20 Things I know a lot about – a writing exercise

At the Grind Writers’ group today, we were asked to take five minutes and write a list of 20 things we know a lot about. To my surprise, it was then suggested we introduce ourselves by reading our list.  Oh, well, as they say, “in for a penny, in for a pound.” What do you know a lot about?

1. identifying west coast weeds (as opposed to vegetables or flowers)

2. the smell of the Pacific Ocean

3. mixed media techniques

4. Myers-Briggs personality type

5. how to visit someone in hospital

6. planning workshops, leading meetings

7. labyrinths

8. cooking soup from whatever you have around

9. bglttti2sqqa issues (and, yes, I know what all those letters stand for)

10. being friendly

11. Unitarian churches

12. Kitsilano

13. the smell of a boy-child’s scalp after sweating

14. how to set up a googlegroup

15. pagan rituals

16. ecological despair

17. housing co-ops—plus, minus and interesting

18. great arts and culture opportunities in Vancouver for free or cheap

19. traffic circle gardens

20. being Mary/merry

 

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Art Teacher as Surgeon

I received this wonderful testimonial from a participant in my mixed-media workshop:

“I wanted to learn some texturing, blurring, & layering techniques for collage. Mary is an actual fount of knowledge about mixed media. But in our sessions, she zeroed in surgically on what each person specifically wanted to learn, which was great. She has all the stuff, so you can experiment and find your mode without a big layout of money. She explains well, demonstrates, answers all your questions, then frees you to experiment without judgment. Seeing what the possibilities were from her demos, then playing with all the stuff in her lovely bay-windowed studio — that was really fun.”

I often felt I was skimming over so many techniques because the group was so enthusiastic and had so many questions. So to be told I had zeroed in surgically was very affirming.

Next series starts March 17, 2015 2-4pm.  $70 for 5 2-hour sessions.

Groups are tiny (2-3 people) so if you want a different time, let me know and we’ll see what we can do.