Art & Soul Hampton Part 2 - Lisa Kaus' "Gridlocked" class

Here's another project that came out of the Art and Soul Retreat in Hampton, Virginia.

I spent the early part of the week soldering, drilling and hammering. I was in full tomboy mode when I got to Lisa Kaus' "Gridlocked" class on Sunday morning. I pulled out a big, rusty patent lock that I'd brought with me to use as the focal point of my piece. I measure it's size and started drawing my grid to accomodate it.

Lisa did a great painting demo, and showed us how to use transparent acrylics to get wonderful depth. And then she started talking about "telling your story" with the piece. And it made so much sense. And we had a grid to work with. And clear, bright colors. Gradually, I felt myself relaxing and enjoying something new.

Then something wonderful happened.

Lisa suggested that I take some of the big pieces off of my board while I did my painting. I took a quick reference photo before I moved them so I wouldn't forget what I was doing. This is how the piece looked.

Then, when I picked up a towel to dry my brush, two old penny dolls rolled out. I'd forgotten that I'd even packed them. I looked at their colors and they matched the backgrounds I'd been painting. I looked at their size, and they fit perfectly in the square I'd drawn for the patent lock.

And suddenly, I was telling my story, and the story was a really girly, happy story. And that was exactly how I felt.

Before I knew it, the entire day had passed. I left Art and Soul that day, with a hug from Lisa and a peaceful feeling that I still can't quite describe. But the words I chose to affix to my piece when I got home were "happy" and "play".

I wish that I had taken photos of the other pieces done in the class. Every single one was amazing, and every one had a story to tell.