When I was younger, maybe upper elementary and middle school, I was really into reading Greek and Roman myths...and folk tales and ghost stories.  These tales fed my young imagination- I couldn't read enough about them.  Now, many years later (we don't need to get into specifics here)...I am revisiting that love of myth by creating some of the female characters in my daily art.

I started off couple of months purchasing an overview of all of the myths, and it has been just sitting by my desk- until now.  I went through it and highlighted, made notes and came up with a list of all the goddesses and major and minor female characters that I could find, then I started jotting down stars by the ones I wanted to include...then started penciling them in on a blank calendar.  I am not really going to worry about going in chronological order...sometimes one character will directly related to the character before, sometimes it might be related to something going on in my own life...but there was some planning put into all of this ahead of time.

Also, my choice of media is intentional.  I am moving this month, it is the last full month of school, I have an art show this coming weekend AND a trip later this month...so suffice to say I kinda have a bunch going on.  I wanted to keep the materials super light and portable, I am working out of a sketchbook with toned paper so they drawings have a home, and using a limited palette of Prismacolor colored pencils...oh, and carrying around my reference book with my lists and calendar tucked away in the back.  

I got an email notification that I was selected to be one of the five 2017 'FAAE STAR' residency participants...and I could NOT be more excited!  I applied for this residency last year and didn't get it and I was bummed, but I told myself I would apply again- and I did, and it paid off!  This is a unique opportunity offered to three visual artists and two writers (who happen to also be TEACHERS!) to spend three weeks at the Hermitage Art Retreat on the west coast of Florida focusing on our craft. 

Three. Weeks. Beach.  Art.  Writing.  Swoon!

As if it couldn't get any better, I saw a familiar name in the email- my friend Kate!  I met her last summer at the KCAI shibori workshop that I was selected for.  We really hit it off so it was so great to see her name- neither of us knew the other was applying!  More to come!