Summer Days of June

I'm trying to get myself back into the routine of blogging every day, but I'm having a hard time getting started. I had one attempt 10 days ago, and this is the second. I CAN do it, I know I can!

Tomorrow, our Art Marketing Salon group is meeting in North Fork to have lunch and to finalize our group portfolio for submission for a group show as "Sisters7". The seven should be raised so it reads like "Sisters to the Seventh Power". And powerful we WILL be! Seven strong-minded, talented, creative women who have bonded as we have been improving our marketing skills to become more successful and organized artists. It has been a wonderful experience and I'm totally glad that I decided months ago to take part. We finished the nine "official" sessions, at two week intervals, and now are planning to continue to meet periodically to maintain the momentum that has all of us "on a forward roll." As I think back to where we were when we started and where we are now, I believe we have all made a lot of progress and definitely moved forward in our quest to become better known, more successful, and to achieve our artistic goals.

I have done my homework for tomorrow and one part of it that wasn't required but that I wanted to do was to create an (optional) Powerpoint portfolio. I am going to try to include it with today's blog post, but I'm not sure if that's possible or not. Let's all cross our fingers, think good thoughts, and try it out!

{Unfortunately, it didn't work and I'm having to try--read that as "LEARN"--how to do it another way. Hopefully, that will work and I'll have it up very soon.}

The Art Stand Gallery's Summer Workshops

You may already know that those of us who are part of The Art Stand Gallery give classes during our closed seasons. This happens twice a year, in the winter and in the summer, for about six weeks each time. The classes will be given in July and August and sign-ups are being taken now. I am offering one Mixed Media class on August 8th. Attached is the flyer and registration form.

If you would like to print out the form to send in, double click on it and it will become larger and printable. Fill it out, send it in with your check according to the directions on the form and we'll see you at one of the upcoming workshops!

Vision Academy Classes

Yikes! I am just finally realizing that the first Vision Academy Mixed Media class is next Saturday and I need to encourage people to sign up for it. Everyone's been so busy that the summer is creeping up on us sooner than we are all ready for it.

There are openings in all 3 classes and you need to call Jackie Byers at 683-7071 to sign up as soon as possible, especially for the June 20th class. Each class costs $45 and lasts from 10 AM till 4 PM.

I am going to attach the list of Vision Academy classes to this post and I've listed dates in "Upcoming Events/Activities" to the right side of this blog also. MY "vision' for the 3 summer/fall classes was to do a basic one (next Saturday, June 20th) during which we will explore the possibilities with mixed media work, much like the one I did up there last year. We will explore materials, techniques, and do a couple of small paintings. The second class (July 18th) is called "Artists' Books and Journals" and we will use mixed media techniques and materials to explore and make one or more small artist journals. The third class (Sept. 26th) will be an opportunity to extend either or both of the first 2 classes by "going further" with mixed media and for first timers to get started at that class. Brief descriptions of all 3 classes follow, as does the supply list.

Experiment with Mixed Media with Kathleen
Class #1/June 20, 2009

Come prepared to have fun and be surprised by what
you can do that you haven’t tried before!

In Kathleen Mattox’s class, participants will experiment, play, and create with many different materials, mediums, ideas, and processes. Using paints, collage papers, texture medium, mat and gel mediums, tapes, pens, watercolor crayons, rubber stamps and many other materials, students will be guided to apply the elements and principles of design to playful, personally meaningful creations.

A materials list will be sent upon registration, but you can start gathering scraps of collage papers, rice papers and other oriental papers and saving a good quality magazine to cut up and an old phone book or two (if available). Bring your mixed media supplies but don’t worry if you don’t have anything as most materials will be provided for your use.

Artist Journals and Books
Class #1/June 20, 2009

In this mixed media class, Kathleen will continue the exploration of mixed media by guiding class participants to create a variety of artist journals and books. She will show how to embellish and modify commercial journals and notebooks and how to create your own. The topic of ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) will also be addressed briefly and leftovers from the day will be turned into ATCs to trade at the end of the day!

In addition to the regular supplies in the materials list, you might want to bring a journal or notebook to modify and perhaps a childrens’ “board book” to gesso and turn into a keepsake artist’s journal. Supplies will be available to purchase at a minimal cost at the class—usually $1/item.

“Mix It Up With Mixed Media”
Class #3/September 26, 2009

We’re going to continue to “mix it up” with Mixed Media! We will explore some fun and different ways to jumpstart your creativity when you can’t get rolling, and create several small paintings to explore some new techniques together.

This class will allow students who may have taken one of the first 2 classes to continue to explore new techniques and share materials and ideas with fellow students in a fun-filled, more open-ended day of mixed media excitement.

SUPPLY LIST for Kathleen Mattox’s Mixed Media Class

c Watercolor palette and paints (your regular colors and set up)—IF you have these materials already. If not, I have materials to share. Do NOT buy if you do not have already!

c A tube or 2 of acrylic paint, if you have it already—black or white and your favorite colors

c 1 or 2 quarter sheets of watercolor paper or a small watercolor block or 2 that you already own (I use Arches 140# Cold press.)

c 2-3 brushes—a 1” flat and a small round or 2

c Water container and spray bottle

c Apron or smock or work shirt

c Paper towels and “baby wipes”

c A disposable foam brush (1 “)

c A roll of masking tape

c A pair of scissors to cut paper

c An old phone book or 2 (consumable)

c A magazine or 2 to cut up—good quality paper, like Oprah, Architectural Digest, Art News etc.

c Rubber gloves (thin, flexible, disposable) if you don’t want to peel the mat medium off your hands (I can’t work in them, but some people can

Any of the following that you have on hand:

c Collage papers, if you have a “stash” but I have plenty to share,if you have none. Handmade or handstamped papers, rice papers, origami papers, scrapbook papers, pieces of an old painting—all are suitable for collage use

c Rubber stamps (your favorite 1 or 2) and an ink pad

c Gel pens, assorted colors, especially gold

c Watercolor crayons

c Assorted texture items, such as mesh bag material etc.

c Paint chips from Lowe’s or Home Depot, especially the ones with a little “hole” cut out in them! (Collect them in stages, do not wipe them out all at once!)

Notes: Just bring your basic supplies and anything on the list that you already have. I will bring mat and gel mediums, rice papers etc. to share, my collage papers, embossing materials etc. to try, and a lot of different mixed media materials that you can use during the workshop. I do NOT want you to spend a lot of money buying things for the class. You can bring nothing but a couple of brushes, a quarter sheet of paper, a water container, a roll of masking tape and get by just fine. Be conservative in your expenditures. Bring what you have already and plan to share with a friend and use what I bring.

You MUST bring the following:

c A sense of humor and an open mind

c A willingness to experiment and try things you haven’t tried

c Good listening skills

c An understanding that this will be a day of learning and playing, NOT necessarily a day to produce a finished painting

Back, after a long "time out"!

It's been over a month since I last posted, after doing so well about posting almost every day for several months. I think that 2 things contributed to my time away. One is that I've been so busy, in terms of art events, that somethings just had to be let go of for a while. After all, if it's a matter of painting regularly or posting regularly, the painting has to be a higher priority. And we had a lot of things happening in our lives around home that added to the blog being lower on the priority list than in the past. The 2nd thing that happened is that I find having an iPhone lets me be much less tied to the computer than I was before, in terms of email etc. Many days I don't even go into the computer room because I've done what I have to do with just my fabulous phone. So that's a good thing/bad thing sort of thing! :)

All further excuses aside, I'm so glad to be back. I missed writing, I missed interacting with you via your comments, and I missed the emails that the blog posts seemed to generate. The hard thing to do now is to try to catch up with all that's happened. And I don't think that I can truly catch up, so I'm going to start where I am right now and go forward and then I'll write about past events as I have time.

What's happening right now is my show at the Mindshop Bookstore in Oakhurst! Tomorrow is the Second Saturday/Art Hop event from 11 AM till 5 PM. I will be in the store during that time period and I hope that some of you can visit me there. The address is 49269 Golden Oak Drive. If you are going north on highway 41 to Oakhurst, you want to turn right on Road 426 which is the stoplight as you come down the hill into town from Fresno/Coarsegold. The first left you can make after the light is Golden Oak Drive. The Mindshop Bookstore is across the street from Sierra Nursery (a real treat to visit!) and on the left side of the street in the same building as the Positive Living Center and the Children's Museum. The show is called "The Power of Words" and what better place to exhibit it than a bookstore!

The 19+ paintings will be up for the rest of June and much of July so if you can't come tomorrow, come some other day. Normal hours are on Wednesday (10 to 2), Thursday (11 to 2), and Sunday (11 to 1). Sometimes the hours are longer but it's always a good idea to call first before dropping by at hours other than the posted ones. The phone number at Mindshop is 642-4614.

I would like to thank Kim Haley Remmers for having me show there and I look forward to being there for part of the summer. Thank you, Kim! In addition to the framed paintings, there are a number of very small, matted originals which are very reasonably priced and not often seen together in one place. They would make wonderful gifts and can almost all be easily framed in standard size frames.

Today's photo is of me taking down paintings from the Reedley Opera House show in preparation for rehanging them at the Mindshop Bookstore.