Try Something New

Today has been one of those busy summer days, spent getting packed to go on another adventure! I’ll be leaving Friday to spend 5 Days teaching in sunny CA and I’m looking forward to spending time with my art buddies, Lisa Bebi and Renee Richetts.

During my packing however, I picked up the last issue of Cloth Paper Scissors to add to my stash of airplane reading material. As I flipped through it Serena Barton’s Workshop article again caught my eye-this was something I wanted to try. I had the good fortune to meet Serena at Art & Soul via Lesley Riley and we are going to be roomies for Art Unraveled in August and I love her work!

What I loved about this article is that Serena didn’t use any pencil-no sketching-just paint to paper, building shadows and highlights and eventually adding details with a brush.

I worked off an image on the art info cards I had made up. I liked the idea of turning this statue like face into a real person. I practiced looking at the little image I was modeling my painting after more than at what I was doing on the paper and as I was only doing this on a piece of paper I really wasn’t worried with how it would turn out. It’s just for practice.

So following Serena’s tutorial I spent about a half hour working in little spurts between packing. I tried to work fast and step away to look at if from a distance. I really wasn’t concerned about the outcome, just wanted to play with the process.

I liked the process, it’s different from how I usually work. I learned some things I can incorporate into the way I already paint and most of all I found just a little time to create art today.

 

Journey

Whether we want to be or not, we are all on a journey. Everyone’s journey is different, but as we travel our own we come into contact with many others who may be on a similar path as our own.

As artists we come into contact with other creative people and this enriches all, both the students and the instructors. One of my first live teaching venues was at the Escondido Municiple Art Gallery in Escondido, CA. I was invited to teach by Lisa Bebi and honored to have both her and Renee Richetts in my class. We struck up one of those instant friendships that comes from being of a creative bent and sharing a love of art.

We three went on to dream about teaching a small group workshop together in Paris and as most of you know that dream became reality this past December.

Teaching in a small group setting allows for friendships to form and one on one learning to happen. We three love this type of atmosphere so much that we decided right after Paris to do offer the same type of experience here in the states!

Experience: 3-days of small group art instruction and attention to your learning experience with Lisa Bebi, Pam Carriker and Renée Richetts. You will join us in a relaxing, specious environment near beautiful Lake Hodges, California.

Each day consists of a morning and an afternoon session, divided by a lunch break (lunch is provided). Lisa, Pam and Renée attend all sessions to assure you personal attention and time with each of us. The workshop series’ enrollment is intentionally low, with no more than one instructor for every 3 attendees.

General description of session techniques/content:

  • Lisa Bebi’s unique “paint-over” method with acrylics and other media
  • Pam Carriker’s Busting Out 3-D Portrait
  • Renee Richetts’ signature mixed-media hinged metal books
  • Paper-making using cold-water (one of the most eco-friendly ways to make paper)
  • Art journaling—and you will learn to make the journal itself!

California Registered Nurses: portions of this series have been approved for CEUs by the California BRN. For BRN course description and requirements, please contact Renée Richetts, RN at rrichetts@cox.net .

Date and time: June 27, 28 29, 2011 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Lunch included

Location: North San Diego County in Southern California, overlooking Lake Hodges and the San Diego “back country”.

  • 30 minutes from The San Diego International Airport
  • Walk to Lake Hodges from the workshop location
  • 15 minutes from Queen Califia’s Magical Circle sculpture garden by Niki De Saint Phalle, The San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park, Museums, art galleries and wineries

Themes: Personal growth through your art? Healing? Expanding your art career? Making eco-friendly art? You will decide.

We will contact you two weeks prior to the series for your input about the themes you would like to focus on during your time with us.
Pricing and registration:

$595- Workshop series includes 3 lunches, materials and tools. There are no material fees.

  • $200 registration fee reserves your workshop series space. You may register by check drawn on a U.S. bank or by Pay Pal. The remaining $395 is due on or before June 27th.

Need housing as well? $1195/person double occupancy ($1420 single occupancy)-Workshop series, materials, tools 3 lunches, 5 hot buffet-style breakfasts, PLUS 5 nights lodging at the nearby Holiday Inn Express. Summer is high-season in San Diego. We have reserved a limited number of rooms at the current low-season rate. Let us know when you register for the workshop series, if you will also want one of these rooms.

Cancelation

Before June 13th receive a full refund, minus any Pay Pal fees, if applicable.

No refund for cancelations after June 13th unless we are able to fill your vacated spot.

Cancellation by instructors: full refund, including Pay Pal fees

What I’m teaching:

Pursuing Portraits with Pam Carriker: Busting Out


In Visual Art a portrait can be many things from a painting, to a photograph, to a sculpture or any other form of art in which the face is the face is the main theme or focal point. The goal of creating a self portrait is to showcase the unique characteristics of the subject: You.

Creating self portraits is a way of discovering yourself and what makes you the miracle you are. Incorporating meaningful collage and  journaling onto a bust that represents you, allows you to capture who you are at this moment of your life and the things that lead you to this point.
We will create these Self Portrait Busts using a variety of mixed media techniques, including sculpting with plaster strips, painting, collage, and journaling. Bring meaningful scraps of ephemera (paper bits from everyday life) and I will provide additional collage material and everything else.

Note:
This bust is large (human head sized) so plan to carry it on the plane if you’re traveling by air. I will provide a bag for this.

And on June 25th, 2011 I’ll also be teaching a one day workshop at the

Escondido Art Gallery-Escondido, CA

Renaissance Women


Instructor: Pam Carriker

A Renaissance Woman is a woman who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.  She sets her own agenda, controls her destiny, and knows the sky’s the limit when it comes to her personal achievement! Join me as we create amazing journal pages reminiscent of the Renaissance Era and discover our own personal mantra for success. Rich texture, vibrant colors and meaningful symbolism will be used to create these masterpieces. I will also teach you my easy Dauber Bottle method for painting faces without fear!


for more information and to register:

http://www.escondidoarts.org/details/details.php?p=workshops

I hope some of you will be able to join me on one or both of these journeys~

Day 10-Book Blog Tour

Well, hard to believe it, but here we are on Day 10 already!! That means I’ve been blogging for 1o days straight! It’s a little hard to keep on task, but I love introducing each new person on the stop, so I’ll continue on until the end!

 

Today’s blog stop is non other than Lisa Bebi!! This is Lisa working on my portion of the workshops we taught in Paris this past December.

Next week I’m the Alumni Guest Curator for Crescendoh and I’ll be sharing more of what was going on in my life at that time in my Art Saves story. For now I’ll just say that if you have people like Lisa and Renee Richetts around when life is unexpectedly hard, you are in the best shape you can be in. These ladies lifted me up when things were not looking good and when I was helpless to do anything about it. I love them both to pieces!

This is Lisa and her lovely family. I hear the ‘Breast of Chicken’ was really good here! LOL, that is an inside joke that requires a visual-couldn’t resist

Here’s Lisa teaching her Paintover Technique

This is the first time I met Lisa and Renee, when I went to CA to teach a couple of years ago.

The really fun thing? The three of us will be teaching another small group workshop this June!

Blog Tour Schedule

1-Mar
Jenny Doh http://jennydoh.typepad.com/

2-Mar
Suzi Blu http://www.suziblu.typepad.com/

3-Mar
Seth Apter http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

4-Mar
Suzan Buckner http://www.thriftycollageartist.blogspot.com/

5-Mar
Sue Pelletier http://www.suepelletierlaughpaint.com/

6-Mar
All Norah’s Art http://allnorahsart.blogspot.com/

7-Mar
Lisa Kettell http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.com/

8-Mar
Nancy Lefko http://nancylefko.blogspot.com/

9-Mar
Chrysti Hydeck http://alwayschrysti.com/always-chrysti

10-Mar
Lisa Bebi http://lisabebi.blogspot.com/

11-Mar
Jodi Ohl http://www.sweetrepeats.blogspot.com/

12-Mar
Laurie Blau-Marshall http://loudlife-laurieblaumarshall.blogspot.com

13-Mar
Dawn Edmonson http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com

14-Mar
Paulette Insall http://www.pauletteinsall.com/

15-Mar

Julie Bergman http://juliebergmann.typepad.com/pinkparismatch/

16-Mar

Gail Schmidt http://www.shabbycottagestudio.blogspot.com/

Paris Hi-Lights

Get three of us for three days and 3 unforgettable french lunches- 3, 3 for 3 for $450!  a bargain!!!  And  we will walk you around town and show you cool stuff on our days off.  You don’t need to speak french we have 2 American translators on site. (Renee and Lisa’s husband)  and 2 gourmet cooks ( Renee and Lisa’s husband).

Studio where we will be working

Here is a corner of our studio apartment in mid sacred heart district, paris!
many of us are bringing our high school aged children since it will be during their winter break.  bring yours – they will LOVE you forever for it. we will show them how to get around by themselves in paris in a group.
for inquiries please email rrichetts@cox.net
Last time Lisa and Renee had their workshop in Paris, beginners in their class were able to display their art in an exhibit.  and also many of them got their art published for the very first time in Somerset Studio magazine!
Lisa Bebi will teach her incredible Paint Over method, and you will be able to take home your fabulous creations, inspired by Paris!
Renee Richetts is  our metal artist plus whimsy .  She will teach us to use tin cans and other found ad fun objects we collect inPparis and incorporate them into a metal book that is actually hinged.  Many of her students from the last Paris workshop got their work exhibited as book art!

I will be teaching Conte Crayon Journaling and Conte Crayon Painting. Here is a picture of the kit you will receive. All supplies are included on this journey so no need to worry about packing your own, just leave some extra space to take your goodies home with you!

Includes

7 1/2 x 10 Moleskine Sketchbook

Matchbox set of Conte Crayons

My favorite Woodless Graphite Pencil

Blending Stump

Eraser

Journal Fodder in the form of pilot route maps

Business Card size Pursuing Portraits Face Map

2-5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Paris Clown Postcards (one to send and one to keep)

1- 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Portrait Postcard

1- 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 Portrait Postcard

Session One

~Intro to Conte Crayon

~history

~Learn Blend/Erase method

Session Two

~Learn Face Facts

~Make your own ‘Face Map’

Session Three

~Create portraits using ‘Sketch Blending’ method

Session Four

~Prepare substrate for canvas portrait

~Continue Pursuing Portraits using Photo Sketches

Session Five

~Conte Crayon Transfer to substrate

~Use gathered Parisian ephemera to create background

Session Six

~Mixed Media Portrait Painting with Conte Crayon, mediums, and acrylics