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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Paper Cowgirl Altered Art Retreat - Thoughts

The artist and "creative" ladies I spent last weekend with at the Paper Cowgirl Art Retreat were inspiring!
As with all artist gatherings...there are those artist who are giving with their time and their praise. Others (wanna be's) want all the focus to be on them. (Those are to be avoided at all cost!) But, real artist are those that are gracious and generous and are worth hanging out with and learning from their "art" experiences and expertise..

Spending time with creative people, talking about ideas, techniques, new products and being visually stimulated by their ideas...I knew I would come home and want to pour time and energy into new creations and build on some ideas that have been rolling around in my brain! The whole weekend was one long artist date!

The weekend ended with a Vendor Fair...so many beautiful things...a visual feast.




One of my favorite vendors that night was Linda Kinnaird and her jewlery creations.  You can find a few of her creations in her etsy shop.  She is very talented,  friendly and I enjoyed chatting with her.   I'm hoping she'll be offering classes soon (hint hint! I told her I'd be stalking her!)  It was a joy to spend time with the many vendors and hear their excitement to be part of a group of creative minds.

My sister and I had many hours to talk and relax.  Spending time away gives us time to reconnect and catch up.  We see each other at family activities, but to just be away together (her and I like the old days) gives us time to have meaningful conversations.

Last weekend has brought to mind a statment I have in my office...
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

These days I want to be very conscious of who I am spending my time with and what is in their heart.  I want to choose carefully who is "speaking" into my life and what those words might be. (Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.)

This past year I have become very aware of negative people and how draining "toxic" people can be in my life.  I want to be very conscious about who I will be part of my life.  My husband believes we don't choose our friends, they choose us.  That may be, but I can also head off someone that wants to fill every waking moment of my life with their "stuff".

I want to actively seek out other artists and creative people that can inspire me and spur me on.  I want to continue to learn and grow.  I want to spend time with friends who speak truth into my life (Proverbs 27:17  As iron sharpens iron,so a friend sharpens a friend.)  The Paper Cowgirl gave me that opportunity to be with other creatives!

There are so many artist communities to be found on line and right in our own back yard.  I've taken several classes this year to learn new techniques.  Some help hone my skills and others help me think outside the box and see things a new way.  Taking a class can help build confidence in just moving forward when you feel stuck.  I belong to my local creative community and online at the Creative Workshops.  I follow other inspiring bloggers and share in online communities.  But I want to encourage you to step out and join others "in real life"...be encouraged and create!

So...today spend time with people who matter!  Sign up for a class...take a step and move forward!


Till tomorrow...
debi


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