Lesta and Lyn – a half-day workshop exploring mixed-media surface design

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Finally! Lesta Frank, my much-revered artist pal, is coming to the Studio to pair up with me for a half-day workshop on Sunday, November 9th. It’s called Exploring Paper Surface Design, and it’s going to be amazing. We’ve been talking about doing this forever and now it’s really gonna happen.

Lesta and I go back a looo-ooong way (like, high school). She’s a popular teacher as well as a well-known watercolorist  – funny and innovative, as those of you who’ve seen her at the Show and Tell Saturdays already know. Here’s a very short sneak preview from one of those sessions – I love the part when Lesta says, “If you don’t like it, just keep adding stuff”! There are four spots left for the workshop at the moment if you’d like to join us. Have a great day and thanks for following SHARDS!

The Unfolding Myth starts unfolding

What’s a Myth Map?  Good question! I just invented it as a project to compliment Joanna Powell Colbert‘s wonderful tarot cards. We’re both teaching the two-day Unfolding Myth workshop at the Studio this weekend, and I get the hands-on art part. Yay! A Myth Map shows symbols of where you’ve been and where you’re going based on your intuitive choice of a card. This morning, I drew the Five of Water, and this Myth Map collage on wood was inspired by that card. I can’t wait to see what the workshop participants create. Joanna’s Gaian Tarot cards are so beautiful and intuitive.

Journey: Five of Water

Journey: Five of Water – Lyn Belisle

Don’t forget that you can meet Joanna if you’re in town tomorrow. She’ll give a very informal talk about her work at Lyn Belisle Studio from 6-8 pm. Here’s your invitation. I won’t make her actually *talk* all that time – there will be lots of opportunity for questions and visiting.She’s also have cards and art prints of her work.

And if you *are* conning to the workshop this weekend, I’m putting all kinds of nifty stuff in your workshop goodie bag! Remember what the poet, Rumi, said: “Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”

Extraordinary South African photographer shares his work freely

Being a visual kind of person, I’m always on the lookout for photos that inspire like those that my friend Ramesh takes. I’ve shared with you one of my favorite online sources – it used to be called Stock Exchange, but I think Getty bought it and now it’s called Free Images. And the photos are (blessedly) still free! And searchable! If you join (yep, free) you can access the high-res images from photographers from all over the world.

I was searching on Free Images this morning and just discovered a South African photographer whose pictures I had seen and used before, but had never really looked at his complete online gallery. Wow! His name is Sias van Schalkwyk and he goes by “doc.”

I encourage you to check out his work and his website  – particularly his shots of African people and birds. What a remarkable conservationist and photographer. Thanks, doc!

Personal adornment – shards and cocoons

How do I adorn me? Let me count the ways . . .well, the participants at Sunday’s workshop created some fabulous art-to-wear magnetic pins. Their challenge was to use small earthenware faces which they custom-finished and combined with papers and ephemera to create a mini-collage on a 2.5″ base that could be framed or worn. Each one was beautiful, each was different – take a look.

For myself, my new favorite adornment is this art-to-wear neck piece by Turkish artist Ugur Daskan. It came in yesterday’s mail – and I loved it the minute I unwrapped it. Light as a feather, it’s made from silkworm cocoons, paper ribbon, and woven cotton/silk. I photographed it against a lamp so you could see the translucency. You can see more of Ugur’s unique work which combines leather, knitted paper, crochet and fiber at her Etsy shop.

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I am so grateful for the many wonderful artists in this world . . . oh, and one of them is Carol Mylar, who won the Friday Freebie book, Warrior Goddess Training! It’s a little late for your birthday, Carol, but it’s on its way.

 

 

 

 

 

Calling all Warrior Goddesses – your training manual is ready

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 🙂

Weekend update – good things abound

moonGood morning – and a cooler one it is, with a full moon as well – nice! I’m sharing two short weekend videos with you guys – Saturday, I visited Dan Pfeiffer at his new gallery in Fredericksburg which was featured in last weekend’s San Antonio Express-News. What an amazing space, and the art is even more impressive. Dan has a wonderful eye for unique surfaces and structures as evidenced by the sculptures by Phil Evett and ceramic figures by Deborah Fritts. The work he shows is very atypical of the usual Hill Country galleries, but it fits in beautifully because it’s all very organic in concept, much like his own fine woodworking. Plus, if you go, you’ll get to see some of Dan’s Fan Planes in operation – very cool indeed.

And on Sunday, the first of my fall Studio workshops kicked off with Composition and Collage on Canvas. We discussed the AB3s of composition and did some work with fabric transfers and acrylic paint. Each piece was well-thought out and beautifully constructed – take a look:

I’ve added a second session of this workshop on Sunday, September 28th from 3-5 by popular demand (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase – LOL). Have a wonderful week, and happy birthday tomorrow to my dear friend Carol Mylar, fiber artist and former studio partner. Hooray for good friends and birthdays and cooler temps and full moons! And art! And kitties and puppies! and you guys . . . . . .♥♥♥

Talk amongst yourselves (and Friday Freebie)

Hi, and happy Friday – I’m in the throes of class prep at Trinity, so I’ve found a little design video to inspire and amuse you while I’m off working in my spiffy new computer lab. It’s *hard* to switch an art brain for a tech brain – wahhh.

The finished Magnetic Shard Face pin

The finished Magnetic Shard Face pin

But I didn’t forget the Friday Freebie! A lucky SHARDS subscriber will receive a Face Shard Pin Kit complete with magnet, face shard, paper and beads (your choice of warm or cool colors) to create your own wearable art adornment that looks something like this – it’s easy and fun to put it together since everything in the kit is coordinated and cut to size.

So here’s the design project video by Pierre Lota of Lota Design – pretty cool stuff. Have a great weekend and I’ll be back soon from tech-land.

 

Gourd art?

If you were a thirsty pioneer, you’d have a trusty dipper gourd to ladle up a drink of well water. But, dang, would you be surprised at the stuff I saw yesterday at the Texas Gourd Society‘s Exhibit in New Braunfels. Gourd skulls, gourd fish with swiveling scales, gourd Santa Clauses – many of these pieces were quite beautiful (well, maybe not the Santa Clauses – kinda creepy).

My favorites were the ones in which the artist incorporated natural materials like pine needles to accentuate the organic form of the gourds (pine needles were big this year, lots of bundles for sale). And it truth be known, I especially loved the plain ol’ unadorned gourds for their shapes, color and texture. I sat in on a gourd-growing lecture (“Anybody can grow a gourd, but not everybody can grow a good gourd”).  I made a quick video tour of the show for you guys, and if it makes you want to starting gourding, there are many good tutorials on You Tube by a gourd artist named Miriam Joy.

Juried art shows – and how to make a crane (the bird kind)

Good news yesterday – one of my pieces was accepted for the International Encaustic Artists “Poetry Bleeds Rust” exhibit in at the NAWA Gallery in New York. Boy, am I surprised, first of all, because encaustic is a stretch for me, and secondly, the piece that was selected was not the one I expected to be, if any were. Here are the three pieces – which one do you think juror Jenn Dierdorf choose?

She chose the third piece, Rune and Relic – that’s the one I had to re-do because the first version didn’t fit the size retirement. I liked the one called Campfire Poems better, but there ya have it. If you decide enter a juried show, remember these things (I try to):

1. If you are rejected, don’t take it personally – put yourself in the juror’s place – it’s a tough job and opinions about art are extremely subjective and subject to one’s own taste. After all, you don’t like every piece you see in a gallery or museum, maybe not *any* of them.

2. If you are accepted, be grateful! But don’t start making every piece of art you do from then on just like the accepted piece – be true to yourself and continue on your own intuitive path, even if it veers off in another direction. Don’t let acceptance of one piece by a juror determine your limits.

3. Keep entering shows even if you don’t get in – it gives you a free critique, a new perspective, and a sense of professionalism. Both of my entries in this year’s San Antonio Art League show were rejected, but I figure they didn’t resonate with the juror. I liked them though, and I’ll keep working and submitting. So there! Neener neener 🙂

And now, for your weekend folding pleasure, here’s one from the vault, a video tutorial I did for a friend two years ago before I had the big Studio. It’s a five-minute origami crane – can you do it in five minutes? Ready – GO! And have a great weekend.

Painting with Ellen Rolli – unchain my art

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.