Category Archives: books

Mixing it up with Lesta

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Art Book: Lyn Belisle

I love teaching with Lesta Frank. She’s imaginative, patient, talented and funny, and she has a huge following of devoted students, some of whom met us at the Studio yesterday for a special workshop. Our idea was to create mixed media accordion books that would function as a little showcase for 6×6″ collages. The collages feature hand-decorated paper and digitally copied faces enhanced with oil pastel. You can see the prototype I made, above.

1The workshop was scheduled for half a day, but as soon as Lesta got into demonstrating surface design on paper, I could tell that we should have scheduled a full day because everyone was having so much fun.

We did manage to make a bunch of gorgeous paper, construct several small collages, put our gallery books together, and have time for a critique. We’ve invited the participants back for an extra two hour bonus session following Show and Tell this coming Saturday (more about that soon).

I think you can tell from the video below what an enjoyable mixed media afternoon this was – and you can be sure that we will schedule another one soon. Thanks, Lesta!

PS – congrats to artgirl3313@gmail.com who won the Friday Freebie Beeswax and Collage download – I’ll send you the download link right away, and thanks for subscribing.

eBook and Friday Freebie

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TGIF, y’all – some of you hopefully downloaded the free eBook I did on Dimensional Collage for the Gaian Soul Retreat on Whidbey Island  in March. And some of you have asked for more information on my new beeswax collage process, especially since last weekend’s workshop was such a success.

3 So – tah dah! I’ve written a new eBook called Behind the Veil: Beeswax and Collage.  The 34-page PDF eBook describes my new encaustic process, gives suggestions for photo sources, and includes a gallery of examples.

This one isn’t free. I’m embarking on my first step toward a publishing empire – yahaha. Only kidding. But I did want to see how selling eBooks online worked, so I figured out how to set up a PayPal button on my website. And this little gem of a book can be yours for a mere $5.99. That’s less than a Double Meat Whataburger! I started to ask $6 but marketing people say do the 99 cent thingy. Here’s the link to my first-ever “eBooks For Sale” page.

beescoverwebadMy friend Rosemary, who encouraged me to get this thing done and out there, just read it and said, “It’s like being in the room with you!  Everything seems to be here, the pictures make it clear.  It’s really wonderful!” My first review! Yay!

Anyway, Behind the Veil: Beeswax and Collage is available on my website, and I will give away a free download as a Friday Freebie to one lucky subscriber to SHARDS, name to be drawn Sunday night.

If you decide to buy the eBook, and something doesn’t work, for heaven’s sake let me know! But so far, so good. Thanks for reading my blog!! Happy weekend.

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Friday Freebie from the land of magic – Dimensional Collage eBook

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Teaching last week at the Gaian Soul retreat on Whidbey Island  was such a joy! Dear friend Joanna Powell Colbert has a gift for bringing together a group of diverse women and weaving them gently into an inclusive circle that is beautifully unforgettable. Heck, Joanna could probably herd cats and make them like it – she’s that magical!

Want to see what the retreat was like? Click this link to go to Joanna’s very cool webpage about our time together. Then come right back, because I have a free eBook for you that will show you step-by-step how to participate in the project that we did – even though this example was specifically designed for the Aldermarsh retreat, it’s personal and fun for everyone and every level.

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Click here to access your free 32 page eBook called Create Dimensional Collage on Canvas – it’s a short and easy version of one of my most popular workshops. You can download it if you like. Let me know how you like it, especially if you make your own Dimensional Collage. Have a wonderfully creative weekend, Y’all!!

Calling all Warrior Goddesses – your training manual is ready

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Warrior Goddess Training, HeatherAsh Amara’s new (and wildly-popular) book, will be available when she visits the Studio Saturday Show and Tell tomorrow from 3-5. I am so proud of this talented and wise friend and teacher! Written for women of all ages, this book is a manual for self-discovered strength through curiosity and creativity – here’s a short excerpt:

“I’ve found that when I am in a tough situation, such as
under a deadline or in a hard emotional place, if I can focus on
being creative and curious about how I am being tempered or
strengthened, I thrive. Artists often say that scarcity, tension,
and time constraints can improve their work. Explore shifting
your attitude so all your challenging experiences can foster
your power and flexibility, and allow you to spread your wings
wide.”

You’ll be fascinated by her right-on description of the four roles women rely on to cope with their life circumstances: Controllers, Distractors, Isolators and Pleasers. Wow – amazing insights.This is a seriously good book, Y’all.

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I’m happy to offer a signed copy of Warrior Goddess Training as a special Friday Freebie for a SHARDS subscriber, random drawing on Sunday night. But if you can possibly be at the Studio tomorrow from 3-5, you’ll get to see HeatherAsh in person. You’ll also get to hear other stories and see demos and tips from the ever-insipring Studio Saturday group. On Sunday, HeatherAsh will also be at Celebration Circle and at Mana House for an evening lecture.

I hope *your* weekend includes lots of curiosity, creativity – and cooler temperatures! Thanks for reading 🙂

Painting with Ellen Rolli – unchain my art

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I spent three hours yesterday talking and painting with abstract artist Ellen Rolli at her SoWa studio in Boston. It was a pretty transformative experience – Ellen has a fearless relationship with her work that is contagious (see her website). I am so grateful for a chance to work with her, and am still processing a lot of what I learned, but thought I’d share a few photos and a book recommendation from Ellen. Yesterday’s objective was not to produce a finished painting, but to work in a more intuitive and liberating process with the paint. It was cool.


I learned to trust the painting process a lot more. That is the title of a book that Ellen recommended for me which I’ve already ordered:

trust

 

 

And I’ll leave ya with a quote from Hans Hoffman that I found on Ellen’s website –
“Every successful canvas has been painted from the point of view of a student, for a great painter is always a student.”
Thank you, Ellen! Hope to see you on my next visit.

3-PART ART #1

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So I was thinking about new workshops and such, and I thought it would be fun to share some quick and easy techniques that you can do with just three “ingredients” (there are a bunch of cookbooks like that*). The first of these is a Reanissance-esque little collage on watercolor paper that can you can use as a card or a cover on a box or – whatever you can think of. Here are the three ingredients (yep, they include my favorites):

  • Walnut Ink (made by Tsukineko, available at Michael’s and Jo-Ann’s or online)
  • Fake gold leaf (ditto)
  • A black and white page from an old art catalog or art book from Half-Price Books or wherever you can find pages to recycle

Here are the steps:

Idea – if you have an art “ingredient” that you bought and don’t know what to do with, tell me what it is and I’ll see if I can figure a three-ingredient project to use it with. Hey, and don’t forget about the Sacred Ground show today!

*PS If you want my favorite three-ingredient food-type recipe, click here 🙂

Guest Blogger: Carla Pineda, Viva Bookstore

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Let me introduce my dear friend, Carla Pineda, writer, retreat leader and certified spiritual director – and, lucky for me, assistant manager at Viva Bookstore, one of my favorite places to visit. We were talking the other day about the upcoming Sacred Ground exhibit, and I asked her to tell us about some of the books she’s bringing on Sunday to celebrate the art exhibit, the new Cathedral Park Meditation Walk, and the empowering partnership between the visual arts and the literary arts. (Speaking of partnerships, Carla and I have some great ideas for exciting events at the Studio – stay tuned.) Here’s Carla! . . . . . . . . . . .

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I am so excited abcarlaeditout the Sacred Ground Art Show at Bishop Jones Center this Sunday.

Scouting the shelves here at Viva Bookstore for books to bring to the show has been so much fun.  I’ve found ones that speak of landscape, creation, beauty, prayer ,and the elements. The words water, wind, earth, and fire, pilgrimage and thoughtful gardening grace the covers of books I’m bringing.  One of my favorite books this year is entitled, “Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems about Birds.” birds  It’s about more than birds.  I think birds are poets we often miss listening to and I wonder how many different bird voices fill the skies around the sacred ground of Jones Center.   “Nature as Spiritual Practice” is a book I haven’t read but just the idea of “practicing” nature makes me want to give it a try.  I think I’ll do a little practicing on Sunday.  Another title, “The birds2Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality” is one of my favorite books.  Yes, I know Jones Center isn’t desert or mountain but I wonder if, in the past, before the city grew up around it, and before it became what it is today, if those who settled here didn’t feel it as fierce.  So, on Sunday I’m going to listen, walk, explore and experience this special place, its history and the gifts of talented artists.  Hope to see you there!  And, course, I’ll have books!