June 2019
Make it Artsy
Thrilled to be a guest on the premiere episode of the sixth season of Make it Artsy. This television show airs on PBS in select markets in the United States but is also available for viewing episode-by-episode online.
Make it Artsy is hosted by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and highlights a variety of guest artists and crafters who demonstrate a wide range of creative techniques and projects - from mixed media to metalsmithing, using tools from saws to sewing machines and materials from paper to wood.
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I had previously been a guest in the first season and was happy to have been invited back to showcase more creative fun. Season six is built around the concept of time. My segment focuses on saving time by using my Vintage Besswax Baked Texture embossing powder from Emerald Creek to create a fast and easy faux encuastic effect. I shared other tips and tricks for heat embossing as well.
You can watch my segment on my YouTube channel or head to the Make it Artsy website where the entire episoide is available until July 5. And stay tuned. I just might be back again in episodes eight and eleven.
Sew This Happened...
Several years ago I took the step of buying my first sewing machine. I often hand stitch on my mixed media work but have always wanted to free stitch using a machine as well. While teaching at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, Virginia, I decided to go for it. Artistic Artifacts is filled floor to ceiling with the most amazing fabric selection (much of which is available in their online shop) and of course mixed media supplies. But they are also an Authorized Bernina USA dealer. The owner and my friend Judy Gula hooked me up with the perfect starter machine - a Bernette Sew & Go.
I took the machine home and set it up. Life got in the way and a few months later, I thought back to my lesson and got to sewing. Well, I got to threading. Well actually, I got to trying to thread the machine. Happily the scene was not recorded and I did what most sewing virgins would do - stepped away from the machine.
Months later, the machine got boxed and stored. Surface area in my studio is too valuable to hold anything that isn't actively being used.
Years later (okay, just 2 years), it was time. I had shared with Kecia Deveney my plight and she did what most sewing experts would do - insist I bring my machine to her studio for a lesson.
So just a few days ago I visited Kecia and she walked me through the steps, made it fun, and totally re-ignighted my passion for machine stitching.
But first things first, she had me name my machine. So people...meet Boris Bernette.
In between the fun, I actually threaded and sewed too.
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Hoping that this time, it sticks. My plan...adding stitching - and even more fiber than usual - to my mixed media work. Stay tuned...
June: Third Monday Online Open Studio
Welcome to my online studio. I want to invite you to join me (virtually) on the First Friday Third Monday of every some months in 2019 when I highlight new artwork and recent favorites that are available for purchase. Have a look around, let me know if you have any questions, and click the link on the title of any artwork that you want to buy or simply learn more about.
FROM ABOVE (sold. thank you)
COMPONENT PARTS (sold. thank you)
HEART AND SOUL (sold. thank you)
THE PURITY OF GRACE (sold. thank you)
VOYAGE (sold. thank you)
Upcoming Workshops
MAKE A CREATIVE MESS
Give yourself the gift of creating in a room-full of passionate artists. Join me for a workshop where your only goals are to play, explore and make a creative mess.
June
Creative Inkling: Hatboro, Pennsylvania
June 22 - 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer - filled
June 23 - Joker's Wild - registration open
JULY
Tinker Tailor Artist Maker Retreat: Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland Australia
July 17 - Joker's Wild
July 18 - 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer - 2 seats left
July 19 - Get Baked! - 1 seat left
July 20-21 - Bento Box
AUGUST
Artistic Artifacts: Alexandria, Virginia
August 16 - Embossing Alchemy - registration open
August 17 - Joker's Wild - registration open
August 18 - Too Cool for School - registration open
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Scrapbook Centrale - Montreal, Quebec Canada
August 23 - 52 Card Pickup
August 24 - Get Baked!
August 25 - 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer
SEPTEMBER
Ephemera Paducah - Paducah, Kentucky
Retreat co-taught with Mary Beth Shaw
September 4-7 - filled
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Guadalupe's Fun Rubber Stamps - Sante Fe, New Mexico
September 27 - 28 - Bento Box - registration open
Art Auction for Cancer
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This past year, I lost two friends to cancer - both in the same week. Despite the great strides being made in terms of treatment, there is still so much more to do and every bit counts. In honor of Sue and Pat, I have invited a group of artists to donate original artwork for an online auction to raise funds for cancer research. 100% of the proceeds will benefit Cancer Research Institute and their efforts to develop a breakthrough cure for all forms of cancer with immunotherapy.
So how will this work? All available art is included in this blog post and all bids can be made via email only. Simply contact me at shap97@gmail.com with your bid and I will update the bidding total on this post as bids come in (as quickly as I can). The bidding on each piece starts at $50.00 but I am hoping to raise substantially more money for a good cause. Bidding can be done in any increment and bids will be counted in the order in which they are received. Bidding opens on Thursday June 13 at 12:01am EST and closes on Friday June 14 at 11:59pm EST. Bids received before or after those times will not be counted. Each winning bidder can either make their donation directly to the charity via credit card or through me via check or PayPal. Artwork will be shipped by the artist and the auction is open to everybody - international bidders included. You are more than welcome to leave a comment to this post but bids will only be accepted via email.
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Flying Free
5" x 8" - Mixed Media on Vintage Book Cover
Starting Bid $50
$250
$300
$375
$400
$425
$450
$475
$500
$525
$550
$600
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Silent Strength
10" x 13" - Mixed Media on Paper
Starting Bid $50
$60
$70
$100
$150
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New Growth
6" x 6" - Acrylic on Paper
Starting Bid $50
$75
$85
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Nature's Gate
10" x 10" - Cold Wax and Oil on Wood
Starting Bid $50
$100
$200
$225
$300
$325
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Well Spoken
8" x 10" - Framed Mixed Media on Paper
Starting Bid $50
$75
$100
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The Traveller
9" Round - Mixed Media on Board
Starting Bid $50
$75
$100
$125
$150
$175
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Needle Book
4.5" - Vintage Kantha Cloth Scraps + 3 Embroidery Needles
Starting Bid $50
$75
$85
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Bodhi Leaf
1.5" - Silver Necklace on an 18" Silver Chain
Starting Bid $50
$100
$150
$250
$300
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Antique Framed Elegance
1.5" x 2" - Mixed Media Necklace on an 28" Copper-Colored Ball Chain
Starting Bid $50
$80
$100
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24" Drop - Waxed Linen, Stomeware Beads & Nantucket Beach Stone Necklace
Starting Bid $50
$75
$90
$130
$175
$300
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Howard
5.5" x 4.5" - Hardcover Book with Eco-Dyed Pages
Starting Bid $50
$150
$200
$210
$250
$275
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Woodsmoke and a Bamboo Rod
4" x 6" - Forged Metal Book with 96 Eco-Dyed Pages
Starting Bid $50
$75
$150
$200
$210
$250
$300
$400
$425
$475
$500
$550
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When the Flowers Greet the Moon
5" x 5" - Mixed Media on Wood Panel
Starting Bid $50
$75
$85
$95
$100
$200
$250
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