I thought I'd do this weekly series on Fridays, but it looks like Sunday is shaping up to be a good time to share some cool things that crossed my path this week. Here we go...
ONE (for Hikers)
The upcoming Trail Dames Summit, July 13-15 in Cullowhee, NC, is open for early registration. I don't know why I felt drawn to this conference in 2016. The Trail Dames are dedicated to getting women outdoors, hiking, and I didn't really need that kind of encouragement. I get out there all the time. But something told me to go, so I did. This is where my dream to hike the AT was reawakened and encouraged. Eight months later I was on the trail.
You'll meet other women who hike; learn a lot from the workshops; spend time in a beautiful place; and hike. And who knows, maybe you'll come away with a plan.
TWO (for Sketchers)
Citizen Sketcher is Marc Taro Holmes' website. I wrote about him earlier this week here: Say Yes to the Right Mentor. I love his work and he's very generous on his website, offering lots of free downloads like Making Expressive Pen and Ink Drawings on Location; Tea, Milk and Honey: A Watercolor Sketching Cheat Sheet; and Drawing People in Motion.
He also has a great class on Craftsy which is going to keep me very busy practicing for a long, long time. Juicy stuff!
THREE (for Artist Voyeurs)
One of the things I love about Marc's sketching class is his demonstration footage. Watching artists work mesmerizes me. You get plenty of that in For No Good Reason, a documentary about pen & ink artist Ralph Steadman.
Also, my fiber artist friend Stacey Budge-Kamison, of Urban Gypz, is doing a weave-o-rama daily video blog starting December 1. She weaves art yarn into the most delicious fiber art--I think of it as painting with yarn and it's mesmerizing and inspiring and it doesn't hurt that Stacey is dang hilarious, too.
FOUR (for Painters)
I've been reading Hawthorne on Painting, a collection of memorable quotes by the artist Charles Webster Hawthorne of specific things he said to his students while critiquing their work. Some things he says help train your artist's eye.
"On a gray day the light has a way of being a rim around things."
And some things he says are just good life lessons, too.
"There isn't room in your consciousness for more than one sentiment about a thing. Tell that one."
FIVE (for Personal Growth Junkies)
Hiking, I've found, is a fast track to meeting your soul halfway, especially when you spend several weeks on the trail and especially when you set out to use your time on the trail as a means to personal growth and tuning into your purpose.
The Everyday Lightworker podcast, especially this episode on setting intentions for your own personal growth, offers great guidance for learning what it is you came here to create.