Video: Feel like time is getting away from you?

Is time getting away from you?

Let's have a look at that!

Half the year is over already, and time seems to be going faster than ever!

I made a video where I talked about the energies of now, and did a Tarot reading on what I see going on.

Check it out!

Let me know what you think about this video!

Creativity yours,
Jaime

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
 

Total Permission to Say YES to Life!

This is a beautiful video that totally captures the place I am shifting towards.

It is a struggle everyday to be the embodiment of feminine that I am so wanting to be. Yet, I get closer with each time I say YES to living fully, even if I am scared to do so.

Thank you to fellow Guide from The Goddess Life Sheena La Shay for sharing this! Check out Sheena's Facebook page the Sociology of Sheena or her website for more of her juiciness.


Total Permission to say YES to Life Video on YouTube

Are you ready for this? Are you ready to say YES to your soul's desire?

Embracing YES,
Jaime Lyerly

Dangerous Prayers

Copyright 2011, Salvation Mountain photo by Jaime Lyerly

I heard this poem last night at the Temple Priestess Samhain ritual.  Thank you to Kaliani Devinne for sharing.

It struck me as one of the most delicious poetic concepts that I have ever heard. 

Decide for yourself if this kind of prayer is what you are seeking.  I know I am.

Dangerous Prayers

 by Regina Sara Ryan, from "Woman Prayers: Prayers by Women from Through History and Around the World" by Mary Ford-Grabowsky (HarperSanFrancisco: 2003):

Deliver us, O God, O Truth, O Love, from quiet prayer
from polite and politically correct language,
from appropriate gesture and form
and whatever else we think we must put forth to invoke
or to praise You.

Let us instead pray dangerously--
wantonly, lustily, passionately.
Let us demand with every ounce of our strength,
let us storm the gates of heaven, let us shake up ourselves
and our plaster saints from the sleep of years.

Let us pray dangerously.
Let us throw ourselves from the top of the tower,
let us risk a descent to the darkest region of the abyss,
let us put our head into the lion's mouth
and direct our feet to the entrance of the dragon's cave.

Let us pray dangerously.
Let us not hold back a little portion,
dealing out our lives--our precious minutes and our
energies--like some efficient accountant.
Let us rather pray dangerously--unsafe, profligate, wasteful!

Let us ask for nothing less than the Infinite to ravage us.
Let us ask for nothing less than annihilation in the
Fires of Love.

Let us not pray in holy half-measures nor walk
the middle path
for too long,
but pray madly, foolishly.
Let us be too ecstatic,
let us be too overwhelmed with sorrow and remorse,
let us be undone, and dismembered....and gladly.

Left to our own devices, ah what structures of deceit
we have created;
what battlements erected, what labyrinths woven,
what traps set for ourselves, and then
fallen into. Enough.

Let us pray dangerously--hot prayer, wet prayer, fierce prayer, fiery prayer, improper prayer,
exuberant prayer, drunken and completely unrealistic prayer.

Let us say Yes, again and again and again.
and Yes some more.
Let us pray dangerously.

the most dangerous prayer is YES.

Are you ready to be ravaged by the Infinite? I know I am. Share in the comments below if this kinda prayer is what you need. 

Too Ecstatic ~ Jaime Lyerly 

Top 10 reasons why Spiritual Practice makes you a better Artist

Praying Hands by Albrecht Durer

Spiritual practice has become an important part of my life. And I want to encourage you to make the connection in your own. 

Whether you pray, meditate, practice yoga, do rituals, walk in nature, chant, sweat out your prayers via dance, or just sit and breathe, it all helps you feel connected to the Divine. 


But can it make you a better Artist or more creative?


I say YES! 

Read on and see what resonates for you: 

Top 10 reasons why Spiritual Practice makes you a better Artist. 

1. Spiritual practice keeps you CONNECTED to the Divine
Connection to the Divine is one of the top reasons why you a daily spiritual practice can be crucial to being creative. 

When you pray, what do you feel? How about when you dance? Or sing? Or Meditate? Each time you tap into the power inside of you, a connection is made to the divinity inside of you. 

Even if it feels like a faint whisper of spirit, it is there. Breathe. Listen. And know it is there for you always. The Divine is waiting for you to tap. Once you tap into the connection inside of you, the ideas for your artistic practice just flow out. It is a channel that you open each day with your breath. And that channel gets clearer the more you open it.    


2. You are more AWARE

The "devil" is not in the details - God is! By slowing down, you see details you miss when you rushing.

Do you know the softness of your cat's fur? How about the texture of rose hips? The sound of a hummingbird's flutter? The smell of eucalyptus bark? The curve of your beloved's hips? The color of your mother's dress in a faded photograph? These details can translate into inspiration or textural details in your art. Even if your art work is abstract, it will be influenced by the details you observe. These details ARE the magic of life.


3. You are more IN YOUR BODY
 The spiritual practices of dance and yoga move you more fiercely into your body that you may even expect. And healing emotional blocks makes you want to STAY in your body more. When you are in your body, you can move and create with more freedom. 

Some people say that it takes your whole body to draw. If you are fully in your body you can create with a freedom that you never knew. 

4. Time EXPANDS

Have you ever gotten so lost in the moment that time slowed down to accommodate it? That is the magic of "Shamanic Time." 

This happens frequently for me during Shamanic Journey. Shamanic Journey uses a monotonous drum to get the brain and body into a trance state so you can can do deep healing and talk to your spiritual guides. In a typical 15 minute journey, you can have an entire movie; a revelation; or just a great healing nap. 

By getting yourself into a trance state, you can also expand time while making art or creating. Crocheting naturally invokes this trance state to me, but so can drawing or anything else that is repetitive. Get lost in time. See what happens. 
 

5. Your IMAGINATION SOARS

Shamanic Journey can create a state that is similar to daydreaming or lucid dreaming. You know that you are in a dreamlike state but you have full control over the situation. However when you surrender to the magic of the experience, you see things that you never would have thought of on your own. 

Maybe it is a raccoon where a top hat and smoking a cigar. Or a tulip that protects your safe space. How about a star being with a penchant for rubies, and talks in a British accent? Whatever it is that comes to you in journey space can spark an idea for a drawing, painting, sculpture or creative writing.  You can't make this stuff up. It is too bizarre somethings.

Other forms of spiritual practice such as meditation, or dance may invoke images that you would have never been open to before.  Once you connect your third eye of intuition, it will give you amazing insights and be fodder for your creative expression.

This fodder is a wave of new information, but not like the images we digest each day from the Internet. It is new, fresh and uniquely you! This imagination is what MAKES YOU AN ARTIST. 


6. You TRUST YOURSELF more
Do you trust yourself? Because it takes a lot of trust to walk a spiritual path or an artistic path. 

Both require a dedication to growth that is almost supernatural. Stagnation is the antithesis of growing. Which do you want to do?


By connecting with a spiritual path, you begin to trust the messages given to you in daily life. Messages can be more than just a fortune cookie phrase. They can be seen in the animals that cross your path, or the repetition of a number, or many other signs that resonate for you. 

When you trust your own intuition, that trust flows into trusting the colors in a painting or any other creative endeavor that you can imagine. 

Decisions made from your own gut about life and art are the most powerful. If you trust yourself, you can do these things no matter if the people around you think you have lost your marbles. 


7. You feel more SUPPORTED
Spirituality thrives in COMMUNITY! Sure, you can do any of these practices alone, but why not gather a few like-minded people together? My Apache teacher talked about the power of prayer in a group, and how the energy was measurably raised when 3 people connected hands to pray.

There are also things like rituals which are so much fun to have more than one person join in. It becomes a community event. A connection that is made with not only you connecting to the Divine, but connecting to your sisters or brothers and feeling THEIR connection. The connections I feel after doing something magical with other people is so profound. 

Feeling supported as an artist is so important. We artists tend to work alone, in our studios, without a lot of collaboration with others. It can be lonely but it is also where the work gets done. So by building a community of like-minded people, you have a place to feel completely loved even if your art isn't moving the direction you want it to. Building a community as an artist is a different subject, but it has its roots in gathering 3 or more people together to support you in all your awesomeness.



8. You take BIGGER RISKS
Now you are all juiced up with support! What does that do to your self-confidence? Right! It goes shooting through the roof. And that makes you bolder. 


It takes courage to have a spiritual practice. To come everyday to a meditation and look deeply into yourself. To feel when your breath just won't loosen up. To see the days when it doesn't work. To BE in the space of NOT getting it right. Of struggling. Of not knowing when it will get better. The fear that all of the good shit has already happened in your life. The wanting of something better. To completely SURRENDER to divine will to take care of you anyways. To give up all trying and TRUST it will happen because you are protected and loved. That is a space of great courage. 


That same courage is what you will need to sustain a creative practice too. It is about showing up. And showing up with a curious and experimental nature that cannot be satisfied. It takes courage to be an artist. To show your creations to the world. To try new ways of making and know that they are leading you to path you cannot even imagine.  Take a breath. And LEAP.



9. You know it is a PRACTICE
Practice. Practice. Practice. Just show up. That is all you have to do in life. In spiritual work. In art. It is all the same. "You must be present to win."




10. You KNOW that Creativity is ENDLESS

Yes, you know this. Think about how many ideas you have when you are sitting quietly? Probably more than you want to admit! Creativity can only slip in if there is space to go into. You cannot pour more into a full cup. 


As you tap into Divine inspiration each day, you know that that source is endless. You can feel it with each breath. Now breathe into your creative ideas? Same breath of inspiration. Inspire = to breath into. 

And know as one idea floats away or is not feasible at the moment, don't worry. Just breathe. Another idea is on its way, along with a hundred of its friends when you are ready to make space in your body to receive them. 

BREATHE TO RECEIVE!

Any bells go off from this list? I would love to hear about it. Share in the comments below.

Breathing my way to a more creative me ~ 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 

Releasing the old to make room for the new

 Pele, from the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards to spark this fire of releasing. 

See this helpful blog post for the meaning of the card.

I am a crossroads in my life as old parts of me fall away and shiny new parts are growing.

To celebrate this transition, instead of letting it scare the shit out of me, I am devoting more of my time to my spiritual practices and letting them inform my artistic expressions.

With my very limited time, I kept this blog going with a very low amount of effort over the last year, and have disappointed many people including myself for not keeping it up to date. I don't have the energy to do it all. And I kept waiting to find that energy somewhere.

So rather than waiting till I "get back to normal" to start blogging again, I am going to release this blog and all its obligations.


What does that mean? The posts will still be here, but I will not. 

I may eventually delete the whole thing, but for now, it will be an archive of where I have been, what I have taught and the art that I made.

And it will be a testament to the readers and viewers who have shared this journey with me.


Thank you for sharing this journey with me  - however long it has been for you.

You have given me a voice. Thank you.

So I leave this blog the most recent picture of me with one of my Temple Priestess teachers, Jennifer Masters, who along with my other teacher Kaliani Divine and the many others in the Temple Priestess community who have help facilitate my amazing growth.  

 Photo by Felicia, May 2011 at Beatrex's Lakshmi Abundance Ceremony

I am more ME than I ever have been in my life. Now I need to figure out what that "me" wants to do. And I need to do it outside of the blogosphere.

Wait! I am not going completely away! I am still going to maintain my Facebook fan and personal page, and twitter. I just may have more to say about spiritual practices than art for the time being.

When I can weave this new spiritual understanding and my drive for art making, I will be back switched on with the full force of my new powers. Just wait and see.

Thank you again for being here and sharing your journey with me!
In love and light ~ Jaime Lyerly

Global Prayer Reqest: Water Blessing for Japan. Today, 3/31/2011 at Noon your local time

Check this out if you are interested. Global Prayer Request for Japan, today!




Masaru Emoto has issued a global prayer invitation for March 31, 2011, Noon your local time. Masaru Emoto's teachings on the consciousness of water has inspired people around the planet, and we are profoundly grateful for his continuing service to Humanity. Please read his entire note below, and join us
at Noon to send Love and Gratitude to the waters of Japan, and to the ALL waters of the world.

In Love and Gratitude

D'Marie


********************



Love and Gratitude water crystal

URGENT: A letter from Dr Masaru Emoto, author of Messages in Water plus other related books.

A letter from Dr Masaru Emoto:

To All People Around the World,

Please send your prayers of love and gratitude to water at the nuclear plants in Fukushima , Japan ! By the massive earthquakes of Magnitude 9 and surreal massive tsunamis, more than 10,000 people are still missing...even now... It has been 16 days already since the disaster happened. What makes it worse is that water at the reactors of Fukushima Nuclear Plants started to leak, and it's contaminating the ocean, air and water molecule of surrounding areas.

Human wisdom has not been able to do much to solve the problem, but we are only trying to cool down the anger of radioactive materials in the reactors by discharging water to them. Is there really nothing else to do? I think there is.

During over twenty year research of dado measuring and water crystal photographic technology, I have been witnessing that water can turn positive when it receives pure vibration of human prayer no matter how far away it is. Energy formula of Albert Einstein, E=MC2 really means that Energy = number of people and the square of people's consciousness.

Now is the time to understand the true meaning. Let us all join the prayer ceremony as fellow citizens of the planet earth. I would like to ask all people, not just in Japan , but all around the world to please help us to find a way out the crisis of this planet!!

The prayer procedure is as follows.

Day and Time: March 31st, 2011 (Thursday)
12:00 noon in each time zone

Please say the following phrase:

"The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant, we are sorry to make you suffer. Please forgive us. We thank you, and we love you."

Please say it aloud or in your mind. Repeat it three times as you put your hands together in a prayer position.
Please offer your sincere prayer. Thank you very much from my Heart.

With love and gratitude,

Masaru Emoto Messenger of Water



***********************************

Message and water ceremony, via PaLu with the Go Gratitude Community:


Just today I was able to feel trust in the rain, I let go of any fears, I return my perception that the rains are life giving healing waters, sent by the Divine to bring calm, rebirth to accepting all water as the primary source of all Life.

In gratitude to this, my spirit dances with Mother Earth and Divine Mother together; this emerges, please feel free to pass it along, print it out and put it even on your fridge, wherever your Spirit and Will guide you to:



We are going to print, cut and tape this message to litre mason jars, sing to it, play music to it, and tomorrow,
as part of our extended prayer; then at the world timing of the prayer: go to the water's edge, bring our water blessed offerings; repeat the prayer as Emoto sent out loud, while connecting to our heart centre, expanding this energetic to infuse our heart's aura while we hold our containers; then with deep gratitude and trust in the Divine, pour this healing blessed, compassion imbued water into the water body we are located at.

We invite all to partake in this expansion, Sending waves of Loving Compassion; even if you pour your water onto the Earth or where it feels appropriate, holding softly, gently, lovingly our pure prayers intent is to deepen our Trust within, as well as to heal the sorrows of Japan and elsewhere.

May these healing prayers, blessings, gratitudes and water reach the four corners of all existence.

Lots of love, in Gratitude

PaLu

I hope you can join me in this! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Come to my unofficial Fiber coming out party! "Sew What" at the Broker's Buidling Gallery, Friday April 1, 2011

My fiber work is coming out of the closet. 

Yes, I work in Fiber....

I am graduating this May with a degree in Applied Design with an emphasis in Fiber, so you think I would be proud to fly my I heart Fiber flag. 

But the encaustic wax work I do overpowers fiber with its smell, texture and visual aesthetic.  

So I have kept most of the fiber only work hidden away from the world (with a few exceptions). 

But on Friday, April 1, 2011, I will be taking my fiber art out to strut it's stuff. And I am not alone. 

Come join us! 

Time	Friday, April 1 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location	Brokers Building Gallery 402 Market Street San Diego, CA
Sew What: Four Artists Experimenting in the Field of Fiber Emily Stone Joan Mathison Jaime Lyerly Scott Gengelbach Friday April 1, 2011 Opening Night April 2 - 15, 2011 by Viewing Appointment 619.368.1685

___________________________________________________

Expect the unexpected! 

But I will give you a hint of what's to come...

• Installation work
• Humor
• Unconventional materials
• Fiber that is not your grandma's sampler
• and lots of WINE! Yay! 

So join us if you can. And I will do my best to get the photos of the show up as soon as possible. 

As always, thanks for being a part of my journey! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Solar Spring Spirit Jam on Saturday, March 26, 2011

 Looking forward to using my new Tiger Eye Drum by artisan drum maker Lisa Starr

photo by Lisa Starr

Come join us on Saturday, March 26, 2011 · 8:30pm - 11:30pm for the first annual  Solar Spring Spirit Jam, brought to you by Mind Altering Records and The Prosperity Hive:

A special evening of transcendental music, dance, and communal drumming featuring Solarminds (of Mind Altering Records) at the

The Prosperity Hive

740 13th St. #503

San Diego, CA

RSVP on the Facebook event page or just come join us! 

From Chris Miner of solarminds: 

..."I have some new material that I'd like to share with people. Right now it's just me and my acoustic guitar, but I would like to get a big audience driven drum circle going, and maybe a couple musicians helping to provide a drone sort of thing that my stuff could go on top of- very repetitive, meditative, spiritual stuff. The goal being to evoke ecstatic states of mystical devotion and union for everyone involved. 

It's all about dissolving boundaries- between audience and performer, and this world and the spirit world. It's about letting the spirits sing through me, letting the spirits dance our bodies. I always tell people my music is divinely inspired, but on March 26th, I want to inspire the spirits to join us, so that we transcend who inspires who on that night. 

It will be an experiment for sure, and I'm not sure where the experiment will take us, but I have a feeling it will take us somewhere magical." 

Bring your drum, rattle, tambourine, or other percussion instrument, and your dancing feet!

$5-$20 suggested donation

Doors open at 8:30
Music starts at 9pm

Hope to see you there! ~ 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 

Zoom! From Haystack, to school to one retreat after another

Quick note to fill in the blanks while I work on the "real" posts for these events.

Got back on Friday night, August 27 from the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (in Deer Isle, Maine) where I was the Technical Assistant to Cynthia Winika for the Hot Wax: Encaustic Painting Comprehensive Workshop.

The Haystack experience was amazing! I cannot say enough good things about it. I am doing a write up in more detail about this event.

Then school started for me on Tuesday, August 30th before I could even catch my breathe or really unpack my stuff (and life) from two weeks away at Haystack.

As I rush, rush hurry to class to work to class to home to blah blah blah... I am trying to get a solid hold of my schedule and make time for contemplation and writing about my events. But everything on my to do list marked priority! What is a girl to do?

So on that note, I am packing my bags to go teach Encaustic Collage at the San Diego Women's Caucus for Art Retreat, in Julian, CA. It will be the first time I am teaching just collage - which I think is the easiest way to begin to understand working in wax. I am excited to teach, and am looking forward to the event.

But another part of me is just looking forward to having a couple of days where someone cooks my meals again (thanks, Haystack for spoiling me for two weeks) and let's me have quiet time or social time at my own choosing.

I hope to have a great write up about both events within in next week. Then it is rush, rush off to the International Encaustic Artist Annual Advance (Retreat) in San Francisco, the week after that! I think I will need a retreat from all the retreats I am going to.

Until then! Happy art making (even in a rush!) ~ 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

Luminous Layers: Exploring Contemporary Encaustic - Video by Linda Womack

Finally! A great video which shows the shows the versatility of encaustic (hot beeswax) painting and sculpture by contemporary artists.

The video below is by Embracing Encaustic author Linda Womack who was also the curator of the Luminous Layers: Exploring Contemporary Encaustic at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts in Oregon.

The show is now closed, but you can get a peek at the work in the video below.

I personally love the sculptural encaustic works, and I am dying to find out the name of the artists. Since 3-D encaustic is where I am working, it is great to find more artists who have "mastered" the techniques and are showing them out. When I get the name of the artists, I will be sure to share them!


So how about you? What is your favorite work in this video? Share in the comments below.

Luminous Layers: Exploring Contemporary Encaustic Video


You can read more about the Luminous Layers show on Linda Womack's Embracing Encaustic blog.

I love encaustic! ~  Jaime Lyerly