Women's Evolution Retreat Weekend

This will be my third year at the Women’s Evolution Retreat. The first year I was a participant and last year I became one of the presenters. I’m coming back again this year with a class called, Creative Visioning - Tapping into the Power of Your Intention.

Women coming together,
creating connections,
and building community
in a safe and supportive space.

November 1st - 3rd

Join us for a weekend of play, relaxation, creativity, conversation, reflection and contemplation and leave feeling uplifted, empowered, and inspired.

The weekend includes:

• 2 nights accommodations.

• Delicious meals throughout the weekend
  catering to a wide variety of dietary needs.

• Access to a variety of classes and presentations.

• Group sharing circles and a sound bath

Click the button below to learn more about the retreat, along with the variety of workshops and presenters.

Friday to Sunday - November 1st - 3rd
in the Santa Cruz Mountains
$799 USD for shared accommodations
$899 USD for single room

Upon registering, you can choose to pay in full or save your spot with a
deposit of $399 and pay the rest later on.

AND… I’m so happy to share the wonderful article, in the Press Banner, about this retreat and a bit about why women attend retreats.

Come connect, be inspired, build new friendships and find your playfulness in the peace and calm of the redwoods!

Weekend Retreat for Women

Women coming together,
creating connections,
and building community
in a safe and supportive space.

Join us for a weekend of play, relaxation, creativity, conversation, reflection and contemplation and leave feeling uplifted, empowered, and inspired.

The weekend includes:

• 2 nights accommodations.

• Delicious meals throughout the weekend. 

• Access to a variety of classes and presentations.

• Movement sessions to start the day

• Group circles and a sound bath
  

Friday to Sunday - November 17th - 19th
in the Santa Cruz Mountains
$699 USD for the weekend

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Last year, I attended this wonderful weekend as a participant. This year, I am thrilled to be one of the organizers, with a fabulous group of women. And I’m excited to be presenting a class, called Creativity in Motion. Here’s the class description:

Through playful exploration, we will tap into the freedom of creative expression, embracing mindfulness, movement, and dance as a means to connect with our bodies and our creativity. Together, we will experience the flow of energy as it moves through our bodies giving us access to the joy of self-expression. With the use of a colorful collection of music, we will channel our movements into expressive marks and drawings on paper. Our focus will be on the process of creating rather than on any final product. As we mindfully engage in the creative process, the flow becomes a dance of the soul, where time ceases to exist, and we become fully present in the moment. Your desire to play and willingness to move and have fun is all you need as a prerequisite. 

Click the button below to learn more about the retreat along with the workshops and presenters.

Upon registering, you can choose to pay in full or save your spot with a deposit of $299 and pay the rest later on. To do so, use the code: $299DEPOSIT

Note: The retreat location is both beautiful and peaceful. And the food REALLY is delicious. They do such a great job in catering to a wide variety of dietary needs.

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 4

During the last week of the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge, I had fun playing with shapes and color, exploring new ideas, and continuing to develop concepts from prior pages. One of the pages was inspired by an Andy Goldsworthy photograph and another by a historical event. I experimented with mark making and new textural methods, while filling the pages with papers, acrylics, and all types of pencils (drawing pencils, watercolor pencils, charcoal pencil, colored pencils).

Day 22/30

Day 23/30

Day 27/30

Day 26/30

The piece I created on Day 26 was inspired by the Tulsa Race Massacre. The massacre has been referenced quite a bit recently so I decided to research it. And I couldn’t let it go. I continued to read a bit more each day and finally had to paint something on the subject. The atrocities of that event took place in 1921, in the wealthy black neighborhood of Greenwood. Hundreds of people were killed (estimates vary), and many are believed to be buried in mass graves. 35 square blocks were burned to the ground, leaving 10,000 homeless. I won’t share more here, now, but I do recommend you learn about “the single worst incident of racial violence in American history. “

On Day 28, I wanted to do something different and just be messier… a thoroughly enjoyable process. The idea of dedicating a week of sketchbook play to just messy pages sounds like a great exercise for me.

Day 28/30

Day 24/30

Day 25/30

As I neared the end of the challenge, I felt as if I had to make the most of the last few entries. But the reality is, my sketchbook play does not end with this challenge. I have another 30 pages left in this book and other sketchbooks on hand. I am likely to experiment more in the days ahead and finally get back to the painting I began weeks ago.

Day 29/30

Day 30/30

I have so enjoyed this challenge and the opportunity to develop a great relationship with sketchbooking. It will be interesting to see how this experience helps to shape the work I create in the coming weeks and months. I will be considering the ah-ha’s that showed up during these thirty days, the concepts I want to get back to, and the list of ideas I didn’t get to yet.

I am so very thankful for Cheryl Taves, and for all her beautifully thoughtful sharing, her time, and the effort she put into hosting this fabulous sketchbook journey. It has been 30 days filled with riches.

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 3

Something happened , something shifted as I began the third week of the 30 Day Sketchbook challenge. Up until this week, I was intrigued by the circular cutouts and felt drawn to using them on the pages of this book. But suddenly, as I developed the Day 15 image, the power of these shapes rose to the surface and my use of them became encircled in meaning.

Day 15/30

So in week 3, I’ve continued to play with this circular shape and reflect on my connection to it, meanwhile feeling as if I am also taking shape.

And now for the rest of the week…
(all images can be found below)

Day 16: “Black and Blue” was a reaction to Black Out Tuesday (the day before) and the presence of black squares on many and most Instagram feeds, in solidarity of Black Lives Matter and the events of this week.

Day 17: An image that didn’t develop as I thought it would, providing the exercise in letting go, learning, exploring, and moving forward to the next page.

Day 18: Playing with a variation on an earlier page with a similar color palette and elements but with a different layout and design. I love exploring variations on a theme!

Day 19: “ A Complex Society” is a variation on the Day 16 image. During these few weeks, I’ve been playing with new ideas, shapes, and colors, with a need to revisit prior pages and create variations on those images.

Day 19/30

Day 16/30

 Day 20: This was an effort to experiment with some mark making. I’m pretty shy and reserved when it comes to adding marks to a painting. So, I began by filling the page with marks and then painting a thin layer over it. After adding more marks on top of the paint, I ended up covering most of them up with paint, leaving just a bit showing.

Day 17/30

Day 20/30

Day 21: Shortly before this sketchbook challenge, I opened my new sketchbook and scribbled some stream of consciousness words in pencil to form a paragraph. My idea was to cover it with papers and paint but allow some of it to show through. Then during the challenge, I got caught up in using the clean fresh pages and didn’t get back to it... until the 21st day of the challenge. The added pencil lines are my attempt at mark making. I was much more comfortable with these not too bold lines.

Day 21/30

Day 18/30

As the week ended, I reflected on the experiences of these days I’m spending with my sketchbook and where it has already taken me. And I wondered what would unfold in the coming week, both in the world and in my sketchbook.

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 4

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 2

During the second week of the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge, I continued to find similar and differing ways to highlight the circular shape that’s become the primary element on these pages.

Day 8/30

Day 9/30

Day 13/30

It seems that each painted image in this sketchbook, ends up calling on me to return and create one or more variations on that idea or concept. That’s no surprise. I love working within a series of paintings, with each piece a stepping stone to the next. This sketchbook journey has become something of a dance, steps forwards and backwards, 1-2-3. Each time I satisfy my need for revisiting a completed page, I find myself focused on another to revisit.

Day 10/30

Day 12/30

This week, as I explored the circular theme, I played with textures and layers, strings and threads, and various color palettes. I had fun scraping paint with a serrated knife, adding raw canvas, and limiting the colors on some of the pages. I’ve found delight in placing one or more red elements (like a dot or circle) for a pop of color.

Day 12/30

Day 14/30

Each day has been a new creative adventure that I look forward to with wonder. I suspect I haven’t finished playing with the circular shape and I would expect them to continue showing up in the week ahead.

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 1
Week 3
Week 4

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 1

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to join in on a 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge. As I watched other artists beginning to get involved, I kept getting a nudge to play in my sketchbook too!! So with a fairly new 6” x 6” sketchbook, I began creating a page a day. I’m having fun and loving the sense of wonder in what I will come up with next as I use a variety of materials and tools. So far, I’ve played with cut paper, ink, chalk, charcoal pencil, crayon, pencils, acrylic, watercolor pencils, and thread.

Day 1/30

Day 2/30

Day 5/30

In the past, sketchbooks were something I used to brainstorm ideas for a new painting or series, for morning drawing meditations, and to express dreams or concepts. I don’t think I’ve ever used a sketchbook to just play. So as I began this challenge, I was stepping out of my norm and very excited to do so.

I have been loving the process of working in a sketchbook each day. I have found that in the pages of this small book, I’ve been working past the point of ‘done-ness’, continuing to add to what I have. Pushing it beyond and then a bit further. It’s been a wonderful exercise. And being a sketchbook page, it’s easier to take risks. 

Day 4/30

Day 6/30

Day 7/30

In this week of daily sketchbook entries, two elements have presented themselves… the open circle and the grid. I’ve become interested in exploring what I might create with them in the future, individually and in combination. My mind has been flooded with ideas of images to explore on these pages. Each day I wonder, “What creative experiences will be present in the adventure of producing the next page.”

Much thanks to Cheryl Taves for creating this fabulous challenge. I am thrilled to be a part of it. To view the many other sketchbook entries for this challenge visit, #insightcreative30daychallenge

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Changes

Establishing a new website, blog, and newsletter can be very positive. It feels like everything has a fresh new look and feel which can be quite energizing. But, there's another side to this.

Last night I spent some time at my old blog. I have been posting articles and artwork there for almost ten years. Although my experience with Blogger has had it's frustrations recently, it has been home to the Shared Easel blog and newsletter.

Finding a new home through Squarespace means letting go of the past and moving on. Even when change is good, it still has it's moments of needing to embrace the new and release the tendency to hold onto the old. This is true whether we are talking about a website or a life experience.

Life is a series of changes... changing times, changing relationships and experiences, changes in mood, beliefs, thoughts, and dreams. We are constantly faced with new opportunities, challenges, and obstacles. 

So, as I travel the path of my fresh start, I am reflecting fondly on the past and the steps of the journey to this point. I am very excited to be where I am now. 

What changes are you making in your life?

Choosing a Web Builder

Ten years ago I immersed myself in working with a purchased template to create a website. I wowed myself every day as I altered the code to set up galleries, links, and pages. Over the years, that site has become a dinosaur. It didn't work on mobile devices, it was clunky for adding content, and it was looking tired and old compared to the new sites out there.

So, I finally took the plunge into the world of web builders. I checked out comparison reviews of the various options. I viewed the templates offered by a wide variety of platforms. After spending much time exploring my options, I decided to simultaneously play around with a trial experience at both Squarespace and Wix.

The Squarespace Design Style Editor

Initially, I felt frustrated and stuck during my use of the Squarespace interface. I just didn't get it. I had journeyed into unfamiliar territory. So, I moved over to Wix and it seemed to hold my hand and show me the way. But, as I began to add images into the template and try to tweak what I wanted, it got clunky and I found myself getting frustrated.

That's when I gave Squarespace another try. I immediately felt more at home with the clean and neat design that had originally attracted me. Ten minutes with a loved one had me beginning to understand the way it worked. It didn't feel as foreign anymore. 

I chose Squarespace because of their beautifully designed templates and their polished professional interface. I had an uncomfortable learning curve but finally got my footing on this new platform. 

New Website

I am thrilled to welcome you to my new Website!!

After weeks of trial and error, editing and tweaking, it is finally ready to go live. I view this site as a work in progress, with lots more to add and change in the coming weeks and months. But, today I have an updated WendyMegSiegel.com to share and it comes with a newly revitalized Shared Easel Blog, incorporated right here on my site. 

With the help of the Squarespace platform, I will easily be able to add my latest artwork, update images and information, and add new pages and elements. I am very excited about the greater flexibility I will now have to alter and change anything on this site.

Although quite a bit of the old site has been left behind, I've added a few new elements: an area to feature Recent Works, an individual page for every painting with description and related artworks, and a section with images of the creative Process.

One thing I was unable to do was import the many years of posts from the Shared Easel blog at Blogspot. So I will find ways to add the link here wherever I can. (It's now a sidebar link.)

In future posts, I will be writing about some of the many changes I am making to refresh just about everything (including the Shared Easel Newsletter). It feels like a new beginning for me, my artwork, and what I have to share. So stay tuned.