Studio mayhem...

...has struck again, with a host of projects on the go.

I'm in steampunk mode, making gears from fun foam (and yes, I did fussy cut these).

I gave them a heavy coat of black gesso, and then tore into them with three or four colours of  Inka Gold.  I think they're starting to get that steampunky look, don't you?  The largest is about 8" in diameter and I will not tell you how long it took to cut them.

I've got a lot more to cut, gesso and gild before there's enough for a 47" diameter clock created by Bart Bjorkman of Puffin Design.  The clock itself he's repurposed from an old table top:

I think the combination will be a knock-out, if I can just get the scissors and time to cooperate; I've been calling this 'The Impossible Clock' for so long I'm afraid the moniker will stick.

I'm also working on a couple of large floral paintings/collages for an upcoming show in Kimberley. The flowers, leaves and stems are all Gelli prints.  In this photo, I'm working on placement of flowers and flies on the background...somewhere in my studio chaos are some stems and leaves to add to the mix.

The second large floral has an entirely different colour scheme as you can see in this sneak peak...it's more my usual subtle colour style don't you think? 

I also finished a felted piece, my first ever, last night at Carmen's workshop.  What an amazing experience that was.  I somehow managed to forget my camera, although with water dripping from every part of my body throughout the night, it certainly wouldn't have accomplished much anyway. Suffice it to say that wet felting is just as colouricious as any other visual art form (although very much wetter, I must say).

All in all I feel progress is being made and I fully expect you will see some completed pieces here in the next while.  I hope your creative life is going gangbusters too.

In Claresholm, AB, the group is....

...crazy about mixed media.

This past weekend was another exciting time at the Seniors' Centre there, where we stamped,

Kerry and Susan work at the stamp table

 played with plastic wrap,

Ellen smooshes her plastic wrap start

painted drywall (really!),

Isabella paints a drywall compound piece

 and re-worked other paintings in some cases.

Louise adds found leaves and iridescent acrylics to an old watercolour painting

With a wide range of backgrounds in the arts from 'none at all' to watercolour, oil, textiles and jewellery, it was exciting to see what resulted from using the twenty-some mixed media techniques.

This piece by Ellen incorporates wasp-nest walls around the edge!

These plastic wrap starts are vibrant with energetic colour.

Kerry's piece incorporates the use of eye shadow - can you tell where?

This piece by Kerry was a show-stopper...it's truly lovely.

Louise'  revised  watercolour has a terrific moody feel after incorporating cheesecloth, an elderberry cluster tree, leaf trees and iridescent paints.

Meg's piece, started with a piece of Tyvek on a recent trip to Creston to play, has some additional hand-crafted stamps and paint layers now....looking luscious.

As often happens, the participants add and demo techniques of their own (I learn something new in EVERY workshop!).

Kerry, a strong volunteer with 4-H in Claresholm, demoed a method for painting flowers on t-shirts with Sharpie pen ink.

Meg kindly did a demo for us utilizing gold leaf and metallic papers.

As always, these workshops are a huge amount of work for many people.  Mega-thanks goes out to Alice Saltiel-Marshall, the extraordinary organizer, Kerry Hart, who acts as treasurer for the Claresholm events, and Meg Nicks of Sunny Raven Gallery who so kindly brings half of her store to supply the group.  Thanks, too goes to the Claresholm Art Club who secures and pays for the venue, which is superb.  And extra thanks to Alice, who forwarded all her photos of the weekend because my camera crashed just prior to the workshop.

Back row:  Susan, Barb, Alice, Louise, Meg
Front row:  Kerry, Win , Isabella
Missing from photo:  Ellen

I know the participants are happy when I read the comments on the satisfaction survey: 'Best day ever!', 'Thank you for a wonderful weekend.', 'Fun, fun, fun!', 'Wide variety of techniques covered!', 'A great learning experience.'  

This same workshop is going November 16 & 17 (just 8 days away) in Nelson, BC.  There are still some spots - would you like to join us?  Quick - PHONE 250 352 5905 to register with Oxygen Art Centre!

Painting papers...

has got to be right up there on my list of favourite things to do.

Yesterday the studio was filled with colour

because this group was so fast to catch on to the process they could have done ten sheets in the allotted time!

 They quickly learned to add sparkles to their sheets, and I think the results were juicy!

Each sheet was a colour revelation, as they splashed,

and spread, and dropped,

and dripped,

 and sprinkled,

 taking their plain mulberry paper splashed with water to one filled with colour mass and energy.

I suspect the odd Christmas gift under their tree will be stunningly wrapped in these luscious papers.  Oh, and think of the cards they can make, and the colour they can add to their paintings, and the mini gift bags, and, and, and....   

I love doing these workshops because each time I see a colour combination that grabs me by the throat and makes my heart sing.  I always feel so lucky that the participants love it too!

Workshops, and

more workshops.  It's what I love to do, and I'm getting a good number of opportunities these days to do just that.  We're near to finishing this year's Colour Boot Camp and the students are groaning with the amount of (luscious, mouth-watering, colourful, delicious) work involved.  Today we did an exercise that had them excited with possibilities.  Who would have thought that creating a harmony of discordant colour would enthuse the troops?  I'll be posting some photos after our last class on April 25 so you can see why.

I'm also doing a workshop for the local Farmers' Market here in Creston at the College of the Rockies.  This workshop is designed to address the challenges of creating a display that captures attention in a market setting.

Creative Display Design and Marketing
Saturday, April 21, 2012   9 am to noon
College of the Rockies, Creston Campus

Slated for April 21 from 9 am to noon, we'll discuss display principals, design standards, common display errors and even a bit of 'boothmanship' to make your sales days more profitable.  You'll find out what works, why it does, and what can turn your potential customers away from your area quicker than a wink.

If you're considering marketing your work at any market this year, you may want to consider this inexpensive ($10.00 per person) workshop and get a head start on the competition.  Call 250-428-5332 or email creston@cotr.bc.ca to register. How could you lose?

Mixing it up...

 I LOVE the mixed media workshops.  They're exciting, filled with energy and creativity, and they make me work like a fiend to stay ahead of the participants!

We started our first day yesterday with one of my favourite mediums, flexible modelling paste.  A thin layer of paste on a matboard, stamping with various texture tools, and we each had a piece drying in no time.  While they dry overnight, they show lovely cracks and crannies, even without colour!

Each of the participants received a law book to use as a palette, and were encouraged to go at them throughout the day.  Here are a couple of the resulting page spreads!

We did 10 different 'starter' layers,

 added many more layers, and embellishments.

I can hardly wait to see what these wild women will do next week!

Flying....

No challenge here - we've had a number of artists who couldn't wait to parade their colours!

Love the feather on the'paintbrush' here, and Yolanda's primary colour palette!

Flag by Yolanda Marshall, acrylic and mixed media

Doesn't Alice's flag just make your heart sing?

Flag by Alice Saltiel-Marshall, acrylic

Kari's texture is luscious - spoonable!

Flag by Kari Martin

More flags will be posted within a day or two - and they're just as fun as these!

I have some good news/bad news.  The good news is that the winner of the free pass to the February 25 mixed media workshop (by random draw) is Alice Saltiel-Marshall!  The bad news is that she lives in Alberta, so it would be pretty tough for her to attend a three-Saturday session here in Creston.  Now back to the good news - we've just organized a mixed media workshop in her home town, Claresholm, so she gets to attend it free of charge on May 5 & 6!  How's that for 'no good deed goes unpunished'?  Alice is the organizer of the event, and will be hosting John and I as we spend a spring weekend in Alberta.

Thanks to all of you who've made today's entry so colourful, and those who are yet to parade their flags!