Moved

I moved over to michelledarensbourg.com

Working on Buddha

Working on Buddha.  That is what I have been doing lately.  Continuing the one that I started at a workshop with Andy Weber a few weeks back.  Will be setting it aside for a few weeks as I have some other obligations approaching.  Here is a picture of where it is currently at in development.  The process of witnessing your own inner symmetry(or lack there of) is very humbling.  I see a lot more meditation in my future.

Norton Simon

Just visited the Norton Simon Museum recently. I really love this museum! They have a wonderful collection of Degas. The people that work there have been friendly and helpful, unlike some of the other museums I have been to. If you have never been it is definitely worth the trip. Here are a few pictures for those of you that have never visited the museum.

Back online

Finally a little break in my schedule. I just attended 2 workshops with artist Andy Weber. The first was on "The Art of Compassion"(Emanations of Avalokitesvara). If you visit his website at www.andyweberstudios.com you can read more about him and see his upcoming workshops. Here is a brief bit about him that I will quote from his site. " Andy spent seven years living and studying the iconographical art of Tibetan Buddhism under the guidance of accomplished masters in India and Nepal. His unique style of authentic images for visualization are highly respected not only by the growing number of Western Buddhists but also by Tibetan Lamas of all traditions, many of whom have commissioned his work. His thangka paintings (= Tibetan scroll paintings) can be seen in Buddhist centers and temples throughout the world including the Potala Palace in Lhasa and his images have become well known and popular through numerous publications."
The photo shows some of the preparations of stretching your own canvas or surface for painting. I am still working on my drawing and will post a photo as I make a little more progress.

Benefits of the Business of Art Lecture with Drew Brophy and more!

WOW! Today I attended the BUSINESS of ART LECTURE with artists DREW BROPHY, PHIL ROBERTS, BRITT TOBIA, & RICK DELANTY. What an amazing event. It provided the perfect forum for artists of all levels to share stories, ideas, and network. The event provided a wonderful opportunity especially to network. I must admit that I am so inspired from today that I am starting a forum for the local artists in the San Clemente area to network right here. I will post opportunities and news as I found out about them. I do have occasional opportunities to try to help people connect and what better time to do this than the beginning of a new year. Let's see how we can support each other to help make things happen!

The bucket

Why do we feel the need to look in the bucket? The fascination of containers and vessels. As within... so without.
Then again maybe she is just looking for a mouse.....

Gray Day

I was sitting here surfing the web and realized I should take to opportunity to blog so here I am. As for what I have been up to...it seems to change constantly. My latest project is making Sculpy pens. I saw some that some had made and then I found the project written up in a book so I thought I would try it. The method they listed in the book resulted in the only pens that cracked on me:) But I made 24 in the first batch and only three cracked so I thought that was pretty good. I still have to seal the pens but the weather today is not cooperating. Funny thing about this project I kept thinking i was in love with the latest pen and then I would make another and like that one even more. I'll put up pics of my favorites after I have a chance to seal them.