Pix from Phoenix

Just back from my Southwest trip; here are a few pix of student work from Art Unraveled in Phoenix:

And here are two that I did as demos for my Postcards class.  The project is to work on 8"x12" paper, and make a composition such that each quarter is different.  Then you cut the piece into quadrants and you have four different postcards, 4"x6".  That is the challenge:  the postcards have to look like they did not all come from the same piece.  It's a lot harder than it sounds.

I have not cut these into quarters yet, and I may not do so.  Often when I work this way, trying to get each quarter different, with no Unity, Balance, Etc. in mind, I come up with pieces that I find really interesting.

Here they are "cut", in Photoshop, into quarters.  Here is the first one:

And the second one:

I will be teaching my "Art of the Postcard" at Art and Soul in Virginia Beach on the evening of Wednesday, October 1.  See my other offerings here.  See the whole list of workshops here.

More 4"x4"s and a GIVEAWAY

This week I began another little series of 4"x4" pieces, part of my ongoing 4"x4"x400 Project.  Predictably, I used some of the techniques I explored the the Green-Red pieces, scratching and scraping.  Here are a few of the results:

Working in series, and in this teeny tiny format is a great way to gain creative momentum.  Each piece is its own entity, but its the series, the multiplicity of them that makes the impact.

 To provide a little encouragement for you to try this, I'm offering a little 4"x4" kit, including four 4"x4" cradled wood panels, and a stack of 4.25"x 4.25" papers to get started.  I cut my paper slightly larger than the panel so that I have wiggle room when mounting.

To enter the drawing to win my little 4"x4" kit, just comment on this blog post, and give me your name so I can identify you.  The drawing will be on Sunday, December 22, solstice!  You must be in the continental United States to qualify, just so that shipping is easy.

I am teaching a workshop in Teeny Tiny Art at Art Unraveled on July 30, 2014; and again at Art and Soul in Virginia Beach, on October 2, 2014.  BTW, registration for Art Unraveled is now open.

CREATE in New Jersey

I just got back from two very full and terrifically fun days of teaching at CREATE in Somerset, New Jersey.  This was the first year of offering this mixed media retreat at this location, and as far as I could tell it was - and still is (it goes through Sunday) - a super well attended event.  I got only two photos, as I was too busy teaching and having conversations to stop and find my camera.  Here is my Scribble Paint  class, full of creative energy and output:

The gal in front is Jessica Sporn, a freelance artist who is relatively new to mixed media.  She recently started a blog, which you can check out here.  I also had  very full classes in Fabric-Paper, Fusion Fabric, and Unbinding the Visual Journal.

Other teachers I met include Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, who not only makes art and teaches workshops, but also designs stencils and stamps.  I met Seth Apter, who is relatively new to teaching, but not to making mixed media art.  And I met Cathy Taylor, whose work is just gorgeous!  I hope you will check out these links and enjoy the tour.

My next event is Art Unraveled in Phoenix, at which I'll be teaching Fabric-Paper on Sunday, August 5, and Plaster and Wax on Monday, August 6.

Plaster and Wax, Part 2

Here is the second video demonstration on Plaster and Wax, which I'll be teaching at Art Unraveled in Phoenix on August 6, and again at Art and Soul in Portland on October 2. If you haven't already, take a look at Part 1.  There are so many techniques you can use on the plaster itself, and then again over the encaustic.  In this video I use Caran D'ache water soluble crayons on the encaustic surface.  Oil pastels, india ink, graphite, china marker, and many other materials are also compatible with encaustic.

Plaster and Wax

I've been posting my encaustic scribble paintings on paper, but I thought I'd give you a taste of what we'll be doing in Plaster and Wax, a workshop I will be teaching at Art Unraveled in Phoenix on August 6, and again at Art and Soul in Portland on October 2. 

I will post another installment of this demonstration, including application of encaustic medium and then drawing on the encaustic surface.  Stay tuned.

Encaustic on painted plaster texture

Encaustic on painted plaster texture, with crayon and ink drawing

My Chickens are Famous!

Well, two of them, Buffy and Sylvie, ended up in STUDIOS magazine in an article I wrote about studio organization. For the unedited version of my article, click here.  But buy the magazine because it has loads of useful information and gorgeous photographs for inspiration.

The opening page spread

See Buffy and Sylvie on the right page, center.

I am excited to have my workspace featured in STUDIOS magazine!  And Buffy and Sylvie are delighted with themselves, preening for the press.  They offered interviews... (that's another post).  In any case, this issue of STUDIOS magazine is full of ideas and tips on studio organization, from the pristine neatnik approach to the more casual, but functional one.  So, whatever your style, you'll find something useful. I think mine is the only studio featuring a Buff Orpington and a Silver Laced Wyandotte.

Aside from describing my painting/collage studio organization, I included a side-bar on my encaustics studio.  If you are interested in getting started in encaustics, this gives you a blueprint for the basic at-home set-up.  I am teaching several encaustics workshops this summer and fall:  

• Plaster and Wax at Art Unraveled on August 6.
• Plaster and Wax at Art and Soul on October 2.
• Introduction to Encaustics at Art and Soul on October 2.
• Paper and Wax at Guilford Art Center on October 13 - 14.

No workshops on chicken husbandry, but if you are anywhere near Rupert, Vermont, let me know and you can meet The Girls in person!

Encaustics Show in Santa Cruz

An online acquaintance of mine, Sandy Sudbrink, of Santa Cruz, kindly went to the Pajaro Valley Arts Council to see a show in which I have three pieces.  AND SHE TOOK A PHOTO OF MY WORK!!!  How cool is that!  Take a look at Sandy's website of beautiful watercolors.  I particularly like the architectural piece - they have a stillness to them that I find really intriguing.

Here are my pieces in the show, called "WAX: Contemporary Encaustic Works":

If anyone wants to know anything more about encaustics, go here.  If you want to take an encaustics workshop with me, I'm teaching one at Art Unraveled, on Monday, August 6; and again at Art and Soul on Tuesday, October 2.  I'm offering a workshop called Paper and Wax at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT the weekend of October 13 - 14. 

Thanks for visiting!

2012 Retreats

If you are considering an art retreat for 2012, or even if you aren't, I'm thrilled to announce that I will be teaching at a few:

In July, I will be teaching at CREATE, hosted by Interweave Press, in Somerset, NJ:

• Wednesday, July 18, Fabric-Paper, 9 - 4
• Wednesday, July 18, Fusion Fabric, 6 - 9
• Thursday, July 19, Unbinding the Visual Journal, 9 - 4
• Thursday, July 19, Scribble Paint, 6 - 9

Registration opens sometime in January.

In August I'm returning to Art Unraveled in Phoenix:

• Sunday, August 5, Fabric-Paper
• Monday, August 6, Plaster and Wax

Registration opens January 15.

I'll be returning to Art and Soul in October:

• Monday, October 1, Abstract Landscape
• Tuesday, October 2, Plaster and Wax

Registration is open NOW!

Collage Journeys in Vermont will take place here in Rupert, August 14 - 18 (Tue. - Sat.). I will have the description and registration sometime in January - don't worry, I will certainly blog about it!

Art Unraveled in Phoenix

This was my first year at Art Unraveled, and I had so much fun!! The students were great, super creative, and a blast to be with. I met other teachers, some of whom I know in cyberspace, including Jane La Fazio (one of the Sketchbook Challenge sisters) and Ingrid Dijkers, whose gorgeous art dolls appear in my book Adventures in Mixed Media. I also met Gail Russakov, who introduced herself to me via e-mail beforehand, and was a great help in getting me oriented to Art Unraveled.

Without further ado, here is some eye candy from the experience:

A couple of collages from Deborah:



One from Meredith, Deborah's daughter:


The above collages were done in my Scribble Collage class, in which we painted papers all morning and made collages all afternoon.

In New Dimensions in Collage we made house-shaped dimensional collages using foam core. Here are a few samples:

Ingrid's house in progress. LOVE that red!


Debbie's house piece:


And Michele's:


And a couple of people shots:


This is a super well-organized event, so everything ran smoothly. The venue, the Embassy Suites, was luxurious and also very affordable for Art Unraveled participants. If you are looking for a retreat for 2012, consider this one.

More Pictures from Guilford

Here are a few more pictures from the Scribble Collage workshop at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT:

Sharon's papers:



A demonstration:



Alice applying a second color of paint:

Papers on the lawn:

Doreen's collages:

Diane's collages (I hope she will scan these and post on her blog, so that we can see each piece individually):


Cathy's collages:


Alice's collages (this back-lighting does not do them justice):


Sharon's and Diane's collages:


Mary's collages (Mary LOVES bright colors!):


We did stain tissue papers, but nobody got any pictures of that process. We did use the tissue papers in our collages, though.

I will be teaching Scribble Collage again at Art Unraveled on August 8, and at Art and Soul on September 29. I'm also teaching a shorter version called "Scribble Paint" at Art and Soul on the evening of September 29. Hope you can be there!