Hard to believe that August will be taking back its promise for a never ending summer tomorrow.   Today feels like September is being a bit pushy about making her entrance, as I contemplate whether I should seek out a pair of socks.  It is quiet here, at Valley Ridge.  The male birds must feel a sense of relief as summer closes.  I imagine them thinking thank gawd the mating season is over and we don’t have to serenade our lovely’s in order to prove our masculinity. But I miss their good morning love songs and their evening prayers.

What’s not slowing down is our workshop schedule.  We have 11 more workshops this season before Bill and I stop singing.  (Okay so we don’t sing, but I do have a pretty mean play list on my IPhone.)

We start first with openings in Mary Beth Shaw’s workshop, The Journey From Spontaneity to Intent.  This is a 2 day workshop, happening on September 12th and 13th.  This is Mary Beth’s first appearance at Valley Ridge.

Misty Mawn follows Mary Beth and is offering 2 sessions of Where The Story Begins.  Session II has 4 spaces available (September 24-25).   Session I just had a couple of cancellations, so there are 2 spaces available for this session, which will take place on the weekend,  September 26th and 27th.

note: Misty is cutting back on her teaching schedule next year, so don’t miss this opportunity to study with Misty here at Valley Ridge Art Studio.

Michelle Ward will be teaching 2 sessions of her Stairway to Heaven workshop. Michelle will be teaching Session II of Stairway to Heaven on October 8th and 9th.   Session I of Stairway to Heaven will follow on the weekend (only 3 spaces available), from October 10th through the 11th.   HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

fyi.. Michelle Ward teaches exclusively at Valley Ridge Art Studio (other than in her own state).  WOo HoO!!

Moving closer the the end of October, Lynne Perrella will arrive.   Her first workshop, Personal Iconology is a 2 day workshop.  As we know, throughout history, Icons have provided fascination and comfort to highly-varied cultural groups; from 12th Century jewel-encrusted examples from Russia, to exuberant spontaneous “pathway icons” from modern-day India. Whether viewed as objects of reverence, or as remarkable works of art, they inspire and invite creative curiosity. As mixed media artists, our specialty is to gather inspiration from traditional art forms and bring our own sense of adventure, creativity and exploration to the challenge of re-inventing and re-interpreting these ideas.

Who could bare to miss this?

Lynne will follow up by offering a 3-day workshop in Zen Is When from October 23-25th.  For centuries, Asian cultures have lead the way with their love of paper, painted surfaces, found objects and wearable art. In this workshop, we will take a “zen” approach and work both sides of the brain… learning how to plumb the depths of our creativity with free-wheeling exercises, plus have plenty of time to create works of art.

We finish with Zen and move right into…

Halloween!!!

when Carol Owen’s comes to offer a workshop in Altered Books: From Beginning to End.  Does this call for a Halloween Party???? Maybe we will bob for apples on Saturday night????

Have a playful and artful last day of August.

Kathy and Bill

Bill and I are blessed to have a life that affords us the opportunity to meet so many amazing artists, here in the United States and abroad.  Sometimes I stop, and rest and think, how did this all happen?   How is that nearly every weekend, individual talent drives down our gravel road, pulls up to the gray stained pine logged studio and shower us with her/his grace?

And then I go into overdrive, as I watch Karen Wallace ride the escalator in the Dane County Airport, scanning the audience below, looking for me.  We haven’t seen each other in 2 years.  There is so much anticipation.

photo taken by Jennifer White

There are no words to describe her… her essence at least.  But I always sense a her calm and peaceful demeanor.  I love her silly and giddy sense of humor.  I find myself drawn to her web of  intensity.

Karen is here to teach Discovering Your Creative Self workshop.  Her workshop is a much different approach to our traditional workshops.

The focus is not on creating art, but on creating from authentic self, learning about the common archetypes and symbols in art and how they influence your creative process.

What I liked best was how it affirmed my process and gave me something tangible to work with.  Having a base of what archetypes are and how I can use them to help me grow and develop on my path.

Karen gives a lot of energy and support that is close to the bone without being abrupt and I admire how easy she makes that look.  In this she was gentle and well received by all I think.  Karen has an intuitive knowledge about people that really serves her well in this capacity.

Karen’s intention were clear and she was very receptive to the student’s creative process, moving with the flow of the class.

I loved the exploration of the archetypes and their relation to the creative process. It was a glorious class.  Really a great group, wonderful content, and very safe.  Yowzah!

Karen is from Canada and has been coming to Valley Ridge since 2004.  She will be back to next season teaching a 3 day workshop.

Mark you calendar for  Sept 10 through  Sep 12, 2010.

Note:  Karen teaches exclusively at Valley Ridge Art Studio in the United States.

I just completed an amazing run of workshops with virtually no time between them. When I am hosting workshops, obviously my attention is focused on that and everything else takes a back seat. Well a run of 25 days with a 2 day break before we hosted Juliana’s workshop, left me little time to blog about what has been happening here. With a 5 day break, I am going to do my best to recap the last month. So stay tuned…. I will start with Karen Wallace’s workshop in the next blog.

Karen Wallace and Kathy Malkasian

this photo was taken by Jennifer White, one amazing photographer and participant in Karen’s workshop. Thanks Jennifer.

We are enjoying a glass of wine sharing the pages in our extreme journals. http://twitpic.com/ewutr

Gathering from the black swan pile http://twitpic.com/euwfc