Art Retreat Results

The family all returned Sunday evening and my art retreat came to an end.  It was fabulous!  I really only had 4 days fully alone, but I made good use of them.  Having a little time alone makes me realize how badly I need that now and then.  It was especially nice to get to stay in my own home for a change, but the most important thing is getting time to focus without any distractions.  No stopping to make dinner or talk to anyone.  No leaving the house for errands.  Doing exactly what I want when I want to do it.  Perfect.  I never get as much accomplished as I think I will, but I'm pleased with what I did.

I spent my mornings painting and ended up with two paintings I'm pleased with.  That's pretty much a record for me!  In the afternoons, I caught up with podcasts while I worked on ongoing stitching projects.  In the evenings, I caught up with my favorite TV shows--Project Runway and So You Think You Can Dance, and watched some great art documentaries on Netflix.  I really loved "Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang", a Chinese artist who uses fireworks.  Gorgeous, complicated things.  I also enjoyed "Jeremy Scott," the very wacky, avant-garde fashion designer, and "The 100 Years Show," about Carmen Herrera.  I'm not in love with her minimalist art, but very inspired to see her still working at 96.  The problem with everything I like to watch is it's very visual so hard to get much stitching done while I'm watching.  

I did finish my fall trip journal.  I'm happy with the way this one turned out.  I used variegated threads that I dyed, and I like the spark of color change they add.

Here's my journal collection so far.  They are a really good excuse for some obsessive hand stitching and button collecting.

Art Retreat Week!

Rarely do I have my house to myself.  In fact, in the 20+ years since my sons have been born, I have never had my house all to myself for an entire day.  Imagine my delight when my husband decided to go hiking with his friends for a week, at the same time my sons decided to take a trip to CA to visit their grandma!  Oh heaven!

I recently learned when my husband disappears for his rare trip to visit friends that I should use that period for focused art time.  At first I called it my art bootcamp, but that has morphed into the much friendlier (and more leisurely) art retreat week.  I start by entirely clearing my calendar for the week. With the exception of my morning trips to my dance class, I do not leave the house.  I also get all my food prepped as much as possible for the week, so I can have healthy things handy without giving it the slightest bit of time or thought.  One of my favorite things to do is make my salads ahead of time, so they are crisped and ready to dump in a bowl.  Add some chicken for lunch, and turn them into taco salads for dinner.  Done.  No food planning whatsoever!

I made a list of projects I want to work on with painting planned for my more energetic mornings and stitching for later in the day. I also made a list of art-related things that I've wanted to read, watch or listen to that I never seem to get around to.  I have a list of websites to browse, art documentaries on Netflix, old art magazines I want to revisit.  And that will be my week.  My idea of heaven!

And I finished stitching my August 2017 project.  This has not been my favorite palette, so I'm eager to start moving into deeper fall colors.