Dazed

I just spent a wonderful, weekend in Victoria with my clay friends at "Clay Daze".

The Vancouver Island Polymer Clay Artists Guild (VIPCAG) and my guild, the Vancouver Polymer Clay Guild (VPCG), take turns hosting a retreat each February and this was the second turn for the islanders.

Their last "Sojurn" was in Nanaimo, chock full of back-to-back demos and workshops, an exhibition, sales, contests and other events. It was wonderful, ran like clockwork, but must have been exhausting for the organizers. It was for the participants, who left with our heads spinning from learning overload.
This time around, with a transportation nightmare & sky-high prices looming, courtesy of the Olympics, and the organizers' busy schedules, the Island Girls opted for an earlier and smaller event. No scheduled classes, just a large bright hall with lots of workspace for everyone and non-stop coffee & tea to keep us going. Seven of us from the mainland joined eight islanders.

It was just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing again: time to work on some half-finished projects surrounded by some of the most talented women I know; a chance to peek over the shoulders of 14 other artists; chat and laugh or just listen, soaking in all the positive creative energy sparking around the room. It was perfect.

I could go on gushing about the fabulous job that Barb, Kristine, Gera, Wanda and Sharon did but I have a house to put back together after leaving two teenage boys to fend for themselves for 3 days. I'm itching to get my studio put together and do some work but first I must deal with the aftermath of the tornado that apparently hit our kitchen this weekend.