Category Archives: Mixed Media

Beeswax collage workshop – personal and inspired

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The beautiful visual stories seemed almost to create themselves in Sunday’s Beeswax Collage workshop at the Studio. Participants were given a limited choice of vintage images, some basic collage and texture materials, and some beeswax, walnut ink, and gold leaf. Then, as one person said, “The magic is happening!”

Sunday’s workshop was a delightful combination of the perfect medium paired with the perfect group – everyone had a chance to take risks, make decisions, and turn “mistakes” into assets in their work. And they did it! Take a look at some photos from the workshop.

Congratulations to all of the artist and bravo for the great work – and now, for a commercial break. If you want to see how this beeswax collage process works, I have written an e-book called Behind the Veil that explains this process step-by-step, including where to find free vintage images. It can be yours to download for a mere $5.99 – heck, a fancy latte costs more than that!

But wait, there’s more – no, actually, that’s all for now. It was a great workshop and I thank everyone who participated! Have a lovely  Monday, everyone.

A two-day encounter of the art-full kind

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wsWhat was I thinking? Two full-day workshops at the Studio back-to-back? A weekend of hanging out, creating, eating and talking with eight other like-minded souls?  How would all of that look? It looked FANTASTIC!

Saturday was Belisle’s Collage Extravaganza and Composition Challenge. We worked on two major pieces – a collage on canvas with extreme emphasis on composition (the AB3s) and a collage on cradle board with image transfers and encaustic wax. The intrepid participants gave it their all, and we were very tired but happy at the end of the day. Here’s the video – see if you can detect the AB3s of composition at work in the finished pieces.

But wait – there’s more! On Sunday, Lesta Frank and I team-taught a very non-traditional mixed media journaling class. Everyone designed their own pages and created a loose-leaf portfolio to collect and show their experimental surface finishes, including one really interesting Profile Page. This was Lesta’s idea and consisted of an actual dimensional profile cutout with descriptions of a personal profile as part of the composition. Very nice! Watch for it in the video, below.

In the critiques and discussions, all agreed that the two-day experience was great, both for those who came both days and those who came on one day of choice. We had eight participants each day, half of whom were there for both days. Nicely balanced! I will plan another weekend experience in the early part of 2016. I should be recovered by then!

Potters and gourders

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I’m presenting a program to the San Antonio Potters Guild tonight. It’s called Earthenware, Ornament, and Assemblage. While collecting photos photos of my clay pieces, I realized that working in earthenware has been part of my art practice for almost 50 years! These days it’s mostly face shard production and some small sculptural pieces, and I love exploring finishes for fired unglazed clay. Here’s one of the finishes I’m showing the potters tonight – it’s a wax-based custom metallic patina that starts with neutral shoe polish! I used it as a finish on the piece at the left and thought you might like to see how it’s done.

Kathleen Peet: "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes"

Kathleen Peet: “Diamonds on the soles of her shoes”

Just as I was working on my Potters Guild presentation, I got a message from Kathleen Peet, a mixed-media artist from Prineville, Oregon who uses my shard faces in her work. She works with gourds in a unique way – look at this gorgeous piece, left.

Kathleen has an Etsy shop called  Full Circle Art and you can contact her there to see the full scope of her creativity with gourds.

This is what she says about her passion: “When I started in 1996, gourds were a relatively new medium, especially in rural eastern Oregon. The most frequently asked questions were: “What are those?” and “Do you grow them?” Now, gourds are much better known, and some are recognized as ‘fine art’ rather than just craft. I have enjoyed taking this medium in many different directions, and just when I think I’ve tried everything, some new idea hits me. While still enjoying painting, spinning/weaving, ceramics and abalone jewelery….I always come back to gourds!”

Here are some photos of more of Kathleen’s work, including a look at her Oregon studio – thanks, Kathleen! Clay and gourds are a natural pairing!

 

A pretty colorful weekend at Lyn Belisle Studio

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32The Studio was awash in dye this weekend, first with Rosemary Uchniat’s fantastic half-day Small Space Dyeing workshop on Saturday, and then my Goddess Banner workshop on Sunday afternoon. Everyone was caught red-handed having fun – and blue-handed, and green-handed . . .take a look at the video!

Both classes will be repeated in case you want to join in. Rosemary’s second Small-Space Dyeing class is October 17th from 1-5. The first one sold out instantly. And my next Goddess Banner workshop is coming right up on Sunday, August 16th from 2-5.

banNow about those Goddess Banners, this was a special small class that was scheduled for a guest from Houston who wanted to take both Rosemary’s class and mine the same weekend. There were four of us, and it was great to be able to work alongside the participants. I had a blast! We transferred images, dyed cheesecloth, created symbols and words of inspiration, and put it all together in the most remarkable way! I just love this project – and it’s three hours, start to finish.

One of my favorite fiber artists, Linda Rael, was in our group – that made it even more fun. She has a great idea for a series of banners, but I’ll let her tell you about it if she actually does it. Hope so! Take a look at the video, and then consider signing up for the workshop on August 16th – you won’t regret it! It’s to dye for. Sorry.

Out of a job, better get organized . . .

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First of all, congrats to this week’s Friday Freebie winner, Karen Cutrer, who subscribed to SHARDS five months ago. Karen, I’m not sure we’ve met, but so glad you won the Gold (or Silver)  Simple Leaf for gilding anything your heart desires. Send me an email with your address and color choice – lyn@lynbelisle.com – and I’ll get it to you right away. You have to promise to let me know how you use it! Golden eggs? Silver flower pots?

OK, so as summer progresses, I’m starting to realize that I don’t have an outside teaching job to go back to since 1969! – yikes. So I’m attempting to organize the Studio schedule to function as a full-time workspace (not an easy task for a left-handed Gemini). Here’s a first attempt at a reorganized Workshop webpage. It’s not too different yet, but I’ve added videos from past workshops and tried to make it easier to read. Suggestions?

wkSince I started teaching workshops even before I had the Studio, my goals have been:

  • Make it enjoyable for you – no stress or pressure, no scary stuff
  • Create a finished piece to take home with you to spur ideas and confidence
  • Provide all materials so you can just show up and create – no expensive lists of materials to bring – you don’t need expensive products to make art that you love.
  • Celebrate your style and your vision – no “copy me” or it’s wrong

Here are some early workshop pics from my kitchen and little ex-garage studio – we were squished, but it was still fun. I want to keep that sense of fun!

One of the new things I;m trying this fall is a longer two-day workshop, not with an out-of-town artist, but with just me, other local aritsts, or in this case, Lesta and me on one of the days. You can sign up for one day, two days, or both. There’s still a limit of eight, and lunch is included. Here are the details on that one – you can read more here:

immersion

 

 I also want to continue the monthly Show and Tell get-togethers. They really feed my soul! I’ll post those on my webiste as they are scheduled, but they will generally be the last Saturday of the month. Please take a look at the latest one from day before yesterday – wonderful!! And thanks for letting me think out loud about where my road goes from here. You are the best 🙂

Beeswax Collage Workshop – five stars!

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noraIf you’ve kept up with my new work, you know how excited I am about my beeswax collage series using early 20th-centure photographs.

Along the way, I’ve developed some techniques for using beeswax and pigment on paper that have worked well for me, but I hadn’t taught the process until yesterday afternoon at the Studio.

I wasn’t sure if other people would be able to get the same results, but it was fantastic! Everyone was so happy with their finished pieces, and had a million ideas about taking this process to new levels with their own personal photos. Take a look!

 

Living and learning

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learning copySchool starts for me this week – as a teacher and a student! I go back to Trinity to teach my course in Essential Information Technology, and I’m taking an online photo-encaustic class from Clare O’Neill. The tuition for that one is rather steep, but I expect to learn a lot of new skills in both photography and encaustic that I can pass along to my own workshop participants. (Did somebody say “Old dog, new tricks?” – arf.)

If you’d like to experience an online class, do I have a deal for you! Michelle Belto, encaustic artist extraordinaine, and I have teamed up in an online offering called “Wax and Tissue.” You can see details here at Roses On My Table. It’s a good way to gently discover the encaustic process, and if you take a look at the materials list, you can see it’s not all that complicated. It’s a lot of fun, too – we had a great time making this video.

Online classes are easy to access and view (you get specific easy-to-follow directions) and you can look at them as often as you need to or want to. I like to watch the ones I take in sections so I can have “think breaks” in between.

“Wax and Tissue” has a lot of information (and a certain amount of goofiness – you know Michelle and me) and you can email us questions through the forum with the other students. The course costs $55, which is a *lot* less than the encaustic class I’m taking with Clare O’Neill – and definitely less than my Trinity students are paying for *their* tuition! Lifelong learning in the arts is truly priceless, especially when you can do it in your jammies. Think about joining us – OK, I”m off – gotta head to class!

Words on Wings by Lila

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lilaTalented friends – dang – they are such a gift. Lila Walker cracks me up and makes me think, along with about a million other people. Lila came to the Studio on Thursday to do a presentation on her collage cards for the Amigas group, and she had us in stitches.

Lila is a hunter-gather of the best sort. She puts unlikely images with well-chosen quotes and collages them into greeting cards called Words on Wings. Here’s an example:

She cuts out every quote and arranges every image, goes to a local copy service to duplicate the collages in small numbers, then assembles the cards herself. It’s an inspired business of one.
This is Lila in a nutshell (no pun intended, Lila):“Lila Walker is a wife, mother, grandmother, animal rights advocate, loyal friend, good neighbor, retired teacher, artist, reader, gardener and docent at The McNay Museum of Art in San Antonio, Texas.”
You can buy her cards in San Antonio at the Twig Bookshop, the McNay, and Viva Bookstore, and you can visit her website for more locations across the country – and to order cards directly from her.. Click through her selections and I guarantee it will brighten this gray winter day.
I’d like to send the one below to Lila herself.

 

 

 

 

A rainy train . . .

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Writing and rolling, on a train headed to Boston from New York’s Penn Station, gives me a unique perspective of a territory that’s unfamiliar in the first place, but darn near alien as it zips by at 80+ mph on a cold, rainy Christmas Eve day. The first time I tried to take a photo out of the window, it was blurry from the rain and the rail motion and speed. But – aha! – it was kind of impressionistic! I swear, there is beauty everywhere whether we notice it or not. Here are some accidentally arty iPhone photos that might just inspire some mixed-media work when I get back home to the Studio.

The train is getting close to Boston, so I’ll sign off for now, but not before wishing you a happy Christmas Eve (or a glorious December 24th if that suits you better) – I hope you are in a place that brings you comfort and joy.

Esperanza inspirations

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Like many San Antonians, one of my favorite events of the year is Esperanza Peace and Justice Center’s art and craft market.

esperArtists from Mexico and the Southwest show an amazing array of cool stuff, and I always come away with a zillion ideas. I especially love seeing my friend, talented Linda Rael, there because she has the best ideas to steal. I purchased one of her wonderful fabric sculptures to examine more closely! Here are some photos from the Market, and under those is a video of some assemblages I finished on Sunday after being totally inspired and excited by all of the things I saw.

When I came home from the market, I worked most of the weekend completing a series of Heart Shard assemblages – objects of devotion. These figures represent small iconic blessings, much like my earlier Guardian series. There may be more of these to come, and they will be available at the Saturday Studio Sale with Lesta, Jan and Alison.