One day late, the winner!

Thank you for all your support and love. My dear husband had the honors of picking at random the winner of the giveaway and that person is .......

Nina Cunningham! 

Congrats! 

Nina will be receiving her sweet little gift in the mail soon.  In the meantime stay tuned... I went ghost hunting yesterday and found some pretty cool stuff... I have some pictures to share in a bit.

....And one other piece of business...Not sure if you know this, but I am teaching three classes this year at ART-IS-YOU in Stamford, CT. With my busy schedule of family, school, work and art-making, I don't get to teach very often, although I really love doing it. Going to retreats like Art-Is and working one on one with students is one of the most amazing feelings. I am always humbled and honored to be able to contribute to the growth and development of people's artistic lives. I am really excited to be able to teach 3 brand new classes.

SATURDAY October 6th

WHAT HIDES WITHING, In this class was created from a piece that I made called: the Litany Against Fear. It is an interactive piece and I am using the workshop to teach artists how to use their emotions and past to create artwork that heals. 

SUNDAY October 7th

RURAL ROOTS: Here in Vermont we have roots. In architecture, in the land and in history. We will explore what your roots are and use my favorite new material: BARN BOARD to create beautiful assemblage as homage to our ancestors, real or imaginary.

MONDAY October 8th

RECLAIM YOUR CHILDHOOD: This class was originally called "Poor Dolly".  In is intended for you to use all those crazy bits and pieces of old dolls that you have been collecting. (I know you have been collecting them. They are so creepy and great, who can resist?) I started working with really odd and scary dolls a few years back when a friend asked me to participate in a show entitled "The Art of Horror". If you find something very beautiful in their detritus and decay and that their uncanny nature should be celebrated this is the class for you!

Alright! That's the whole kit and caboodle. Three days chock full of good clean art-making, lots of great ideas for you to kick start your studio practice and heaps and heaps of fun.

So. If you are on the fence and haven't signed up yet, ART-IS-YOU is a month and 1/2 away! You don't want to miss out on this. It is a great opportunity to re-charge your brain and be inspired. Take my advice.STOP MAKING EXCUSES. You owe it to yourself. Sign up today! October will be here before you know it.

OK. That's all I have for today, folks. Tomorrow, pictures of ghosts.... stay tuned.

Mind Wide Open

Somehow, amazingly readers, I have completed my 1st semester of graduate school. Can you believe it? I sure can't. Someone should pinch me. Hard. There were times during the semester when I really questioned my judgement about the whole ordeal. I mean, seriously folks, this pursuit of knowledge has taken up a good portion of my free time. Ok, Ok, it has taken up all my free time. I mean, really, I haven't even had time for you dear readers. I will have to make a greater effort next semester about writing more. Poke and prod me. OK? Maybe, you can even convince me to share with you my deep intellectual (*cough. cough*) thoughts about art.

(untitled) L Reynolds copyright 2012

And as much as I am completely exhausted and so excited about having the next 2 weeks off from schoolwork, (Crazy right? 2 weeks, too bad it isn't the rest of the summer) I know there are so many things that I need to catch you up on.

So I will be investing some extra time to share with you some exciting things coming down the path.  And maybe we can talk a little, just a smidge,  about some of the more interesting things I learned in graduate school this semester. I promise I won't bore you with a recap on Jameson's theory of Postmodernism in the Late Capitalist Society. But we might talk a about somethings that connected deeply to my work, like objects, collections and souvenirs, nostalgia, Joseph Cornell and the punctum. We can open it up for discussion.

What I will say straight out is that going back to school has really changed the way I look at the world, as an artist, as a parent and wife, as a garment industry professional and as an educator.

It is really important to get out there and stretch your mind. As often as possible. If you can't go back to college, take a class. Art classes are EVERYWHERE. At your local high school as part of adult learning programs, at Craft/Art centers, at Community Colleges and near-by Universities. Get out there and start making. Make something you have NEVER tried before. I did. It helps to rewire your brain...

1. If you have the chance go someplace different and new, visit a city you've never been to, go to galleries and museums or attend an art retreat. Some retreats allow you to sign up for as many or as few classes as you want. I know ART IS YOU.... does.  I am teaching three classes there again in OCTOBER and I can't say enough about how happy and recharged people became after attending workshops in that sort of setting. The bonding and sisterhood that happens is amazing and renewing. I bet you if you went over to their website and checked out the course offerings you would find something that really speaks to you.

I fill you in more about the classes I am teaching in the upcoming weeks.

For now I am going to leave you with a link to my PINTEREST board with some of the inspiration I collected over the past 6 months. Mostly these are artists or works of art that really had a profound influence on my thinking since January.  Enjoy the eye candy, and seriously do think about cracking open that brain of yours by getting out of the studio and into a class room, even if it is for just a four hour work shop. It's totally worth it....

Cheers!

Soul House Shrine Giveaway

Yes, you read that right, I am giving away a bird house shrine. 

I am just so excited about my upcoming workshop schedule, I just can't contain myself.

Here's the deal...

I'm teaching my Soul Houses class here in VT in March @ Artist's Medium and in CT @ East Coast Art Retreats in October. You can find out more about the workshops I am leading at my workshop page.

All you have to do is post a link on your blog/website/FB page about the class. 

Make sure you link back to my workshop page. Attach a comment to this blog post with your link. 

That's it. Then, you are in the running for a new birdhouse shrine that I am finishing up this month, in preparion for my class at Artist's Medium. 

I will be selecting on person's name at random on February 28th, so spread the word.   

Thanks for your support and hope to see you in the class room some time soon!

Art is You - Early Registration Drawing

Did you know that I am teaching at ART IS YOU this October?? 

Art is You is a fantastic annual east coast art retreat that takes place Columbus Day weekend in Danbury, CT.  It is jammed packed with internationally recognized teaching artists who come together to celebrate and create mix media arts. 

I am so excited to be able to lead two new workshops; Ghost Stories and Soul Houses. It's an honor to have an opportunity to share my process and techniques on at such a large venue.  I will be blogging about these course offering in the weeks to come.  So, stay tuned for more information and inspiration.

Most importantly, you should know that Sallianne and Ellen are hosting an amazing giveaway. If you register BEFORE January 31st, you will be entered into a drawing to WIN BACK YOUR REGISTRATION! - I wouldn't waste another minute. Imagine it, the possibility of attending an Art Retreat, for free!  Click on the link and secure your place today.  Last years turn out was huge and this year is expected to be even better. Don't miss your opportunity! 

Proportions of a Man's Heart

You may have seen a few glimpses of this piece in the fall, when I posted it as a WIP, before it went to the Art of Horror show. I wanted to share a few more photos of the finished piece. 

I'm currently in the process of photographing all my work and adding to my Etsy shop. So you will be seeing some details on pieces you might not have seen before, or only viewed as a work in process.



Also, I have some great news to share; I will be teaching my techniques and process of making box assemblages like this at East Coast Art Retreats. The class is called "Ghost Stories." You will learn how to I pull together the story from found objects and create your own narrative from artifacts.
 
Stay tuned for more info on this as registration is opening soon

Title: Proportions of a Man's Heart

Materials: Mixed Media Assemblage (created from found objects, vintage tool box, plastic classroom anatomy figure, key hole, key, old paper, book cover, barbed wire, army men, gel medium, acrylic paint)

Size:14 1/2" across x 10 1/2" tall x 4 1/2" deep

 

 

 

 This piece is for sale. See Art Section or my Etsy Site for more info.