CKU and Me

I am home and can I just say "wow", those folks at CKU operate a well-oiled machine. If I had to sum up my experience in one word I would choose STIMULATING: the noise, the traffic, the heat, the crowds, the not looking up from projects for hours at a time, the constant crop chatter, the ecstasy of a constant Starbuck's caffeine buzz. I met amazing and creative people, some new to me and some who have been my favorites for a long time. The food was good, the hotel was scrumptious and the projects were out of this world. Mark picked up my lens yesterday and I hope to be photographing some of those amazing projects and posting them very soon.

This is me and Ali Edwards. She rocks. Her presence and style are inspiring to me, always have been. I created an heirloom album about Mark and I in her "Evolution" class.

This is me and Tim Holtz. He is one funny guy and amazing artist. I think I learned the most from him technique-wise and I love his "grunge" style.

This is me and Lisa Bearnson. She is the founding "mother" of Creating Keepsakes. She is poised and warm and friendly and I enjoyed the small amount of time I got to spend with her.

This is me and my table-mates, Kathy and Teresa, in the Evolution album track with Ali. Such a fun day with so much great energy. I love Ali Edwards even more having spent my whole Saturday with her. She's as real as it gets.

I missed my family though, and I learned that I really am a solitary scrapper. I didn't participate in any of the nightly crops or contests, and after my last class on Saturday I grabbed a subway sandwich and headed to my room for some peace and quiet. My parents went above and beyond the call of duty and gave me a free bed and let me borrow their cars and fed me great meals every night. A very big THANK YOU to them. I'm glad I had the experience, but I doubt I'll ever turn into one of those "groupie" women who go to every CKU. Definitely not my style!