Wow!!!! Look at the Skulls!

Greetings everyone! I had to show you the skulls from both classes this weekend. Have you ever seen so many different skulls? There are Frieda skulls to a Goth Chick Skull to a demure Victorian skull to a rasta dude! There was even a Venus rising from the ocean skull unfortunately my picture didn't turn out so I am unable to show it to you. Guys this class has been an absolute blast. This is an amazingly freeing project. One in which the only limits are your imagination. And yes the skulls jokes were flying all day long. Take a peak at the rest of the skulls below.

If you wish that you could have taken this class you still can! I will be teaching Skeleton Portraits one last time this Saturday. I still have a couple of spaces left in the class. Here are the details:

Saturday October 30th Instructor: Connie Andrews Class: Skeleton Portraits Description: Doesn’t everyone love a good skeleton at Halloween? In this whimsical holiday class we will combine, collage images, gesso, molding paste and acrylic paints with 3-D skulls to make dimensional skeleton portraits on small stretched canvases. Mona skull-Lisa anyone? Items to bring: Please bring scissors and paintbrushes all other materials will be supplied. Time: 10:00am to 2:30pm Fee: $45.00 To sign up for this class please email Connie at connie@isbjorn.com

Skulls, Skulls and more Skulls!

Yes its 3-D Skulls all weekend long!

How did I do it? Oh No you're going to have to come to class to find out! Here's where I'll be: Saturday October 23rd Where: Art Max in Seaside Class: Skeleton Portraits Description: Doesn’t everyone love a good skeleton at Halloween? In this whimsical holiday class we will combine, collage images, gesso, molding paste and acrylic paints with 3-D skulls to make dimensional skeleton portraits on small stretched canvases. Mona skull-Lisa anyone? Items to bring: Please bring scissors and paintbrushes all other materials will be supplied. Time: 11:00 to 3:30pm lunch break at 1:00pm Fee: $45.00 Class Limit: 8 To sign up for this class please email me at connie@isbjorn.com Sunday October 24th Where: Palace Arts in Capitola Class: Skeleton Portraits Description: See above Items to bring: Please bring paintbrushes and scissors Time: 11:00 to 3:30pm lunch break at 1:00pm Fee: $45.00 Class Limit: 8 To sign up for this class please call Palace Arts at 831 464-2700

Weirder and weirder, curiouser and curiouser

Yes my life keeps getting weirder and weirder. I can prove it. When I left the house yesterday I discovered this creatures head in my driveway.

Here's a close up of the mangy thing.

Yep- weirder and weirder...........curiouser and curiouser

October's altered book club swap post

Greetings everyone! Yesterday I finished the final portion of my latest Altered Book Club spread. Just in time since the group meets this week. This time I received Sally's book. You can see it above. That's not a book you say? You would be correct if you were thinking of an altered book in the traditional sense. Of course this begs the question: How does one define an altered book? This cabinet which Sally made herself is quite clever because in the middle cabinet are the pages already ready gessoed and ready to go! You can see the pages below. Very out of the box or maybe I should say very out of the book.

Inside were instructions from Sally that we could make our "spread" on one of the pages or in one of the cabinet cubbies or both! Her theme is Cabinet of Wishes. We were instructed to create anything about wishes even dark ones if we must. Boy am I glad that she left that door open because the one phrase that rooted itself in my little mind was: Be careful what you wish!

Be careful what you wish suggested the duality of wishes and that's what I chose to explore.

In order to stress this duality, I chose to create a two sided altered book page. One side would be my Fantasy and the other side would be my reality. Also since wishes are so personal I chose to insert my ugly mug into the picture. So the picture above is my Fantasy. It reads: I wish for a fairy Godmother to grant me wishes. And there I am with my beautiful Fairy Godmother. I am happy. Fairy godmother is graciously granting me a wish in a Fairy Medieval Castle setting. Ahhhhhhh how wonderful. But then reality intrudes:

Here is my Reality. This is my real Fairy Godmother. Sweet isn't she? Nice bat wings. So the full text of my wish reads: I wish for a fairy Godmother to grant me wishes...or maybe not! And what does she say to me? " Ok you get one wish. And make it snappy!" Oh yeah that's what my life is really like.

Here is the wish that the fairy Godmother gave me. There are instructions that read: unstopper bottle and speak wish. It shall be granted. Not liking the look of this little wish fairy I hesitated. When I turned over the instructions I found some product warnings. The warnings read: Warning:wishes can be hazardous to your health. Do not drink. Open in a well ventilated area only. And of course the last sentence reads: Be careful what you wish.

Then and there I decided that Sally needs this wish more than I do so I have placed this gift wish in one of the cubby's. Remember Sally-Be careful what you wish!

Past and future classes

Greetings Everyone! Only two days to go until the weekend and that means its time once again for Pumpkin Festival here on the coast. I love everything Pumpkin, Halloween and Ghosts. By the way Ghosthunters was terrible last night. That's some of the worst editing I've seen in years. But I digress. Anyway even though this is one of my favorite times of the year it does get a bit crowded here on the coast for the weekend. So Saturday I will be out of town teaching a class that I've neglected for awhile in my rush to explore everything Art. That is of course my Pocket Altoid Shrines class. You know I'd forgotten what a load of fun creating these little shrines are. You can see the lid of my latest finished shrine above. Sweet flowers you say? But wait it gets better!

Yes its drowning Ophelia admist the sweet flowers! And lets not forget the skull. Come on guys eveyone loves a good skull !

And the back cover. And you thought that I was going to present you with some sickly sweet flowery bit of goodness. Oh ye of little faith.

Anyway now that I've hopefully gotten your attention, here are the details of my class on Saturday.

Saturday October 16th Where: Scrap-it in Santa Cruz Class: Pocket Shrines Description: Ever want to keep someone or something special close to your heart? How about that small very precious gift? Does it need a special place all its own? How about creating shrines to hold these special memories or gifts? In this class using collage and assemblage we will create these special places inside altoid tins. Your shrine can then be slipped into a pocket or purse to keep close to you at all times. Or it can be placed on a shelf as a special keepsake. Pocket Shrines also make great gifts to give to a loved one. Items to bring: Scissors, Paintbrushes, any special items small enough to fit into an Altoid tin. Time: 11:00 to 2:30 Fee: $45.00 Class limit: 6 To sign up for class please call Scrap-it at 831 475-2380 or email me at connie@isbjorn.com

I also wanted to show you this wonderful spirit that was created last weekend during my class at Scrapbook U. Isn't this great? I love the colors and the use of the mesh and fiber at the top to present a totally different texture from the rest of the bottle.

Now that's one bottle I would never open!

Last weekend was my last class at Scrapbook U in Fremont. After almost 9 years Monica Martinek is finally closing her doors. This is very sad for all of us. We are losing a wonderful store filled with the best and latest items. But I want to give a great big thank you and hug to Monica and her staff for allowing me to teach in her wonderful space. She certainly did not have to allow this wierd Mixed Media Artist in her store but she did graciously and welcomed my classes in with open arms and open mind. And that can be a very rare commodity at times. I truly want to thank Monica and her entire staff for the opportunity. I'm going to miss you all.

Classes this weekend

Greetings Everyone!

Just a reminder about classes this weekend. On Saturday I will be teaching my Bottled Spritis class at Scrapbook U in Fremont. This will be the last class I teach at Scrapbook U as they prepare to close at the end of the month. So if you live in the area and are interested at all Saturday will be your chance to take this class. Here are the details:

Saturday October 9th Where: Scrapbook U in Fremont Class: Bottled Spirits Description: On a foggy day I was walking along the beach on one of my morning rambles. As usual I was beach combing for shells that I had picked up a hundred times before and didn’t need. But this time instead of a shell I found something else. As I drew closer I could see it was a bottle half buried in the sand. I dug it out. It was crusted with barnacles, small shells and ringed with rusted metal. As I turned it around I noticed a clear area where I could peer through the hazy glass. But wait something looked back at me! What will your spirit be? Will it be a fairy of dreams offering you 3 wishes? Or will it be an imp of mischief? Items to bring: A pair of scissors, paintbrushes and small non-melting items like charms or beads. **Note: We will be heating diamond glaze so if you are easily susceptible to smells this class may be difficult for you to take. But also please note that there have been no problems in my previous classes. Time: 11:00 to 4:00pm Lunch break at 1:00 Fee: $55.00 Class limit: 8 To sign up for class please call Scrapbook U at 510 490-5065

And at C.Andrews studio on Sunday Ingrid will be presenting her Halloween clock glass hangings. Let me tell you guys I took one of Ingrid’s clock glass classes and it was a wonderful class! She brings a ton of beautiful images and mouthwatering embellishments to choose from. And you will end up leaving the class with an Heirloom quality ornament. Ingrid will be bringing not only Halloween images but also some of my favorite: Angel Cemetery Statuary-Yummy! Why not make a day of it here in beautiful Half Moon Bay? Take a class with all supplies and treats provided, buy a pumpkin, have a nice dinner and go home with a glow! You can see some of Ingrid’s samples above. Sunday October 10th***Featured In Somerset Studio**** Instructor: Ingrid Pomeroy Class: Halloween Clock Glass Hangings Description: The holidays are upon us, and what a better way to get ready for Halloween than to create something spooky and eerie. So, how about a vintage convex clock glass hanging wrapped with trim and collaged inside with lots of fun images, papers and findings? You can choose from vintage ghoulish images or cemetery statuaries that will definitely get you in the Halloween spirit. And, Half Moon Bay is the perfect place to spend time during the Halloween season. Time: 1:00 to 4:00 Class Fee: $50.00 (All supplies provided, plus sweet treats) To sign up for this class please email Ingrid at ipomeroy@peoplepc.com

We hope to see you soon!

Great Art Journaling class!

Greetings everyone! Its grey, cold and windy here on the coast and I am looking for a little sun in some art. But before I disappear and become an art hermit I wanted to tell you about an incredibly wonderful art journaling class at C.Andrews Studio. Now most of the people that know me know that I'm not one for blogging or journaling my deepest darkest secrets, pitiful woes or mystical thoughts. And if you've read my blog at all it's self evident that Art makes me happy. But on occasion I have been known to keep an art journal to work out class ideas or experiment with new techniques. So when Maria (known as rinda to some of you) offered an art journaling class at the studio I jumped at the chance to take a class instead of teach one. I can tell you guys that I was thoroughly happy that I did so. This is one of the best classes that I've ever taken. As good as any of the art retreat classes that I've taken from Nationally known artists which is a lesson in itself. This class was in three parts held on three consecutive Sundays. The first class started with a little homework. We were to take 10 of our favorite works of art and to look at any subject, colors and materials we may use on a consistent basis and also what we liked about each piece. This was submitted to Maria by email and we were given a sheet of stamped images to use in the class. I found this a very helpful exercise. It got me to realize that I do indeed have a method for my madness. From this exercise I now understand that I gravitate to fantasy images, love lush colors, and like my viewer to step into different worlds and times when looking at my art. The second class was all about using your stash. All those inchies, Atc's and paper dolls that you are laying around can be used in your larger artworks as well. Maria had this wonderful woman art doll with horns which I chose to use in a piece that had a little more edge. And lets face it a woman with horns is pretty cool. The second exercise in this class was to take a collage image or image from an ATC and reproduce it by drawing it. I realized that I grew up drawing and just don't do it anymore. I really enjoyed drawing again and this is something I might have to do more of in my larger works. Plus I really liked my page. Its a little edgy and asks the question What do Mannequins dream? I must have been in an edgy mood that day. The third class had what I consider to be one of the most valuable exercises that I've ever done in a class. It was the restricted means challenge. We could only use 7 materials to create 4 to 6 journal pages. The very difficult thing for me was that I could only use a collage image if I had four of the same. I didn't have that supply with me so I was forced to choose a rubber stamp to utilize as a focal point. Of course I chose the rubber stamp of winged death. I think Maria might have brought that one for me. How well she knows me! I liked that you had to work fast and not over think these pages. I did make four pages but I still consider a couple of them incomplete without some journaling on them. For that reason I have not included these pages below. I promise to scan them at a later time for your perusal. What was really spooky about the image I chose was that when I cut out one of the winged death images and used the negative stencil it became an Angel. There's something profound about this but again I'm not one to blog about that. The last exercise was to create a collage on a canvas using the techniques above. I chose not to use the stamped image but I tried to incorporate the same colors, feel and subject from the exercise as well as some of the first two classes. Other things I learned in this class: 1. I don't like using spray inks as a background I really like my acrylic paint, gel medium and of course highly textured surfaces. 2. Experimenting with other materials is a good thing it helps you understand what you like and what your art is all about. 3. Restricted Materials is difficult for collage artists because collage is all about using different materials. 4. I still would probably not use a rubber stamped image as a focal point even though I did like the journal pages I created with my winged death. I prefer a random collage image. 5. I tend to naturally pull a theme together with words. The journal became a "dream journal" with absolutely no planning at all.

Page created with a fairy image Maria gave me and stencils. This includes one of my favorite quotes from Walt Disney"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them"

There's that Turquoise as usual.

Tons of texture in this page and of course rich lush color.

Utilizing napkins, and decorative papers. Here again is my fantasy image and lush colors.

One of my own photo images, Nickel Azo Gold and Turquoise!

Horned woman page. I like the edgier style.

My drawn image and an edgier style and don't forget about the Nickel Azo gold!

As I hope you can see I really had a blast in this class and I thought it well thought, well organized and well taught. What do you think? Send me any comments you might have. Also if interested in taking a journaling class from Maria let me know. Maybe we can talk her into teaching this wonderful class again next year!

Cheers!

Art Flea Market and Trunk Show tomorrow!

Greetings, Just a quick reminder about the Art Flea market and Trunk Show tomorrow (Saturday October 2nd and can you believe its already October?) The show starts at 9:30am tomorrow until 1:00 or whenever everyone gets packed up and leaves. There is no fee for entry. So what will we have there? Found objects and lots of lovely junk to add to your art, art and crafting supplies, beatiful candles from a local artist, one of a kind collages and assemblages, beautiful cards and collage packs and sheets. This is a great place for all of you Art and Soulers to find that special found object at minimum prices. It will also be a great place to buy one of a kind art or that special gift to give for Christmas. Or just come by to say hello and chat for awhile! C.Andrews Studio is located at 103-1 Harvard street in Princeton-by-the-Sea. If you have any questions or need directions please email me at connie@isbjorn.com. See you at the Flea!