Love is being Alert....New exciting news about a summer program on encaustic books....

" It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving." ~Mother Teresa

"Love is being Alert.."

A wonderful friend of mine, gave me this great book...and today I found a nugget of joy I would like to share with you..
"You have to be alert to feel love of everything around you.  You have to be aware of everything that's around you to love, otherwise you will miss things.  You have to be alert to see the things that you love. You have to be alert to hear the sounds that you love.  You have to be alert to catch the beautiful smells of flowers as you walk past them.  You have to be alert to really taste the food you're eating and feel the fullness of the flavours......" By Rhonda Byrne from "the Power"
Here's to being alert in every moment..

On another very exciting note, I would like to announce a great new summer intensive program that a colleague and I have created ...

"Beyond the Cover: Beeswax Meets Mica, An Altered Book Assemblage"

An encaustic intensive class

Session 1: Thurs. July 21st, 2 p.m. to Sunday July 24th, Noon

Session 2: Monday July 25th, 2 pm. to Thurs. July 28th, Noon

Using the luminous elements of beeswax, the organic shimmery properties of mica and the vintage layers of a book, a new structure is birthed in a unique personal assemblage.

Together, Patrice Baker and Supria Karmakar will be altering books with you to create a unique piece of personal art. We will build spaces in the book to fill with your treasures and trinkets. We will also use transparent mica to create a window in the front cover as well as a page within the book. You will be able to layer ephemera between the sheets of mica for a fascinating effect.  Pulling the whole book together with the luscious quality of encaustic.  No experience is necessary.
$320 for 3 days of hands on fun, $75 supply fee; includes 2 Vegetarian lunches and 2 Vegetarian dinners by the fabulously talented, Resa Lent, chef and owner of Desert Rose in Elora.
Give yourself a creative retreat for three whole days - limited spots. To save your spot in this exciting summer creative session, or for a complete brochure for more information email: info@supriasdesigns.com

What makes your heart sing?

My Heart Sings II - encaustic mixed media, 5 x 5, 2011

What makes your heart sing....?

Mine is the sound of a chickadee on a winter day

The glistening of the snow in the sun

A spot of red from a cardinal flitting by

Music, red wine and dancing while painting in the studio

The sound of my daughter's laughter

Ymmm... a Soy Cafe Latte especially with a friend

A silent morning with my journal on hand

A great book and a warm blanket

New art supplies and paper ...wonderful handmade papers

A nice refreshing invigorating walk

The magic of trees reminding us about the magnificence of life, the air and our universe

The opportunity to make a choice, each day a new fresh perspective

The ability to choose love over anything else

And to celebrate the small things and feeling the gratitude in my heart for all these moments, great and small

thank you....

Rouge - Heating things up at the Whitestone Gallery

The Whitestone Gallery, at 80 Norfolk St. Guelph, ON. is heating things up with ROUGE..their new group show, opening Sat. Feb. 4th from 2 - 4 p.m.
Come out of the cold and heat up with "Rouge"

The Art of Collaboration - Welcome 2011

" Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead

"Through the Cracks of Time", Encaustic Mixed Media, 2010, 14 x 18

This above quote by Margaret Mead has always been an important one in my life...and it resonates today as much as it did in my past social service days.  During the time I was a community development worker, social worker and coordinator, which I did for 16 years before following my heart and dreams to become a full time artist and facilitator, I found that the best and most successful projects and programs were always the ones where the group worked as a unit without one clear leader.. In fact we were all leaders, each one of us brought our gifts and leadership to the task at hand....

Lives got changed for the better, always as a team....this is what this quote reminds me of each time I read it or remember it....I love my life, where today as an artist and facilitator, I can work with like minded individuals, who lead by example, teach and share our gifts without holding ownership to it and see that we are all teachers and students...it reminds me to keep fresh thinking alive, have a beginner's mind always, to honour and cherish the spirit in all of us, with love and kindness, I am reminded that we all have a lot to share and teach each other....

So today I want to thank those I have collaborated with in the past, Seth Apter, Jill  Zaheer, Roxanne Evans - Stout,  Veronica Funk, Rita Vindedzis,  from the Inner Works Project....though this project was done a while ago, I still marvel at the beauty of these individuals and their work and our collaboration...the sharing was done freely and the project was so successful because we each embraced our gifts...it was a true full circle project.

This year I look forward to more collaborative projects...they are in the works and I am excited to keep you in the loop through this blog .... I look so forward to growing new collaborations this year ....

My first collaborative takes off now with Marilyn Clarke, a fabulous fiber artist, the two of us will be exhibiting our collaborative show in June at the Carnegie Gallery, in Dundas, ON. Canada.    The opening is scheduled for June 3rd, 2011.  The show is called, "Changing Surfaces"...Marilyn's work is vibrant, luscious and the surface changes as she works her magic into it..just as the encaustic surface changes with each fusing and layering...I am excited about show casing our fiber and encaustic works together in June.

I am also excited about offering a new upcoming intensive art week in July with the encaustic wax book medium with other artists...there will be lots to enjoy, retreat together and rejuvenate in the lucious encaustic and book art format.....more news to follow....very soon.  

Great things happen as a team, where there is equality, equity and trust in our gifts that we each bring to the circle....Thank you for celebrating the wisdom of the circle with me and joining in my collaborations.

Wishing you all a successful collaborative year....