The No-Fear Gang

Fear?  No such thing in The Arts Station this past weekend!  Those ladies took to the playbox like they never got out of their childhood.

Jordana and Kathleen tear into it

Becca and Anna are intent on their play

The floor of The Arts Station was covered from one end to the other with a stupendous range of starts,

Clockwise from bottom centre - plastic wrap, music skin, plastic wrap, alcohol drop, who know's what, more alcohol (can you see a pattern emerging? - wine was a big topic on the weekend) and a UFO on black.  In the centre, an artist's 'sandwich' made with mulberry paper and strips of painted dryer sheets.

each one a uniquely different interpretation of the techniques covered.

Love that blue/green tartan start and the beginning of something fishy!

I know I added 15 pounds to my weight with all those colour calories exploding in the room.

Every time I turned my back there would be another layer of mouth-watering colour on something,

 or another start (or ten),

or someone praying for release from the agony?

Becca gets right into it - on the floor!

Want to see some close-ups?

Luscious, mouth-watering brayer paper (aka leather or gesso paper)

Oh those palette paper transfers!

Drywall compound goes upscale

Plastic wrap technique

Another version of brayer paper

And a version of the drywall compound that happily repeats a complex pattern

The artist tissue technique goes soft and abstract

Layer upon layer - one technique over the other

Plastic wrap technique, with a palette paper transfer over top

Doesn't this say jazzy to you?

Collaged mammoth meets tea and coppers

The palette paper transfer on a start just energizes it all

I suspect that their mixed media play days will not stop here - they're all too much addicted to the 'What if?' possibilities now!

Kathleen, Jordana, Anna and Becca display a small amount of their weekend output

Of course it wasn't all fun and games - I had to eat real calories in Fernie too!  If you're visiting there, I highly recommend the Tandoor & Grill Restaurant at the Stanford Inn (The Arts Station had arranged my accommodations - lovely place)...the food is beyond amazing;  I'm now totally addicted to their mushroom pakora and the vegetable curry, along with the chicken tikka masala I had the last time I visited.  It would be impossible to recommend this restaurant highly enough!

So here's to lack of fear, and calories in Fernie - bless them all!

Nothing more exciting...

than having a new arrival in the family, and for the past week, I've been in Calgary family-sitting with my niece after the arrival of her second baby.

Mara was born on the 9th of October, and is happily spending time with her big sister, Maevie, a 25 month old tear-away.

From dog-walking Fernie, 

to enjoying the beautiful fall weather and colour,

I feel like I'm in a world that is wholly unlike my normal studio and classroom one.  I'd forgotten what a challenge two small children could be, with rounds of medical appointments, dinners, laundry, trips to and from day care and constant feedings (not MY job with the baby, luckily).  

And of course, the best part is the opportunity to bond with another grand-niece and spend lots of time with the first one.  

And here's my salute to these parents and parents everywhere- you're totally amazing at  what you do, and my hat's off to you  (and so is Mara's)!

An art date getaway...

...is a wonderful way to refresh the creative mind, and yesterday Laura Leeder (left),  Eileen Gidman (right) and I (clicking) did just that in Fernie, BC.  An early start had us visiting The Arts Station

just after a wonderful coffee break at The Loaf.  This decadent latte and caramel-covered date square contained a gazillion calories, and worth every one.

Like most mountain towns, Fernie is totally bike-addicted, and I found more than one I'd love to own, 

although this one especially stuck my fancy.  I couldn't decide whether it was the baskets or the combination of pink and yellow that had me hankering after it.

Fernie is such an artsy town they've even trained their garbage cans to cast the perfect shadows.  I'm loving the sabre-toothed Pacman-style head just under that lovely crown.

Part of my personal mission while we were there was to drop 'Found Art' packages containing a piece of art and a bit of info publicizing my upcoming October workshop at The Arts Station.

We visited some wonderful galleries and shops including The Carosella Gift Shop ,

Brian Pollack Photography, The Fernie Arts Coop, Angela Morgan's Studio, and Clawhammer Press, where we found this lovely display rack created from an old weather-distressed door.

It was a lovely sun-warmed time, filled with wonderfully welcoming people, and we're primed to return sometime soon.  Thank you, Fernie, for making our day!