My trip to Florida was jaw-dropping wonderful. Filled with fabulous students and teaching experiences, dreamy bird photography, and all of the breathtaking joys of spring. I came home with new friends and so many sweet and memorable experiences. I can't wait to go back. As soon as I arrived, I was picked up by my fabulous hostesses, Elena and Jacquie, and we headed south to Key Largo where I would teach at their "Keys 4 Art" retreat. Love those girls! Classes were held in a massive and very beautiful rented house, complete with an outdoor deck for relaxing and working,... Continue reading

I'm so excited to be teaching at two retreats in Florida this coming week! I hope to see and photograph many birds while there! I'll be teaching this journal at a private retreat down in the Keys: Hand stitching added to the technique I'll be sharing in the Keys: And another example: Next, I'll travel north a bit to teach at Everything Scrapbook and Stamps in Lake Worth. We'll be painting birds and creating a journal. So exciting to be painting, photographing, and surrounded by birds! I'll be demoing a quail for our journal cover. Here's the before photo: And... Continue reading

Just returned home a few days ago from teaching at another incredible Artful Journey! Sweet, creative fun in the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California. I love the connecting and inspiration that both students and instructors take home with them. As usual, Cindy Woods went above and beyond to make it a fabulous retreat for everyone. It was a special time with friends new and old learning together and sharing from their hands and hearts. My students were all amazing, talented, and a joy to teach :-) It's always exciting and such an inspiration seeing how my demos and teaching... Continue reading

Getting ready to go teach in California at An Artful Journey and shortly after that, in Lake Worth Florida! So excited for spring, teaching, photos, and birds! Continue reading

The key to friendship Is not in the hand you hold But how you hold the hand Continue reading

I will be teaching at An Artful Journey in February, and have been making samples for class. We'll be making journals and painting birds. The workshop is filled, but I'll be teaching a similar workshop in Florida, April 4-6, at Everything Scrapbook & Stamps in Lake Worth and there are still a couple spots available. Last June, while teaching at Donna Downey's Studio in North Carolina, I went to the Raptor Center and photographed gorgeous owls, eagles, and other raptors. One of them was the inspiration for this painting: Here’s a journal I just finished for another class sample: Inside... Continue reading

I really enjoy making these little scrap journals. This one has vintage fabric, silk, and velvet along with hand painted fabric. I'll be teaching a similar journal in Florida this coming spring. It's a private workshop, so it's not listed on my class schedule. While there, I'll also be teaching a journal with painted photos here. So excited about this trip! And I'm beyond thrilled about bird photography while there. All together, about 3 dreamy weeks in sunny Florida, teaching and birding. Can't wait! Continue reading

Here's a Book Bag for the Purple Crow Journal. Recycled and painted cotton sheet on a canvas base with painted fabric flowers and ribbon closure. Continue reading

Small journal with blank pages. About 5X8. Continue reading

I'll be teaching variations of these techniques next year in California, Florida, and North Carolina. Details are listed on the side bar. I hope to see you there! Continue reading

Just about finished with a sample book that I'll be taking to my workshop at Donna Downey Studios in North Carolina (class is full). This shows the signature wraps in the front of the journal: Painted photo and pages: Ready to journal on: sweetly feast on life: Unfinished front cover. Still needs to be bound and words added: breaking rules, being brave: Last page and signature wraps: Back cover: I still have some embellishment and the binding to do, but I've started another book and will work on both. Here's the cover for the new book: Continue reading

Wow, life happened...for about a year! An update is long over due. So much has happened, and I'm thrilled to be back and creating again. Thanks to everyone who emailed and asked about me. We've moved to eastern Washington where Quail rule, and we love it here. There are Quail everywhere! I just finished having an art room installed in our new home, and absolutely love it. I'm thankful to be able to create in such an inspirational and roomy space. Let's see...what else... Since we last talked, I've taught in Italy and spent a week in Venice after teaching.... Continue reading

Just finished this journal and will be listing it in my etsy site in the next couple days. Email for details if you're interested in purchasing before I list it. It's 6"X6" and a little over 3" thick at the spine. Each signature is wrapped with a hinged, painted page. Pages within each of the 6 signatures are blank. Enjoy! EDIT... journal is sold. Thank you! Front Cover Spine with vintage lace and shoe buttons Back cover Signature wrap and inside front cover Signature wrap lining and first painted page Close up Above and below show 2 of the hinged... Continue reading

I used techniques in this book that I'll be teaching in Italy this September. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out! I've shown most of these pages before, but they look a bit different bound in the book, plus sometimes I change them around after finishing them, so here they are again: signature wrap- this wraps around all three signatures (groups of pages) friendship is a rose without thorns loving words sunprinted feather created by Elizabeth Woodford a true friendship loves not for what it may receive, but for what it may give. most delightful fullness of... Continue reading

Beautiful, ancient, Orvieto is on my mind as I create journal pages using techniques that I'll teach in my September Painted Photo workshop in Italy. I'm feeling so blessed that on the heals of my incredible Australian adventure, I get to travel to Italy and teach there again in September. I fell head over heals in love with Italy last year, and have such sweet memories of my time teaching, and shooting photos as I hiked and explored every corner of Orvieto. I'm beyond excited that I get to stay an extra week and explore Venice this time. Bill and... Continue reading

I'm so excited that I'll be teaching another painted photo and journal workshop in Orvieto, Italy in just a few months! I'm still sighing and thinking about my trip to Australia (I still have more to share about my amazing time there!) but with September approaching, my thoughts and my heart turn toward beautiful Orvieto, and memories of last year's dreamy adventure fill my mind. I fell head over heals in love with the beautiful Italian people; rolling terraced vineyards, and narrow, one-way cobblestone streets winding through ancient villages clinging to cliff walls; the golden afternoon light; the many family... Continue reading

When Bevlea and I boarded the plane and headed north to Queensland, we both had jackets on as it was a bit chilly in Melbourne. When we stepped out of the airport in Cairns, we were hit with super high humidity and about 90 degrees- and it was only about 9:30 in the morning! Mossman Gorge -a section of Daintree National Park We picked up our adorable lime green rental car and headed north, filled with excitement and anticipation. I was so looking forward to seeing and photographing the bird life, Pied Heron and the gorgeous, tropical scenery, Josephine Falls... Continue reading

Kookaburra I have so much I want to share about my incredible 3 week teaching/photography adventure in Australia! Rainbow Lorikeet In my previous post, I wrote about the workshops and mini holiday on Phillip Island with Bevlea and Lucy, but most of the part about the trip to Phillip Island got cut off when I published the post. I'll finish sharing about our time on Phillip Island, hoping I can remember it all...and then post about my trip to Queensland with Bevlea in a separate installment. White Ibis While on the island visiting the Koala Conservation Center, watching the Penguin... Continue reading

My trip to beautiful Australia! Ellinjaa Falls I feel so bad that it's taken me so long to post about my incredible trip to Australia last month. I knew it would be wonderful, but everything - absolutely EVERYTHING - far exceeded what I had hoped for. Teaching was so wonderful, with an amazing group of women attending workshops. As excited as I was to head up north to Queensland for a photo safari with my friend and workshop coordinator, Bevlea after classes were over, I was sad when they ended. Some of the gals signed up for all of the... Continue reading

My plane leaves for Australia in just over a week! I'm so excited to see everyone, and soak in some beautiful Australian sunshine. Along with journal and painted photos classes, I'll be teaching a collage class using photos and acrylic washes. My goal when creating this class was to incorporate photos into a collage with a flowing, painterly look, but without the need to learn how to paint, or buy a lot of supplies. Since scanning, I've added a hanger made from a garage sale necklace and beads. The base is a 10"x12" vintage book cover. purity of heart determined... Continue reading

I'll be finishing this journal as a demo while teaching in Australia, but wanted to show you the bits and pieces. Still needs some vintage buttons here and there, binding, and maybe a few images and words. I added some string to the front cover after I posted it last week: Spine: Inside cover lining: Another lining and a signature wrap: Flip side of the signature wrap: Another signature wrap: Some of the pages: And the back cover: Continue reading

that my heart would fill- Continue reading

Painted photo of a Rufous Sided Towhee. Another class sample for Australia! I'll finish it with words, stitching and some splatters as I make it into a book cover. Continue reading

Another class sample! Painted photo for one of my April classes in Melbourne, Australia. Continue reading