Books, Fairs & Woodland Wonders

example books 

Long ago and far away, I posted every week! I often hear myself saying - soon, my life will calm down as studio set-up projects are completed. I'm praying it does! I'm in much need of some dreaming time... but because of all the work, many, many projects are COMPLETE. The web site is mostly done, just tweaking it. The brochure for the studio is out and about and flyers for classes and events. There is a schedule of RavenWood summer retreats and workshops on the web site, and loads more about the many things I do that I don't necessarily share here in depth. And there is now a portal to the studio web site in the sidebar...

I'll be teaching a six week class beginning June 14, Thursday mornings, 10-12:30 

• "Forest Forms & Fractals - Drawing, Mixed-Media and Nature Books in the Woodlands" for full details, click here.

If you are not local, but not too far away, there are several Saturday retreats and workshops starting on June 23 with: 

• "Nurturing the Wild Woman/ Into The Sacred Grove ~ A day of healing in the forest" 
• For a full list of retreats and workshops, click here ~ 

*There are a few wonderful places to stay right up the road that will offer specials to folks coming to RavenWood. 

I had a table for RavenWood at the Hilltown Spring Festival a few Saturdays ago. It 

was a beautiful, sunny day, the first one after a slew of rainy ones. I felt as though 

I had come out of the forest for the first time in months...

My table was in view of the center green where my friend, Beth, had a gathering 

of her puppets right before the Maypole dance. She did a beautiful, yet haunting 

piece about a polar bear trying to jump from iceberg to iceberg. Every successful 

jump got loads of cheering from the audience - a wonderful, engaging performance. 

Having a table at the festival prompted me to go into the studio for several days 

of bookmaking - to have examples on hand of what students might make in my class. 

What a blissful week of making! I continue to find immense joy being in my new 

space, and look forward to the completion of the REST of the necessary tasks before 

I will have regular time there. But there was that week!

I often teach bookmaking in my classes, but haven't made many books myself 

for years. Finally I had the opportunity to make a book that has been stewing 

inside me for years! "Branching" might be the start of a series like this.. we'll see 

when I get back in there! These were all made mostly as examples of the kinds of 

simple and sometimes sculptural bookbinding I incorporte in my teaching, and so 

some of the drawings were done mostly as filler. Some I like. The book of Patterns 

for example, is one that I made from pasting older drawings into the book. 

 "Branching", VClaff, 2012

"Patterns", VClaff, 2012

"Patterns - inside", VClaff 2012

 Book of Patterns - other side

A book of Drawings

 Inside "Drawings" 

And last, the Woodland Book:

Inside the "Woodland Book": 

The reverse "bleed" side 

 Things are greening up after a cycle of rains. Below is the view towards the house and 
old studio from the new studio steps, and a small wander around the forest and garden. 

A bit of attitude from dear Pasha cat...? We are relaxing on a bench looking at 
the mounds of red clover that completely took over the garden. It has since been 
weeded resulting in a pile up to my chest of moslty clover - no kidding . Some of
it was left in spots to harvest for tea. 

Amazing colors and patterns of the moths that collect by the 

front door offer much visual inspiration.

and the most magical of all... the Luna Moth. As I write, there is one

clinging to the front light. He's been here for a few days, fluttering at 

the screens by night, clinging to the house for the days. Such a short 

life, but, such beauty... 

Wind, Texture & Dream Bowls

As I write, the wind is shaking the house and creating harmonics as it whistles 

through the forest. It feels much more like mid-February than a few days from

May. Snow flurries and below freezing temperatures are predicted for tonight. 

Already this evening, Pasha has captured two young mice. One was put outside 

to no doubt make her way back in, the other was dinner. (Pasha's dinner, in case

you wondered) Pondering what I wanted to share with you this evening, 

I came across the tree photo above and was reminded of the painting below. Its from

a series of forest paintings that live in my Etsy shop - or have been living there - 

someday I hope they'll go live somewhere else! I'm so eager to revisit this series 

when I carve out some painting time in the future. At present I am continung to work 

on the new web site, promotional materials, and dream on what classes and retreats 

to offer this summer. Its getting down to the wire, but I'm almost there, phew!

"Green Light", V.Claff, watercolor, 2011

With so much of my time focussed on the screen these days, I find I'm craving 
texture. I'm bursting to create with something other than the computer, though 
I've learned a bit more of InDesign, which is very helpful. I can now do what I
need to create the brochures for the new studio program, and yesterday I made 
an advertisement for a local paper. As much as all this is exciting and I love the 
results, I NEED a different sort of sensual experience when creating. I need the
fibers of paper, the liquid glide of paint or ink on a surface, the pull of a pen 
scratching paper. So it seems this craving has led me to to photograph things 
that share a strong textural quality. 

A while back, I was inspired to photograph my collection of leaves 

while still inside a jar - almost watery at times. 

Even further back in time - years ago - I made a Dream Bowl from a gourd

using a wood burning tool, beads and feathers. I was offering a retreat and ritual 
to make Dream Bowls and use them in ritual to speak ones dreams and later to work 
with as focusing tools for intention work. I hadn't made a gourd bowl before, so 
I thought I'd better if I was going to be teaching how to! My bowl is very simple, 
with a drawing of a bear and a winged being. The ritual process was quite 
powerful for people, so I filed it away to bring out again in the future, and I 
continued to use my own bowl now and again to hold dreams, intentions and 
affirmations. 

Last weekend I offered the Dream Bowl ritual again, this time to the group of 

young women I've been working with. Once again it was a very powerful 

process - harder than you might think to invite women to claim their dreams 

and set intentions to manifest them.

       

It was a warm, beautiful day, and we sat outside to sand and cut the gourds to 

ready them for decorating. All three of these gourds were sent to me last year 

from Grace over at Windthread who can grow nice, strong gourds in the warmer 

climate - thanks again, Grace! I wish I had gotten more photos of the finished 

bowls, they were really nice. One had a top with a dreamcatcher woven into it. 

You'll just have to imagine.....

Walking Inside my Dream

"Mountain", watercolor, 2012

I wonder if there is anything quite as rewarding as feeling oneself deeply aligned 
with the work one does in the world. As the weeks roll gently and swiftly by, the
studio has become more and more a place of sanctuary and inspiration. Three 
groups have now gathered here, the young women, my blessing circle, and last 
weekend my Myth & Symbol class. I am now walking inside the dream of this space
held for so many years, and I am expanding into the possibilities of the work here. 

There are weeks when I am not yet able to spend much time making art, but I know 
this is the fallout from the continued work on promotional materials and web site 
and all that goes in to setting up shop. With the end of school just a few weeks off, 
I will have more time for painting. I catch a few hours here and there, enough to 
keep the cauldron brewing and to feel the stirrings of what might be next. One 
morning, stressed and in a dark mood, I entered the studio and felt myself instantly
lighten with the simple beauty of the space. 

My pinboard is filling up with work, and even with only short moments to give to my 

process, I am getting somewhere new with the distant views. I think growing up in 

a home filled with Chinese and Japanese paintings is important for the work I am 

doing now. I saw something in the way I painted the mountain in the top image in 

this post that reminded me of those paintings. Its a particular way of seeing and 

depicting volume and space with minimal detail. Its something to strive for again, 

I've been more obsessed with tree lines and mists than the distant hills, but this 

painting demands that I pay close attention to the mountains. (the color is really off 

in that image, I need to take work outside to shoot, I'll be back with that 

sometime soon!)

I continued with the book of spirals, inspired by the 

bleedthroughs as much as the spirals.  

The book is now full, but another one will probably start soon. 

Outside, trees that gave themselves to make room for the studio 

call to me to notice their rings and rays.  

I know I've shared this before on this blog, but its worth repeating. Before I had 
this camera, I didn't understand the flower paintins of Georgia O'Keefe the way I 
do now. I've always loved her work, but I never SAW flowers the way she did - 
until now. There is something wonderful in knowing a person's work for many 
years and then one day understanding it on a much deeper level. She must have 
had macro lenses in her eyes... really, she saw such fine detail, astounding. 

 

Living here at RavenWood, I am just as much engaged in the contemporary world 

as everyone else, though choices like heating with wood and living on the edge 

of the wild keep my toes in a faraway world. But there is an unmistakable mystery 

in the forest, and magic is everywhere, if one has eyes to see it. Maybe as O'Keefe 

had her macro lenses, I have lenses to see magic and mystery. One day, shortly 

after I moved here, I saw a stone man looking at me from the moss hill. He 

comes alive when the light is just right, and speaks to me in low whispers that 

tingle in my bones. This is my one hundredth blog post, and also a day when the 

light is perfect to share some magic with you....