Off into the Wild Blue . . .

Believe it or not . . . its tomorrow that we leave for Mexico. This journal entry was based first on the beauty or withered beauty of this Zebra Swallowtail but, upon closer investigation . . . its about how I'm feeling, now, during this process of leaving and taking off on an adventure.

The intensity of leaving behind my life that I so love here in Oregon and launching out into territory unknown is finally hitting me. Saying g'byes to friends, planning in participating in my last "Ashland First Friday Artwalk", finalizing our house sitters, packing last minute things into the RV and planning what I'm wearing the day of the leaving . . . is bringing it all into reality. I've never been (but am willing to learn and am changing) great with change and I'm mustering alot of courage here to do this trip.

I've been blessed with some obviously "serendipitous" guides and coaches for this trip. Teaching one of my previous "Personal Journaling Classes" taught at the Art Center, I was graced to have as a participant, Cheryl, now my dear friend. In conversation we discovered she had a long history with Mexico, had lived there for 4 years, even worked there in a bank and has driven her fifth wheel by herself down into Mexico!!! All along preparing she has been kind, generous and encouraging.

A couple weeks before our take-0ff date, she and a friend of hers (also interested in traveling to Mexico) came over for brunch. She's given us que cards in Spanish, maps, books and more. And for the "Chef" (my marvelous hubby) she brought this lil lovely boquet of flowers. We laughed and joked and she continued to answer silly questions and make fun of our concerns. Setting us (well,probably me) more at ease with the endeavor.

Then another "angel" along this path came from right in the Ashland Art Center. One of my favorite peer studio artists, Dale Muir (http://www.ashlandartcenter.org/pages/homeDaleMuir.html), has a sister who does very much the same "thing" Roland and I are doing, except on a regular yearly basis! She too has been a great guide. She kept us current on the possibility of traveling with a group, "caravaning" and we just barely missed traveling with her. Sadly, her place on the beach wasn't going to be ready to receive her until December 10th, so she'd be departing later than we needed. But just keeping in touch with her experience and suggestions made us feel like we were not alone.

So, I'm packing my things. Yep, trying to decide what could work weather and climate-wise. Then thinking, will I use it enough to warrent taking it - does it take up too much space, does it weigh too much. The one suggestion I'd gotten to take along Christmas Lights because the Mexican people REALLY get into celebrating Christmas didn't go over well with my "frugal packer" husband. But . . . I did notice theres a box of lights in the trunk of the vehicle we are towing. :)

So, wish me well, its just me and my Divine Spirit taking off. Requesting prayers for safety and harmony and . . . off I go . . . into the wild blue . . .

Mexico Update

Now, with the chilly, rainy days of Autumn darkened by early darkness, I'm nestling in to do some catch up in my journal.

This page is way back from my Women's Mexico Retreat in April. But it was complex (of course I don't keep it simple) and it's taken awhile to complete. I've long loved those pinpointed blow-ups that often appear in ads or maps. So I used that format to tell the more thorough story than just a single illustration. Since I was aware that the condo I had currently secured was NOT going to be available in the future for more of my retreats, I requested sampling several other potential venues. One of the rentals the Real Estate gentleman toured me thru was what I entitled, "The Castle". It w-a-a-a-s like a castle: multi-floored, elegant presentation with grounds that included 2 small casitas, a pool with a swim-up bar, cages which used to house a full collection of exotic animals (I'm please all the animals are now gone - and - hopefully, free roaming) and a view to die for.

These multi-views seemed the only way to expose the more expansive caliber of this rental. I'm most happy with the sink and stained glass bathroom detail. And, yep, as you can guess, it was the most time consuming. I found the tiny-ness of the other three images to be really challenging, but, they capture the essence of the vast place.

I've been painting busily in my new Studio 8 in Ashland Art Center and several other entries to include here. So for now, this concludes the Mexico pages and we'll be returning to the San Jose trip next.

Til then, perseverance and creative juices will see me thru the dark season. And I know, there is always light waiting (yes, you can take that literally and metaphorically too).

Reporting Back!

Where have I been? Well, actually Manzanillo, Mexico! And I guess in the hubbub of preparing for the trip, my blog took less priority. But I'm back a-workin' now and will attempt to catch you up from even before we left.

I had set personal goals of getting my smaller Dahlia pieces done before I left. But, well, I did finish one and feel very pleased with 'her'. She is 5 x 7 inches and along with two other of her sisters, she will be within the same frame as the larger, more graphic Dahlia you have seen started previously in this blog. I wanted to create an unusual graphic presentation with strong pieces. Here she is and her name, for now, is #2.

In preparation for the trip, I labeled particular images on reserved journal pages, then I'd printed out the images and took them with me. I had hopes of 'catching up' with my journal during the vacation. But you notice I said 'had hopes' - well, I didn't. So along with adding to my plein air painted images of the trip in my journal, I'm also currently adding 'backed up' pages from before we left. One is in honor of the daffodils that are speckling the landscape up here with happy, spring-promising color. Now we also have hyacinths but they may or may not make it into the journal.

Tomorrow I'll launch you on a tour of Manzanillo, Mexico. Til then "Happy Trails!"