SoulCollage® Facilitator Training in Florida!

I'm heading to Amelia Island, Florida for a Facilitator Training this weekend.  I've never been to northern Florida, and am looking forward to working with a wonderful group of participants, from all over the country, and making it international by  including Grand Cayman Island!

I love doing SoulCollage® Facilitator Trainings, and here's where we'll be meeting each day:
http://www.elizabethpointelodge.com/

Next stop...Sedona, for "Cowgirls with Crayons", with the amazing Jill Badonsky!  If you're looking to boost your creativity and have a wonderful weekend with like-minded folks, join us.  Details on my website: http://www.2katstudios, or on Jill's site:  http://www.themuseisin.com/

Moving to AZ

It's official, and almost here.  Bill and I (and our cat Alex and dog Ripley) are moving to Prescott, AZ in just over a week!  We both love it there, and I enjoy teaching at Prescott College's Master's of Arts in Counseling program, Expressive Art Therapy concentration.  It's a limited residency program, and every time I'd head over to Prescott, I would try to stay a little longer.  Well, now we can stay for a very long time.  We have a huge project ahead of us, renovating a 10-car garage into Bill's workshop space, my studio and workshop, and a guest casita.  Here's what it looks like now:

Garages as they look now

Interior of garages, soon to become workshop and studio space and a guest casita!

We're excited for the new life we'll have in Arizona, and I'll keep you posted on the progress of the renovation via this blog!

Thanks for stopping by!~

SoulCollage® Facilitator Training

Kat and Audrey in the center of the Circle of Cards....a wonderful closing ritual

Our home for the weekend in Palm Springs, CA

Our group enjoys a wonderful story told by Audrey

SoulCollage® Facilitator Training in Palm Springs

A fantastic weekend with a group of women training to become Facilitators....great house, gorgeous weather, and lots of connecting, networking, and learning. 

It felt good to work with Audrey, my colleague and friend from Wisconsin, who enjoyed the beautiful warmth and sunshine of Southern California, when the folks back home were experiencing some severe winter weather!  Several of our participants were glad to leave the snow behind for the weekend.

I love leading these SoulCollage® Facilitator Trainings, and my next one is the weekend of June 10-12, at Temenos Retreat Center outside Philadelphia, PA.  Check my website for further details! 

Mosaic Guitar

Mosaic or Assemblage Guitar....



I have found a new passion!

And I'm lucky enough to have a boyfriend who fixes guitars, and when a particularly damaged guitar can't be fixed, sometimes the customer will leave the old clunker and I get to play with it.

Here's one that I embellished with all kinds of stuff.  Mosaics are wonderful and assemblage is a lot of fun!







Some of my students created "normal" mosaics, using tile and grout.  Isn't this beautiful?

And one brave student combined techniques and used "seed beads" to grout her guitar:

I just led another "Mosaic Guitar" workshop last week, and will do one in 2011.  Guitar provided....check my website for details:  http://www.2katstudios.com.

Happy New Year!

SoulCollage® Retreat in the South of France.....

I am one who dreams of a peaceful and serene retreat in the South of France......

Perhaps somewhere near the beautiful walled city of Carcassonne?

Imagine spending time in a spacious, comfortable home with its own chef, chauffeur, and a pool.  If you love SoulCollage®, and making cards in community, and if you love traveling to other countries....how about joining us for a 6-day, 5-night SoulCollage retreat in southern France?  My friend and colleague Audrey Chowdhury and I will be hosting this workshop, which will include a trip to a local market, delicious wine tastings, and more. Mark your calendars.....there's plenty of time to start planning.  May 24-29, 2012.  That's a year and a half from now.  Wanna?

Palm Springs in the New Year!

This is the pool and the house that I have rented for the next SoulCollage® Facilitator Training, the weekend of January 21-23, 2011.  Our group will learn everything that we need to cover in this beautiful, relaxing environment.  If you love SoulCollage® and want to become a Facilitator, join us!  Check the website for more info:
http://www.soulcollage.com/kat-kirby or my website:
http://www.2katstudios.com and click on "SoulCollage®"

SoulCollage® Witness

As I prepare to leave for Prescott, to teach SoulCollage® once again at the Master's of Arts Colloquium....I turn to my deck of SoulCollage cards and go through my travel ritual.  I ask which cards want to come with me, and I choose a few that I want to have with me.  It's always interesting to see who gets to come along for the ride.

The "Transpersonal " cards always join me.....Source, SoulEssence, and Witness.  They are always placed at the top of my readings, to keep me centered and grounded.  They are the reason SoulCollage is my spiritual path, my connection to all that is, and my understanding of why I'm here and what I bring to the world.

For more information about SoulCollage®, the transpersonal cards, the 4 suits, doing readings and more, I suggest you get yourself a copy of Seena Frost's new book, "SoulCollage® Evolving", and visit the website:  http://www.soulcollage.com.  Enjoy the journey!

American Art Therapy Conference

Seena Frost at the AATA Conference!

How wonderful to have Seena talk to nearly 1,000 art therapists about SoulCollage® in Sacramento last Saturday!  She was introduced by Amy and Ron, who wore their special shirts!

In the "Master Class", participants made one SoulCollage card, and shared them with one another.  It was a busy time, as there were 99 people and only an hour and a half! But we did it!  My friend Audrey and I assisted Seena, and we feel it was a successful workshop.

 Audrey and Seena on one of the very cool benches in Sacramento...."Heart" or "Art" or "Hearth" or "Earth"....

SoulCollage® at Ghost Ranch

Here is a photo of our SoulCollage® group walking the labyrinth at Ghost Ranch in early October.

So much has happened since my last post, and I want to revive this blog, so it is my heartfelt intention to put something up here on a more frequent basis.

I recently spent a week at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico, teaching a SoulCollage® workshop to a group of 11 women, and it was spiritually renewing!

Bill and I took a road trip there, meandering through Arizona,
stopping in Prescott and Winslow, visiting La Posada Hotel which was worth the trip in itself! (the 'last great railroad hotel').  Once we crossed into New Mexico, the landscape changed dramatically and I started imagining what life must have been like a few hundred years ago around this part of the country.

(Here is my new SoulCollage® card:  I Am One Who loves to take a road trip with my honey, knowing that the key to happiness is keeping company with a kindred spirit.  I Am One Who travels through the desert landscape in awe and wonder.)
 

We arrived at Ghost Ranch on Sunday around noon, and felt that incredible energy of the "thin place":


"Truth abides in thin places; naked, raw, hard to face truth.  Yet the comfort, safety and strength to face that truth also abides there.  Thin places captivate our imagination, yet diminish our existence.  We become very small, yet we gain connection and become part of something larger than we can perceive.   The human spirit is awakened and will grow if the body and mind allow it." - Mindie Burgoyne



I will post more about the Ghost Ranch workshop week, the wonderful group of women, the creative energy, the cards that were made, readings that were done, and deep friendships that were formed.....it's good to be back here in the blogosphere!  Thanks for reading.

Kitchen Part 2

A few more views of the new kitchen and all that open space!

The kitchen was installed by Michael Early. Cabinets and microwave from Ikea; granite counter tops ordered through Ikea contractor, Michael Early ; other appliances and floors from Lowe's; tile backsplash designed by me and installed by  Jens Sedemund .

So, what do you think?

Kitchen is Done!

Finally!  Our new improved kitchen design!  We love the open space, the light bright tiles and counter tops, my mosaic backsplash (and there's a smaller one above the stove), and this new breakfast bar.  What a difference it has made, having that silly island removed. It's a pleasure to spend time in the kitchen now.....

My Daughter's Engagement!

It's a true love story.  They were in class together at Rossall School in NorthWest England when they were 7 years old, and he had a crush on her.  She was oblivious to that.  They both moved on to other schools and other towns.  They grew up and were in relationships.  Then one day he "friended" her on Facebook and she ignored him, not remembering him.  He contacted a mutual friend (thank you Kathryn Woodward!) who let her know he was a fellow classmate.  So she friended him.  They started communicating on Facebook , then phone, then Skype.  She went to London to visit him, and he took her to Paris.  They fell in love.  She came back to San Diego and missed him, and he missed her.  He spent the summer with her, and she moved to London with him.  This Valentine's Day they got engaged.  They are planning a wedding in the Spring of 2011.  They are very very happy.  May the happiness continue!  Congratulations Molly and Philip!!

Kitchen Remodel

Yikes!  After 6 and a half years of living with the kitchen of my nightmares (only one person at a time allowed.....can't open dishwasher if oven is open...not enough cabinet space....poor lighting)....I have taken the plunge.  A new kitchen. An Ikea kitchen at that!  Here's my "before" picture....all the useful space on the countertops being used, and a pretty hideous shade of yellow paint on the walls.

So in less than 3 full days, the wonderful crew from Michael Early Construction demolished the old kitchen and created this much more user friendly space, taking the sink out of the middle of the kitchen and putting it against the wall. (well, eventually a sink will be there...the counter tops will go in in a couple of weeks, then the sink and new appliances will be installed!).

I've never lived in a house while a remodel was taking place, and it's been a very humbling experience.

But I can't wait to share the photos of the finished kitchen....which might take a while, but watch this space!

Collage Gone Wild!

A fun workshop in which we layered gesso, paints, papers, stamps, tissue, more stamps, more paint, and created these cool folded books!

Thanks to those of you who joined me at 2KatStudios and jumped right in!

Check my website for other creative workshops!

At Home

Here is a photo of Bill and me, and Tony lounging on the futon in the background. I think we just got a Mac computer and were playing with the camera! That futon is long gone

Giving Thanks

Here's to a wonderful Thanksgiving all over the world!  I am grateful to have been able to travel to London, to spend this holiday with Molly, Philip and some of their good friends and family.   It was a great evening, with lots of great conversation, delicious food, and fun charades!  We had turkey, wild rice stuffing, sweet potatoes and marshmallows (of course), green beans and almonds, corn bread, pumpkin pie....and the vegetarian option of pueblo corn pie.  Very yummy....if I say so myself!  Hope you all had a fantastic day!

Art4Tots Party Preparations!

This was our last Art4Tots session for awhile...what with my upcoming travels, the holidays etc., we will start up again in January. This session involved creating beautiful butterflies for Tessa's upcoming 3rd Birthday Party, with a butterfly theme.  So everyone decorated these paper butterflies with paint, markers, glue and glitter.  Tessa's mom Hulya will use them as party decorations around the room.  Happy Birthday Tessa!

Here's Ella, shaking the glitter around on her lovely orange butterfly.  Good job, Ella!

An Interview with Anne Marie Bennett, author of "Bright Side of the Road"

I have never met Anne Marie Bennett, but I feel like I know her.  She and I are both SoulCollage® Facilitators and Trainers, and use the arts for healing and self-understanding.  We will meet for the first time next weekend at the 3rd Annual SoulCollage Facilitator Conference, being held near Tubac, AZ at Pocket Sanctuary.


Anne Marie has written an honest and brave account of her diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer, based on her journal entries.


I interviewed Anne Marie about her journey through breast cancer and her book, and here is what she had to say:

I found your book very moving and personal.  How were you able to write such intimate things, knowing complete strangers would read it?

Thank you, Kat!  The book was shaped directly from my actual journal entries, and at the time I was just journaling… I wasn’t thinking about strangers reading any of it.  When I actually decided a year ago to edit the first drafts of the book, and to follow through with publication, I began to be aware of the possibility of strangers reading my words, my story.  And yes, I thought twice!  But then I thought back to the most powerful teachers I’ve ever had and realized that it was always their own stories of personal experience that made a difference to me.  After that I didn’t hesitate.


What would you say helped you the most through your surgeries and treatments?

Gratitude. Noticing and concentrating on the little things that other people (my medical team as well as family and friends) did for me really kept me from focusing on my own fear and physical symptoms.  Saying little gratitude prayers at night before I went to sleep kept me connected to Spirit in a powerful yet gentle way.


As an art therapist, I am well aware of the healing power of the arts.  How were you able to continue using your creativity throughout your breast cancer journey? For instance, how did you motivate yourself to keep writing in your journal, and keep making cards?

The journaling came naturally. There was never a question of motivating myself to keep writing. That has been my steady passion and main means of self-expression since I was 12.  I’d only been creating collaged note cards for a few years when I was diagnosed, so that was a different story.  I think the thing that motivated me the most to keep making those cards was the idea that I would give them as gifts to my doctors and medical team when my treatments were over. I felt a deep need to give back during this journey, and that is what motivated me to continue making those note cards on those days when I wasn’t overwhelmed with fatigue.


You went on a retreat at Kripalu for “Women Living with Breast Cancer” and talk about the “Fear of it Coming Back.”  What are some of the ways you are able to take care of yourself when that fear rears its ugly head?

Staying present with myself is the ONLY thing that helps me take care of myself when the fear starts to roll in.  I mean, absolutely the ONLY thing.  When I am able to gently bring myself back to the here and now (and sometimes I have to do it over and over and over again in the course of an hour), the fear recedes, because my fear is all about the future, and all I have is this present moment I’m inhabiting right now.



How has your SoulCollage® practice helped with your journey?  Have you made cards specifically addressing the breast cancer?

I wish that I had known about SoulCollage® when I was going through my cancer treatments.  It would have really helped me to embrace my fears and give voice to the different parts of myself that I shut off during that time.  But we get what we need, when we need it, I guess!  After I started practicing SoulCollage® three years after my treatments ended, I made several cards about my breast cancer journey. You can see them and read what they “said” to me here: http://www.kaleidosoul.com/breastcancer.html




Anne Marie Bennett is a writer, self-taught collage artist, website goddess, cancer survivor and SoulCollage® Facilitator.  She received a BS degree in Education from Southern Connecticut State University and has taught people of all ages throughout the East Coast.  She has also worked as a bookseller, sheet presser, library assistant, computer consultant, and in theatre management. Anne Marie lives in eastern Massachusetts with her middle-aged husband (also a cancer survivor), two elderly cats and one very playful dog who keeps all of them young-at-heart. She is happiest when she is reading, writing, breathing salt air, dancing, and hugging her beautiful grandchildren.

For more information about Anne Marie’s book, Bright Side of the Road, please visit this page: www.annemariebennett.com 
To purchase the book, please visit this page: www.annemariebennett.com/how-to-purchase 
Bright Side of the Road is also available on Amazon.com
http://tiny.cc/lf3HF  

Mosaics 101
at 2KatStudios!

This was my first mosaic workshop in the space since adding the divider screens and hand dyed fabric panels. Judie and Jenny got right to work, creating their mosaic mirrors.  The studio  is comfortable and light, and we had room to really spread out on a Sunday!

Judie's mirror is filled with vibrant color and design.  Check out the little half pot with mirror pieces coming out of it! And the wonderful green leaf platters that were so difficult for students to smash, since they looked just fine!  (Thank you Karin and Melissa,  for giving me your "seconds"!!).  And the black grout really makes everything pop.

Jenny's mirror is more subtle but still filled with an interesting mix of color and texture.  As a quilter, she recognized the way her style went straight to creating a  quilt-like design, although the finished product is very different.  Her use of a few larger pieces makes this mirror easy on the eyes....her first choices of tesserae (pieces of tile etc) were all about the same size, and I think she made the right decision to change it up a little and add the bigger pieces.

The Emerald City

The Emerald City

This part of the mosaic was made using smalti, a wonderful opaque glass cut into small squares.  This green smalti really shimmers in the sunlight!

Yellow Brick Road and Poppies

Poppies

The yellow brick road meanders along through a field of poppies....heading to the Emerald City.

The Yellow Brick Road

The Yellow Brick Road.

This is the second of a series of three mosaic "stories" that I am working on at a beautiful garden in Lakeside; Gita Morena's "Soul Sanctuary". Gita Morena is a psychotherapist, teacher, author and spiritual guide, and is the great granddaughter of L. Frank Baum, author of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", so it seemed like a natural theme for the mosaic. Here's the beginning of the yellow brick road. It leads through the red poppies and ends up at the Emerald City. It's been fun to use a variety of ceramic tile, smalti, gems, glass and mirror. My friend Virginia Sumner has been helping me with this project, and we are just starting on the third series, which has interpretations of the main characters in the story. I will post more pictures in the next installment!

Ripley.

He's an English Bull Terrier from a very good blood line, from Allegro Bull Terriers in Orange County. 12 weeks old, smart and funny, stubborn and teething. He goes to work with Bill every day, and keeps us laughing and busy every minute that he's awake. He is not a "replacement" for our beloved Tony, who we had to say goodbye to on September 3rd. He's another dog, another Bully, another member of our family. He's going to be big, and he may be show quality. He's our little buddy and even the cats are getting used to him (well, sort of)! Watch this space for more Ripley news!

Art4Tots #2

ART4TOTS....
Our second session of Art4Tots was another success! This time we made paints from cold cream, cornstarch and food coloring, and I brought a batch of home made playclay. The kids enjoyed experimenting with the goopy stuff, and didn't seem at all bothered that they had nothing to take home with them except fun memories!

If you want to "try this at home"....here are a few links to great craft suppliers: here in the USA, I like Dick Blick and Michael's. In the UK, you can find great craft supplies at Baker Ross!

And please remember, use safe materials and keep an eye on your little artist!

ART4TOTS

How cute is this? The first session of our new "Art4Tots" group took place yesterday at ARTS, and we had a great time! There were 5 kids, aged between 2 and a half and 4 years old (mostly 2 and a half!), and a couple of babies, and of course the moms! The whole point of this group is to encourage and allow kids to explore art materials and have fun, without emphasizing the end result. We made paint out of shaving cream and white glue and color....painted with wooden spoons, sponges, brushes and fingers, and probably the most fun was cleaning up in the soapy water. This group will meet on Tuesday mornings starting in September, and I think it will be a great way to introduce children to messy art materials without having to worry about the mess! Contact me for more information at kat4clay@gmail.com! (In this photo...Tessa showing us that kids love art!!)

Frog Mosaic

Spiral Frog...
Here's the mosaic frog I created for a couple in San Diego, for the wall of their new bathroom. It's on a piece of mesh so their tile setter can place it as he tiles the wall. A border will set it apart, then it will be grouted along with the rest of the wall. I think it will add a nice focal point for their bathroom. I'll post a photo of the finished piece soon!

Old Friends

Old Friends
Here I am with my old pal Diane, in a photo booth somewhere in Millburn, NJ. Diane and I have been friends since 2nd grade, and although she moved away before high school, and we kept in pretty good touch for awhile, but then drifted apart. Fast forward to around 1983, when Diane read an article in the newspaper in Philadelphia, about a local guy who rode a specially equipped hand-cycle that was designed by Bill Warner, my brother. Diane wrote to the paper, asking them to forward a letter to my brother, and in that letter asked him to forward a letter to me. I was living in northern England at the time, and was sooooo happy to hear from her after all those years. From that point onwards, we have spent countless hours on the phone, emails, and visits. In 1996 I moved to Wallingford, PA, and lived about a mile away from Diane and her family for many happy years. My daughter Molly and Diane's daughters have been good friends for a long time, and I'm hoping the cycle continues. And even though we now live on different coasts, our friendship thrives. Thanks, Di!

Random Photo
This photo was taken awhile ago, probably when Bill got his new Mac computer. We were playing around with the web camera, in our home office/guest bedroom. Here we are, with Tony lounging on the futon in the background. The futon is long gone, Bill has a new office chair, and the artwork on the wall has changed. But the photo is kind of cool, so I thought I'd share!

Happy Holidays! I'm really into collage these days. Here is a page of a little book I made in a class taught by Karen O'Brien recently, at the San Diego Art Department. Karen is a great teacher with a wonderful imaginative approach, and unfortunately (for us), she moved to Oregon. So, I have been working in my studio with my friend Lauren, and we are enjoying making these collages. I'll be teaching a 5-session class in these collage techniques, starting on Tuesday, February 10th. Check my website for further details, and come join the fun!

Ghost Ranch Painting Workshop

What I saw and what I painted at Ghost Ranch!

I spent an amazing week in northern New Mexico, at a workshop entitled "Plein Air Painting in the O'Keeffe Landscape", taught by Ann Painter. It was a wonderful learning experience for me, and I tried to let go of expectation regarding my work, as I am not a painter and have not had much formal training in painting techniques (read: one class in college)...so I decided to just soak in the beauty of the desert, and the support and talents of my fellow classmates, and learn from my great teacher....and I am pleased with the results! This was a small acrylic sketch which I later made into a bigger painting, of the chimney rock that was just spectacular!