Renovation Progress

Day 5!

We had this wonderful little guy for a day, and he dug up some concrete for the plumbing lines.

Good job little guy! Ready for the plumber on Monday!









The windows were cut from the outside, and now will be cut from the inside.  I posted on Facebook that these big windows will let in a lot of light. One of my good friends, Karin, responded with "I don't see a lot of lights coming through those windows! I think you guys got ripped off! :-)".  Very funny Karin!

Renovation Progress

 Day 3


OK, this is not the most exciting blog post, but it's so cool to see the progress each day.

On Day 2, the window templates were hung up to give us an idea of their size and height.  They are so big, and will let in a lot of light.  They are going to be a little higher up than in this photo.

 Day 3 and the concrete cutter was here, preparing the floor for the plumbing to be installed.  On Monday the plumber will get started.

AND, the lumber arrived for the framing etc....a new dumpster is in place, and the porta-potty got relocated to the spot it should have been delivered to in the first place.

It's all good.....

Renovation Progress

 Day One of Garage Renovation:

All the wallboard has been removed.
All shelving and dividing wall removed.
One dumpster arrived and got filled to the brim.
So much progress in one day! 

There's a small pile of boxes and furniture that will go into the workshop and studio spaces, which is now covered with a blue tarp. 







This will be Kat's studio and workshop space, with windows and skylights!











Dumpster is full after one day!

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!