Category Archives: Lyn Belisle Studio

Dimensional paintings

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This started to be a tirade about Black Friday, but, you know what? People find their joy and purpose in all kinds of weird things, and if shopping for a TV at the crack of dawn gets ya up and out into this beautiful day, then go for it – just be careful out there! Crowds make me twitchy, so I prefer to be in the Studio finishing up these two new – er, “dimensional paintings.” I like the description. They’re painted on stretched canvas, not strictly collages, but they have dimensional surface applications. Titles are Copper Mountain 1 & 2, and  I’ll show these next Friday as part of my La Vida Gallery opening. I’m still experimenting, but so far, so good. Feedback? Better yet, come to La Vida on the 6th and check them out in person.
coppermtn1 coppermtn2

Countdown to Saturday sale with da girlz

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I love being in shows at the Studio with Lesta, Alison, and Jan – they are such inspiring artists. Here’s your personal invitation – If you click on it, you can get a printable version to share with everybody! Sharing is GOOD!nov9

Remember Scent Shards? I found a wonderful 1930’s carved face of a woman to use as a press mold,  and have made a series of new “B Beautiful” Scent Shards for the Saturday show. There are only ten of these, and I think they are the best ever. Any suggestions for essential oils to go with them? I’m thinking lavender and tangerine.scentshards

Last but not least, congrats to Karen Jensen, wonderful writer and all-around creative person, for winning the Shard Adornment kit – it’ll be in the mail today, Karen! Thanks (to everyone) for subscribing to SHARDS.

Shards and Spirit Box Kit

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Congrats to Barb Wolfe, winner of the SHARDS subscriber drawing for the Spirit Box kit. Barb’s a good jewelry designer, can’t wait to see how she puts it all together. Speaking of shards, yesterday’s workshop artisans outdid themselves in quality and production. Take a look at some of their work – it’s very fragile right now while it’s waiting to be fired, but the pieces should be even more amazing once fired and finished. The last photo is a card of air-dry clay buttons that I made yesterday for fiber art enhancement – I’ll post directions at a later date. Sherrill Kahn turned me on to air-dry clay as a quick alternative to earthenware.Thanks for a great workshop, y’all – see you Wednesday to finish your pieces and put them together at Ann Pearce’s jewelry shop.

Gulp – it’s Art Show Eve

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I hit the ground running when I got home Monday night – my fellow artist and co-showee, Gloria, was smart enough to get everything done in advance for our Friday (tomorrow!!) exhibit, but – oh no – not meeeeee. I shared onewas still painting this morning at the Studio. Gulp, for sure. This afternoon, though, we started hanging paintings, and by golly, it’s gonna work! Here’s a sneak preview (see pics) – we need more tags and a list of works, but it’s almost ready.  sharedtwoI know I’ve said this, but it’s amazing how two people working at the same time with the same stuff can end up with such different results. I think you’ll like them 🙂

The exhibit, Shared Spaces, will be up through Labor Day, but if you come to the opening, you can get to tell us what you think! And you might even take home a piece of interesting,original art. The food on the menu looks good, too – so come, relax,  and escape the heat of the Dog Days of summer.

By the way . . . .do you know why the Dog Days are called that? The term dates back to the ancient Romans and is celestial in origin.The brightest star in Canis Major (and in the night sky), is Sirius which is also called the “dog star.” During late July, Sirius rises and sets in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that the heat of Sirius added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. My cat, Max, copes by just chilling out – he thinks we should call them the Cat Days of summer. Come chill out at the Studio tomorrow evening from 6-9!

maxnap copy

Meanwhile, back at the altar . . .

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When last we saw our altar box for Celebration Circle’s Silent Auction, it had a not-too-happy Spirit Doll lying in it, and it looked pretty creepy. Sigh. But I *knew* the moss was the right thing – so I kept thinking and working, and then I remembered a graduation gift I made for my grandson. It was a wall sculpture of the Celtic god, Cernunnos. I liked him because he was kind of a mystery, open to possibilities (actually, that goes for my grandson, too :)). Using Cernunnos as an inspiration, I am working on my Altar gift to Celebration Circle. It’s not quite finished, but here he is – The Guardian of the Sacred Grove with his little bird buddy, still a work in progress.

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If you want to see it finished, come to the Bijou Theatre Gallery between Sept.1 and Sept 30th and view all 50 of these wonderful Altars. The closing reception and Silent Auction is on September 30th at 6:00. With any luck, you can take home the Guardian of the Sacred Grove or another cool altar to grace your own place of creative belonging!

U

Gloria and Lyn (and the golden rooster)

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The Friday Freebie golden rooster pendant goes to blog subscriber Sherrill Kahn! That’s really funny – Sherrill, you can pick it up when you come to visit in August, and I can’t wait for your workshops.

And speaking of August, (nice segue) please please save the date (August 16th) for Shared Spaces, an exhibit of paintings by Gloria Hill and me at my Studio. We’ve been painting together on most Wednesdays since the early spring, and you will see how two weird artistic brains can take the same media (and sometimes the same subject) and end up with totally different results. There will be the usual libations and munchies – here’s you OFFICIAL invitation.

invitation copy

 

The empty altar

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Last week, I received this really nice letter from a group that I admire tremendously – Celebration Circle.

Dear Lyn: At the recommendation of many mutual friends, we are writing to invite you to create a hand-made altar for the Celebration Circle’s annual art exhibit, One People, Many Paths: The Sacred Art of Altars and our tenth year of presenting this exhibit and silent auction at the Bijou Theater September 1 – 30. You will be one of 50 artists to receive a handcrafted wooden box to use as the basis for creating a small “altar” focused on whatever matters to you – personally, artistically and/or spiritually – employing whatever media and/or embellishments your vision requires. The completed piece is due no later than Sunday, August 11th. 

the empty altar box

the empty altar box

What could I say, but “of course!” Now comes the challenge. I looked at the empty altar box for a while and remembered that I had some sheets of weathered moss that came off a wall planter.

. . . .lined with moss

. . . .lined with moss

On they went to line the altar – glue, glue. So far, so good – then I thought “Aha, a Spirit Doll! – I love making those” So I popped one in from the last workshop. Oops – the whole thing instantly turned into a moss lined coffin. Not good. Back to the drawing board – will keep you updated :). All suggestions gracefully accepted!

. . .oh, no! She looks dead! Oops. Bad idea.

. . .oh, no! She looks dead! Oops. Bad idea.

Cheap tricks – tags and labels

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I’m getting some new work ready for my Art Show on July 20th with Lesta, Jan and Alison (hint hint, see invitation at the end) and I made some really cool earthenware beads, if i do say so myself. They are finished with walnut ink and gilder’s paste. They looked pretty good on the string, but when I added a descriptive tag, they looked great! I’d buy ’em for me if I didn’t get ’em free :).

runeshot

Here’s how:

  • Think of a catchy name – I used Rune & Relic because I already had that name on some things in my Etsy shop)
  • Write a very short description or use a quotation or poem line that is applicable – search for stuff like “Everything you can imagine is real.” ― Pablo Picasso
  • Add a photo, or if you don’t know how to do that, find a great stamp and use it on all of your tags – I use a moon face stamp and add a raven stamp on top as my signature on my handmade books.
  • stampwithmoonandraven
  • Design your tags to the dimensions of a business-card (2″x3.5″) Open up a business card printing program – MS Word has one – follow the set-up directions,and just put in plain cardstock instead of business card paper – it’s cheaper by far.  Print and cut apart, punch holes and add string or raffia. Voila!! (which means, “damn, that looks good” in French)

So now you are asking yourself, “Where can I find some of those fantastic Rune and Relic Beads?? Well, here’s your personal invitation for the Christmas in July Art Show and Sale at Lyn Belisle Studio featuring Four Amazing Artists! You’ll shout “Voila!!”

invitation

 

Transfer and acrylic workshop report

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Workshop Report Card Grade is A+++! New workshops are tricky, and this one especially so because we were using a heat transfer on paper and then working with acrylics, which were unfamiliar to some of the participants – but should I have worried? Nah! Great results, great times, lots of learning and laughing. If you’d like to see the process itself, I demonstrate it here on YouTube, and if you’d like to see the participants’ spectacular results, just look at the photos (which, taken on my phone cause I forgot my cool new camera, don’t begin to justify the work). I also did a tutorial on another process we tried using Golden Fluid Acrylic Medium for transfers, here.

 

Friday Freebie – Threads of Blessing

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When the Sathreads1cred Ground exhibit opened at Cathedral House Gallery in late May, I met a woman named Helen Schnelzer who sponsors a wonderful program called Threads of Blessing, an annual needlework workshop for the women of Uganda. These workshops are designed to encourage women to gather as a community, learn organizational skills, and help develop personal esteem. I purchased five of the embroidered tapestries and wanted to share one with a SHARDS subscriber as a Friday Freebie. This one was embroidered by Abby Thorciba, who writes in her statement, “I have orphans I care for . . .the Lord has given me this to feed, clothe and care for them and myself.” Look at the great expression on this face!

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Here is the full tapestry – it’s about 18×18″ on unbleached muslin and could be stretched to frame or sewn into a hanging or a pillow. It’s signed by Abby Thorciba. I’ll wait until Sunday to do the Friday Freebie drawing but will let you know who the winner is Sunday night. All subscribers will have a chance to win, and I thank you so much for reading my blog.

And here’s the brochure – click on it to read it, and if you’d like to donate, you can write to The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, Attn: Threads of Blessing, PO Box 6885, San Antonio, TX 78209 (or just email me and I can give you more information – I’m not affiliated with the program, but I definitely support its philosophy and will continue to threads3purchase these unique works).