One of my co-workers from CISH... the hospital where I was doing my current assignment, [I mentioned them in my last blog about Cottonwood] hosted a paint night at their house. It was so much fun that after telling my balloon framily [and fellow wine connoisseurs] about it, we all decided that we needed to have one of our own!! Since Aimee is the hostess with the mostest, [as seen in the photo below] and she had the biggest open area for a studio, she offered her place for us to have the event!!
We called Maria Shiling, owner of Happy Trees Painting Parties to pick our date and the painting we wanted to do. She has her Bachelors in Fine Arts and has promised us that no experience is necessary [this was also before she knew that I’m practically an expert painter myself.. LOL] in order for her to help us create our very own masterpieces. [don’t mind Shawn photobombing in the back, the boys only stayed long enough to set up the tables and chairs] I think I speak for us all when I say.. excitement was in the air!!
It was all actually quite painless once we got the guys to set things up. [probably the most difficult part was agreeing on the painting we were going to do!!] Maria arrived early with her supplies and took care of the rest. She set up a station for each person in attendance complete with a blank canvas, tools, and any protective coverings needed. [pictured below] It was kinda fun to watch this process since I had always arrived to the studio after this was already done. [plus, we were already drinking our welcome champagne!!]
Once everyone arrived and picked a seat, we got down to business. Maria provided the best instruction, [I mean she does have her master’s in education] and we created the fun and lasting memories for ourselves!! I think I mentioned that this was a paint and WINE, as in we were also drinking wine!! HA!! In addition, we will always have our finished paintings to hang on the wall, whether it be on a living room, closet, or garage wall is the only question. [by now I’ve stared a wall in our bedroom for my own personal masterpieces] Our art will serve as a reminder of our amazing evening together!!
We picked the dreamcatcher painting… I think that ultimately we are all dreamers, so this choice made sense. I also think they all turned out pretty wonderful, just like the personalities who created them!! It is always so wild to me how each individual artist has a different interpretation of the same painting... yet they all still look like similar versions of the instructors original. When I started to look for updated information about Maria and Happy Trees, I wasn’t able to find anything that dated later then September 2021. I can only assume they are no longer in business.
These beautiful ladies [pictured below] are part of my tribe. We all balloon, [in some way, shape, or form] explore the beauty of wine, have "play" dates, and now we paint & wine together!! [among many other things] I don't know how I am so lucky to have these strong, talented, selfless women in my life, but I will not question it. I will do everything I can to maintain and cherish these priceless connections. “Fierce lady friendships are where you aggressively believe in each other, defend each other, and think the other deserves the world!”
Isn't it incredible how quickly times goes by!? Our “winter season” in Phoenix is coming to an end… so tune in next week to rejoin Wine with Wixy in Colorado Springs!! I'm headed to a different hospital, one that is located right in the Springs and much closer than last summer!! We have so much more exploring to do!!
Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!
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