Ready for Summer--Mermaids and More!!!

Now that the weather is warmer and the days are longer, I am filled with an overwhelming urge to hit the beach!  In the meantime, I am having fun in the studio creating more mixed media mermaids, sailboats, and beach blocks!  I hope to have some of these colorful creations for sale in the OBX this summer!  A lot of my artwork is for sale now at the Artful Gift Shop in Vienna, VA.  You can always contact me directly at jackietury@gmail.com to purchase art or to register for one of my Art Parties or Workshops!  Hope to see you soon!

"Mixed Media Mermaids"

"Beach Blocks and Sailboats"

"The Artful Gift Shop"

"Some of my work at the Artful Gift Shop"

"Some of my work featured in the Viva Vienna flyer"

"Old Fashioned Fun at Viva Vienna!"

"Join me for my June Art Party!"

Artful Awakenings Retreat was Amazing!!!!!

Dream Come True!

I could not have asked for a better experience hosting my first Retreat!  Everything worked out perfectly from beginning to end like divine intervention!  We had a wonderful group of 12 bright, brave, beautiful women all at transitional points in their lives.  It was so moving and beautiful to all come together to laugh, cry, play, stretch, dream, and create.  It was amazing the many connections we all had!  I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to nurture these nurturers who are doing great things for others out in the world.  With the beach at our doorstep, the ocean as our healer and the Kitty Hawk Life Saving Station as our sacred space we had a weekend filled with magical moments! 

Anne Marie, Leslie, Jackie (me), and Karen

Thank you to my family for your support and to my awesome retreat team for sharing your gifts this weekend!  Each person played such an important role in bringing this Retreat together and this dream to life!  I couldn’t have done it without you!  Karen, you are such a warm and loving spirit and a true yoga goddess!  Leslie your amazing meals were healthy, delicious masterpieces!  Anne Marie, your skills as a doula helped birth my dream and allowed our guests to feel loved, pampered, and supported.  I was able to guide our guests in connecting with their creativity and discovering the artist within through meaningful art projects.  Together, we were all able to experience Artful Awakenings as we move forward on our journeys with strength, purpose, awareness and intention. 

These amazing women opened their hearts and minds, stretched their bodies, and explored their creativity!

Thanks to each and every one of you!  I am in awe of you and feel blessed to have spent the weekend in your presence!

Our mornings started with yoga on the beach at sunrise--can't beat that!

From mandalas...

To mermaids...

Love how your beautiful artwork captured your spirits and sparkled in the sunshine!

Our afternoons were filled with art!

Our evenings were a time for meaningful conversation as we shared laughter, tears, dreams and fears.

All the while, feasting on healthy, delicious meals prepared by Leslie.

Let's not forget daily walks on the beach and even a polar plunge.

Our closing circle--our spirits lifted and renewed--Awakened!

Love and gratitude to all my mermaid sisters of the sea!  I love you all and miss you and the beach already!
I hope you continue to be present and awake to the possibilities within you and the opportunities that surround you!

Artful Awakenings...

Taking Flight and Other OBX Adventures!

One week from today, I will be heading back to OBX to host my SOLD OUT “Artful Awakenings Retreat!”  I have been dreaming of this retreat for years and planning for months!  I can’t believe this dream is taking flight and is almost here!  I can't wait to share this experience with all the amazing women who have registered for the retreat!  Check back in a couple weeks for photos from our wonderful weekend!

In the meantime, I was lucky enough to spend spring break in the Outer Banks, where I literally took FLIGHT for the first time when I went hang gliding with my family at Jockey’s Ridge!  We had been planning on hang gliding for over a year now (thanks to a gift card from the Annandale Turys), but this was our first opportunity to actually do it!  We called late Sunday afternoon to make a reservation later in the week.  We were told that the days we wanted were booked and the weather didn’t look good later in the week.  The person on the phone asked if we could fly that day and be there ready to go in an hour or so.  SURE—Why not?!  I am SO glad we did!!!  Turns out that was the Perfect day for hang gliding (despite the high winds and threat of cancellation) and the Only day that week the weather cooperated!  Once we had our intro, we headed for the dunes and took turns taking flight! WOW—what a thrill!  I LOVED it!  The first time flying, I couldn’t wait to climb the dune and do it again…and again…and again!  Luckily, we each got five flights!  I will definitely be doing this again!

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you will long to return.”  -Leonardo da Vinci

Other highlights and beach adventures include:

- finding and trying to help an injured baby seal pup!  I loved this little pup and took long walks to check on him a couple times a day, even when I was the only crazy one out there in the cold and wind and rain.  Thanks to the Park Service and Karen at N.E.S.T. for following up on my calls.  Hope this little guy made it!

- watching Paul and Zoe run their first 5K in the rain and in full color!  Congrats--so proud!

- spending time with my family

- collecting and photographing  sea shells

- reading, resting, enjoying the beauty of the ocean, the sky, the sound

- coloring eggs and celebrating Easter

Bye for now OBX...I'll be back soon!

Bloom True -- A Journey into Intuitive Painting with Flora Bowley!

This post is a brief summary of my Amazing Journey into Intuitive Painting with Artist Flora Bowley! It all began in February with the start of Flora's Bloom True e-course which I had received as a gift! (You can read more about the first few layers in my earlier Bloom True post. )  I was ready to let loose and try something new and couldn't wait to get started.   I wanted to experience painting with total freedom and abandon--no limits and no expectations and that's exactly what the course delivered! 

I loved the entire process from start to finish--from blank canvas to full bloom!

My Bloom True Collection--finished and unfinished!

Above is my entire collection of Bloom True Canvases!  The original 4 canvases I started with are pretty much finished and are all beach themed (unintentionally/intuitively).  They are the Mermaid, the Underwater Scene, the Sea at Sunset, and the Bullseye.  Canvas #5 is on the easel and is pretty much finished as well.  None of these 5 are officially named, signed, or have the sides painted yet, so there may still be a bold move or two left.  They are also in various stages from more finished to more chaotic and almost tribal.  But for now, I'm declaring them done in all their various stages.  The other 6 smaller canvases are all in various beginning stages and still have several layers to go.  Most likely, they will have to wait until after the Artful Awakenings Beach Retreat I am hosting to get finished.

Below are photos of my journey and the transformations of the canvases in reverse order.  I loved seeing how each new layer totally transformed the painting!  For me, this was the most difficult part and the most rewarding!  Sometimes I resisted painting over layers that I loved, but when I did, amazing new layers emerged! The black and white layer was often my favorite.  I loved the wild energy!

I am looking forward to Blooming True again and again one blank canvas after another!  Thank you Bloomers for sharing this journey!  Thank you Flora for being such an amazing, talented, generous, inspiring artist and teacher!  I highly recommend this class and hope to paint with Flora and my fellow Bloomers in person one day!

The original 4 canvases in their black/white layer

The original 4 canvases in their  pink/purple layer

The original 4 canvases with another warm color layer

The original 4 canvases with the first cool color layer

The original 4 canvases on their first intuitive layer!

Original Canvas #1

Original Canvas #2

Original Canvas #3

Original Canvas #4

Canvas # 5:  (added during the class)

Two more small canvases I added during the class

Thank You Flora--you are Amazing!

Family Art Party!

This weekend, instead of hosting a group of women to create art--I hosted my family!  We had our own little "Family Art Party"!  We each created a mixed media piece based on Art & Technology for the Del Ray Artisans Show, "Revolution".  The show opens Friday, April 4th with an opening reception from 7-10 p.m. and runs through April 27th.  Our family had a fun evening creating and spending time together!  We each used similar parts (old disk drives, keyboard keys, computer parts, cell phones, etc), but all of our artwork turned out so differently!  We each have a different take on technology too!  I tend to find it frustrating and intimidating, while the rest of the family seems to embrace it a bit more.  I am so happy and grateful that my family shares a love of creating and I hope to have more "Family Art Parties" in the future!  Feel free to stop by the show if you are in town!  Art Update:  SOLD-two pieces down, two to go!  Congrats Paul and Autumn!

Mirror, Mirror!

March's Art Party focused on self-reflection as we created inspirational mirrors with meaningful messages!  Using mirrors as symbols of both physical and spiritual reflection and a tool for self-awareness, we can make a more conscious effort to see the positive attributes in ourselves and embrace our imperfections.  These decorative mirrors will serve as visual reminders to check in with ourselves, accept ourselves, nurture ourselves, and celebrate ourselves!  Thank you to this special circle of women who joined me to create!  May you and your mirrors reflect truth, light, beauty and joy inside and out!