When you’re an artist there is absolutely nothing more essential to your survival than a community of folks who share your vision, your love of art, and who have your back.

Today, I’m spending some time with one of those women who has my back, and we’re going out to see others in our artist community – 2 of whom are wonderful artists and friends.

Mary Ida Rolape of Creekside arts has three shows going right now.  The one we’re visiting today will be CalvARTS in Prince Frederick, where Tricia Hall, she of the Bead Boutique where I have been spending much time lately learning new and wonderful things.  Both have amazing pieces in the invitational at CalvARTS.  I am sure I will now quite a few of the other artists, after all I’ve been an artist here for 10 years.  So it will be old home week, with great company and wonderful art to be enjoyed.

(If you click twice on picture – the first click takes you to a page where there’s just the picture, and click again and you get an enlarged picture if you want to look more closely.)

Another stop will be Julia Musengo, whose paintings and altars grace 4 spots in my house – she is having her holiday open house and cooking – her cooking is every bit as good as her art.  So a lovely day stretches out ahead of me.

As promised yesterday, here is what I learned at the Bead Boutique last evening.  It’s called muddling metal and was great fun – and as you can see, easy enough that one can be prolific with the very first class!  It seems to me that these pieces are going to work perfectly with fused glass scraps, which I’ve already begun experimenting with.  the problem is that if I’m going to start playing with this much material again, I’m going to have to find a venue where it makes sense to sell them or risk getting buried alive by me new-found enthusiasms.

Actually, I can’t call the metal working new-found.  These are classes I’ve put off taking for a long time simply because of lack of income.  The new part-time job has remedied that and my inner artist couldn’t be happier.  I can actually spend some (a lot!) of time learning new skills and seeing how they fit with what’s come before.  What can possible be better than that!

I hope all of you have an amazing Saturday ahead of you too!  Would love to hear about it!