EncaustiCamp 2011....

EncaustiCamp 2011 I bow to you :)

It occured to me, just this morning, why after two weeks I haven't been able to come to this blank white spaced blog window and write about EncaustiCamp.
I've tried! I've opened the 'new post' box no less than a dozen times, stared at it in earnest, then gone to a participants blog or an instructors musings and posted them instead....

ECamp 2011 was so above and beyond all my wildest dreams for it. I can't seem to wrap myself around the whole and put the experience into words that service as a nice bundle of thoughts, tied up with a beautiful ribbon and put away in a tight package.

It's not that I don't want to write about it, or that I am ill equipped to do so; I love to put my thoughts and emotions out here to share unabashedly! But with EncaustiCamp it's been different.
And this morning it dawned on me as to why.
I can't look back.
ECamp 2011 carried a weight and measure like nothing else I've ever done or been a part of. I compare it only to giving birth. The crazy, beyond-pain process of bringing new life into the world; only to get through the process and feel so deeply, so passionately, so emphatically filled by the power of love and connectedness that you will do it again; gladly and without apprehension of the still-lingering pain that is required in the bringing-forth process.
That's what it is like.
That's what the whole of EncaustiCamp was like for me.
That big. That amazing. That miraculous.

And I thought I was done at four children :)))

And I can't look back and summarize or compartmentalize what it was and how it felt in any sensical way. I can only let myself be carried on the tide of all of it and continue on to more creating and growing and building.

I think it's how it's meant to be.

When something this big, this substantial, this miraculous is born the thanksgiving, homage and respects-paying to it are best done in the looking forward.

In my case, in the doing it again; only better.

So that is what I do. What I've been doing since returning; actually since finishing the final moment~Looking forward to the next.

There is something bigger than just encaustic in it. There is something bigger than just sharing art. There is something bigger than just connecting and inspiring.
When I try to grasp it, it feels too big, too grandious for this one small human form
...so I pull back.

But, as long as there is this sense-of something so much bigger than 'just'- I will do it again.
As long as there is this inexplicable joy spent, I will do it again.
And as long as there is room for miraculous, yes even in encaustic, I will do it again.
As long as it's in me~
in love. trish
www.encausticamp.com

Musings on the coming of the second book~

As I anxiously anticipate the release of Encaustic Mixed Media next week, and  still digest and assimilate all that EncaustiCamp 2011 was and is, I feel compelled to revisit and edit the opening thoughts that you'll find in EMM. Thoughts to all the creatives out there-oh wait! That's all the world :)

If the wind will not serve, take to the oars. Latin proverb
You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. Anonymous

I know this first hand; creativity takes courage. I almost let go of my creative calling; willfully thinking I needed to bury it to the call of the make-a-living world. Slowly I began to watch it die as financial health, societal expectations and ladder-climbing issues snuck in to fill the loss. Alas it would not die a dignified death.  With courage then unknown, I re-embraced this part of me with an irrevocable bear hug as the last glimmer of its spark nearly ran out!

Thank God circumstances took me down this different road and allowed me the courage and veracity to grab hold of my creative will with both hands and even at times, grip it viciously between gritted teeth~

Never letting go again, I am!

Creativity is the juice of the soul that keeps each and every one of us walking upright and inspired for another day. It is the conduit through which God keeps our hearts, minds and souls tuned in to all the power and glory this world has to offer. It is not just in those who title themselves, ‘artist’, ‘author’, ‘designer’ or ‘chef’. It is there for everyone; the mechanic, the engineer, the banker, caregiver, salesman and pizza deliverer. No one is exempt from this creative power in their life because it is an element of human existence in each of us. So take hold of your bit of it. Grab with both hands the dose allotted to you and make a difference in the world. Experience it and pass it on.

And, if your ‘creative’ is in the arts-in this passion for encaustic in particular- then thank you with a double dose! You and I share a link in this creative passion and I hope that, simply by indulging in the portion that is your call you have fed me, that I will be graced the opportunity to feed you well: A bountiful feast~In love. trish

my last sharing on ECamp! I promise :)

So much good stuff and so much to share! I can't seem to stop :) This is the last...maybe! as I compose my own thoughts and will get them here in the days to come~

  http://amberblueskies.blogspot.com/2011/07/she-is-friend-of-mine.html

A sharing blog :)

visit and enjoy! Just one of many posts on EncaustiCamp 2011 out there and how much fun we had :)
in love. trish
Crystal Neubauer

day three in its entirety!

Wow. I find myself, in the early hours of the morning after, busying my mind with 'to do's' of morning forward; unable to stop and look at, or feel, the emotions that are dancing around my brain. If I were to let them in just yes, in this oh so grateful, overwhelmed, serious lack of sleep body, the other instructors would find me prostrate, a pile of weeping goo on my dorm room floor for the sheer gratitude and thanks.
EncaustiCamp was amazing. Exceedingly and abundantly. I am here.
in love. trish

EncaustiCamp day 1 take two!

Day 1 as we move towards 'done'

To day 2! in love. trish

EncaustiCamp day 1

I am at EncaustiCamp….I am at EncaustiCamp!
It’s here-it’s begun…it’s surreal!
I can’t quite fathom that I am the person who got to make this happen. It’s quite amazing really.
Never in my days would I have imagined the capacity to orchestrate this; to command the trust of attendees and instructors; to coordinate the generosity of suppliers and manufacturers; to trust myself enough to keep taking the next, murky, unsure step; was lying deep within this girl who is me!
Within the confines of this ever growing body (sigh) lay the beauty and strength, integrity and grit, to follow a bigger-than-life dream to fruition.
Wow.
I’m doing it.
And, as I begin day one in the not-yet-sunrise, full-moon morning, before the first full-in-the-wax day has even yet begun, I find myself looking forward to doing it all again!

Feels a bit crazy….
No, feels a lot crazy!
And, yet not.
Perhaps it’s the 5 swift hours of scattered dream filled sleep.
Or the sore throat from too much talking at the welcome last evening.
Or maybe the result of too much sugar from the amazing desserts brought by attendees for last nights’ kick-off…whatever the source, I am full-on present to the amazing energy of this day and the potential that is bouncing on its toes, excitedly twisting and twitching with heart racing just the other side of the closed doors; standing at the ready- to explode into the absolute goodness that is begging to flow!

Tripped circuits?-undoubtedly.
Absolute delight in the menu offerings?-not a chance.
Tremendous satisfaction with the dorm accommodations?-no way!
Thrill at every moment of learning by everyone?-a pipe dream.
Unqualified joy at the close of this retreat at having been a part of the first annual!, inaugural!, premier!, ‘guiney pig’ event? I hope beyond hope; yes. Yes! That everyone answers yes!!!
It is that good. I want it to be that good for everyone.
I can do this, and hope for this, because I have been equipped. I can because each unpredicted, unsure, seemingly unstable step I’ve taken has led to this.
And, I can because I have a partner that picks up the slack when I overstep my abilities and stretch too far.
Exceedingly and abundantly. Blessed. In love. trish