HEADSPACE + HEARTSPACE Page 17 of 21

Scottish island life

Posted on 2011-04-27 at 9:00 am.

(View of Bressay lighthouse through the crooked stone window of an abandoned croft house)

Staying in a lighthouse has always been a bit of a dream for me, so when I found out about a book making workshop taking place in a lighthouse on the remote Scottish island of Bressay, I knew I had to go.

It is so exposed to the elements that there wasn’t a tree to be seen. There were just seven of us, with the sound of the sea, and sheep for company.

These lovely seals flopped on the rocks and kept a curious eye on me as I scrambled over the rocks looking for pebbles

Each morning I took a walk through the fields, along the shoreline and past abandoned crofts, hiding tales of lives lived long ago.

… and past cosy-looking crofts still home to islanders, who wake up each day to such a beautiful view.

It was a little wild, and quite eerie with the light swooping over the cliffs at night, but I loved it.

Layer painting

Posted on 2011-04-08 at 10:30 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Getting stuck into Juliette Crane’s fun ‘How to paint an owl’ e-course and loving getting messy (and using these bright juicy colours). Here are my first couple of backgrounds – over the coming weeks I will be adding owls and some embellishments.

Can’t wait to go mad with the spray paint… Will share more here as the paintings develop over the coming weeks!

Introducing the stunning work of Mirang Wonne

Posted on 2011-03-30 at 11:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I wasn’t expecting to find such delicate industrial beauty inside the old military station of Fort Mason in San Francisco, but that is exactly what I found when I stumbled across Mirang Wonne’s work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists’ Gallery.

You can see the scale of the work in this photo, where Louise is standing captivated by it.

According to the gallery brochure, Mirang ‘creates drawings on stainless steel mesh by burning the surface with a torch. The silver coloured metal surface… bears some resemblance to Asian calligraphy and brush painting created on long scrolls of paper’.

The colours in the melted mesh were beautiful, like oil on water, and the work drew me in.

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I was in California to take a painting class from the awesome Jesse Reno. You can read about it here, and see what crazy stuff I painted! More on my USA adventures to follow shortly…

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I heart San Francisco

Posted on 2011-03-26 at 8:45 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

A couple of weeks ago I spent a fun few days in San Francisco with my good friends Louise Gale and Juliette Crane.

We walked for miles, enjoyed discovering hidden galleries and cafes, nosed through the windows of people’s tall pastel-coloured houses and – dare I say it – even did a bit of shopping!

We also met up with the lovely Mati Rose McDonough and Tiffany Moore for lunch, in the gorgeous Tartine bakery. ‘So fun’ (as Tiffany would say…)

Now that’s my kind of lemon meringue pie!

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I was in the US for a painting class with the awesome Jesse Reno. You can read about it here, and see what crazy stuff I painted. More on my USA adventures to follow soon…

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Playing with plaster

Posted on 2011-03-15 at 3:27 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

During the retreat I attended recently in California, I popped into another studio to have a nosey at what they were doing in Stephanie Lee’s class, and see Lorrie, Lindy and Louise working away on their plaster creations. I have always loved wax, and couldn’t resist having a go myself.

Under their guidance I made this picture – not bad for under an hour!

I can see why Louise has declared it was love at first sight with plaster… I just love the way the glaze seeped into the cracked plaster, and how the wax drank in the brown paint where markings were scratched into it.

My man hung it on the wall yesterday, with the new drill I got him for Christmas (but am now coveting – it’s so cool!)

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Have you ever tried playing with plaster and wax? Such fun!

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What on earth is everyone thinking?

Posted on 2011-03-08 at 2:38 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

New research published by Accenture to mark International Women’s Day today shows some staggering results, about just how many people aren’t doing what they love. According to this article, the research, which surveyed more than 3,400 professionals in 29 countries, compared responses of equal numbers of women and men and found that fewer than half (43% of women and 42% of men) of all respondents are satisfied with their current jobs, but nearly three-quarters (70 percent of women and 69 percent of men) plan to stay with their companies. Released today as part of Accenture’s 2011 celebration of International Women’s Day, the research also found that the top reasons for respondents’ dissatisfaction are:

– being underpaid (cited by 47% of women versus 44% of men)

– a lack of opportunity for growth (36% versus 32%);

– no opportunity for career advancement (33% versus 34%);

– feeling trapped (29% versus 32%)

Come on everyone! This is your life you are talking about. Surely it is time to start doing what you love?

“Yes, but…”, I hear you say. No buts. This is as important as it gets.

If you want to do what you love but don’t know where to start…

– get some inspiration from these shared stories.

– read these interviews with inspiring people doing what they love.

or join the Do What You Love e-course – a six-week online adventure that will take you step-by-step towards doing what you love.

Class starts on Monday. The time is now!

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Heavenly check list

Posted on 2011-03-05 at 6:04 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Bunnies hopping past the front door… check

Fresh bread and homemade jam on the kitchen table… check

View for 50 miles across some of England’s loveliest countryside… check

The smell of wood smoke in the air… check

Bird song the music of the day… check

Friendly farmers and a family of deer… check

Wine and candles on the deck… check

What more could anyone want?

When I found this place last year, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for as the home for the Do What You Love art and creative enterprise retreat. It is beautiful, expansive, welcoming. It feels a million miles from anywhere, but is less than an hour from where I live, and only 5 minutes from the nearest town – a historic place nearly 1,000 years old. I am here on a site visit preparing for the retreat in May, and while I mean to be particular with details like the tipi orientation, bonfire location and where to serve afternoon
tea and cake, my mind keeps drifting like the little white clouds in the sky, over the hills and out into nature which surrounds us. This place is bliss, and I can’t wait until it is filled with the creative energy of people doing what they love. Just a little more drifting before I get back to work…

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There are only a few places left on the Do What You love art retreat, which combines creativity, enterprise and community to help you do what you love, for life. Our stellar line-up of business speakers will be announced soon. In the meantime, find out more and register here.

My California girls

Posted on 2011-03-04 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

(L-R Mindy Lacefield, me, Danielle Fraser, Louise Gale, Stella Singleton, Juliette Crane – I think Lindy McClellan must be taking the picture!)

There are some people in this life who it feels like you were supposed to meet. People you needed to open your eyes to something – something about you, about the world around you, or about your path. This is how I feel about the AAJ girls. When I met them for the first time last year, I somehow found myself in California, not really knowing why I was there. I didn’t even know what a blog was, and hadn’t picked up a paintbrush in a long time. In that special place in the shadow of the redwoods, I discovered the magic of art retreats. Somehow this amazing bunch of gorgeous gals made that trip a turning point for me, and everything changed.

Lorrie Spotts

Stella Singleton

We laughed, we drank tea, we talked long into the night, we painted, we ate together, we drank lots of wine. It was as if time stood still for four days, and yet it went so fast.

Only cheap paints allowed for this workshop!

It was wonderful to meet up with them and all the others from last year again – and to send love out into the world to those girls who couldn’t make it back for the second time (like Chrissy, Cathy, Anna-Marie, Peggy and Joli). And lovely to meet new creative souls too (like Karen, Nelly, Michelle, Amy, Carrie and Gwynnie B), to share this awesome journey.

Love y’all!

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You can read more about the crazy painting class I took with the awesome Jesse Reno here – and see what I painted here!

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Art retreats are incredibly powerful experiences. Join a group of likeminded souls at the Do What You Love art and creative enterprise retreat in the English countryside in May – just a few places left, register now!

Jesse Reno’s awesome ‘No Limits’ class (Part Two)

Posted on 2011-03-02 at 2:16 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I have a confession to make. I am a bit of a non-conformist when it comes to painting. I don’t much like sketching, I don’t have the patience to plan a painting, and rendering a still life is up there with doing the housework. Which is probably why I loved Jesse Reno’s class so much. It was all about being messy, creating chaos, getting stuck in.

If you aren’t familiar with Jesse’s work, have a look at this incredible video. He paints furiously, in a carefree but strangely considered way – it looks like everything in random but there is some method in all the madness. Jesse himself is a fascinating guy, full of funny stories of his life as an artist, living it just the way he wants to. His images are ancient and very masculine, but his colours and added details hearts, flowers etc) are contemporary and feminine. It makes for a unique combination.

Here are some images from our class – you can see how Jesse built up his paintings.

Jesse came back after class hours and stayed in the studio with us until gone midnight. It was awesome to see him paint live, and to get pushed into trying new things.

I was uncomfortable about my own paintings – they were crazy, quite dark, unfamiliar. But I was fascinated by what unfolded before me. You can see what I created over here – let me know what you think!

This is definitely my kind of painting.

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I had an awesome fortnight in the US, reconnecting with old friends at An Artful Journey, making new ones, and taking a road trip down the beautiful California coast. Will post more about all the lovely girls at the retreat and about the rest of my US adventure soon…

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Have you signed up to the Do What You Love e-course yet? Don’t miss out on joining people from all over the world for this innovative six week adventure towards doing what you love. Register now!

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Do What You Love e-course featuring Kanya King, founder of the MOBO Awards

Posted on 2011-02-11 at 11:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I am so excited about the stellar line-up of inspiring people whose interviews will feature in the upcoming Do What You Love ecourse. If you haven’t signed up already, register now! Class starts on March 14 and this is not to be missed. Over the next couple of weeks I will introduce the incredibly inspiring people who are going to share their thoughts, insights and advice in a series of juicy interviews for the Do What You Love e-course.

Today I am excited to announce that we will have an exclusive interview with Kanya King MBE, founder and CEO of the MOBO Awards. Join us in class to hear Kanya talk about identifying your passion, pursuing your vision, sticking with it despite challenges and setbacks, and finding a support network . Class runs for six weeks. Register now!

About the e-course

This online adventure will take you step-by-step on a path to discovering your true passion, and finding a way to make it a greater part of your everyday life.

In six weeks you will expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and use this to feed your creative soul. You will travel this path with a community of like-minded people from across the world, sharing your stories, forging new connections, and inspiring each other.

Based on the principle that adventure fuels creativity, a rich combination of thought-provoking posts, juicy interviews and stories will be shared, along with journal prompts, photo exercises, tools to help you on your path and fun weekly missions.

If you throw yourself into it, you will emerge more confident, more curious and much more likely to end up doing what you love.

Do What You Love. Register now!