CREATIVITY + INNOVATION Page 46 of 50

Flora Bowley to teach at Do What You Love retreat in England!

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I am absoutely thrilled to share the news that American painter Flora Bowley will be teaching a three-day workshop at the Do What You Love art and creative enterprise retreat in Yorkshire, England next May!

Flora Bowley credit Tyson Robichaud

(Image: Tyson Robichaud)

Flora’s painting style is gorgeously unique, bursting with colour and beauty, and she is an incredibly gifted teacher.  The one day class I took with Flora a while back was one of the most freeing days of painting I have ever experienced.  So you can imagine how exciting it is that Flora will be travelling to Europe specially for this workshop, where participants can sink into three days of indulgent creating with this wonderful free spirit. 

In “Bloom True – wild and delicious painting with Flora Bowley“, the class will explore a whole new way of painting from a space of freedom, non-judgment and experimentation. This process is about loosening up, letting go of expectations, having fun and allowing paintings to unfold naturally. The class will paint on giant canvasses, with access to acres of stunning countryside for inspiration and outdoor classroom space.

If you are able to join us, I can promise you will never look at painting the same way again.

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‘Freed’ by Flora Bowley, acrylic on canvas 36″ x 36″

 As part of the retreat’s creative enterprise sessions, Flora will also share some of her experience in making it as an internationally-acclaimed professional painter, who has licenced some of her work with Anahata Katkin’s ‘Papaya!’.

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‘Thirty-six’ by Flora Bowley, acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 36″

Flora lives and works full-time as a painter in Portland, OR, where she is inspired by magical forests, abundant gardens and a thriving community of fellow artists. Flora’s love for life and spontaneous nature are clearly visible in her vibrant, easily recognizable paintings. Throughout the year, Flora enjoys travelling, teaching workshops and painting in colourful locations around the world.

Flora Bowley to teach at Do What You Love retreat in England! static+badge retreat

More information will be available on the Do What You Love retreat website to be launched in December.  This retreat will be cosy and intimate – small enough for everyone to get to know everyone – so places are strictly limited. Registration will formally launch with the new website in December, but if you want to be the first to know about it (and get in on the early bird discount), sign up for the new Do What You Love newsletter at the top of this page.

Internationally-renowned book artist Rachel Hazell and award-winning mixed-media artist Priscilla Jones will also be teaching at the retreat.  

Taking to the streets in the name of art

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Steaming cappucinos, yards of bunting, warm welcomes, gorgeous art by emerging artists and the chance to poke around people’s houses – what’s not to love about a local arts trail? 

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I discovered some gems on the inaugural Headingley Arts Trail this week, not least the vibrant paintings of Julia Keates, inspired by her travels across the world. Here are some of her works on display in her lovely home, where she paints in her large attic studio.

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Have you discovered any local artists near you lately?

Chicago city magic

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Having fun with my photos from Chicago, the last stop on my recent US adventure. 

They aren’t my normal style. What do you think?

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The top two are of Anish Kapoor’s amazing sculpture ‘Cloud Gate’ in Millennium Park. The third is of a smaller sculpture in the same park (‘Sacred Rock’, part of a special exhibition by contemporary Chinese artists), and the last picture was taken at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

If you like any of them, I’d be interested to know which and why…

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More posts from my recent US adventures:

New York part 1

New York part 2

Cape Cod

Squam Lake

What’s in your secret stash?

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I was doing some sorting in my studio today

and was shocked by the number of spools of ribbon

I found tucked away.   

Baby blues and scarlet reds, French beauties and English lace.  

 I must have sneaked them in when I wasn’t looking. 

What’s in your secret stash?

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PS I also love paper. Do you?

Changing education paradigms – we need more creativity!

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Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson always has something thought-provoking to say, and this excerpt from a talk at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) is no exception.  Love the way Cognitive Media have made this talk visual too.

What do you think?  How would you change education to get more children to use all parts of their brain, and develop what they are truly good at and have a passion for, so that when it comes to working they can do what they love?

Do What You Love interview – Claudine Hellmuth

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So excited to bring you this interview with artist, author and illustrator extraordinaire Claudine Hellmuth. Claudine combines photos, paint, paper and pen into quirky, whimsical-retro collages that she calls Poppets®. Claudine has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and she has developed her own signature product line with Ranger Inc (how cool is that?).

Christine HellmuthArtwork courtesy of Claudine Hellmuth

Claudine has written three books and three DVDs about her techniques, and recently taught a techniques e-course ‘At Home with Claudine Hellmuth’ (which I took and loved) Originally from Orlando FL, Claudine lives in Washington DC with her husband Paul and their very spoiled pets. Today she talks to us about Martha, commissions and her creative business life.

Do What You Love interview - Claudine Hellmuth CH2Artwork courtesy of Claudine Hellmuth

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My life is an open book

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About The Author (me): See profile. Loves travel & adventure, people, making stuff, tea, hugs, sunshine, books, chocolate, laughing, bare feet on sand.

The Setting: Each chapter is set in a different country – at over 50 chapters so far this is a long book.

The Characters: Some characters in every chapter (family, friends, lovely man), others pop in and out, bringing fleeting glimpses of other worlds.

The Plot: Young girl heads out in search of adventure. Meets many strange and wonderful people, falls in love, sends many postcards.

The Twist: You’ll just have to keep reading to find out…

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This attempt to sum up ‘my life as an open book’ is my response to the Hello Splendor’s blogcrawl, as it’s my turn. I am  passing the honour on to Sam at Today’s Nest. Check them out and back-track to find more open books floating out in the ether. Or why not try it for yourself? It’s harder than it looks, especially if, like me, you limit yourself to 20 words for each answer.

Squam round-up

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There was a lot of laughter on this trip. In my last post about Squam I just wanted to share some of the (many) lighter moments.

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Travelling to the retreat in style…

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You can imagine our faces when Leroy and his mobile home rocked up to pick Louise and me up from the bus station. Not quite the shuttle we had been expecting, but we were delighted to find it filled with tea and biscuits and friendly new faces.

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Wondering how apt it was that my cabin should be down this road…

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Feeling lucky to share a cosy cabin with such wonderful ladies (Nina, Sylvia, Jayne, Kirsten, Brittany + Steph who is not in the picture.)

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Getting lost in the forest in the middle of a torrential downpour late at night with six girls laughing madly (our cabin was called ‘Wayonda’ for a very good reason). It looked something like this…

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Admiring the work of fellow artists Andrea and Jess at the Visions of Squam exhibition at Mocha Rising in the cute nearby town of Centre Sandwich. 

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Thank you Squam Lake for having us, and thank you Elizabeth for bringing us together.

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The importance of photography

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An old friend of mine, renowned wildlife photographer Koichi Fujiwara, is busy preparing for a big exhibition of his photos which opens later this month in Japan. The images he captures are a mixture of stunning, cute, and thought-provoking but they all have one thing in common – they tell the story of the environmental crisis our world is currently facing.

In ‘The Earth is calling us – listen to Nature’s voice’, a special exhibition to coincide with the COP10 Biodiversity Conference in Nagoya, Ko shares a stark snapshot of the state of the planet. Through beautiful photos he shows how our actions are completely shaking up the world’s ecosystems, and the impact that is happening on some of our most treasured animals.

As a perpetual traveller and the only person to have photographed every species of penguin in the world, he is taking the planet’s pulse first hand. From Komodo Dragons in Indonesia and Giant Spiny Chameleons in Madagascar, to Orang-utans in Borneo and seals in Antarctica, Ko has brought back a suitcase full of visual treasures from his travels, but with a frightening message about what we might find (or not) if we travel to those same places next year, next decade, next century.

If you happen to be in Nagoya, do check it out. If not, you can always see some of Ko’s photos on his website Nature’s Planet or peruse one of the many books he has written.  (The site is in Japanese but is easy to hop about and find photos.)

He got me thinking about the importance of photography not just to capture beauty, stash away memories and catalogue history as it happens, but also to influence the future. The seemingly inevitable doesn’t necessarily have to become history, if the images are powerful enough to make us change how we live in the present.

What powerful images of our time have you seen lately? Do share with a link!