Ahhhh ~ Women's Journaling Alpine Retreat Arrival

Through lots of planning, excitement and hard work, Jean Warren and I launch our fifth annual gathering. The arriving is so full of anticipation. We get to start watching the months of imagining, inventing and tender caring that we both handle this endeavor with - - coming into solid form. Pretty thrilling!!!

Jean 'n I arrive a day early to get things set up and locate sites for specific processes - and of course, to paint and play a bit too! We often re-arrange the entire living room of our largest cabin, the Ponderosa to fit in all our working tables. So, naturally, other furniture has to go. The Resort is very understanding of this annual process but sometimes they don't have time to come pick up extra furniture that we want to eliminate for the duration of time we are there. Such was this lovable rocking chair! For a couple of days

we did this dance of moving her outside onto the deck in the daytime and then, scooting back inside to protect her from the moisture at night. She became somewhat of a mascot and both Jean 'n I made sketches of her. Then they took her away (she went to hang out in the passage way in the lodge between the restaurant and bar - we went by to say 'hi' often).

But I'm still struggling with this paper in the journal - that chair's page is writing paper and I'm afraid to put much water on the image to keep it from rippling. I'm learning ... and the adjacent page is similar paper. It tentatively mounts our little promo flier for this year onto the paper, but is ripple-y and thin. Yet I get to savor the rich paste paper that happens to sit in the middle of this page and it helps out that weak painting of the chair and our flier. Here's what the entire flier, front and inside, spread open to.

So we have a lovely mountain day, everything is in place and welcoming for the coming participants tomorrow. Sleep comes easy, for tomorrow it's "Start your engines, Ladies"!! ... and the fun begins.

Fulfilling That Vision, Black Serendipity ~ September 14, 2013

Arriving two days preceding the start of our "Women's Journaling Retreat" allows this sweet cushion of time, in which we can do exactly what we want. Which is exactly what I proceed to do.

You know from the previous blog post that I'm in the midst of this new journal format and now am upon a black page. So when I flip the page to see the back side of the black seed pod paper, I'm no longer perturbed at not wanting to sketch upon it. Instead I'm charmed by the journal serendipity that pops up in ways that can ONLY happen in a journal. These blonde seed pods, flattened and preserved in the black handmade paper echo the shape and color of the hole I'd cut to accommodate my earlier paper clay insert! Love these magical happenings.

On the adjacent page ~ I'm going to do want I was aching to do when we were up at Mosquito Lake ~ I'm going to watercolor the water lilies in the water surface. But this page is mere writing paper ... so I'm trying this possibility of glueing in a small piece of watercolor paper and painting what I'd wanted. I'm pleased with my watercolor painting and find it kind of fun to try and trickle off the watercolor paper onto the journal's regular paper. It does ripple some ... but integrates the square watercolor paper into the whole page. AND - I got to paint what I really envisioned.

As I look a the full spread open, I'm again wiggling in joy at the balance that occurred unplanned. Look how the strong dark values in the lily painting even's out that strong black seed pod page. I just thrill in how journals seem to design themselves ... way better than I could have even imagined!! Now ... on to the start of the retreat!

Anniversary Texture, Sierras in Black ~ September 11 and 14, 2013

Early September is usually pretty active. Not only am I packing and preparing for my Women's Journaling Annual Retreat, but it is also my birthday and our anniversary too. So this page has whispers of how terrain between Roland and I had smoothed out, the lace-y laser cut paper pattern from the anniversary card Ro gave me (sometimes draping words with a filtered or translucent paper will give you a bit more privacy on a journal page - and I inserted it with photo corners so that I can take it out to read when I want to), the business card from where we dined (disappointingly) and the bitter sweet last evening at home before I take off for the Sierras where the retreat is held.

All that echoes against the opposite page ... the first full day at Lake Alpine Resort up in the California Sierras. Both Jean Warren and I arrive a

day or two ahead to finalize locations for different creative processes. This day we took off, up to a nearby duo of glacier formed lakes called Mosquito Lake.

Now I'd mentioned that with this journal, I really wanted to mix things up, right? Well, there we are at the pristine lake, I'm all seated having found the perfect scene I wanted to paint. I get out my materials from my pack, open up my journal ready to watercolor - - and - - as you see, it is a black journal page. I really, seriously considered skipping the page and going on until I found a watercolor page, but at last, decided to stick to my commitment. I worked, rather uncomfortably, with the black page. Using a white Schwans Stabilo pencil,

graphite pencils and some of my wax crayons for the color accents I depicted the lovely, sparkling lake and white cabins before me. The lettering was with white gel pen. I'm mostly pleased with the image - - but even more with the fact that I stuck to my aim of testing out new materials, papers and increasing my open minded attitude. (PS You'll see in the next pages ... I develop a way to cope with my yearning to paint on watercolor paper when the journal page is NOT a watercolor page!)


It remained a perfect day up in the azure sky-ed mountains ... one of my favorite places here on earth!

New Journal ~ New Retreat Adventure

With this new journal first page, I've taken flight, off towards the California Sierras to lead my third annual "Women's Journaling Sierra Retreat". The eight hour drive has various high points, noting my progress and stops for the bathroom and Chai Tea. But I tend to get revived and excited when I near Lake Alpine . . . I know the signs. These earthy piles of granite. Or the magnificently tall trees poking into blue, blue sky.

I arrive at the Lake Alpine Resort just after 3pm and start to gather the slower mountain energy. I meet up with my dear friend and tandem-teacher, Jean Warren and we get unpacked. Anxiously, we head out for a late afternoon hike along the west end of the lake. The long view afforded with the lake in the foreground and the bountiful, plump cumulus dancers across the distance is one of my favorite. Smiles take over.We dinner at the casual Lodge and discuss our agenda for our free day before participants begin to arrive.

Sun peeks thru our cabin windows and after breakfasting, we trek off towards the east lake area. We visit our familiar rocks, where we have always done our yoga. Good, no major changes there. With the luxury of leisure on our hands, we catch how the moon positions above our heads. We do befriend a feathery friend ~ this sweet, amiable bird who nests close as Jean 'n I savor the granite's warmth. Eventually, this lil' bird becomes somewhat our mascot, visiting us intermittently during the retreat and even joining us for mornin' yoga sessions.

I've already started plotting my first journal page in this new journal. Our bird mascot, our retreat flier,  some local collectibles (used to have this plastic red "Cherrio-like" item, but it popped off) and a space for my paper clay creation. Seems to have become a tradition of inserting one of these creations, with some personal symbolism, into each  new journal. For me, it makes the "new white journal page" less daunting. I'd earlier shaped this dark cloud in my paper clay, let it dry, then painted it ~ front and back. I'll later seal it with Mod Podge to complete the demo for the retreat and at some time, stitch my "cloud" into the actual page. This insert also determines a challenging "design element" on the next few pages, as I cut out the outline to accommodate the 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness of the paper clay element. Just more fun things to work into the pages ~ yummmmm!!!


And so . . . an new journal is under way . . . and the Retreat energy begins to gather momentum . . .