A Near Perfect Day!

I had the most amazing day today! It combined two of my great loves -- teaching and art. If my husband had been a part of it (he's out of town on a business trip this week-end), it would have been perfect. I ran a workshop at the Redland's Art Association, our local art gallery, on making Artist Trading Cards. ATCs are small works of art, just 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" (the size of a baseball trading card or standard playing card) that are traded amongst artists. Any medium goes as long as it will fit in a protective sleeve.

Our local gallery is having a week long show and trade in October, so we put together a workshop for those new to ACTs. For six hours and a half hours, we cut, glued, painted, stenciled, rubber stamped, embossed, stapled -- you name it! Because I led the workshop, I didn't actually work on any ATCs. I just answered questions, watched people work, and asked people about their technique and ideas. I was totally amazed at the quality of art that these people turned out, having never made an ATC before. It was amazing, inspiring, and oh-so gratifying. Everyone had their own individual style, and there was quite a variety of cards being turned out.

I had to clean up after everyone left and I was stiff and sore from standing all day on a concrete floor covered in tile, but it was totally worth it! I came home so inspired. I just wanted to spread my goodies out and start making ATCs of my own. I learned so much from interacting with these talented artists and came home full of ideas. I want to try what I've learned. I'm so sorry that I didn't take any pictures. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to take my camera! DUH! One of the women made the most amazing collages using elements cut almost entirely from magazines. She shared a couple of her magazines with me, and has inspired me to go to the thrift store and see if I can pick up any National Geographic magazines (that's what I'll be doing tomorrow). Someone else made an ATC using a photo of my mother when she was a young girl and then gave it to me to keep. Another woman gave me some Asian paintings on tissue paper. Another gave me a really cool piece of bark. Lastly, I was gifted was some paper that looked to me like quilling paper -- but it was colored paper run through a shredder! How clever! Bright, neon colors. I'm sure I'll find a use for that somewhere.

At first, I was really nervous about teaching. In fact, I introduced myself to someone I know! LOL! But once I stopped "teaching" and just started sharing what I know, I really relaxed. The audience was very receptive to what I had to say, very interested, so that made me very comfortable. People paid attention, asked good questions and had great ideas. I left the gallery sore and tired, but on such a high and vibrating at such a level, I almost couldn't contain myself. I called my husband while I was cleaning up and shared some of my excess joyous energy with him, but I still had so much joy inside me that I almost started crying on my way home, because I just couldn't contain myself. I know that lots of good things had to be coming to me today, because I was in such alignment with Source. In fact, a fellow artist walked through, saw what we were doing, and asked about all the rubber stamps. I told her they were mine, and she asked if I'd like some more. It seems she is decluttering her life and getting rid of her rubberstamping things. She was going to give it to charity, but she is happy to give her stuff to a fellow artist, so I attracted abundance while I was so in the flow.

And to make all of this just a little bit better -- I get paid for leading this workshop!!! I used to do the volunteer training and the public education for a battered women's shelter/rape crisis center. Of course, I got paid for my work, but there was never a one-on-one correlation. I never did a presentation (which I utterly enjoyed doing), and then got a check, so this is a whole new experience for me. I did something I absolutely loved doing, had one of the best times of my recent life, learned and got inspired -- and got paid for doing it! You can't ask for better than that!