgeous environment. Thank you all. 

It is finally wet and cool in Denver, unbelievable. This is the first time a long sleeve shirt has been out of  my closet in 3 months. 
I have been ruminating on how to create my own stencils since I adore using the spray inks but I wanted a more unique, original image (rather than relying on the commercial stencils). Woohoo; fire up the glue guns! I will be teaching this technique in October at both the 10/18 and 10/19 workshops (info on my Workshops page). Watch for future Adventure Journal News to describe the technique. Enjoy the rain!

What a glorious long weekend! I explored Crested  Butte (CO) for the first time in 35 years and had a rejuvenating and magical time. Part of the trip was to work thru the sad cloud that descended after our 2 kids left for college last week, and the other goal was to figure out what I was going to do for my traditional birthday celebration using my number as inspiration. I decided that I would keep a journal of "firsts" and try to keep track of 61 firsts this year. In years past I have given away the birthday number in dollars (anonymously), I have collected the # of rocks from various places I visited and stacked them in my garden, I have written the # of thank you notes (similar to a gratitude journal)...so this year I will keep track of my "firsts" - and I already have 2 entries (for exploring new spots in CB and for developing a new hot glue stencil technique); 59 more to go!. Here are images of pages from a book I did when I turned 58 when I did a journal entry each day for 58 days: