Creative Soul Retreat - Part 1

On Wednesday 17th March I flew from Sydney to Melbourne to attend the Creative Soul Retreat.  I met up with Kyla at the airport, who flew in from the Gold Coast ... it was good to see her again.  We hung around the airport for a couple of hours until everyone had arrived from all corners of Australia to catch the bus to our venue - A Country Place Retreat in Kalorama.

Kyla and I shared a room in this section of the retreat.

The view as we walked to our room from the main dining area .. just beautiful.

The main dining area is inside behind the balcony.

Our first day of CSR saw Kyla and I doing the Waxy Layers class with Jan Harris.  Originally Judy Wise was to attend and run this class, but health issues prevented her from coming.  All the same, we had a wonderful fun day learning about encaustics from Jan.

Eliza, Kyla and I working away in the Waxy Layers Class with Jan Harris.

Jan playing with fire ... so much fun.

My two masterpieces??

Waxy Layers Class

An ATC swap was run at this year's CSR and the theme was "Miniature Me" and the card had to also feature a sign.  The Miniature Me part was all about your style and for my ATC I used bits and pieces that I love.  I started by coating the matte board with gesso, a light wash of paint, which once dry I then covered with my favourite glimmer mist colours of Tattered Leather and Olive.  I used my favourite tree stencil with ink, then added a street sign that I photographed at Mt Tribulation near Cairns in Queensland for drivers be aware of the Cassowary, which someone had vandalised - a classic.  I added my all time favourite rusty bottle caps along the base and some string to finish off.  I made 21 of these cards as 18 people were to participate ... it was a shame that in the end only 7 of us ended up playing along ... no loss though, I owe ATCs to a bunch of girls in Queensland, so will be sending them the left overs.

More CSR adventures and art to come in another post, so watch this space.

"There is nothing like a dream to create the future."
~Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, French Poet/Dramatist/Novelist~

In a new home ...

My husband and I made the move south from Queensland to New South Wales on my birthday - 9th March.  We stayed overnight in Kempsey in a pet friendly motel, enjoying a birthday dinner of Chinese. 

At my birthday breakfast, Alexis, me, Harry & Ferg.

Me and Pam.

We made it to my parents place in St Marys after lunch on 10th and enjoyed watching my little brother and sister win their indoor soccer grand final.

The winners!  My brother David is the goalie in front & my sister Natalie is second from left in back row.

The removalists arrived at our new home in Hunters Hill on Thursday and so began the sorting and unpacking of boxes.  The truck was the length of our home!!

A week later, I was in Melbourne, attending the Creative Soul Retreat, but will leave that to another post.  Here are a few pictures from our new home:

"No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change."
~Barbara De Angelis, American Author~