Hi! I am back! Miss me? I sure missed you!

Heeeeeeeeeeelllllooooooooo..... (echo)! 

I've missed you, dear Creatives! 

Wow, it has been almost 3 years since I posted on this blog. Oops! Sorry about that. 

Time flies when you are exploring your inner world, having crazy intense relationships, training for new careers, and generally finding out who you are and what you love. 

AKA Living. 

And like all things in life, some things fall away and never come back again. And sometimes, they come back unexpectedly in a way that is both familiar and new. 

That is what is happening with my art career. 

To paraphrase someone brilliant that I can't find no matter how much I google...

To be an artist - make art for 12 years. Then not make art for 12 years. Then you will be an artist. 

Well I didn't make it 12 years away from art... but I did take a break for about 3 years, especially from Encaustic, my beautiful waxy mistress.  

And I have the best excuse in the world: No studio space. (wahhhhh!!! Let's all have a pity party for Jaime and all the artists in the world who have no studio space.  Ten seconds of hissy fit throwing. Go!!) 

Deep breath! Okay are we done crying over lack of space to create? Awesome. What else is possible here? whee! 

I still don't have a studio space. But it is time to create again. And it ironically started thinking about what I have "successfully healed from" so that I could find the people I wanted to work with. 

Turns out the people I want to work with were already in my life.  Those people are you. Your friends. My crazy twitter followers. 

Creative people who followed me years ago because they saw a passionate young woman willing to announce that she is an emerging artist, grab a blowtorch and whatever was close at hand, make some art, and teach some things online. 

I had no idea what I was starting. And I had no idea the VALUE of Connection I built those many years ago. 

I just wanted playmates. People to talk to as I created. People to show what was bubbling through me so that it could be acknowledge.  

Art making is a journey. That is what I called this blog when I started. 

And sometimes not making art is a journey. 

I have been on the path of both making and non making for years.

I was going to give up this blog and lay it to rest. Yet as I move into the next phase of my creating, I realized that would be doing you a disservice by not telling you where I am in case you want to connect. 

So I am letting you know, I am home again! Hi!!! 

If you get this out of nowhere and aren't interested in my work anymore, then feel free to remove me from your list with so much love and respect. 

For everyone else who choses to stay, or join in, man do we have some fun to have! I wonder what is possible now?!

My Facebook Fan page remains the same, so if you would like to connect, leave a comment here or on my page. I would love to feel you and see what is going on with your art making journey. 

More on my journey coming up soon! 

Have a beautiful Sunday! 

Love, 

Jaime  

A year later, my core message is the same

"I am loved" Copyright Jaime Lyerly, September 2012

It has been almost a year since I posted on this site.

It has been an amazing year with all kinds of shifts in my personal growth and life.

I am still creating myself from the inside out. And that journey has been personal. And I have shared it on Facebook, but tried not to write while I have been in the thick of it.

But I have honestly never been happier in my life than I am at this time.

So I started blogging again, and going back on my twitter, and seeing what is alive for the people I left all silently as I grew. And I have been working on rebranding myself under the title of Expressive Goddess Play Leader. I started a brand new wordpress blog at Expressive Goddess. And a meetup group for San Diego women to come play with me.

But all that I am trying to dress up my monkey to dance for you, what I am really offering you is a piece of myself. A piece of Jaime Lyerly. A core message that is the essence of my being.

My message is Creative Expression Heals.  

So I invite you to find time today to do something creative. Even if for just five minutes. 

And we will play again soon. Either on this site or some other.

Thank you for being a part of my journey. Even when I am silent, I know I have your support.
~ Jaime Lyerly
 

Like magma; like lava

Like Mother Earth, things in my life have been changing rapidly and have shaken me to the core.

Since hitting the Pause button on my blog in May, I have experienced some major life changes: 

1. Graduation with my Bachelor's in Art: Applied Design, with a minor in Psychology
2. Ending of a my romantic relationship that lasted 10.5 years
3. Spiritual awakening to my role as a Energy Healer and Shamanic Temple Priestess 

These changes needed to happen "off-line" as much as possible so that I could process them. But I am being called to share my journey again with you. 

But this journey will be different than before. 

Because this earth sign (I'm a Taurus) has been set on FIRE with my new spiritual connection. 

And through this fiery, creative channel comes new art.   

Like magma, my fiery earth has churned, hidden from view. 

Like lava, it is time to let it out. 

So expect new and exciting directions for this blog.

The old content, especially my tutorials, will still be here. I will still share resources and things involving art.


But my goal now in life is to Start YOUR Creative Fire!

and teach by example so that it can burn bright and keep you warm during the toughest transitions.  

On Fire, 
Jaime Lyerly 

What ever happened to Jaime?

I'm still alive!  

Personal issues and spiritual awakening have led me to question:

• ALL that I am 
• ALL that I do
• Personal life vs. Private life

Personal life vs. Private life is why my blog fell to the wayside.

I had to figure out who I am before I could continue to speak my truth via this blog.


I still don't have it figured out...

But I am closer than I ever have been in my life. 

So bear with me a little while longer while I figure out where I need to be.

One thing I know for sure - I was put on this planet to SHARE and HEAL.

Thank you for being a part of my journey!
~ Jaime Lyerly 

Jaime's going to Haystack!

Haystack's photo of the week for this week. A view of Haystack of Haystack from Jericho Bay, August 2010.
See more photos at this link: http://www.haystack-mtn.org/gallery.php 

I flipped through the pages of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Summer workshop catalog in January 2010, and my breath caught as I see the words “Encaustic Painting.” (If you haven't heard yet, encaustic is pigmented beeswax and damar resin that is applied hot to a surface. Encaustic means to burn in).

At San Diego State University (SDSU), where I am finishing my BA in Art: emphasis sculpture, minor in Psychology, there is one scholarship awarded to a student from the Applied Design program to attend Haystack for a summer session.

While the scholarship was awarded to a graduate student, the idea to attend this outstanding school was firmly planted in my brain. I gathered images, updated my resume, made a list of my technical abilities, and sent emails to my amazing and overworked professors to request letters of recommendation.

Having two years of experience working in encaustic and a few encaustic-teaching gigs under my belt, I told myself “I can do this!”

So I applied for the Technical Assistant Scholarship to the “Hot Wax: Encaustic Painting Comprehensive” taught by R & F Instructor Cynthia Winika – and, you guessed it, I won!

Now it is the second week of August, and the time has finally come!

I am leaving this Saturday, August 14, 2010 on an overnight flight for two weeks of intensive study of encaustic painting on the coast of Maine!

Some of the artists who have attended Haystack tell me that it was a momentous time of growth.

SDSU MFA ceramics graduate Kelly Schnorr told me that during her time as a Technical Assistant at Haystack that everyday she woke up thinking she was in heaven.

I know I am in for a life-changing experience.

 

 Haystack sums it up:

The unique experience to be found at Haystack is owed to the combination of internationally-renowned instructors, intensive and focused studio time, the exploration of other art forms including music, poetry and dance, a diverse student body, and an award-winning campus. Students live, eat and work at the school, and studios remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Are you jealous, yet? I would be too!
 
The workshop description for Cynthia Winika’s Hot Wax: Encaustic Painting Comprehensive gives you a clue to what is in store:

Encaustic (beeswax) painting, derived from the legendary painting of the ancient Greeks, is one of the most versatile, durable, and beautiful painting media. After being out of use for 2000 years, it has made a recent resurgence. This workshop will provide a basic understanding of sound technique, safe studio practice, and show the many ways of using the paint and medium. Preparation of supports, thermal properties of encaustic paint, fusing, and demonstration of a wide variety of painting, layering, collage, solvent free image transfer, and mixed media techniques will be incorporated. Slide presentations will include information about the history of encaustics, 20th century revivals, and contemporary artists working with encaustic. All levels welcome.

 
As the technical assistant for this workshop, I have a unique position in that I am able to attend the workshop, help the instructor, do a presentation about my work, exhibit two pieces in their show, and work on my own art during the free time. All this and meals included!

I am more than looking forward to enjoying all this experience has to offer. I have never had two weeks away from my partner and thirteen-year-old son to be able to focus on my art, so this gift of time is especially moving.

Yet the excitement of having two weeks to work in wax has me all aflutter as I pack my supplies that I want to bring it all!

I just found out that the encaustic supplies are included in the studio fee, but I still need to pack my own panels, papers, and tools. It is a few days before I leave and still packing up and pairing down what I need to bring.


Bottom Line - Two weeks in Maine with studio time devoted to encaustic painting? Heavenly.


Want to hear more about it? Great! I don't expect to have much computer time while I am there, but I will write up an “After Haystack” post including experiential pictures and studio shots that I know you want to see.


Until then, you can pop over to my Facebook page or Twitter and send me a “Good luck at Haystack” message or share some “I heart Haystack” stories and tips!

Looking forward to sharing my experience with you! ~ Jaime Lyerly

"Repeat. Sum. Repeat." Installation Experience - part one

Just wanted to let you all know that I am still working hard on my installation in room Art 418C at San Diego State University with Experimental Musician Chris Miner called "Repeat. Sum. Repeat."

Last Saturday was supposed to be the informal opening, but we were still installing all day and night, so there was not much to see.

This Tuesday, 5/11/2010, all the installation will be complete and the room should be open from 12 pm until 3 pm, and more hours as requested.

Thanks to Joyce and Will for stopping by on Saturday. They got to see all the pieces spread about, but not installed. However, they were very understanding!

Thanks to Gwyneth Mapes for coming by on Sunday, and giving me such an honest opinion of the installation as a whole.

Huge thanks to Starry Wright, Chris Miner and my son, Xen, for helping me install.

A few lessons from this installation experience, so far.

1. SDSU parking enforcement will still give you a $40 parking ticket, even if you are quickly unloading your car, and they haven't printed the ticket.
   
2. Expect to move boxes in and out of the room all day for a couple of days.
3. Bring other people to talk to! On Friday, I kept leaving the room to seek out interaction with people.
   
4. Prepare your artist statement and tags before hand.
   
5. Don't expect that the room will be set up with lights and power needed.
6. Sound installation needs more preparation than expected and should be laid out visually before any art is installed.
   
7. Pedestals are pretentious, but needed to differentiate the works, unless prepared before hand.
   
8. Purchase all hardware, extension cords and food before installation day.
   
9. It is much harder to install older pieces and make new work at the same time. Don't pressure yourself into doing more than you can handle.
   
10. Installation is exhausting!

I will have lots of pictures coming soon, video of the pieces including the sound collage by Chris Miner. Stay tuned for more!

Thanks for joining me on this journey! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Art and Fear - part one - You are not alone

My last two posts have been so different from my normal, perky blogging style. I'm so sorry you had to suffer for it.

I just started reading "Art and Fear" by David Bayles and Ted Orland and it is amazing.

It is one Ah ha! moment after another. I am only 20 pages in to the book and I am ready to buy copies for all my artist friends so that they can experience this book.

The crankiness that I have been experiencing recently (and blogging about - see The Psychology of Collaboration and Casting a wide net) is all about self-doubt. The "Art and Fear" book tells me that I am not alone in this self-doubt, and that it probably never will go away. I just need to work with it.

Usually, I just avoid blogging (and contact with other people in general) when I am feeling confused or unsure of myself. However, I am beginning to realize that even these lows are part of my artistic journey, and that is what my blog is about. So I will question myself and hopefully, you will know that your are not alone on this either.

So from this low, I tell you my good news - Two of my newest encaustic pieces got into the juried San Diego State University Student Award Exhibition XII.

I am thrilled because these works are very new, and I think some of my best work. The irony is that is NOT my "student work." This is the work that I do outside of my assignments, although I do bring them into my sculpture class for critique sometimes.

One of the pieces is the 30x30x2" untitled encaustic painting from the Gatherings series which is in the blog post below. The other is called Collection (Fibrous Waximus) and is a wall installation fiber and encaustic sculpture. I need a good installation shot for the blog and I will get you one next week.

The show opens on March 15, 2010 at the San Diego State University Everett Gee Jackson Gallery and Flor y Canto Gallery, and is up until March 24, 2010 until 3 pm. I hope that if you are in the area, you can check it out.

Back to my art and fear - I am working through this.

Yesterday, I was working in some wax and nothing was feeling right, so I took out some boards and started drawing on them with charcoal. A few hours later, I had a triptych that is complete. Usually, I spend a long time thinking about my work, and making it, but it hardly ever feels done that quickly. These feel done and I am shocked! Am I learning to accept the inspiration? Maybe... no, scratch that - YES. That is just fear talking.

And until that inner critic decides to take a vacation, I will continue to crank when I am feeling uninspried and unconnected. But I am working through it. And you will too...

Art and Fear... what is stopping you?
~Jaime Lyerly

The Psychology of Collaboration

Collaboration.

Working together with another artist(s) to produce something that is part of you both (all).

Sounds like a good thing, right?

Maybe; but I am not sure it is for me. Here is why:

Last year, I tried to be a part of a collaborative mail art group. I failed miserably at this collaboration.

The idea :
Start a small art work that can be shipped in a 8X5 padded envelope. You could have up to 5 pieces and then send them out to members your group. They would have one week to work on it and pass it along to another artist. You would eventually get it back when it has gone through about 4 people. You also work on whatever comes in the mail for you, and send it on to the next person. Simple enough, right?

Well, not for me. I started three pieces and sent them out. I never received anything in the mail until a month later when I was in the apex of the semester and getting ready to go in May on a two-week study tour to China and Japan.

But it isn't the fact that I received the pieces later that made me fail at this. It was that I never thought about the psychology of collaboration. Here is my definition:

The psychology of collaboration is all the questions and inner struggles that you face when you are working a piece of art was started and belongs to another artist.

I'll admit, I procrastinated a bit on getting my own pieces started. I wanted them to be perfect - but that will never happen.

Finally, I sent them off into the world to be worked on by other artists that I didn't know well. It was just when I received other artists' work that became a procrastination nightmare.

These thoughts went through my head when I received the mail art:

Wow, these are so cool.
I could do this, this, and this...
Maybe I can add this to the piece and take this out...
Wait, what if I do this, and she hates it...
Maybe I shouldn't be doing this...
I wish this was my piece...
What if I "ruin" it?
What if I make bad art...
These are professional artists - what the heck am I doing with them...
Maybe this is a bad idea...
How could I have thought that I could do this...
I have so little time now, I will work on this later when I have more time...
I cannot "deal" with this now...

Then the piece gets put aside until I can "deal with it," which is never.

Then the embarrassment and self-consciousness of holding onto the pieces too long (and not working on them at all because of fear) becomes so great that I start making myself less available. The pieces never get sent back either. I "lose" them in my other mail for months.

Collaboration falls apart and I have let everyone down - including myself.

At the time, I never thought that this would be the end result of my first attempt at collaboration. Everyone looked like they were having so much fun!

For someone who is obsessed with process, the idea of documenting a piece of art work at each stage of development is very exciting. I loved seeing what everyone else in the mail art groups (there were 2 others) was posting up on Facebook. It was amazing to see the transformations.

Yet, I hesitated and do what is very familiar to me now, "choosing by not choosing."

If you wait long enough, your choices of what can happen are limited. Wait too long on a scholarship/grant deadline, you will miss it. Forget to pay your bills, you get a late fee. Decide not to enter an art completion, you will never get in.

I know all these things, but I still do them.

And this time, my procrastination and self-doubt robbed me of an opportunity to participate in something special. I was not only hurting myself by procrastinating, but letting my group down.

So, through this mail art experience, I realized that I was not ready for collaboration.

Almost a year has gone by since that experience. And I am taking a small step into the realm of collaboration - this time with new rules and new eyes.

An artist friend from my advanced sculpture class, Sunshine, mentioned on the first day of the semester that she was looking to do an art collaboration with someone. She said that she wanted to exchange a piece with an artist, and we both work with the pieces for two weeks then exchange back again.

Sunshine is an amazing artist who has a BA in metalsmithing. She attends my advanced sculpture class for the critiques and to continue her mentee relationship with the instructor Richard Keely.

I am a great admirer of her work and her dedication to exploring her own process. So when she mentioned collaboration, my first instinct was "YES, I want to do this!"

But then my self-doubt compelled me to admit my hesitancy. I explained to her my previous failure at collaboration. She was understanding and still interested in working with me.

Here is what makes this collaboration different (and I hope more likely to succeed):
I know the artist that I am working with
I know her current work
She knows my current work
I see her every Friday, therefore cannot "avoid her" as easily
She is very friendly, and understanding
We are peers
She is interested in process
She has a similar aesthetic interest as myself

We started our collaboration three weeks ago. She brought me this amazing rubber and fiber piece to work on. Sunshine said that it was a piece that she had been working on for a while and still wasn't happy with it. She wanted to see if I could work on it, which would let her look at it again with fresh eyes. I loved the piece from the start, which is a good and bad thing. I also had ideas right away of what I wanted to do with it.

I hesitated to start, though. And I hesitated even more to bring her something of my own to have her work on. Nothing I had seemed "worthy" of her time.

Finally, I started heating up my beeswax to give the tufts a thin coat of wax. This would change it into something that I could understand - fiber and wax.

Here is what was going on in my head again, while working on Sunshine's piece:
This piece is so cool...
I wish it was mine...
I am going to give it a coat of wax and see how that looks.
But what if she hates it?
What if I ruin it?
Maybe I can take the rubber apart and shape it.
But then it would never go back to its' shape.
What if that is what she liked about the piece.
I wish this piece was mine so that I wouldn't have this pressure.
Okay, lets put it in the wax.
Hmm, that looks interesting. How about the red wax.
Oh no! I am not sure about that one. Why didn't I test it out first?
Is it ruined now?
I am confident that Sunshine is improving my piece, and what am I doing here...
Maybe this was a bad idea.
Maybe I am just not meant to collaborate.
How can I be so bold with my own experimentation and so timid with this piece?
I wish this piece was mine.
I will let it dry and then see how that looks.
Looks cool, now for some embroidery on it.
Oh, the needle puts a hole in the fabric that cannot be hidden!
Did I just ruin it?
Just finish this embroidery, Jaime, and stop thinking about this so much.

Even more questions than before! I knew I needed to work out some of these issues, so it was time for the journal. I wrote in my journal about ten pages about how I didn't expect this collaboration to be such a thought-provoking process. I thought it would be more about working with new materials and making it a part of me.

Instead it has been a process of not only making art, but also examining my own artistic self-doubt and worthiness as an artist. Powerful work, to say the least.

This collaboration is not done. Sunshine was not in class last Friday so that I could give her the piece. So my doubts are still crackling in the air.

But I am now aware of the psychology of collaboration. And will continue to explore these mental processes while working with the physical materials.

My hope is that this collaboration with Sunshine will help me redeem myself as someone who is able to collaborate.

I will continue to explore my own inner landscape of doubt, while pushing forward to create.

Your Turn:

Collaboration: Friend or Foe? Have you collaborated with other artists? Was your inner critic on high volume while working on the piece? Anyone else have more struggles with your own inner voice more than the material before you? I would love to hear your stories.

Thanks for letting me share my process with you! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Addicted to Philanthropy

Can you be addicted to Philanthropy? I think I am.

Donations? Sure, where do I send the money or stuff?

Promotion of a good cause? Even easier - I'll post it on my blog, Facebook and Twitter.


Volunteering my time? Yes, of course I...wait. Maybe not. But I will try anyway!

As I strive for BALANCE in my life, it is really difficult to turn down chances to help others. I say "YES!" before I think or even check my schedule. But is it really that bad? I'm not sure.

Let's look what volunteer activities I have scheduled or participated in the last week and upcoming.


Sunday - San Diego Women's Caucus for Art Board meeting. (I am the President this year, so I cannot skip these monthly meetings, and all the assignments that go with them).

Wednesday - Hillsdale Middle School Builder's Club - Teaching kids to use the Knifty Knitter to knit hats for babies which are given out all over the world. Helping each week for the rest of the semester.

Thursday - Drumming up HOPE, Fundraising for Haiti. One time event.

Saturday - SDSU Mortar Board Senior Honor Society's Backpack Stuffing of school supplies to give to under privileged children. One time event.

This is in addition to my college schedule, work schedule, art making, scholarship applying, show entering, personal obligations, study time and dare I even say it...social/personal life? 

I did say that I was giving up overachieving this year. But am I really?

It is hard to maintain this Superwoman lifestyle, but each week I schedule more and more into my packed life. So it must be my Addiction to Philanthropy.

I am hooked on helping others, even when sometimes I would rather play video games than to go help.  

The first step to addiction is to admit you have a problem. So here is my confession.

Anyone else addicted to helping? ~ Jaime Lyerly

Celebrate Your Accomplishments for 2009

Picture of me stamping my travel journal at Himeji Castle in Japan.
To be able to go to Japan was a HUGE accomplishment; one that I still am not sure how to put into words.

Since it is finals week at SDSU, I am rushed to finish everything I started and study for those big tests. Yet, I already feel the tension and pressure lessening each time I turn in a project, take a test or finish a paper. College classes will be over in three days for me, and I am READY FOR A BREAK! I can finally focus on my art and enjoy life for a month before the madness of classes starts again at the end of January. Until then, let's talk about celebrating this year in a truly artistic way.

The Art Marketing action tip from the Art Biz Coach Alyson Stanfield this week is one that I am ready to start now and try to finish up by the end of the year.It is all about celebrating your accomplishments.

I am fond of bubbling to my friends, co-workers and other students about what I am doing now and my accomplishments. I have been know to jump up and down with excitement. I blog, twitter, post status updates on Facebook and pictures of work in progress on my fan page. Yet, I don't take time to celebrate my accomplishments for the year. I have made a huge jump this year into the art world, and know that is would be a great time to start writing my accomplishments down!

Check out this post (right click and open in a new tab).

Art Marketing Action Podcast: Celebrate Your Accomplishments

Posted using ShareThis

Here is the start of my accomplishment list for this year:

Started and maintained a blog
Got into my first juried show, Women's Caucus for Art "Herstory" at the Women's History Museum
Participated in the Women's Caucus for Art member invitation at Queen Bee's (formerly 8teen Art and Cultural Center)
Started in the world of social networking
Participated in the smARTist Telesummit 2009
Got hooked on the Art Biz Coach's blog and book, "I'd Rather Be in the Studio"
Featured article in SDSU's Daily Aztec
One of the featured artists in an article on Encaustic by America Creates
Participated in an Encaustic workshop at the San Diego Art Department
Participated in Artist Trading Card Workshop (ATC) at Escondido Municipal Gallery
Initiated into SDSU's Mortar Board Senior Honor Society
Won a scholarship from CSEA - GCCCD union employee scholarship
Won a scholarship from Mortar Board for outstanding community service
Won a scholarship from the Junko Koike for study abroad in Japan
Won a scholarship from Fu Foundation as the 2009 Fu Scholar for study abroad in China and Japan
Participated in a two week study abroad tour to China and Japan
Took Japanese I with Dr. Higurashi at SDSU (hardest academic class I have taken)
Took Beginning Woodworking and Furniture Design at SDSU with Wendy Maruyama (hardest studio class I have taken)
Took Handbuilt Ceramics with Joanne Hayakawa at SDSU
Took Figure Drawing with Jeanne Dunn at SDSU
Took Intermediate Sculpture with Richard Keely at SDSU
Took Figure Sculpture with Jesus Dominguez at Grossmont
Taught Beginning Encaustic Workshop at Escondido Municipal Gallery
Taught Encaustic Technique Workshop at the San Diego Women's Caucus for Art Annual Retreat
Learned more about and experimented with 3-D encaustic sculpture
Developed "micro-movement" type art projects called Art Actions
Visited Luis de Jesus Seminal Projects Gallery
Visited Escondido Municipal Gallery
Visited the Buddhist Center of San Diego for their annual Food and Music Festival
Participated in monthly San Diego Women's Drum Circle
Participated in Drumming and Movement Workshop (uncomfortable but made me grow)
Participated in Family Constellation Workshop (uncomfortable but made me grow)
Participated in the Stone Soup Challenge
Participated in a collaborative mail art project (tried and failed at this by holding everyone's pieces too long)
Started a mailing list (although I still haven't sent out any newsletters)
Investigated different art file management programs
Got a person art website (template) and actually put something on it!
Got more involved with the San Diego Women's Caucus for Art
Started blogging for the SD/WCA
Transitioning into being President of the SD/WCA for 2010
Re-joined the San Diego Writers Ink
Joined the International Sculpture Center
Joined the Encaustic Ning and Owning Pink Ning
Found awesome sites for growth and creativity Owning Pink and Journey Juju
Read more SARK online
Subscribed to Art News, Art in America, Works and Conversations and Sculptural Pursuit Magazines
Read and bought issues of Stampington Co: Somerset Workshop, Artful Blogging, Art Journaling, and Cloth, Paper, Scissors
Submitted art to Women Made Gallery juried show (did not get in)
Made an online tutorial/demo for Encaustic Monoprints
Made new business cards featuring my current art on them
Made connections (in person or online) with artists Lisa Bebi, Renee Richetts, Helen Redman, Gray Gray-Adams, Thea Haubrich, Lissa Rankin, Ellie Benfatti, Cynthia Morris, Lincoln Maynard and many more
Was able to honor artist/professor David Fobes at the Mortar Board Faculty/Staff Appreciation Dinner
Submitted art for the Featured Artist section of the National Women's Caucus for Art
Attended lecture by Janet Koplos (check out my essay "Redefining Craft" on this talk here)
Attended Visiting Artist talk by Tom Loeser
Attended Visiting Artist talk by Virginia Scotchie
Saw shows by SDSU student work
Saw SDSU gallery show "Animalkind"
Saw SDSU faculty show
Tried wood carving, stamp carving, watercolor crayons, assemblage, intuitive knitting, oil pastel over magazine collage, art journaling, encaustic on photographs, encaustic on 3-d forms, oil sticks, encaustic on board and fabric and working in plywood.
Wrote a blog post "100 Contemporary Artists you need to know, NOW"

and the single best thing to happen to my art career in 2009 is that it started! I am finally getting my work out for other people to see. I am still developing a solid portfolio, connections with others, and ways to show my art, but I got a firey start on this year by attending the online smARTist telesummit and reading the Art Biz articles and books.

Thank you to everyone who supported me in this fabulous year. It is never easy, but it takes each of you who helped me in some way with a kind word, a critique or an opportunity. I am looking forward to great next year with a much longer list of accomplishments!

Your Turn:

What is your list? This is what I could think of in a hour. I could probably do more over time. A year goes by very fast (and seems to get faster as we age), but what are your accomplishments. Post a comment here to let us know or just spill it into your journal or blog post. Either way, make sure you honor your busy year with a toast to your attempts and successes!

Happy art making! Enjoy your holidays! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Body Worlds Exhibit - Amazing Uncomfortable Learning!

Since yesterday was so busy, I am blogging about my new "uncomfortable learning" experience today. Find out about my last uncomfortable learning experience here.

Yesterday, my Life Drawing class went on a field trip to the San Diego Natural History Museum to see the Body Worlds & The Brain- Our Three-Pound Gem exhibit. It was amazing!

The exhibit is of real bodies and body parts preserved using a method called "Plastination" which was developed by the show's creator Gunther von Hagens. The bodies were donated by people for the purpose of being used for this exhibition. The plastination process is too complex to go into here, but you can learn more about it by going to the link above. The result of this plastination are real bodies preserved for us to study anatomy in a whole new way!

This experience falls under my category of "Uncomfortable Learning" because of the creepiness factor. These are real bodies - very human and very similar to my own body. Last time there was a show like this in San Diego, I talked myself out of going. Do I want to see real bodies without their flesh on? Is it going to be like attending an autopsy? Ick! No, not for me.

But this time, it was required for my Life Drawing class (although I could have gotten out of it), so I had to go. The tickets are quite expensive for the show too, so that was also a factor. However since we got a group rate and a student discount, I couldn't pass up the chance to see them. Gross or not, I was going!

As an artist, I am fascinated by the figure, especially figurative sculpture. It is also one of the hardest areas to study because all of the learning materials are two-dimension representations or live models who have to move positions frequently. There is a book called "Virtual Pose" which is the newest form of learning the figure. It is has .jpgs on a CD-rom which are viewed with Quicktime. These models, which are posted like they would be for a figure drawing class, can be rotated 360 degrees, and zoomed in to see all the details. As great as these references are, they are still lacking - and usually with that pesky skin covering up all the muscles!

So my uncomfortable learning experience was to go through this exhibit and sketch some of the plastinates (their proper name for the preserved bodies). My instructor required only one drawing of leg muscles, but I found myself sketching throughout the exhibit. Here are two of the quick drawings that I did that day.

Drawing is not my strong suit, but I think you get the idea of what I was seeing and experiencing. The full body drawing was of a woman who was five-months pregnant when she died. The baby is preserved inside her belly and it is silt open to see how it fits in. The back is also slit open so you can see her black smoker's lung which the cause of her death. This makes me so sad, but it also is a rare opportunity to see inside our most amazing bodies.

There were other fetuses in the show, as well as embryos in viewing tubes. This is the most controversial part of the show. I have no problem with this show, and think that anyone, but especially artists, could benefit from seeing it. The most uncomfortable part of the show for me was seeing the fetuses, and the shock of those first few plastinates.

Towards the end of the exhibit space, they had plastinates in very dynamic poses. The pose called "Head Diver" was particularly spectacular. It had the internal organs in a standing stationary position, the head and some muscles leaning forward in a diving position, and the skeleton and rest of the muscles leaning backwards. The words do not do it justice.

I am so glad I got out of my comfort zone and experienced the Body World exhibit!


Your Turn: What kind of uncomfortable learning experiences have you had? Ever step outside of your comfort zone and been amazed by the experience? If we have amazing experiences, why do we stay in our comfort zone?

Drumming for Renewal - Workshop (aka Uncomfortable Learning)

This weekend my partner Chris and I participated in a workshop on Saturday called "Drumming for Renewal" run by Music/Dance Therapists Kat Fulton and Draza Jansky at an expressive arts therapy studio called "The Art of You."

Before we went to the workshop, I was communicating with my mentor Mr. Fobes about how uncomfortable I was about the performance aspect of the workshop. He said "If you are uncomfortable, that means you are learning."

This comment has been marinating ever since.

The workshop consisted of four parts: drumming, vocal toning, movement and meditation. I never did any of first three, so this was an experience. I also have not participated in any performances since junior high and my anxiety was almost overwhelming.

1. Drumming - After a short intro to the drums and we fell into a rhythm of the group. It was by far the easiest part of the workshop for me, and I could almost block out the others around me by closing my eyes. The thud of the lower drums was soothing and the vibrations resonated through my body.

2. Vocal Toning - Next we moved on to vocal toning. The each sound connects to different chakras of the body. It is used like crystal bowls to align but can be done on your own. Elivira Melody's website has more info. This was getting more of uncomfortable territory for me since I haven't sung in public since elementary school! I tried to keep my voice low and not concentrate on other people.

3. Movement - Onto the expressive movement - my most uncomfortable learning! My body and I are not friends and generally ignore each other. I can follow directions when I am doing yoga, but to freely move around the room just for the sheer pleasure of it was so odd! We also did patting of our body and rolling around on the floor. Even trying to put it into words makes it sound silly! But silly is what I am missing out on now that I have to be an adult. My uncomfortable adult side was not willing to let my child come to play.

4. Meditation - Finally, we did a meditation to seal in the final act of healing and set our intentions for renewal. I was back to more a comfortable learning. I loved listening to the sound of Draza's voice as she spoke. When she asked us to think of a person that we could be completely ourselves with, I first thought of my partner Chris. Then she said that it didn't have to be someone who was still alive and I thought of my grandfather. He died when I was in my pre-teens. He was the only one in my family that did not judge. He was a creator too; made little rocking chairs out of clothes pins. Tears started streaming out of my eyes as I cried for the relationship that was lost so long again.

Overall, this uncomfortable learning experience was profound. I can no longer tell myself that I cannot dance, drum or sing - I just have to do it!

Your turn -- What has opened up your world to new experiences? Ever try something that you never thought you would? Ever move past anxiety and experience some uncomfortable learning? Share and let us all learn!

Happy learning!
Jaime