Giving Flight... Giving Back

It's August ! And that beautiful time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when the fields are gold with stalks of grain and lush fruit is ripe on the branch... Time for bringing in the harvest, looking back on what has been achieved in the past year, appreciating our good fortune and sharing. Nature doesn't hold back on the abundance!

It feels such an appropriate season to be celebrating, and that is exactly what a group of artists I know are doing this 20th August! It is one year ago that a group of us met online, while taking part in an art business course run by Kelly Rae Roberts called "Flying Lessons" and it seriously clued us in on what it takes to develop a creative art business.

There really was a lot that I didn't know, I didn't know!

I've since taken the courage to try things I never imagined - from technical things (that would have been unheard of for me a year ago) like blogging, and learning the ins and outs of how to use an Apple Mac computer, to wrestling the 'virtual Anaconda' I call Photoshop (Oh the thrill and accomplishment I feel when I succeed even with the smallest project!)

I've grown in confidence as an artist, and begun to write my own rules as I've realised when it comes to mixed media art, it truly is a case of absolutely anything goes!

I've come to realise that my art is an extension of me, who I am, what I am about, my emotions, mySelf...it all comes through in what I draw and paint...

Art is deeply autobiographical, there are also never any mistakes, just deeper insights and explorations, and of course new materials to try!

One year on, there has been a wealth of information shared, blogs started, marketplace stores opened to sell creative wares, many, many photographs taken, and even more online classes enjoyed, as we've networked and honed our craft.

It's been an incredible year for me. For us all. And in gratitude for the connection and community we've built, we are celebrating with a Giving Flight Blog Hop and paying it forward too, giving others who dream of working the creative life a chance for a place on this next course starting 17 September 2012.

The 2011 Alumni class has gotten together and donated 8 places and Kelly Rae has matched us...so there are 16 places waiting for the right students on this potentially life-changing course.

If you would like to be considered for a place on this class, please visit http://fly-tribe.blogspot.com/2012/08/givingflight.html from the 20th August 2012 for details of how to enter the giveaway.

And now please join in the fun with our Blog hop... These artists generously contributed to the giveaway... come visit our pages and read their stories ::

Janet Forrest http://www.tatterednworn.wordpress.com

Catherine Athena Louise http://www.catherineathenalouise.com -if you are reading this you are here already! :)

Stacey Bockness Curry http://www.starhitchedwagon.com

Kris Lanae Binsfeld http://cherishdesigns.wordpress.com/

Renee Burke http://happilyeverafterbyreneeburke.wordpress.com

Mary Sterk http://www.justmarydesigns.com

Michelle Reynolds http://www.shellsinthebush.com

Constance Rawlins http://livingwithinyourharvest.com/2012/08/19/fly-tribe-anniversary/

Kelly Hoernig http://www.kellyhoernig.com

Cindy Jones Lantier http://www.lantier.org

Kathleen Conard http://newfromoldcreations.blogspot.com/

Claudia Dow http://www.claudiadow.blogspot.com

Susan M. Walls-Beverly http://www.susanscharmingtrinkets.blogspot.com

Linda Barutha http://baruthadesigns.com

Linda Kinnaman http://lindakaysart.com/blog/2012/08/19/my-dream-journey-one-year-now/

Cheryl Dossey http://www.cheryldossey.com/

Sofia Dabalsa http://sofiadabalsa.com

Jill Lambert http://jill-lambert.blogspot.com/

Sally Rose http://sallyhow2.blogspot.com/

Ursula Smith http://EasyScraps.com/blog

Deborah Eaton http://www.deborahgeaton.com/blog/

Lori Leissner http://www.leissnerart.com/

Creative Clearinghouse http://creativeclearinghouse.com/Online-Class-Reviews/blog/Ursula-Creative-Clearinghouse

Lenore Angela http://www.lenoreangela.blogspot.ca/

Katharina Star http://www.blog.katharinastar.com

Rachél Payne http://collectingyourself.wordpress.com/

Sherry Richert Belul http://www.simplycelebrate.net/cherry-blossom-soup/gifts

Deborah Velasquez http://deborahvelasquez.blogspot.com/

Shannon Etnyre http://www.facebook.com/followtruenorth

& coming soon http://www.followtruenorth.com

Upcycle and Remix http://www.etsy.com/shop/UpcycleandRemix

Live Laugh Love Retreats http://livelaughloveretreats.com

Kelley Miller Artworks http://kelleymillerartworks.blogspot.com/

Wini Dougall http://artloveandjoy.blogspot.com

Carol Bray http://theredpaintedcottage.blogspot.com

Tracy Yarbrough http://chickpeastudio.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-spirit-of-giving.html

Diane Enright http://dianeenrightphotography.wordpress.com/

Jamie Burch http://www.dancingdownserendipitystreet.blogspot.com/

Mary Cottingham http://www.barnbugstudio.blogspot.com

Susan Dietz http://flutterbeforeyou.blogspot.com

Lori Moon Studio http://lorimoonstudio.blogspot.com

Kim Hyer http://www.apaperaddict.com

Tina Carlborg http://www.tinachicky.blogspot.com

Catherine Pistone http://catherinepistone.blogspot.com/

Mary MacIlvain http://maryart.macilvain.com/

• • •My journey through the senses• • •

smell:: The scent of newly mown hay blowing on the breeze as I ride my bike along lanes beside golden fields.

touch:: stencils and stamps hitting the surface of a canvas

see:: Seraphine ~This biographical depiction of Seraphine Louis (1864–1942) the self-taught French painter whose naïve style works were inspired by nature and her spiritual life.

Watch and be prepared to feel thoroughly spoilt (and truly grateful) by the ease of which we can easily obtain and use art supplies in these modern times. This remarkable woman had an undeniable urge to paint, she HAD to answer the call she felt, and in rural France she had to make her own paint mixtures from whatever she could get hold of; fresh mud from the river bed, crushed flower heads she gathered from the fields, animal blood (from the meat purchase at the Butchers store), candle wax carefully (and covertly) gathered into a stoppered bottle from the altar in her local church... Wait till you see her enormous canvases coming to life through the night by candlelight.

hear:: Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill Acoustic So perfect to paint to in the evenings and totally loving the 'hidden track' at the end.

think:: It must be time for a nice cup of Camomile tea!

feel:: Truly blessed to be alive - following a Lightning Strike that hit me via the telephone line during a big electrical storm on the weekend of 12 August. Not every one who experiences that lives to tell the tale!

taste:: The perfection of grilled salmon with a green leaf salad.

read:: Brett Bevell - Reiki for Spiritual Healing This is how Reiki was meant to be!

intuit:: The powerful vibes surging in this past week with the New Moon in Leo.