FLASHBACK FRIDAY: TAKING A LEAP AND FINDING ONE'S TRIBES

Today we are flashing back to a few of my important "firsts",  which took all of the bravery I could muster, but ended up paying off in a really BIG way! 

My Very First Blog Post

 My First Attendance At A Women's Conference: Story Circle Network

 My First Trip To Lucky Star Art Camp: Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

LUCKY STAR II: EVERYTHING FROM HO-DOWN TO RAP

On Saturdays at Lucky Star we just have one morning class, and the afternoon is free for anything from horseback riding and archery to massages or exploring the local hangouts. Lex took a Shibori (indigo dying) class which she absolutely loved!

Can't wait to see Little Calvin and his dad in their matching tie-dyed pants!

While she was doing that, Kathy and I went off to learn how to make our own watercolor paints, with Austin artist Heidi Miller Lowell.  Soooooo much fun!

We each got to mix and name several colors of our own, but we made enough to share with everyone else.

Loved it that Wimberley friend LaNell was in all but one of my classes this year!

Thanks to the sharing plan, this is what I got to bring home with me. WooHoo!

And then it was time for our final pow wow, where we have our closing speaker (who knew that fellow camper Camille used to be a stunt rider in movies like Young Guns II and City Slickers?), performances by the Girl Guitar and Glee Club groups, and last but not least, the Lucky Star Market, where people like daughter Lexi can sell their wares!

Our Glee Club medley went from spiritual...

to R-E-S-P-E-C-T...

to wondering "What's Goin' On?"...

to a girl turning to me to say "Oh My God Becky, look at that butt!"... (yes, our sweet demure Kerry actually does know all the words to Sir Mix-A-Lot's anthem to big butts)

to a bit of Ho-Down...

where Daddy sang base, and Mama sang tenor. A beautiful segue, wouldn't you agree? I also love the way these photos mirror our personalities so well, with Alexis preferring to sing quietly in back, Kathy belting it out front and center, and me always somewhere in the middle.

Guess I should have taken a photo of Lexi's market booth when she first set it up. After that, it was always too crowded to get a good shot. Not a bad problem to have, right? Instead I'll share this picture of the organizers' daughters, selling their slime kits.

Here's hoping that Lucky Star is still around when it's their turn to blossom into the women they were truly meant to be!
 

WHAT'S GOIN' ON?

Well, we're finally back from yet another amazing adventure at Lucky Star Art Camp. Actually, we got back Sunday, but it always takes a couple of days for one's feet to settle back down to earth. Middle sister Kathy and daughter Alexis both went with me this year, which made it even more special. The event is always held at Camp Waldemar in Hunt, TX, which is about 2 1/2 hours from here on the western edge of the Texas Hill Country, and it would be next to impossible to find a place more beautiful! We had all three signed up for "glee club" with Austin singer/songwriter Mandy Rowden in advance, so on the way there we practiced our lyrics. Which is why the Four Non-Blondes' song What's Up? will forever be stuck in our brains! After checking in and getting settled into our darling room, we had a fabulous dinner (one of the main reasons we all keep coming back!), then went to the lodge to hear our keynote speaker, Amy Hale Auker, an amazing cowgirl poet. Then it was out to the fire pit for our nightly sing-along with Mandy.

The next day I was in an all day class with artist Tori Weyers of Draw Riot, where we made a set of "vision cards". Not sure I will ever be able to take a reading from the ones I made, but I did discover something pretty amazing -- that if I listen to non-sing-along-songs, like Pink Floyd and such, while I paint, it's much easier to silence my inner critic and just "let go, and let it flow!" Who knew?

After class I met up with Lex and Kathy for glee club practice. Then, after we'd finished eating our yummy dinner, they had a surprise for us. They asked us to leave the dining hall for 15 minutes, and when we came back they had it set up for a giant Bunco game -- the perfect way to mix us up and get us to talking to lots of different people in a short period of time. I hadn't played in about 20 years, but it came back to me in a jiff. I thought I was a sure shoo-in for the booby prize, winning only two hands all evening. But, wouldn't you know, my sister had to beat me out of my prize by winning only one! Can you believe I lost out on this?

Unicorn Jammies!

The next day I took two 1/2-day classes. In the morning it was Folded Pen Lettering with Roxanne Glaser... aka Super Doodle Girl, where we actually made our own pens!

Then, that afternoon, Lex and I got to take a class together -- Goddess Gardens -- with architect-interior designer-gardener-ranch retreat hostess Kate O'Brien. She had all kinds of funky containers for us to choose from, then we just went to town with gravel, cactus soil, and succulents, adding in a few personal things we brought from home, and each ending up with something totally unique.

It turned frigid that day, and we were out in the pottery shed!

Lexi's Masterpiece

My Little Jewel

Then there was more glee club practicing, more delicious food, and more time around the campfire.

It was a very good day!

(to be continued)...