The early bird trickles like sand through the hourglass —

I just finished filming my first lesson for the extraordinary “everything you never knew you wanted to learn about encaustic” course called Painting With Fire:Essence of Mulranny. I am one of 26 international teachers invited to teach at Painting With Fire. The scope and content of the lessons is amazing – yes, even if you are a beginner.

Conceived by Ireland-based artist Lora Murphy, the year-long program’s early bird cost of $199 is the bargain of the century for anyone who wants to learn more about painting with wax or using it as a stellar component in mixed media work. Seriously. The sands are trickling through the hourglass, though – early bird tuition ends on Thursday. After that, the price goes to $249 (which is still a bargain, but $50 can buy a lot of encaustic supplies).

So this is a preview of what I am doing for my first Painting With Fire lesson – it will be released really soon, on Wednesday, May 26th. It’s called Surface Sampler, and it’s super-fun, if I do say so myself. Just click on the image or the link below:

Link to Preview

Here are some FAQs about Painting With Fire

  • Class starts on Friday, April 30th
  • Every class after this is on Wednesday (from May 5th onwards).
  • There are 52 weeks of lessons, often several in one week. All you need is an internet connection to view them. You can go back to previous lessons during the year.
  • All classes are prerecorded (with one exception) and will be available from approximately 12 noon EST each Wednesday.
  • Lifetime access to the videos.
  • There is a Facebook group which is private for PWF students.

And here’s my invitational link to join – please make sure that if you want to take part, join today or tomorrow before the Early Bird tuition goes away.

You’ll be joining a wonderful community of talented teachers and students!

 

 

 

 

Naturally Inspired – a natural collaboration

Lyn Belisle, “Bedrock” – Earthenware, found objects, 2019

NATURALLY INSPIRED: WORK BY LYN BELISLE, SABRA BOOTH, JESUS TORO MARTINEZ, AND TIM MCMEANS

I finally got to the this fantastic exhibition at St. Mary’s University which opened while we were in Cuba. The last I saw of my “Unearthed” pieces was dropping them off in a big box to curator Brian St. John at St. Mary’s University – goodbye, stuff!

Brian, a huge talented painter and professor of art at St. Mary’s,  treated me to lunch yesterday and a tour of the exhibit – wow! The works by (lucky) me and the other three artists integrates beautifully. Read Brian’s statement to see how all of this came about:

I knew Tim McMeans’ work well and had admired it for some time. His hybrid painted-drawings of two dimensional figures in broken geometric planes were recently featured in a great show at the Felder Gallery.

Jesus Toro Martinez is also a well-know San Antonio painter whose work I knew for its textures and power depicting earth themes. We had met a couple of times, and I loved his outgoing generous nature.

Jesus Toro Martinez, Sagebush by the Creek

Sabra Booth was new to me, but no longer – she is amazing. Her organize prints and collographs are stunning. In the exhibition, she has one huge collagraphic printing plate displayed next to the framed print it produced. I am a new fan of her work!

Sabra Booth, Frack House (detail)

I took some photographs of the exhibit when I was there with Brian yesterday – want to see? Just click on the image below!

Lyn Belisle, “Unearthed” – earthenware and found objects, 2019

 

 

 

Critters for Marta

Marta Stafford

One of the nicest surprises of the summer came from the amazing Marta Stafford, who invited me to be a part of her hugely popular gallery, Marta Stafford Fine Art, in Marble Falls.

This is a dream come true – I loved Marta’s gallery from the first moment I saw it six or seven years ago.She has the absolute best in mixed media, sculpture, contemporary and traditional painting, and more. Marta will represent me and my work (woohoo), and I’ll be featured in the exhibit that opens Friday, October 6th.

I need to create some nifty new work for this show, especially imaginative assemblages, so I started digging around for earthenware body parts! Heh, heh.

It’s so much fun putting my clay shards together with found objects and watching new critters emerge. Here’s the progress so far – some are not finished, as you can see – perhaps you can see where they are going? One never knows, do one?

This is a details of a piece I really like

There is actually another face underneath the one you see. Her arm moves in a sweet, spooky way – she’s about 12″ tall.

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The one below is just started, but I like the simple elegance so far.

When finished, this piece will be about 18-20″ tall

Shades of spirit dolls! This construction, below, has some hand-dyed and rusted mulberry paper.

And while I was looking for clay body parts, I found this cat head! It’s now a new Cat Shaman.

Finally, here’s one I started a couple of weeks ago and it’s finally starting to come together. It looks like some sort of ancient goddess staff.

So far, every piece is different from every other one interesting.

I plan to have a number of these assemblages as well as some paintings and collages for Marta’s opening on Friday, October 6th at the Marta Stafford Fine Arts in Marble Falls.

Thanks, Marta, for the invitation – prepare for a critter invasion! ♥

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In praise of nature

I’m lucky enough to live across the street from a woodland area, and when I go walking in the morning, my pockets are often filled with rocks or sticks or even little critter bones that I’ve picked up along the way.

These natural objects are like mysterious sentences in a story or lines in a poem without words. You do that, too – right?

Sometimes, these things end up in a big jar on my bookshelf, looking kinda creepy cool:

Jars of found nature objects on my bookshelves

Jars of found nature objects on my bookshelves – ok, so the face didn’t actually appear like that in nature 🙂

And sometimes, they end up in assemblages and little shrines.

Lyn Belisle: Nature Shrine

Lyn Belisle: Nature Shrine

So when Zinnia at Artful Gathering told our faculty that we would be teaching nature-themed classes this summer, I was ecstatic!! Artful Gathering is my favorite “summer camp” and online creative community. Here’s the description of my Nature Shrine class:

Session Two: July 16 – August 26

Lyn Belisle will show you how to make small shrine-like assemblages created from serendipitous finds in natural settings. Through the power of storytelling with symbols, Lyn will show you how to construct natural elements enhanced with her iconic air-dry faces. You’ll combine rocks and shards, twigs, leaves to create a meaningful non-verbal story.Then, using unconventional construction methods such as knotting, wiring and wrapping, you will create diverse surfaces on little 6 x 6 canvases that can be displayed in a variety of ways.

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As part of the Artful Gathering fun, we’re having a Blog Hop. That means that somewhere on my blog page, there’s a secret word for you to collect. It’s not too far, and when you collect all of the words, you can win truly nifty prizes. The secret word is right around here, AND it’s easy ( wink). Click here for more about the Blog Hop.

But wait, there’s more! In the first AG session, I’m teaching an encaustic portrait class called Natural Expressions – here’s the info:

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Session One: June 6 – July 17
Lyn Belisle guides you through the steps for creating mixed media portraits with natural materials, including layered beeswax. You’ll learn how to enhance digital images, tinting, preparing small stretched canvas substrates for layered collage, assembling a wrapped mat around a canvas substrate as well as attaching natural objects to a mat and integrating them into the mixed media composition.

Obviously, I’d love to work with you in one or the other of these classes. We have an online classroom for questions and critiques and extra resources.

So here’s your homework:

1. See if you can find the “cleverly hidden” secret word to collect for the Blog Hop

2. Check out the Artful Gathering catalog to see the class offerings. Besides mine, there are some great classes by pals Debby Anderson, Michelle Belto, Monika Astara and Luthien Tye, among others.

3. Get out there in nature and collect a little object that calls to you and write a one-line poem about it!


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Thoughts from SAAL&M Juror Bill Eiland

Did you enter the 87th San Antonio Art League Exhibition?  I did, and my fingers are crossed that I got in! We will know in a couple of days – however, I did get to meet the juror, William Eiland, at a dinner at our house last night.

Sorry, I have no inside track about who was accepted, but I did learn that the juror is absolutely delightful. I think you’ll agree when you see the video, below, in which the charming museum director from Georgia discusses everything from fried chicken to what makes a good submission to a juried art show.

 

Here are some photos from last night’s very informal, very enjoyable dinner.

Cappy and Suzy L:awton, SAAL&M's 2017 Art Patrons

Cappy and Suzy L:awton, SAAL&M’s 2017 Art Patrons

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Doris Walsh, Vikki Fields, Bill Eiland, and Richard Tietz

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SAAL&M President Helen Fey with Clarence Fey and David Johle

  I loved Bill Eiland’s advice to artists who enter juried shows:

  • Avoid sentimentality
  • Avoid cliches
  • Be true to your personal vision

Now, back to crossing my fingers that we all were accepted!!

Round Top Report – Vivi Magoo at the Prairie

Historic Round Top home

The little town of Round Top, Texas (Pop. 1200) is friendly, charming, and enjoying an artistic Renaissance. I returned there this week to teach at the Vivi Magoo Art Retreat on the Prairielucky me!

When you go there, check out the Round Top Inn –  that’s where I got to stay. The Inn is really a collection of vintage farmhouses and cottages set on lovely grounds framed by oak trees and guarded by a huge furry black cat.

The main house porch

The breakfasts are yummy, too – organic and locally sourced. Here’s my Wednesday morning plate, a fresh tomato tart and sausage. Drool.

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I taught two all-day workshops, The Beauty of Beeswax: Behind the Vintage Veil (which includes collage composition and basic encaustic techniques) and Fabulous Fusion: Wax, Earthenware and Fiber Talismans (which included mold making, wax on earthenware, and assemblage techniques).

Here are two of the demos I did during those classes – you can get the idea of what we worked on from these photos:

Lyn Belisle: "Frisky Nun"

Lyn Belisle: “Frisky Nun”

Lyn Belisle: Wax, Earthenware, Fiber Talisman

Lyn Belisle: Wax, Earthenware, Fiber Talisman

But the real fun of these Vivi Magoo retreats is, of course, watching the students get excited by the process and create breathtaking work.  I am so happy when they take the methods I teach, adapt them for themselves, and then use them in their own spectacularly individual ways.

As you watch this video of both my all-day workshops, pay attention to the different directions that the participants take in their finished pieces. I always tell them there is more than one right answer, and each of them found a brilliant one.

To make the experience totally perfect, beautiful Barb Solem, the Vivi Magoo founder, invited me back for next year – yay! It was the best ending possible to a wonderful three days in Round Top, Texas.

Dixie and Karen make talisman magic!

Dixie and Karen make talisman magic!

Henkel Hall, where the workshops were held

Goodbye, Henkel Hall – see you next year!

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Monika Astara delights fashionistas with her magical wares

Monika Astara and her friend Jenika drove in from Austin yesterday and parked in front of the Studio in a regular old car. Why is that notable? Because concealed inside the car trunk were racks and racks of designer clothing. It gave a whole new meaning to “Trunk Sale”.

Serious magic happened when the car trunk opened, the racks were put together, and over 400 pieces of gorgeous designer clothing were wheeled into the Studio.

We had an amazing day – Monika is a joy, always transforming her clients with the flip of a scarf or a tweak of a top. Take a look. (If you can’t see the photos, click here)

Photos by Jenika!  And if you missed the sale, and are curious about Monika’s creations, you can visit her website and order online.

I had the pleasure of visiting her Austin studio last year – here’s a replay of that awesome visit! Thanks, Monika – the next trunk show will be announced soon – guess where??

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Talented pals showcase their work in upcoming events – most free, all priceless

Coming attractions – be there!

Happily and often, I get email notices from friends who are very talented in very diverse ways – I love to pass along these opportunities so that we may support our arts and letters community.

Here are just a few for your calendar – and don’t forget to read all the way to the bottom of the post for an event from one of my favorite creative women!!


Carol Coffee Reposa, Poet

Featured this evening at Lyn Belisle Studio at 6:00

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Barbara Dean Hendricks: Author

Book Signing and Reception at the Twig

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Susanna Morrow: Collagists

“Now I Become Myself: Explorations in Collage”

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Susanna Morrow began exploring collage as a complement to her daily journal writing practice a decade ago. She has a developed a body of work that is dream-like and deeply personal, revealing what she is becoming as she moves through life’s changes. There are three series of collages in this exhibit: larger “portraits” of self and others, journal cover designs (“self studies”), and a visual discernment process about stepping into the second half of life.

Exhibit is at the Church of Reconciliation, Brown Hall, 8900 Starcrest. Exhibit hours are Sundays through October 30, 8AM-1PM, and weekdays by appointment. Contact susannacreates@gmail.com

All are welcome to wine and cheese reception Saturday, October 15, 6-8PM
Please visit susannamorrow.com for more information.


Alison Schockner, Lesta Frank, Jan Longfellow

Artist’s Garden Party

Saturday & Sunday,
Oct. 15th and 16th
11:00-4:00
at Alison’s studio
Come through the garden gate
by the carport on Flores St.

ali

 Join us for a multi-media exhibition.
 Alison’s garden art totems and plate flowers
 Carrie Bye’s printmaking magic
 Amy Jones’s felted critters
 Jan Longfellow’s cast silver clay jewelry
 Lesta’s mini abstract paintings,
bookmarks and cards

Bryce Milligan, Poet, Picker and Publisher

(click the image for details)

bryce

Every year Gemini Ink honors a great San Antonio writer with the Award of Literary Excellence at our annual gala, Inkstravaganza. This year our honoree is the beloved journalist and distinguished author…

Jan Jarboe Russell

October 13, 2016

Pearl Stable

6PM

Click on the image for details!

AND FINALLY . . .

monika

Get out and support our beloved creative friends at any or all of these events!

♥Lyn

 

 

 

 

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2016 National Juried Photo Encaustic Exhibition

“Untitled” © Kathryn Oliver

Clare O’Neill has pulled together a fascinating and eclectic exhibit that goes a long way in defining the relatively new art genre, “Photo Encaustic.”

As juror of  the 2016 National Juried Photo Encaustic Exhibition, Clare writes, “This newest exhibition of photo encaustic work beautifully blurs the lines between photography and painting; melding together what the camera captures with the vision of the what the artists sees.”

The show opens on June 2 at the Sage Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

D is for Dragonfly © Darren Terpstra

Michelle Belto introduced me to encaustic painting several years ago (thanks, Michelle!). And then I worked with Clare in her online class in January of 2015. With her guidance, I was able to craft a personal encaustic style that worked well for me. Clare and I became friends, and her sold-out classes at my Studio this past January were hugely inspiring to all of us. It’s an exciting medium with unlimited possibilities for both the photographer and the painter.

“No Good Outcome” © Lyn Belisle

I’m delighted to be included in the 2016 National Juried Photo Encaustic Exhibition Michelle Belto’s work is included as well. You can see all of the selected works on this page. It’s obvious that the old chicken-and-egg question applies – “which came first?’ – did the medium inspire the image or did the image call out for the medium? Fun stuff.

“Soul Boxes” © Michelle Belto

If you’d like to know more about Clare’s photoencaustic workshops, here’s a link. I’m also teaching three encaustic workshops in August which have sold out, but I’ll be added a second session of Vintage Veils: Encaustic Photocollage on Saturday, August 13th. It isn’t listed yet on my Workshop Calendar, but if you’d like a spot, email me and I’ll put you on the list.

Now  get out your camera and melt some sweet-smelling warm beeswax to enhance your images!

 

Saturday Show and Tell, April 30th

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My cup runneth over with good stuff! Yesterday’s Show and Tell was a feast of creativity and sharing. It was an almost serene experience – everyone’s work seemed to be somehow connected, and the afternoon flowed from fiber to metal to painting to digital images and poetry.

When other artists and friends take the time to come to these sessions, it truly makes Lyn Belisle Studio a Place of Creative Belonging. Thanks to all of you – I am pretty dang blessed.

If you see some work here that you’d like to know more about, feel free to email me and I’ll put you in touch with the artist. Happy May Day!!