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Magical Art and Artful Magic are Yours for the Making
The Briarwood Imagiporium is back to online, and I'm once again teaching my classes at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center.
You can check their website for current classes at crossroads-arts.org .
In order to be available to help with my mother, who has Alzheimer's, on a more flexible schedule, I've moved my studio home. I'll do my best to get updates posted here regularly, as to classes and community events, but if you don't see the info you're after, email me: [email protected] .
You can check their website for current classes at crossroads-arts.org .
In order to be available to help with my mother, who has Alzheimer's, on a more flexible schedule, I've moved my studio home. I'll do my best to get updates posted here regularly, as to classes and community events, but if you don't see the info you're after, email me: [email protected] .
I'll post classes here soonish!
Wickedly Wonder-filled Witch Hat Workshop
This isn't yet scheduled as a Crossroads class, but if you are interested, reach out to me or them and I'll try to make it happen.
This is a somewhat self-directed, in-person workshop for a very limited number of fun folks.
If you want a zoom version, contact me and we can set something up in a different time slot.
Late Friday afternoon we will gather together to get started, coming up with our personal idea for the perfect hat to top a Hallowe'en costume or just to wear when the whim takes us. I'll provide a basic pattern and then help you choose materials and construction methods, and come up with a list of supplies needed. If you don't have stuff in your own stash, I may have everything you need right here, for a nominal charge, or you may need to do a bit of Saturday morning shopping.
We will reconvene later Saturday morning, to actually construct our projects or to adjust our plans if we couldn't find just what we needed in tiny Baker City. I'll give as much or as little hands-on help as needed. I have 2 sewing machines available, or you can bring your own. Ditto for sewing scissors.
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Welcome to The Briarwood, just a half-step off the beaten path, and truly visible only to those with the heart to see magic! I'm your host, Dawn-Marie deLara, though if you see any resemblance between myself and a certain rabbit named Cordelia Briarwood, or a few other creatures who sometimes dance through here wearing fairy tale garb, well, let's just say shape shifting isn't out of the realm of possibility in this particular realm.
Seriously, am I teaching fairy tale style art and crafts or am I teaching actual magic? Well...ummm...Yes...?
Seriously, getting me to be terribly serious is unlikely but, yes, not only do I teach lovely, fanciful projects, I do practice magic and usually include elements of my practice in my teaching, even in classes not specifically about "spelling". I'm a Light Witch so, no, you won't find any classes here on how to hex your ex nor, for that matter, on how to enchant your next. I cast with the affirmation "for the highest good of all concerned" and I firmly believe and practice this mantra, learned from Lynda Paladin:
Love is the source. Joy is the power. Life is the celebration.
By Love, I mean The Divine, God, The Universe, or whatever else you want to call the energy of which we are all made and in which we all vibrate and live and breathe and have our BEingness. As for Joy being the power, I don't mean surface happiness, though that does hold some really useful juice, but a deeply cultivated experience of joy that paves the highway to Heaven-on-Earth with mirror finish Teflon and a built in magnetic pull. I hope you will come join the celebration, Briarwood style.
Seriously, am I teaching fairy tale style art and crafts or am I teaching actual magic? Well...ummm...Yes...?
Seriously, getting me to be terribly serious is unlikely but, yes, not only do I teach lovely, fanciful projects, I do practice magic and usually include elements of my practice in my teaching, even in classes not specifically about "spelling". I'm a Light Witch so, no, you won't find any classes here on how to hex your ex nor, for that matter, on how to enchant your next. I cast with the affirmation "for the highest good of all concerned" and I firmly believe and practice this mantra, learned from Lynda Paladin:
Love is the source. Joy is the power. Life is the celebration.
By Love, I mean The Divine, God, The Universe, or whatever else you want to call the energy of which we are all made and in which we all vibrate and live and breathe and have our BEingness. As for Joy being the power, I don't mean surface happiness, though that does hold some really useful juice, but a deeply cultivated experience of joy that paves the highway to Heaven-on-Earth with mirror finish Teflon and a built in magnetic pull. I hope you will come join the celebration, Briarwood style.
I promise the Briarwood Journal will always deliver some useful and entertaining compilation of goodies, like crafting tips, Briarwood clip art, little projects, journaling ideas, or a delectable recipe or two, along with Briarwood I*Magi*Porium news and special offers for subscribers. I try to email once a week but I think my average is closer to once a month and if there's a class coming up, I usually send a couple of emails in the two weeks before, all of which is meant to reassure you that you aren't going to get so much mail from The Briarwood that you toss it without reading it.
Who am I and where did I come from? Explore that for yourself by clicking links to my older website and blog :
theartofthehome.com an older portfolio of creative home decor from my days in interior design and decoration. I'm not currently traveling for mural or plaster work, but happy to share info on techniques with any DIYers. I will be teaching some of the sculpting, here, in The Briarwood.
theartofthehome.blogspot.com My old words-and-pictures account of life as an artist in a small Minnesota town, free of annoying ads, full of projects and recipes and joy.
theartofthehome.com an older portfolio of creative home decor from my days in interior design and decoration. I'm not currently traveling for mural or plaster work, but happy to share info on techniques with any DIYers. I will be teaching some of the sculpting, here, in The Briarwood.
theartofthehome.blogspot.com My old words-and-pictures account of life as an artist in a small Minnesota town, free of annoying ads, full of projects and recipes and joy.
For those who like to read longish, winding tales, here's a "little" more about me, other than witchiness...
Once upon a time, I was that kid in school who made things and then showed everybody else how to make them at recess. One day an ogre scolded me for that because we were supposed to run around and scream and play hard and get too worn out to be bouncing around back in the classroom. Sometimes I like to run around and scream and play hard, but usually I like to be around people who don't do an awful lot of that. Contra dancing and whooping are my sort of energetic, and dancers, artists, lovers of magic & merriment, and animals are my preferred company. I try to sidestep both mayhem and ogres.
So then, how did I get from there to here (which happens to be right back there, but we'll get to that in a bit) ? After my early education in the basics of compatibility with humans, particularly adult ones, I moved to Alaska for my late teens and 20's. There I went to work in childcare, first with infants and then as a preschool teacher, while I also worked construction, then owned and operated a sign and graphic design business (in the days before that was all computerized), sold and created newspaper advertising and, through it all, longed for a more magically creative career until, eventually, the longing moved me on.
In my 30's I relocated to Minnesota and got my first taste of city living, which was hard for a wood sprite such as I, but full of opportunities. For a few years, I worked as The Goddess of Glitter (A.K.A. Art Director) in the event industry. Seriously, my job was like Friday afternoon arts and crafts in 6th grade, but biggie-sized, plus the fun parts of professional sign making! There were a few ogres involved, and some imps who didn't take art direction and thought I was one of the ogres, but it was mostly the best job ever, if one didn't need an overly full purse of gold. While I was happily crafting 6 foot Cinderella slippers for charity balls, I chanced upon a company selling decorative paint tools and, with my similar experience as a sign painter, I became a rep for them. One thing led to another and soon I was back to self-employment, doing faux finishes, custom furniture updates, interior design and color consultations, and creating magical murals, plus freelancing the occasional party or wedding decor. That work took me through my forties and a bit, with a stint as a shopkeeper and magazine publisher thrown into the mix, until a 5-month grand finale whole-house faux and mural project in Florida, where I spent many of my days on scaffolding overlooking waters full of dolphins and manatees. I kept a keen eye out for mermaids and pirates, but if ever there were any, they were well disguised. Creating painted portals for others to enter their fantasy realms was fine work but, once I finished that job, I was ready for a new adventure.
Thus, I journeyed back to Minnesota, packed my art gear and most of my most favorite possessions into a tiny trailer, bid my dearest friends a second fond farewell, and drove back across the U.S. to Oregon. Though I wanted to make my new nest near the ocean, I soon settled for settling back into my Eastern Oregon hometown, in order to be near my aging parents, one of whom has Alzheimer's. Through the local art center, I took up work as an art teacher for the school district, but soon switched to teaching art journaling to women in court ordered drug rehab, and teaching crafts and memoir writing to (mostly) elderly folks in assisted living, as the art center had no teachers for those groups.
Between home and career, it was a whole life change that got me mountains of admiration and respect, but as with many such dubious treasures, it came at a cost. Being an empath immersed 24/7 in other people's hard stuff, despite the many joys that were present as well, was something of an overload after years of cultivating a buffered lifestyle with sweet clients and the bliss of peaceful singlehood. I have to admit that my magic faded for a bit. Then, the onset of the pandemic cancelled all my work with both the incarcerated and the elderly populations and, as it dragged on, it cast a hazy pall over my inner landscape for just long enough for me to take a good wander around the shadows there and gather up my truth, reassemble the fragments of my knowing, and unwrap my muffled mojo again. I don't recommend worldwide disaster as the best way to find your missing glitter, but as every crow knows, sometimes the sparkliest things are found in the darkest muck.
During the pandemic, I did begin teaching online classes, which is a great way to connect with people from all over the world, but requires an insane proportion of marketing to teaching, and left little to no time to just create art. Pretty soon I was out of new things to teach, and out of enthusiasm for constantly tending to social media and growing an email list. By then, I had moved the studio to a downtown space, and planned to keep it there for at least ten years. It was sweet to have a place of my own that I could open to the public for classes and sales, but as Mom's Alzheimer's progressed, I began spending less and less time there. I decided not to renew my lease this summer and moved the studio back into my parents house. It's been a bit like trying to stuff one of those foam mattress pads back into the box, as my hoard of "swell stuff I might turn into cool things" has probably doubled every year in the eight years since I packed a tiny utility trailer and came back west.
Just as I decided to let go of my leased space, I got the fantastic news that Crossroads Carnegie Art Center had tracked down grant money to make it possible for them to pay instructors a proper contractors rate! I am now teaching most of my classes there, though you can hire me to do private classes and art parties at your own location, if that works for you.
Once upon a time, I was that kid in school who made things and then showed everybody else how to make them at recess. One day an ogre scolded me for that because we were supposed to run around and scream and play hard and get too worn out to be bouncing around back in the classroom. Sometimes I like to run around and scream and play hard, but usually I like to be around people who don't do an awful lot of that. Contra dancing and whooping are my sort of energetic, and dancers, artists, lovers of magic & merriment, and animals are my preferred company. I try to sidestep both mayhem and ogres.
So then, how did I get from there to here (which happens to be right back there, but we'll get to that in a bit) ? After my early education in the basics of compatibility with humans, particularly adult ones, I moved to Alaska for my late teens and 20's. There I went to work in childcare, first with infants and then as a preschool teacher, while I also worked construction, then owned and operated a sign and graphic design business (in the days before that was all computerized), sold and created newspaper advertising and, through it all, longed for a more magically creative career until, eventually, the longing moved me on.
In my 30's I relocated to Minnesota and got my first taste of city living, which was hard for a wood sprite such as I, but full of opportunities. For a few years, I worked as The Goddess of Glitter (A.K.A. Art Director) in the event industry. Seriously, my job was like Friday afternoon arts and crafts in 6th grade, but biggie-sized, plus the fun parts of professional sign making! There were a few ogres involved, and some imps who didn't take art direction and thought I was one of the ogres, but it was mostly the best job ever, if one didn't need an overly full purse of gold. While I was happily crafting 6 foot Cinderella slippers for charity balls, I chanced upon a company selling decorative paint tools and, with my similar experience as a sign painter, I became a rep for them. One thing led to another and soon I was back to self-employment, doing faux finishes, custom furniture updates, interior design and color consultations, and creating magical murals, plus freelancing the occasional party or wedding decor. That work took me through my forties and a bit, with a stint as a shopkeeper and magazine publisher thrown into the mix, until a 5-month grand finale whole-house faux and mural project in Florida, where I spent many of my days on scaffolding overlooking waters full of dolphins and manatees. I kept a keen eye out for mermaids and pirates, but if ever there were any, they were well disguised. Creating painted portals for others to enter their fantasy realms was fine work but, once I finished that job, I was ready for a new adventure.
Thus, I journeyed back to Minnesota, packed my art gear and most of my most favorite possessions into a tiny trailer, bid my dearest friends a second fond farewell, and drove back across the U.S. to Oregon. Though I wanted to make my new nest near the ocean, I soon settled for settling back into my Eastern Oregon hometown, in order to be near my aging parents, one of whom has Alzheimer's. Through the local art center, I took up work as an art teacher for the school district, but soon switched to teaching art journaling to women in court ordered drug rehab, and teaching crafts and memoir writing to (mostly) elderly folks in assisted living, as the art center had no teachers for those groups.
Between home and career, it was a whole life change that got me mountains of admiration and respect, but as with many such dubious treasures, it came at a cost. Being an empath immersed 24/7 in other people's hard stuff, despite the many joys that were present as well, was something of an overload after years of cultivating a buffered lifestyle with sweet clients and the bliss of peaceful singlehood. I have to admit that my magic faded for a bit. Then, the onset of the pandemic cancelled all my work with both the incarcerated and the elderly populations and, as it dragged on, it cast a hazy pall over my inner landscape for just long enough for me to take a good wander around the shadows there and gather up my truth, reassemble the fragments of my knowing, and unwrap my muffled mojo again. I don't recommend worldwide disaster as the best way to find your missing glitter, but as every crow knows, sometimes the sparkliest things are found in the darkest muck.
During the pandemic, I did begin teaching online classes, which is a great way to connect with people from all over the world, but requires an insane proportion of marketing to teaching, and left little to no time to just create art. Pretty soon I was out of new things to teach, and out of enthusiasm for constantly tending to social media and growing an email list. By then, I had moved the studio to a downtown space, and planned to keep it there for at least ten years. It was sweet to have a place of my own that I could open to the public for classes and sales, but as Mom's Alzheimer's progressed, I began spending less and less time there. I decided not to renew my lease this summer and moved the studio back into my parents house. It's been a bit like trying to stuff one of those foam mattress pads back into the box, as my hoard of "swell stuff I might turn into cool things" has probably doubled every year in the eight years since I packed a tiny utility trailer and came back west.
Just as I decided to let go of my leased space, I got the fantastic news that Crossroads Carnegie Art Center had tracked down grant money to make it possible for them to pay instructors a proper contractors rate! I am now teaching most of my classes there, though you can hire me to do private classes and art parties at your own location, if that works for you.