Category Archives: workshops

Junanne Peck rolls out printmaking fun with FASA

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The Fiber Artists of San Antonio sponsored a workshop yesterday afternoon with printmaker Junanne Peck, whose printmaking techniques include collagraphs, drypoint, polyester plate lithography, etching and monotypes. I had taught printmaking in public school, but it was a long time ago and I learned some new things from Junanne that I thought I’d share with you.

First, she is a demonstrator artist for Akua printing inks, a division of Speedball. We used this ink for monotype printing and I was impressed with the texture and pigmentation. They also make fabric printing inks that are permanent once dried. Check it out.

DSCN6690But the item that really intrigued me was the PinPress – a hand operated roller-type system that produces beautiful monotypes.

DSCN6703It’s made by Akua – here’s what they say about it: The PinPress was designed specifically for monotype printmaking. The roller is precisely machined to an incredibly even and smooth surface for uniform contact between the roller, paper and plate. Durable all metal construction made of aluminum and brass bushings insures long lasting, trouble-free printing.

I used this press during the workshop to make a monotype print with the Akua inks and liked the feel of it a lot. It costs $235, so it is a bit pricey for a small studio, but if you are into monoprinting, the PinPress is a great solution and produces nice prints with good embossed edges. And it’s definitely cheaper than a conventional heavy flat-bed press!

All of us enjoyed the afternoon with Junanne – she’s a great teacher. Here are some photos from the workshop.

Last but not least, congrats to the Friday Freebie winner of the texture tool set whose email address is “justakid@sbcglobal.net.” I like that! Send me your contact info and I’ll get these to you right away – you can scratch and texture to your heart’s content.

Friday Freebie from the land of magic – Dimensional Collage eBook

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Teaching last week at the Gaian Soul retreat on Whidbey Island  was such a joy! Dear friend Joanna Powell Colbert has a gift for bringing together a group of diverse women and weaving them gently into an inclusive circle that is beautifully unforgettable. Heck, Joanna could probably herd cats and make them like it – she’s that magical!

Want to see what the retreat was like? Click this link to go to Joanna’s very cool webpage about our time together. Then come right back, because I have a free eBook for you that will show you step-by-step how to participate in the project that we did – even though this example was specifically designed for the Aldermarsh retreat, it’s personal and fun for everyone and every level.

collageoncanvasbook

Click here to access your free 32 page eBook called Create Dimensional Collage on Canvas – it’s a short and easy version of one of my most popular workshops. You can download it if you like. Let me know how you like it, especially if you make your own Dimensional Collage. Have a wonderfully creative weekend, Y’all!!

She’s baaack . . . in the swing of things – with Monika Astara this Saturday

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I just returned an hour ago from beautiful Whidbey Island near Seattle, WA, where I spent a week teaching and learning with Joanna Powell Colbert at the Gaian Soul Retreat – thank you, Joanna , from the bottom of my heart for this reflective time in such an incredible space at Aldermarsh Retreat Center. There was virtually no Internet or email and I was totally awed by huge trees, twenty amazing women, and the singing of frogs in the marsh.

I’ll have more to say about it as last week gets processed in my overwhelmed brain, but one of the most amazing experiences was walking along the beach on Useless Bay on Friday morning. There were crows and gulls and wind and chill and solitude, and in the not-so-far distance was Canada.

There’s so much more to talk about and think about, but right now I’m excited about being home and back at the Studio.

I’m especially happy to welcome Monika Astara back this Saturday the 28th! There are spaces left in her Inspired Dressing workshop and I hope you’ll email me to let me know you’ll join us  – here are the details.

SPIRITED DRESSING

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Monika Astara, highly-followed fiber artist and clothing designer from Austin, will be bringing her incredible wearable art to Lyn Belisle Studio for a trunk show on Saturday, March 28th, from 1:30-5:30. Many of you love to wear her designs, and now you can browse in a comfortable environment with friends and refreshments and no crowds.

But there’s more! Monika is teaching a private workshop called “Spirited Dressing” on that Saturday morning from 10:30 until 12:30.  She will work with each attendee personally to show how colors, layers, styles, textures can make our soul sing and give us confidence and joy. Monika has worked for over a decade helping her clients, and says, “If we get supported and strengthened by what we wear, we  stand up straighter, our voice gets stronger, yet more pleasant, we feel good about ourselves and we literally radiate from the inside out. People respond to us differently. Our days are brighter and easier.”

mon2Attendance at the private workshop is limited to ten participants. (note – there are six spots left at this writing) Tuition is $50 a person, and that can be applied as a rebate when you purchase $200 in clothing. You’ll get first pick of Monika’s designs before the sale starts at 1:30. And you will enjoy a light brunch and camaraderie with the group at Lyn’s comfortable studio. To reserve your spot and be among the ten participants, email Lyn: lyn@lynbelisle.com

This sounds especially good – Monika also says, “Prices at private shows are about 25% – 35 % below retail and I will also have a sample sale rack with wholesale prices and below.” Well, yay!

Monika’s looking forward to seeing you all on March 28th. And I’m excited, too! Please forward this to friends who appreciate wearable art.

Cheesecloth – to dye for

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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

 

Lesta and Lyn, spooky spots, and Friday Freebie winner

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Lesta Frank and I did a repeat of our Surface Design on Paper half-day workshop this past Sunday at the Studio. It’s totally amazing to watch eight creative people take the same concept and make an astonishing assortment of gorgeous one-of-a-kind artisan papers. We used the enhanced paper to cover small Lotus Books, each one a work of art in themselves. Wanna see?

 On Saturday, the day before our workshop, I did some video footage in the Olmos Dam Basin for an upcoming Artful Gathering online class – I can’t tell you much about the class yet, but it involves Spirits! That’s big hint.

DSC00267You can read an interesting article about Olmos Basin, and about author Whitley Streiber, here in the archives of Texas Monthly – kinda spooky. The author said he made contact with strange beings here. But my online class will not be scary, honest (although it may deal with strange beings). Stay tuned for details, and visit Artful Gathering for info about Early Bird Registration for all of their cool classes.

Kantha Cloth Bag with Florentine Shard Face

Kantha Cloth Bag with Florentine Shard Face

Last, but definitely not least, congrats to lucky subscriber #86, Joanne Desmond, who won the Friday Freebie in the random number drawing – Joanne, contact me and I’ll get your freebie to you ASAP.

Have a good day, everyone – and watch out for strange beings.

 

 

 

Huipiles and votives and shards – oh, my!

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Studio update – it was a busy, creative, rewarding weekend in a zillion ways. Our show and sale of Guatemalan artisan goods for Friendship Bridge was a huge success – both money and awareness were raised! Thanks for all who came to shop and learn – here are some photos:

Sunday was a day of rest – well, not exactly, but I had a wonderful time at our relaxing Votive Workshop. Seven of us sat around the table creating these little candle screens. It was the perfect way to spend a cold and drizzly afternoon. The Studio is a magical place sometimes.

Finally, last night, this girl realized she need to get to work and get her hands in some clay! These little faces will go into the kiln today and perhaps turn into Spirit Dolls, assemblages or Etsy send-outs to someone else for their own creations. Have a happy week, Y’all, and stay warm.

Lyn and Lesta and paper surface design (and a fine afternoon was had by all)

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29Lesta Frank and I have known each other since high school, and we finally got together to collaborate as teachers for a half-day workshop at the Studio on Sunday. I learned a lot from Lesta about paper surface designs – she’s pretty fearless with stencils and rollers! And I taught everyone how to do stamping on-the-cheap with a foam plate and black construction paper, and then how to showcase our designs on the cover of an origami Lotus book.

We know that once you see this video, you’ll wish you were there 🙂, so we’re gonna do a second session early in the new year. Check it out! And thanks, Lesta, for the inspiration!

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

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paper1

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

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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.”

Personal adornment – shards and cocoons

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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.

necklace

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.