Masquerade

One week ago tonight, I was spending my Saturday night at the Masquerade party at Journalfest.  We were all supposed to make a mask and wear it to the festivities but several people took that a step further and came in full costume.  I bought a mask, which turned out to be impossible to put on over top of my glasses, but everyone loved my Hallowe'en themed t-shirt, which I accessorized with a black and orange feather boa.  You can see my shirt and a little bit of that boa in this photo of Heather, Irene and myself:

Here is a collage of some of the amazing masks people had made:

Everyone brought their journals to the party and we sat around at tables working on our pages while listening to the music of the Seattle band Surrealized (here's their website).  They were awesome!  I would describe their music as techno-funk but they call it "electro-space rock" on their Facebook page, so what do I know? :)

Here's a picture of Robert and Kimo looking totally normal, doing their sound check:

and then later, they performed in costume:

(It's not every man that can wear a tutu and look good doing it, but Kimo was able to carry it off without a problem, while playing a trumpet, a banjo and various other miscellaneous musical instruments.)

It was a great party, lots of laughter and chit chat, dancing, candy, fun and frivolity, as you can see from this photo of Jenna, Sharon and Heather.

Of course, there were some spooky moments as well, such as when I took this photo of the lights reflected in the window - doesn't it look like a pair of scary eyes peeking in at us??

Wendy Lee was the "journal prompt bunny", carrying a jar full of writing ideas for us to choose from:

The one I got read, "what is one small step you could take for your emotional health today? Are you willing to do it?"  I figured I had already taken a big step for my mental well-being by attending Journalfest and treating myself to such a fun learning experience!!

Acts of Kindness

Of all the wonderful memories of my experiences last week at Journalfest, some of those that really stand out are associated with the amazing people I met and the very kind things they did for us.

For example:

Doug, the shuttle bus driver who picked us up when we first arrived in Seattle, had just started to leave the airport when he heard there was one more person who had just arrived, so he turned the bus around to pick her up, saving her the aggravation of trying to make arrangements to get to Port Townsend, a two hour drive away.  On the drive, John entertained us with tidbits of information about what we were seeing as we drove, telling us about the local history and geography of the area. When we got to the town of Port Townsend, Kim asked if he could do a quick tour down the main street since most of us might not make it back into town given that we didn't have cars to make the 10 minute drive, and John quite willingly granted this request without hesitation.

Tony, Matt and Dave drove the shuttle cars, taking people back and forth between locations at Fort Worden as needed.  They were also on hand to help up carry our suitcases up and down stairs as required, without being asked - we just walked out of class at the end of the day and there they were, at the top of the stairs, waiting to give a hand.  Here's a picture of Tony carrying my wheelie bag, filled with all my art supplies, and another lady's bag up the stairs of the Schoolhouse to our second floor classroom:

Then there were the people that made and served the food we ate while we were there.  My friend Heather has an allergy to wheat.  Once the food staff found this out, they made sure they always had a gluten-free english muffin toasted and waiting for her.  Heather said it was the best gluten free bread product she had ever tasted and they saved the wrapper for her so she can look for the product at home.  Here's a picture of the always smiling Tammy bringing a muffin to Heather:

When we realized that those people leaving on the shuttle bus at 8 a.m. for the ride back to the Seattle airport on Sunday morning would miss out on the regular breakfast service, the kitchen staff arranged for a continental breakfast to be ready for us at 7 a.m.  We were so glad not to have to make that 2 hour trip on an empty stomach!

These days, customer service seems to have gone out the window along with politeness and manners.  But it's the little things like this that really make the difference between a good experience and a great experience.  To all of these wonderful people, I say thank you so much for all that you did for us, it is appreciated and remembered.

Teesha and Tracy

No discussion of Journalfest is complete without mentioning the two people who are responsible for bringing us all together.  Journalfest is organized by the husband and wife team of Teesha and Tracy Moore.

I had been following Teesha's blog (Teesha) and loving her artwork for a while now (more on that subject in a later post), and although she mentions Tracy quite often in her blog posts, I didn't quite realize the extent to which Tracy is also a journaler and blogger (Tracy) in his own right.  Nor did I know that he makes the most amazing journals with covers made out of metal and repurposed items.  I hope he doesn't mind me showing a couple of photos here of some of his books, they are so fantastic:

The funny thing about this book - notice the word "Electra" at the top? A couple of weeks ago, when I was at the Flamboro outdoor antique market, one of the vendors had a whole box of car name plates just like the one Tracy used for this book.  I wish I had that box now!!

This one was my absolute favourite:

Check out the phone dial, which actually turns, and the scuba diver in the centre of it.  Incredible attention to detail.  Tracy told me he is going to be teaching a class on making these journals in Cleveland sometime next year, probably June, and I so want to be there!

But back to the point of this blog:  Teesha and Tracy did an AMAZING job of organizing this retreat.  Everything was so well thought out and put together.  Not to mention the fact that they are just the cutest couple.

From the first afternoon when we arrived to check in to the last morning when they waved us off on the shuttle bus to the airport, they were just so friendly and welcoming and helpful.  I would like to say a big thank you to them both for providing me and my fellow Journalfest attendees with such an amazing opportunity to make art and new friends, learn and play.  It truly was an exceptional experience and I loved every minute of it, and it was all the more special because of their presence and involvement and attention to detail.  For that, I am most grateful.

Fort Worden

Here are some photos of Fort Worden State Park and Conference Centre, where Journalfest was held.  It's a beautiful spot, located in the town of Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula in the State of Washington.  It overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Port Townsend Bay in Puget Sound. 

This is a view of the Commons building (on the right), where we ate our meals, shopped on Vendor Night and gathered for the Masquerade party on Saturday night.

A funky sculpture on the grounds.

A vintage gas station.

The view from the second floor of Building 204 on a perfect fall afternoon.

They even have a castle!

We didn't seem to have enough time to explore the grounds of this 19th century military fort. I'd love to spend more time there.

Collage Class Continues

Before I can tell you more about Journalfest, I have to go to my Tuesday night collage class.  I missed last week, as I was busy packing for my trip.  Here are some photos of a collage I made a couple of weeks ago. I was having trouble deciding what the "face" should be, so I tried a couple of alternatives:

I think I like Version 2 the best.  What do you think?

Home From Journalfest

I had SUCH a good time at Journalfest. I'm not sure if I'll be able to adequately describe how wonderful it all was but I'm certainly going to try over the next few posts.  There were so many incredible moments.  The organizers, Teesha and Tracy Moore, were the sweetest couple and did such a fabulous job putting this event together.  Their family and staff were so helpful and friendly.  The accommodations were not fancy (we stayed in the dormitory, enough said), but they were clean and perfectly adequate. The teachers were amazing, very talented, generous and kind. The food was amazing and the people serving it were great.  The best part was the amazing group of people I met.  They were all so fun and nice and, especially, talented.  It's almost intimidating to be near people that good at what they do, it makes you feel like you're the one drawing stick figures with crayons sitting beside them.  But in spite of that, it's so much fun to hang out with people who have similar interests and get what you're into.  The worst part about the whole thing? Having to leave to come home!

Happy Hallowe'en!

I'm making my way home from Journalfest today, which means I'll be spending most of the day in airports or on a plane. Not sure how many of my fellow travellers will be in costume or whether we will be trick or treating up and down the aisles of the plane!? :)

Hope you have a wonderful Hallowe'en, however you are spending it!

(Many thanks to the Graphics Fairy for finding and sharing this image from the public domain. The Graphics Fairy  Don't you just love the owl on the witch's hat and the black cat on her shoulder?)