It's been two weeks...

...and it's going to be longer.  Given the challenge of getting a new computer up to speed, a more-than-hectic schedule, and the call of the great outdoors as we move into full-on summer, it's time to take a hiatus on the blog (length undetermined as yet).

In the meantime, I'll leave you with some photos of some works seen recently at the Artrageous Show at Centre 64 in Kimberley and a nearby hotel gallery.

The Artrageous show was the perfect place to display The Lunacy Gown for a second time.

While I'm not sure when I'll be back, you know I'll continue to check in on your work, so keep 'em coming!  Happy summer to you all!

You've had your sneak...

...peek, and the Material Change show is open now.  Maybe you'd like to see some teaser vignettes as a second appetiser before the main course show?

Darcy Wanuk's 'Green Scene' reconstructed work on the back left is dynamite, right?  It's two sweaters combined and accented with handmade buttons.  The Vintage Lime shirt on the right is actually two shirts and some of  'Grandma's closet lace'.  The 'Fire From the Centre' occasional table in front is my contribution to this grouping, and Bart Bjorkman's (Puffin Design) Grain Scoop Lamp is on the bottom right.

Here's Bart's Snare Drum Lamp, The Impossible Clock (a co-conspiracy by Bart and I),  my 'Squaring the Circle IV' above, and Darcy's 'Like a Rhinestone Cowgirl...' denim jacket on the right.  What wedded bliss!

Alison Bjorkman's (Puffin Design)  'Fat Bottomed Girl Swivel Chair' is dynamite, especially next to the 'Lineberry Railway Luggage Cart' concrete-topped coffee table by Bart.  Above is my 'Glimpsing Autumn' repurposed tabletop mirror, Bart's 'Handmade Metal Funnel Lamp', and Darcy's glorious shaggy sweater the right.

Here's an array of Darcy's deconstructed/reconstructed jackets from her Denim Series I, ready for trying on at the Puffin Design mirror.

You were no doubt wondering whether those dryer sheet curtains ever got finished.  I'm amazed to tell you they did, and here's the proof.  I'll do a post about them soon, but don't they look terrific with 

Bart's Bistro Table (love that industrial base topped with the decorative concrete)?  Alison created those 'Graffiti Bistro High Stools', and the 'Red Crab Trap Lamp' above is Bart's.  My 'Muse on Fire' vase and 'Who Let the Genie Out?' mini bottle are currently behaving themselves on the table.

And yes, that's my totally crazy 'Ukulele Gone Wild' hanging next to Darcy's  'Denim Romance' jacket...those pale pink silk accents are beautifully subtle (jacket, not ukulele - it wouldn't know subtle if kicked in the teeth with it).  My 'Good Fortune' journal is on the table, with 'Eileen's Flower' just behind it.

The 'Industrial Chic Coffee Table' by Alison and Bart is a favourite of mine, and the 'Coffee Lamp' next to it is a knockout.  Alison just recently completed the 'Tub Chair' - the wrapped metal back on it is just amazing to see.  On the coffee table are my 'Pick Up a Six Pack' coasters, 'Who Needs Gucci?' cocktail boot, and 'Midlife Crisis' book sculpture.  On the wall behind the table is a coffee bag burlap hanging called Retired.  I used a host of too-well-used teaching tools and leftover goodies to create this piece.

Please take the time to stop and see the Material Change show at Centre 64 in Kimberley.  Details are on the poster, and we'd love to see you at the artist opening this Saturday, June 10 between 2-4 pm.

Snowy Kimberley...

...and a mixed media workshop was a great combination, to say nothing of fifteen women who were ready to play.

You can tell that was the case when you look at these three photos:

Before their arrival, the room sits quietly waiting

In the throes of it all

A done deed, with one or two of their pieces 

In between, it was mayhem, laughter, testing the 'what if's' and playing with techniques and supplies. What could be more fun on a blizzarding weekend?

The floor was covered on both sides of the Centre 64 studio,

Our drying 'table'

as we tested backgrounds with peeling papers,

Peeling paper background

plastic wrap,

Plastic wrap technique

painted dryer sheets and much more.

Painted dryer sheet

They created plastic tape stencils (and no I won't tell you how many rolls of plastic tape were used), some of them from magazines and some hand drawn.

Carol's hand drawn mask and stencil

Sophie, Jeanne d'Arc, Lynne & Dianna peruse stencil possibilities

Many thanks to organizers extraordinaire at the Centre 64 Irma (who took the class as well) and Christina.  You did a fabulous job of creating this sold-out workshop;  it was filled with laughter and fun.  So much so, in fact, that the group determined to exchange emails.  They need a support group for their mixed media addiction...my creativity virus has done its work!

Personally, I'm very much looking forward to the next one.  Happy creating, all!

Well, my bags are packed...

...or at least I've started.

Getting ready for a sold-out mixed media playdate in Kimberley is no easy task, especially when it's with fifteen new and not-so-new friends.

There will be tons of rich colour,

 mark-making implements,

mediums up the ying-yang (as our family expression goes),

and bags of student supplies to boot.

By the time I get finished packing today, the studio will be unrecognizable, the floor will be unseeable, and the car will be groaning with the thought of the load it will carry tomorrow.

I couldn't be happier - what could be more fun than playing in a huge studio at Centre 64 in Kimberley for the weekend.  You know it's going to be a blast!

It's a mixed bag...

today, rather akin to my mind, I suspect.

I'm in the midst of preparing for a full weekend mixed media workshop in Kimberley.  Are you going to join me there?  Please do - we're in for a crazy play-ful time!

I'm also working on three pieces for a show in Kimberley - this one is in June, and I'm already starting to  feel the push.  Don't you love doing shows for the kick-start they provide?  This small table leg is a just the start of a project that's going to take a good deal of time.

 This wood panel will sport layers of snowflakes of all kinds...final outcome TBA!

Here I'm using a technique I love - gessoed cheesecloth and organics for a background that will eventually be puddled with more than a dozen glazes of colour.  It's a tiny area of a large mirror that's in the works.

All three pieces are being created with cast-offs - furniture, wood, dried leaves (Mother Nature is so very giving!), etc.  The name of the show is Material Change, instigated by a fabulous textile artist Darcy Wanuk of Kimberley.  It will feature her work, the work of Puffin Design owners Alison and Bart Bjorkman, and mine.  I hope your Art Appetite is fully engaged, 'cause it's going to be a knock-out!

Of course, that's not all that's on my mind...there's always more.  In the studio and in my life, I expect the unexpected, so stop in next week to see what else is happening!

Show me...

...we all want to see it, right?

Well, this month you'll get your chance when the show 'Students. Teacher. Play.'  runs at Centre 64 in Kimberley.  With fourteen artists participating, you know it's going to be eclectic and energizing.

All participants are students who've participated in my playshops over the past years, and have taken the mixed media bug for their own.  The thirteen artists, Alice Saltiel, Alison Bjorkman, Anne Fetterley, Darcy Wanuk, Gerry Forget, Judy Dahl, Judy Walker, Laura Leeder, Louise Olinger, Lynne Mizera, Meg Nicks, Sue Pighin and myself have all caught the virus, and you'll see the following (and much more):

Peacock Paradise © Alice Saltiel

Graffiti Chair © Alison Bjorkman

The Gelli Girls © Darcy Wanuck

Shifting Sands © Judy Dahl

Bird Cage Dune Primrose © Judy Walker

Marsala Vintage Rose © Laura Leeder

Falling Leaves © Louise Olinger

Graffiti Roses © Lynne Mizera

Flying Was So Much Easier Then © Meg Nicks

Birthday? Nailed It:  A 'Pinterest-Perfect' Parody  © Win Dinn

Do please come and meet the artists, view the show, and spend a playful afternoon on Saturday, September 3, 2016 from 2 - 4 pm.  We'd love to meet you there!

In Kimberley...

the art group is WAY beyond obsessed.  Every time I teach at the Centre 64, I'm stunned by the response of the students - the manner in which they pick up and test new techniques, the enthusiasm they show and the fun they generate.

The Gelli plate playshop brought so many stunning pieces to the table (and the floor) I couldn't stop taking photos.  From the gilding technique,

 to textures plates,

 to fun foam stamps,

and they still couldn't get enough of it.

They used ArtFoamies to the max,

they masked,

and they stencilled.

They printed on every conceivable surface from mat board to dryer sheets to card stock to printer paper, and I wouldn't have been surprised to see the walls done up by Sunday afternoon.

You can tell some of them took their work very seriously!

Watch their space;  they'll be up to more shenanigans in that wild art group!  And if you'd like to get in on some of the fun, please join me at The Arts Station in Fernie at month-end!