Make your own Meditational Designs

This class is a one up on the adult coloring book rage.  Coloring has proven to be a meditative experience.  Why not make your own?

A radial design is an image that appears to radiate from a central point, like the spokes from the hub of a wheel.  By using straight lines, these designs appear geometric in appearance.  By using looser, more free-form lines, designs appear and feel more organic.

This class will explore multiple techniques using line, shape, pattern and repetition.  Tools include the use of a straight edge, compass, stencils, tracing and transfer.  Multiple coloring materials and techniques will be explored.  Copies can be made and shared amongst the group.

Youth Art Intensives:

As an art educator for 20+ years, my favorite setting to teach in, is private lessons and small groups.  The intimacy, focus on personal interest, longer work sessions are tremendously fulfilling for both student and teacher.

If you are interested in small group or private lessons, please call 703-795-4093 to schedule lessons.

Lessons can be weekly or camp style (several days in a row).

  1. Private lesson rate:  $40/session

  2. Shared 2 person lesson: $25 per student/session    

  3. Group rate (3-5 students) $15 per student/session


I am able to teach any medium to ages 5+.  For elementary age students, here are some ideas for the student that loves everything.

Canvas and color - 3 sessions Textural painting with acrylic paint on canvas, for grades 4-7.

Play with Plaster - 4 sessions    Using plaster and plaster cast techniques to create sculptures in the round, for grades 4-7.

Turning Doodles into Design - 3 or more sessions, studio art class focusing on drawing, painting and printmaking for all ages.

"Playing with Fire" - one of three guest artists at The Commonwheel Artists Co-op in Manitou Springs

Content from:  https://www.commonwheel.com/playing-with-fire.html

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Come share our Artist’s Reception from 5-8 pm on October 20. This show will run through November 12, 2017.
 
“Playing with Fire” is a phrase often associated with risky behavior. On a practical level, each of the artists in this show use heat/fire to create their works.
 
Fused glass artist, Laura McCracken, uses variation in temperatures to create her pieces. Her work deals with introspection and her journey through a period of injury and recovery. Recovery really means, in this context, a redefining and reorganizing of her lifestyle and priorities. The concepts of energy and presence continually re-emerge within her art.
 
Ceramicist, Josie Quick, draws inspiration from primitive and tribal art for her pottery designs. She juxtaposes this imagery with classic pottery shapes and calls her style “neo-primitive.” She strives to show that all people and cultures are connected throughout history, starting as one people and dispersing to give rise to different cultures and artistic imagery.
 
Karen Simkiss works with hot wax to create her encaustic art. She works on trying to simplify details and using shape, texture, and values to create impressions. The transparent qualities of her encaustic wax allow her to use collage or layering effects to create depth and interest.
 
“Playing with Fire” will be in our gallery space through November 12. 

Planning the Big Event

What a joyful summer this was!  I spent my summer making art for my September solo show and coaching gymnastics.  I spent most of my time at home, in my home fused glass studio.  It is my happy place.  This was exceptionally true when I was able to watch the Rio Olympics and cut glass and/or fire the kiln at the same time!  After the Olympics, my September show was only a couple weeks away.  

Some people throw parties, I hold art shows.  I really look forward to my solo shows.  People I've know for years, and those I've met recently, attend and show their support.  It's a great way to keep in touch with people you've known for some time, but your lives don't intersect like they once did.  I'm am SO appreciative of my supporters.  I look forward to my solo shows for various reasons.  

A solo show is a great way to share with the world, what you are creating in this stage of your life.  People can see a body of work that intersects and reveals much about the artist.  Often, I have work in group shows and it is a shared venue with other artists.  Solo shows demonstrate my growth as an artist.  A collection of work has strength in numbers.  

 

A glimpse into Laura McCracken's home fused glass studio.

A glimpse into Laura McCracken's home fused glass studio.

Finding Flow...

Summer is finally here.  I have had two and a half weeks of serious art making.  Ahhh, this is what I have craved all year.  I have made jewelry, some of which I have already posted on my Etsy Page, Glass Marvel.  I have made a few fused glass dishes.  I've hung out at The Furnace (glass blowing studio in Lakewood) a couple times.  I'm just starting to feel really good. 

 

I consider this the "Flow" state of mind.  Making and creating come naturally, and I feel content.  Definition by Vishen Lakhiani:  A mental state of mind, in which you are pulled forward by big goals, yet happy where you are now.  It creates a feeling of growth and a feeling of being lucky.  Here's wishing the same for you!

Letting go of Struggle...

Since returning from a week in Connecticut, I have been surprisingly busy.  I have been coaching at The Rock Gymnastics for just over a year now.  Normally, it would only be a few hours a week.  When I returned from CT, Patrick (our head coach/owner) was asked to coach at a couple camps.  That meant someone had to work his hours.  That someone was me!  

I had grand plans of spring cleaning and prepping my work areas for art making.  Coaching a bazillion hours the first couple weeks of June wore me out and here it is, almost July and I'm finally getting to where I wanted to be.  That's just life!

I've been working on releasing struggle.  Struggle is all too familiar; I've spent two years dealing with injury from the car accidents.  I am working to create a new familiar: one of ease and joy.  

As I am making art, I process whatever feelings that have come to the surface and overload my thinking.  Sometimes it's fear, sometimes it is worry or some other emotion that holds me in a place of struggle.  I process these emotions, accept them for what they are (the what ifs, the shoulds, etc.) and I work to release them.  I acknowledge and celebrate the small successes.  For they are going to move me down the path toward ease and joy.

Summer! It's almost here!!!

I am thrilled that summer is almost here!  As soon as school is out, I'm heading to CT to visit the family.  I'll be able to relax, de-stress and transition into the summer. 

This summer I will be coaching gymnastics a few hours a week, getting back into my yoga practice (of which I have sorely missed) and making art for my SOLO SHOW in September!

The past two summers have been rough for me.  I, unfortunately, fell victim to the wonderful drivers in the big city.  I was involved in two car accidents that left me nursing injuries for the past two summers.  My artwork suffered.  My mental state suffered.  My fitness suffered.  I wasn't able to go camping.  I even had a hard time hiking, due to uneven surfaces.  My body (and mind) were fragile.

This summer WILL BE DIFFERENT!  I look forward to finding myself again.  I am excited to create art for my show.  I look forward to a little camping, hiking, and hot springs.  YEAH!!

I will also, be offering some classes.  In order to improve my fine motor skills (nerve damage in my neck gave me paraesthesia...pins and needles feeling, in my hands) I have been doing a lot of journaling and drawing.  I'm not quite back to drawing like I did in college.  I worked hard at drawing vessel shapes for my glass classes and during the school year, I did a lot of examples for my students.  My personal favorites are radial designs, also known as mandalas.  I will be offering a weekly class on Wednesdays (and maybe some Saturdays, when I'm at The Bridge) to make your own.  This class will be a step up from the adult coloring book craze.  YOU MAKE YOUR OWN!!!  

 See my Events page for more info.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Vision board

Vision board on the back of my journal, April 2016.

As an artist, I have artwork all over my condo and my classroom.  I often have several works in progress, at various stages of completion, going on at any one time.  So, the idea of taking time out to create a vision board creates mixed feelings for me.  I, sometimes, think that I don't need that, as I'm a rather goal oriented person.  Then again, there's a feeling of satisfaction when I see it in the midst of busyness or overwhelm.  It reminds me that I'm heading in the right direction.

My latest vision board is a collage on the back of my journal.  My students see it on my desk and think it's just the "coolest."  It spawns conversation about my work as a glass artist.  Having those conversations tends to excite both of us, student and teacher.  And, motivates me to turn to creating when life seems heavy.

My collage includes one of my favorite pictures of me in the hot glass studio with my father as my assistant.  We were at The Chrysler Museum of Glass Hot Shop in Norfolk, VA.  The bottom image is of my home studio, where I create my fused glass artwork, outside of Denver, CO.

#FREEDOMmethodChallenge

 

Quiet...

Creativity comes from a quiet place.

This is one of my favorite sayings that I use in my elementary art classroom.  We live in a world full of distractions, busyness, constant chatter, etc.  When I moved from Colorado Springs/Manitou Springs to Denver, I was struck with how, even on a hiking trail, no roads in sight, I could still hear traffic.  I CRAVE quiet.  

Finding that quiet space to hear our own thoughts, is sometimes, hard.  With my students, I remind them, that the person or people at their table that chat endlessly, are confident in their ideas, but that doesn't mean they have the best ideas.  I try to teach students to look inside themselves and be mindful of the moment.  This is a concept that was never really discussed when I was young.  Sometimes the quiet people, the introverted, have brilliant thoughts that never get shared.

I find that in recent years, my stamina has changed.  I need to soften my expectations for myself.  Time management, to-do lists, projects, due dates, etc. can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed.

So, I am trying to slow down, extend grace to myself, and recognize that every day, there will be some sort of unexpected event that will distract me.  I'm focusing on self-care and finding the quiet space within.

This image is called "Dizzy Spell".  It is foil relief.  This was created in one of Michael Cellan's summer workshops, years ago.  

Do you have a morning routine?

This is a full body cast I originally made in 2007 for a Solo show, entitled "Sleepless Dreamstate".  I recently used it again and painted it with chakra colors for a show at The Bridge Gallery, dedicated to Yves Klein.

This is a full body cast I originally made in 2007 for a Solo show, entitled "Sleepless Dreamstate".  I recently used it again and painted it with chakra colors for a show at The Bridge Gallery, dedicated to Yves Klein.

UGH!  Mornings are quite difficult for me.  I have some headache issues and my neck, back and hips are on the mend from a couple car accidents in the past couple years.  My mornings depend on whether or not it's summer or winter.  Winter, I am affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder and I'm pretty much wrapped up like a burrito.  In the summer, it's nice to let the natural light wake me up, well, naturally.

Whatever season it is, my yoga mat and foam roller are only steps away from my bed.  Sometimes it's the first thing I do in the morning and also the last thing I do before going to bed.  My yoga mat is my gentle hello to the day.  I stretch.  I get in tune with my body.  I center myself for whatever's on the day's agenda.  I meditate anywhere from 2-20 minutes.

#FREEDOMMethodChallenge  @Flourish_Thrive

I did it!

I did it! I made it through a ten day writing challenge.  I didn't do ten days consecutively, but I did all ten assignments.  It was a great exercise for introspection.  And it gives you a glimpse into my creative mind.

Kintsukuroi….

The following is taken from JustineMusk.com:

Maybe you’re familiar with the idea of kintsukuroi. It’s a Japanese word that refers to the act of repairing broken pottery by filling in the cracks with gold.

Instead of trying to hide the damage, kintsukuroi illuminates it.

You do this, because you understand that mending is an art.

You do this, because you understand that there is beauty in the broken places.

Behind every scar is a story.

(We are made of stories.)

My clients have achieved success when they embody the above concept.  It is considered a creative practice, in that, we are always practicing.  We continually do more, investigate further, work creatively within boundaries.  These boundaries may be, space, media and materials, time, finances, etc.  When we accept our human capabilities and soften our self-judgement and criticism, we begin to find our voice.  I provide opportunities that aim to share my technical knowledge, engage my students, and inspire a passion to create.

Cultivating creativity...

Whether it’s private or group art making, I will assist you in breaking down preconceived ideas about your artistic skills (“I can’t draw”).  I will support you in opening the space within, and, naturally, it will strengthen your spirit.  You will build confidence through a variety of experiential creative exercises.  You will become more relaxed, as activating our creative brains naturally de-stresses us.  The meditative nature of a creative practice quiets the internal chatter and opens the mind to potential solutions and alternative perspectives.  Would you like to join me?

My Tribe...

Art openings or artist receptions are extremely significant for a visual artist’s career.  They are often a highly anticipated, energy filled event to debut new work and potentially garner sales.  Successful art events are highly publicized, well-attended, and build a positive reputation for both the artist and the gallery.  

My tribe are those who participate in, appreciate, and support the arts.  My clients and collectors are artistically, culturally and passionately connected in the community.  My clients and collectors receive special invitations to my openings.  The wine and cheese reception is open to the public.  I look forward to seeing anyone who is in the Colorado Springs area on the First Friday of September, 2016.  I have a solo show scheduled and YOU are invited.

My Superpower…

Resilience - the capacity to recover from difficulties; toughness.  

I am resilient.  

After my move to the big city, I, unfortunately, sustained injuries as a result of car accidents.  My planned trajectory had experienced a major setback and detour.  I am currently resetting my focus back on my art.  As I heal physically, mentally and emotionally, it shows up in my art.  I am healing the space within.  I am willing and able to help others heal.  I have empathy for those who have had life get in the way of their soul’s desires.  Together we can move into a more loving and thriving place.

 

Finding my Audience…

Finding my Audience…

My art is an extension of me.  It is my gift to the world, yet it feeds my soul.  As an art educator, I provide my students (youth or adult) the opportunity to create.  In our instant access world, we need activities that slow us down.  Creating involves investigation, planning, execution, and (if we choose to) sharing.  Each artist brings their individual history to their artwork, which tells their story.  No two people are alike, so neither is the space within, which is where the art comes from.  Art connects us as individuals on a personal level and connects us to history and humanity.  

As an artist I share my mixed media glass art via periodic solo shows, call for entry shows, invitationals and through monthly shows as a member of a co-op gallery.  I have a website which is my digital portfolio.  I am using the Brand Story Challenge as a kickoff to start my blog.  I also use social media to share new work and postings on my Etsy store.  For my next solo show (September 2016) I will send out email invitations and postcard invitations.  I am always open to new opportunities that will put me and my art out there.  I am confident that continuing to create my art and sharing it publicly, that I will attract like-minded people to join me at my gallery openings and share my work with others.