Are Divas Made or Born?

My Inner Diva

I signed up to be a diva. I wasn’t sure what I was signing up for, but I was thinking slinky dresses and stilettos when I saw the invitation to the “Inner Diva” workshop last November. As usual, I leaped first, looked later.

It wasn’t until the day before the scheduled meeting at Tin Jo in San Jose, that I pulled up the instructional email, which was buried somewhere in my 2,927 unread emails. I vaguely remembered I was supposed to bring some supplies, and I had a whole day in which to gather my Diva tools.

ART brushes??! It said to bring certain numbered art brushes. This is an art thing? Oh boy. I’m good at a lot of things; art is not one of them! I had already paid my entry fee, which included lunch at a fabulous Asian restaurant I had been anxious to try. What to do?

Tin Jo in San Jose

I bought the brushes, gritted my teeth, and hopped on the bus from Atenas to San Jose the next morning with Jan Yatsko, the Inner Diva instructor, and artist extraordinaire. That should have been my first clue! Jan is an artist – what else would she be teaching in her seminar. Bread baking? Okay, she helps her husband with the Buen Pan Bakery, but Tom is the baker; she is the support staff helping get the fresh baked goods off the shelf and onto our tables. Primarily, she is a superb artist!

I hid my apprehension behind a smile as the eleven other Diva participants filtered into the workshop room. Most of us were Boomer Women, the one exception a twenty-something with an attitude. I was seated directly across from her and we made sure to give each other plenty of space and avoid eye contact. It looked to me that she was serving penance, or doing school detention. Why else would she subject herself to an entire Saturday held captive with the likes of us?

I would shortly learn that she was a real artist from whom I would learn valuable lessons on how to apply the paint with the correct brush, technique for adding collage pieces, and how to focus on the project at hand instead of fretting about how inept I was. Well, actually I stole these lessons by sneaking glances at what she was doing and mimicking her.

Sketching the outline

Jan, our creativity coach,kept reassuring us that this was more than art; we were exploring, manifesting, and empowering our true innermost desires. We asked ourselves deep questions and gave honest answers. Even with the positive, nurturing environment about halfway through the seminar, I took a good look at my Diva creation. I wanted to run out of the room like my hair was on fire! I wanted to sprint for the bus back to Atenas. I wanted to rip my work into shreds and stomp on the pieces.

Instead, I went to the supply table looking for large pieces of collage material to glue over  my “art” and be done with it. Jan caught my eye, and gently guided me in a direction that changed everything.

By the time all was said and done, I was dancing around the room with my Inner Diva. I made ART!! I love it. I’m getting it framed. I can’t believe how beautiful it came out. That proves it; if I can do it, anybody can do it.

The opportunity is right around the corner. On Saturday, March 8, 2014, “Discover Your Inner Diva” is coming to another fabulous restaurant: Arroz con Mango in La Garita. Mark your calendar, and get ready for an inspirational experience. You might even come away with a masterpiece! I did!

Jan Yatsko with her Inner Diva