I've been silent, but I've been here. Working diligently away and keeping the boat steering straight ahead through my Printing The Journal workshop that is currently running on Joggles.com. It's going well but there is a lot of information that I have shared in the workshop so I'm trying to make sure everyone is having a good time!
In the midst of my busy schedule, Friday night I flew down to NJ to land at my friend Sandi's house as she had invited me to attend a workshop with her in NYC on Saturday!! Sandi Koterba is one of the most artistic people I have ever met and with such a wide range of talents! She has her hands into everything and everything she touches is gorgeous!! You might remember this pic when she came up to stay with me in January when we set up her blog. Check out her blog here for more info on Sandi!
I can't say enough great things about her!! You can see that she absolutely radiates here in this picture and she is like that all the time (except while sitting in gridlock traffic in NYC for 2 hours LOL)! Sandi had invited me to attend the Doreen Kassels workshop, "Magical Ornament Girl and Sculptured Skinny Legs" workshop that was held at Michele Luxenberg's Studio (Little Bird Creations) in NYC in it was an awesome time!!!
Here is Doreen with a couple of her very adorable characters that she makes from polymer clay!! Doreen is going to be teaching in France very soon and Sandi will be taking the trip with her! What a fantastic experience!!!
Sandi and I both chose to work on our rendition of Doreen's little fox. Soooooo cute!!! Above is Sandi's finished Foxy Lady looking simply adorable with her pink striped tights, crown and bows for the tips of her shoes!!! Below is my polymer clay figure ready to be baked in the convection oven before painting with Doreen's original in behind.
And here she is after some painting! I added a flouncy skirt before she went under the bake and found out the hard way that very thin pieces of the polymer clay will break off without additional support :( That's ok! She was looking better with paint but still not half as cute as Doreen's right behind her. I think mine is also saluting someone??!!? LOL
Sandi's friend Jackie came with us to the workshop as well and her rendition of one of Doreen's more human-like characters was fantastic! Jackie sculpted her very own interpretation and clearly had a blast doing it! Love all the layered clothing!!
Sculpting with polymer clay was something I had never tried before. It was great fun to step outside my box to try something new, but I think my heart lies in 2-D rather than 3-D LOL. Sandi loves to work the polymer clay and there is no question that she is great at that, too!!
Arriving late Friday night to Sandi's, I didn't see much other than the couch I landed on before passing out. The next morning, I awoke to find myself in the most beautiful and cozy little gallery house filled with Sandy's artwork, as well as some of her favorite acquired pieces. Here are a few shots to give you an idea.
It was such a wonderful visit with Sandi and to see her studio and hear all of her stories related to each piece of artwork. As I look at the pictures now and think about our conversations, it seems to me that I have walked into Sandi's story book filled with her travels and treasures that are still being written and unraveling to reveal all of the many facets of Sandi's artistic self.
Sandi was such a gracious host and her husband, Frank, was just as welcoming. (Thanks to both of you!)
It was such a great adventure in too short a time but I would do it again in a heartbeat! Michele Luxenberg hosts wonderful mixed-media workshops from her studio in NYC and Sandi will be teaching Zentangles on fabric coming up soon as well!
THERMOFAX SCREENS
Well, I have loaded up most of the images that I will be continuing to sell in my Etsy shop in Thermofax screens. Check the shop when you get a chance and I will be adding new designs to these offerings as well. A few people have asked about custom screen designs and I will be adding that as an option to purchase.
Unfortunately, the cost of shipping outside of the U.S. is higher than I was originally paying and I have had to adjust the international shipping rates to avoid paying for the balance myself. I'm so sorry to have to do this and please feel free to contact me directly if you believe the rate should be different. I found that most of the packages I was shipping internationally should have been up in the $12.00 range and higher depending on the weight.
It will be good to get back on track in another week after the workshop is finished, just in time for some great spring weather to head this way! (fingers crossed no more snow) LOL This year, I'm being slammed with allergies which hasn't happened for a long time and it's making it hard to concentrate as my ears are blocked constantly. :) I expect there will be news coming soon on Art Exposed, Pages and my Paint, Print, Layer, Collage Workshop DVD coming out from Cloth Paper Scissors so stay tuned!!!! It's almost time for another giveaway!
Have a great creative week!
Margaret
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