When was the last time you played?
I mean Just-For-You-To-Make-A-Mess-With-Your-Creative-Thing play.
As recently as last summer, if you’d asked me that, I’d have said “Way too long ago..” Maybe you can relate.
But even if you’ve taken up my 15 Minutes a Day creative challenge and are making time every day for play, wouldn’t it be nice to have a longer chunk of time?
Sometimes that seems so hard to come by, doesn’t it?
For years, the only time I had any time to play at making art was at my annual calligraphy retreat in March. (Did you catch that? Annual. As in, once a year. My only time to play at all.) 5 days in a beautiful retreat center, a 90 minute drive away. Gourmet meals, no phones, no computers and nothing on the agenda except to make art at my very own work play station.
Bliss.
Every year I would come home determined to create a home retreat for myself, once a month.
Or maybe once a quarter.
Or even just once…
It never happened.
There’s something about signing up for something, committing to it publicly (with my pocketbook, no less!), setting aside time on the calendar to get completely away from all distractions.
You would not believe the amount of art I would come home with! And even better, the ideas! the inspiration!
I’m always so recharged and refreshed after the retreat that it feels like I’ve had a bubble bath for my spirit. “Calgon, take me away!”
Announcing…
Which is why I’m brewing up some retreats of my own, to offer YOU.
Sometime down the road, I’ll be hosting in-person retreats and workshops (I’ll let subscribers know about that first, so sign up in the form at the upper right if you’d like info when I’ve got it).
But first, I’m offering a teeny, tiny taster – a retreat that won’t require you to drive or fly hundreds of miles to attend.
A Playshop!
What if you could get a mini-retreat, a playshop to experiment with paper and paint in the community of other creative souls?
Right in your own home.
Well, now you can!
At 1:00 pm on Tuesday, September 27, I’m offering the very first of what I hope will be many playshops.
Play, Flow, Write, GO! A telephone playshop in improvisational art for the soul
We’ll spend 90 minutes letting go of perfection, focusing on the process, and just painting/drawing/writing our little hearts out.
PLUS: I’ll share the secret techniques I use to create the art for my not-quite-daily ArtSparks (like the pieces shown right here).
And to get the most fun and play out of our time on the phone together, I’m going to give you all the goods in exclusive videos in advance of the actual playshop. So you can get all my secret techniques on your own time and be ready to just PLAY when we gather together (virtually) on the 27th.
These purely optional videos will show you:
- How to stretch watercolor paper so it won’t buckle and curl up when it gets wet with paint
- My favorite materials and where to get them
- The process I use to create my ArtSpark pieces, from start to finish
- How I add words to my art
It may be an entirely different way of working playing for you, which, if you tend to be a product-oriented perfectionist (as I am), you might find incredibly liberating.
And that’s before the actual playshop!
When we’re on the phone together (or when you’re listening to the recording later, if you can’t make the actual call), I’ll create a bubble for us of safety and encouragement, and you’ll have time to try out the techniques in the video, or just play however you want.
We’ll also have a couple of times to check in with the group, and if you feel like sharing any of your creations, you’ll get to participate in an exclusive post-playshop show right here on the blog, just by emailing me pics of what you made.
The details again:
Tuesday, September 27
1:00-2:30 pm (Pacific Time)
(That’s 2-3:30 Mountain, 3-4:30 Central, 4-5:30 Eastern)
Oh, yeah, and the price: just $30, which includes unlimited access to the bonus video tutorials forever. AND the exclusive Playshop Participants Art Show here on Living A Creative Life.
Plus I’ll send a recording of the call to everyone who registers, so you’ll still be able to take the playshop, whether you can make the call live.
Sound fun? I’ll be opening the cart in a few days. Sign up here if you’d like first dibs:
