For some time I have been planning an upcoming trip to England. The 7th Annual Urban Sketchers Symposium will be held in Manchester at the end of July and I will attend this exciting gathering of more than 500 other … Continue reading →

Yesterday, I had an opportunity of a lifetime. The description on this journey daybook page describes the unique experience Milli and I shared – It is rare to see a Florida Panther. They are protected and very elusive. Because of … Continue reading →

My life has been overflowing during the six months blogging break I have taken, and  I am sorry to cause any worry for my posting absence. The fullness of my days is partly because of too many activities for this aging artist. I … Continue reading →

Since I don’t have a television, I often find off beat ways of “watching” television through live streams on my iPad. Sometimes, these streams give me inspiration in ways I would never expect! About two months ago, I heard about a … Continue reading →

Yesterday was the feast day of St James, one of the original apostles, a cousin of Jesus and brother of St John, “the beloved disciple.” St James was the first apostle to be martyred in about AD 44. The veneration … Continue reading →

When I was in New York staying at the Leo House last week, I noticed an old, somewhat dingy sculpture standing in the corner of the lobby. I paid little attention to the large form until last Wednesday morning when … Continue reading →

I experienced an amazing 11 days in New Jersey and New York – parts of the country where my roots are. After driving from Beach Haven, New Jersey where my childhood friend and I celebrated our 75th birthdays, I drove … Continue reading →

Today may have been the most exciting day yet! I went to the MoMA to see a few exhibits that interested me – the “Migration” series of Jacob Lawrence paintings and a “one man show” by Yoko Ono. I thought … Continue reading →

I seem to be having no trouble fitting into the hum and pace of the city. Sunday is truly a day of rest for many New Yorkers. Today, the parks were filled with people playing games, families resting on blankets … Continue reading →

After a glorious 3 days with my childhood friends on the Jersey shore, I was deposited by the airport shuttle on 23rd Street in Chelsea Thursday afternoon. At this point my physical activity really began! I explored the Chelsea neighborhood, walking … Continue reading →

I am settled for a few days at the home of my childhood friend, Gretchen, and her husband in Beach Haven New Jersey where we have been relishing our common 75th birthday year. My time here has been lovely. I … Continue reading →

Yesterday, my friend, Susan, an Urban Sketcher and Journey Daybook alum, reminded me of a challenge to make and post a page each day in May, following the prompts for another challenge posted several years ago by Everyday Matters, an … Continue reading →

I went on a wonderful Lenten retreat a few weekends ago at the beautiful San Pedro Retreat Center in Winter Park, FL. This peaceful experience was just what I needed. After such retreats, I have found that it can be … Continue reading →

The performing arts are made of fleeting moments of genius.

Whether on nights under the lights on the school stage, or transcendent travels among musicians from different places and cultures, I’ve been fortunate to spend time basking in the magic created by our school’s musicians for a few years now. As a newly minted member of the fine arts department when I started teaching guitar five years ago, I often found myself in awe dropping in on choir rehearsals and jazz workshops, and forging connections with student-performers who in many cases served as musical inspiration, if not outright mentors.

Having begun blogging with the TALONS a few years earlier, … Continue reading →

I have seen the photo of the white “lamb poodles” on Facebook for several weeks and have found it hilarious. I made a rather reflective journey daybook page this afternoon as I sat with my own poodle, Mimi. When I got … Continue reading →

Last week was my birthday week. February is my birthday month, and 2015 is the 75th year of my life, the diamond jubilee of my birth! The week was hugely full with obligations nearly every day of the week. On Monday, a … Continue reading →

It is sad for me to contemplate that my course work for Liz Steel’s excellent 12-week online drawing class is almost finished. I have started each week since November looking forward to a new drawing assignment that in most cases drew … Continue reading →

I have really loved this 12 week Skethching Now Foundations course taught by architect. Liz Steel, from her digital devices in Sidney, Australia! The experience has been awesome because of the free interaction and sheer wealth of information that is shared … Continue reading →

I have to thank TALONS (and #introguitar) alum Clayton for recommending the MelodyLab app that allows you to make multi-part video-harmonies with your phone.  It might be a ways from replicating Matt Mulholland’s epic multi-part Ghostbusters theme song, but the free app introduces aspects of the loop pedal to video editing, offering this semester’s #introguitar crowd an exciting way to explore and document their learning about guitar.

But beyond the music-makers, it’s exciting to think that MelodyLab also equips visual storytellers with a mobile split-screen video camera anywhere they pack their phones. It is a potential that reminds me of Radiolab‘s poetic Symmetry video, and other epic split-screen moments in cinema.

I was a bit unsatisfied with last week’s work but I now realize that I am learning a lot. I received several comments made by my class colleagues on my Flickr page that were both encouraging and gave some helpful tips.This … Continue reading →

Last week was quite busy with a Journey Daybook Facilitators Training retreat here. I needed to prepare, materials, supplies, scripts, Powerpoint programs, and hand-outs by Friday. At the same time, I intended to keep up with Liz Steel’s Sketching Foundations … Continue reading →

Our assignment for Lesson 7 was to draw a Christmas subject outside, if possible, in our own style, trying to incorporate lessons that we have practiced for the last several weeks. I believe that I need to focus more intentionally … Continue reading →

This week, I have especially enjoyed working on the exercises for Liz Steel’s wonderful online course. The thought processes and the practical application of these processes were very rich. The emphasis was on the gestural setup, which is loose and … Continue reading →

This week Liz Steel taught our international group to carefully measure our subjects holding pencils outstretched with our arms locked. In the 90’s Ed Levin made me beautiful brass  divider for this purpose that he fashioned into golden mean proportions. It was fun to … Continue reading →

I am finding Liz’s teaching very supportive because of the slow incremental building of concepts and the exercises she gives for practicing and using these fundamentals in our actual journal pages. Of course, my pages are my journey daybook pages. This week’s subject … Continue reading →

I met a active Urban Sketcher from Sidney Australia when Susan and I were in Paraty, Brazil In August and September. Liz Steel is an architect, an avid daily sketcher, an intrepid traveller, and an excellent teacher. Susan took one … Continue reading →

Early this morning I read and was intrigued by a post of one of my FB Urban Sketcher friends who lives in England. Sue hand-lettered a recipe for Soul Cakes and sent me a link explaining this English tradition for marking … Continue reading →

On Friday I’ll be presenting at the CUEBC Conference in West Vancouver, sharing a little of the gospel of distributed web radio stations DS106Radio and 105 the Hive, meaning I am now putting together slides, collecting images, links and the … Continue reading →

There is no Catholic Church in Cedar Key. The little mission church I often attend is St Anthony the Abbot in Inglis, about 50 miles by car south of here. I love this simple little mission church for the beauty … Continue reading →

In the four days since my return from Brazil, I have been very busy using the internet to network with other Urban Sketchers worldwide. Since its creation 5 years ago, USk has used the internet for most if not all of … Continue reading →