MORE ON ARTISCAPE

Here I am , back again...now to continue my comments on ARTISCAPE..
.Saturday
My third class, MAKING A LEATHER JOURNAL.. was held at European Papers...A neat little shop owned by Lisa Ohmer..the retreat director. I really looked forward to this class and I wasn't dissapointed....
To start off with, she had very good handouts, very explicit...one could go home and make a journal if they had the supplies...and speaking of supplies, she had great leather for us to use and everything was cut and ready to assemble...she showed us how to lay out the leather to get the most and best pieces out of the hide, she had the pages ready and then explained the proper way to fold the different segments...she also had beads and waxed twine in attractive colors for us to use. I chose a tan leather journal cover and turquiose thread as the binding. The end result was a beautiful leather journal..I placed a couple of beads in the outside binding thread and cut a piece off one end of the folded journal and made a book mark out of it..I thought the inner cover was a bit long. I also followed one woman's actions and rounded off my corners...it really helped enhance the cover....
Now for the bad part...I didn't expect the class to be out of the hotel since it wasn't stated in the initial application. Also it was really uncomfortable in the classroom because we were all jammed in there like cattle..one couldn't get up to go to the bathroom if one had to. For anyone that has visited European papers, you know that the workroom is upstairs...which is neatly laid out, but the work area was too small to accomodate the number of people that were there..some were late and the class was delayed a bit. It was poorly lighted...we couldn't move our chairs without interrupting the person behind us..good thing I wasn't claustrophobic, or I would have had to leave...I was lucky that there were people at my worktable that knew what had to be done, because it was difficult for Lisa to get around to all of us....she did her best though, so I compliment her on that...another bad thing is that the store is not handicap accessible..unheard of in this day and age.....the stairs going up to the classroom are extremely steep and since I had a bad knee, it was most difficult for me to get up to the classroom..there was another woman who had the same problem, so we left as soon as we could in order to avoid the rush out of the building...I'm sure that there are handicapped people who would have loved to take this class..I saw one woman in a scooter type wheel chair.....the shuttle was used to get us there and back. the class was timed right , so we only had to wait 15 minutes for the transportation to get there. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this class a 5, mostly due to it's location, and lack of informing people upon registration of this and the crampted quarters.

the next class I took that day was "FLORAL JOURNALS"...

It was held on the 11th floor if I remember correctly. Even though I am an accomplished watercolorist, I always like to learn new techniques from other painters. This woman was an accomplished calligrapher..her journals were spectacular and well made...turns out that she is or was an associate editor for lettering for Somerset Magazine. She encouraged us to look through them, which I did and she was most pleasant to work with. Her techniques seemed to be impressionistic, and her demos were very informative...she demoed each page that she was teaching and then we went back to our workstations and tried to do as we were instructed. She also had handouts for us with calligraphy suggestions. This lady really went all out for us, she had paper, and paint boxes for people to use..I brought my own sketchbook and paints, because I really wanted things to be easy for me to get to when I got home....she even made us each a hand made little sketch book to do our flower painting in...the cover was handmade paper and had dried botanicals imbeded into it and was really quite beautiful ...I brought it back and showed my watercolor students what we did..now they can hardly wait to do the same things...in a scale from 1 to 10, I would give this class a 10..loved it...

Saturday evening was the big dinner that a lot of people went to....Syd and I chose to not attend and we were really glad that we didn't ...We ordered in a Pizza from Donatos...the shop around the corner and it was delicious...I did the dinner last year and decided it just wasn't worth the extra charge this year. After we ate, we took our pepsies and went and sat in the lounge and waited for some friends to meet us after dinner...Seems like there were a bunch of disgruntled people that came out of the dining room...turns out that they ran out of food due to the fact that the retreat director failed to give the proper count of attendees for the meal and they ran out of some food....Hey...when you don't give a bunch of women dessert, you could have a big uprising on your hands...there was a lot of bitching about the food or lack of it...in fact the hotel manager heard a lot of complaining and came over to our group and told us to take the problem up with the retreat director since she didn't give him the proper count and there were more attendees than they had planned for. In fact when we were eating our pizza in the lobbly, we noticed and heard Lisa comment to the employees at the front desk that people only got 1/2 cup of soup and she paid $3500 for the dinner....we were really happy with our pizza that night and glad that we made the right decision.....service at the hotel went downhill from the start of the retreat....one would think that they would have bent over backward for all the attendees, opened the restaurant early , had breakfast at an early hour and lunch at the proper time, dinner to accomodate the classes and made everyone happy...We could only imagine how much revenue they lost due to this....we left the lounge around 11..I had an early class on Sunday.

Sunday morning...I got up early, Syd slept in and I went downstairs to find out what room my class would be held in...AGHHHHHH...I found out that it was held out of the hotel and that also was not noted upon registration..Damn....good thing I was early, but the shuttle had just left for the airport...lucky for me another driver was available to take us to the studio ???? where our class was to be held. The studio was in a bay at a discontinued garage. Wow..!!! it was at least on one floor....they had breakfast food for us, muffins and coffee and tea if we wanted it, also water and soft drinks for anyone that wanted them...unfortunately the damned place was really cold, and not too clean...there were only 6 students in this class , so there was plenty of space....the instructor was very knowledgeable and talented...sad part was that some people were late, and she took too much time talking about sketching and drawing, which I assume each person would know anyway. Unfortunately the flowers that we were promised to use for the class were purchased on Thursday and by Sunday they were kinda wimpy, so we had to go outside and raid the flower pots for live flowers to paint...needless to say, we didn't have enough time (2 1/2 hours) to complete a painting as was promised. the handouts that one would assume would have some directions or suggestions, consisted of a list of books by flowers painters that one could purchase. This class would have a lot of potential if it were held for a longer period of time. It could also have been held in the hotel for the convience of the attendees.

Sunday afternoon...syd and I had a class together.."Journaling With Wax"...We saw this teacher demoing downstairs the evening before and we were enthralled with her work and happy that we chose this class. What a teacher!!!!!..she was great..!!!..she had enough supplies for everyone was very informative, had enough equipment to work with, had plenty of handouts and materials to use in our pieces, but we could have used more workspace to create in...For the life of me, I couldn't understand how the pieces we made would fit in a journal but it turns out that this type of journaling was meant to be displayed on easles or perhaps hung on a wall...her work was exceptional and we really loved it and the class...she has a DVD out and I hope to buy it at some time in the near future...the class was timed perfectly and we had plenty of time to work and create...we invited this teacher to come to our retreat next year and are really looking forward to seeing her again.....
That evening we went out to dinner at Lindy's ..the food was perfect, the atmosphere was great and we were happy to be together one last time before we left for home... all in all , with good friends, we had a fine time and a safe trip home on Monday morning...My dog was really happy to see me....

AFTER ARTISCAPE...

It is now a week since we came home from ARTISCAPE...

We arrived early as we usually do, registered into the hotel, unpacked a few of our things, and then went downstairs to the restaurant to find that it didn't open until 5 PM. We should have remembered this from last year, but we were optomistically thinking that since there were things buzzing with the retreat, that things would change. Not so....we were lucky that we stopped on the way and had a bite to eat, so that held us until 5.....since we had a class at 6, we ordered salads and talked with a new friend that came in from Denver. We also noted that at the table next to us Pat Osbourne, the teacher that was teaching the class was also ordering her Dinner, so we felt that we would leave when she did...

The class was terrific...Pat was well prepared, had lots of supplies, had a great and explicit handout, and timed each segment down to the minute...I haven't completed my pages yet, but the basic book and box that holds it was completed in class....it ended up a beautiful piece of Art....I will try to complete it in the next week or so and post it on this blog. I have lots of photos from our trip to Italy to put into this book.

After the class, we went to the lounge and met some more friends, talked, had a drink and were in bed before eleven...

The next day I had the morning off and in the afternoon, Syd and I had a class together...it was Collage With Moxie....the teacher was a good one except that she loaded us up with too much information ...I'm guessing that she wanted to inform us of this technique and give us as much information as possible...she also had a handout that was very easy to understand and very informative...she seemed annoyed that myself and a few others took pictures of her demos, but I felt that it was the easiest way to remember things...she seemed very guarded about some aspects of her work and didn't seem to want to give out any secrets, not that she really had to. As I worked with the waxed colors and did some encaustic works on the paper she provided, I thought it was a lot of fun and the results were also unique...the only part that confused me was the fact that we then used the small iron that she provided and did what she called a mono-print onto newsprint....I wish I had brought some acid free watercolor paper to use instead...perhaps 90#....I was looking for the things that I created in this class and for some reason or other, they must have gotten lost in the shuffel...can't find them, so I will have to look some more...maybe someone picked them up by mistake...she then led us into another segment of her presentation and I was totally lost...I have a lot of trouble doing collage, but I tried and after the second one, she complimented me and said I had a breakthru...beats the hell out of me , since I really didn't understand what I did and can't find myself doing very much in the way of collage, but I thought I would try it, and for the most part, I enjoyed the class.....I noticed that some people must have thought they were on overload , because they left the class early mumbling and confused. Myself, I did learn a few new things and that made it worthwhile for me....I love to learn new techniques and want to do it all.

That evening we went to Max and Erma's for dinner...great food...the shuttle took us and picked us up...very convienent. We came back and met up with some friends in the lounge again...it was a relaxing evening.

I will write more about our classes tomorrow...some were great and some were just ok....I am teaching a watercolor class this evening and have to gather all my things...we will be painting some tulips and bleeding hearts from my garden and I'm hoping my students all made their color charts so that we can paint tonight....

.STAY TUNED FOR MORE NOTES FROM THE LILY POND...

MORE FROM THE LILY POND

BACK AGAIN...I've been busy today doing all these posts and trying to catch up on my writing....earlier today I coaxed my big dog Moe into my van for the second time...the first time was when we brought him home from the animal shelter 9 months ago and he puked all over the place....He had his bath yesterday and I administered some flea and tick meds to his back at the shoulders and at this tail as the directions advised...the ticks are really bad out here in the country....I picked 7 off him in the last 2 days.......for the most part, he likes his bath, it's trying to get him in the tub that is hardest of all...once he is in there and the warm water sprays all over him, he loves it....

He loves to go down to the pond and get a drink and just jumps in at the muddiest places and thinks nothing of trying to get into the house with the mud all over his legs and belly....
anyway to get back to the ride...he hesitated getting into the back, but with a little coaxing, he finally decided to jump in...as I closed the back gate of the van, he looked like he was going to bolt as soon as I opened the driver's side door, but I talked nice to him and he came up to me for a scratch on the head and a pat on his back...as I backed the van out of the parking place, he came up under my arm and I had to soothe him some more by telling him what a nice dog he was...finally as I got to the main road, he squirmed up into the passenger seat and decided that was where he belonged....as he looked out of the window that I lowered a bit, I could see how excited he was to know that he was moving and didn't have to work at it. I'm imagining him with his head out of the window and goggles on his face and the wind blowing his big ears back...he may also need a scarf to go along with the goggles..... He drooled all over the seat and I had to stop and clean things up a bit, but he loved that seat...as we went down the road, he decided to go to the back of the van and watch things go by from the back window, then he decided to come back up to the front...I took him on a short ride for about 20 minutes,didn't want to stress him out any more, talking to him all the time and he seemed to enjoy the excursion....he was also really glad to get home and out of the van.....as soon as I opened the back gate, he headed for the house and looked back to see if I was following him....after a while, he came back to me just to see what I was doing....

After I moved some things out to the barn, I decided to try to get him to get into the van again, but no dice...he took off, hell bent for election and went to the door on the porch side of the house...He is really a gentle dog, and I hated to try to get him to come back into the van, but I figured I should do it again and see if indeed he would get up into the back on his own again...so I put the leash on him and he walked nicely and calmly out to the van again...as I opened the gate, he sat down and just looked at me as if to say " what ????are we going to do this all over again...damn"!!!!.. I scratched his ears and talked nice to him, coaxed him a little and low and behold he just jumped up into the van and sat down as though he owned the place...I had him jump out and then jump back in and he did it with enthusiasm as though to say..."ON THE ROAD AGAIN"..his next trip will be to the vet's for his second round of shots.....good dog, good dog....

HERE IS MORE TODAY.....

Hi again..I figured since I'm sitting down at the computer, I may as well write some more...I did some rings that I fired in my new kiln..along with some charms that I made for my charm bracelet...I gave one to my Daughter for her birthday, and one will be going to the CHARMS FOR CHARITY project that our Pittsburgh Guild will be donating to , I believe we will be making a whole bracelet with a charm from each one of our members that wish to donate. There will be a PMC convention ..(that I will sadly miss) in July, held at Purdue University in Indiana, tickets will be sold and there may be as many as 30 or more bracelets that will be given as prizes....one need not be present to win, so I intend to get me some tickets and take my chances on winning one of the charm bracelets that will be given away. Unfortunately some of the photos are blurry...I purchased a photography unit that was supposed to help with my photography...I'm thinking it's not the camera, it's me..for the most part, some photos come out great but some really should be deleted...ahhhh, I'll just post what I can and try to do my best to show some of my work....now if only the camera will cooperate...........!!!!

BACK AGAIN.... IT'S BEEN AWHILE

Here I am , back again...I know, I know,...it's been a while, but sometimes crap happens...

In the meantime, let me tell you about my new kiln...

My art sale commissions were high enough this Christmas to enable me to purchase my new SC3 kiln...what a nice piece of equipment it is.... now I can create pieces larger than almost a 50 cent size and make rings that will be fully sintered and will be able to sustain constant wear...

Here is a picture of my new toy..it is large enough on the inside to place a couple of shelves and tons of pieces of finished work...now we can sinter the silver clay for 2 hours as it is recommended and if we want, we can still also use the torch in my silver clay classes...I have one coming up on the 24th of April. It is basically for beginners, but I also get repeat students that want to refresh their techniques all over again...this kiln will be going with me to the POLYMER CLAY COLLABORATIVE AND MULTI MEDIA RETREAT IN JULY...We are really looking forward to this year's retreat. As one of the coordinators, I can tell you that we have some terrific classes on our roster. I am teaching a PMC silver workshop for beginners where we will be making earrings, or a pendant or 2 ..I also show my students how to make earring findings from fine silver wire..no more buying earring findings for me . I also am having a class where we will be making a pinkie ring and perhaps inserting a stone in the clay...they both are fun classes and easy to accomplish. I will also be teaching a basic paper marbling class..the papers that we will create can be used in any bookmaking project that people may be doing....last year the books that were made were beautiful and were a wonderful keepsake to take home from the retreat.

Here is the web site addy ..

http://www.pccmmretreat.com... ....check out the pictures from last year....

If anyone is interested in finding a great retreat on the east coast..it is close to Wash. DC and easy to get to..and also very reasonable...EVERYTHING except the very reasonable classes is included in the price. It's a real bargain..!!!!

our yahoo group is Http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pccmmretreat

We have people coming from Finland and Sweden, from the west coast and also up north in Vermont and down south in S. Carolina... our teachers are Marie Segal, Meredith Arnold, Meta Strick, Debbie Jackson, Ellen Marshall and myself. Last year was our first year and it was a rumbling success....lots of fun, laughs, and great food. All for one price. We will also be doing a ton of demos every evening. There will be lots to do and see in this little college and artist's village of Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Check it out...hope we see you there...