blogging challenge day 19 - day in pics

today in pics.  photography as art

blogging challenge day 17 - my day in pics

a quick look at my day:

 ansel adams nature photography with preschoolers

signs of spring everywhere you look

a beautiful hydrangea never dead-headed

rhododendron bud starting to form

 mama wren waiting patiently for the playground to clear...

and after a long day of work, at home relaxing on my porch

among the colors

and patterns I love so much

something I found this winter in my forsythia bush

(bringing this to school to show my enrichment class next week)

and dixie always standing guard, she is a very hard worker dog!

art trips with mrs pom

i am so fortunate to have found a friend, an art friend, who lives close by.  loretta aka mrs pom is that friend for me.  when neither of us is bogged down with work or family or school, we grab the chance to go on little art excursions.  in the past 2 weeks we have had 2 outings!  

first was our labor day trip into the city.  destination: the bowery.  we left early in the morning so we could go to a special coffee shop.  to our disappointment, it was closed! on labor day! imagine? so we settled for this:

the neighborhood around bond street is lovely.  you see this

and the most amazing building - the george frankel theatre.

 outstanding gardens with birds

and lovely piles of rock!

and much to our chagrin, john derian was closed! not because of labor day, but it's closed on mondays!! i was so disappointed. guess i'll be making another trip to bond street.

but dick blick was open, so some damage was done there.  i was so busy shopping i didn't take any pics.  trust me, art supplies were purchased and have already been put to use.

next on the agenda was a class with mixed media artist, seth apter. i had never met seth before, and am so happy i finally did!  he is an amazing teacher and so nice to boot!  

 it was held at litttle bird creations studio owned and run by michele luxenberg whom has a lovely little walk up studio on the west side. 

my partner in crime, loretta

my gorgeous friend betti, who catered dinner for loretta and i (xo)

  the class was titled, text tiles, a play on words.  we created on small pieces on cradled wood.  it consisted of layer upon layer of acrylic paint, manipulating each layer to create amazing texture.  

step one - basecoat

a few steps in - layers upon layers of luscious color and texture

seth demonstrating with gesso how to emboss and deboss

about 7 or 8 layers in

text added to make a statement

and photo opps...michele and seth

BZ with her finished piece.

it was a fun friday night outing! just what this girl needed!  thanks all my art friends, i couldn't survive without you!!!

Art Is....2011

I'm part of a family, a big art family called ART IS...  It is headed up by Ellen Legare and Sallianne McClelland and I love them and all the attendees.  When you walk into an Art Is Retreat the first thing you think is, I'm with my people!   You can wear what you want, you can behave how you want, you can eat what you want.  no judgement!  In fact, more than likely someone next to you will even join you! It's a place to share ideas, get inspiration, be yourself and be supported.  It is the most wonderful weekend of my year and I look forward to it every year.

This was the 5th year of ART IS...  Loretta presented Sal and Ellen with mixed media canvases celebrating  the anniversary.  They were signed on the back by the attendees.

This year I taught there for the first time and had the BEST students ever!  I am looking forward to teaching again next year.  Thank you for your support, Dawn, Loretta, Linda, Angela and Pat.  You all did wonderfully and am so proud of your first attempts at woodburning!


here are some photos i took,( i usually forget to take pics as i get so involved in what i'm doing.)

I learned coptic stitch binding with Diana Trout.
and now i am hooked on making my own journals.  i use the kind of paper i want and the size paper i want!  thanks Diana for sharing the art of bookmaking with me!

My class space set up and ready to go.

I gave each student a goody bag filled with not only the supplies they needed for class, but also a hand painted, hand bound journal filled with drawing paper.

display of my work in the style of the class i was offering.  the class sample is in the center.  tall poppies.

look who i shared my class space with!  so excited...i love tracy!!

This is Dawn Gold.  She was the first student to sign up for my class and came all the way from England to attend ART IS...  I've known Dawn 'virtually' for years through an online trading site.  It was so wonderful to finally meet her in the flesh!

Linda Willis took my class!  She is a fabulous artist...particularly in fabrics and quilting!

Pat was one of the brave ladies learning a new technique!

and Angela concentrating to hard!  we call her angel hugs!!!

and my dear friend, Loretta.  She did a nice job too!

After woodburning my students blocked in color and added other  mediums.  (you'll have to take a class with me to find out how we do this!)

my students with their finished/semi finished projects!  i'm so proud of them!  you did fabulous ladies!!!!

After I taught my class, I took a class with Tracy Stilwell.  I admire her work so much and love to spend time with her.  so inspirational!  I glammed up my old pair of jeans.  i wear these in my studio a lot and wanted to spruce them up a bit. 

I opened up the leg seam and created this little garden out of fabrics and embroidery stitching.  this was SO much fun to do and reminded me of my high school days!  These were also a big hit with the children at the nursery school I teach in!!!

My friend Dawn and I saying our goodbyes...
until next year...maybe ART IS will go to LONDON!!!