Watercolor Journaling & Haiku Workshop

May 17, 2012

Watercolor Journaling & Haiku Workshop

My traditional end of workshop photo - Happy Watercolor Journalers!

Last evening was really magical. A group of ten eager women gathered in the lovely wooded garden of Marylou and Jack Sheaffer (owner of Bike's Etc in Milford) for one of my Watercolor Journaling Workshops. This one was to be a little different. Always stressing the importance and the value of the writing that accompanies your watercolor journal entries, and knowing that Marylou was a poet who wrote Haiku (Haiku is a poetic form and a type of poetry from the Japanese culture. Haiku combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form. Haiku poets...write about everyday things. Many themes include nature, feelings, or experiences...click on the link for more about Haiku) I asked her if she would like to combine forces and do and combination of both in this workshop. And having seen her beautiful garden, I knew it was the perfect spot for this experience.

As huge storm clouds rolled around the sky all day, I did my "NO RAIN" dance...cha cha cha" and thankfully the weather held and we were able to enjoy the rest of the evening outdoors.

Here's the haiku I wrote, with Marylou's prompts - we were to use our name, something we liked and a place we liked. Using the traditional 5 syllable / 7 syllable / 5 syllable line structure, I wrote:

I am Rosemary,

painting parsley, sage and thyme.

Gardens call my name

OK, I'm not quitting my day job, but I enjoyed it very much. The night included helping everyone to combine what they had written with what they had sketched and painted, inspired by the garden and its many treasures; eating a delicious gourmet supper from Abbott's Grill, sharing thoughts and journals as they sun slipped low and colored the sky a painter dream of pinks, oranges and golds.