Sara Naumann: In Pursuit of the Muse ~

Sometimes I forget that I have the power to change the course of things. This statement sounds a little dramatic, so let me explain…

Workshop proposals for art retreats are due early—sometimes, almost a year in advance. For example, I sent off my class proposals for Art and Soul 2013 on Friday. And I’m teaching a 3-day weekend retreat at Art Workshops by the Sea on the Oregon Coast in July. I planned the workshop and wrote up a schedule for it way back in December.

There are a lot of logistics around scheduling and planning these kinds of things, so I totally understand why it has to be planned so far in advance. But I had a sinking feeling that the Art Workshops class just wasn’t strong enough. And knowing that I’m going to Ranger U this week, I thought it would be much more appealing if the workshop was based on the techniques I’ll learn there. I stemmed and stewed about it, not sure what I could do, until I thought—well, let’s just see what the organizer says. Is she okay with some changes? How disruptive is it, administratively? And does she think what I think is on track?

So I asked. And while this might not seem like much of an “a-ha!” moment, I realized that it is possible—and important—to take a pause and get a second opinion…before it’s too late. I mean, I can ask about changes three months in advance—but not three weeks, and definitely not three days. Sometimes it’s easy to get tunnel-vision when you work alone, and think things are set in stone when there just might be a chance to make some adjustments.

Lazertran techniques will still be a big part of the workshop—we'll combine them with Ranger products (plus more!).

And I think it made my relationship with the organizer stronger. She knows that I’m working toward the success of the event as well as the success of my classes, and the interests of the students, and that feels pretty good.

So…if you can make it to the Oregon Coast in July, and want to get the low-down on what I learn at Ranger U (plus some other stuff!) then please join me for a weekend of mixed-media techniques! Click here to find out more–just scroll down until you see “Mixed Media Techniques with Ranger Ink”. I’ll post up more project examples when I get back from Ranger U, so stay tuned!

Happy Monday! We’re celebrating Queen’s Day here in the Netherlands, where Amsterdam is awash in orange!

Trees are a favorite photo subject for me. I love the balance between change and permanence—how trees change appearance with the seasons but still seem so reliable, sturdy and immoveable. I also like taking photos of tree branches against the sky…whether that’s a newly-blossoming branch or a stark winter one. This is the latter, but that crisp blue sky just seems full of potential, doesn’t it?

Happy Friday!

When was the last time you had a day off? If you’re like me, it was probably a pretty long time ago.

And for most parents, a day “off” is generally filled with activities like cutting peanut butter sandwiches into tiny pieces, mopping said tiny pieces from the floor, and dealing with diapers. Yes, that’s my glamorous life, too.

Well, on Monday I took the day off. I’d been feeling so tired lately—lacking energy, craving unhealthy food, and being (if I can admit it) kind of cranky. Okay, really cranky. I had workshop proposals to design, emails to answer, expense reports to fill out, projects to photograph and dinner to prepare. It felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day, and I wondered (for the hundredth time) whether this tentative balance between work and motherhood was ever going to work.

I think I felt like 99% of all mothers.

So on Monday, Keith and I had a review meeting at Anna’s nursery, where they give us a progress report on her activities (a glowing report!) and then we went to the Amsterdam Museum and to lunch at a favorite cafe. A date! I wore a dress. And heels. And felt, for the first time in a long time, that I wasn’t rushing to fit this and that into timeslots determined by the length of a nap.

Should I have been beavering away at those workshop proposals and project photos and emails and the other items on my mile-long to-do list? No, actually not. I needed to have some breathing space between me and my work—my work work and my parenting work—to talk about politics, books, art, Costa Rica, the amazing displays at the museum, history, alternative transportation and food. Not what’s for dinner, where’s Choo-Choo the stuffed monkey, can I get this done during morning nap or afternoon nap, and all the usual topics that crowd my mind.

That day was a pretty big deal for me, and although we say “let’s do it regularly!” I know that can be hard to do. But when I came back that night to a full email in-box and a table full of half-completed projects, I felt refreshed and (unexpectedly) full of ideas, like that pause had somehow recharged me.

I’d suggest you, too, might need something like a day off, whether you’re a parent or not. We all get bogged down in the daily minutiae, and it can be so so so hard to justify taking time off. And while a whole day might seem like a lot, I think it’s safe to say that an hour or two break could also help. Breathing space. Re-energizing space. Stepping back space.

Here’s to time off and renewed creative energy—and a happy Wednesday!

My online workshop, Lazertran Techniques for Stamping and Collage, opens today at Creative Workshops—and I’d love to have you join me!

Heat embossing, Distress Inks and Lazertran—one of the surprising techniques from this workshop!

Want to see an intro video on the class? Okay!

Lazertran Techniques for Stamping and Collage is an online class where I’ll teach you how to use Lazertran photo transfer paper with photos (of course) plus stamping techniques like embossing, Distress Inks, alcohol inks, Glimmer Mist, chalk and Pan Pastels. It’s perfect for handmade cards, ATC’s and art journals—or you can frame them or put them on a canvas.

Here are a few more examples from the class–

Interested? Then visit Creative Workshops to find out more and to sign up. And while the class officially launches today, you can sign up whenever suits your schedule! Hope to see you there!

PS. And no—this is not the same Lazertran class I taught in Virginia or Portland. Those are all different techniques!

Searching for sunshine on this rainy Friday morning…with gray skies and rain predicted until next Wednesday, which is as far in the future as I could bear to look! Photo taken—surprisingly—in January, at my parents’ house in Oregon.

Happy Friday!