Vintage Vignette - Go see!!

Have had a fantastic day of creating, painting and being in awe of Mother Nature as storms blow through Perth.
I will post more on my days work later, but wanted to urge you all to go check Mums blog out.
http://vintagevignette.blogspot.com/

Mum had written a post on her Book of Trees and the Dwellingup Retreat.
Very interesting and gorgeous photos.

Art Journey Retreat - Day 4

Sunday we woke to the rain steadily pouring down, it was very hard to get out of my snug warm bed, but the days class motivated me to get moving!
Today I was doing a class with Nina Bagley. In all the times that we have had Nina here, I still hadn't done a class with her. I was excited about learning Nina knots and was planning on making a necklace for my eldest daughter, Samara.


When we arrived at Swinburne, we were most upset to find it all locked up tight! After wandering around looking for an entry point for over half an hour, a lovely security guard came and opened up for us.

Everyone arrived, rearing to go! It was chaotic as we had decided to move Nina in to the bigger class room, as there was a full to capacity class.

Nina started by carefully taking us through the Nina knot process, step by step. Some took to it naturally, others not so. I picked up the actual technique okay, but knew I would need to do alot of practise to get them as neat as Nina does.

Here are shots from the class room of the girls all working hard.

And Nina showing the way. The technique of Nina knots is so effective, I love the way it gives jewellery a raw look, not so precise as jewellery bought from stores. And I also love the natural element, natural stones and gems, pebbles, sea glass etc...
This is Corinnes little box of treasures. I was fortunate enough to receive 2 beautiful pieces of Jade from Corinne (thankyou soooo much!!), one of which I used in my necklace for Samara.

And this is some of my treasures...

This is the class sample. It was great that no-one tried to reproduce this piece exactly and there were some wonderful, unique pieces created on this day.
I was so happy to complete my necklace, even though I was struck by melancholy, exhaustion and sadness about a quarter of the way through the class. Despite this, it was a great class and I felt I learnt so much from it. The day I returned to Perth I completed a necklace for my daughter Jessica, using a Celtic charm I had picked up in Melbourne on a shopping trip we went on the next day.

I am still happily playing with wire, beads and chain. A recent trip to a bead shop set me back over $200, but I am set to go now. Nothing holding me back.

I must take some photos of Samara and Jessicas necklaces to show you all.

Then, to end off the day we had to pack up and label all our stock and tidy up the class rooms. hat a massive job, but made fun by all our helpers.

Here I am putting my weary feet up after we got it all finished!

And what do you know? A church group was meeting in the foyer and a group of girls were giving massages! Well, who could pass that up after a week of hard slog, loads of walking, talking and creating!? Here are Mandy and Di, unwinding!!

Before I left, I just had to get a photo of this bizarre sign in the toilet!!!!
Veeerrry strange...

After packing up and massages were over, we all headed back to our hotel for an impromptu meal of Salads, cheese and dips, chips and whatever else we could find in our room.
We all sat around the table and did a show and tell of what we had made over the weekend.

It was such a great way to end the retreat.

We all worked in eack others journals, practised techniques, chatted, laughed and had fun.




Well, that is all for today. I will post again tomorrow with more photos and also be doing a response to questions, comments and concerns raised about the retreat!
Have a great weekend, it is a public holiday here in Perth on Monday, so a happy long weekend to all from W.A.

Congratulations Keron Lee

We have just received a delivery of Somerset Gallery and Sew Somerset and I thought I would have a browse through Gallery whilst eating my lunch. The very first article is by none other than Australias own Keron Lee!!
A huge congratulations Keron, for a fantastic article and beautiful work!
Both magazines are available to purchase online.

Art Journey Retreat 2008 - Day 3

It is a cold, blustering wet day here in Perth today. It is so nice to be cocooned in my little shop, surrounded by art and reliving the memories from last week.
I will be the first to admit that there were things that went wrong and definite improvements to be made, but overall, it was a wonderful weekend, filled with laughter and inspiration and the company of some truly wonderful and inspiring women. That includes tutors and students both!
The amount of talent we have here in Australia is comparable to the worlds best and I hope we, as Australians can embrace these artists.

Now, back to the Art Retreat! Here are a few backgrounds I created during Mistys class. I was fascinated with how Misty created her backgrounds and thoroughly enjoyed smooshing paint around. I also loved the effect of the Adirondack re-inkers. I had a play yesterday, so fun!

Saturday Morning we awoke to a gray overcast sky and a crisp chill to the air. The trees out front of the hotel had been stripped of their leaves, branches left bare to the Melbourne cold.

The range of Autumn hues coating the ground was beautiful and soothing, a lovely way to energise for a busy, creative day ahead.

Todays class was with the beautiful, talented Traci Bautista. This was such a full on class and because of my other obligations I was not fully able to participate in the class. But, I did come away equipped with plenty of knowledge and inspiration to continue my work at home. I also feel I will be able to appreciate Tracis book and DVD so much more now.

This was a very fast paced class, we had alot to do in such a short space of time. The class began with learning Tracis backgrounds, doodling etc.. I was blown away with how quickly Traci works and how beautifullt the end products turned out. It was very liberating, a freeing of creative energy. Great work for a cold day as the fast pace keeps you nice and warm!
Once we had created a huge stack of background papers on different surfaces, Traci taught us how to compile them all in to journal signatures and then stitch the signatures and create a gorgeous ribbon binding.

Below is Shirley Howard all the way from Dowerin in West Australia. Shirley was such a pleasure to have at the retreat. Always calm, and ready to be inspired! Such a beautiful gentle soul.

These are some of Tracis pieces on display. I love Tracis use of colour, so bright and vibrant and the fact that she uses commonly found items to create her patterns on her papers. I loved seeing how she used the different mediums such as Acrylic paint, inks, etc...

Here is Kirsty binding her journal. What a gorgeous girl, so happy and bubbly.

And Debbi Baker, another one all the way from W.A. Debbi is an extremely talented lady and is ready to give anything a go. You can tell from Debbis finished pieces that she has a real passion from her work, which is of such a high standard. She is also a beautiful person, always kind and positive with a nice word for everyone.

And the gorgeous Jo Wholohan, check out that beautiful smile. The only time I didn't see Jo smiling was hen she was concentrating on her work. Another Aussie talent that you need to keep an eye on!

Traci and Mandy. I loved Tracis style (dress and art), her enthusiasm, and lovely calming voice.

And a collection of the days work. I know many of us were going to keep working on these when we got home. If anyone has posted a finished one on their blog let me know!

That evening, a group of us went to Dantes restaurant in Fitzroy for dinner. The food was delicious, the restaurant full of interesting art work and the company spectacular. I had a great evening. It was so nice to chat with everyone, away from the classroom/shop atmosphere. These ladies are all so interesting and fun!

This was a huge mural behind our table.

And one at the end of our table.

And a carousel horse suspended above the counter. There were so many vintage collections, sculpture and art in this place. I wish I had taken more pictures. Even the toilet (restroom!!) had art work in it. You can imagine what we were like, stopping to stare at every piece!

Mandy and Corinne hamming it up for the camera!
And having a dance once everyone had left.

And though I don't have photographic eveidence, they were later joined by our fantastic waiter, Edward!
It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Unfortunately Nina was still fighting off a chest cold, but it was lovely to have a good chat and laugh with Misty and Traci. I was fascinated to learn more about Tracis workshop in Bali and all about ArtFest. I really need to go to ArtFest next year, Really, really need to go. It sounds like so much fun. My hat certainly goes off to tracy and Teesha Moore. What a mammoth event! 600 ladies plus tutors! I can't fathom how they do it, and they do it so well.

Well, I am off to practise some faces that I prepared earlier. Will post all about Sunday and Ninas class tomorrow or Sunday.
P.S

I am setting up a link section for those posting about the retreat. Let me know if you have written anything on your blog so I can include you!

Jo

xoxo