In about six months time I will be flying from Perth, Western Australia to Dubai and New York!!!!

I know, I can't believe it either.  I'm so excited and so nervous and so scared all rolled into one.  I will be travelling by myself which is something I've never done before. A dream come true....

I will be attending Squam Fall 2012, which is an art workshop on Squam Lake in New Hampshire, USA - from Wednesday 12th Sept to Sunday 16th.  It's more than an educational experience, it's a life experience, an opportunity to meet other creative, artistic people, to connect with a creative community.

Why Squam?  I found out about Squam when researching Flora Bowley - this was where she had her first teaching opportunity and the pictures of the lake, the cabins, the dock, the art drying on the ground - well, I just fell in love with that setting.  When researching art workshops here in Australia and overseas I decided that the setting was as important as the class and that I didn't want to get stuck in a hotel.  Squam looks like a place where no one is going to get mad at you if a bit paint splashes on the ground....

Facebook link...  [link]

What classes have I enrolled in? It was so hard to choose but I have decided on Kelly Barton's C'mon Let's Play and Sarah Ahearn Bellemare's Pages and Paint. We will also have a day off to go exploring, chill out, take heaps of photos, chat, connect over coffee on the dock and then there's the art fair on Saturday night - can't wait to be a part of that and go shopping.

So if you are going to Squam then let me know - I'd love to catch up with you beforehand.

I'll be spending 5 days in New York City before Squam getting over the jet lag and doing heaps of tourist things such as the Empire State building, Ground Zero, Central Park, the Guggenheim, the MoMA and the Met as well as Dick Blicks and Michael's shopping for art supplies.

I'll be meeting up with some online art friends in NYC too...   Kanchan Mahon (Fly Tribe and Deviant Art),  Mr Owl creator - Deborah Velasquez (Fly Tribe), Lori Moon (Fly Tribe), and Laura Tringali Holmes (Weedlace on Deviant Art). We are going art shopping and to a gallery and for coffee and lunch and I am soooo excited to meet these beautiful people finally.  Maybe you live near NYC and would like to join us - let me know, would love to meet you.

After Squam I'm heading to Niagara Falls and Toronto then to Michigan to go to ArtPrize in Grand Rapids with from DeviantArt who sent me a painting of my dog, Tessa.

It's going to be awesome....