The Kelly Gang

I haven't had the chance to create any art since Squam three weeks ago so I decided to create some girls inspired by my class with Kelly Barton to get my mojo back. I bought a bunch of supplies in the States and had to post them back as I didn't have room in my suitcase and the weight would have put me over the limit.  They have yet to arrive home and I can't wait for them to get here but I did bring my new supply of washi tape back with me though.

I should give them all names but have numbered them instead...

KG1 is elegant.

KG2 is a little untidy.

Mixed media - watercolour paper, acrylic paints, watercolour crayons, scrapbooking papers, stamps/ink, pencils, pens, washi tape....

I am trying to let go of neat and tidiness in my work and to make it more loose looking and flowing, so yes, the lines are wonky on purpose but I still painted inside them...so I must work on painting outside the lines for the next girl....I also need to work on creating more layers in my collages...

Here is my Cotton Candy girl I created at Squam...

Hope you are having a creative weekend too....

Michelle's Memories of Michigan

I had an awesome time in Michigan last week with my DeviantArt friend Lin aka paintonmyclothes...we went sightseeing, to ArtPrize, out to lunch and shopping, to county fairs and fall festivals....

Me having fun in Michigan...

Friends...Lin and Colette and Ron and Carol...

Beautiful scenery...

Hidden Gardens...

Great Food - huge portions to take home in a doggy bag....I would just like to state that I did not eat all this food, some servings are other people's food....

Some crazy shops - this is Cabelas - it's a hunting and fishing outfitters store with heaps of stuffed animals and an aquarium....and weird things to buy...

I loved these dogs at Grand Haven, a small town on Lake Michigan, I wish we could do something like this in my area...

Here's some lighthouse pics from Grand Haven and the dragonfly card I bought which I love...

Well, I hope you enjoyed these pics I put together for you, I shall organise some more from ArtPrize later in the week...

Grand Rapids ArtPrize 2012 Part 1

I'm here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA at ArtPrize 2012 - ArtPrize has become the world’s largest art competition by combining $560,000 in total prizes with an open call for artists, venues, and critics and there are 162 venues which will host 1517 artist entries. It's a huge event that lasts for 18 days with large sculptures and fine art....

Here are some of what we saw today...

My feet are so sore from all the walking but I hope to show you more photos tomorrow after I've looked at more art!!

I Love Canada

After the Squam Fall 2012 art workshop I headed up to Niagara Falls, which was a real eye opener.  It was like being in a theme park.  The Maid of Mist was hilarious, hundreds of people in blue ponchos getting soaking wet - I loved it but I was wearing one of my glass tile pendants which got wet and is now fading.

After the falls I went to the Butterfly Conservatory.

Then I headed to Toronto - I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the CN Tower and Gretzkys - which is a bar/restaurant owned by the ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky.

I finally saw some Canada Geese.

I had a good time in Canada and met some great people and am now in Michigan staying with a friend and it's great to be in a home and not an hotel/apartment and to have friends to spend the day with and chat with, and we will be heading to Grand Rapids to visit ArtPrize next week.

30x30x30 Challenge Update

Last weekend was the 30x30x30 Challenge Exhibition where 900 8inch square paintings were on sale.  It was a great success for the Treetops Montessori School, my friend June Stevens sold 22 (maybe more - I haven't had an update yet), Leanne Fry sold 26 and I sold 21 - an awesome result all round.

Here are my paintings:

Citrus Sunburst

Here are all 30 exhibited:

 

Many thanks to the organisers and to everyone who supported the event and bought a painting esp one of mine. Thank you.

Squam Fall 2012

I had an awesome time at Squam - an art workshop on Squam Lake in New Hampshire, USA.

I flew 25 hours + to feel the magic, to meet other creatives, to learn new techniques and to meet my amazing teachers - Kelly Barton and Sarah Ahearn, to be inspired, encouraged and to hike a mountain and swim in a lake.

And I bought some great weather with me too!!!

Thursday morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise:

Kelly Barton's C'mon Let's Play class was a lot fun and it was great to create one of her girls instead of one of mine...

Friday we woke up to another beautiful sunrise (Saturday was too cloudy and Sunday  I decided to stay in bed...)

Sarah Ahearn's Paint and Pages class was great as I learnt a new technique on photo transfers that I can apply to the 1890 book I bought at the Strand Bookstore in New York City and keep it intact...

And my work - all in progress, still some to finish off when I get home...

 

The Rockywold Deephaven Camps on Squam Lake has great cabins and a beautiful environment...

A little on the history of the camp:

The Rockywold-Deephaven Camps are unique in that they have resisted change in the basic philosophies of their founders. To be sure, we are not the same as we were in 1897, when Miss Alice Mable Bacon founded Deephaven, nor as in 1901 when Mrs. Mary Alice Armstrong founded Rockywold. Both of these pioneering women adapted and changed as time went on but held strongly to their basic principles.

Two women in the late 1800's and early 1900's founded the campsite - this is totally awesome and part of the magic and why it is such a great place for women to create and the land is set aside for educational, recreational and inspirational purposes.

I did hang up my Inspirational Paper Bunting Flags that I made one weekend back in June when I had a cold...

I swam in the lake, hiked a mountain and made new friends...lots but these are all the pics I have...

Kristine, me and Finch, me and Ana...

I also met Emily Falconbridge, an Aussie living in the States, so I asked her where she was from and she said Perth so I said where in Perth and she named the suburb across the highway from mine - she's from my neighbourhood and she went to the same high school as my boys!!!

The food was great but I took no pics and my tummy was a little unhappy with the water...I also got bitten by something on Friday and have a nasty rash along my back camisole line and down my arm.

The Squam Art Fair on Saturday night was awesome too...I bought some of Sarah's prints and some of Paper Taxi's cards which are easy to travel home with...

It was awesome, I'm so grateful and feel so blessed that I had this opportunity to go to Squam.