Blog
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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Sing for Hope Pianos
I am thrilled to be participating in a very special project and art installation in NYC: Sing for Hope Pianos. I am one of fifty artists selected to design and paint a full-size piano that will go on a special journey of its own. All fifty pianos will be presented for the first time together on June 3 outdoors on a public plaza at 28 Liberty Street in the financial district in Manhattan. The event is open to the public (you) and will run from 12-6pm (it will be postponed if it is raining). I hope that those in the area can join me to see AND play all the pianos.
Following the unveiling, each piano will be placed for approximately three weeks in a public space or park within one of the five boroughs of NYC. My piano will be located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building 77, 141 Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn. It will be available for viewing and playing from the evening of June 5 to June 23 from 9am to 8pm. After that, each piano will be donated to a public school in NYC.
You can see my piano and read my design inspiration online here and view all fifty here.
I always love being part of art events in New York and this is particularly special as it is community-based and will contribute to bringing music and art to the public schools of NYC. I had the pleasure to work on my paino at the same time as the other artists over the span of a number of months. Seeing their designs and watching them create was extra inspiring. A shout out goes to Liquitex who is the sponsor and provided all the materials, except for the many stencils from StencilGirl Products that I used.
I rarely work so big and had limited time due to my extensive travel schedule. As such, the taks was a bit daunting but I decided to use the same techniques I often use for my usual, small-sized artwork. It was all about the layers. Take a look below to see the process. And hope to see you on June 3!
sanded...
primed...
1st paint layer - black...
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2nd paint layer - green...
3rd paint layer - ochre...
4th paint layer - red...
close up of texture effects...
adding details...
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glazed...
let the stenciling begin...
close up of details...
even more stenciling...
working on the bench & music holder and adding more details....
bench closeup...
the back...
detail of the back...
sign, sealed and delivered...
Embossing Video Tutorials
Every January I attend Creativation, the annual trade show for the craft industry sponsored by the Association for Creative Industries (AFCI). At the show earlier this year, I unveiled my newest collection of Baked Texture and Baked Velvet embossing powders with Emerald Creek. Although you have to be a member to attend, there are many videos taken of company booths, product releases and art demos - making the show a bit accessible to everybody. Christine from Scrap Time seems to cover the entire show very well. She takes so many videos that she is still sharing new ones on her site. And in the last few weeks, she has shared a few of me - which I am now sharing with you!
In this first video, I am making a mixed media piece using heat embossing both to create the background and with stamps to create focal points. I also offer some tips in this video on how to best use the translucent colors in the Baked Velvet Mediterranean and Sahara kits.
In the second video, the demo is all about using embossing powder with stencils. Since I am always all about the layers, this video focuses on layering EPs to create a more dimensional effect.
All my embossing powders are available in my online shop. And additional video tutorials can be found on my YouTube channel - with more coming soon,
Spring and Summer Workshops
make time to play....
This has already been a year filled with workshops and retreats for me...with many more to come. So far, here are the numbers:
26 classes
11 states
18 flights
2 retreats
There is nothing like spending time with fellow creatives, making art, learning new techniques, and forgetting about real life. Continuing my whirlwind, worldwide tour in the spring and fall, my schedule over the next few months takes me further afield to 4 different countries. Hoping that you might be able to join me...
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May 18-19: 52 Card Pickup and Get Baked at Amelia's Creative Crafts in Studley, UK. Excited about teaching at this venue for the very first time. Both classes are filled.
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May 25-26: Get Baked and 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer at Handmade at Helen's in Dumfries, Scotland. Not only my first time teaching at this venue but my very first time in Scotland too. Registration is closed and both classes are filled.
June 5-10: Bento Box - a 4-day retreat at Port Townsend School of Art in Port Townsend, Washington and co-sponsored by The Pacific NorthWest Art School. Two spots have just opened up for this full-on, live-in retreat on an island with a very special history in the mixed-media world.
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June 22-23: 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer and Joker's Wild at Creative Inkling in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. I am excited to be teaching at this new venue in PA. Space is available in both classes.
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July 17-21: Beyond thrilled to be returning to Australia as part of the Tinker Tailor Artist Maker Retreat. This time I will be stationed at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast Queensland. I mean with names like that, you know this will be special. I am teaching Bento Box, 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer, Get Baked and Joker's Wild. Sign up soon as only a few seats are open in each class.
August 16-18: Embossing Alchemy, Joker's Wild and Too Cool for Spool at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, Virginia. Happy to be back here and to be debuting two new classes. Registration just opened so get 'em while they are hot.
August 23-25: 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer, 52 Card Pickup and Get Baked at Scrapbook Centrale in Montreal, Quebec Canada. Excited to be teaching here for the first time in a trip that is sure to be different from my last visit when I went dog sledding in the snowy forest. Mark your calendars as registration opens on May 25.
And looking ahead to fall...registration just now opened for a 2-day Bento Box workshop on September 27-28 in Santa Fe, New Mexico at Guadalupe's Fun Rubber Stamps.
April: Third Friday Online Open Studio
Welcome to my online studio. I want to invite you to join me (virtually) on the First Friday of every month (but the Third Friday of April) 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.
TWENTIETH CENTURY (sold. thank you)
IMAGINE (sold. thank you)
March: First Friday Online Open Studio
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Welcome to my online studio. I want to invite you to join me (virtually) on the First Friday of every month 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.
OBSERVATIONS (sold. thank you)
JOURNEY (sold. thank you)
HISTORICAL (sold. thank you)
ORIGINAL (sold. thank you)
Mixed Media Layers: online workshop
I am beyond excited to introduce you to my very first online workshop: Mixed Media Layers. After teaching in person for so many years, I have finally taken the plunge and can now bring my creative ideas to you. In your studio. In your home. In your pajamas. No matter where you live, what time you like to create, or how many times you want to watch - Mixed Media Layers is waiting for you.
This workshop consists of 6 video segments and takes you through the creation of one project using my signature, mixed media techniques. I share my secrets for creating dymanic, layered surfaces.
I demonstrate technqiues for creating texture, offer tips on developing dimensional backgrounds, share my methods for adding the smallest of details to bring the largest effects, reveal the way in which I chose and use a focal image, offer strategies to to add the perfect finishing touches and focus on my belief that you are always only one layer away from magic. I share my favorite tools - and how to use them. Along the way I also highlight ways to create without thinking so you control the inner critic and let your inner artist fly free.
In total you will instantly get 115 minutes of instruction along with VERY detailed PDFs listing the supplies used as well as documenting and illustrating every step along the way. My class is part of a group of courses on StencilGirl Studio - run by Mary Beth Shaw. But please know that stencils are just one small part of the supplies/techniques shown. As you watch and create - and anytime after - you can connect with me via email or message with your comments, questions, and thoughts. The cost of this workshop is $49.00 - pretty much the same price as a cappucino in New York City.
But there is more. Everybody who purchases this course within the month of February will be entered into a random drawing to win the original artwork created in the workshop.
Have a quick look at this intro video to get a taste of what is in store. And them head over to StencilGirl Studio, sign up for an account, and start making layers.
