I had the most amazing weekend. It had nothing to do with home education or church or family. It was all about art. I almost never get opportunities like this. Here’s what happened.

 First, I went to a workshop at the Philbrook taught by my favorite book artist, Julie Chen. It was so fun to meet her and spend the day making books. We did a carousel book and you can see it on my Book Arts page. It was so good to see my “bookie” friends and hang out at the museum. We are probably going to have Julie back next year for a two-day workshop. That would be terrific!

Then Sunday afternoon Julie gave a lecture on her books, reviewing her process, showing mock-ups and the journey of a book from idea to reality. She also showed slides of her studio and equipment, which is always fun to see. I like to see where artisits execute all their ideas. This was so helpful. She explained how she decided how many books to make in a run and how she sells them. I learned so much about her artisic process and about how things work in the book arts world.

After the lecture some of us went to a docent’s house for appetizers. We got to talk with Julie and have a great time chatting about books and art in general. It was so nourishing to my soul to talk about art with people I never get to hang out with. The weather was amazing as we sat on the back patio and talked about the museum, the calligraphy guild, and just minutia among the azaleas and dogwood trees. Everyone had such an interesting story to tell, about their lives and about art.

I cannot wait until we get our book arts guild up again. That was so much fun. It was a place to really spread your artisic wings. We are trying to hook up with the museum and meet in a classroom there. That would be a great partnership.

This weekend was like a gift. I didn’t have to pay a lot of money, leave my family or make a trip. It all happened right here in my backyard. It was a time to refresh and reflect, both on my journey as an artist and on my plans for the future. It helped settle some things in me, about the direction I want to take and how I want to get there. I know God will use my art and I’m starting to see just how He could do that. Now I need to make some time to get the studio and create some books!