Encaustic Wax Class!

I had the best time yesterday in a day long class in Denver learning the art of encaustic wax.

I had no idea what it was, but I had heard so many wonderful things about the medium. It was so much fun! We used beeswax heated at 200 degrees, oil paints and propane torches to create these wonderful paintings. I love what I made, and the best part was that I got to spend the day with my two friends, Linda and Alicia.

Here is the beeswax in the muffin tins waiting to be made colorful by the oil paint blobs on the paper towel.

Here is Linda and our instructor, Pat Aaron, looking at the transfers Linda had created.

Here is Linda with the propane torch! We got to play with hot wax and fire!

We had so much fun!

Here I am with my finished painting!

Linda, Melissa and Alicia

(Ha! I love this picture. I am not standing in a hole, I am just this short. :)

What a great day!

Tomorrow I will show you an amazing collaborative project I was lucky enough to be included in. The final product is truly wonderful!

Fun New Art - A Wonderful Welcome Home!

Emmitt waited patiently for me to come home from camp last week.

He watched the mail person drop off packages everyday.

He knew lots of neat things were arriving and knew something in there might be for him.

He is such a smart pug!

Our friend Tere made Emmitt this special personalized stuffie bone...

and for me, this beautiful art doll!

She even made us a special pug card!

I love everything Tere! Thank you so much!

Then I opened another package and my friend Lisa Griffin made me a special Pug and Posey Pig ATC! WoW!!!!

and my friend Fannie custom made this bear pattern I had made for Melanie!

And... This special wooden cat magnet arrived from my friend Sandy that I got for a friend. It is beautiful!

I am so lucky to have so many wonderful friends! I appreciate all of you and all that you share with me everyday. It makes my world a very happy place!

Corgi Pillow Monsters!

Look at these amazing Pillow Monsters I commissioned the amazing Nichol Brinkman to create for Melanie!


Nichol is such an amazing artist and absolutely captured Melanie's Moe and his cousin, that has been named Martin.


They were waiting for us when we came home from camp and we were jumping up and down when we got the package!

Moe is Melanie's sweet, wonderful corgi.

Here is Moe's story told by Melanie. :)

Moe is from Mountain Home, Arkansas. The breeder specializes in Cardigan Welsh corgis. They come in all sorts of colors: black/white, red, brindle, blue merle. We drove to AR to pick up moe. he was the only black/white from his litter of blue merles . He was born on Thanksgiving 2004. the day before, our breeder also had a red corgi litter. She had over 10 puppies at once!
He just loved his red cousins and chased they each other all the time.

Can You find Moe in this Corgi Pile?

Baby Moe!

Snazzy Moe!

I love Nichol's work. It is so special and she is a wonderful person. Please check out her blog and Etsy store. It will brighten you day!

Our Week at Anderson Ranch...

Anderson Ranch is a magical place where art is created, appreciated and taught everyday of the year. During the week, the classrooms are open 24/7 and the creative energy is amazing.

There are a ton of different workshops ranging in everything from furniture making to ceramics and printmaking. This is my third year at the ranch. The other two workshops I took were in printmaking.

The camp is comprised of several interesting buildings all with their own personality. This year, our class was in the loft above the wood barn.

Here are some examples's of Dan's work that just took our breath away...

Here are the different stages our books took during the week...

The books that were created in this class were so inspiring. Many people cut windows in their books and made tiny shadowboxes on the covers.

We cannot wait to go back next year!