Pilgrimage in Paint - San Miguel de Allende

Every time I go to Mexico I wish that I could take every person I love there with me. Something this wonderful begs to be shared.

What's best? The food, architecture, warm and friendly people, flowers, color at every turn?

Is it the meeting of several cultures, the proliferation of art, the history of a beleagured people, a powerful spiritual presence?

In this city in particular there is a love of art, beauty unsurpassed.

There is a reason the city has been designated a World Heritage site. It is steeped in history and yet retains the quaint feeling of a village.

Were you to come to San Miguel, you would see the old beside the new. 

You'd experience smells, sounds and fragrances to sharpen your senses.

You would feast.

And feast.

And feast.

And then rest.

Katie Kendrick, Stephanie Lee and I are going to San Miguel this October just in time for Day of the Dead. 

We'll be teaching together and exploring the city for an entire week.

And you're invited to join us.

Rebecca Brooks is our generous organizer and she will take us all on a tour for one of the days.

All three of us (Katie, Stephanie and myself) will focus on drawing and painting during our time together. Many meals are included and evenings are free to explore or celebrate together. 

Here is the information in Rebecca's lovely words:

Pilgrimage in Paint

three treasured artists

three visions

a holy trinity of creativity

san miguel de allende

october 26-nov.3 2013

a week to reside in a

charming cloistered setting

just a few blocks from the jardin.

camaraderie, delicious meals, an art room available round the clock,

inspiring days in the studio with the incomparable

judy wise , stephanie lee and katie kendrick

tucking us safely under their wings

and excursions into the always delightful 

san miguel de allende.

judy wise

 the art of seeing

armed with journals, sketching tools, cameras and curiosity

we will step outside the courtyard and into the jardin,

the heart and pulse of san miguel.

judy will be our guide as we strengthen the lens of present moment seeing

capturing the world around us,

instilling ease and enjoyment in the powerful and reflective

art of drawing.

back in the art room judy will help us marry our renderings with 

a strong collection of her personal favorite techniques 

employing collage, acrylics, hot  wax, and mysterious layering.

connecting us to the world we inhabit through the ultimate joy of creating.

stephanie lee

legacy in texture

stephanie will guide us in the inquiry of texture and surface patterns

as we draw on the legacy of ancient and modern carpenters and abode builders of Mexico

to recreate the energy of San Miguel in plaster and wax.

we will look to light and shadow,

sky and vegetation, buildings and people,

to create studies in texture and color that we will finish

with luminous layers of wax.

with simple tools in hand,

we will create conversations in mark making within the layers of our mediums

to honor and represent all the layers of legacy that guide us

using some of our creations to create a tiled portfolio

to contain all our works from this beautiful week.

katie kendrick

awakening inner visions

katie will lead us on an interior journey within the contours of our hearts.

together we will explore our inner creative world

fueled by the inspiration of san miguel,

with a nod to the divine, 

creating a  retablo dedicated to the sacred feminine within us all.

with cardboard, acrylics, graphite, collage and love

katie will unleash our passion, awakening

our inner muse with wild abandon.

On our final class,

Judy, Katie, and Stephanie will converge to collaboratively guide us

through the final stages of completion of our works

as well as the construction of a painted pouch that,

up to that point, will have been a working surface that we will transform into

a narrative closing chapter to our shared pilgrimage in paint

judy, stephanie and katie

all wrapped up in the arms of exotic san miguel!

Katie Kendrick lives along the banks of the Tahuya River in western Washington, surrounded by the Tahuya State Forest. The peaceful beauty of the nature that surrounds her is a constant source of inspiration and nourishment for her creative spirit. She finds art making to be one of the most powerful ways to connect with her innermost essence, while at the same time discovering her authentic voice. She enjoys the experimental and intuitive layers of creating, where she can explore inner and outer worlds simultaneously. She has a passion for sharing her love of creating with others, and teaches mixed media workshops across the U.S. Her work has been featured in several books and magazines and her book, “Layered Impressions: A Mixed-Media Approach to Painting and Poetry”, was released in 2012. You can learn more about her and her work atwww.joyouslybecoming.typepad.com

I am a professional artist, workshop instructor, and creativity encourager. I never let the comment “I’m not a creative person” be spoken without a bold yet gentle inquiry. I know that creativity shows up with more color variations than a Rubik’s Cube and my job (and joy) is to help you find yours.

I thrive on digging for truth, dancing in the answers, and making art that embodies all of that. I bring all that I am - homesteader, food preserver, speaker, wife & mom, loyal friend, and master mess-maker to the classrooms where I teach, both brick + mortar and virtual. I take the lead long and strong enough to give you what you need to take off and run on your own bringing all that you are to your own beautifully creative life.

Having taught sold out workshops all over the United States and internationally, I’m often humbled and inspired by the power of collective creative energy and support and am here to pay that forward. On my less-messy days, I stand in front of audiences creating art with my words, to bring each listener into a place of solid, fiery confidence in their own creative adventures.

You can learn more about me on my blog as well as glean some new skills from my books “Semiprecious Salvage” (Northlight Books, 2008) – an adventure in making found object jewelry, and "Plaster Studio" (Northlight Books, 2011 – co-authored with Judy Wise).  visit me at  semiprecious salvage

Judy Wise is an Oregon artist who has worked as a printmaker and painter for nearly three decades and has kept daily journals of her writing and art since childhood. She is a painter, printmaker and mixed media artist who teaches creativity workshops across the United States and abroad. As a passionate lover of all things artful her greatest joy is helping others find their unique place in world of creativity enjoying a deeper experience of life through art, connection to others and spirituality. You can find her

in a variety of mixed-media books including Taking Flight, Creative Time and Space, Embracing Encaustic, 1000 Journal Pages, and Interactive Art Workshop, and Plaster Workshop which she co-authored with Stephanie Lee. but mostly you will find her in the hearts of countless others. You can find her  at  www.judywise.blogspot.com.

San Miguel de Allende

High in the Sierra Madre Mountains in the state of Guanajuato

waits the 400 year old colonial town of San Miguel de Allende.

Rich tradition, exotic colors, enticing aromas,

where the old and contemporary converge in a rich offering of art, culture and charm.

San Miguel sits on a hillside,

with inspiring vistas and glorious architecture.

Declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site,

San Miguel de Allende is a bustling colonial community with a perfect climate and elevation of 6,300 ft.

 Visitors are greeted with blooming flowers,

fresh air, blue skies, cobblestone streets, rich colonial architecture,

gourmet restaurants and an experience to savor forever.

I am honored to be your hostess for

Pilgrimage in Paint

oct. 26-nov. 3. 2013

workshop includes

welcoming party, eight nights accommodation, delicious breakfast and lunch as a family each day,

group transport from Leon, Guanjuato to San Miguel

and transport back to airport at the end of our retreat,

group adventures, most art supplies, and the inspiration of a lifetime.

room for 10 

 please email Rebecca for more details 

recuerda_mi_corazon at yahoo.com

con abrazos,

rebecca 

thank you for your over whelming enthusiasm

this workshop is now filled!

Melbourne and Cold Wax eBooks

Two announcements today in my ongoing effort to get caught up. The first is about my upcoming trip to Australia. The Jervis Bay class has filled but there is still space in the Melbourne class (link here). This will be my first trip down under and I'm really looking forward to finally coming face to face with many online friends that I've met there. I absolutely love meeting other artists and exchanging ideas, friendships and experiences.  I hope you will consider joining me in Melbourne.

I dug up a few cold wax paintings to tempt you.

Everybody has their own "favorite thing" to love about working in cold wax. For me it is the ability to carve into the paint, to build and deconstruct the painting over and over.

One of my online class explorers commented that you can do everything with cold wax that you can do with hot wax and I thought that was a great way of putting it. It's the most versatile of media and you don't have to use a lot of special equipment.  

My second announcement is that the cold wax eBooks arrived yesterday and the first batch has already gone out in the mail. So if you're unable to come to my class in Melbourne (or any other cold wax class that you've heard of) you can purchase the eBook here and study in your own studio. The class has gotten very good unsolicited reviews from the people who took it; I think you'll like it too. 

Ciao! 

#676

I've been away. Have spent the past month in Oaxaca, studying Spanish, sketching, resting. Eating. Drinking in the colors, sounds and beauty of an advanced culture. 

 I know that's not the perception that our media gives but it's true. Mexico has many problems as we do in the U.S. but in the realm of human kindness they are most advanced. I am always humbled and learn so much from my visits there.

I think after 675 blog posts since April of 2006 (7 years!) I needed a break. It was nice to be quiet and away from Facebook and the computer (mostly). It's reassuring to know the roof wont fall in if I take a break. And the best part was being a student for a change. A student of the Spanish language at which I am a complete dunce. It helps me to know how it feels to be a beginner. It made me very shy.

And I am playing catch up now. I have a basket full of announcements that will be coming in the next few weeks. I'll be teaching less this year; I just passed another birthday and keep trying to retire but then this "just one more" keeps happening to me so I go on. 

Here are some recent journal pages. I didn't take many art supplies to Mexico so they're kind of heavy on writing.

I was really glad to get home to my studio again. Especially my paints which I missed.

I've unpacked and studied Spanish every day since my return but this is the first step in reconnecting with friends. Next comes answering e-mails. Oye, the list!

More faces. 

Joined Mary Ann in a little sketch party before I left. I've experienced a renewed interest in sketching of late. It was my primary creative outlet as a child; drawing people and making up stories in the solitude of my bedroom, lying on the cool cement floor of the Arizona desert. I plan to do more ...

A mi, me gusta dibujar.

Hasta luego!

What's On My Easel

Thinking today about Australia. My friend Ro Bruhn let me know this morning that she's reserved a room for the Melbourne Cold Wax Class that's scheduled for May 11-12th. Now I can finally make the announcement official; two cold wax class opportunities for my friends in Australia in May! We'll share painting as well as mealtimes, getting to know each other, and talking about art, dreams, all sorts of things we art people talk about when we get together. This is what I love about teaching. Meeting new art friends and sharing stories, laughing, getting to know each other. I love the cultural exchange and making new friends.

So first to Melbourne at the Beaumaris classroom and then on the following weekend I'll travel up to Jervis Bay to be with Tracy Verdugo and teach the cold wax class again to some wonderful new friends there. I'm so excited to make this trip, my first trip to a country that I've loved so much from afar. Here is the link to read about the class at Jervis Bay.

This is short because I'm heading out for a breather (may be away from the computer off and on). The painting above is cold wax. It's 20x20" in a 2" deep cradled panel and I'm calling it "Tumble". I'm loving working in cold wax so much; it really grows on you. I look forward to sharing it and myself with my friends in Australia. Please consider joining one of my classes there. I'd love to meet you. xo

Black Bean Dyeing Pt. 2

After the beans have soaked for 48 hours I carefully ladled the water off, careful not to stir up the pot too much. The proteins and debris that sink to the bottom are supposed to muddy the dye.

Then once I had dye and no beans in the stainless kettle I added the silk shirt, wet and direct from the mordant where it had soaked for a day and one half. I weighted the shirt down under the dye with a plate.

This is what the shirt looked like as it went into the dye bath. It's turned sort of gray with a few blushes or rose. 

And this is what it looked like last night after 48 hours in the dye bath. Very purpley. Pretty. I tossed all my white socks in there afterward. I like that color. 

So here it is hanging wet in the bathroom. I know it's going to dry a lot lighter.

And here it is this morning, dry and wonderful. I love the color. And yes, I know it's going to fade but I think even then I'll still like it. Indigo certainly fades; my levis that I wear all the time are going pale blue and eventually white on me but I love every color in between. This was FUN! Black beans aren't just for eating anymore.

Black Bean Dyeing

Welcome to my latest obsession. You'll have to come back toward the weekend for the results but at this point I'm off and running. Went to the store last night and bought 2 pounds of black beans and alum. I already had the cream of tarter. Covered the black beans with warm water and read a ton of online recipes. John said it would be a waste to use the black beans from the garden. We don't intend to eat these beans (although if I weren't using a compost bucket we technically could). These are art supply beans.

This is the silk shirt I'm going to dye. It was all the way into the bag for Goodwill before it hit me that I'd love it if it only weren't so bright white. It has silk covered buttons too so it should dye up nicely. It's really cute cinched in with a little belt.

 So this morning I put the shirt into a stainless steel pot with 1 tablespoon alum and 1 teaspoon cream of tarter and brought it to a gentle simmer, then turned off the heat and sat the pot next to the dye bucket on the clothes dryer to cool. Now I have to wait another 36 hours for the next step.

Being naturally curious I dipped the end of a paper towel into the bean juice to test the color. This is what came out. A fairly gray sage green. (I wrote "fairy" by mistake but I like the term for this color of green). Anyhoo, 10 minutes later the color had changed!!

It turned into this color. Definitely green. Now I've read that I can change the ph to make it lean more toward lavender but do I want to do that? (soda or vinegar to change the ph).

I loved stirring the simmering mordant pot with my big, wooden spoon, feeling like a good witch, connected to all the other dyers who've experimented farted around with natural materials in the past to get color.

Come back on the weekend and I'll show you the outcome. I'm bound to learn something.

Sere Beauty

You could say January is why I love June.

Except that yes, it has its moments.

Cozy indoor activities.

Occasional forays out into nature.

Warm slippers, hot tea, quiet hours for meditation and poetic musings.

A time for filling the well.

New things being imagined.

Old things over wintering.

Hope in all her colors.

Shelter and patience.

Being satisfied with what is.

Namaste.

Down Under

Long time readers will remember when I had to cancel a trip to Australia several years ago to have a serious operation. That happened right after 2 other operations on a detached retina. What a fun time that was. I was set to teach 3 filled classes in Melbourne and had to turn those duties over to another teacher (thank you dear Jan) and go to the hospital instead. Since then there's been a big hole in my life where Australia was supposed to be. A big regret.

No longer. Tracy Verdugo has graciously offered to sponsor me at her location on the gorgeous eastern coast in the town of Huskisson. This is bucket list stuff. I've been staring at maps. Researching history, birdlife, wildlife, flora and weather patterns. I'm in love with the dream I have about being down under. Practicing the accent I hope I'll pick up in 2 weeks. Only I sound more like a pirate.

I'm not a "cool" person who takes travel for granted. I get all sweaty and excited.

Anyway, before I get too silly, here is the page with all the information. I hope my artist friends in Australia will be interested in learning how to paint with cold wax. It is incredibly versatile. I'll teach you everything I know including how to make your own cold wax medium.

Come and see me while I'm there. Oh, please do. I've met so many of you online. I'd love to see you in person. One love.

Roots and Wings

Thank you for not abandoning me. Really, I think of you all the time. It's just that I've been doing interior work, cave painting so to speak and am in a deep place of learning and change.

Well, aren't we all. I'm back in the studio after wrapping up all the videos and lessons for the Cold Wax Online class. Now I have a few weeks to rest, paint, write and reflect before another travel time. We're having a mild winter in the Pacific Northwest; John cut a rose two nights ago to put in a vase in the window over the sink; that night we got our first killing frost. Peaceful weather soothes my nerves.

I've been doing charcoal drawings. Have started back up on the 100 paintings challenge. I'm only up to #29. I don't count anything in cold wax because it's a different process for me and not nearly as difficult as picking up a brush. My current weakness is making the values work, making the composition as I want it to be.

Working with line and personal marks, symbols, shapes that express my experience of being alive. Up until now I've used subject matter to do that but this is a leap in a different direction. I probably don't need to tell you how hard it is to get it right. This is a language that is challenging to learn (or I should say invent) - like Spanish for me. Some people pick up languages easily; I read about spies who learn Arabic in 6 weeks and I feel very stupid.

This is my 29th painting. 40x48" on canvas. Not as free as the drawings. I'm working on that. 

The title is "Roots and Wings" and comes from this quotation:  

My heart wants roots. My mind wants wings. I cannot bear their bickerings.— E. Y. Harburg 

So that's what I'm up to. Making each day fulfilling with lots of studio time, reading, eating good food (chard from the garden! it gets sweeter in the cold weather and makes the best smoothies!) and loving my good man who has also gotten sweeter in the winter of our lives. 

Words to myself: relax. Let it be easy, it isn't a race. Work each day. Make each day about getting pleasure out of the routine. Eat something good. Hug somebody. Go outside. Be part of a community. Whew. Okay, I think I've got it. Ciao for now.