THE WOODLAND WAIF...

The little waif wandered about the woodlands on a pleasant autumn day.   The sky was blue, the air soft and cool, and the leaves were turning vibrant colors of red, yellow, and orange.  Fuzzy grey squirrels flitted hither an thither chattering away as they gathered up their winter store.  Wee birds twittered high above her head, pouring forth a sweet carol of joy.  All the earth seemed lovely; and the light heart of the child beat in joyous unison with the beauty of nature.

("Woodland Waif" Mixed Media Art Dress by Sandy Babb)

On she sped, pursuing with fleet footsteps the twirling leaves raining down on a gentle wind, making a game of trying to catch them, pausing every now and again to pluck a late blooming wildflower whose beauty and fragrance allured her.  She thought the beauty of these fading things should adorn her wee plain dress of bark,  little cap sleeves were fashioned from leaves and wildflowers were tucked into the mossy hem of her gown.  

Soon she tired of chasing leaves on the wind and began to follow the windings of a rippling brook, flinging pebbles, and laughing to see the white foam dash up or dropping her remaining prize leaves and blossoms to sail as a fleet.  She gathered pretty pebbles and added them her hem of moss, her version of sparking jewels.  Pretty toadstools  growing near the bank were plucked and added to her garment as well.

The snapping of a twig overhead and a soft thud at her feet captured her attention, there before her lay the perfect gathering pocket for her fine forest frock, a small birds nest attached to the twig.  Saddened by the loss of a place for her bird friends to rest, she invited them to travel along with her, thus happily the hours glided by all unheeded and twilight shadows began to deepen

The brook's winding way had led her deeper into the forest; above her huge trees arched their boughs, dark with intertwined branches.  Around her was a tangled undergrowth of shrubs.  She began to grow weary.  It was now quite dark: the rising wind sighed among the pine boughs a song she was accustomed too, her nightly lullaby.  With no bed but the dead leaves, no pillow but the moss tufts, she made herself comfortable and fell asleep where she dreamed of what tomorrows woodland adventures would bring.

I will be having my own little woodland adventure later this week and I can't wait to share you with you my new woodland gear!

Blessings,
Sandy

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT...

(Custom Artwork "Song Birds" 16 x 20 mixed media canvas)

I feel so very bad for my poor neglected blog and pinkie swear I will get back in the swing of posting.  I have been super busy in the studio trying to learn to do video taping/editing and developing a couple of online classes as well as submitting some teaching proposals, making custom art, playing in my art journal, writing, and finishing up some personal art projects.  I have missed my blog friends so very much and apologize for not keeping in better touch.  I am finding that I need to find a better balance between all work and no social media or social media and no work, any suggestions?

In between all this work, there has been quite a bit of joy...the Handy Man and I just celebrated our 35th Anniversary, the grands all had birthdays and are one year older, happy, and healthy, the Handy Man and I made a commitment to spend several weekends camping, kayaking, hiking, and day tripping to have some relaxing quality time together over the summer and have had some fabulous fun and laughter, we will be closing out the season with one last trip soon.

I am will be spending the next few days working out a plan for some open studio time to host an intimate workshop here in my home studio.  I have yet to get all the fine details worked out and am still waiting for confirmation of a fabulous artist who I am hoping will join me in teaching the two day workshop.

I wanted to find out if there is any interest before I go full tilt ahead in my planning.  My thoughts were that this would be a weekend workshop, most likely a Friday and Saturday with four students in attendance.  My studio comfortably accommodates four with individual roomy work surfaces and room for myself as well as another teacher.  Keeping the workshop small will ensure lots of individual attention for each student.  The work shop will include a make and take project, a class kit with everything needed to do the project, demonstration techniques, lots of tips, and bonus lessons from another guest artist.  Also, morning and afternoon snacks as well as lunch will be included in the workshop package.  A bonus of a free goody bag will be gifted to each student.  The class fee has yet to be determined as I await a response from the guest artist but will be kept as reasonable as possible.

So, if you live in the area and are interested or are traveling through my area, or just want to plan a get away for you and three of your friends for an artful adventure here in The Natural State I would love to host a workshop for you!  If anyone is interested I would love to here from you.

My clock says I have been social enough, I need to pack some orders up to ship out this morning.  I hope you all enjoy a beauty filled weekend!

blessings,

Sandy

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