Making Space to Share Art

About a year and a half ago,

I took my girls to a 

paint-your-own-pottery

get together

at the newly built Red Owl Hall
at Red Owl, South Dakota several miles off SD Highway 34
along the gravel Red Owl Road.
Little did I know,
that day with my girls
would begin beautiful new connections
of sharing art.

That day,

I met Hester Prouty

who quickly became

a kindred spirit,

sharing my love

for

making art,

making space for others to create in community,

and

turning creative projects into opportunities. 

Right away, Hester began sharing ideas with me

and she introduced me to Kerry Burns in Philip, South Dakota.

Kerry had recently opened a coffee shop called ginny's

in a Victorian house painted deep green with purple trim

and transformed inside

with whimsy and charm and happiness.

Ginny's Coffee House {aka Bad River Coffee Company}

is located on Pine Street near the Bad River in Philip.

Kerry and her daughters have hosted several of my art classes

and a fun pop-up artsy event.

This year I will be there with my turquoise tent on August 11.

Hester recently jumped all-in

and set up space to share what she loves

with the Black Hills community

at Prouty Pottery

in "The Gap" in Rapid City at the old Landstrom's building

at 405 Canal Street.

Her space is wide open with room to breathe,

high ceilings, brick walls, and industrial chic decor,

and a welcoming, inspiring atmosphere.

Check out this piece from Black Hills Fox:

Art Beat Prouty Pottery

Hester and Joe are generous with their hands always helping me carry

my heavy and extensive amount of art supplies

and are generous with sharing connections.

At Prouty Pottery,

not only can you paint your own pottery,

Hester opens up space for other artists to share classes,

she has pottery wheel classes,

clay classes,

specialty pottery painting classes,

and she sells her handmade mugs, bowls and pottery pieces.

The space is loaded with possibilities coming to life.

Goodness comes from artistic entrepreneurs sharing friends and space and ideas.

I am so grateful for the connections I am making through Hester and Kerry,

and the space they both have given me

to share my heart

with others

seeking space for creativity.

I see hearts soften, 

eyes open, 

possibility unfold, 

ideas and confidence awaken,

challenges overcome, 

and memories made.

When you travel through Philip,

be sure and stop at ginny's for some Bad River Coffee.

My next class at Prouty Pottery: 

Your Word,

a simple mixed media basics class

is Wednesday, July 25.

You can find all the details and reserve your spot here:

White Owl Wings Your Word Mixed Media Class

My next Big Bold Wildflower class will be at my home at Shaw Ranch on August 3.

Details and registration here:

Big Bold Wildflower Class

Art and Photography Workshop: Wildflowers and Winging It

Oh. My. Heart!

My favorite part of summer

is this.

Prairie Wildflowers.

Give me a pasture of wildflowers and my camera

and you will find a happy Jodi.

Since the prairie wildflowers have exploded here on the ranch,

we have a short window of opportunity

 to take some breathtaking photos in the evenings! 

I am opening up a spontaneous art & photo workshop

 in my White Owl Wings studio at my home by appointment from 

3:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the dates of July 5-8 and 11-15. 

Choose which day you would like to come for yourself and up to two more friends. 

Register here: www.whiteowlwings.com

Here's what I have planned:

* Make your own "Winging It" Art piece

 on a round slice of birch wood 

with papers, butterfly diagrams and wire wings 

from 3:00-6:00. 

*Break

* An evening of wildflower "photography safari"

on the prairie through sunset. 

We will take the side-by-side 4-wheeler 

to some of my favorite spots for photos on the ranch.

*Limited to 3 people at a time. 

*Bring a couple friends for a very personal small group art/photo time. 

*Message or call me to reserve your date.

Register at www.whiteowlwings.com
*$60 per person. Bring your own camera. All art supplies provided.

***

So here's a few things I have learned about these wildflower favorites

from my book: Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains

by James R. Johnson and Gary E. Larson.

The top photo above of the yellow flower is a Prairie Coneflower.

*"Dakota and Lakota made a tea to cure aches of the stomach, head, or side;

Dakota also made a leaf tea beverage."

*"Cheyenne prepared a solution for relieving the effects of rattlesnake bite and poison ivy."

*"The dark red phase is known as "Mexican Hat" {which you can see below}.

This photo above is a Purple Coneflower, or Echinacea, or Black Samson.

A few interesting things:

*indicator of healthy range; safe for grazing

*when chewed, the root numbs the mouth.

*"root widely used by Plains Indians to treat the following:

snakebite,

stings,

toothache,

coughs,

sore mouth and gums,

neck pain,

rheumatism,

arthritis,

mumps and measles,

and more."

*"The plant was their most important plains herbal medicine."

Here is the Mexican Hat version of the Prairie Coneflower,

a rare find.

I'd love to have you join me

for my Winging It Art and Photography Workshop.

Register Here:  www.whiteowlwings.com

Live in full color.

Live in full color.

To me, it's the same message as living wholehearted or living all-in.

It is how I most want to live.

However, in life there are seasons

of

standing on the edge,

of

living half-hearted,

of

going through the motions,

of

grief for all manner of losses.

Sometimes it is in these seasons,

that I find a deeper faith,

more rock-solid truth,

my core values,

how I want to live,

and

how I don't want to live.

There are seasons and color pallets of rest:

grays, muted beige, white, neutrals... 

like the gray-toned flowers collaged onto this piece.

.

We need some of those seasons.

And some of them we just have to go through

whether we need them or not,

and certainly don't want them.

And then,

there are seasons

of feasting

on

indulgent

color.

Of submerging yourself in the deep end of the pool.

Of letting the heat and the wind and just whip your hair.

Of breathing in deep the scents of summer flowers.

Of taking big gulps of iced cherry limeade.

Yes.

Those seasons are good too.

This art celebrates

those all-in,

living in full color,

rejoicing and doing good seasons.

Here's the photo from Pinterest

that inspired this art.

I'm not certain of the original source of the photo,

but it certainly stirred my heart.

There are a few songs that come to mind with this idea:

The Motions by Matthew West

On Fire by Switchfoot

French Kissing Life by Kenny Chesney

All In by Toby Mac

Look 'em up!

They always remind me to consider how I'm living.

If I'm being true to who I am and what I believe...or not.

They remind me that I do have choices.

That I have to take risks

and 

do things that make my knees knock

and 

maybe parts of me will break

but

its better than

wondering if I should have 

followed

callings

that

are

whispering

in my

heart. 

Somehow, someway,

this art evokes that idea of wholehearted living

within me.

Reminds me to enjoy life.

To ask myself what I need

to

enjoy

life.

Rejoice.

Do good.

Live wholehearted.

Live in full color.

Art Works in Progress

Here's a little peek

into my "studio space"

a.k.a. "kitchen".

{eeek! i'm excited about what i'm making!}

These are some works in progress.

Lately I am loving new mediums in my art:

wire

sketching with charcoal

and

Golden's crackle paste.

My next event 

where you can see me and my artwork 

is in Rapid City, South Dakota 

here:

Everything is Brighter After the Rain

We had 2.75 inches of rain yesterday and last night.

Beautiful!

Every thing

is

clean.

Bright.

Colorful.

I knew if I walked today,

I'd be rewarded with something

special.

I was.

A blue bird.

Birds are eloquent expressions

of life and vitality

and watching them makes you

more

alive.

~ Roger Tory Peterson

Happy Birding.

"Mom! Come outside and listen! It sounds beautiful out this morning!" 

were the words of my youngest before school this week.

She was so right.  

It sounded absolutely beautiful.

The sun was shining. Snow was melting and the birds were so happy

that their happiness spilled over onto us with their singing.

Do you know what made me happiest?

That she heard it.

That my girl's ears were open enough to notice and to fully completely delight in the sounds

so much that she wanted me to hear it too.

Oh, my friends, that is why I share my pictures and stories 

about birds,

about heart-shaped rocks,

about sunsets,

about dewdrops on blades of grass,

about sunshine on barbed wire fences

about my faith.

Because I want you

to see it and hear it too.

I want you to see 

the sacred,

the beautiful,

the holy,

the breathtaking

in everyday

ordinary

life.

It is May.

May is the month of migration and also of nest building.

It is the month that I anticipate the arrival of my favorite blue birds:

the Lazuli Bunting and the more rare Indigo Bunting.

So you will see me sharing my pictures on facebook, Instagram, and right here,

as I get so crazy happy about these birds.

I hope that some of that happy spills over into your life too!

Fill your feeders with sunflower seeds and suet

and bring them into your yard and watch your kids get excited about them too!

I'd love to see and hear about the birds you see too!

Happy Birding!

"If you get bored with birds, you get bored with life."

Roger Tory Peterson