Charleston, Harbor Kayaking, Museums and Wyanne

Well, I've been a busy girl here lately!

My husband and I went to Charleston SC for a long weekend.

He had to do a little work but that was quickly taken care of...On to the fun stuff!

We went kayaking with Joe on Shem Creek, then out in the Charleston Harbor.

We had a good look at this island but couldn't go out on it because of nesting activity. It opens back up on Oct. 15 and I'd love to go back and look for sharks teeth and such.

We saw a manatee! It looked like a big hairy brown face peeking out of the water!

That was so cool...hearing the "whoosh" of water and air as he (?) came to the surface,

then seeing that comical hairy face peeking up...
gotta love kayaking in this water!

We had just started to head back towards the dock when a shrimp boat came in...

birds circling the boat, diving and screaming at each other...

we followed it, hoping to see a dolphin...

but no sighting in the harbor.

As we rounded the harbor, heading in to Shem Creek

we were greeted with a couple of other folks in kayaks, holding position near the docked shrimp boat.

"Dolphin!"

"Look, it's a dolphin!"

And there it was...appearing to be rather young...

or small anyway...

jumping and rolling up and down in the water...

feeding off of the shrimp boats bait...

We wanted to stay and watch but we were renting by the half day...

I highly recommend this tour to anyone that is interested in kayaking and seeing the harbor and its' wildlife in a different way...

a little closer look...

It's well worth the money.

Next time we go to Charleston, we're going to just rent kayaks and decide on our own route.

That way we can stop and spend the amount of time that we want in each place.

It was a lot of fun!

Now...what's next...

Oh, some of you know that I've been taking art classes at a local museum.

We are having a Student Art Show in October...

I've been working on a piece.

I finally completed it!

Yay for me!

I'll try to post pictures after I frame it...

You should come and see it and all the other awesome work of my fellow students.

I noticed that some of the women seem to come to the classes as a type of "Social Painting"...

I may have coined a phrase here...

but they all are wonderful painters (watercolor, acrylic, pastels, etc...)

that come week after week for a bit of encouragement

perhaps a laugh or two (if you're in my class!)

and the fellowship of the group.

You should join us in the next set of classes.

Now, the next topic.

Wyanne.

Have you heard of her?

Seen her awesome work?

I found her on You Tube while looking for videos on mixed media techniques.

What an Awesome Artist!

I love her work...

love the beauty that comes through ...

love, love, love Her Girls...

You should watch some of her videos to see how she creates them...

how they come to life...

There are so many mixed media techniques that she uses that appeal to me.

I want to try them on fabric...

See how I can apply all those great techniques to My Art.

I hope that all of you are excited about creating Art as I am.

The world is full of Everyday Miracles...

Look around you...

open you eyes to the majesty of what's around you.

Allow The Universe to Inspire You.

Kayaking on Keowee River above Lake Hartwell

Sunday my husband and I went on another kayak adventure. This was our third one and each one has been decidedly different.

We went to the Keowee River that feeds into Lake Hartwell. This is about 20-25 minutes from our home in Piedmont, SC. Near the Seneca/Clemson area. We put in at Lawrence Bridge ramp (which was actually closed for boats) (and difficult for kayaks!).

We put in at about 2:30 in the afternoon and were tying the kayak back up at about 8:00pm...a long but awesome day!

We saw three huge turkeys, one with his beard almost dragging the ground.

We saw Blue Herons, King Fishers, and hawks.

We saw tons of other animal tracks...

and felt hundreds of eyes upon us.

We came upon a man and his two children who were digging in the banks, carrying hats full of treasures and very friendly.

They were looking for Indian Artifacts and arrow heads.

And they had found all of these things!

The man told us that the flat land that we were on was once Cherokee Indian Village land...

lived on and farmed by the local Cherokee's.

Being 17% Indian myself, I felt connected to the land...I wondered if my ancestors had walked that very area.

I want to go back there soon, look around some more...

maybe find some artifacts of my own.

I've included some pictures that we took...

notice the ones of the bank with the rocks...

the swirling pattern that the rocks produce is very tranquil...

I wonder how nature transpired to create this beautiful mosaic of rock?

See the tree trunks, dipping their toes into the waters of the river...

some running up the bank...

maybe running from the current...

maybe tiring of the constant lapping of water on their roots...

See on the sandy beach,

life does find a way.

Most of you know that my husband and I rust fabric.

Lois Jarvis (the Queen of Rusting) says that when you start rusting fabric and everyone finds out...

rust just "comes to you".

Well, she's right again...

this is the Universe transpiring to give us rust...

out in the middle

of the Keowee River...

As you can see,

our day was filled with visual treats...

my head was spinning with ideas for elements of fiber art design.

All supplied by Mother Nature.

The drought has really hit our area pretty hard...this section of the river must be down about 15 feet ( per the Army Corp of Engineers ).

Perhaps we will get some fall and winter rains...

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!

Oh, and thanks Jane for the plug!

I think you should get some complimentary rust fabric

for all of your hard work...

I am planning on going to Random Arts one day soon

to play

and

plan new new classes to offer everyone!

Stay tuned for the details everyone...

Live and Bloom in Full Color

I had a GREAT time!

The project was so much fun and I really loved Kristi & Susan's way of teaching. They are such talented women. It easy to see why people keep coming back year after year to the Retreat.

I'll put up some pictures and try to come back later and add comments. Everyone was so nice and so helpful. The project was a lot of fun...several new techniques to learn that I loved.

I also learned new ways to use products that I already had...that's always great!

I'll take pics of my (unfinished) project later and put it online.

I must add that my friend Paula and I had a blast driving my new little car up there!

I just got a convertible Volkswagen and it was PERFECT for a trip up the mountain.

I got home late Saturday (about 8:00pm) and then Sunday my husband and I went kayaking at Lake Jocasse.

I thought I would be worn out after Blowing Rock but getting back home re-energized me!

We kayaked for the better part of the day, about 5 or 6 hours and then picked up a pizza on the way home.

Today I should be cleaning house instead of typing this...so I'd better get at it!

Enjoy the pictures of the 3rd Annual "Believe In Yourself Retreat" from the Creative Spirit team of Kristi Steiner and Susan Edmondson.

Heading To Blowing Rock NC

Well, today my friend Paula and I are heading out to the NC mountains for the "Believe In Yourself" Creativity Retreat that Kristi Steiner and Susan Edmondson host.

This is the retreat's third year, our first.

We are really excited to be going...

I try to remember and take pictures to post.

Hope that you all have an awesome week!