A gift from Lorri Scott –

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Lorri Scott, wonderful fiber artist and new-found friend

Lorri Scott is a fantastic fiber artist who teaches all over the country. She’s a weaver, a dyer of cloth, creator of altered cloth books and art, and a designer of garments and accessories. When I found out that I had a chance to teach for her at Vivi Magoo because she was facing surgery, I was petrified because she is so stellar and well-known for her fiber art. But we talked, and she reassured me, and all was well – Lorri’s recovering nicely, and I had a wonderful time at the retreat teaching the dyeing classes. I am forever grateful to her for her help.

Imagine my surprise when she send ME a thank you present! Holy posole – there she was, recovering from surgery out there in California, and she took the time to send me a gift for doing something I should be thanking HER for. Lorri hand-felted the cover of the beautiful little cloth book, and her sister fitted it out on the inside as a sewing kit – what a treasure!

Now I can’t wait to take a workshop from her! Lorri, many thanks – hope you’re feeling tons better – you are amazing!

Tortoise-shelter architecture by a brilliant contractor

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You know Dudley, right? Our 90 pound Sulcada tortoise who was the size of a chalupa just five years ago?

Dudley's baby picture with Chico the kitten

Dudley’s baby picture with Chico the kitten

She spent the winter last year on the deck, but she’s just too darn big now and needed a backyard shelter to keep her warm when temperatures drop below 50F. She is, after all, a desert tortoise.

I suppose we cold have just spread thirty or forty sleeping bags over her 4×6′ crate, but that seemed kind of tacky, so we called our long-time friend and contractor, Kurt Wahrmund, to see what he could come up with. After all, he built her first condo. The brilliant result? A cedar-clad shelter that matches the architecture of the house. It has three wall panels that can be stored in the summer, and it features a plexiglass roof and a plenum system that directs the heat from a space heater down into Dud’s straw-lined crate. Check this out!

I am so grateful to Kurt for figuring out a beautiful solution that works aesthetically and practically for human and tortoise both – if you ever need a contractor/designer with a great solution to a building dilemma, call Kurt Wahrmund!

Home from The Prairie

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belIt’s hard to know where to start when you’ve just experienced an amazing four days in an unfamiliar but totally inspiring place. Teaching with the gifted instructors at Vivi Magoo in Round Top was an honor – and the students taught me as much I taught them! My friend Bonnie said that it was like going off to camp – how true. Except the camp cabins at The Prairie were furnished with lace and soft pillows and rose chintz.

I did miss my pal Michelle Belto – she was a huge help preparing botanical prints and papers for our demonstrations. And I couldn’t have done it without help from Lorri Scott, whose advice kept me focused and confident in a new environment – so glad she’s feeling better! Each of the three classes had its own personality – and I loved them all. Remarks heard during the three days, “I love your residue!” – “Those look like tie-dyed underpants” – “Ow, ow, that rebar’s hot!!” – “Look, it’s an alien!” – and especially, “I feel like I’ve know you guys all my life.”

I’ll let the video give you a taste of all the truly fun things we did and learned, but videos can’t show the welcoming warmth of the students and instructors at Vivi Magoo (by the way, I did find out where the name came from). Many thanks to Barb Solem and her family. And what a thrill it was to meet fellow Artful Gathering (yay!) instructors Diane Cook and Debby Anderson in person. So Viva, Vivi Magoo, and y’all in San Antonio stay tuned for workshops at my Studio sharing all of this good stuff!

Second workshop with Clare O’Neill offered January 18th & 19th

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I just got off the phone with Clare – she has agreed to stay in San Antonio two extra days and do a second workshop on the two days following the first one, Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 18th and 19th. Monday is the MLK Holiday, so hopefully this will make it possible for more people to meet Clare and work with her.

There is a second PayPal button for the second workshop at this link – I won’t have time to add the second workshop to the flyer page before I leave for Round Top in about three minutes, but know that it’s available.If you have any questions at all, please email me.

Special thanks to Clare for scheduling this workshop for us!! You’re the best!.

 

Clare O’Neill Two-Day Workshop is a sellout – wow

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_Ava's BirdThanks to everyone who signed up – the workshop is full – this means just one thing. We have to have Clare come back!

I do have a waiting list in case there are cancellations (or in case she’s willing to schedule a second session). – just send me an email – . exciting!!

Encaustic excitement – Clare O’Neill at the Studio in 2016

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Clare O’Neill “Paulette” Mixed Media: Photography, beeswax, pigments and oils

I’m packing for Round Top and Vivi Magoo this morning, but before I leave, I gotta tell you what happened this weekend. First, there was Monika Astara’s amazing sale on Saturday, and then there was a great meeting of the South Texas encaustic group on Sunday – and then last night, plans for an incredible workshop were finalized with the amazing Clare O’Neill.

It still seems like a dream, but Clare really is coming to teach at my Studio in January of 2016. She has been such major influence in my new work – several artist friends have taken her class on my recommendation and everyone agrees that she is an extraordinary teacher and artist. Here’s a post I wrote during her online class in February. Even at that early stage, I knew I was on to something special with Clare.

_Ava's Bird

Lyn Belisle: Ava’s Bird

I haven’t announced it yet on my webpage, so you’re the first to know – here are the details (click on the image below for the online version). Two people signed up yesterday, so there are only six spaces left.

If you know you’d like to meet Clare and work with her in person at my Studio for two days (yay!), sign up now. And if you’d like to hold a spot with a $50 deposit, just send me an email.

clareoneill

The timeless art of The Prairie – a gentle retreat

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viviUntil I was asked to teach at the Vivi Magoo art retreat, I had never heard of The Prairie, a meeting and event venue in Round Top, Texas. People from all over the country fly in to Austin or Houston to stay at The Prairie, but since it’s just a couple of hours away from San Antonio, we drove up on a quiet Monday to check it out. I knew it had been founded by Rachel Ashwell (the inventor of “Shabby Chic”) but I was curious to see how art classes would work there.

Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t wait for next week to get here! We saw no one when we first drove up to the collection of lovely old houses and barns – the only sound was the breeze, and the only signs of life were the white linen sheets blowing on the clothesline and a white horse in the pasture.

We explored a bit, and then found Sarah, a lovely young woman who was readying the main house for next week’s gathering. The whole place is otherworldly and serene – I really felt as if I had gone back in time. Here’s a collection of photos that I took while we were there – it’s truly a beautiful environment. If you want information on the upcoming Vivi Magoo retreat, click here. And if you want to visit The Prairie, you’ll discover it down a secluded gravel road about five miles out of Round Top, Texas – but be prepared to find yourself in another time zone!

Seth Apter, master of mixed media and a darn nice guy

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Seth Apter had been an Art Hero of mine long before I heard he was coming to Texas from NYC. His work is a fusion of fine art, accessible craft and  mixed media exploration that I so often try to achieve. Only he does it consistently, and seemingly effortlessly. Check out his work and you’ll see what I mean.

On Thursday I got a chance to  work with him in person (woohoo) at his all-day Collage Camp workshop sponsored by Roadhouse Arts. I learned a lot about collage techniques, and even more about approaches to teaching. Seth is a master at constructive critique. All of us appreciated his feedback. I only wish I could have taken the next thresethe days of classes with Seth, but, alas, I needed to be in Bulverde for the opening of my encaustic show, Coeur Samples, with Michelle Belto.

But guess who showed up at our opening at Dan Pfeiffer’s Gallery yesterday evening – Seth! He came with Bulverde friends Lisa and John Meyer. What a treat! I told him that having him there definitely added to the show’s mojo!

One of the things that makes Seth such a fine teacher is the way he organizes his classes, step by step, and in a logical way that helps you internalize the steps and elements. In the Collage Camp, we started with a series of eight small collages, each of which demonstrated one of Seth’s design principals.  These will serve as an informal reference book for future work. Here are some photos from our day together – what a fantastic group with an unforgettable teacher.

You’ll enjoy looking around Seth Apter’s website – he told us that he’s getting ready to launch a new line of mixed media tools and products that will enhance anyone’s mixed media work, info at the link below – I am grateful to have met him – isn’t learning new stuff fun?

sethban

Dyeing to Show and Tell

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New painting by Lesta Frank, from Sunday’s Show and Tell

From dyeing on Saturday to Show and Tell on Sunday, this weekend rocked. It started with an afternoon of small-space dyeing with Rosemary Uchniat and ended with a Show and Tell with the usual suspects and some new ones, as well. Part of Show and Tell is always sharing upcoming shows, so here are two to pass along:

Small-Space Dyeing has become one of the fastest sold-out workshops at the Studio. Rosemary’s unique formula for fabric dyeing success produces fun, no fail results every time, even for novices. Take a look at the video from Saturday.

Sunday’s Show and Tell photo gallery gives you a clue to the diversity and talent of the participants – everything from Acrylics to Zentangle – I am grateful to the generous and highly creative people who share their ideas with all of us at  these get-togethers.

milagroLast but not least, the winner of the Friday Freebie heart milagro is lucky SHARDS subscriber #134, Arwen Lynch Poe, a friend who has just moved from Texas to New Mexico. Arwen, send me your new address and I’ll send you this little gift to remind you of how much we miss you!

I had lots of requests for info about this piece, and I plan to have some for sale at the Black Saturday Studio sale on November 28th with Lesta Frank and Alison Schockner! Happy Monday, everyone, and thanks, as always, for reading SHARDS.

I HEART Friday Freebies

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Here’s a little love charm for you – I’ve made a few of these earthenware pieces from a press mold of a large sacred heart milagro. This one is about 4″ high and has been adorned with some silver straw stars and rainbow ribbon. If you are a SHARDS subscriber by midnight on Sunday (old or new) you will be in a random drawing for this little guy.

milagro

Also, if you are in San Antonio, please come by the Studio for Show and Tell on Sunday from 2-4 – and have a wonderful weekend!