UPCOMING CLASSES

I'm excited to announce that I will be teaching at this Shake Rag Alley, in Mineral Point, Wisconsin in September. That's only two months away!! 

If you haven't been to Shake Rag, you are in for a treat. This arts and craft school, resides in a cluster of small historical buildings nestled along a babbling spring.  Built along the hill side on 2.5 beautifully landscaped acres these little structures house a Blacksmith shop, Jewelry classes, Fiber Arts and Mixed media programs, youth arts education and a small performing arts stage. 

I'll write more about Shake Rag and it's history in an upcoming post: But if you want to wet your appetite click here to check out their website and see what's creatively in-store for you at this magical location.

I am teaching of two of my most requested classes

SOUL HOUSES
an introduction to mixed media assemblage and process orientated art making

September 12th 

10 AM -5 PM

click here for the link to sign up. 

and......

BOOKS UNBOUND
begin your journey into altered books

September 13th 

10 AM -5 PM

click here for the link to sign up for Books Unbound.

Space is LIMITED - I recommend signing up soon.


























It's going to be a beautiful weekend of art-making and memory collecting. Won't you join us?

NEW Upcoming Classes - June 21-22 2014- at DAVIS STUDIOS- Burlington VT

I am thrilled to announce that I will be teaching at Davis Studio this summer. Two FULL day workshops. Back to Back. 

It's a mixed media weekend extravaganza!

DAY 1-

Saturday June 21 2014

9 AM- 3PM

SOUL HOUSES

The symbolism linked to birds goes back to the ancient world, where birds were considered to be a supernatural connection between the gods and men. In many Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, birds can represent immortality. In East Indian and Christian mythologies birds represent the soul. These soul houses are a safe haven for your hopes and dreams. This class will introduce you to the art of assemblage as you learn to construct basic house forms that have relevance and meaning in your own world. You will learn the basics of assemblage construction as well as plot a creative journey through storytelling, personal myth and metaphor. You will take away power new ideas about process and art making.

Supply list provided upon registration – don't worry!

Clean out your junk drawer and/or gather up the bits and pieces that you have been collecting with the thought of doing something with it. This is the something you have been waiting for.

$110 ($200 for Altered Book & Soul Houses)

Register at the DAVIS STUDIO website

DAY 2

SUNDAY June 22 2014

9 AM-3PM

Books Unbound: 

An Altered Book Workshop

$110 ($200 for Altered Book & Soul Houses)

Register at the DAVIS STUDIO website

This workshop will have you gluing, cutting, painting and tearing up old books to create 3 dimensional works of art. We will break all rules set into place by librarians and school teachers who told you books were meant to be kept on shelves. This class will offer you a space freely develop your own personal narrative with found objects; transforming ordinary pages of text into something mythical and profound, using something as simple as an old book as your base. We will bravely enter into creative new territories in this process oriented class.

SAVE $20 when you register for both -

Classes will be held at 

Davis Studio 

4 Howard Street, 

Burlington, VT

Davis Studio for more information:  

802-425-2700

or 

email : info@davisstudiovt.com

Don't delay. Class size is limited. This is the only time I will be teaching these classes in 2014.

Hope to see you in the classroom!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Here's some great news to start off 2013!

I hope everyone had the most blessed of holidays. Things here at Casa Reynolds have been a little hectic lately. Extra time seems to be elusive these days. I'm trying to snag up as much time as I can with the kiddos while they are on vacation and catch up with some household chores. My final paper of the semester has magically made it's way off my computer and onto my professor's cyber desktop. 

So, in this brief moment of calm, I wanted to reach out to everyone and thank them for all their love and support in the past year. I could not have made it to 2013 without you.

The hot topic for 2013 is where am I teaching. I had to scale back a ton of things in my life to make room for graduate school. Unfortunately, traveling to far-off destinations to teach workshops was one of those activities. Don't worry, it's only a hiatus, but this year's class schedule is very limited. 

Right now, as it stands, I am only teaching in two locations:
This winter here in VT and in July in New Jersey.
Both locations have very limited space, so if you are really dying to take a class with me, don't delay. Sign up early. 


Here's the scoop:
I am teaching 2 of my most requested classes: BOOKS UNBOUND and SOUL HOUSES.

BOOKS UNBOUND

This workshop will have you gluing, cutting, painting and tearing up old books to create 3 dimensional works of art. We will break all rules set into place by librarians and school teachers who told you books were meant to be kept on shelves. This class will offer you a space freely develop your own personal narrative with found objects; transforming ordinary pages of text into something mythical and profound, using something as simple as an old book as your base.  We will bravely enter into creative new territories in this process oriented class.

If you are into ALTERED BOOKS, this class is for you!

Saturday
FEBRUARY 16th
10AM-5PM
VINTAGE INSPIRED LIFESTYLE MARKETPLACE 
180 Flynn Avenue, Burlington VT
$95 

Please contact Mary @ Vintage Inspired to sign up for this class
802-488-5766

SOUL HOUSES

The symbolism linked to birds goes back to the ancient world, where birds were considered to be a supernatural connection between the gods and men. In many Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, birds can represent immortality. In East Indian and Christian mythologies birds represent the soul. These soul houses are a safe haven for your hopes and dreams. This class will introduce you to the art of assemblage as you learn to construct basic house forms that have relevance and meaning in your own world. By tapping into your true creative spirit we will transform ordinary bird houses into vessels that whisper of remembrance. You will explore your own imagination to find the ghost in old things and tell their tales in a 3 dimensional form, without fear or self-doubt. Learn to be creatively brave in this process orientated approach to creating altered art. You will learn the basics of assemblage construction as well as plot a creative journey through storytelling, personal myth and metaphor. You will take away power new ideas about process and art making.

Saturday and Sunday 
July 13 & 14th
Lemoncholy Studio click the PAYPAL link at the bottom of the page to register
Jersey Shore, NJ
$220 (for 2 days)
Email Kecia Deveney for more info 

Hopefully, that catches us up a little. I know it's been a while. Check back soon for other new interesting happenings in 2013. I'm working on a book and some new art projects and there's a little giveaway coming up soon... and a big sale... yes, a sale on all current assemblages coming for in a few weeks to celebrate my birthday!

Winners and Losers

Yesterday, I spent the day at Artists Medium, teaching some incredible women how to make altered books. It was a great group and I am so inspired by their creativity and energy. I want to give a special shout out to Chelsea, Kristen and the entire staff at AM, who always make me feel so at home when I teach in their space! Thank you!
Also, I am sure you all want to know who is getting the Altered Book Kit.... Can I have a drum roll please.....

The winner of my altered book giveaway is Carol Berger... Miss Queen Bee, herself! Thank you, Carol for sharing the love of Glimmering Prize too all your peeps on Facebook. Carol is a terrific mixed media artist, herself. I can't wait to see what she makes from all the great paper and materials I'm sending her.

If you didn't win this time, don't worry, I am doing another very special giveaway at the end of the month. I'll give you a hint... it has something to do with boxes...and another class that I am teaching @ Art-Is-You in Danbury, CT.

After pulling together all the materials for Carol's prize I realized just how much "stuff" I have filling the shelves in my workroom. 

I've been busy working on new pieces for up coming shows and I have no where to put the completed work. So I have to clear out some space in the workroom. I spent a good portion of the morning photographing tons of great ephemera packs and old photos, that I just don't have the space for. 

My loss is your gain. Check out my ETSY site all this week. I will be listing like crazy.  There will be new stuff added daily.  This is just a teaser of some of the stuff I am listing....There will be lots of old photo lots, Ephemera paper collage packs, beautiful old sheet music, vibrant children's books with wonderful illustrations, and lots of rusty bits.  There might even be an odd curiosity or two. Wonderful stuff for all your mixed media projects.  Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have an artful day!

Altered Books, Art Auctions and other amazing things and a giveaway!

There's so much going on right now, I don't know quite were to start.

Let's see...

First

Two of my altered books...

angels have wings - detail- altered book

'angels have wings' and 'The Messenger of Truth' and are in a juried show at the Artistree Gallery in Woodstock, VT. The show is called "Unbound". Its a show that challenges the concept of "books" and features the work of 30 artists. 

When Jack and I drove down there a few weeks ago to drop of my pieces, I was overwhelmed by the quality of the work. There are some INCREDIBLE pieces of art in this show.

Messenger of Truth & 3 Marys Altered Books

The gallery had a kick off reception last week that I was unable to attend. But, I was told that despite the rainy weather, the turnout was the biggest they have ever had. 

The really exciting new is is that 'angels have wings' took won 3rd place! When I found out yesterday, I was so ecstatic and amazed. It is the first time I have ever won a jury prize. It is also the 100th year anniversary of the Triangle Fire. The events surrounding this historic event is the basis of my altered book, so in a way the prize honors the 146 who died in the fire as well. 

I want to thank Adrian Tans, Gallery Director, Tayo Skarrow, Executive Director of Artistree Gallery as well as the juror Deborah Davidson. I am extremely grateful and appreciative of this acknowledgment and honor.

waiting to grow

Secondly, I am so excited to have a piece of art in the Annual August Art Auction at the S.P.A.C.E. gallery on Pine Street in Burlington. Christy Mitchell approached me last month about donating a piece of art to help raise fund to support the S.P.A.C.E. gallery.  I was more than willing to help out for this great cause. My piece "waiting to grow" is on the auction block. This piece was feature a while back in Somerset Studio Magazine. You can bid online by visiting the auction website via this link.

The auction kicked off this past August 12 and bidding ends at 8pm on August 26th during the closing reception at the S.P.A.C.E. Gallery.  You can also vote for your favorite work while you visit the website! Artists have been entered to win gift certificates to Artist Mediums for People’s Choice Award and Art Map / Kasini House has donated a weekend in Montreal to the artist with the highest bid. Won't help out this amazing local art's organization?

Reliquary of Faith- altered book

Lastly, I've added some more teaching dates to my calendar. This coming Saturday 8/20, I will be teaching my altered books workshop at Artist's Medium in Williston. There are still a few spots left in this very popular class. Contact Artists Medium @ (802) 879-1236.

I am also very excited to announce that I will be teaching at Artfest 2012 in Port Townsend, WA.  2012 marks the 13th anniversary of this art retreat that continues to get better and better every year. Put together by Teesha and Tracy Moore, Artfest is the original alternative arts retreat. The workshops are considered the "the cream of the crop" and the evening events, the location and the attendees who come set Artfest apart from other events. The teachers come from all over the United States, Canada, England & Australia and represent some of the best in their fields.I am so excited to be teaching three classes there next March: Soul Houses,  Books Unbound, Sailor's Valentines.

To celebrate all these exciting events I have decide to do a giveaway. Post a link to my blog to your Facebook page, Twitter or Blog, mention this giveaway and my classes and you will be entered to win an altered book kit, that includes: and old book, photos, ephemera, fabric embellishments, and all sorts of other things that will inspire you to create your own altered book.Easy? right?

Make sure you add a comment to this blog post with your link.

The drawing takes place on Sunday, 8/21, so don't delay. Post away.

Have a creative week!

Reliquary Of Faith

 I just finished a new altered book for the Vt Book Arts Guild Show: Big Ideas, Small Books, an exhibit of artist books at the Emile A. Gruppe Gallery. The show will run April 17 - May 22, 2011. The opening reception will be on Sunday April 17th, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Subject matter includes both 2-D and 3-D works, smaller than 5" x 5", in all media relating to book arts, including hand-made paper, artists’ books, calligraphy etc. 

I call this book Reliquary of Faith. It's made from an old prayer book, found objects, ephemera, and a lovely old tin type photo.

New WIP- Sky Castle

Started this new piece on Monday- Strange, that I didn't quite know where I was going through it, till I started digging through my bin of stuff. The bin of stuff- I have three of them going right now- They are just filled with old photos, paper, epherma, scraps and do-dad's. I'm not an organized artist. My process is sort of an organic, connect the dots, discovered through treasure hunting and digging through piles of images.

Some times, I do know where I am going. The light bulb comes on. I have an a-ha moment. I visualize in my head the finished piece and the images I need to use in it. Somehow I know exactly which "bin of stuff" the image is. I do a little digging and pesto- there it is. Along with a bunch of other things that I didn't expect to find, but will inevitably use.But this weekend, I was not that way. I was sort of instant inspiration in the digging bins. I sat out on the screen porch, the sunlight working it's way in- the wind blowing as it does up here on the hill. And piece by piece, I put this spread together in a new altered book, Sky Castle.
The story is revealing itself to me, as one of two brothers. There is still more to the story for me to gleam from the process....

ALTERED BOOKS CLASS @ ARTIST MEDIUM-SOLD OUT

This class is SOLD OUT!

Next Intro to Altered books class is 5/2 at Seminary Arts Center in Waterbury Center. More info to come!

Thanks everyone who came to the Altered Tin Shrine Demo this afternoon! What a blast that was making art on the spot in under 2 hours! Looking forward to a full day of fun at Artist Medium tomorrow!

ALTERED BOOKS CLASS COMING TO WATERBURY CENTER

NEXT SATURDAY
APRIL 4, 2009

Come and play as we giving new life to the page.
This introductory workshop will teach you the basic skills you need to create your own altered book and offers an opportunity to explore your muse and to give new life to a discarded object.

Cost is $40 plus $10 for materials.

materials list for this class

1 or 2 old hardcover books- something that fits comfortably in your hand. Spine should be in good condition, inside and out

Adhesives:
Uhu glue stick (or similar acid free brand)
Golden Regular Gel Medium (Matte)
Clear Liquid Nails or similar heavy duty glue (like E600)
PVA glue (optional)
Double sided tape
Cutting tools: Scissors
Utility knife/craft knife with new blades
Hole punch (optional)
Bonefolder or old credit card (for smoothing sheets)
Ruler
Paint brushes
Assorted favorite paints and glazes (I really like Golden products)
Embellishments (such as)
Rusty things
Buttons and beads
Fabric scraps
Old paper and other ephemera
Assorted images and old photos for collage
Rubber stamping materials

Other Optional supplies to bring if you have them
Eyelet tool
Pliers
Wire
Texturing materials (waxed paper, aluminum foil, sponges, bubble wrap)
Heat gun

Seminary Art Center
201Hollow Road‎
Waterbury Center, VT
(802) 253-8790‎

The Seminary Art Center offers: ceramic courses & private lessons; mixed media courses & workshops; art themed parties; local artists art gallery; retail sales. Formerly Schoolhouse Pottery of Moscow. This beautiful building is the one remaining of three built in the 1800's to be the Green Mountain Seminary. It has been historically and beautifully rehabilitated.
Email‎: SeminaryArt@gmail.com

‎

Giving Life to the Page- Altered Book Class at Artist Medium

For many the idea of marking up a book to make it into a piece of art seems almost sacrilegious. It is widely held that books, being the key to literacy and knowledge should be well read and then kept, for all time, on a shelf for others to enjoy. The unfortunate reality is that tons and tons of books end up in landfills and dumps. In an effort to reduce the amount of waste that goes into the landfill and to find an inexpensive canvas for my work, I started to collage into old books. Little did I know that this art form was a movement in the book arts realm that was growing in popularity.This introductive workshop will teach you the basis skills you need to create your own altered book. It will offer you an opportunity to explore your muse and to give new life to a discarded object.

Join me: SATURDAY APRIL 18th
10:30 am- 4:30 pm
$40 fee for class-
email me or contact ARTIST'S MEDIUM 1-802-879-1236

Shrine of Mary #3

This is the shrine of Mary#3.I have this thing about the 3 Mary's. I played on this theme a little. The watch part, keeping time. The three Mary's that are physically in the assemblage. This is another one of my new concepts in altered books, where the book has no real pages to turn and it is really just for the shell. I love the cover of this book with the embossed stars When I found it at a yard sale earlier this year I knew I would have to bring out that element more.

The book had a white cover that I painted a la De Meng, serial killer red. Love this color... The inside pages are painted to look more aged.

The Mary inside I bought earlier in the year from a great etsy seller, Other People's Flowers. The owner of this shop is a terrific mixed media artist herself.  Crystal sells incredible flea market finds and embellishments for altered art.  I love her show and can spend hours musing over the delights she has there.

Embellished with scrap from an old vintage book I found on Ebay. I love the scary little bunnies and bird. The watch parts I scored at the Waterbury Flea Market. The silver tray that Mary sits in was painted as well. That one was found at a yard sale. An old wrist watch band is the closure- Now I know why I keep all this stuff. The inspiration for the closure came at the 11th hour and I had to re-glue the front and back covers to make it work.
I was lucky to put it all together in time for the Book Arts Show. Nancy Stone was laughing at me, but I still had glue stuck to my fingers at the opening, for the second year in a row.

The Messenger of Truth

This is one of the two pieces I made for the Celebration of the Book Show at the Firehouse Gallery. It opened on Friday night, and I hopped between the Burton Art Hop Reception and the Book Arts Reception.

I was working on new technique with these altered books. The are old books, that I selected because of the texture and feeling of the covers, not necessarily for their content. I decide to make them much more like the assemblage shrines I have been doing all summer- less pages and more found materials.
The Messenger of Truths holds a lot of secrets deep within it. Secrets that the viewer can weave together to create a story if you pay careful attention to all the clues. This piece is deep with symbolism. The doll hand, the old medicine bottle, the bird feather, the #13 on the playing card, almost every element has weight- including the picture on the back and the line "If Lillie will forgive me." It is pretty heavy handed. I know- I don't think
I started out with a feel story, it just came to me as I was working, liquid nails hardening to my finger. It felt like when I did the piece, "i remember you." It just sort of came out of me and a gush. I finished it in record time for an altered book, three days.

I've named the girl inside the bottle and inside the book, Lillie. She is 13.

The Messenger of Truth is a travelling man of the cloth, who is friends with Lillie's parents. One summer he comes to visit the family. It is a summer that will change Lillie for the rest of her life.

God made the bird and all the precious beautiful things on the earth.

Lillie was a good little bird.




Fly away.....

WOC Round #3 Terry's Book

This weekend was very busy with Father's Day and my wedding anniversary. Was very productive in the art arena as well- I finished my Morpheus Box and will post more of that later. Started four new pieces - WIP pix will follow. Went to a great yard sale at the church down town Waterbury. Church yard sales are ALWAYS the best- next to town wide or block sales- I can always count on them for good scores.  Did some dumpster diving with Jack at the Moretown Landfill.  Found so great rusty stuff- went to the garden center for plants and potted them on the deck- and some how found time to finish Terry's book last night- shipping out later today to Linda- the residue of Michael's class still spilling in my work- even my AB's-

whew! that was a jammed packed weekend... the only thing we didn't do was go camping as Saturday night brought nasty thundstorms. maybe next weekend....