I made it to Thursday (and tomorrow is a holiday, Good Friday–whoohoo!  But this weekend is going to be triple exciting:

1. It is a three-day weekend!
2. It is a time to celebrate Jesus’ death and ascension back to Heaven!
3. I am packing and preparing to leave for an art retreat next week!

…not necessarily in this particular order!  LOL

I will be attending Artfest Rising next Wednesday evening through Sunday morning!  I have been so stretched out at work, spent over half of this year already sick with sinus infections and am just generally ready to get away with like-minded artists and get immersed in creativity.  I will be meeting previous acquaintances and friends made at similar events in the past and we are going to have a great time.

It is a general tradition to create trades for these events.  I rarely have time to do this properly as the first quarter of the year every year on my job is extremely busy and mentally consuming.  It has been a few years since I have attended an event and had one of my friends I am meeting not brought it up in conversation I’m sure I wouldn’t have event thought about it.  Trades come in all sorts of forms and fashions.  Some gather small bags of various papers and other collage fodder.  Others hand out small pieces of original art.  It can be as varied as the artists that attend.  Some, like I am going to do this year, hand out pre-printed cards with their original art on them.  I had mine done at MOO this year.  They are a nice size, slightly wider and just a smidgen shorter than a business card.  You can pick different sizes and this is the one that I chose for trades this year.  MOO also allows you to have up to 50 original designs within a package of cards.  I selected 20 and ordered 200 cards.  Here is how they turned out:

The first two photos above show the first 10 designs and the second the next set of 10.  The third displays the information that is on the back of each one.  They are thicker than the average business card and have an awesome soft finish on them.  I showed them to a couple people at work today and they were very impressed–both with my drawings and the quality of the paper.  All of the designs are from my journals over the past 6-8 months or so of my attempts to learn how to draw faces and to imitate other artists’ styles and their faces, too.

I’ll have to admit.  I am THRILLED with how they turned out.  And they all are so very different in their own unique ways.  I could never have imagined that I could create such a collection and had you asked my opinion about that this time last year, I would have probably responded that there was no way I could have done it.  However, efforts and attitudes change over time and my desire to try and not give up has made all of the difference.  My style is not perfect and I see things I don’t care for in each of the portraits above.  BUT, I am still very pleased with my progress and I will keep on giving it an effort.  At least I am not afraid of faces anymore.  And that is probably the best result of all of this.

I will spend the weekend packing and picking out my art supplies according to the class lists.  I will also take time to participate in worship at church on Sunday and remember the source of all of my blessings and the grace that overshadows my life.  I will attempt to post some photos and add a little discussion here about AFR–I’m sure there will be much to be seen, experienced and relived!

I hope you all have a great Good Friday and blessed Resurrection Sunday.  Please remember our friends and neighbors in Brussels.  I can’t even imagine what they must be going through these past several days and what it will take for them to regroup and move on through the future.  I am so sorry for what has happened in your city and I send you my love and prayers for healing and strength in this difficult time.