Monthly Archives: October 2016

A workshop and visit with Julie and Greg from Australia – wow!

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How often have I had an Australian come to Texas for a workshop with me? Well, never – until now.

Greg is amazed by Julie's talent!!

Greg is amazed by Julie’s extraordinary talent – of course!

Australians Julie (Julz) Dandelyon and her husband Greg Dodge had been in touch with me for a while about a possible get-together when they visited the States, but I never thought their visit would become a reality.

It did! We’ve just finished the most amazing two days together at my new house working in mixed media, making molds, firing earthenware, and creating collages on canvas. We also ate, drank, visited, talked for hours about their extensive world travels and plans for the future. Total bonding!

Julie was such a quick study with clay – it was her first time working with the shard face process, and she quickly developed her own unique style, making her own molds and embellishments. Take a look at the video of some of Julie’s work over the past two days – beautiful stuff.

Of course, she did everything upside down . . only kidding. I hope to get to Australia next year to work with Julie on several projects that we discussed – what a dream that would be! Thanks, Greg and Julz!

 

Product review and freebie

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I’m always looking for new products that aren’t too gimmicky and have multiple uses – this Metallic Creative Medium seems to fit that description.

I ordered some of this CM Metallic from Imagine Crafts, thinking it would work well on my earthenware face shards. Here are some pics and comments:

Here's the Metallic Medium - kind of a creamy paste in a jar. It comes in bronze, copper, gold, and silver.

Here’s the Metallic Medium – kind of a creamy paste in a jar. It comes in bronze, copper, gold, and silver.

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First, I sprayed the fired earthenware faces with Walnut Ink, as usual, and wiped it off to emphasize depth and detail.

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I applied the medium with my finger to the clay surfaces, trying out all four colors. It is very transparent on the clay and I needed two coats. It also seals the surface – that may be a plus in some circumstances.

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Left to right – copper, gold and silver – very subtle on the clay. I added pigment and applied onto some stamped black paper – again, very transparent.

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Finally, I added acrylic paint and rubbed some Pearl-Ex into the surface while it was tacky – lotsa bling.

Verdict for using CM Metallic on earthenware – 6 out of 10. It’s a little too transparent for my purposes, although two or three coats work well.

Best quality – it dries super quickly, so you could stencil it on a surface and go over it with watercolor or (of course) walnut ink almost immediately.

I checked on Amazon and somebody was selling it for $18 a jar – EEK! But  JoAnn’s has it online for about $6, which makes me think they might have it in their store as well for that price.

This is kind of a cool project using the medium that would lend itself to lots of spring-off ideas – I like the notion of covering the blocks with vintage pages – and maybe vintage photos?

Creative Blocks

Click image for directions

Freebie time!! I have four extra jars of this medium, one in each color, that I’m happy to share with you SHARDS guys. Just leave a comment for me and the first four people can have a jar to play with.

The only catch is that you need to be in San Antonio to pick them up at the Studio, because I don’t want to box and mail them. Yeah, I know – chintzy. Sigh.

I may not be pretty, but I work!!

I may not be pretty, but I work!!

SPEAKING OF FREEBIES and such, and because we all help each other out, I have an artist friend who is in need of a cheap car. Really cheap, just reliable transportation of any kind or condition or color. If you’re getting rid of an old vehicle or can donate one, please email me and I’ll pass the info along to her. She can afford to pay $1000 toward getting some wheels, but that’s about it. Help!

Thanks, as always, and stay tuned for more Studio updates – in the meantime, go out and play!

 

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Monika Astara delights fashionistas with her magical wares

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Monika Astara and her friend Jenika drove in from Austin yesterday and parked in front of the Studio in a regular old car. Why is that notable? Because concealed inside the car trunk were racks and racks of designer clothing. It gave a whole new meaning to “Trunk Sale”.

Serious magic happened when the car trunk opened, the racks were put together, and over 400 pieces of gorgeous designer clothing were wheeled into the Studio.

We had an amazing day – Monika is a joy, always transforming her clients with the flip of a scarf or a tweak of a top. Take a look. (If you can’t see the photos, click here)

Photos by Jenika!  And if you missed the sale, and are curious about Monika’s creations, you can visit her website and order online.

I had the pleasure of visiting her Austin studio last year – here’s a replay of that awesome visit! Thanks, Monika – the next trunk show will be announced soon – guess where??

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Talented pals showcase their work in upcoming events – most free, all priceless

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Coming attractions – be there!

Happily and often, I get email notices from friends who are very talented in very diverse ways – I love to pass along these opportunities so that we may support our arts and letters community.

Here are just a few for your calendar – and don’t forget to read all the way to the bottom of the post for an event from one of my favorite creative women!!

Carol Coffee Reposa, Poet

Featured this evening at Lyn Belisle Studio at 6:00

carol

Barbara Dean Hendricks: Author

Book Signing and Reception at the Twig

barb

Susanna Morrow: Collagists

“Now I Become Myself: Explorations in Collage”

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Susanna Morrow began exploring collage as a complement to her daily journal writing practice a decade ago. She has a developed a body of work that is dream-like and deeply personal, revealing what she is becoming as she moves through life’s changes. There are three series of collages in this exhibit: larger “portraits” of self and others, journal cover designs (“self studies”), and a visual discernment process about stepping into the second half of life.

Exhibit is at the Church of Reconciliation, Brown Hall, 8900 Starcrest. Exhibit hours are Sundays through October 30, 8AM-1PM, and weekdays by appointment. Contact susannacreates@gmail.com

All are welcome to wine and cheese reception Saturday, October 15, 6-8PM
Please visit susannamorrow.com for more information.

Alison Schockner, Lesta Frank, Jan Longfellow

Artist’s Garden Party

Saturday & Sunday,
Oct. 15th and 16th
11:00-4:00
at Alison’s studio
Come through the garden gate
by the carport on Flores St.

ali

 Join us for a multi-media exhibition.
 Alison’s garden art totems and plate flowers
 Carrie Bye’s printmaking magic
 Amy Jones’s felted critters
 Jan Longfellow’s cast silver clay jewelry
 Lesta’s mini abstract paintings,
bookmarks and cards

Bryce Milligan, Poet, Picker and Publisher

(click the image for details)

bryce

Every year Gemini Ink honors a great San Antonio writer with the Award of Literary Excellence at our annual gala, Inkstravaganza. This year our honoree is the beloved journalist and distinguished author…

Jan Jarboe Russell

October 13, 2016

Pearl Stable

6PM

Click on the image for details!

AND FINALLY . . .

monika

Get out and support our beloved creative friends at any or all of these events!

♥Lyn

 

 

 

 

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Santa Fe, Round Two

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My workshop on Saturday at the Artisan Exp in Santa Fe once again proved to me that starting with a good grasp of composition works magic in any collage-based process. I discussed my Composition AB3’s ( Alignment, Breathing Room and Thirds) and demonstrated how easy it is to master these guidelines.

Voila! Every person produced a really good encaustic collage, all different, but all strong in subject, vision, and composition. Below are some of the pieces in process, and some that are completed. (If you can’t see the images, click here to view them in your browser.)

One of the participants, artist, author and tarot reader Arwen Lynch-Poe, documented her process and with her permission, I’ll use her photos to show you how she put her piece together. (If you can’t see the images, click here to view them in your browser.)

So between Encaustic Bling with Michelle Belto on Friday and Engraven Images on Saturday, the Santa Fe workshops were super fun and successful!

And if you want to take this workshop, you still can. I’m teaching the all-day version, plus a Wax, Earthenware and Fiber Talisman class at ViVi Magoo in Round Top in three weeks.

vm

Update note: Since I returned from Santa Fe on Monday, I’ve looked at a couple of places for new workshop venues – and there are several good possibilities.. . .more soon.

But the good ol’ Studio isn’t closed yet! We still have a fantastic event coming up a week from today. It’s Monika Astara’s popular trunk show and sale of exquisite, artistic fashions!  Here’s more info – hope to see you there.

monika

Right now I’m off to the Trinity Alumni Art Showcase where I’ll be showing and selling my Encanto earthenware and sari ribbon mixed-media pieces. Wish me luck!

earth5

 

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Santa Fe Whirlwind

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So I went to Santa Fe – yeah, I know, I didn’t call, I didn’t write – I definitely didn’t blog! It was a crazy experience – fun, intense, exciting, exhausting. 

The huge Buffalo Thunder Resort Hotel just outside Santa Fe was the venue for the giant Artisans Materials Expo where I taught two encaustic workshops as part of the Encaustic Art Institute (EAI) and International Encaustic Artists (IEA) conference and retreat. Internet reception was very spotty there (that’s my excuse for not keeping in touch).

However, they did have an astonishingly extensive collection of Native American art pieces throughout the huge hotel – some traditional , some contemporary. It was eye candy for the soul 🙂

Michelle Belto was a great teaching teammate and travel partner. She is also a riot to hang out with. She taught a solo workshop on Thursday, we co-taught on Friday, and I taught a solo workshop on Saturday. Here are some photos from our Friday “Wax and Bling” class. There was glitz everywhere – fun stuff.

Friday night was the opening of  the Making Your Mark juried exhibit at the EAI Gallery in the Santa Fe Railyard art district. Michelle and I both had pieces in the show. The juror, David Limrite, was at the opening and gave a gracious statement about the 57 pieces work he selected for a field of over 200 entries.

The exhibit is a showcase of the many ways in which artists work in wax.

Here is a video presentation I made for the Santa Fe conference. It introduces the finalists for 2016 La Vendéenne Awards which honor excellence in encaustic painting. The awards took place on Saturday night.

This introduction will give you an idea of the depth and breadth of expertise present in artists who practice the versatile and ancient art medium of encaustic.

This ends Part One of the Santa Fe Report – stay tuned for Part Two later in the week which will include a couple of interesting links for you to check out as well as more photos……..

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