Pausing to Organise- An annual ritual

When I returned home from the encaustic and vessel workshop I was revved up to get to work right away but when I walked into the studio my energy drained as I surveyed the state of chaos, especially in my storage boxes and drawers. 

On an impulse I began dumping entire containers out on the rug for a dramatic sorting session. It took longer than I thought. I have spent over a week tossing the equivalent of two garden sized garbage bags out but more importantly most materials worth keeping and sorted into appropriate places. Materials that relate to processes that I don't intend to revisit are being sent to the basement in storage bins. Last time I did this I had a huge online sale but this time I found that I have spent a year accumulating things that are worth keeping. I am looking at an assortment of books relating to metal clay that may go to Etsy or eBay.

Several items of furniture were sent to basement storage- they will go to the beachfront cottage I intend to buy when I win the lottery. Someone please remind me to buy a ticket for that!

Tables from my craft show booth supplies were brought up to function as workspace. A good purpose as I (think)  have decided not to do any more craft shows. Time will tell.

My new wax station is the finishing touch!

 curtains conceal storage containers

My wax table

Waxing Lyrical- My First Woven Encaustic Pieces

Here are the pieces I worked on at Shannon Weber's Workshop.

This will have glass candle holder inside and I'm giving a shout out to Rae Hunter for the inspiration!

Encaustic and Woven Vessels- A Workshop with Shannon Weber

 I am home from a visit to Randi Haper's  Ranch Arts Centre in Snohomish Washington where I took Shannon Weber's three day Adventures in the Woven Vessel- When Fibre Meets Wax Workshop. It was without a doubt the best class I've ever taken and I am so excited to get my studio installed with a hot wax table. The process was so "open" to almost every material imaginable and hauled out my big box of rusty stuff, beach finds, sticks and stones and polymer beach stones and got to work. The women around the table were inspiring company and everyone brought different influences to the table from pottery to quilting and fabric collage to calligraphy, basket weaving and polymer clay.

We feasted on some of the delicious creations from some of Snohomish's very good restaurants and Shannon shared several tubs of Ice Cream from Oregon's famed Salt and Straw Ice Creamery.

It was a fabulous mixture of playing and learning and I loved every second of it!

Thanks Shannon and Randi!

Day One- Shannon explains the fundamentals

A random weaving demo

drying the first layered forms in the sun

The hot wax station

It was as much as it looks!

Sharon Benton

Melanie Ferguson & Kathie Vezzani

Shannon and Gwen Maxwell Williams

Randi Harper

Melanie Ferguson's indicate carvings in the wax

 The Gallery!

Sharon Belton

Kathie Vezzani

Dena Ramm

Karen Samdahl

Gwen Maxwell-Williams

Melanie Ferguson

Gera Scott Chandler

Some More Art Cards

Some of my art card supplies are dwindling at the Excellence in Crafts Gallery so I went through some of my Drop Box downloads and  spend a few enjoyable hours tinkering with some of the photographs I took on my recent trip down the Oregon Coast.  The photos are being printed for me at a local photoshop and tomorrow I'll be assembling the cards. 

New Project Underway

After two weeks of dithering around with a complete lack of ability to focus I am completely immersed in this polymer & pine needle basket just in time  to put the project down to go to do my shifts at the Island Artisans Association Excellence in Crafts Gallery today and tomorrow!

 I'm itching to keep going on it as there are lots of twists and turns ahead.

More soon!

Creative Overload

 Have you ever left a gallery or craft show feeling absolutely overloaded with ideas to try?

After my travels this summer and the acquisition of  Cynthia Tinapple's new book as well as  buying Marianne Barne's New and Different Materials for Weaving and Coiling at Portland's awe inspiring Powell's Books my creative muse suffered a blockage due to too much input! I'd begin to gather materials for one project and suddenly find myself attempting something completely different .... after a lot of to and fro-ing I started working with some of the pine needle coiling techniques I learned with Nadine Spier in March. Here's the centre of a little practice piece I made using polymer clay at the centre. I have a batch of beads and a centre all set for the next piece.

It feels good to have a direction!