Home Is Where the Art Is.

Oh my gosh you guys, what a really cool trip! Where do I even begin? Well, I guess I should start with the whole 'art detox' thing. I imagined on this trip that I'd be mourning the nearness of my girls, freaking out about not being surrounded by creative supplies, & whining because I couldn't make stuff. BUT, I was so darn busy that I didn't have time to even think those things. And when I wasn't busy, I was tired or sleeping.

I did have a bit of drawing time on the trip down to West Oakland. AND, there was one really cool night when I realized I had brought 9 blank note cards, -- & there were EXACTLY 9 West Oakland girls that our group had met in our drama camp who we really bonded with. So, I stayed up until about 12:30am the night before we were to leave & drew each of them a little drawing on the front of the note card & on the inside I, along with the other 2 female leaders, filled the card with encouraging words, bible verses & our contact info. It turned out to be really awesome! Even though they were really quick little sketchy drawings, some of the girls thought the cards were purchased that way. They didn't realize I had drawn them. I tried taking pics, but only a few came out. I drew: a cupcake (duh), a slice of chocolate pie with some sorta berry filling (weird, I know), a bucket of popcorn, jellybeans, a slice of watermelon, a cherry, a choco chip cookie, a bubble wand with some bubbles (one girl **Hey Angelina!!** really liked bubbles & I really wanted to make them for her), & a double scoop ice cream cone.

And as far as photography....MAN! There were so many cool things I wanted to take pictures of, but it just wasn't the proper scenario as we were often whizzing by awesome & quirky things at high speeds in our van caravan. Bummer. I did what I could though &, for some strange reason, I got a lot of mannequin head shots. That's cool with me! (My computer is acting up & for some reason I can't get a pic loaded. I'll try again later.)

So, basically, I was able to play with my art a bit on the trip. And, even if I were to have zero supplies with me, I still got my fix from seeing amazing grafitti, or from staring at wonderful murals done by children. I got my fix from painting faces at a park where a party was going on for homeless people. I got my fix by asking someone, "Did you make that?" & realizing a shared passion with a new friend....It was SO good to step away & not have my head in the same position over my art table with the usual supplies, & same old craftiness. It was so good to not be DOING, but instead just BEING. I don't feel guilty for being away from anything artsy, because I wasn't really away from it at all. I just surrounded myself with it in a different way then I am used to.

It was very odd to be so distanced from the regular patterns of my everyday life. But I liked it.

I can't wait to tell you about my home away from home, about the interesting people I met, about the art I saw on my trip, about my West Oakland makeover, about my highest point & my lowest point.

There is so much to tell.

Oh, & I was soooo happy to come home & have a custom order request for one of my Mini Tag Banner's in the shop! YAY! I'm working on it tonight & the colors are pink, turquoise, white & a bit of silver & black. I'm also working on one for Bella Colle! Double YAY!