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| Taos Bell photo by Doug Bryan |
Last weekend I had a blast exploring inspiring studio spaces and visiting with some of the super talented and friendly artists on the White Rock Lake Artists' Studio Tour. (Creative Oasis Coaching was once again happy to be a proud sponsor of this fabulous tour.)
One topic that came up over and over was the importance of giving ourselves permission to release the need for perfection in order to move forward creatively and embrace the joy of creative experiences.
In one studio I even stumbled upon a sign of one of my favorite Creative Oasis Mantras I just shared with my classes last week ~ Perfect Is Boring! One of many cool heemeesheemee experiences this weekend. (My word for all things serendipitous.)
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| Hanging in the studio of Rebecca Boatman |
I saw several examples of cracked, broken and "imperfect" pieces of glass and found objects assembled into gorgeous mosaic and sculptural pieces.
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| Pieces by Cindy Kelley & Angela Gallia |
I received a fascinating lesson in the intricate process of creating bronze sculptures from Glo Coalson.
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| Glo Coalson shares a lesson in the bronze sculpture process |
And also enjoyed visiting with one of the founders of the tour, Marty Ray.
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| Marty Ray |
Marty shared that her new bird pot designs evolved from pinch pots and offer a fun and relaxing way to play with clay and take a break from her more intricate incised and painted story pots shown below.
One of my favorite parts of the tour was meeting some of my neighbors who have studios within walking distance from my house. How cool is that? I so love my funky little creative hood!
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| Janet Reynolds of Imagine Studios |
One neighbor, Janet Reynolds, has the most inviting, colorful studio space in her backyard and personality to match!
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| Betsy Doan of Mud Puppy Studio |
Another, Betsy Doan of Mud Puppy Studio, offers a great variety of whimsical yard art and ceramic pieces.
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| More from Mud Puppy Studio |
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| by Juli Hulcy-Kessinger of Artquirks |
The tour is a wonderful opportunity to meet kindred creative spirits, expose yourself to many different types of creative expression and be reminded of the beauty in imperfection.
Thank you to everyone who requested a free copy of the Creative Inspiration Guide I created for the tour. I hope you enjoyed the creative permission, prompts and play!
If you live in the Dallas area, I hope you'll join us in 2015 for the 23rd annual White Rock Lake Artists' Studio Tour!
In closing, I'd like to share this quote:
“Healthy striving is self-focused: "How can I improve?"
Perfectionism is other-focused: "What will they think?”
― Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
All the best from my far from perfect but very light filled Creative Oasis to yours,
Jill
Butterfly mosaic by Juli Hulcy-Kessinger of Artquirks
