A Solo Adventure-retreats can inspire and renew

I discovered Lillstreet Art Center www.lillstreet.com about a year and a half ago. It is "The Creativity Shop"- my dream- times 100! There is gallery space, a café with a mission, 3 floors of classroom space and a floor of individual artist studios. Plus they have an art youth outreach, a corporate teambuilding aspect, art shows....the list goes on and on. I totally lose myself when I go there. I have taken a number of workshops with Eileen and another friend Alice, BUT yesterday I went for a daylong retreat alone.

Lillstreet has a new space they are calling the LOFT. It is a large beautiful space- exposed brick walls, lovely wooden floors and fabulous lighting- half a block away from the art center. They are running daylong events which are designed to provide, "a little creative and relaxing, 'me time.'" as the brochure states! Just the ticket for a third grade teacher who has had to deal with 8 year olds NOT being able to go outside all week because of the weather....NO ONE likes INDOOR RECESS!

So I escaped to Lillstreet and participated in, The Buddha and You: A ceramics and Yoga retreat.

The group of about a dozen started out with introductions and tea or coffee.

We moved into a 75 minute yoga class where the instructor led us through a physical yoga practice and guided meditation.

After a lovely lunch, we were led through the process of forming a face sculpture inspired by the Buddha using terra cotta clay.

 Our clay teacher Robin gave general directions to the whole group and then supported each of us individually with what we needed. What I LOVE about Robin is that she encourages the "process not the product." She teaches a technique-then lets each person make it their own.

 

Me and my creation.

The best part of a day like this is always meeting new people...

Suzi and Nicole

                                                                Adrianna and Iggi

 

After class I made my way to an awe inspiring place which Eileen introduced me to.

                                                                                          All sorts

of inspiring

 storage spaces,

display ideas,

 and creating spaces for my dream....

 

What is your idea of a wonderful retreat day?!

Lucy

 

 

 

Friends fuel the fire

Getting away to Milwaukee last weekend reminded me how important friends are.  My friends inspire me. They tickle my funny bone, they push me to think differently and they are unconditionally supportive.  I have to admit I am very fortunate.  I have interesting and interested friends.  It took a while to find "my people" and boy, am I ever thankful I did.  Having a good friend is a precious gift and as we get older I find I need them even more.

Here are a few who warm my heart.  More posts to include family and children later....if i get them to sign the consent....


Joan, my old college roommate and keeper of many secrets.  Love her.

Posting this to make you laugh.  Yes, this was us in the 80's and yes, that was my hair and eye balls. I think all of the teasing and aqua net I used in the 80's is a factor on my current thinning hair and squinty eyes.  This photo also includes the Suester, another good soul and life long friend.  Will be seeing her in Greek town in March to celebrate her 50th.  Oppa!!!

Christina, fellow "Smother" and my barometer on teenagedom.

My artists way sisters. Aren't they adorable?

Tricia, our  relocated AW sister.  Love how she swings into town without any warning.  So fun. This also includes my good friend and talented artist Laura.

 

Barbara and Lisa.  Blonde babes. Barb is so fun to travel with and is such a sweet heart.  She acts like a big sister to me.  Lisa always listens, really listens.  We have shared much on the Prarie Path together.

 

Lucy is my lifelong friend, the catalyst for much of my creativity.  I am so happy she married Billy.  He is truly a good man (and a lot of fun).  The other handsome bloke is my BFF and hubbie, Damien.

 

Hope you get to spend some time with friends this weekend. 

 

Eileen

 

A surprisingly Art-filled weekend

For the past 3 years my friend Michelle and I have taken the long MLK weekend to go and visit her daughter in Madison, WI. The weekend has always consisted of visiting yarn shops, eating out and drinking wine and knitting. We found a place which allowed us to knit in front of a set of massive, 30 feet at least, windows which overlooked the farmlands of Wisconsin. It was stark Midwestern beauty...alas, her daughter has moved away from Madison ...so this year we had to find a new venue for knitting weekend. We decided on Milwaukee, WI. We also invited a few more friends and it turned into more of an art gallery and creativity shop inspiration weekend.

Thanks to the encouragement of many friends and family members, I am pursuing my dream of a community art/craft studio. I am taking baby steps, BUT I am putting my ideas out into the world. I have my mission statement which is:

The Creativity Shop/Studio is a public space which promotes the exploration of the creative process. We believe that the creative process allows individuals and groups to experience an art/craft energy which in turn creates a "creative flow"... making our world a better place!

The next step is to explore what the space will look like. I got lots of ideas this weekend!

Before I left for my girl's weekend Billy, George and I had dinner at our friend's home. This planter was outside their front door. Friday night we had a dusting of snow-the sparkle is better than glitter! 

My first unexpected art experience was pottery made by Teddy. I use to change his diapers-now here he is posing with his ART!

Saturday and Sunday were filled with gallery visits, eating and drinking too much wine and chit-chatting about art. This picture was of one of the galleries we visited

Don't you love this idea for an "OPEN-CLOSED-BE RIGHT BACK" sign for a shop!

The Creativity Studio/Shop will have lots of messy projects...I am collecting ideas on how to organize the space.

 

Of course the weekend was filled with amazing art as well. These wall hangings were made of wool and tapestry NOT quilted. The boxes below were created out of tar paper and had pin holes in them and were illuminated by white lights shining from the inside.

 

 

We stayed at the Pfister Hotel which has an artist-in-residency program housed within the hotel. This program supports a different artist each year. Quite a wonderful idea for a hotel to promote!

 

Hope you are all staying warm and moving forward, if just a little bit, on your dreams!

Just LEAP!

Lucy

Art inspiration sites I love

It is another cold day in Chicago.   I have officially unsubscribed myself to all of those websites having blowout sales.  I may miss a bargain or two but I have weaned myself off the imaginary shopping cart.  Most of the time I never pull the trigger and actually purchase but I can sure waste a lot of time looking. If I need a little pick me up it would be much better served by looking at some of my favorite websites for a little bit of distraction, beauty and inspiration,

http://www.thejealouscurator.com/blog

This site is run by artist Danielle Krysa.  She features contemporary art and will expose you to new artists and trends.  An easy pick me up to any day.  She posts daily. This is her new book.  Can't wait to get it.





I love the title of this next site.  Features art at reasonable prices.

http://www.buysomedamnart.com/

This is my favorite piece on the site right now.  It is by Emma Louthan and is titled "Innertube"  I can relate to the inner tube reference as my growing perimenopausal padding around my waist looks just like an inner tube.




This next site is big so beware, you can lose some time but it is worth it.

www.designsponge.com


This is a daily website with home sneak peeks, products, before and after and my favorite DIY.  They also have city guides for art, shopping and design highlights for many US cities.  Run by Grace Bonney and her staff.  They have ventured into books and newspapers.  Here are a couple of things I made from their DIY projects


French knot ombre needlepoint.

Paper Clay barnacles.  Fun and Easy.

Lastly check out a permanent home for spontaneous art and start doodling.

http://www.doodlersanonymous.com/

Let us know any of your favorite sites.

Eileen

A bit of warmth and greenery feed my winter soul

This past week Chicago was hit with an artic freeze which kept most people indoors for 48 hours! It was so cold, that schools which were set to resume after Winter break, closed for 2 more days! So how do people combat the winter blues (in my opinion they should really be called GREYS?!)

I like to find as much color as possible to help me through the next couple of winter months. SO I talked my Mom and my sister Michele into accompanying me to the Oak Park Conservatory.

There are many indoor "plant palaces" which are larger and more manicured in the Chicagoland area, BUT I like the little 3 room indoor garden-I find that I can enjoy each room and really spend time looking at details....

                                                             Giant lemons



Caci

                                   

A cacao bean

 Michele trying to make "George the parrot" talk!

 Green on green

 

A pinky red to remind me that Valentine's Day is right around the corner!

 

Plants for sale outside the gift shop.

I of course had to bring one home and place it in my kitchen.... to combat....THIS!

 

 

Here is hoping you find color in your world....

Lucy

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Begin Again..."

I must admit I love the fresh snow and beginnings of January.  Time to reflect and adjust thyself.  I try never to make resolutions but our takeaway project at the end of my Creative Encounter class was to "begin again".  Rather serendipitous with the start of a new year.  Below is the definition from John Michael Rich, our instructor. 

"To begin again is somewhat of an impossible task, right? We never actually start over because we are always accumulating experiences (compare with Rollo May). And our environment likewise is constantly changing. As the philosopher Heraclitus said, we can't step into the same river twice, meaning that each moment the river rushes by us, it is a new river, not the exact river as before.

So to begin again is to enact a certain kind of awareness. Every beginning is in the middle of some other process. Beginnings are middles. (And ends are middles, too.)

Invent a game with three simple rules that would help you operate at the level of consciousness you would like to reach."

So here are my rules ( I did 5)  to keep begin again, move forward and ACT (my power word) in 2014.

1). Take a class.  I just signed up for a ceramics sculpture class.  I am sure I will be posting about that.

2).  Be mindful of the food (and drink) I put in my body

3). Meditate and practice "kind thoughts, kind words and a kind heart" everyday.  Thank you Judy.

4). Volunteer more.  I just found the Chicago Artist Resource site.  I saw some interesting volunteer opportunities I will explore.  

5), Exercise my body and mind.  I have committed to this with fellow blogger Lucy and Christina. 

Here we are.  All smiles after our first workout of 2014.

Our personal trainer and former Army man, Billy.  Also the darling husband of Lucy.  He is training us for 10 weeks and we are paying him with a delicious dinner and wine. A great deal for us.

About to enjoy a soothing bath with the thoughtful personal care items given by my beautiful sisters Peg and Jeanne.  Baths are wonderful.  A perfect spot to meditate and focus on my kind thoughts and gratitude. 

I hope you can find some time to "begin again..."

Eileen

New Year New Life

Welcome to our first post in 2014! It is going to be a stunning year...As I revealed in a previous entry not only do I turn 50 this year but a new baby Dallman will arrive in early spring-I can't wait to meet our first grandchild! On New Year's Day, Eileen and our daughter Virginia hosted a baby shower for James and Amanda. My amazing family and friends were all so very generous with gifts and many good wishes for the parents to be.
I created a quilt for the baby and I am sharing it here because many of the elements in this baby quilt will be a part of my 50th year project as well...When I am designing a quilt I always start with a "Big Idea." Over Thanksgiving Amanda shared with me her vision for the nursery. She wanted an untraditional nursery with a "woodland creatures." theme. She found a hand crafted mobile on ETSY which I wanted to somehow tie into the quilt. That was my starting point. I also wanted to create a universal theme of the circle of life-so I knew I had to include the 4 seasons and I depicted those with the changing branches of a tree. I machine appliqued a mix of my hand dyed fabrics and commercially created fabric and this is what transpired....

 

                                      This is the adorable mobile which will hang over the baby's crib.

 

Hearts and swirls seem to be a recurring  images in much of my creative work. I think it is all of my yoga training which makes me want to promote those images!

I also created this "inside out" squirrel and hedgehog for the nursery.

 

 Each animal is tucked within the other. It is 2 toys in one!

The party was a huge success thanks to Eileen hosting in her beautiful home. She is here posing with my mom the "great grandma" to be!

The party would not have happened if it were not for my husband and I starting our family 26 years ago!

from left to right: husband Billy, Virginia our daughter standing, seated Amanda and James, Me (Lucy) and our youngest son George.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the shower/party, BUT I had to include it in the New Year's post. These are toilet paper roll creations made by one of Eileen's boys. She displays them each year with the standard pre-school made toilet paper roll crèches. AND if it were up to our son James the nursery would be a Batman theme. They received a board book entitled "MY first Batman book." James claims he is reading it to the baby every night! His daughter will be well versed in super hero lore-

OH BOY-2014 is going to be a great adventure....

Lucy