Good news for bad moods The Painters Keys

When I am feeling blue, I notice I am more intune with my work & feel more satisfied with the outcome of my art. Do you relate to this article?! ;)

a letter from the Robert... The Painters Keys


Dear Izabella, You may have noticed the odd times when something is irking you, putting you into a bad mood, and you sit down at your easel and do good work. While it's not as pleasant as when you're in a good mood and everything is coming up peonies, it works to your benefit in another way. In my experience, a bad mood helps the attention span and the critical faculties--not necessarily to be more creative--but with a wider vision and a sharper focus.





Before you start to rub me out as a certified nutter, I have to tell you that Professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales in Australia has now produced research that shows people in a negative mood are more critical and more attentive than regular happy folks.





Sadness, he found, actually promotes information-processing strategies best suited to dealing with demanding situations. Other bad-mood benefits the professor found included less gullibility, improved assessment of others, and memory improvement.





In my case, as a kid I might have been "blessed with a sunny disposition," as my mom used to say, but it was in my quieter, reflective moods that I made my art. Darker moods came and went, and I remember doing the odd decent thing while in them. Fact is, I still do. I'm wildly curious to know if anyone else might have noticed something similar.





Perhaps the good-work-in-a-bad-mood syndrome has something to do with the simple realization that when all else fails one can still paint. It's as if art is a sanctuary and a safe haven from life's inevitable disappointments. All humans need some sort of escape from whatever irks them--drudgery, boredom, failure, penury, barking dogs, unpleasant companions--a mighty long list if you decide to think about it. Personal art-making, with its complex creative demands of audacity, application and focus, as well as its perceived nobility, fills the bill.





No human life is all joy, none is all pain. It may be necessary to have a bit of one to gain more of the other. Surely, all moods are worth exploring. While a good mood is way ahead of whatever comes next, this is where I tell you to joyfully jump into your bad moods, watch yourself, and see what happens.





Best regards, Robert





PS: "Whereas positive moods seem to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world." (Joseph Forgas)


Esoterica: Bad-mood guys like Beethoven are no shirkers when it comes to turning out the work. Whole schools of poetry, art and music have been founded on anger and misery. "Sunny dispositions" might be missing out on something. Bad moods are, on the other hand, bad moods. You don't want to stay in them too long--maybe just enough to be focused, attentive and a little extra critical. A bad mood could be good for you.

free autumn collage sheet from moonlightjourney

I wanted to share this lovely gift from Becky & Lynne of Moonlight Journey . They put together this free offering, to get us in the creating spirit of the holidays !! Be sure to check out their lovely website http://www.moonlightjourney.com/ for an array of fab collage sheets


Collage sheet by Becky Loyall
Please click on sheet and you will be taken to a 300 dpi page just right click and save to your computer. This collage sheet is for personal use only. You may sell the artwork you create but please do not sell the original pieces in the middle in a collage sheet or as a single.

The Falling of Leaves

Autumn is over the long leaves that love us,

And over the mice in the barley sheaves;

Yellow the leaves of the rowan above us,

And yellow the wet wild-strawberry leaves.

The hour of the waning of love has beset us,

And weary and worn are our sad souls now;

Let us patt, ere the season of passion forget us,

With a kiss and a tear on thy drooping brow.

~william butler yeats

The Outsider Artists tribute to Edward and Bella Twilight

A few of the OA gals decided to create a few Twilight inspired art pieces & a giveaway!!

Be sure to leave a comment for the drawing, of a digital collage sheet created by Lynne of Moonlight Journey

Izabella created the piece, "Dammit Edward why aren't you real!!!"

closeup of beautiful Edward sparkling away.....

and here is Izabella with Edward Cullen!! .....

with a little help of her favorite editing program...photoshop!!

Deborah has created several digital collages of Edward and Bella. She invites you to save all three of these images to your computer. The resolution of these images as posted is about 120 dpi. If you especially like one of her three Twilight collages and want to be able to make a high quality print of one of them, feel free to e-mail her at deborahbohm@embarqmail.com and she will e-mail you a high quality 300 dpi image of your favorite of the three displayed here! Additional collages are $3.00 for each 300 dpi image you want e-mailed to you. (Purchased collages will NOT have her name on the image.)

Twilight 1D

Twilight 2D

Twilight 3D

Becky Loyall created a giveaway also....Be sure to leave a comment for the giveaways.

and here is the original digital piece, by Becky...

Featured Artist Lorraine Reynolds The Glimmering Prize

The Glimmering Prize is a bounty of heartfelt treasures made from discarded trinkets and everyday items. Mixed media collage artist, Lorraine Reynolds, transforms the mundane into mystical, the everyday into extraordinary. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Lorraine is a costume and technical designer by trade. A Vermont transplant for almost 18 years, she takes found objects, such as broken dolls, rusty tins and discarded books and brings forth their unspoken stories, weaving tales of lost love, childhood memories and remembrance into each piece.

She is a self proclaimed junk collector, treasure hunter and junkyard gypsy. You can find her meandering about early on a summer’s morning with her two boys, Henry, 14 and Jack, 7; scouting flea markets and yard sales looking for that embellishments for one of her pieces. It’s the process of collecting, finding and discovering the components that inspires her to make her art. But, music and history are her two muses. She cannot create without her “soundtrack to art.” Playing her music in the studio; the lilting notes from her favorite movie scores carry her to a creative space that has no walls. Often, she will get stuck on a song and play it over and over again until the piece is finished and the bittersweet emotion is caught within her mixed media collages.
She loves to travel about the state of Vermont, admiring old mill towns and Main Streets: places off the beaten path that are permeated with mysteries, secrets and perhaps a ghost story or two. It is the mixing of the past lives with the present in the physical form of art as an offering to remembrance that is what she calls “the Church of the Ordinary.”

Her work has been shown throughout the state of Vermont, as well as in New York City. She is a proud member of the International Society of Alter Book Arts, the Vermont Book Arts Guild and ZNE. She has recently been published in Somerset Studio, the art of mixed media and paper, July/August edition, where two of her assemblage pieces were featured in this “sisterhood” edition.

You can find out more about her work at her blog: http://glimmeringprize.blogspot.com/

Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Lorraine-Reynolds-Glimmering-Prize/55961283750

Etsy shoppe: http://www.glimmeringprize.etsy.com/

Featured Artists The Outsider Artists

They started noticing each other’s art on Ebay and Etsy. Sensing a certain “something” they all seemed to share – an emotional and sometimes dark approach to altered art – a small group arose, dedicated to exchanging ideas about art. Here they asked each other questions and openly shared techniques, experiences, and images. They also shared their lives with one another as friends do. After these artists joined together in a couple of group art projects, it seemed like a natural next step to join together in another kind of group venture.
Outsider Artists is a co-op of artists from this original group, selling original art pieces - ACEOs, mixed media assemblages, art tags, bookmarks, jewelry, journals, canvas pieces, boxes, dolls, corsets, hair accessories, and more –even an occasional jeweled crown! What you find at their site today might be totally different from what you find a week from now! They also offer a vast array of digital collage sheets including a beautiful antique style alphabet, tags, ACEO backgrounds, gorgeous vintage images, and edgy new images – many of which have been altered by the artist to enhance their appeal. These sheets are sent directly to your computer where you can print them as many times as you want to use in your own art projects. Each artist has her own catalog of art, listing the pieces that she currently has for sale. You will find that each artist has her own individual style. You can choose from art by Amy Flowe, Becky Loyall, Deborah Bohm, Jann Clark, Izabella, Judy Keefe, Lynn Tears, and Michelle McClinn, Jillian Schneider. Buy from one artist or buy from all of them. You will find that the artists welcome inquiries about custom pieces.
Outsider Artists is a treat to visit. In addition to the wonderful art pieces for sale, they offer free vintage images, articles on art-related topics, “how-to” instructions on various art projects and techniques, and links to other sites that you will want to visit. Via a comment section, they are able to have interaction with the people who visit their site. You can also see some of the prior art that each artist has created in their respective gallery sections.
Whether it is your first visit or your twentieth, you will want to stop by today to see what is new! (P.S. I hear these artists are set to embark on another group project at the end of summer. Rumor has it that at the end of this project, a joint creation will be offered for sale to benefit a designated charity. You will surely want to stay tuned for more about that!)
Visit now!http://outsiderartists.typepad.com/
You can also visit the blogs of the individual artists:
Amy Flowe - http://www.alteredamy.blogspot.com/
Becky Loyall - http://whymsicalmusings.blogspot.com/
Deborah Bohm - http://deborahbohm.blogspot.com/
Jann Clark - http://www.foreverjann.blogspot.com/
Izabella - http://izabella.typepad.com/
Judy Keefe - http://jmkoriginals.typepad.com/
Lynne Tears - http://moonlightjourney.blogspot.com/
Michelle McClinn - http://michellerenee777.blogspot.com/
Jillian Schneider - http://bohemiart.typepad.com/

Featured Artists' Remnants of Olde Kerin & Charley

Bio
Charley and Kerin are self taught artists who use wild experimentation resulting in many innovative techniques with resins and other materials. As heavy users of found objects, clays of all sorts, metals and optical glass, they make art jewelry and small scale sculptures. They have also been making mechanical and kinetic art pieces for several years and have discovered ways to make previously very complicated mechanisms quite simple to construct. Having recently left their school district and software development careers to relocate to the Southern Oregon coast, they now have more time to make and share art with others. Their creations can be seen in Somerset Studio magazine, 500 Pendants and Lockets by Lark Books and in galleries and shops. Kerin is currently working on a mixed media book featuring her very favorite art material, resin clay, which will be released by North Light Books in early 2010.

Charley and Kerin are changing their Creative Souls profile to fit with the other ning accounts they are using (which is under Kerin’s name). So if you see them twice you are not imagining things. : )

Background:

Charley and Kerin recently made a big move and life style adjustment because of a heartbreaking and life changing loss. Kerin's sister, Diana, lost a long battle with cancer a few years ago. Charley and Kerin met just as she was leaving to take Diana to get a second opinion and learn what ultimately would be the worst news possible.

Charley has since been a great source of strength and this was especially important since Kerin was her only caregiver. Diana had always encouraged Kerin to quit doing software and real estate and do art full time. So to honor Diana and life in general (which is far too short anyway!) they followed their hearts and moved to the southern Oregon coast.

The plan was to work doing art full time in whatever forms it took to make a living. The thing is that no one knew who they were because they really weren’t actively selling or promoting their artwork at all before moving to Oregon. Luckily all the ways they sought to make a living turned out to be immensely fun and rewarding (and definitely challenging as well!!!)

Here are some of the things they are doing now

Mixed Media Art gathering place— Kerin was led to build this site as a place for artists to learn and grow and reach their dreams whatever those might be. The site is just a month old and already has over 300 amazing talented and caring members. Simply put, there is a tremendous amount of love and inspiration on that site. In fact Isabella was member #300!! http://mixedmediaart.ning.com/

Blog and website—the first post is about why this journey to Oregon began and everything that’s happened since. http://remnantsofolde.com/

Online workshops – The first workshop they are offering for sale, Resin Clay Pendants, is open during “pre-registration” at a reduced price. There are currently two projects up and many more will be added. There has been great feedback from the students taking the workshops and they all are really enjoying what is up so far.

Live workshops – for only having taught at one workshop so far (Art & Soul in Hampton, VA) it has been a very good experience. There is already one class out of three that has sold out at the Art & Soul retreat in Portland, Oregon. And they have received a special invitation to teach at Art & Soul in Las Vegas which was huge since only sixteen instructors will be there. http://www.artandsoulretreat.com/

Charley and Kerin have worked very hard to add even more value to the live workshops by offering the same class on video. The “after class party” workshops are free to the students so they can really relax during class and not have to worry about remembering everything. Right now those are only available to the workshop students but they will be available in the future (most likely be when they are no longer teaching the live workshops). The after class party workshops are hosted on the Mixed Media Art ning site.

In addition to the Art & Soul retreats, Kerin is booked at Raevn’s nest this October to teach two classes. http://www.raevns-nest-art-retreat.com/workshops.html

Now that they’ve had a “taste” of how fun and rewarding it is to teach at art retreats they are planning many new workshops and are looking into doing even more venues.

Mixed media art book – Kerin’s book will feature resin clay based projects and is due to be released in early 2010 by North Light Books. She feels that resin clay (a two part self-curing clay) is a magical and wondrous thing! It has allowed her to make things as an artist that she never could have otherwise. So she wants to share this with everyone in the hopes that it will have the same benefit to many more artists.

Automata – One of the things they are known for is mechanical art or automata—a type of interactive hand cranked art that moves in different ways. The pieces they make are a new spin on the old mechanical that were popular in the 1800s and early 1900s. They both find this to be a fun challenge to come up with new ideas for art pieces that also are mechanical. Very few artists make automata and even fewer are teaching it. So they plan to offer a lot of workshops with that are kinetic and/or mechanically based.

Other plans – More collaborations with other artists, doing a lot more with metal clay (bronze/copper and silver), continuing to experiment with combining unlikely materials and finding new techniques, larger assemblage sculptures, seeking out more galleries that are a good fit for their work and most definitely a lot of new automata (mechanical art).

One more thing they’d love to do is make lots of friends on Creative Souls!!! Here is the profile that matches all the other ning accounts. : )
http://creativesouls.ning.com/profile/KerinGale

how to create fiber beads

~How to create fiber beads~

These are fiber beads that I created, oh what joyous fun they are to create!!!

First gather your materials...

* drinking straw

* white glue

* scissors

* muslin, tapestry, nearly any cotton blend material

* acrylic paints

* 22 guage wires ~gold copper silver

* needle nose pliers

* wire cutters

* beads, charms & glitter!!

Tear/cut your muslin or cotton material 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch strips, this will be the width of your beads. You will want different sizes of beads~ Cut your strips to about 6 to 12 inches long(experimentation is best)

Proceed to wrap the material around the end of the straw, adding the white glue onto the material as you wrap it around the straw. Make sure it is glued securely & then cut the straw leaving some still within the middle of the wrap. You can usually get 3 beads per straw depending on length of the beads you create.

Now let the fun begin!!

Paint metallic paints on the material & ends. Wrap fibers or yarn around the bead. Wrap wire pieces 5 to 6 inches long, around the fibers or yarn to hold it in place. You can also add beads & charms to the wire, then add glitter or try dipping the beads in embossing powders!!

Have fun creating!!!

~Izabella http://izabella.typepad.com/

this weeks featured artist Kecia Deveney

Lemoncholy's Studio aka kecia deveney

I have a lot of energy. I like to be busy and am rarely ever idle! I also tend to get bored quite easily, so one day I might make jewelry, the next day do a mosaic piece, then onto a painting or an assemblage. I grew up in the military and we moved every 2 years, so I've traveled a lot, have seen much culture ,diversity and experienced things that others will never see. I think that lifestyle plays into who I am creatively and how I see myself. I see myself as a free-spirited, gypsy type of soul. In my mid twenties, I suffered a horrible, life altering experience, when my older son, Tucker (then age 16 months old), suffered a traumatic brain injury due to medical malpractice. Now age 18, he is 100% dependent on care from my husband and I. My despair, anguish and grief over this traumatic event is what propelled me into the art world. I'll start with the cliche that I am self taught. I began making things as gifts and home decor and then onto art shows. It was at an art show that a woman put a name to my work, "altered art". I'd never heard the word before, nor realized that other people like to alter things. This was exciting! From there I found art retreats and dreamed about attending them, but didn't. Then one day I mentioned one of them to my husband, who surprised me by saying, "you should go". So I did - and that was it - I was hooked! I began making online friends who were so similar to me. It really opened a whole new world to me. Slowly I have progressed from classes, to blogging, to etsy, many yahoo groups and currently in the works, a website and now teaching. I'm in my studio every day and I consider this my full time job. Creating is a drug to me. It keeps me sane. I'm passionate about what I do. Through my blog, I've met many women who tell me I inspire them. This fills my soul with joy, that me, this grief stricken girl, can refocus that sadness into inspiration and help other women. It brings me vitality, so I've come full circle.

Kecia

blog: www.lemoncholys.blogspot.com
website: www.lemoncholys.com
etsy: www.keeshagirl.etsy.com
flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lemoncholys

ZNE Art, Paperie and Pleasantries

This weekend!! Art, Paperie & Pleasantries is being held at the Alameda County Fair Building in Pleasanton, CA. There will be lots of vendors, live music, book signings, make & take classes, coloring table for the kiddies and lots of pretties to buy! All the sparkly goodness happens Saturday May 2 & Sunday May 3, 2009 Noon - 5:00 p.m. both days, $3 admission, but get the dollar off coupon on the website. You can find more details here http://www.artandpaperie.com/index.html

Artella Land

EMERGENCY!! JoAnnA & Ron Pierotti

Please see JoAnnA's blog for more information http://mosshill.blogs.com/

Ron has a brain tumor & it is much worse than they expected, they say if he doesnt have this done immediately, they give him only a month to live! JoAnnA & Ron are beautiful souls & would take their shirts off their back for anyone...I feel it's the least we could do is...chip in a dollar or 1000 dollars, Please please pass along this widget to help them in their time of need. And prayers are desperatley needed to comfort them in this tramatic time~
You can also use this link to add in forwarding emails, this will take you to the page where you can pick up the embed codes for your sites. http://ronpierotti.chipin.com/ron-pierotti Please forward this to your friends~ Thank you so much

Featured main page artist Pam Carriker

Pam Carriker, a life-long art lover, was raised in the Pacific Northwest.
Largely self-taught, her work is reflective of the more than 20 years of
experience using a variety of mediums. Teaching art at a private school
for a year, prompted her to further pursue her interest in art. She is a Design
Team member for both variaZioNE (ZNE) and Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps,
has had her work published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors, Somerset Studio,
Stamper's Sampler, and has the honor of being the featured guest artist in
August '08 Stampers' Sampler. On the horizon are articles in Somerset Art Journals, Jan '09, Somerset Apprentice, Mar '09, and Cloth, Paper, Scissors, May '09. She currently has work on display at the Art and Soul Gallery in Bothel, Washington.

Note from Pam..... I joined ZNE 1 1/2 years ago, after continually seeing those letters attached to work I liked on ebay. What did they mean? I finally asked and found my way to the wondrous world of mixed media art. I dove in head first and applied for the Design Team and was an excited girl to be welcomed aboard! That excitement knew no bounds when I realized that my best friend from junior high/high school was a fellow DT member! Thank goodness Laurie Blau-Marshall hyphenated her name or it may have taken awhile longer to figure out the connection.
Art has a way of connecting people, both long-lost friends, and the new friends we make daily via our blogs and websites. That's why we are all here, gathered together. To be inspired by each other, to encourage and be encouraged.
I have always created art in some form. From drawing purple polka dots on my bedroom walls as a child, (much to mom's displeasure:-), to the crafty types of art, to my current love of mixed media, especially portraits. I never in a zillion years would think I would be where I am right now, and would not, except for the continual support, encouragement, and inspiration found on Creative Souls and like minded mixed media websites. Here I learned to dream big, and to go after my dreams. While I create art that is born in my mother's heart, I have found a great deal of satisfaction in the level of professionalism that having my work published and writing about the creative process has brought to this stage of my life.
I was so completely amazed to come home to my emails this afternoon. It was one of 'THOSE' days today and this so completely made my day end on a high note. Thank you all so much for this honor. Honestly, it is an honor to just be involved with fellow artists like you.

www.pamcarriker.com
http://www.thebagladysart.blogspot.com
http://www.thebagladysart.etsy.com

Main page featured artist Shariyah Garner

Painting "Longing":



Artists Statement:

Shariyah was born in 1984 into a family of artists.

Rather than attending fine art schools, her childhood was spent drawing and painting with her mother as her "art teacher", along with her 5 sisters in the hills of Tennessee and the mountains of Montana.

Recently Shariyah (Yiyah) moved from Los Angeles, CA where she was working as a fashion designer, to a remote island in New Zealand. There she spends most of each day painting and creating in her small studio, overlooking rolling green pastures with sheep grazing, wine vineyards, and the ocean beyond. Shariyah sells her art online as well as exhibiting her paintings in a local gallery. Her more recent work explores mixed media portraits, with a reniassance-like feel that embodies a spiritual or expressive essence.

"I believe that art is really just communication of something from deep within the artist. Memories, dreams, joys, sadness, spiritual journeys. I hope that people of all ages and backgrounds can relate in some way to my work and receive inspiration from it."

I am so surprised, and honored to share this "Artist of the month" award with Becky, and thrilled to be part of this Creative Soul community! Thank you so much each one of you, for this gift that I will never forget! It encourages me to continue to follow my dream, and as in the words of Rumi, "Let the beauty we love be what we do."

Peace & Love

Shariyah

Please click on the below links to visit my websites:

Shariyah's Etsy Site

Shariyah's Gallery

Shariyah's Blog

Visit Shariyah's Creative Soul's Page

Main page featured artist Becky Loyall

The beauty around me engulfs me, inspires me to create. Each day is a new adventure, thoughts crossing the shadowy depths of my mind allowing me to share. Artwork, some funny, some sad, some that may touch your soul. Just my imagination running wild! My thoughts all the same. I hope to share what I create with each of you touching you in different ways. Provoking thought and conversation. Please enjoy my whimsical take on things.
By: Becky Loyall

Becky is a self taught mixed media artist with collage as her favorite form. She loves to create Artist Trading Cards also known as ACEO's and other types of Collage items like Books, Boxes, Tags and Bookmarks.
She has done Mural work for homes, schools and churches for charity for 2o+ years the last few years with her Beautiful Daughter Leslie. She has also painted and sold floorcloths and primitive items such as furniture.
Altered Art is her new found love one that she will pursue for many years to come.
Becky lives on a small acreage in rural Oklahoma with her Husband Clay who is the light of her life and her 2 sons Eric and Sean, 2 dogs, 4 cats, 2 large aquariums and many numerous critter visitors.
Becky has 2 grown daughters Leslie and Tammra and one Wonderful son in Law Robert. She also has 6 beautiful grandchildren.

Becky is a very proud member of the Outsider Artists group and ZNE group and of course she LOVES Creative Souls where her heart fills with Joy and Soars with the Beauty that is created here.

What an unexpected Honor I will treasure for years to come. Thank you for your friendships and the Talents that you share.

You may find Beckys work here or stop by and enjoy her blog:
Outsider Artist's http://outsider-artists.net
Etsy www.whymsicalmusings.etsy.com
Blog www.whymsicalmusings.blogspot.com
Zazzle http://www.zazzle.com/whymsicalmusings
http://tinyurl.com/5qo2sn.

FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK JULEE HERMANN

I have begun a new feature at the Creative Souls site. Besides the monthly main page featured artist~ a weekly featured artist in the forums. If you know of someone you would like to see featured, please drop me a note at the Creative Souls site http://creativesouls.ning.com

This weeks featured artist is the beautiful & amazing Julee Hermann. She is such an inspiration. Everyone who meets her, has her forever etched in their hearts, she is a beautiful shining star!!!

Julee Hermann is a local artist who works in assemblage, jewelry, and 3D inspirational art. Julee inspires creativity with her energy and her wonderful sense of humor. She knows how to connect people with their inner artist. Julee spends her weekends playing with her young family and teaching around the US helping students create one-of-a-kind shrines reflecting memorable moments in a life lived. Students walk away feeling as though they've created something to treasure. Julee's motto is "...make the two foot drop from head into your heart and work from there." ~written from the heart Gina Gabrielle

this is what Julee says..... I love to impart my enthusiasm for all things mixed media thru my workshops. I weave silliness and permission to play and express your self into my classes. My motto is "make that two foot drop from head to heart and work from there" art is made in the heart not the head. I like to remind people to just check in with where they are and to let the muses tickle them into creating for them. This month I'm teaching the skill of soldering through two different classes. The first of which is the Mermaid Reliquary Workshop at A Work of Heart Studio in San Jose class is on Sunday April 19th and runs from 12 – 4pm we'll build tiny boxes with a small scene inside and then enclose the pieces with mica and solder. $65 You can register through their fancy schmancy website at http://www.aworkofheart.com The advanced soldering class is being held at the lovely Tangerine gifts and ephemera shop in Dublin this will be a soldered bracelet comprised of vintage watch crystals, tiny images embellished with glitters (oh joy!) all soldered together in the most delightful way! Class is Saturday April 25 from 10 – 3pm cost is $55 and includes tea and cookies! Have a peek at their charming site at http://www.elevenmorningstangerine.com/services.html Call Gina Gabr... to sign up to play! I'm excited to announce for the first time, that this Summer, I will be sharing workshops with girls(and guys, too!) of all ages through my Mermaid Warriors Summer Camps. For 5 weeks from the end of June through the beginning of August we'll be pLaYIng MeRmAid Style... tentatively I'm working on Mondays and Fridays in Orinda and Wednesdays in Dublin and will be specializing in empowering people to express themselves through art and silliness!

Julee Herrmann Teacher/Artist HeArt Collective http://www.heartcollective.etsy.com http://www.heartcollective.blogspot.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/juleeherrmann/sets/72157615900316626/