ART IS...You days 2,3,4,and 5

where to begin?  Friday night I had class with one of my very favorite artists/friends.  Miss Linda Willis of Rhode Island inspired us to make zombies

and monsters and witches!  i just love the randomness of these!!!

this one was my favorite and Linda abandoned her art into the arms of this lovely lady.

I am making my own version.  it is a work in progress

some of my friends

betti, marlene and loretta

Day 3 - Saturday brought a morning session with mrs. pom aka loretta marvel 

she spoke of the connectiveness between women and friends that dates back years and reminds us of  Victorian days when women bonded over embroidery hoops.  mrs. pom had us wrap embroidery hoops with fibers and make tags for each other to attach.

anne and loey busy making tags

elizabeth and her lovely hoop

after our creative jumpstart i was off to my class of the day, titled my soldered muse with kecia deveney

 kecia's work is lovely and eclectic

we learned how to solder (my favorite part was learning how to make those little soldered dots) and add embellishments to make a dimensional doll of our muse.  the student work turned out unique and fun!

and look who was in the same classroom creating a doll of a different sort 

my friend Linda Willis!

Saturday Night was ART TRUNK AND TUTU night

there were so many vendors with so many beautiful things...if only i didn't have two kids in college *sigh*

Sunday was bittersweet.  It was PJ day

Ellen, Sal, Loretta, Me
Patricia, Elizabeth, Betti, Kecia

 and started off with Breakfast of the Brave.  Artists Melissa Bolton, Jodi Ohl, Tracy Verdugo, Kecia Devaney and Seth Apter shared experiences outside their comfort zones that made them who they are today.  Patty Dineen also presented Ellen Legare with a quilt of squares made by many of the ART IS family.  The picture here doesn't do it justice.

Then it was off to class with Tracy Verdugo. This class was called Sacred Marks and was based on the Aboriginal word, Dadirri which is a special quality and unique gift of the Aboriginal people. It is an inner deep listening and quiet still awarness.  The class was a two day class.

we started with personal symbols and their meanings.

At this point during class, Loretta got word that her mother had passed away.  It was terribly upsetting and I just couldn't continue until I took care of my friend.  After bringing her home and regrouping, I went back to class, but missed a few steps.  It didn't really matter though as this is a process of layering.

After wrapping up day one of sacred marks the PJ party continued into the night and we had a chocolate fountain and made the bracelets mrs. pom had planned on having us create.  

day two of sacred marks was more layering and learning to let go...

tracy's finished piece.

one of tracy's pieces still in progress

My piece is still a work in progress...more on that later.

ART IS...You is always my favorite time of year.  I get to see my old 'art friends' and make new.  Like minds gathering together, sharing ideas, connecting and getting inspired carries me through another year.  I can't wait for ART IS...2013!

ART IS YOU....day 1

The largest East Coast ART retreat has begun!  ART IS...YOU!  This is my annual retreat and I look forward to it every year!  It is like a family reunion of sorts.  Everyone reconnecting with old friends and making new.  

My first class was with an encaustic painter named Serena Barton.  She is from Portland Oregon and her knowledge of encaustic is amazing!  Her work is pretty amazing also.

Encaustic is basically painting in wax.  The word encaustic comes from the Greek word 'encaustikos' meaning to burn in, and that is exactly what we did.

First you need a palette of colors

and some beeswax mixed with resin.

(that is one of Serena's portraits)

After coating your substrate with beeswax you 'fuse' it with a torch.  yep, we are using tools here!

then you paint with the wax

and fuse and paint and fuse until you get a finished product.

My piece

What I learned about encaustic -

It isn't a medium you can control.

Surprises happen at every turn.

Fusing is tricky.

In a way it is very meditative.

You need a lot of wax for one portrait.

It is pricy.

It is for texture lovers!

I would love to explore this medium more, but want to take a couple more classes.  The layers achieved with encaustic are amazing.  I have some ideas about mixing this with some of my woodburning techniques.  I'm not finished with this medium yet!