A Busy Time and Exciting News

Patterns of Migration      Oil and Cold Wax on Canvas

    

I can't believe it's been a month since I was in Taos, NM to teach with Leighanna Light at her studio. Taos was wonderful, with perfect weather. We had a fantastic group of participants in both workshops, my encaustic class, and Leighanna's class where we started our unique canvas books. 

First, I'll tell you a bit about the above cold wax/oil painting, "Patterns of Migration." I painted this piece on an old acrylic painting. Usually I use a wood support as that is better in general for cold wax, so that it doesn't crack. This canvas was just sitting around and it is pretty big so I decided to go ahead but use fewer layers of oil and wax than I usually do.

I didn't have anything in mind before I started. Before I left for Taos I painted a couple of light layers of red oil and wax, using three different reds. I covered over the original painting and incised into the red layers and added a bit of other texture. When I came back the layers were dry and then I went to work with cobalt blue oil and cold wax. What appeared was, to me, an evocation of New Mexican color and light. While in Taos I read a moving and enlightening book on the Anasazi and their descendents in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Mexico. The feelings I had while reading and digesting the book came out in this piece. I love how that works!

The book is called House of Rain and I highly recommend it.

Here are some images from Leighanna's class: "Lily's Book."

Leighanna's completed book sample

We painted canvas with reinkers and let them dry in the sun

We covered our pages with Venetian plaster, heavy gel medium, and other mediums

A student leafs through her pages prior to sewing the book together

We visited the Earthships on our field trip day. This student incorporated the experience into her book

Another yummy page spread with a pocket

The first page spread in my book

I will be posting photos of some of the encaustic work from my class on my Wabi-Sabi blog. 

I am excited to announce that I have contracted with North Light Publishing (F and W Media) to write a second book! This book will be on painting and mixed media work with oil and cold wax with an emphasis on both techniques and on the intuitive creative process. 

I have twelve amazing oil and cold wax artists who will be featured in the book. I'll be posting further about the process of making a book...

Hope you are all having an enjoyable and creative summer!

Taos Workshop Coming in May!

Here's one of my latest cold wax/oil pieces. To see the story behind this piece, visit my wabi-sabi blog!

Leighanna Light and I have an exciting mini-retreat to share with you. We'll be holding a five day workshop at her gorgeous studio in Taos, New Mexico in May! Here's the scoop below. You can register on my website. 

Join me and international art teacher Leighanna Light for a five day workshop her studio in in magical Taos New Mexico! Embrace the wabi-sabi spirit as you learn to use encaustic, Venetian plaster, dye re-inkers, acrylics,oils, 3-D elements and more. You will create gorgeous paintings, mixed media work, and a beautiful and unusual handmade book.  We'll offer exciting field trips as well as playful, inspiring classes.

Tuition: 800.00 This includes a Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant, delicious lunches each day, Serena's two-day class on Saturday and Sunday, field trips on Monday, and Leighanna's two-day class on Tuesday and Wednesday. Most supplies will be provided for each class for an additional 25.00 fee to each instructor.

A Few Spots Open at This Weekend's Workshops

I'm so looking forward  to this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when I will be teaching at the fabulous Collage store and classroom in Portland's Alberta Arts District. There are a few spots left for the 2-day class on Friday and Saturday and for the Sunday class. 

In our 2-day class, Strata of Time, we'll explore the rich range of texture and color offered by painting with cold wax and oil. We'll use a variety of tools to shape our wax and oil mixtures. We'll also experiment with plaster, oil pastels, mixed media, and more! To find out more go to the description on the Collage website.

I will be signing copies of my book at Collage on Saturday evening. Come join us for refreshments and art talk! 

  

 
Sunday's class is called Visual Haiku. We'll create wabi-sabi pieces inspired by traditional haiku. Our media will include re-inkers, alcohol inks, acrylic paint, vintage papers, specialty papers, and recycled elements. For more about this playful class, go to the description on the Collage site.

My Book is Almost Here!

I found out yesterday that my book, Wabi-Sabi Art Workshop, is available for pre-order from Amazon, Create Mixed Media, and Barnes and Noble. Those who pre-order get a 34% discount! I hope you will check it out and help me spread the word.

 
Ah, the glamorous life of an author/artist. I was cleaning a toilet this morning when Fed-Ex dropped off the final galleys from my editor at North Light. Needless to say, I left the toilet to clean itself and dove into the black and white pages. The editor, Kristy Conlin, also sent a CD of the book in color. I am so thrilled. She did a great job of editing. The pictures taken by Christine Polomsky are delicious. The book designer, Julie Barnett, did a wonderful job--it's simple and elegant. I couldn't be happier. 

Authors these days are responsible for marketing their books to a large degree. I'll be giving a blog tour later on and will keep you posted on this and other events. I should be a marketing expert by the time I'm finished. I'll have a few giveaways, too. Stay tuned!

And thank you all, for your support and encouragement! 

All at Once

Have you ever noticed that sometimes bad things happen all at once? And sometimes good things happen all at once. That's the case for me right now. I just had a wonderful time at Art is...You in Petaluma. I came back to prepare for Art and Soul Retreat here in Portland and then for Art is...You in Stamford, CT. This also turned out to be the time my book editor needs me to go over the galleys and correct errors in our step by step photos and captions. So, I'm not complaining--this is all wonderful stuff!

Just have to remember to keep breathing...

Student creations from "Altered History" at Petaluma. Some eye candy for you today.

Pictures from "Wabi-Sabi Wax" at Art and Soul

I spent a second wonderful waxy day with students at Art and Soul Retreat in Las Vegas. Here come a lot of pictures! The students were so bold--all off them took my advice to experiment and work on several pieces at once. What great results! Isn't it amazing how different everyone's are?

 

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