Evolution of a Mandala - Summer Solstice- Universal Shapes

I have been slowly, but surely working on the mandala that I began at the Summer Solstice Mandala Retreat Day.  I am almost complete, but not quite.  I am just waiting for inspiration to know where to go next to bring it to completion.

Here is its evolution.   

By the way the shapes I chose were the triangle, spiral and equal distant cross...

This is the initial drawing of white on black...finding my way....


This is far as I have gotten.  The summer feel comes through strongly.   It feels like it needs something more...but what....I will wait until I get a sense of direction before I add anything else.  

Happy Summer!

Summer Mandala Retreat- Five Universal Shapes

This past sunday, we facilitated another Illuminated Mandala Retreat Day.  Both Patricia Waters and myself, are facilitators of Judith Cornell's Illuminated Mandala Process.  



For the Summer Time Mandala Retreat Day, which we held up at Mountain Home Ranch in Calistoga.  We focused on Angeles Arriens Five Universal Shapes... which are the circle, square, triangle, equal distant cross and the spiral.



 www.angelesarrien.com.  

If you don't know about her work please  check out  her website.

What amazing work everyone did.  Here are some photos of the days process  work.  

For more information on Angeles Arriens Shape

Preferential Diagnostic Tool,  you can find it in  her book "The Signs of Life".

Although most participants didn't complete their mandalas at days end, since it is a slow and meditative process,  they were all stunning .   

I have posted a few of them to just give a taste of their power and integrity.

We  will do these retreat days around the solstice and equinox, as well at the begining of the year.   Our Fall Mandala Retreat day will be on September 22.  See our website for more information.

www.creativeartstudio.com

Now I have a mandala to while away the summer time hours, with slow meditative drawing....which I just love to do.  

I will post my mandala's process in the days to come.  Enjoy the Summer!!

Summer Time Finally,....I can relax

Now that I have finished the all consuming Art at the Source Open Studio Tours....I can finally relax.   I often wonder about what to post here. I am not one for idle chit chat on line.  

So here are two encaustic mixed media paintings that I have recently done.  Once I rest up and get some luxurious reading done, swimming,  walking and catching up on details both mundane and important...I will try to get back to my encaustic work.  

In the meantime, I just bought a new digital camera...a Nikon Cool Pix s550.  Oh, I am so excited that all night long  I dreamed about the photos I am going to take.. 

So I am very excited about not working much this summer and having time to do art, take classes and relax and enjoy life.  Ciao...caterina

Art at the Source Open Studio- First Weekend

I am finally rested after the first weekend of the Art at the Source Open Studio Tour.
It was exciting to have people come see and respond to my art, but the set up and prelude to getting it all together was rather exhausting.
Many old friends and new, past students, art therapy colleagues and wandering art lovers and seekers, came through during the weekend.

The experience   was exhilerating and inspiring.  And although the economy is slow, I did make some sales the first weekend and got lots of positive responses to my work.  

The gardens at Paulas property, where it was held in Sebastopol, on the edge of vineyards and apple orchards were exquisite, as were her stunning plein aire paintings.  And I could look for hours at Mylette Welch's colorful and quirky dog paintings.  If you are in Sonoma County next weekend, come on out and say hello.  For a map and information regarding the show see the 

art at the source website.   http://www.artatthesource.org

Summer Time Collages.....

I love to play with older works, reworking them, adding, changing, turning them into new stories.  That is the beauty and intrigue of collage to  me.  It is an opportunity to recreate, re-envision, reframe the picture and look at it differently.  

School has ended and I am reworking some collages as I get ready for the Art @ the Source Open Studio Tour next weekend...  I am excited by having free time, and overwhelmed by what I need to do to get ready for the Open Studios.  Yet, creating art and letting it go out into the world is really what it is all about for me.  

Encaustic Mixed Media Heart/ Art Pins

I am back in the studio in between working at the J.C., creating, finishing and getting ready for Art at the Source, a West Sonoma County Open Studio, that I am participating in the first two weekends in June.  http://www.artatthesource.org.   Along with finishing up quite a few encaustic mixed media paintings, I have been creating small encaustic art pins.  

I have been having quite a bit of fun with these, getting carried away with the mystery of faces emerging out of texture, as if being revealed from a dream state.

                                                                                                                                                                           I plan on adding some of these as well as more original encaustics to my etsy site eventually, but right now, with the end of the semester approaching and all the details involved in doing this open studio, I my update of my etsy site is very lacking... 

Since I don't live in west sonoma county, I am sharing studio space with two exciting artists,

Paula Smith, an incredible plein air landscape painter of beautiful Sonoma County,  http://www.paulasmith.com  (whose studio I will be at)  and Mylette Welch, http://www.mylettewelch, a vibrant expressive artist  specializing in wonderful paintings of dogs and old cars.   

If you are in Sonoma County during that time, come check us out.  Sebastopol Center for the Arts, http://www/sebarts.org,  has brochures with maps and information on all the artists participating all over the County

Back From Sun Valley

Idaho is a starkly beautiful state.  I was struck by the beauty of the melting snow on the mountains.  

After a whirlwind journey, and a full 

day of facilitating a Creative Spirit Workshop and an afternoon session of mandala making.  I am full and satisfied.  

Leading a workshop with over a 120 people felt like it would be daunting, but it was actually exhilerating and special.  

The participants, teachers, counselors and juvenile 

prevention specialists, from all over Idaho were so

 appreciative and engaged in the process and really  open to exploring creative interventions that they could adapt to use with students,  clients and family members.  

We loved being there, sharing the healing and communicati

ve aspects of artmaking and witnessing their excitement.  

The afternoon mandala session was most enjoyable, we were able to slow down a bit and spend more time diving into art making.  The mandalas that participants made were really amazing.   

However, as beautiful as Idaho was, being back in northern California and particularly Sonoma County, makes me remember how blessed I am to be living in such a beautiful part of the planet.  Its good to be home.