Category Archives: Lyn Belisle Studio

Cat Shamans, a serendipitous surprise kitten and a Friday Freebie

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Meow —  and Happy Friday. Yesterday was all about cats.

I’m teaching a class called The Mystical Cat Shaman at Artful Gathering this summer, and a group of local friends wanted to try it out. So we scheduled a custom weekday workshop held yesterday (you can do this too, by the way) and created a litter of Mystical Cat Shamans at the Studio!

The “serendipitous surprise” came as we were just starting. Roxanne was late, and she called in with a voice message, “Can you hear in the background why I’m not there yet?”  We all heard kitten mews on the speaker – adorable!

She brought the newly-rescued three-week-old kitten to the workshop and we took turns holding it while we worked. Roxanne is a consummate animal rescuer – she even had some kitten milk replacement formula with her. The little guy was pretty hungry.

Of course, the kitten found a home before the workshop was over. Whether it was the kitten surprise or the group energy, the Cat Shaman creations were amazing – each one different, each one magically personal. Take a look.

So if all of this inspires you, be sure that you are subscribed to SHARDS by midnight on Sunday. One name will be drawn to win the Friday Freebie – a Shaman Cat Starter Kit complete with Heart Box body and kiln-fired earthenware head, ready to finish. Even “dog people” are eligible, so feel free to share this post. Hmmm – are Dog Shamans in my future?

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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!!

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Mama Didn’t Tell – earthenware assemblage, Lyn Belisle, 2016

I love working in clay, making little pieces that become parts of a whole. When people ask me what my favorite medium is, earthenware is right up there because it’s my first love. In the 70’s, I learned handbuilding and production pottery with Tracy Dotson, (miss you, Tracy). He told me to stick to painting! But I still love making small clay shards that tell a story all by themselves of as part of an assemblage.

Last night after getting ready for Monika’s Trunk Show (today, 11-3, Studio, be there!), I started finishing some small pieces that can be used as components in assemblage or just as little mysterious bits of clay to frame or put in your pocket for a lucky charm. They are tagged as “Shardz” because my little alphabet stamp set didn’t have two S’s. I kinda like “Shardz.” I’ll have these at the Studio on a regular basis starting today. Priced from $4-$12, they invite you to pick one for yourself to use in mysterious ways! Hope to see you today at Monika’s Sale!

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Framed “Shardz” – looks just like a Pre-columbian relic!

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What a weekend – high fives all around

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I absolutely love showing off my students’ work, and this weekend I had two workshop opportunities to give a round of high fives!

Saturday, the talented Karen McCauley, artist and teacher at the Coppini Academy, brought her group over to the studio for three hours of encaustic  collage exploration. Here are some of the details of their work – notice the depth and texture that the beeswax layers produce. (Remember, if you can’t see the photo gallery, click on the top of this post to take you to the original site)

Lots of people ask me about the foil that produces those fine gold lines – encaustic artists call it “Book Foil.” I learned about it from Michelle Belto. You can order it under other names, including this one from Amazon. Just remember, it takes a few layers of wax to make it stick to the surface of your work.

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On Sunday, I taught an acrylic painting workshop inspired by some of the techniques I learned with Jane Davies at our Big Fat Art Weekend – line, shape, texture pattern, layering (thanks, Jane!).

This was not an easy workshop to grasp, particularly for beginning painters who had just three hours to practice the process. but they did it! The abstract acrylic studies they produced are beautifully symbolic and richly constructed over layers of marks and color history. Take a look!

I am convinced that there is some sort of magic synergy that takes place at the Studio when a group gathers for a three-hour workshop. The students never fail to amaze me – and themselves – with their insightful artwork. They help make Lyn Belisle Studio a true place of creative belonging, and, dang, am I grateful! Good work, everyone – what a winner of a weekend!

 

 

 

Dale Jenssen Workshop at the Studio

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Contemporary mirror by Dale Jenssen, 2015 – owned by me! Yay!

Dale Jenssen is a multi-talented artist whose work I love. I have one of her iconic mirrors and several pieces of her jewelry. Whenever I wear the earrings she created, other artist friends always admire them and say, “Dale, right?”

Exciting news – Dale is coming to Lyn Belisle Studio in June for a one-time afternoon workshop to show you how to create these wonderful earrings from metal, beads and small found objects. You will NOT want to miss this. You can find the details here.

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I met Dale several years ago through the Fiber Artists of San Antonio – yep, she’s an amazing fiber artist as well as metals sculptor. Check out two of her creations for FASA, below, and don’t miss the chance to work with Dale at my Studio on June 12th. I’m so excited!! Thanks, Dale, and TGIF, Y’all.

The week that was and the weekend that will be . . .

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It takes a village to make a Studio – and that’s what it felt like this week – all kinds of creative people graced the place – yay!

On Monday, our 3M Writers Group met at the studio for the monthly pot luck. Poets and novelists are also great cooks! And the conversation is always inspired. Special congrats to Bryce Milligan (below, center) whose Wings Press just celebrated its 40th Anniversary – a huge accomplishment for this multicultural, environmentally-aware company. Wings is indeed The Corazón of American Small Press Publishing.

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From left: Anne Alexander, Mary Milligan, Harold Rodinsky, Mike Belisle, Bryce Milligan, Jimmy Adair

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From left: Lou Taylor, Leslie Provence, Craig Donegan, Jay Brandon, Jasmina Wellinghoff

Next came a Wednesday Workshop – this time, it was Encaustic Exploration. We worked with wax and images in a larger format than usual.  The workshop critique was outstanding – thanks to all who waxed and shared!

I found some time on Thursday to play with a large painting called “Domino Theory.” Rosemary Uchniat sent me a heads-up about artist Nancy Reyner’s book on gold leaf and acrylic painting – lord knows, I have plenty of gold leaf around the Studio, This piece still needs glazing, but it’s fun to watch where it’s going. The process may turn into a new workshop – more soon.

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Today, I’ll be clearing the decks for Monika Astara’s trunk show that goes on from 11-3:30 tomorrow – don’t miss it!

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Lisa Stamper Meyer‘s Silk Screen workshop is Sunday, and in between all this, I’m going to get over to the Fred Road Studio Tour. 

I hope your week was great, and that your weekend is fun-filled and art-filled and joy-filled – spring is definitely in the air!

Pegboard studio storage spiff-up

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I love these new pegboard walls that I copied from Lisa Stamper Meyer‘s studio! They have made a huge difference in the storage space by providing hanging places and supply screening. Here is a side view and back view – you can see how well the pegboard walls hide a multitude of stuff!

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And here’s what you need if you, too, want to make a storage wall shelf like these.

A metal shelf, 4’x8’x18″ – I bought mine from Costco – here’s a link. These shelves are on casters so you can roll them around easily if you need to. When I bought them, they were $98 each, very sturdy – I think they hold 1200 pounds.

A sheet of 4×8′ pegboard, primed white. I bought mine from Home Depot. Here’s a link for those. They are a little bit unwieldy to manage but if you have access to a truck, you can just lay them in the back. You will probably need a helper – Mike helped a lot with this project.

A bag of 8″ cable ties – here’s a link. This is the neatest trick. You just thread the cable ties through the pegboard holes and pull them tight to the shelf posts. We used eight ties per shelf, three on the sides (top, middle, bottom) and two in the center to hold them steady.

Lisa even attached brush holder to her pegboards using cable ties – she’s an organizing genius! If you have any questions about this easy project, send me an email.

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A holiday wish for you

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Happy holidays, everyone! In the spirit of the Season, I’m giving you a couple of links to fun things

First, if you want to make origami crane ornaments to symbolize the hope for peace in the new year, here’s a link to a video I did a couple of years ago – you’ll just need some square paper and a tiny bit of patience. (I just checked the video and realized that I made it in 2012,  right before I opened the Studio! I was still working from home in the little studio lab – seems so long ago!)

Next, here’s a link to five collage sheets with some of my favorite images from my earlier work – print ’em out, tear ’em up, and play. I’m happy to share these with you guys.

Finally, here’s a recipe that I’ve posted before for a yummy fresh cranberry relish. It’s beautiful to look at, easy to make, and delicious with ham or turkey or just about anything else – even vanilla ice cream!

Thank you for all you do to make the world a kinder and more beautiful place!

 

A Gift from Joanna

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joannamadonnaDear friend Joanna Powell Colbert sent me a beautiful gift, a limited edition print of her newest artwork, Dark Madonna and Daughter. I found the perfect home for this lovely work in an old tin retablo frame from the early 1900’s. It’s hanging in my study on the wall above my computer. I love the serenity of this piece – it reminds me to slow down and take a breath when I get too rushed. You can order this print for yourself from her site, Gaian Soul.

I would encourage you to read Joanna’s blog post on how this piece came about. It speaks to the creative process in all of us. She also has a wonderful online series which has just started called 30 Days of Yuletide: A Daily Sacred Pause to Welcome the Return of the Sun. Just reading it each day helps keep me grounded to the season and the earth. And, boy, don’t we all need some grounding this time of year! Thank you, Joanna!

A quick reminder to San Antonio folks, Linda Lucretia Shuler will be signing her novel, Hidden Shadows, at my Studio this evening from 5-7. Her book (which I am thoroughly enjoying) explores how we ground ourselves to a homeplace – in this case, the beautiful Texas Hill Country. I hope you can join us for some informal literary conversation with Linda and share some refreshments.

Seek serenity, y’all – and celebrate the season!

 

2016 Spring Workshops open for registration

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Yay! It took most of the day yesterday, glued to my computer instead of playing in the Studio, but the spring workshop calendar is finally up on my website. I hope you find something that you like! Thanks to everyone who helped me out with the workshop preference survey – I included most of the things you suggested (like three Composition Camps) and I still have the rest of the year (and some Saturdays) to add new stuff.

And I have some great guest teachers right off the bat – Clare O’Neill, of course (can’t believe she’s actually coming to MY studio – woohoo). There may be one or two spots in her workshops as things shift around, so email me if you are interested.

Also coming are Kelly Schneider Conkling who is teaching meditation as an art process – I saw how she worked with Zelime Matthews and was just amazed. And my friend Lisa Stamper Meyer is going to teach a workshop on simple screen printing for mixed media artists. When she showed it to me, I couldn’t believe how really easy it was. 

handsAnd then there’s ME – I’m teaching 10 workshops this spring, including some on Wednesdays.

Hope to see you in the new workshops! Thanks for making this so much fun – big ol’ group hug!!