Tammy Gilley Studios

Live!

The Artfiberfest website, that is!  Teesha and her peeps have worked tirelessly to get the website live for Artfiberfest in June, and it is no disappointment! 

Oh, the classes, the fun, the people, the projects!  I simply cannot wait!!  I don't know if I can even express how much I love, love, LOVE Artfiberfest!   

And now that the website is officially up, I thought I'd give you a closer look at my class "Treasure Nests".  This is going to be some kind of fun!

I have the best of both worlds this year:  I get to attend a couple of classes, and I get to teach one day.  How fun is that?!

But what classes to take?  This one?  That one?  Or do this again?  Decisions, decisions.  What a great problem to have.

And my friend Pam will be there again this year.  I missed having her around last year, and can't wait to catch up again in June.  And Charlotte will be there for her first Artfiberfest experience...fun!  And of course, one of my fave peeps, Mary, will be back.  And Alma.  And Ruth Rae...and so many more!  Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!

If you've ever thought about attending Artfiberfest, think no more, just come!  You won't be disappointed.

Gettin' Scrappy Widit

Oh...

...just playin' around with fabric...

  'n sequins...

'n beads...

'n ribbon...

'n buttons...

'n some more fabric...

just doin' some stitchin'...

'n tie-in'...

  'n some other stuff.

Mostly, just havin' me some fun. 

What are you doing today?

Happy Heart

  I've got a happy heart these days. 

In fact lots of happy hearts.   

I'm happy, happy, happy, making lots of happy hearts.  I've been saying for a reaaaaaaaaalllly long time that I wanted to make just a s**tload of hearts, lots of different ones, in lots of colors.  And I did it!  I'm about hearted-out! 

And I made DUPLICATES!  Yep, one for me, one for you.  I made two of each heart, and uploaded teh second one on my Etsy shop.  There's one for you over here!

Random Thoughts

I've been thinking about my life lately.  I tend to do this in January.  I'm not much for resolutions, but in the quietness after the holiday rush, I find myself reflecting on the past year, and wondering what the new year will bring.  Rather than come up with a list of resolutions, I like to think about what I'd like my life to look like.  What kind of person I want to be.  I suppose it's just semantics, but somehow this holds more promise than resolutions for me.

For example, I want the change I'd like to see in the world to begin with me. 

I want to be a better person.  I want to listen more and talk less.  I want to be a source of strength and support to the peeps in my world. 

I will create from my heart. 

I will be healthy this year...walk lots, eat well, sleep well. 

I will find the quiet moments in my life.  I will listen to what I need to hear.

I will plant more flowers.  I will remember to water them.

I will laugh.  Loud.  And often.

I will lend a hand when it's needed.  I'll offer before I'm asked.

I'll remember that one piece of chocolate is all I need right in this moment.  The rest of the box will still be there later.

I'll take my beloved and my dog to the drive-in this summer.  I'll make our own popcorn, and put straws into splits of sparkling wine.  (Not for Kip.  He'll get a chew stick.)

I'll learn how to make a really great salad.

I'll use my crock-pot more.

I'll be a good friend, a good partner, a good sister, and a great auntie.

I'll smile everyday, at everyone, even at the grouchy people.  Especially at the grouchy people.

And I'm sending you many warm blessings for the new year.  I hope it's full of laughter, good health, and wonderful surprises.  Peace.

Just Begin

  I've wanted to create an art journal for a really, really long time.  And I've had several false starts that have gone nowhere.  I think part of it was that I didn't know what I wanted my art journal to do for me. 

I've got lots of journals.  I write a lot of stuff down in them.  I've got lots of scrappy books that I collage in.  And I've even got one scrappy journal that I write and collage in.  I've got lots of these little books that are started but not finished, because I couldn't marry my rambli-purge-on-the-page with pretty little collages.  Then there is my stitching and fabric.  How does that fit in?

What I slowly began to realize is that I was creating this set of unwritten rules around this art journal thing.  The idea of an art journal was raw-ther intimidating.  Is that because I still think I'm a phony as an artist?  Is it because if I put something in a book, it should be something important?  I haven't come up with the answers to these questions yet.  I'm not sure why this is so hard for me.  I think those are questions meant for another day.  One of those days when I'm feeling on top of the world and sure of my creative self.

Not today.

Today I've simply taken out one of my false starts and treated the pages as a single canvas.  I like where it's going. 

Today, the simple idea of creating one page at a time, with no rules, just making something that is pleasing to me has allowed me to relax around this bigger idea of an art journal. 

Today it's about relaxing and having fun. 

An event I look forward to all year long is Artfiberfest, which is hosted by Tracy and Teesha Moore.  Teesha is just one of my favorite peeps on the planet, and she and Tracy have created something really, really special with Artfiberfest.

And guess what?

I'm teaching this year!  I am so excited!!  I'm really so humbled and honored by the opportunity, I hardly   know what to say.  So.  Instead, I'll just leave you these little snippets of my class samples.  The class is called Treasure Nests.  This is just to whet your whistle.  When registration begins in February, I'll give you all the poop.

Sun-Bleached

 

I just have to share some of my photos from my trip to southern California a few weeks ago.  This is Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside.  I am a native Californian, and one of the things I love about the state's history are all of the Spanish missions.  I visit one whenever I have the chance.

I beleive Mission San Luis Rey was the last of the missions founded in California, and was also the largest and the richest of the California missions, called the "King of the Missions".  This was my first visit to San Luis Rey, and I was not disappointed.

 

The day we visited was bright and sunny, the sky a beautiful blue, which made the white stucco of the mission absolutely glow. 

I find the history of the missions to be very interesting.  The following is excerpted from about.com on the California Missions, if you love getting new information as much as I do. 

 

The California Missions were started by a Spanish king (I don't know which one), seeking to create permanent settlements in the new world.  The decision was political, as well as religious, in that Spain wanted to gain a foothold in California before Russia did. 

In 1769, Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra made their first expedition to establish the California missions. All were established near the coast, and they were located to be a day's walk apart. Over a period of 54 years, 21 California missions were established by the Spanish, spanning 650 miles along the El Camino Real (or "The Road of Royalty", I believe is how El Camino Real translates).

 

The missions were meant to be self-reliant communities, raising different crops and livestock. 

When Mexico gained independence from Spain, they could not afford to support the California missions, and in 1834, Mexico decided to secularize the missions and sell the land. A few missions remained in the hands of the Spanish Catholic fathers, but many others were used for all kinds of other purposes. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln returned all the mission lands to the Catholic church, but by then many of the California missions were in ruins.  

In the twentieth century, many of the neglected California Spanish missions were restored, or rebuilt. Most of them are still active parish churches today, and they have excellent museums and interesting ruins.

If you have the opportunity to visit any of the California Missions, do it.  There's something there for everyone, even if it's just a beautiful place to take a load off. 

A listing can be found here.  And more of my photos can be found here.

Joggle Me This

I am so SUPER EXCITED!!

I'm teaching my first class at Joggles.com! 

I'm teaching a fun little art quilt class that I'm calling "Conversation Hearts".  Check it out and come play with me!!

Where in the World Have I Been??!!

I'll give a little tour.  Follow me... 

 

Not hard to guess this one!

It's sort of like "Where's Waldo"!

 

Oh, hey!  Different shoes!!

 

Kickin' back...

 

Fun colors!!

 

Can you tell, the red clogs are my most comfy vacation shoes???  :)

Anyhooooo, the red clogs have landed!  We're home, we're rested, we're ready to rock and roll this new year!!  Who's with coming me?!

Happy New Year

May 2009 be chock-full of inspiration, creativity, good health, prosperity and the love of family and friends.