Small graces on a Sunday afternoon

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My next door neighbor, Elizabeth, just came to the door with these lovely fresh eggs from her chickens – she said she hoped the chicken scratching and cackling didn’t bother me, and I said, no,  that it reminded me of the farm in Louisiana where I grew up. What a thoughtful gift, even visually. It called for a photo.eggsliz
And I’d also like to share a note with you from a person who had bought my shard faces before on Etsy and was reordering some. I always try to add a little personal touch to the package when I send it, and I don’t think much about it,  but this brought tears and a smile – you never know, do you, how little things make a difference?

Dear Lyn, Time to order more of your lovelies for a workshop I’m hosting in October. I received my last order on January 7th, 2013 and have to tell you how special the timing was…the package arrived as I was getting ready to attend my husband’s wake…I felt I was surrounded by loving spirits and the sprig of rosemary that you enclosed went into his buttonhole for remembrance…thank you…that lifted a heaviness from my soul.

Wow. . . . I hope *your* Sunday is touched with small graces.

 

 

Air-dry clay

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If you read the Studio newsletter today, you’ll know that there’s a whole lot going on in September – if you missed it, click this link. But I’ve had some time to plan a new workshop on an alternative way to make shards and adornments even if you don’t have a kiln. Sherrill Kahn got me thinking about this (Hi, Sherrill!), and you know I’ve been playing with molding compound. Well, I’ve discovered that you can make molds with air dry clay which, with a few tricks, work just about as well as fired clay. Look at this photo and see if you can tell which ones are air-dry and which ones are fired.P1090280

It’s not easy to tell – and I used some air-dried clay buttons on the piece that I submitted to the juried FASA show (below). You can see how nice they look with an iridescent finish. So sign up for the October 15th workshop and learn how to do this stuff! TGIF, y’all . . . .

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Workshop Video: Spirit Boxes!

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Oh, my – Sunday’s workshop was great. I am sharing the video, below, because I loved each and every Spirit Box that was created, start to finish, during the two hours we were together. My pal J. Janak brought two of her foreign students, and their work reflected their cultures. One Spirit Box had Spanish nuances and the other reflected the Asian culture. It was very cool. Thanks to all of the participants. The next regular Sunday workshop won’t be till Sept.29th – it’s Collage on Canvas, but on the 21st, Michelle Belto and I are collaborating on a very special all-day collage and encaustic workshop called Wax and Wings.. More details about that later in the week, but email me if you’d like to join us – it’s gong to be an amazing experience. Anytime I get to work with Michelle is a very good time indeed!

Sunday odds and ends

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Celebration Circle’s Altar Show – my altar second from left

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A transformed treasure in progress to benefit the Salvation Army

It’s round-up time at the ol’ Studio – here’s a round-up of what’s been happening. This evening at 6:00 is the opening reception for Celebration Circle’s Altar Show at the Bijou.  Here’s a link to the article, and you’ll notice that my King of the Wood is front and center – yay! Come bid on one or several for a good cause.

Also coming up is the Transformed Treasures show benefiting the Salvation Army. I figure if one King of the Woods is good, two is better, so I used the same idea on the cabinet I’m transforming for the auction event later this month at Oak Hills Country Club. I found a blah cabinet at the downtown Salvation Army store and am turning it into a piece of furniture art. Here’s the top door of that piece, soon to be finished (I hope).

Other fun things – the Spirit Box article for Cloth Paper Scissors is out in the current issue and there’s a workshop on just that subject at the Studio this afternoon – yay!

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“The Cat’s Pajamas” Random dyed felted wool, feathers, cotton fabric with heat transfer, embellishments

The Fiber Artists of San Antonio are always huge supporters of the Transformed Treasures show. speaking of which, I finished a piece for their juried show coming up in October. I used an accidentally-felted sweater and turned it into a wall hung fiber artwork piece called The Cat’s Pajamas. I need to add a couple of silver fish to it, but it’s almost finished and I had a blast constructing it. Hope the juror likes cats and has a sense of humor.

And finally, I’ll be announcing the details about this workshop on Tuesday, but Michelle Belto and I are collaborating on a fantastic all day collage and encaustic project called Wax and Wings. It will be give twice, once on Saturday, September 21st and once on Saturday October 5th. Email me for Early Bird details.

Here’s a preview of Wax and Wings – and happy holiday weekend, everyone!

 

 

 

Little family things to share . . .

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Sometimes you just have to share with friends – that’s you – here’s a post that my son Rick wrote about his grandmother, my mom, who would have been 100 on August 26th. Dang, I miss her! If she were here, she’s be wishing me a happy back-to-school day tomorrow. If your mom is still around, give her a hug!

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Shards and Spirit Box Kit

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Congrats to Barb Wolfe, winner of the SHARDS subscriber drawing for the Spirit Box kit. Barb’s a good jewelry designer, can’t wait to see how she puts it all together. Speaking of shards, yesterday’s workshop artisans outdid themselves in quality and production. Take a look at some of their work – it’s very fragile right now while it’s waiting to be fired, but the pieces should be even more amazing once fired and finished. The last photo is a card of air-dry clay buttons that I made yesterday for fiber art enhancement – I’ll post directions at a later date. Sherrill Kahn turned me on to air-dry clay as a quick alternative to earthenware.Thanks for a great workshop, y’all – see you Wednesday to finish your pieces and put them together at Ann Pearce’s jewelry shop.

No-Fire Shard Faces – a how-to freebie

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So you can’t come to the workshop this afternoon? Darn! Well, never fear – here’s a how-to freebie on making your own shard faces and adornments at your own place of creative belonging. No kiln needed because this project uses air-dry clay, lightweight and inexpensive. I’m going to demo this process at the workshop this afternoon although we will be using actual earthenware clay today. But this is a fun option to try at home (yes, you can try this at home). Here are some how-to step-by-step photos. And if you click this link, you’ll get a printable one-page list of materials and directions. Happy molding! That sounds weird. Happy creating beautiful one-of-a-kind clay objects of delight!!

 

Friday Freebie: Spirit Box Kit

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To celebrate the publication of my article, Spirit Boxes, in the Sept-Nov issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, I’m putting together a one-of-a-kind Spirit Box kit for a Shards subscriber. Subscribe before midnight on Sunday and you’ll be in the random drawing. So, YAY! The kit has a shard face, the matboard frame, some decorative paper, and tin to hang the project. Oh, yeah, and directions.

Also, for your weekend viewing pleasure,, I just finished the video of Sherrill Kahn’s workshops at the Studio – what a great time we had! Sherrill and I are fast friends now – that’s the best part of all! Thanks to everyone who came – oh, and don’t forget, there’s a shard face workshop this Sunday with spaces left! Send me an email if you want to make your own Spirit Box faces.

Art teachers and adornments

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I don’t know where Sherrill Kahn gets her energy – after two full days of teaching workshops at the Studio, she lectured to a full house of North East ISD art teachers this morning at the McNay Museum of Art as part of their in-service for back-to-school. My painting pal, Gloria Hill, is the NEISD Visual Arts Director and she arranged for Sherrill to come from California for the occasion. Sherrill shared images of her intricate, colorful work and she gave lots of hints to teachers on how to inspire students even on a teacher’s budget. Did you know, for example, that cheap hair gel from the Dollar Store works beautifully as an extender for acrylic paint? Check our her newest book for lots more cool ideas.

Afterwards, Gloria, Sherrill and I went to my Studio to work on face shard jewelry, but not before several of the art teachers showed up just to visit with Sherrill on a one-on-one basis. We did get back to work on our shard faces, and we spent the rest of the afternoon with Ann Pearce creating our necklaces with her help. If you’d like to make your own clay faces, I have a workshop this Sunday, August 25, on clay adornments, so sign up and join the fun! There’s still space.

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Sherrill Kahn Workshops, Halftime Report

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Sunday’s workshop was fantastic – we worked really hard and learned so much that my friend Vicki said her creative brain was full to overflowing. I will be posting a list of resources and photos and other fun things to share later in the week, but let me just say that I wish everyone could have the pleasure of taking a workshop with Sherrill.

Here are a few pics – more to come.

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