Category Archives: Inspiration

Rainy day re-discovered books, and FF winner

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Does this sound familiar? You’re looking for a particular book in your overcrowded art book stash, and you find one or two that you forgot you even bought. You check them out – hey, wow! These are good! Just what you were looking for and didn’t even know it! Serendipity strikes again.

That just happened to me on this rainy stay-in morning, so I’m sharing these with you – the first one is Mixed Media Books by Gabe Cyr. It is a treasury of mixed media ideas, and not just for re-imagined books.

The Tools and Material section alone is worth the price of the book, including a great page on adhesives with a chart comparing and contrasting different ways to stick stuff to other stuff. And the photos are drool-y.

Mixed Media Books by Gabe Cyr

Mixed Media Books by Gabe Cyr

 

It's about more than just altered books

It’s about more than just altered books

 

There's a nice section on collaboration

There’s a nice section on collaboration

 

The second is a book published in 2010 by Annie Lockhart called Objects of Reflection: A Soulful Journey through Assemblage. Annie Lockhart’s recent work is based on Soulful Painting, but this is all about collections and construction.

This book is wonderful for anyone doing assemblage because it has maps and legends of the components. And it has another invaluable section on joining things together. The book is printed on tan paper with monochromatic photos – interesting.

Prompts and inspirations

Prompts and inspirations

A legend of components

A legend of components

Objects of Reflectin by Annie Lockhart

Objects of Reflectin by Annie Lockhart

One big fat request: I’m giving you the Amazon links so you can “look inside” but if you want to order these books, please PLEASE check first with your independent book store and see if they have them or can get them for you!!  If you’re in San Antonio, here’s a link to The Twig Book Shop.

And now – tah dah – the winner of the Cat Starter Kit Friday Freebie is – – – – – Carlos Haun. Carlos, email me about how to collect your Shaman Kitty kit.

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Glittering banner celebration on Mothers Day

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“Everything in nature bespeaks the mother. The sun is the mother of earth and gives it its nourishment of heart; it never leaves the universe at night until it has put the earth to sleep to the song of the sea and the hymn of birds and brooks.” ~Kahlil Gibran

Yesterday’s Goddess Banner/Prayer Flag workshop was a different kind of Mothers Day celebration. We created personal statements in fiber with dyeing, surface design, phototransfer, handwritten quotes and personal iconography. It was a celebration of the idea of nurturing the spirit of Mother Earth – and we had a really fantastic time!

OK, so I don’t usually use glitter in my workshops – too darn frivolous, right? – not this time! We glittered our banners, our gloves, our faces (inadvertently) – it looked like a Tinkerbell convention. And every single work was beautiful and heartfelt.

Even though some of us had kids who were far away, the Studio was a real place of creative belonging yesterday. What an experience! Take a look at our video:

2016 National Juried Photo Encaustic Exhibition

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“Untitled” © Kathryn Oliver

Clare O’Neill has pulled together a fascinating and eclectic exhibit that goes a long way in defining the relatively new art genre, “Photo Encaustic.”

As juror of  the 2016 National Juried Photo Encaustic Exhibition, Clare writes, “This newest exhibition of photo encaustic work beautifully blurs the lines between photography and painting; melding together what the camera captures with the vision of the what the artists sees.”

The show opens on June 2 at the Sage Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

D is for Dragonfly © Darren Terpstra

Michelle Belto introduced me to encaustic painting several years ago (thanks, Michelle!). And then I worked with Clare in her online class in January of 2015. With her guidance, I was able to craft a personal encaustic style that worked well for me. Clare and I became friends, and her sold-out classes at my Studio this past January were hugely inspiring to all of us. It’s an exciting medium with unlimited possibilities for both the photographer and the painter.

“No Good Outcome” © Lyn Belisle

I’m delighted to be included in the 2016 National Juried Photo Encaustic Exhibition Michelle Belto’s work is included as well. You can see all of the selected works on this page. It’s obvious that the old chicken-and-egg question applies – “which came first?’ – did the medium inspire the image or did the image call out for the medium? Fun stuff.

“Soul Boxes” © Michelle Belto

If you’d like to know more about Clare’s photoencaustic workshops, here’s a link. I’m also teaching three encaustic workshops in August which have sold out, but I’ll be added a second session of Vintage Veils: Encaustic Photocollage on Saturday, August 13th. It isn’t listed yet on my Workshop Calendar, but if you’d like a spot, email me and I’ll put you on the list.

Now  get out your camera and melt some sweet-smelling warm beeswax to enhance your images!

 

Saturday Show and Tell, April 30th

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My cup runneth over with good stuff! Yesterday’s Show and Tell was a feast of creativity and sharing. It was an almost serene experience – everyone’s work seemed to be somehow connected, and the afternoon flowed from fiber to metal to painting to digital images and poetry.

When other artists and friends take the time to come to these sessions, it truly makes Lyn Belisle Studio a Place of Creative Belonging. Thanks to all of you – I am pretty dang blessed.

If you see some work here that you’d like to know more about, feel free to email me and I’ll put you in touch with the artist. Happy May Day!!

Home as Collage

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Casa Belisle

Casa Belisle

Knock knock. Who’s there. Oh, it’s YOU!

C’mon in! I was just rearranging stuff in the chaotic collage that’s the house I live in. Calling all of this a “collection” dignifies it with more organization than it deserves. But I do like to find little objects that enhance the art from friends which graces my home. As artists (and really, we all are) we notice and respond to our surroundings. I love the concept of home as collage – ever-changing and shifting, always a new composition to inspire us..

Recently I brought home a beautiful armoire that had been at the Studio. It belonged to my stepmother, and I cherish it, but the construction on the wall next door (right behind it) made me nervous. I found a perfect place for it here at home, and that inspired me to mix up other things, old stuff new configuration.

Since you’re here, look around at some of my motley assortment. I love folk art, friends art, funky art. It’s definitely not about price tags, but it is about curated choices. (If you can’t see the photos, click on the title of this post).

Some of my tips on arranging small collages throughout your environment are based on the AB3s of Composition that I developed and teach;

  • A=Alignment – have objects face each other within a group. For example if you have a wall-hanging with a crescent moon on it that you’re hanging next to a portrait, have the crescent and the face looking at each other. Makes sense? Then add a smaller object underneath that faces out.
  • B=Breathing Room – yeah, I know. When you look at my stuff, there’s not much of that. But there are spaces between groupings so that you concentrate on one group at a time. And there are lots of clear, uncluttered surfaces. You can put up as much stuff as you want, but keep some breathing room, however small, between groups of stuff. Mirrors help, because they provide an illusion of depth and space.
  • #3s = Three and Thirds – Groups of threes are so wonderful – if you add a fourth object, it ceases to be a group and looks like four separate things next to each other. But three object create a dialog. Try it. Here’s a link to a post that expands that idea.

I just got a fantastic book called STYLED by Emily Henderson that has a ton of examples on how to build groupings in your “home collage.”  It’s a treat to look at the photos. Not everything is going to be your style, but I did enjoy the book. It’s a guide to another kind of collage – the kind we live in. Happy weekend rearranging stuff!

Words as art – it’s National Poetry Month

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poet copy

Are you a poet?If you think like an artist, you probably are – art has always inspired poetry, and poetry has always inspired art. I saw Express-News poetry editor Jim LaVilla Havelin  at the Voices de la Luna gala on Sunday, and I can testify from hearing his crazy schedule for National Poetry Month that poetry is alive and well in San Antonio.

Jim and his wife, Lucia (a fantastic fiber artist), are long-time arts advocates. Jim was the Master of Ceremonies for the Sunday event which honored Bryce Milligan of Wings Press and the Writers in Communities program at Gemini Ink. These people share a passion and commitment to the power of poetry and writing as tools of personal freedom through self-expression.

If you are a poet but don’t know it (remember that old poem –your feet show it, they’re Longfellows? Sorry!),  you might want to come by the Studio on the second Wednesday of every month to hear some of the city’s best poets gather to share their work. Our own Studio Poet Laureate, Harold Rodinsky, is usually there – and the guest poet at tomorrow’s meeting is Paul Pineda, whose work is gentle and powerful, always eloquent. . Here’s the info:

paul

And if you need inspiration for your art through poetry (or vice-versa), I highly recommend the J. Paul Getty Museum Connecting Art and Poetry site – it’s written for little kids, but it’s a fun exploration of  writing from art – I mean, if a giant bug with a pin stuck in it doesn’t inspire you to verse, what will? Get out there and write a poem – it’s National Poetry Month, for heaven’s sake.

 

 

Jane Davies workshop, Day Three

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Driving to Gloucester from Salem on Sunday morning

Driving to Gloucester from Salem on Sunday morning

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow could stop these two intrepid artists from heading off to the final day of Jane’s workshop. It really was something of a shock to be in the middle of a snowstorm in April!

Our assignment for the day was to incorporate the techniques we had learned into new layers on previous work and to begin a new piece (or two) from scratch.

It still amazes me that all of us were able to complete at least six or seven paintings during Jane’s workshop. Of course, the goal was not to produce finished works, but to explore the process-directed techniques. To quote Jane. “You can’t like it all the way through the piece,” and “You can’t plan more than one step ahead.” Sorta like driving through the snow and fog.

Here are some of the photos from our last day – you can see how pieces have changed and evolved. (By the way, if you are reading this as an email and can’t see the images, just click on the title of this post to take you to the blog site.)

Thanks beyond words to Jane Davies for a wonderful workshop – if you ever have the chance to work with her, do it. Thanks to my co-pilot, Gloria Hill, for her intrepid navigation along the Massachusetts roads.. We’ll be home soon to Texas!

Jane Davies workshop, Day Two

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Today’s workshop was as intense and enjoyable as yesterday’s, and we all worked just as hard. Jane had us build on yesterday’s foundation paintings, adding more shapes, lines, veils and pattern. She focused on contrasts of scale, value and hue. It was tough to paint over our previous hard work, but it resulted in growth and options – and a bit of good-natured grumbling.

Jane strongly suggests beginning with a list of elements to explore and use that to get into the piece until the process itself takes over. She has many techniques to help move the painting forward, and a lot of those can be found right here on her website, but working with her in person is amazing. She also plays a mean ukulele – we painted to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Take a look at some of today’s photos to see how we are progressing. As to where we’ll end up . . .it’s a mystery – but tomorrow is our last day! Stay tuned, y’all.

 

Jane Davies workshop, Day One

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Jane Davies

Gloria Hill and i are on an art adventure north of Boston taking a three day painting workshop with Jane Davies, whose work we both admire. She’s a fine teacher, sensible, inspiring, funny and approachable. She also works us like you wouldn’t believe!

The workshop studio is as big as a basketball court. There are fifteen of us from all over the place, including Ireland. It’s a great group. I’ll try to share some of the photos as we go along – we started with black and white line and “visual weight” studies this morning,  then moved on the color and layers in the afternoon. We did one-minute paintings that were a huge challenge, and experimented with shapes and process this afternoon as we added veils of color.  It’s back to the workshop early tomorrow – I’ll keep you posted!

If you’d like to know more about Jane’s work and her teaching, just Google Jane Davies and then take a look at her You Tube channel. Shes incredibly generous with her techniques and very encouraging to everyone in this weekend’s workshop. More tomorrow if my painting hand isn’t too tired to type – this is intense!

 

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Easter Sunday stroll on the Greenway Trail

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Easter Sunday was our chance to explore a new greenway trail in the neighborhood. I had watched its construction on my daily commute to Trinity University last year. It parallels Devine Road, a winding tree-lined route through the Olmos Basin Park. 

The 3/4 mile trail starts in the Park  and ends at the Alamo Quarry Market mall. In fact, I saw a woman walking back along the trail carrying a Chico’s bag – nice combo of shopping and hiking! The weather was beautiful, and the park was filled with families celebrating Easter Sunday with barbecues and egg hunts. Here’s a little video of some of the greenway sights.

The brainchild of former Mayor Howard W. Peak, the ultimate vision is to encircle the entire City of San Antonio with a complete ring of trails. When the full system is completed, the connected network of trails along tributaries, neighborhood connections and the San Antonio River will total more than 130 miles.

It was fun to get out of the Studio and onto the trail – after all, French painter Pierre Bonnard said, “Art will never be able to exist without nature.” And it’s particularly nice when the trail ends at Chico’s and Starbucks.