Mistakes Stirring Invention

Any of you who journal, or paint, or create . . . Oh heck . . . if you're alive . . . know we make errors! And one of my greatest joys in the spontaneity of journaling is the way our creative minds show us solutions (and some, better than the original plan!). These next couple of pages are examples of exactly that!

Those of you familiar with the progress of my previous journal page with the fun paperclay 3-d frame, know my plan now would include leaving the following journal page blank where I needed to place my big letter "B". Right?

So immediately, the next day I went onsite with a private student venturing out into her first plein air adventure . . . and you guessed it! Where did I paint? Right in the space I needed to save. Here's the gurgling Lithia Park Creek, sitting right where I wanted to have white space. I fretted and pondered about cutting out the image, inserting a full page and on and on.

Rather than add a full page, I decided insert a small, almost "footnote like" page with, of course, my big "B" the first item on the lil' page. Next to my "B" I practiced a print from a self-portrait tile I'd recently carved. I like printing two times, yellow first to add warmth to the human skin then, a darker color (here, I've used Brown Madder). On the back of my mini-page, I found this beautiful business card from a peer watercolorist, Marni Marnee (http://www.marnimaree.com/), complimented all the colors on these pages. And I added how we'd met when she pass thru the Ashland Art Center where my studio is.

I continued my journal sequentially, with the sketch from a "Plein Air Workshop" I was teaching. Top left on the full page, is a sketch of my dear painter friend, Silvia Trujillo (http://www.silviatrujillo.com/), (who'd instructed the oil students) posing her hand to crop a portion of a student's painting during critique. Farther down the page is one of my watercolor students busy at work.

So I can attest to the fact that mistakes can make me more creative and inventive. Honestly, I have to say I've not gotten to the point where I celebrate errors, but I DO aim to get there some day. Another goal to aim at . . . it keeps me going and getting more comfy with myself.

I suggest "Celebrate Your Errors!"?

Introduction to Plein Air Painting ~ A New Duo

One of the heavenly benefits to renting a studio space upstairs at the Ashland Art Center is - that you get to know your peer artists and they furnish a wealth of wisdom and talent.

One such artist is my studio neighbor, Silvia Trujillo. She's kind, sincere, warm and, as our Art Center Executive Director says, "the artists artist"! Silvia Trujillo is a well known artist and art instructor from the Sacramento region of California. She has won numerous awards for her paintings. “To constantly produce paintings that are original and unique” is one of her foremost goals. With Silvia just to my right, day in and day out, a gentle friendship has grown. and she's a devout instructor of, well, pick a media . . . oil, acrylics and even watercolor. Her life totally is painting and graciously, in forming this new duo, she has given me the "watercolor" arena.

She'd suggested we do a class together . . . and we'd tossed around painting on location. We considered a beach venue, too far to drive and consider lodging too. We considered a vineyard venue, THAT we will do for the fall workshop. Well, finally we decided and will be meeting at the lovely Lithia Springs Resort (http://www.ashlandinn.com/hotel-ashland-oregon.php) offering the "Silvia Trujillo and Elaine Frenett Plein Air Painting Workshop"!

We'll offer a two day series, August 14th & 15th, meeting from 8:30am to 12:30pm both days. With a lovely pond, charming sheds, lush flowers, a fountain and mountain backdrops, we'll find a variety of images from which to paint. A couple of years ago I did a sketch in my journal there, isn't it just the cutest building? And here's a plein air piece Silvia did on location there too. There will be a "Sharing or Critique" time when we break for lunch. On the preceding Thursday we will have an optional "Introduction" Hour, 6:30-7:30pm at the Ashland Art Center (http://www.ashlandartcenter.org/pages/main.html), where we'll discuss materials, composition, color and light. Both Silvia (who will work exclusively with Oil and Acrylic students) and I (who will focus on watercolor) will limit the class to 7 students each.

I'm excited about this new adventure with a new artist friend. Isn't being an artist just the best? Well, perhaps being an enlightened Buddhist monk exceeds that, but I'm closer to being an artist. So, I'll stick with what I'm doing better and strive for the other. Thanks for joining me along this happy life's trek!