Art and Soul Virginia - snapshots

Here are some snapshots from the week:

The groups and classes are great. But sometimes you need to chillax in your room with a box of wine.

Ahhh, what a great vintage of cardboard.

Yes, we're artists. Notice the beret and mustache? 'Nuff said.


Oui Oui. (wee wee?)

Join us now for the Sad Poetry Hour. RichAnt doing her reading of "Die Die Die Burn Destruction with Fluffy Little Bunnies"

Joy during the Fluid Romance class.

Lunch with the Loving Mixed Media group.

Whose that guy in the background?

After hours with the Loving Mixed Media group.

Wait!!! We're not ready!

OK, NOW we're ready. Sitting up straight and smiling for the camera.

Art and Soul Virginia - part 3

The fabulous ring on the left is by Joy. Mine is the Geisha ring on the right.

Here is the front cover to my soon-to-be-made resin journal. I forgot to take a picture of the back cover. It's simular. Same decorative papers and lace but different photographs. More creepy kids though. :)

Day 3 of Art and Soul we took a class working with resin taught by Ty and Marcia Schultz . We made rings, resin paper and collages on canvas boards that can be made into book covers or hung on the wall as free standing art works.

I've worked with resin for many years. I use resin paper in my assemblages. I've made pendants. And I learned in Day 3 that I've been doing my pours ALL WRONG!!! (Good to know! Now i can do it correctly!)

I'm afraid i didnt get many pictures from Day 3 and i still havent gotten my boxes of art supplies or finished works yet. :( But here is just a sample from fabulous Day 3.

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Art and Soul Virginia - part 2b

We took 1 evening class at Art and Soul; A Trio of Transfers taught be the fabulous Lesley Venable.

I've never been very successful with transfers. Those where i had fore-though just didn't come out. Those that came out i had no idea what to do with.

This was strictly a technique class so we didn't have a project we were all doing. But many people made tags or art journal pages. I chose to put one of my transfers on a small canvas which i had 1st attached book pages then stamped script and distressed with alcohol ink. The transfer was done with a photo copied on a laser let printer and transfered with contact paper.

We also did transfers with ink jet printer copies and transfer ink solution (not a lot of luck here) and one with a toner based photo copy, saran wrap and an iron. This one came out fabulous too but i haven't used it in a project yet.

Mr. Lesley made cookies and brownies for the class and kept us very entertained thru out. He is the very ideal of an art husband.

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Art and Soul Virginia - part 2

The fabulous piece on the left is done by Joy.

Day 2 started bright and early. (Note to self: ALL days at Art and Soul start bright and early) Our class, The Women of Juarez, was an assemblage class taught by Opie and Linda O'Brien.

LOVED them! I learned so much in this class. Assemblage is one of my favorite things. I see things in my mind in 3D so sculpting and assemblage really speak to me. But i haven't been super-confident with cold connects.

After a day with Linda and Opie all that has changed!!! I cannot wait to get some new assemblage projects going. And i have some great ideas for Gary Reef's sardine can challenge.

But i also dig my Women of Juarez piece. The women in this city in Mexico have the highest rate of violence against them. This piece is done to give them a voice. I added a crown and the word "regal" to say how they ~should~ be treated... like queens. The red in the background is a symbol of the blood spilled.

Again, sorry for the bad cell phone pics. Better ones soon i hope.

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Art & Soul Va 2011 - part 1

Wow.

Wow!!!

Wowowowowow!

Not much more i can say. I had a wonderful time at Art and Soul. I took 6 classes during the 5 day event. And damn was i exhausted. But would i go and take less classes? No, i don't think i would.

I went with my best friend Joy and we decided to take all the same classes. Some classes where ones we both wanted to take. Some geared more towards her and her art; some geared more towards me. But i learned something in every class. A real win-win situation.

Day 1 was A Fluid Romance taught by Kari McKnight. This was working with fluid acrylics; a completely new medium to me. But i really enjoyed them. I like the workability of the medium. I also discovered The Bestest of all The Mediums: matte medium.

We painted a background and then added collage elements to our canvas. I added both vintage photos and a photocopy of one of my sketches. Last i embellished with thermofoil.

Its different from my usual style but i like it.

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2011 Sketchbook Project ~blogging~

Now that I've been to the Atlanta exhibit of the 2011 Sketchbook Project I wanted to share my pictures.

I made my book as a fold-out instead of in a signature-style. I used a 140 lb watercolor paper because I like working with that weight.
another glimpse of the cover

Here I am at the Granite Room in Atlanta; the location of the 2011 Sketchbook Project exhibit
My theme was nighttime stories. I decided to do mine specifically about Sundowner's Syndrome.




So that's that!!! I have already signed up for the 2012 Sketchbook Project. My theme for next years book is "I Remember You". I've already got a lot of samples drawn up! I hope my book arrives soon.

a row of assemblages ~blogging

I've been hard at work, making as many small art pieces as possible to bring with me to the Art and Soul retreat in Hampton Virginia, end of April. I know most people are bringing ATCs, charms, postcards... something of that nature. But i don't do any of that. I do assemblage and large scaled paintings. So i made these mini assemblages.

The photos come from my Papa's collection. He was a professional photographer before The Great Depression. And i often use copies of his photos in my work. Here i took pictures and coated them with resin to give them the look of a transparency. I then attached it to a painted, distressed tin and embellished with different items (buttons, keys, metal bits, pieces i scuplted from clay, etc). I dig them. I call the "kinfolk".

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The ABC's of M-E-E

Age: 43

Bed size: King

Chore you hate: Putting clothes away after they're laundered. I don't mind washing & drying them. It's the folding and putting away I dislike.

Dogs: Koishii Lees is the diva of the group. She's a Shiba Inu. Next comes Maxwell Q. Floppyears. He's a Pekingese and he's my hero. Lastly, Ellie Mae (or Eleanor Mayse) is the joker and the baby. She's a Black-Mouth Cur.

Essential start of your day: coffee

Favorite color: I don't really have a favorite. I just LOVE color. But forced to pick it would be in the Red-Pink-Purple range.

Gold or silver: Gold

Height: 5'4"

Instruments I play (or have played): I played flute in middle school but didn't stick with it. For Christmas this year I got a ukulele. Stringed instruments are hard for me but I'm trying!

Job title: AR Spec. Sounds official doesn't it?

Kids: 3 furry ones

Live: North Ga Mountains, at the start of the Appalachian Trail.

Mom's name: Laeta

Nickname: How many words can you think of that rhyme with Heather? that's how many nicknames I have! lol

Overnight hospital stays: a few :-p

Pet peeve: racial comments and jumping to conclusions about people based on a stereotype.

Quote from a movie: "They ain't even Old-Timey!"

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings: I'm the youngest of 3 girls

Time you wake up: 6:00 during the week (with the alarm). 6:30 or 7 on the weekend (without the alarm).

Underwear: the more colorful the better

Vegetables you dislike: Not many. I really like my veggies! Though I usually avoid the okra.

What makes you run late: having to say goodbye to the puppies. They're so cute! I always want to take them with me.

X-rays you've had done: a few... all for sinus issues.

Yummy food you make: In the kitchen I prefer to bake. I'm great at cakes and pies and cookies and breads, etc. But I try to be healthy so I don't bake a lot. For dinners I do lots of pasta dishes and things in the crockpot. But baking from total scratch I make the BEST baked Mac-and-Cheese!

Zoo animal: I could watch the meerkats for hours!

kinfolks ~blogging~

I keep forgetting to post this! I made this little guy for my sister's birthday last month. The photo (which i worked with resin, making it shiny, semi-transparent & impossible to photograph) is my great grandfather and great uncle, who was a professional football player (ummm, soccer) in England.

As a child i always had a huge crush on these ancient English gentlement, in this picture especially. I thought they were so handsome and dapper.

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40 pages in 4 days ~blogging

In hindsight deciding to do 40 Zentangles in 4 days might not have been my smartest decision. But i volunteered to do another set of fatbook pages to replace someone else who flaked on the project. I'm very happy to be getting another book from the project!

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