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!