More Felting this year

I have been enjoying  felting and really want to learn new techniques. I had been eyeing a 4-day workshop with Lisa Klakulak from Strongfelt for awhile. It is in Durango, Colorado, where I went to college  ( I haven't been back there in about 12 years!). I decided to go for it! I think it will be amazing to learn from Lisa. To me, she's a felt celebrity!  If you haven't seen her felted works check out her gallery on Strongfelt. It will amaze you.

We're going to make a 2 day roadtrip there from Washington, through eastern Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and southwestern Colorado. I'm excited to go through Arches National Park and Moab, UT again. It's a beautiful area. We'll also make a stop in Salt Lake City. My favorite vacations are roadtrips and I haven't been down those roads in so long. Also, my old college friend, Sara, is going to meet us there. We're finally going to ride the Durango- Silverton narrow gauge railroad. You know, we always wanted to, but must have spent our extra money on drinks. Ha!

Now, I just have to wait until May.

Here's the latest bag I made. The red is a merino blend and the grey is bamboo.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Photo Transfer Class

I had the best day in Portland yesterday attending Serena Barton's Photo Transfer class! Serena has the most wonderful studio there and the whole experience was fantastic. It was a small class of 7 and I felt like everyone was an old friend.

We did some blender pen transfers, moving tape, and gel medium...some working better than others for me.

These are the 3 peices I left the class with. I think I may add some three dimensional stuff on there.

If you live near Portland I recommend taking one of her classes. I'm hoping to do the encaustic class and egg tempura painting too. There's a link to her classes on my sidebar. I could hang out in her studio for days. It was so inviting and cozy, filled with interesting artwork, antiques, and supplies. And, of course, a lovely teacher and students. xo

Portland Art and Soul Retreat

I just got back from Portland's Art and Soul Retreat. What a wonderful place! It was my first year attending- definately going back next year- and hopefully taking a lot more classes.  I was able to do 2 this time around; Thawed Charlottes ( small wire doll) and Mechanical Bird ( mixed media). Both were amazing! Here are some photos from the classes and final projects:

Thawed Charlottes with Jessica Acosta

Getting the face on...

Following the diagram to make our little wire friend...

almost there....

and here she is! These were so fun to make. I am already planning out my own little faces for them.

Mechanical Bird with Kerin Gale and Charley Slaughter:

Next up, my all day class making this kooky bird!

It doesn't look like much in th beginning....

Then it starts to come together, after a bit of struggling with wires and copper domes....

add diamond clay and some paint...

added some old keys and found objects I had.... collage papers, old sewing pattern pieces, and some sewing words cut from an old Spanish dictionary....

All finished! Just need to add some eyes and a few other simple embellishments, but I love the way it turned out. This was such a great project!! I'd love to hear what you think of my Art and Soul creations!

You can see these teachers websites on my sidebar. Jessica is at Doll Project and Charley and Kerin are at Mixed Media Art and Remnants of Olde.