you say it's your birthday...

I wanted to take a moment to wish a very happy birthday to my friend, Patricia Boissevain. Trish is the founder of the Brunswick Art Collaborative, and she is also the reason why I'm working with mixed media/collage today. It started on a Tuesday evening a couple of years ago. The Brunswick Art Collaborative decided to work on card-making for our project that month. The whole group was really into it, sharing supplies and getting inspired by one another. We laughed, we had fun, and we came up with some really nice work. We enjoyed it so much that we decided the next month's meeting would be another evening of card-making. After surveying the consistently good work the group was turning out, Trish piped up and said, "You know what? I think it's time we took this to the next level. These are not just cards, they're really nice collages and mixed media pieces. Next month, let's mount them on wood and see what we can do with them." The rest, as they say, is history. I have had so much fun working with this new medium, and I don't think I would have ever started exploring it if it hadn't been for Trish's encouragement and the Brunswick Art Collaborative. So, happy birthday, Trish! I hope this coming year is filled with inspiration and creativity. Thank you for inspiring and encouraging me.