Collage classes galore!

Well, I did another collage class in town at POP today.  It was really hot outside, and rain threatened to happen.  It happened as I loaded all of the materials into the car after the class... of course!  :)  Four sweet people made some beautiful collages, and I so enjoyed talking to them.  If it weren't for the class, who knows if I would've ever met them?  Here are some pictures from the event.

 I really enjoyed that there was a guy in the class this time!

Masterpiece underway.

Tom did a great job, don't you think?

Michelle's piece was deep and mystical.

Dawn was focusing on order and de-cluttering at home.  An insight she had during our mini meditation.  I can really relate to that.

Shannon's happy piece.  She could've been a flower child, but too young for that.  She did capture the spirit of that time, though.   I thought all of their pieces were remarkably happy, so no wonder we had such a good time!

Children's Advocacy Center art camp!

The artists in my artist group POP (People of Passion) did an art camp with the kids at the Hernando Children's Advocacy Center this week, and a great time was had by all!  I did my art collage class, and their collages were fabulous.  I had brought my camera and FORGOT to use it!  Today was clay class and, fortunately, the collages were still there, and so was my camera.  I didn't get a picture with the kids holding their collages, but I share these beautiful masterpieces with you.  Kids are so much fun, and so creative.  There are also some pictures from the "how to create a safe My Space page" class as well that my friend Lynne taught. The kids ranged from 6 year olds to 14.  By the way, we used lots of glitter!

Lynne to the right, and Julie, both fab artists.

Before.... the oil spill

Collage class!

Vickie and Dana took my collage class last week, and we had lots of fun!  Check out these pictures and the beautiful collages they made.

Vickie putting layers upon layers!

Isn't this gorgeous so far?

Dana really likes 3D!

More layers!

Dana's finished collage that she made for her granddaughter Vegas.

Vickie's collage has a lot of details that her mother likes.  It reminds her of her mom, which is really cool in my opinion!  Everyone finds their own theme as they work through the various layers of paper and paint.

Yesterday, I took part in the peaceful demonstration Hands Across The Sand to stop offshore oil drilling.  I went to the Dunedin causeway beach and about 300 had gathered there, and at the adjoining Honeymoon Island, 200 more had gathered.  People held hands all over the world actually, whether they had beaches or not.  Petitions were signed and will be sent to the White House.  It was great despite the 97 degree heat.  I stood with my feet in the water, wondering how long it'll stay pristine.  Hopefully, for a looooong time, if a way can be found to stem the flow of oil.
I forgot my camera, but here's the Facebook link to Hands Across The Sand, if you want to see some pictures.  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/HandsAcrossTheSand?ref=ts

Blessings to all!!

Went to the beach, just to get my feet wet...

Last Sunday I went to the beach with an old friend. Susan, from Texas.  We drove along all the touristy traps in Clearwater Beach, and went down Gulf Blvd. to the other beautiful beaches along the coast in Pinellas County.  We didn't plan to do any swimming in the Gulf or sunning, but there were plenty of tourists and pelicans about on the beach!  I did wade into the water, and then got sand all over my feet.  That's what Florida is all about!

We picked up my friend Caroline in Dunedin and had a great ole time eating pizza and other goodies.  Didn't stay outside too long since it was 95 degrees.  We've had a crazy hot June so far.  The afternoon thunderstorms have arrived, and it freshens up the air, or makes it into a steamy sauna. 
Susan and I went to Busch Gardens and had a sauna experience there, but we also saw a lot of "cool" animals, among them, white tigers.  Forgot my camera, but I got some pictures when we did the beaches:

That's Susan on the left, and myself on the right.

Aren't we sweet...?

Caroline

It had our name on it...

Susan has been following the World Cup since she's British, but here she had her back toward it...

Redington Pier...

Redington Beach

Ode to the Gulf of Mexico...

I have been working on this mixed media collage on and off, and it finally came together, in kind of a sad way, but with HOPE, that we, the human species, will change with the progress and horror of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
I want to say that I'm so sorry to the dolphins, the turtles, the various species of fish, the ospreys, the egrets, the herons, the pelicans, the Thomson's plowers, the snowy egrets, the gulls, the aingas, the coral reefs, the sea horses, the shrimps, the oysters, the squid, the crabs, all of the species that have to suffer from the oil spill.  I'm appalled at the stupidity of the human species, and the greed that governs all!

I have walked along the shores of the Gulf so many times, totally wrapped up in my own agendas and problems, and then have my spirits lift as a dolphin plows out of the water and jumps with joy into the air, maybe 50 feet from the shore. I love the sound of the waves surging against the white sand, and all the wildlife surging with it.  I remember the day when there were hundreds of stranded squid on the beach, and how we threw them back into the turquoise water with the sun diamonds dancing across the waves.  I remember the shoe horse crab frenzy of mating, that had the beach covered with them, and some that were left behind because they were washed over with the sand.
I remember the gesture of gratitude eye-to-eye after saving one of the horseshoe crabs from suffocation in the sand.  (If that's what happens to them.)  These are memories that come to mind after a decade of living in Florida and walking on the beaches, and I can't tell you about the sadness felt in Louisiana at this time, because they see the pelicans diving into the oil, looking for food.

I just don't know how it's possible to do so much pollution!  And so much damage!  Why don't we learn...?
I don't want to be a downer, but my whole world is turned upside down with the thoughts of what we're doing to the sea.  I LOVE the sea that keeps on giving and giving and giving.  It's time to soul search--how much do we need the oil?  Can we support a simpler lifestyle, or alternative fuel?  This is a time of choice, and to live by that choice.  Please let's get together and pray to what feels good to you that major change for the better will be the result of this atrocity

Ode to my cat...my soulmate...or one of them!

My cat Bailey is the most wonderful being to be around. He's definitely one of my soulmates in this lifetime. I came home from some art classes this afternoon, and as he always does, he met me at the car. He followed me into the house, and followed me around until I'd changed into my shorts-and-Tshirt. Then I lifted him up and sat down on the couch holding him to my heart. The connection of love is so strong, and he never falters. His love is ALWAYS there, never questioning me or wondering where I'm coming from. We connect in Unconditional Love just sitting there, close.
HIs fur is so soft and his purr so healing. The best companion you could ever wish for. He even comes when I call...
I used to work at this cafe that was open until midnight with an outside patio and live music. The night I met Bailey, the cafe was packed outside. A lady came up to the window and said there's a stray cat in the crowd.
I went out to check him out, and he was an orange stripe and white, long-hair. I asked if anyone in her group was going to take him home, and she said no. I'm a sucker for orange cats and I had lost one three months earlier. The heart ache, and you doubt you can live through another loss!

I thawed out some slices of turkey to give him, but he didn't like turkey, so he went without.
I went in and out of the cafe all evening long, and every time, he was sitting on someone's lap and trying to go home with them. No one took mercy on him.

At the end of the evening, after clean up at 1:30 am, I was the only one left there--and the cat, sitting in the middle of the patio. He looked at me and I looked at him, and I said, "I guess it's you and me."
I had a truck at the time, so I loaded him up in the front and took off, realizing I had to stop at the all-night Walmart and get food and litter for him.
He slunk out of the truck as I opened the door at the store and started running across the empty parking lot at Walmart--a very bad place to be a stray kitty with lots of big roads all around it.
A guy tried to help me catch him, but we couldn't.
I felt really bad, and stood talking to the guy for a minute or two.
The next thing I knew, the cat came back, right up to me, and rubbed against my leg. I lifted him up into my arms and he rested there. It was as if he knew that I was his "saviour.". :)
He and I bonded right away, and have had 4 happy years so far. I don't know how old he is.
One twist... For about a year he was named Bella because I thought he was a girl, until one evening when he washed himself, I realized differently... Bella became Bailey... It was quite an exercise in rewiring my thinking... He took it all in stride because he doesn't care. He lives in the 5th dimension, and he's all LOVE.
What a great feeling to stick my face into his long soft fur and smell the woodsy scent of him. He just purrs...all is right in the world when you have a cat to remind you. :D