Thursday, January 30, 2014

Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come...

That's right February 20-23 we will be teaching at Ink Paper Rubber in Overland Park.  http://inkpaperrubber.com/  call the store for more information. 913-381-2217

4 packed days of activities!

ARTFUL ILLUSIONS PRESENTS A CREATIVE ART RETREAT
Metal-Smithing  ~ Bookmaking ~ Metal Etching
at
INK PAPER RUBBER – OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS
Thursday February 20– Sunday February 23

Etched for Success – Each student will have their own etching tub with solution and selection of metal.  You will learn to etch copper and brass flat sheet and tube metal.  You will also learn to clean and patina the metal.  Metal will be stamped with Stazon ink and rubber stamps.   Wear old clothes and or an apron.  Bring a filter mask if you are sensitive to the smells.  We will make a small etched vessel project with a soldered cabochon and stone on top of the vessel lid. 

Copper Pipe Bezels – Cutting sections of copper pipe will give us the top of our bezel and sheet copper will be fabricated for the back plates.  Instead of using a solder iron to make our solder molten we will be using butane torches.  Make both flat and flooded backplates.  Backplates can be letter stamped for a special message.   Place in the bezel a special image and fill with ice resin for a finished charm.  Enough to make 3 charms. 

Wire Wrapping – Learn several techniques for wire attaching beads and charms to your projects for a finished professional look.  Once you master piggy tail, fishhook and thumb up, you can combine these steps to complete any project including making an entire neck chain or rosary from scratch.  A bead mat,
wire and a selection of beads and charms are provided.  You need to bring a pair of round nose, 2 chain nose pliers (smooth jaw – no ridges inside) & a decent pair of flush cutters to class.  If you want to purchase these tools ahead of time check with Ink Paper Rubber for more information.  

Charm Sampler – Combined elements of metal, glass, wire and paper will be the base for a collection of charms that can be used together as a necklace or individually in other projects.  Charms include: faux nickel tintypes, glass bevel image, faux optic lens, numbered and lettered tool tags, mini book with etched topper & word spinner.  You will learn to drill, punch, fabricate and letter stamp in metal.  Neck chain provided. 

Home & Nest – A dimensional shadowbox house pendant is joined with a nest home for our feathered friends.  Learn to fabricate, drill and texture copper.  Assemble with rivets and top off with a letter stamped soldered piece at the rooftop.  Use several types of wire and real pearls to create a woven next.  Neck chain in included.  You need to bring a pair of round nose, 2 chain nose pliers (smooth jaw – no ridges inside) & a decent pair of flush cutters to class.

Copper Book Necklace – Looking InThis tiny 1¼ x2½ mini book starts off with a surprise cover that lets you see into the images that lie beneath.  A window of Ice Resin slightly magnifies the image below.  Pages are made from metal mesh, mica, distressed canvas, resin paper, and filmstrips.  The kit comes packed with mini photos, paper trimmings and embellishments for you to fill the pages.  A variety of attachment techniques will be shown including eyelets, staples, sewing and wire.  Learn metal fabrication and texturing.  Torching will be demonstrated.  Your kit will also include several Artful Illusions mini rubber stamps – yours to keep.  Chain provided









I will also be teaching the first week in March at the Artiscape Art Retreat in Columbus, Ohio.  March 7-9.  Artiscape


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Stamp Asylum - Plano, Texas

Hey guys just wanted to give you a heads up that I will be at the Stamp Scrap Art Tour convention this weekend (January 25-26) doing demos.  I'll be printing on canvases with gelli plates and adding some surprise elements.  Here are some canvases I've done with the gelli plates.



If time allows, I'll also show how to make faux tintypes.


Hope my Texas friends will come to see me so we can catch up...

Georgia on my mind

Every time we arrived in a new city the weather turned cold!  What's with this???


As soon as my workshop was done, we hightailed it out of town and headed south trying to escape the weather.  We made it to Atlanta by 1AM...


And now it's through Alabama, Mississippi and further west.  We will be in Texas this evening just in time to demo at the Stamp Scrap Art Tour convention in Plano this weekend.

High Point NC here we come




Jacksonville was unplugged

Driving through the Mobile Bay tunnel at night.  Always glad when we reach the other side. 

We had such a good time with everyone in Jacksonville.  Donna was a wonderfully gracious hostess that kept everything running smoothly.  We reconnected with friends from the past years and made great new friendships.  Thank you Jacksonville.



mixed media canvases printed with gelli plates


Doing the Tintype book.  The back parking lot was our spray studio.

Our new friend Marlena and her "vicious" dog Gibson.  Her tat is in honor of running the marathon
for those that have been lost to cancer.  I'm so proud of her!  She raised $6000 for the charity.

enameled bracelets

torch enameled beads

torch patina copper

Saturday, January 11, 2014

It's a dogs life.

Well at least at our house.


This is why it takes me so long to get my work done.

Air in the house.

I found these posts that I failed to publish last summer, but I wanted to share them with you.  
Makes me long for days at the pool.  Maybe this year she says with a sigh....

The Brickyard - Public kitchen gets a redo on the air conditioner.  
You know how your mother always told you to close the door in the summer because she 
wasn't paying to air condition the outside.  Well mother is probably sighing from above 
because we are doing just that by pumping cold air to an outside bar.
They couldn't fit through the gates...

so they had to go outside to the street...

and over the wall...

down safely

finally in place.

A new year and a new schedule.

For the past 2 months we have been working on the projects for this trip to Florida.  We will be teaching 12 classes, one of those is a 2 day and an evening workshop.  All this in 7 days.  Didn't God get to rest on the 7th day?


This is our blind dog Baby helping me in the office.  When she was a smaller puppy she would sit behind me in my office chair.  she fit then.  Now she leaves me a small sliver of the chair.  

Of course we got out of Kansas late so had to drive on.  We stopped in Shreveport last night or should I say early this morning.
Loading the trailer.  We are no longer doing trunk shows...  they are now trailer shows.

Crew member Cat.  I think she is ready for us to leave.  



Ready to head out.

We are now in the New Orleans area heading on across to Florida.   The lyrics "Florida by nightfall ring in my head, but I think it will be later than nightfall as we have to still cross the state.
Crossing the great Mississippi at Baton Rouge.

LSU stadium in the background.

and on we go
We will start teaching at A Small Cleverness in Orange Park, Florida tomorrow (Sunday) at 2PM.  We will also have a full trailer show with us full of stamps and supplies.  Haven't been here in 2 years so am really looking forward to see al my friends.  There is still space in some of the classes if you are in the area and want to join in on all the fun.  We will be there for a full week.  Here are the classes.  



Cabinet Card Book




Printed with a gelli plate