Mixed Minded May 27-29 Holiday Inn Kitchener

Wow!  Time has passed so quickly and here we are, one weekend before Mixed Minded.  This fabulous art weekend is being offered at the Holiday Inn in Kitchener and features 17 classes by 8 artists.  If this is the first you are hearing about it, check out the link above.  There are classes all weekend, starting Friday night, May 27, with incredibly talented artists (bios are on the website).  I've listed my classes below, but you can also take a class with Donna Funnell, Lois Sander, Carmi Cimicata, and Nancy Donaldson, to name a few.   I know organizer Karen Ellis has quite a few little extras planned for event goers and I am preparing a beautiful range of painted papers and old book pages for my students to use.   I do hope you'll join us, registration is still open and there are a great range of classes to choose from, including jewelery making, mixed media, calligraphy, Zentangles, encaustic and fibre art sessions.

Mixed Media Mini Quilt

Instructor - Sandra Spagnuolo

Saturday May 28:  1:30 to 4:30 - $45

Create a 10x10 art quilt from a most unexpected “material”. This exciting session promises to open your eyes to the possibility that exists in the most ordinary of places. Spread some acrylic paint, explore a transfer technique, add some old book pages (from Sandra’s fabulous stash), a few stitches and before you know it, you will have created something magical.

House of Cards
Instructor - Sandra SpagnuoloSunday May 29:  9:30 to 12:30 - $45    Filled with seven “cards” designed to make your day, this freestanding structure provides a week’s worth of encouragement and inspiration.  Not to mention the fun you’ll have carving your own stamps and learning some irresistible resist techniques.  Make an impression in more ways than one with this clever project.

Art-Full Journal
Instructor - Sandra Spagnuolo

Sunday May 29:  1:30 to 4:30 - $45      A fabulous sampling of techniques is at your fingertips in this pocket journal.  Sandra provides the explanations; you create the samples and fill your journal with ideas to inspire your artistic spirit.  Discover simple methods of creating unique and decorative papers using common materials.  Explore new ways of looking at everyday items and stretch your concept of play in this fun class.  Be prepared to fold, paint, stitch, layer, bead, scrape and print the day away.

MAY at Sandra's Open Studio

 

 May 4, 5 & 7   Experimenting with Tissue and Gesso for this Two Part, Start-to-Finish mixed media session.  You are invited to bring along a canvas you have in progress (or a few if they’re small) or purchase one on the day of the class for $5.  This is an opportunity to incorporate some of your painted papers.  We will be creating a finished piece while exploring the properties of tissue and gesso in Session One.  This class explores acrylics, acrylic medium and some collage effects.  Part Two will run June 8, 9 & 11 and focus on finishing techniques including faux encaustic and the addition of dimensional objects.

May 11, 12 &14    This week we will be exploring Folder Journals.  Based on an article in Cloth Paper Scissors, these quirky journals are created using a file folder and painted papers.  Turns out, we have painted papers just itching to be used!!  Please bring them along or choose from my fun and funky supply.  We will explore different ways to embellish and attach papers and flat objects, explore journaling techniques and create something really wonderful!

May 16   Join me on a Monday for a session of Painting on Papers.  Whether you’ve done this before or this is your first time, painting papers is a wonderfully addictive pursuit.  We will paint on bond paper, Japanese mulberry, paper towel, shop towel, tissue, Kleenex, re-purposed paper and a few unusual “papers”. 

May 18, 19 & 21   We will create Artist Trading Cards in this Start-to-Finish session, but the focus is on fun and unusual techniques.  Bring along your painted paper towels and tissue papers and explore beeswax layering and Dorland’s acrylic wax medium.  A little random poetry and some artistic inspiration will lead to the completion of cherished art pieces.  But of course, ATC’s are meant to be shared, so bring some extras along and take home one of mine.

May 25 & 26   Join Sharon Chalmers as you explore the powerful art form of ‘Mandalas’.  We’ll bring unconscious thought into being on paper with spontaneous expression and personal symbolism; and we’ll talk about tools we can use to help us ‘read’ our creations. 

NO SESSION ON SAT. MAY 28.  Sandra will be at the Mixed Minded conference in Kitchener with Donna Funnell and Lois Sander.  

June 1 & 2    Altered Photos, remember pre-digital pictures??  Surely you have stacks of less than perfect 35mm images just waiting for a little colour.  Bring them to class and rework them into fun art pieces.

NO SESSION ON SAT., JUNE 4  I’ll be camping with the Girl Guides.  My apologies to the Saturday Ladies.

June 6    For those of you that missed Gelatin printing, this Monday session is a chance to experience this  fabulous printmaking method.  Create beautiful papers and Monoprints in a fun, loose way.  See you soon.

Where Has the Time Gone???

The other day, my wonderful friend Donna Funnell showed me a video "Put a Bird on It", a little bizarre, but funny.  Personally, I love birds and they often find their way into my artwork.  At this time of year, the birds in our area are busy making nests and nervously flitting away as I walk past their secret new homes.  I love Spring and I'm thankful that it has finally arrived.  I must admit, however, that I don't know where the time has gone.  April passed so quickly and May is here full to the brim with wonderful opportunities and projects that need attention.  I have decided to be "like the birds" as they build their nests,  industrious, focused and determined to get the job done. 

May is also the month that I am participating in Mixed Minded at the Holiday Inn, Kitchener-Waterloo Conference Centre.  If you haven't signed up, now is the time.  I will be posting pictures of my samples over the next few weeks.  For more information, follow the link above.  I hope you all have a wonderfully creative day and when in doubt, "put a bird on it"!