Category Archives: Community

Learning Curve

I am always on the lookout for teaching and learning opportunities at CReATE. As Alfred Mercier said, “What we learn with pleasure we never forget” and we need to keep learning for the sake of our minds and our sense of curiousness in spirit. I touched on the sparkle of fun I felt after learning the ins-and-outs of Modern Calligraphy where my childhood spirit shone through.
I choose to have classes and workshops at the studio that I know can find the lovely balance between teaching and learning which for me includes a big grey area of curiosity, exploration and discovery. This is where each person participating can find their place with the skill they learn and its just for them.  Our open-structure is all about those pieces which are like diamonds that crack open with deeper, more brilliant facets of personal learning. I believe more and more that we do better in life when we look at things curiously which intern translates to creatively. I feel there is magic in the process of trying something out for the sake of personal enrichment. Learning unfolds in the creative flow.
Join me in exploring experiences this fall at the studio. It is after all a family studio where there is something fun for everyone.

 

Meet us at the Library!

Come have fun with us at The Thousand Oaks Library today between 1-4pm.
We’ll be hosting a FREE Pinspired Family Crafternoon where you can make wood signs, picnic boards and kid car boards while supplies last.
Meet us in the Marvin E. Smith room.
We’ll see you there!

The projects we’ll have on hand at this event are inspired by the projects we do for our regular Pinspired adult night at the studio where it’s all about hands-on making your way.

*The studio is open as usual from 12-4pm too!

 

Back To School Workshop

We’re excited to have Calligraphy artist Kristina Virtue offering this super fun “Back To School Boards” workshop at CReATE STUDIO on both Thursday, July 26th and Thursday, August 9th from 7-9pm. Kristina guides us in this workshop with ideas, inspirations and Modern Calligraphy tips to make share worthy boards for little ones embarking on big milestones.

$50 per person. Includes everything you need to make an awesome photo chalk board.Call us to register at 818-575-9566

 

Six Degrees

We Are All Connected Somehow. Right now, one of my connectors seems to be Joy Prouty, @joyprouty on instagram.
Years ago when my daughter Maisy joined instagram one of her early follows was Joy Prouty, she would tell me about her story, her images, her then only one young daughter and the beautiful family she had. One day Maisy came into our kitchen thrilled that Joy Prouty was having an estate sale and it was right in our Thousand Oaks Backyard! Until then she had assumed Joy was far away in another state with her lovely tales of family life. We went to the sale but didn’t connect with the Proutys’ then.
A few years later I met Joy as she brought her eldest daughter to the studio for a CReATE date with a friend. I told her about my connection to her family.
Years later still, during a birthday party at the studio I talked with a parent who was a photographer @erin_m_fox. She had trained under Joy Prouty. I loved that connection so I tucked it away in my memory to go back to someday.
Someday came recently when I thought about updating my website with fresh photos. Erin immediately came to my mind, so I called her. When she came to the studio to meet with me we connected. We talked about work, family, life and of course, Joy Prouty. When Maisy had told me about Joy all those years ago I was intrigued by what drew my teenage daughter to an adult mama. She was intrigued by Joy’s photography and her heartfelt story posts.
I followed Joy too then and understood what connected Maisy to her. Talking to Erin recently I understood what connected her to Joy too. It was humanness, kindness, realness, rawness and Joy’s relishing in the beautyness too. As Erin and I talked we shared some nesses of our own.
Today Erin came to the studio to shoot it in-action during a Birthday Party. I watched her work, she connected with people, with inspired views she had, I just can’t wait to see it all. At the end of the day I feel lucky to take note of the thread that is woven through all of us while connecting us all. That’s what it’s really about, being in the connection. Thank you Joy for being a piece of my thread and for weaving into my life’s story that connected me to Erin. I am sure the connection won’t stop here. After all, we are all connected somehow.

Fun with our friends at the Arterie!

ONLY ONE SPOT LEFT!!! MINI MODERNIST DESIGN SUMMER CAMP WITH CReATE Studio at The Arterie. Tues-Fri: 10 a.m-noon or extend the hours and create even more art until 2 p.m. 7/17-7/20. Campers will build and paint their own house, CReATE STUDIO has curated all of the green design elements including cork, tile & stone, moss, mesh, wire, wood bits, fabric swatches, (and so much more!) for your mini mid-century

modernist makers.

Visit https://www.thearterie.org/shop/mini-modernist-design-camp for details.

 

Wabi-Sabi

I had heard the term Wabi-Sabi long ago and thought, I totally get that. I understand it to be a Japanese perspective essentially focusing on seeing beauty in the flaws of things like cracks, chips or worn spots. Each of those marks has a story to tell or a memory to spark. A tea cup that is worn and cracked might convey an unfolding story of how many hundreds of cups of tea that cup held. How many quiet moments in thought and perspective or how many conversations had been had. I’ve even heard that some artists in Japan fill pieces with cracks with gold to accentuate the beauty of the flaw and it’s story. At home, I have a cracked coffee mug that is part of a set I love and chipped bowl that belonged to my Grandmother. When I see the chip I think of her and cooking time we spent together. I still miss my grandma. She shared so much of her story, her life with me. There is Wabi-Sabi in that.
I see the studio in a Wabi-Sabi way too, with our painted tables, paint dripped floors, even finger printed windows and walls. I reflect on how much creating has happened there. How many memories of proud smiles beaming, of thoughtful faces thinking as they create, of moments shared by families in creative time. It is a core human need to connect with one another. Somehow, a Wabi-Sabi mindset weaves into that connection while helping me see the beauty in what is. It keeps me present and appreciative of the past all at once.
Do any of your things have a Wabi-Sabi story to tell?

Community Fun!

Come paint rocks with us this Saturday between 10am-12pm at CReATE STUDIO. Girls Club Strong and CReATE host this FREE community event to paint rocks to hide around our communities and spread good vibes.

Woo Hoo!

CReATE STUDIO has been nominated for @greenamerica_ People and Planet award!! We are so honored and excited to be counted among those who seek to make positive and impactful contributions to our planet!
Please vote for us! If we win we will be able to develop Reuse Awareness and Action for Good program to broaden our reach to children, families and communities near and far! https://www.greenamerica.org

Dream Big

Join CReATE STUDIO and Girls Club Strong at The City of Agoura Hills 2nd Annual Girls Night Out event tonight, geared toward teen and preteen girls. We’ll be hosting a free “Dream Big” booth with dream catchers making and big dream exploring from 5-8pm. See you there!

 

Rework it!

Hurray for recycled style and community service. Our Recycled Fashion Show was a success today, a Win/Win for all!