An Art Retreat

The end of October I had an awesome vacation at an art retreat with ReMe Retreats.  It was a week of relaxation and creativity run by Jodi Ohl and Jean Skipper.  They tag team on on the projects for the week.  More on that below.

One of the things they do is send attendees a blank item to decorate and this time it was a wooden block shaped like a house.  One of the things I like is there is no pressure to finish it but it is always a fun project.  I decorated mine with gelli prints, some of which I doodle on.  It's hard to see but I had some wire tag frames from my scrapbooking days that I used to frame out the doors and windows.  Hammered them a bit to give them more texture.



For the retreat the first thing we worked on was what Jodi calls Zen painting.  We started with gesso board and played with a number of water soluble pencils to design shapes and lines. Then used paynes grey and nickle azo for shading along with some grey tones. Then more colors.  I still have more to do to add depth but it is a start.

Our next batch of projects revolved around copper etching.  So much fun and I may have to invest in some of the supplies to do this at home.  The etching is done using stamps, stazon ink, sharpies, and then etching acid. The acid eats away around the ink so where you stamped or drew is the raised portion.
This is another project using a box made from barn wood and hanging one of the finished necklaces in it.  Haven't figured out which wall this is going to hang on and I don't think I'm done with embellishing the box yet. One of the other things we did was a field trip to one of the local pottery shops.  They taught us how to use horse hair and coffee grounds to create patterns.  So much fun!

Here are some pics around the house we stayed at that Jodi and Jean so creatively embellished. Going back in February for a cold wax weekend retreat and can hardly wait.

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Another Art Show

So, even more excitement because I’m accepted into another art show, at Tannery Row Artist Colony. Tannery Row is in Buford and is a wonderful place to visit with many great artists. The piece below is the one that was accepted and the reception is next Saturday night at 5 pm. Who wants to go with me? 😀



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An Art Show

I’m super excited to get to participate in the SAAG National Juried Art Show being held in Blue Ridge. The opening reception is Saturday, October 7th from 5 to 7 pm. Holler if you’d like to join us. I’m really looking forward seeing all the other amazing artwork that will be on display.

These are the three pieces I submitted and were accepted.

Orbs


A View


Stacked


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A Little Collage

Today I got to spend the day with a good friend, talking, laughing, and creating a little. My friend Ann recently went to an art retreat centered around calligraphy and created some pendants with paper. She showed me how she made them and let me dive into her jar of paper scraps to make my own. I'm definitely going to make some more with gelli scraps. Here are the two that I made today, first the back, then the front.









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Collages

I don't spend as much time as I'd like in my art studio but snagged some time Saturday with one of my besties.

Played with a simple monotype abstract,



And started a mixed media piece,










and when stuck, started making small 5x7 collages with deli paper monotypes. I'm still trying to decide if I want to add a word to each. Hm...















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Trying new things...

Last month I read an article on Artists Network by Tonia Jenny on making cool bowls with paper clay. About once a month I have an art play date with my friend Ann and last month we made the bowls but we had to let them are dry for over a week so today we finished painting them. Had a bit of trial and error with the colors but I like the end results.
















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Art play time...

So you know when you keep playing and making gel prints and start running out of places to stash them all? Means it's time to start collaging to use some up.

Here is one collage that also included some magazine paper and a bit of a cardboard coffee sleeve.



And here is one that is mostly gel prints on various papers including deli paper and then some snippets of paper I made with string and craft tissue.


Haven't figured out what to name them yet.

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First art show of the year

So, this is my first blog post of the year and hopefully I will do much better than I did last year.

I'm super excited that I've been accepted to the Tannery Row juried art show.  This is only my second show and I'm going to try to put myself out there more this year.

I hope those of you who are local will join me at the opening ceremony on March 4th.  Details below.

 

 

Presenting the artwork of

Laurel Englehardt

 

A View, Mixed Media, 16x20

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 4th, 2017

5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

 

at Tannery Row Artist Colony

554 West Main St,

Buford, GA 30518

www.tanneryrowartistcolony.com

Calling all local/regional artists near Cumming Georgia

Colors of Fall

Art Exhibit and Sale

September 29 – October 8, 2016

Sawnee Arts Center

2202 Canton Hwy, Cumming, GA

The 4th Annual Colors of Fall Art Exhibit and Sale is a juried 2-D, 3-D and Photography Exhibit and Sale. The event features original works by local and regional artists in various mediums including painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, pottery, wood working, glass, fiber arts and jewelry. Entry is open to all artists.

 The exhibit will be held at the Sawnee Arts Center and will be open two extended weekends between September 29 and October 8. Admission is free.

Ribbons and monetary prizes will be awarded in three categories, 2D art, 3D and Photography.

• 1st Place:  $200
• 2nd Place:  $125 
• 3rd Place:  $$75 
• Honorable Mention ribbon

There will be a single “Best of Show” award of $300, and a single “People’s Choice” certificate.

To register and see full guidelines visit Colors Of Fall

Looking for a focal point...

So, I'm still trying to go bigger on this 18x24 piece and with more vibrant colors.  My first few layers were on an IKEA desk pad as my plate but without wetting the paper or having a press it doesn't make full contact like the Gelli plate does.  I need them to go bigger instead of all the small plates they are doing at the moment.  I see a homemade one in my future.

Here I've added some more layers but I haven't figured out how I want to give it a focal point.  I could make another layer that essentially masks out the majority of it to leave interesting shapes or I could collage some large elements in or, or...  At the moment I like the bottom portion the most.

This is a partial progression of another one I worked on that is more 11x14. In this phase I liked the simpleness but it felt a little flat and missing some texture.

The photo is a bit dark but I like the texture now and what looks like black is really a dark purple.

I hope everyone had a blessed Fathers Day.