Wednesday, November 30, 2011

No Foolin'... Portland 2012 is LIVE! Woot! Woot!


The behind the scenes work is done. You had your little sneaky peek. And now we're all set and ready for perusing! So go ahead and take a look at everything we have to offer at Portland 2012 Art & Soul.

Many of you know that Art & Soul was "born" in Portland and I'm excited to announce that this will be our 11th year.  Can you believe it?  The years have passed in a blink of an eye. The event is a labor of love for me and I am blessed to have incredible instructors, volunteers and attendees  who have offered countless hours of support, innovation and WORK to make the event the most outstanding art retreat in the country.  The friendships that have been made will last a lifetime and it warms my heart to see the reunions each year.  If you have never attended  — join us!  And if you are returning — we cannot wait to see you!

Registration begins December 3rd, so pick out your favorites and get those supplies on your Holiday Wish List!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Portland Classes Are Almost Up!

We're working on putting up the workshops for Portland 2012 Art & Soul and thought you would like a sneak peek at what we have so far! And boy, let me tell you how difficult it was to choose from the amazing offerings of these extremely talented instructors. Mixed-media art is at an all time high and creative juices are overflowing!

So grab a snack and a drink and get yourself in front of the computer to browse around what we've got so far and see what catches your fancy. I guarantee you it'll be hard to narrow down your choices!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Peace, Love and Shop Local!


With the holidays coming — and Black Friday looming — I thought it appropriate to talk about Small Business Saturday. And I just loved the name of this little hippie shop in the town of Woodstock, NY. So VERY appropriate and it got me all nostalgic for the days of shopping local and shopping privately-owned stores.

It is not news that small, independent businesses are having a most difficult time surviving. It breaks my heart every day to hear of another store — especially an art store — that finds itself having to close. I learned that one sales rep in northern California has lost over 59 stores in the past 2 years! I find that statistic appalling and want to encourage everyone to participate in the Shop Small event this Saturday... The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday. The CEO of American Express stated that more jobs are created annually by small, local businesses than the large corporations. And yet, we are seeing their rapid decline and it is quite scary.

My father-in-law opened a pharmacy in the 1940’s — soda fountain, the whole shebang. I worked with him and my husband in the store for over 20 years until the competition was just too tough. In my mind, it is a huge loss to each community. The whole cohesive feeling of being recognized and appreciated as a customer is gone. Small businesses do not have huge corporate funding available for advertising and discounts to entice the public. We rely on personal service, attention to detail and a smile to encourage customers. Your local art store owner, clothing store owner, landscape owner, restaurant owner, etc, etc — will take time to show you new items, demo a new product, and order any item that you may desire!


So please visit and shop your local small businesses this Saturday, November 26th so we can help them make sure to... Not Fade Away!

Fondly,
Glenny

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Peter Piper Picked A Pack Of Portland Classes...


Okay, so it's not Peter Piper... it's me and my trusty art colleagues! But I just wanted to drop in to let you know the jury is still attempting to select the best classes for next year's Portland Art & Soul Retreat. The proposals have been outstanding. The problem we are having is a nice one — but very difficult. There are simply too many wonderful proposals, and not enough room to have them all. If we were to do that — it would be an event lasting 3 weeks!

I hope we can have final decisions by the end of this week and begin uploading workshops to the website. Our goal is to have everything online for you to view before Thanksgiving and registration will begin on December 1st. And make sure to mark your calendars for Portland 2012... September 30th through October 6th!

Happy Holidays to All... and don't forget to tell your loved ones that a Gift Certificate to Art & Soul would be wonderful!

~ Glenny xoxo

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Art & Soul... Over a Decade!


Did you know that Art & Soul has been around since 1999? Beginning as smaller, more intimate weekend events on the Oregon coast, Art & Soul has grown into annual events in multiple locations throughout the United States. Our now week-long retreats have been going strong year-after-year, with many people attending all the events around the country!


The mastermind behind Art & Soul’s dynamic retreats, Glenny Densem-Moir is no stranger to event planning. More than 20 years of weddings, anniversaries, bar and bat mitzvah’s, themed parties and festivals kept her busy, busy, busy. During that time, Glenny sought an outlet for her artistic endeavors and discovered a few small venues for creative learning. When she realized that she could take her passion for creativity and education, and create a large-scale venue for mixed media… Art & Soul Retreats was born!

Glenny has a knack for selecting the most popular instructors as well as discovering up-and-coming artists and art trends that attendees find interesting. In fact, many of the top mixed media artists of today got their start with Art & Soul Retreats. Besides the delight in running such an event, Glenny loves to watch the attendees push beyond their comfort zone and create something magnificent. The smiles on their faces as they walk from their workshops — projects held high — is all Glenny needs to reassure her that she’s on the right path. Her commitment to excellence has made Art & Soul the premier mixed media retreat in the country.

So when did you first attend Art & Soul? We'd love to hear your stories!