A workshop and visit with Julie and Greg from Australia – wow!

How often have I had an Australian come to Texas for a workshop with me? Well, never – until now.

Greg is amazed by Julie's talent!!

Greg is amazed by Julie’s extraordinary talent – of course!

Australians Julie (Julz) Dandelyon and her husband Greg Dodge had been in touch with me for a while about a possible get-together when they visited the States, but I never thought their visit would become a reality.

It did! We’ve just finished the most amazing two days together at my new house working in mixed media, making molds, firing earthenware, and creating collages on canvas. We also ate, drank, visited, talked for hours about their extensive world travels and plans for the future. Total bonding!

Julie was such a quick study with clay – it was her first time working with the shard face process, and she quickly developed her own unique style, making her own molds and embellishments. Take a look at the video of some of Julie’s work over the past two days – beautiful stuff.

Of course, she did everything upside down . . only kidding. I hope to get to Australia next year to work with Julie on several projects that we discussed – what a dream that would be! Thanks, Greg and Julz!

 

Pieces of clay

I unloaded the kiln yesterday and took out lots of little puzzle pieces. The new Guardian series of mixed media constructions is getting assembled for a show at Cathedral House in mid-May, and I need to get these little guys completed. I hope they are not too pagan-esque for the venue! The fun part is matching the right face with the right bodies. Somehow, they know who goes with what. Here’s a picture of the just-unloaded earthenware tiles and shards:

pieces of the puzzle

pieces of the puzzle

And here’s the first yet-unnamed Guardian piece assembled:

Untitled (so far) Guardianassemblage

Untitled (so far) Guardian construction

 

 

First workshop at new Studio –

The first workshop was so much fun. I don’t know if it was the new space or the combination of personalities, but we had a blast. And this is just the first half! Yesterday we made the clay faces, and then Wednesday we’ll meet at Ann Pearce’s next door to do the beading and jewelry creations. I’ll take photos of those so you can see how the final pieces turned out.  If you’re interested, there’s a repeat of this two-part workshop on February 17th. Thanks to Chris, Jill, LeAnn and Susan – I had a fantastic time with you guys.

Spirit Doll from Louise

I love receiving comments and photos from other artisans who have used my faces in creative ways, particularly in Spirit Dolls because there is so much meaning, positive energy and symbolism in those constructions. Look at this photo and read the comments from Louise in Washington state, and you’ll see what I mean – the face and body have almost come to life:

Several months ago I purchased some of your lovely face shards and although it has taken me a while, I finally completed a Spirit Doll which I named, “Plant Woman of the Pacific Northwest Woods”, in honor of my commitment to deepening my knowledge of the medicine of the local plants. ~ Louise