2012~The year of Brave.New.Dreams and Possibilities

 70, 000 plus miles travelled in 2012, living the reality of what was, only months before, a dream. 

i apologise in advance for the length of this post. it was a massive year and if you are kind enough to read all the way to the end and leave me a little hello in the comments section i will put your name in a hat or a bucket with everyone else's and one of you will win a painting...okay now go make yourself a cuppa and settle in :)

in January i launched an exhibition of new paintings in our little village of Huskisson

and hung out with the beautiful Louise Gale when she came to visit!

 and then...up, up and away!

January~ An International exhibition in Koh Samui Thailand..who moi?? Pinch!

 The whole family got to come...we enjoyed some new beverages!  

 shopped a little-well a lot!

 i got to judge a mural competition and had to pick a winner (so hard!) from these talented Thai artists

 we hiked to a hidden waterfall

 explored the nearby islands

 rode on these beautiful creatures through the jungle :)

 Painted my own mural and giggled with these two cuties

had our feet nibbled by fish ( not my favourite thing!)

and rode madly in a tuk tuk through the streets of Bangkok with Sienna

 back home in April I taught my very first Paint Mojo workshop in a stable

with a bevy of enthusiastic and talented students :)

 March through July I continued to explore new possibilities

 in paint

 continuing my studies in Fine Arts through Curtin University

 and celebrating High Distinctions for my work.

 

we also released our brand new CD three years in the making which you can listen to and purchase here.http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thelonggoodbyes

 i continued to give thanks for the bounty and beauty of my life, this man who walks through the world with such a big heart, who doesn't always get it right (who does?) but loves us in the hugest way.....and i him

 these beauties always reminding me to slow down

 and relax into the moment

 and these two beauties that make my heart overflow with love every day.

 

 in June I launched a new exhibition of paintings

before flying off to sunny Qld thanks to my gracious and lovely host Christine Desbiens

 Flying solo like a wide eyed girl, soaking in the newness of every experience, lapping up the freshness of a new perspective.

 i shared wonderful creative time with this gorgeous group and also shared the revelation of having my biological father ( who I had never met!) walk into the workshop unexpectedly at the end of Day One!! I have not yet written about this experience at any length but it has been an incredibly positive event  and continues to unfold in lovely ways.

 i thank these women for their energy, love and support

over that momentous weekend~ my first interstate Paint Mojo workshop!

July was a month of change and goodbyes when first we saw Marco off on a business venture to Thailand. Unfortunately it didn't work out as we had hoped but life is for learning and loving and all is as its meant to be...

then it was time to say goodbye to my sweet girl Santana when she grew wings and decided to try living on her own in the big city...she too is now back at home and ready to begin studying next year closer to home :))

 

 In August I flew to Melbourne (big thanks to Liza baker and Wini Dougall)

and another round of mojo sharing began...a little colder than the previous but still just as much fun!

 

and then it was up, up and away again......this time just Sienna and I, our little family halved for a time,

we landed in a spectacular California Summer for a month of settling in, getting Sienna enrolled in school, hanging at the beach.. 

catching up with dear friends

and family!

enjoying some of these :)

and lots of this!

I fell in love with Orly Avineri when she graciously invited me to come to her San Diego workshop in September..

 we explored Hollywood and Venice beach with Sienna and my nieces Kira and Keely :)

 

and I got myself ready for my upcoming teaching tour with cards and prints to sell...

 

made my video lesson for Life Book and then I was off!! 

Firstly to Petaluma where I truly became part of the Art Is You family!

Warm, wonderful, wild and weird in the best way!

 

 I got to meet all of the wonderful artists and teachers that I have been reading about for all of these years AND I was one of them!! Pinch me again!

Four days of teaching and learning and meeting awesome people. So excited to be teaching there again this year!

 Then it was back to Southern California where my sweet friend Christy opened her home for us to Mojo in!!

 i painted this little demo there and left it as a gift for my hostess with the mostest :)

i think everyone found their mojo very successfully!!

and then i was off to the East Coast for more Feelgood painting at Art Is You in Stamford CT.

 on my day off my beautiful friend Mary Leigh took me into NY for a day of sightseeing

 She was the best guide ever!

 then lucky me got to hang out with these wonderful women at the home of Sallianne McLelland, a woman with one of the biggest hearts I know....

I got to know incredible women like Kecia

 who gifted me this very swish vintage prom dress and made me the beautiful necklace i am wearing with it. thank you Kecia you are awesome!

 

I also got to spend three days in Hoboken with my lovely friend Louise and we explored New York each day and didn't get home till the early hours each morning...I cannot for the life of me find the folder with those pics (except for this one of us lining up for a falafel from Sam which was delish!) but we had a LOT of FUN..the highlight being the last night when Louise took me to an underground piano bar in the West End where we and 60 or so other patrons sang showtunes at the top of our lungs till 2am :)

from NY I flew back to the West Coast to meet my honey and celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We booked this cute place through airbnb in La Mission, Baja California

and celebrated with lobster and margaritas....5 days together out of 5 and a half months was way too short...

 and then it was on to Texas where the very heartful Selah Gay had put together the most wonderful retreat for me to teach at...

this is the sign she had made to greet the students

 and here she is creating something beautiful

and these are the wonderful women of the Lotus Ranch, Wimberley, Paint Mojo Retreat

What a time we had!

 after the retreat had finished i met up with my sweet friend Emily and we spent the day roaming the missions of San Antonio together and then it was on to Austin where the gorgeous Jessica Brogan showed me the best of this funky city and we put our heads together and hatched some plans for some wonderful future events. Thank you Em and Jessica....i think your pics are in that same missing folder!

 From Texas it was off to the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. Thank you so much to Phyllis Peterson who was such a caring and sweet host, looking after me in her home as I battled a horrible cough/cold/allergy attack. She dosed me up on various remedies and I taught two separate sold out workshops at the beautiful Random Arts owned by the vivacious and funny Jane Powell.

 

on my day off Phyllis and Jane took me to Asheville where we had the best tacos at White Duck Taco and then wandered the streets looking at the galleries.

 I was over the moon to find one of my art heroes Jonas Gerard  in his studio and have to admit i blushed profusely as he wooed me with his charm....

after a week in North Carolina, enjoying the Southern hospitality it was time for a road trip

 so i hopped in my rental car and took off to Savannah!

 

spending the night in this charming historical home which i also found on air bnb.

 Savannah had my heart the moment i arrived but its far too romantic a place to wander alone....

 from Savannah i drove on to St Pete beach Florida, Thanks to my beautiful friend e'Layne Koenigsberg

(and Lora) for sharing their home and lives with me for the week and for organising such a wonderful event.

 I was blown away for the whole trip (and beyond) at the depth, talent and wisdom of the women who came to these workshops seeking to learn and share and grow.

i truly feel blessed to be able to do what i do and if i can, in some small way encourage others to follow their creative bliss the way i have mine it makes my heart smile wide. 

 Are you still there...i know this is long but i don't know how to make it shorter and if you get all the way to the end i would love for you to leave a comment. 

everyone who does will go into the draw to win one of my "little creatures" original paintings.. :)

one like this but not this one as its already in its new home......soooo with the workshops finished it was time for some down time.

 I said goodbye to the girls and picked Sienna up at the airport in Tampa and we headed to Orlando for three days of fun! after we had ridden every roller coaster (twice!!) we headed South for a very special meeting...

Tony (my biological father) had told me that his sister lived in Florida. 

Soon after he and i met, my Aunty Robbie contacted me by email, so warm and caring, a beautiful spirit welcoming me into their family. When we worked out that I would be in Florida around Thanksgiving she invited Sienna and i to come spend it with her and her family.

 i still dont have words to really describe this experience of finding family you never knew

or how you feel like a part of you had somehow been missing and now its not. 

Its also tricky because feelings can be hurt and i love my mum and dad that brought me up and my other mum that brought me into this world and i don't want them to feel that in finding joy in this new family i am in any way diminishing the love i have for them

 

so that's all i will say for now

 is that enough to digest?

what a year, right?

i love you all and thank you so much for supporting me through this HUGE journey. 

i wish you every happiness in 2013 and hope that you will leave me a comment so i can send one of you a painting.

if i have missed anyone out its not because you are not important its because i am sometimes a little ditzy and this was a very long post to put together....

HAPPY 2013!!!

lots of love Tracy xoxox

be happy!

and live your own soulful adventure!

 OUT OF THE OFFICE. GONE TO THE BEACH :)