Arrowmont: ArtCamp/ArtSpa.

I spent all of last week in this nice big classroom at an Encaustic Workshop at Arrowmont.  What a week!  I learned some stuff, so much that my brain is now full.
Isn't this a nice environment for painting and learning.  I snapped these pictures at lunchtime so the room is empty.  All the people are over enjoying a delicious dining experience.  More on the food at this place later...

There were a lot of plugs and extension cords happening all at once in here.  Heat guns, irons, light boxes, griddles, fans galore, you name it and it was plugged in. The technicians planned for this and did their wiring accordingly so when a breaker blows its not the entire room.  That didn't seem to be a problem not even once.

As the week progressed, the stations got messier and messier.  And messier.  It was pure bliss.

We spent the first day or two making backgrounds, learning new techniques and reviewing some of the basics.

We were then turned loose.  Art in progress:

I felt like I was at Art Camp with a little bit of Art Spa thrown in for good measure.  This is the path down to the studios.

Everyone's favorite place, the dining hall.

Food always tastes better when someone else fixes it, a phenomenon I've often pondered.  I could talk a lot about the food at Arrowmont.  Although its not "gourmet", it is real food prepared with care and love.  There are enough choices for everyone, mostly fresh and healthy-although a homemade cookie is almost always locatable.  Smiles were abundant in the dining hall.

I passed this room on my way to the studio so I snapped a picture (through the screen) sort of like a peeping tom might do.  The room was filled with giant life-like clay heads.  Yup.

This gallery/hall was so much fun to walk through on the way to and from.  I swear, every single time I went through here I saw something new as if for the first time.  It goes on and on way back in there and there's a lot of art to see.  A lot.

Art is everywhere at Arrowmont.

And the funny thing is, it is right in downtown Gatlinburg, TN, right on the strip. The hustle and bustle of the vacationers somehow gets lost through all the trees. You don't even know they're there.  On the way out I snapped this picture of Hillbilly Golf out the car window.  Hillbilly Golf, a vacationing-child's dream.  I could not drive past it without proper documentation.

The strip went on and on, but I didn't photograph any of it because my mind was on the wax.  Inspiration is oozing out my pores.  I can't wait to get back in my artroom and get crackin'.  But this, this sweet little tiny carousel on the side of the road was just way too fabulous to ignore.  Here's a nice blurry photo of it taken as we zoomed on by.

Upon my return I found that the bachelors had turned.  They went rancid and starved to death and, and, and, this has now moved into my house.  I was obviously away one day too many.

that's her suitcase right behind so she must be staying...

Flying Off To Their New Homes.

This guy has been with me for 2 years but yesterday I packed him up and shipped him off to his brandspankin' shiny new home in beautiful Virginia.

It really is all about his eyes.



Once I finish a painting I can't wait to see it go out into the world, the sooner the better.  I'm totally done with them once the paint dries.  It always surprises me when someone actually likes my work enough to spend their cold hard cash on it. Complete and total surprise.  Every time.

And speaking of going out into the world, I finished illustrating Bumple Umbrella and its going off to live its fabulous and exciting life later this afternoon.  I might need a moment, its been with me for a long time and I've been petting it and kissing it and hugging it a lot.

Its the Little Things.

Morning eggs.  Just look at those beauties.  I'm sorry that the photo doesn't show how green they are, nice and greenish.  My good friend's sweet little chickens sent these over to me.  How wonderful.  The yolks were such a deep orange, a truly fabulous color.  Their richness made me eggstatic, sad but true.  I do appreciate a nice rich, deeply-colored yolk in the morning.

And this, well I had to show you.  I know, I know, I finished the Crossword, big woo. The incredible part (that doesn't show in the photo) is that I did this one in world-record time-as in as fast as I could write.  Obviously, it was the easiest crossword of all time because I'm not all that good at them.

And who might I ask is this guy?  Is he cute or what?  Look at his skinny legs. I stared at them for a long long time.

He is a very special bug.  Is it wrong that I wanted to bring him home and put him in the dollhouse?

Bathed In Sunshine.

Everything is bathed in sunshine today.  The air is crisp and clear, not typical for the middle of July.  And as my Dad would say, "there's at least 4 inches of sunshine on the ground."  (He particularly likes to say this in the dead of winter when we've just been hit with a snowstorm and he's in Florida with Mom).

You can almost feel these plants meditating.

And this guy, he's always shining in sun rays.  Always.

I asked her to pose for the camera there in the sunshine and this is what she did. Silly pony.

At least the flowers cooperated.

Owls, Jellyfish, and Kittens.

Remember him, the Owl with the Car Keys?  He made a cameo in my life today so I took some quick pictures to share.

I've always had a soft spot for him.

truth.

I used vintage magazine ads to collage the surface and extended it around the edges.

Its 12x12 Birch.  I put a sawtooth on it, but I realized I don't love them so I wired it up as well.

This painting (below) is on one of those cheap-*#! canvases, 18x24.  I'm making a promise to myself to use better surfaces, no offense to the cheap-*#! canvas makers, I've just outgrown them.  Even using book covers( like I love to do) has way more personality.

Not everybody appreciates the "look" of a painting on a distressed vintage book cover. Not everyone gets it.  I think I felt peer pressure to paint a proper picture on a proper canvas, something I obviously need to get over.

 I used acrylics, collage ephemera, oil pastels, spray paints, confetti stars, and some Tim Holtz Distress Crackle.
Its all about his eyes.

We made JellyFish in the Lodi Art Love class Wednesday evening, and two of the children actually displayed theirs on the bulletin board.  The rest took them right home to dangle in front of their fans, which have all been blazing this week.

JellyFish Masterpiece.  The secret ingredient is the coffee filter for a body. Decorate it up any way you choose, tape some streamers and a "handle", and voila', a JellyFish.  This one needs a joojsh.
This was the simplest little craft project in the universe, and those kids loved it. They were so relaxed and creative and laughing and decorating.  It was a real nice, low-pressure evening.  Sometimes, simple is best.

Meanwhile, over in the nursery things are progressing nicely.

FurMomi is not friendly as you can tell by her expression.  She does, however, let me pick up the kittens and play with them.  She's used to me.

There are 3 kittens nursing in this picture.  Look real close at the kitten in the middle-he's doing the Splits!

See, perfect Splits.