An Artful Spirit filled day

Suzan and I ready for the day

Our second Artful Spirit Workshop

was incredible once again!

What a great day we had at the 

Virginia Beach Resort Hotel

this past Saturday.

Eight of us in attendance

ready for a fun filled

creative experience!

The Room was filled with bright light,

large work tables, dark chocolate almonds

and inspiration everywhere!

We started with our first journal exercise...

setting our intention for the day,

along with some meditative breathing,

 we then began with a Zen Circle exercise,

set the pace for the entire day together!

We read quotes about the importance

of journaling,

read children's story books,

and played with paint

(which is why we all came right???)

So much time spent on playing,

letting go, creating and enjoying the process.

Next workshop was to learn collage,

working with papers and gel medium,

the table was filled with whatever they wanted to choose,

each participant created a collage cover

for their journals

(when asked... it seemed to be one of the favorite sessions!)

(Oops ... my toes are missing!)

Time for a break ... after hours of creating

We all had lunch together

in a "circular" table

at the restaurant over looking 

the Chesapeake Bay.

Good conversation, brainstorming,

laughter and friendships being established.

As we gathered back for the second half of the day

we shifted gears ...

watercolor and doodling, 

we truly just got to play with

all kinds of watercolor sets and paints,

create fun things,

all the while incorporating these techniques

into our art journals.

I think they had fun, what do you think?

We then shifted our watercolor techniques

to creating a Zendala for their journal

(now you know I would have to get that in there!!!!)

We started in the center of a full journal page,

and began to work from the center out

they could finish their work at home

and watercolor later.

I had pre-painted 5 x 7 watercolor cards

for each participant

and let them choose which one spoke to them

to take home and play with.

We then chose another,

started the center design and

we did a round robin,

where each participant drew

part of the Zendala design

for their classmate,

what a treasure we all had when we were finished!

A small piece of new friendships formed that day.

(when asked again ... this was the favorite session)

We ended the last session with

creating an art board collage

using 6 x 6 aqua board

yet another keepsake of the day

We ended with photos, hugs and more laughter!

Sending out peace and love and light to our classmate

that had to leave early ...

When I think of what living an Artful Spirited life means ...

I think of living with a creative heart, mindfulness, 

soul searching every moment,

letting go of expectations and perfections, 

living with curiosity,

finding happiness in all things,

 seeking out moments to be artful and creative,

but most of all living with a 

sense of wonder and amazement,

it is an awesome way to see the world around you!

What a wonderful workshop we had,

one I won't forget for a long time.

We are already forming ideas

for Artful Spirit #3,

it just keeps getting better and better.