Cheesecloth – to dye for

cheesecloth1I love this stuff! I hand-dyed a bunch of it for Sunday’s Spirit Doll workshop and made some cool discoveries. One – it’s cheap – and available in a ton of places, like hardware stores in the paint department and supermarkets in the kitchen gadgets department for about $1.00 a yard or less.

Two – you can dye it super-fast with Rit dye, procion dyes, or just plain old diluted acrylic paint – and it stretches and tears and look very artistic either as a collage addition or as Spirit Doll swooshy capes and wraps.

Here’s some of the dyed cheesecloth that I put together with other supplies for the Spirit Doll workshop – earthy and rich:

cheesecloth

And here’s a bunch of it drying on the bench outside the Studio – kinda like exotic rags;

cheeseclothbench

If you want to dye it yourself, this is a fast and easy way – put a squirt of fluid acrylic paint and about 1/2 cup of water in a little plastic container, add the cheesecloth and squish it down and saturate it, let it sit for about ten minutes, then squeeze it out, and dry it by spreading it out or putting it in the dryer for a few minutes (if you put it in the dryer, it will crinkle up, which you might like)

Note: I tried a gold metallic acrylic, but it didn’t retain the metallic look – I added a little orange and a little walnut ink (of course) and got a nice mottled peach color. It’s impossible to mess up – any color seems to work.

This was one of my favorite Spirit Dolls from the workshop – Pat Konstam used a rock that she had found in Israel for the face (it looks as if it’s smiling) – and she used red and brown cheesecloth for her Red Sea Spirit Doll:

cheeseclothpat

Spirit of the Red Sea – Pat Konstam

And finally, check out the video from the workshop – I hope you enjoy seeing it, and I hope you’ll go play with cheesecloth!

PS –  As I was doing a little research on dyed cheesecloth, I discovered that it’s the newest thing to wrap a newborn baby in – who knew?? Ain’t been no newborn babies in my neck of the woods for a loooong time!

cheesecloth

 

What was shown, what was told

Silvia shows Otomi paper

Silvia shows Otomi paper

The first Saturday Studio Show and Tell was great – filled with inspiration and ideas. Among the showees were Lesta Frank, who demo’d  a great paper peel and transfer technique, Rosemary Uchniat, whose embossing demo turned metal into unbelievably intricate collage textures, and Bonnie Davis, whose tar paper painting had everyone brainstorming. She learned this method from KenT Youngstrom from North Carolina. His website is fascinating – lucky Bonnie!

Take a look at our video (and pay no attention to the date in the title – it’s not really 2915 – is it? ..arg)

We’ll have another Show and Tell in February, date coming soon.

facesnuevaWinners of the Friday Freebie face shards, one for each, are Susan Calkins, Rosie Rojas, and stitchingalways@gmail.com (familiar email, but darned if I can remember who it belongs to). If you’d like to come to the Studio and pick one out, great! If you need it mailed, send the info and it will be on its way to you!

“boring tuna” is neither – web design help is here!

btWouldn’t it be nice if there were someone who could help you get your art images digitized and up on the web? Someone who understands artists, maybe an artist/photographer? Then let me introduce my former student, now dear friend and tech adviser, Kevin Dome of Boring Tuna Photography and Web Design Services of San Antonio.

Kevin is as original as his company name. He’s that rare combination of art and tech (he worked for years at Rackspace) that all of us envy. He’s just taken the leap to full-time independent web designer for artists and other small businesses.

Last week, Kevin came to my studio for a photoshoot. I had not seen him work before, but it was impressive. His first concern is lighting the story. In 15 minutes, he had a complete professional photo setup in my studio and was ready to take some photos of ME! Take a look at the setup and results.

I love the photos Kevin took – they make me feel authentically artistic and happy. You can see more of his work in his online portfolio.

Kevin is a joy to work with – I am going to ask him to help me rework my own online portfolio. He hosts websites and is the most user-friendly tech person I’ve talked to in a long time. His fees are reasonable – he can digitize images for you and upload them to your own site for around $250 (Kevin can tell you more about what all of that includes). I’d like to say I taught him everything he knows, but that would be a big fat lie <grin>.

So get yourself some boring tuna before Kevin gets swamped with requests for artists’ websites! You can contact him at http://www.boringtuna.com/

8PS – the winner of Friday’s Freebies, the Shisk-ka-barbies, is brittdesign@cableone.net – if you’ll email me your info, these little creatures will be on their way to you!

Happy Monday, All – bundle up and keep warm.

 

Solstice Weekend report

Thanks to everyone who came out to greet Pablo and Beverly Solomon this weekend. We had fun with them – we even got a chance to visit the Matisse show at SAMA. It’s astonishingly good and wonderfully annotated. Pablo had just read a two volume biography of Matisse and entertained us with some funny, slightly racy behind-the-scenes commentary.

Sunday’s Earthshard Pendant Workshop was a quiet respite from the excitement of the Solstice festivities and Pablo Solomon’s successful opening.   Many thanks to Ann Pearce for being my collaborator on this session – I always learn so much from her (and from the workshop attendees).  Later in the week, I’ll pass along some information about how we did the finishes on our earthenware pendants (below). Happy Monday, All!

Watch out for flying pigs . . .

flyingpig.jpg-w=216&h=207So I’ve always said, “The day I get my workshop page organized is the day pigs fly.” But guess what? I spent the weekend putting together a new workshop calendar for the rest of the freaking year! And I think it will be easier for you to find what’s coming up. Just click right here. You can also get to it from its new place on the home page. calendar linkYou’ll notice a few things – first, July is heavy on the Citra-solv paper, but that’s because everyone loves it and I’m not tired of playing with it (I’ve added a third session on July 27th). There are also some repeats – those paper purses that everyone asks about, for example. There’s a new workshop called Twiggies!! – check that one out. I think all of the links are in place, but if you see anything that looks goofy or won’t work, let me know. And none of this is set in stone — for example, if I were to get allergic to Citra-solv — oops.

You’ll also see all of the details about the one-day June workshop with Michelle Belto (yay for serendipity!) and the exciting Tarot-based weekend with Joanna Powell Colbert in early October. That one is filling very fast already with people from all over the country, so if you want a place, grab it now.

I sincerely hope to see you at some of these workshops – at least the calendar is organized if the presenter isn’t! Thanks, everyone, and don’t forget to drop by the Studio on Friday for Pablo Solomon’s awesome exhibit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Book of Serendipity: Belto and Belisle – Saturday, June 28th

I spent some fine creative time with encaustic guru, author and good buddy Michelle Belto yesterday at her Hot Wax Studio. We experimented in various media with a small group of intrepid explorers. And now – tah-dah– Michelle and I ready to give you the exclusive final details on our June 28th collaborative workshop called The Book of Serendipity: A Celebration of Unexpected Gifts from the Universe! Click on the photo below to read the description – it really has something for everyone – and then sign up to spend a cool (in all ways) Saturday with us at my Studio. All materials and a yummy lunch are included – the day will be a memorable one (you’ll see what I mean when you read the description.) Limit eight participants, absolutely no art experience necessary. Please join us (and invite a friend).

 

Amazing art-filled weekend

From the action-packed to the serene, the Studio was a busy place on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s Show and Tell was over-the-top with talent. One person said, “I’m overwhelmed – my brain is full!.” You can see from the video, below, the scope and range of artful techniques that these generous artists shared.

And then came Sunday’s drawing class – it was beautiful – peaceful and contemplative and funny (have *you* ever tried to draw a pistachio nut and then identify it in a crowd?) I am always astonished at the talents of my students – in two hours they went from scribbles and warm-up exercises to the sensitive Zen-like drawings of stones that you see below. Wow. Thank you all.

Beautiful studies of small stones on toned paper

Beautiful studies of small stones on toned paper

Drawing students study their subjects with quiet contemplation

Drawing students study their subjects with quiet contemplation

ArtTech Networking at the Studio

monaipad_edited-1Here’s part of an email invitation (below) that I sent out last week to the Studio “regulars” – and the response has been amazing. About 20 of us are getting together tomorrow @ 5:00 at the Studio to discuss how we can best network together to learn new skills in social media and digital imagery – like giving the Mona Lisa an iPad – it’s easy!!

“Dear All – Just in the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a number of requests for help with tech issues for artists, such as learning Photoshop, creating on iPads, blogging, and using other social media for art promotion. There’s a huge need for this these days, and I am “lucky” enough to have been forced to learn some of it when I started teaching at Trinity ten years ago. My idea would be to discuss what the needs are and then possibly set up either individual sessions or a small group workshop or two during the summer (these would have a small tuition charge), but then we would go further than that – you could partner with a tech buddy (or several) who is interested in the same things you are and you could help each other when I’m not available. It would be like a learning circle. I can give you all kinds of links to resources and tutorials so you could learn on your own in the direction that best suits you. What do you think? ~ Lyn”

I expect people will want to learn new things in two areas – how to work with digital images in Photoshop and other editing programs, and how to get more exposure for their art via the Internet. We’ll see how it goes, and I can set up some classes to fit the needs of my fellow artists. Come by if you’re interested and share ideas with us. It should be fun. If you can’t make it in person, do read Alyson Stanfield’s book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio. It’s a great guide to promoting your art. And if you’d like some free (free is good) beginner Photoshop Lessons, here’s a link for you.

We’re all in the together – might as well share what we know!

Visiting Pablo and Beverly Solomon – an astonishing art space

Rarely am I totally enthralled with a place the way I was with Pablo and Beverly Solomon’s ranch and studio. Just outside of Lampasas, Texas, the Moses Hughes Ranch is graced with Pablo’s sensuous stone carvings and whimsical art objects. We spent last Friday there enjoying the art, the spring weather, walks along the stream, and the entertaining conversations. At the end of the video, you’ll see a small bench in a tree that Pablo and I put together from shards and tiles (Pablo had already done the heavy lifting, thank goodness!). You’ll also see a series of enchanting small sculptures that Pablo presented as a proposal for the Houston Jardin de Dance. Each is a maquette which can be cast into bronze either at original size or scaled up. The best news is that Pablo will visit the Studio on June 20th with 15 of these figures as part of his Summer Solstice show and sale (and they are amazingly affordable for any collector) – save the date and stay tuned for details. You will love meeting Pablo and Beverly – they are both so gracious and fun to be with! And they welcome visitors!

Wonderful workshop weekend – not just one, but TWO videos filled with great ideas

Well, happy Monday, everybody! Hope you had a great weekend – as for me, I had the most fabulous time at the Studio. On Saturday, ten amazing NEISD art teachers met to experiment with Citra-solv altered magazine pages as collage components. And on Sunday, a flock of beautiful Spring Goddess Spirit Dolls were born. Thanks to everyone who graced the place with their creativity – take a look at what they did! (Oh, and congrats to talented and generous Vicki Siptak, random drawing winner of the Milagrito Friday Freebie.)

Art Teachers’ Workshop

Spring Goddess Spirit Doll Workshop