Upcoming Classes

Here are a few of my upcoming classes for August.   Email me with questions.   Click on the titles of the classes to go to the registration page and find out more.

 Watercolor for Relaxation

August 4, 2018.    9:00 am - noon

So often we sit down to creative work with the heavy expectation of creating a masterpiece...or at least something that will bring compliments from viewers.  The purpose of this class is to let go of the expectation of creating something perfect and finished and replace it with the calm of simply observing what the paint and water do together.   No expectations, just fun.  

We will play with color, learn how different pigments react with water, experiment with salt and plastic wrap effects, play with abstract compositions and a few other surprises.  

This class is appropriate for all levels of skill, including people who have never touched watercolor before.  [It will probably be hardest for people who are used to trying to paint 'something' instead of just playing].     Click on the title of the class above to register.

Color Mixing Bootcamp

August 4, 2018.   1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

For all creatives working in color!  You will learn how to mix any color you want using only 2 sets of primary colors.  

Appropriate for all mediums.   I will demonstrate with transparent dyes, but you are welcome to bring paint, colored pencils, fiber, ink, etc.  It will be useful for you to see how different mediums mix. Contact me ahead of time to make sure you bring appropriate primary colors. Click on the title of the class above to register.

The Artist's Way:  Getting Started

August 18, 2018.  1:00 PM  4:30 PM

Julia Cameron wrote The Artist's Way as a method for helping creatives identify their blocks and release their creative flow.   In this one-time class, we will start the process together and get you on your way to a happier and more productive creative life.   

If there is enough interest, we will schedule regular meetings to go through the entire Artist's Way or Vein of Gold books.  Click on the title of the class above to register.

Support is an important part of the process.   If you're an artist looking for better balance between your art, professional and personal lives, please feel free to check out and join my facebook group - 'The Well Balanced Artist'.  We are there to support each other in the journey.  

Silk Dyeing Class

CLASS:  Dyeing Silk Fabrics 

March 24, 2018
1:00 pm - 4:30 pm

If you've ever wanted to make your own hand-painted silk scarves this is your chance! Hand-dyed silk scarves are a sure winner for gifts of all kinds. You'll have time to dye 6-8 scarves and they will be ready to wear home.

Using safe dyes, I will walk you through the entire process from prepping, to dyeing, overdyeing, rinsing and pressing.  This is a small class taught at my home studio of no more than four people.  Plenty of individual attention.

There are just a couple of spots left, so register soon!  For all the details and registration, go HERE.

You can see all of my classes HERE.

Spots are Filling!

Spots are filling for our October Weekend retreat!   For the latest information, see this newsletter.

For all the details of the retreat, go HERE.

Sign up for all the updates HERE.

GIFT! Watercolor Meditation #1: Observation

I think about you guys a lot.  I think about what makes you happy, what makes you peaceful, what stresses you out.  We're getting into the crazy time of year with too much stuff on the calendar and many situations that might bring up some uncomfortable issues.

I decided I needed to help you relax.   I've developed a series of watercolor meditations especially for this time of year, when you need something calm and creative to help you balance.

Bonus!  You can't do them wrong.

Bonus!  An excuse to try a new art form.

Bonus!   They are so much fun!  [Send me pics!]  Enjoy!

Meditation #1:  Observation

Take a deep breath and relax. Breathe in. Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series. Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper: Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper. Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities. You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing. 6 x 6 inches or so is a nice size. Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating. If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead. [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.]  Brush: Any watercolor brush will do. Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.]  Water jar: To clean your brush in. A recycled food jar is great. Pint sized is great. MEDITATION 1:  OBSERVE Swish your brush around in the plain water. Get it good and wet. Brush that plain water around the paper. Observe what happens to the paper. See where it is shiny. See how long it takes for that shine to go away. See where it pools.  Get your brush wet again, choose your favorite color and get some of that paint on your brush. Don't worry about how much. You can't do this wrong. Touch the tip of the brush to one of the wet spots and let the pigment move onto the paper. OBSERVE. What happened?  Try it again in a different place. Just touch the color to the water and watch. OBSERVE. What happened?  Try it with less paint or more paint on the brush. Just touch the color to the water and watch. OBSERVE. What happened?  Try it with the side of the brush. Just touch the color to the water and watch. OBSERVE. What happened?  Now play. You can't do it wrong. Just touch the paint to the water and watch what happens. Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today. I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day. If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me.

The other activities in this series: Meditation #1: Observation Meditation #2: Flow  Meditation #3: Resistance Meditation #4: Obstacles Meditation #5: Opposition Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Studio Transformation

As you know, my other business is dyeing yarn, and for years I had a job weaving saddle pads on a giant loom.  Seriously, the loom was the size of my car.  In my studio.  ACK.

In addition to the giant loom, I had tall shelving along all the walls to hold Etsy inventory and supplies.

This summer, I ended my job weaving which meant the loom would be gone and I decided I needed to convert some of that wall space to gallery space for my artwork.  I love having people out to the studio and I want to schedule some open studio evenings next year for people to come see the artwork.  Eric and I thought long and hard about how to make the transition.

We took out the tall built-ins and book shelves and put in heavy duty rolling shelf units that are much shorter.   Then my brilliant husband took the wood from the old built-in shelves and turned it into table tops for the new units.   We love salvaged wood! You can just see some of them on the carts to the left of the tall lights.  They still show some pencil marks from their original purpose.

Eric also built and installed a narrow shelf to hold artwork on the back and west walls.  This way I can display a lot of my art at one time instead of keeping it wrapped up and hidden.

The cart shelves can be wheeled away from the walls whenever we need and I will be adding simple fabric curtains to hide the boxes when we have more formal studio events in this space.


All of the dyed yarn is in the carts, which means I can reach every skein without a ladder.  Yay!

My studio couch is no longer surrounded by boxes and stacks of stuff.  It's a comfortable place to sit and visit, rest, sketch, or browse through some books for inspiration.  I love that couch.  It folds out into a futon as well, which makes the studio a guest house as well.

One of the things I'd been tripping all over was the set of lights I use when photographing the art for the web.   They fold way down, but I didn't want to have to rebuild them every time I needed to take a quick photo.

I arranged things so that the lights can fit back against this section of carts, which is always set up for photographing.  There's a wide walk around so the feet aren't in the way.  Much easier and no tripping.

This is my painting corner.  Not much changed here, except that the rest of the room is much more open with the loom gone and that really affects how I feel when I paint.

The light is a chicken lamp, with a fluorescent bulb.  Very bright and a great feature until we get some track lighting up there.

Another change was to the dye and classroom area of the space.  It will never look like a magazine studio, but there's more table space now for classes and the sink and stove are right there, keeping the mess confined to that area.

The door on the left is to a small bathroom - essential for us since the current house only has one bathroom.   [A second is in the works.]

I keep reminding myself that this is a working studio - a hard working studio - and it's okay that it's always in flux.  We've got multiple projects going all the time.  [That's an antique table in pieces on the table there.   All stripped and sanded, ready for a final gluing and shellacking.]

All in all, I am thrilled with the new look out here.  It feels great and is conducive to peaceful, creative work.  If you're interested in coming to the studio to see my artwork, please let me know. We'll set up a time for you to come.   In addition, I'll be offering many classes here again next year and will be posting the schedule soon.   Stay tuned.

2017 Classes and Calendar

I've scheduled several new classes this year to be taught here at my studio and I'm really excited that they're on the calendar. 

This is a huge benefit to participants because the classes will be small [max 4] with an emphasis on individual questions, projects and consultations.

Here's the link to my whole calendar so you can see all my classes including the ones taught elsewhere.

This is what I'll be teaching this year:

• Color theory
• Intermediate spinning on a spinning wheel:  Plying
• Dyeing cotton yarns
• Dyeing cotton fabrics [for you quilters!]
• Dyeing silk scarves
• Natural dyes

Follow the links on the calendar to the registration pages for each class.   You can register and pay online.

There is a significant discount if you register early for one of the classes held here at my studio .  

As always, I'm super happy to answer your questions.   Email me. 

July Classes

Hand dyed nylon yarns

I'll be teaching two classes on Saturday, July 16 at White Violet Center at St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana.  [Just west of Terre Haute]

These are some of my favorite classes of the year.  Great place, great people, great fun.   I hope you can come!   Register at the link above. 

From their website:
9 a.m.- 12 p.m.: Color Basics and Harmonies.
1 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Dyeing Animal and Protein Fibers

Color Basics and Harmonies:
Take the mystery out of putting colors together. Learn how to combine colors in beautiful ways from a master colorist. Topics will include basic color theory, using color tools, wheels and books, classic color combinations, etc. Spend time making your own color notebooks. Expect to get a lot of practice putting colors together and using your new skills. This class is indispensable for anyone who works with color–artists, quilters, knitters/crocheters, sewers, interior designers, even gardeners!

Dyeing Animal and Protein Fibers:
Explore the use of acid dyes to turn your stash of ‘boring’ protein yarns and fibers into designer yarns and fibers that you will be excited to knit, weave or spin. Using safe and mild acid dyes, students will learn how to put several colors onto a skein to make variegated yarns. Students may bring their own wool, mohair, alpaca, soy silk, or silk fibers and yarns to work with. White or light colors work best
.

Classes for 2016

Thanks to everyone who came out to this year's Bloomington Spinners and Weavers Guild show in Bloomington.   We spent many happy hours talking to wonderful and creative people about all sorts of projects.   Thank you for coming and for sharing your creativity.

I heard several requests for classes for next year and since I hadn't made any decisions, I thought I'd open the topic up for discussion on the blog for a few weeks and find out what you were most especially interested in.

Please take a moment and tell us what you're thinking.

The classes I want to offer are full-service type classes.   Everything is provided, all you have to do is get yourself here.  We live in Greene County Indiana -  25 minutes southwest of Bloomington, Indiana.   20 minutes northeast of Bloomfield, Indiana.   1 1/2 hours southeast of Terre Haute, Indiana.   1 1/2 hours south of Indianapolis.  2 hours north of Louisville, Kentucky.

Each class would be limited in size to 4 or 5 people max, so you'd be getting a lot of individualized attention.   Each class would include hands on experience and a goody bag to take home.  Everything is provided - all you have to bring is yourself.   Full day classes would include home made lunch and a walk along the paths through our woods and fields, if you like.

Thanks for taking the time to help us focus our classes for 2016. Please click on as many things as you are interested in.

What kinds of classes would you be willing to come here to take?  

Half or Full day?  

Day of week?

June Color and Dyeing Classes

There is still time to sign up for a class with me this month.

Saturday, June 27, 2015
9am - 5pm
Includes lunch!
White Violet Center
St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana
[just west of Terre Haute]

Morning:   Color Harmonies
Afternoon:  Dyeing protein/animal fibers

You can register for one or both classes here:  http://spsmw.org/event-details/color-basics-and-harmoniesdyeing-animal-and-protein-fibers/

These are some of the most fun classes I teach all year!  In the morning we do a review of basic color theory, then talk about common color harmonies and learn about using color tools and then we start our own color notebooks!   It's a great time - full of laughter, learning and friendship.

In the afternoon, I take you step by step through the dyeing process so that you can learn to dye your own fibers at home.   We focus on protein/animal fibers in this class, using safe and easy-to-use acid dyes.    It's a great time and you'll go home with an armload of your own hand dyed yarns for projects. 

Details and registration information at the White Violet website here: http://spsmw.org/event-details/color-basics-and-harmoniesdyeing-animal-and-protein-fibers/

Come for one class or come for all day!  I hope to see you there!