The Art Journaling Workshops in my studio are going great! It is a joy to be with other like-minded people creating together. We have two more sessions. For me, it has felt even more like play than usual; Definitely a good thing.

Saturday was a busy day. I had the privilege of sharing and facilitating a Visual Prayer activity in Katie Skurja's

Image of God

class at George Fox University. Participants presented their images of God and they were inspiring and moving. Paul Young, stimulating storyteller and writer of

The Shack

spoke in the morning, and Katie set the tone for meaningful interaction. I left blessed. Saturday evening was an art opening and book signing at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Wilsonville. For you who came: Thank you! It was so good to chat with you! Obo Addy's band put on a concert after the art show with African and American Jazz,

World Beat

. Great music! Keith and I went out with friends afterwards, enjoying good company. What a blessing our friends are!

But being an introvert who loves people can be challenging sometimes. With all the activity, even if it is good, I need quiet, alone time in order to refuel, or I start to feel like I'm going to crack. The past few weeks I've met and encountered wonderful people who remind me there is a lot of goodness in the world, and God really loves us. Sunday morning I pulled a muscle in my back. I guess it was my body's way of saying I need to rest and be home by myself. It's amazing what a nap and laying around on the couch can do for a person. My guess is I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Below are two facing pages in my recent Winter 2012 Art Journal. They reflect my feelings the past day or so even though I did them last week. These were demos in my class. I'm always amazed at how tinting with paint ties things together. We also made stencils and silhouettes of ourselves. I got the quotes on Pinterest (there weren't any authors listed) and changed the first one a little bit. My painted papers and dictionary were put to good use. And I made a photocopy of the "Home, Sweet Home" collage I did a few years ago and glued it down with medium.