Virginia Teacher Spotlight: Eric Scott

We love having Eric Scott teaching at our events! He is one half of the Journal Fodder Junkies, and he's dedicated to helping people discover their artistic potential and cultivate their creativity. He is a mixed media artist, an educator, and an author. He provides workshops, presentations, and seminars all across North America on the visual journal and mixed media art.

For Eric, the visual journal is vital to his mixed media art. As a place to explore and experiment, to document and reflect... he sees the journal as a testing ground for ideas, techniques, and imagery. All of these ideas and notions ferment in the journal before they begin making their way into separate pieces of art. Eric is an expert guide into the unknown, and he'll make you feel comfortable and free there! Check out what he has planned for you at Art & Soul Virginia this year...

Luminous Liquid Layers
In this full day workshop, you'll be pushing your creativity as you delve into the world of liquid acrylics. You'll explore a multitude of exciting techniques as you paint, drip, scrape, splatter, and stamp. Sure, that may sound like the basics, but you’ll also learn to use a wide range of unconventional tools and materials to create exciting textures and luminous layers. You can even throw in some of your favorite images and personal ephemera to add a mixed media flair to your work, or you can simply focus on building your painting skills. Either way, you’ll learn to open yourself to a new painting process as you build texture, embrace color, and develop rich layers. You'll definitely get to see how easy it is to develop dynamic images as you work, and you'll walk away with vivid pieces of art ready to hang on the wall.

Monster Maker Workshop
Eric's 3-hour evening class will help you unleash your mad scientist. You'll bring a variety of creatures of the imagination to life in this fun mixed media workshop! You will learn how to conceptualize and create cute & cuddly, or scary & menacing monsters with pencil, ink, paint, and collage. Build your creations from stock parts or invent your own. Customize your monsters with a variety of details, textures, and accessories, and walk away with your own menagerie of little beasts. Evil laugh is optional. Muah-ha-ha-ha!


Stencil Savvy
Stencils have become increasingly popular over the past few years, and we all look forward to the latest releases by our favorite mixed-media artists. But what if we could design and make our own? What if we could use our art, our handwriting, and our photographs to make personally meaningful stencils?

In this hands-on evening workshop, you’ll see just how easy it is to create your own distinctive stencils and templates. You’ll start the day by working with simple shapes and designs, and wrap up with using more complex artwork and photographs. You will leave with a variety of unique stencils and templates ready to be used in all of your mixed-media endeavors. That's pretty awesome!


So whether you love journaling, stamping, painting, drawing, stenciling, or just want to be brave and try something new, Eric has something for everyone. The great part is that everything you learn can translate to your own mixed media practice. What a great way to uplevel your art! For more information about Eric's classes and our Virginia Beach retreat, visit our website...

Virginia Beach Art & Soul

October 1-6, 2018

Virginia Beach Resort Hotel

As a former public school art educator, Eric Scott frequently travels and provides workshops on the power of art and the visual journal to schools and education organizations. In 2005 he officially teamed up with friend and artistic accomplice David Modler to present at a variety of venues, conferences, and retreats on visual journaling and the importance of authenticity in art education. Eric is coauthor of the bestselling books, The Journal Junkies Workshop (2010) and Journal Fodder 365 (2012), both released by North Light Books. He lives in Purcellville, Virginia with his wife and their menagerie of animals. You can find out more about Eric by visiting the Journal Fodder Junkies website.

Minneapolis... A Retreat On Repeat!

Felted Flower Rings by Susan Rossiter

Our new midwest location was such a happy success that we're doing it again next year! Woohoo! Yup, that's right kiddies... Art & Soul will be back in Minneapolis in 2017 and we've already got a great lineup of mixed media workshops for you taught by so many talented instructors. Here is just a sneak peek at what we have in store...

With the growing popularity of mandalas lately — and the zen that comes along with them — it's no wonder they've made their way into the mixed media world. And what better way to unwind and relax than to spend a day creating Mixed Media Mandalas  using fabric and paper with Rebekah Meier. Breathe in.... breathe out... cut and paste.... ahhhhhhh. Doesn't that feel good!

OMGoddess! Release your inner goddess while being gently guided in techniques of beading and fringe with Doris Arndt in a glorious workshop where basically everything is provided for you. Just bring your inner divinity!

What about learning this amazing technique on how to Cut, Stencil & Stitch From Scratch and create your very own multi-layered garment with Patti Calande? You'll learn about cutting fabric, stenciling, stitches, techniques, and construction, and you will gain key hands-on experience to complete this and other beautiful, heirloom hand stitched projects!

Or try your hand at metal etching and leather tooling in Erin Keck's workshop, The Shoe Cobbler's Journal. Under Erin's expert guidance, you'll construct a unique steampunk-esque journal made from shoe sole leather, learn dyeing techniques, metal etching, hinge creation and leave with a finished journal and a wealth of knowledge!

Carol Sphon's Cruising for a Rooster workshop.

And that's just a small sampling of what we have in store for you! Registration for next year's Minneapolis Retreat opens on August 1st — which isn't that far away! And we've got a Special Offer for all you early birds... Sign up by October 31st and get $15 dollars off your registration fee and $15 off each full day class!

Art & Soul Minneapolis

April 26th - May 1, 2017

Crowne Plaza Aire Hotel

Minneapolis, MN

So grab yourself a drink and a snack, make sure your printer has plenty of paper and ink, and start planning your dream mixed media playcation!

Burn, Baby, Burn!

Lately we've been sharing a lot of how-to articles from our favorite Art & Soul teachers... well, how about one from Michelle Bernard — our resident Art & Soul Graphic Artist! Michelle dabbles in several different mixed-media categories including jewelry, collage, assemblage, art dolls, and lots more. But there's one thing she told me she loves working with... and that's wood. She bought a wood burning kit ages ago and had it sitting around collecting dust... until she came across an adorable wooden purse at her local craft store. And the rest is history.

Do you smell a campfire? Nope... it's just Michelle in her studio. And here's a quick and easy tutorial to spark your own burning creativity! Take it away Michelle....

I'm not sure why, but I absolutely love making art on wood! And this wood burnt star girl purse I made is no exception! Perhaps it's the smell of the burning wood... reminds me of being around the campfire. Maybe it's the way acrylic paints let the wood show through... I just love me some texture... courtesy of mother nature!

Transferring the image is easy-peasy with the age-old pencil transfer method! Some things never go out of style. Simply rub pencil on the back of your photocopied image, then trace over top.

Burn, baby burn! This part is fun and scary all at once. But oh, the smell of burning wood. Mmmmm. If you have a wood burning kit, logic would dictate using the pointed tip for tracing your image. However, the pointed tip tends to skip. I like to use the chisel tip because it holds heat better and does not skip. You can just "write" with the tip of the chisel, as you would a pencil. But keep those fingers away from the tip!!! Ouch!

Painting in the details. I'm just loving how these bright colors just pop on the wood surface! I used acrylics that were watered down slightly, to fill in the different sections. You want it watery enough to see through, but not too watery that it spreads outside your lines. If you're unsure of the consistency, practice on the inside or back of your surface.

Fun with finishing. Here's where I treat my wood burning like a collage. I added some glitter glue to her hair for some visual depth.

Then I jazzed it up with some words from an old book, a pretty pink flower, and a star necklace with vintage ribbon. You can do as much or as little as you like with your pieces.

The back had a big giant crack in it ($2.99 sale item, what can I say!), so i just painted a dividing line over it and had more wood burning fun!

I even went so far as to finish the inside with pink felt. You might notice there's a little part at the top that I didn't cover with lining. When I used the star shape branding attachment from my wood burning kit, I tested it first on the inside, knowing I would cover it up later. But I thought it was cute, so I let it peek through.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it sparks a desire to burn something in your craft room! Within reason... of course.

Creatively,
Michelle 

Caged Bead Bracelet Tutorial from Eva Sherman

Today we're featuring Eva Sherman for our guest blog post! A talented jewelry artist, she started her hobby as a way to spend time with her daugters... and ended up opening her very own bead store in Ohio! And she's generously sharing a spectacular wire-wrapping technique that will jazz up any of your own jewelry creations. Take it away, Eva....

Looking for an easy wire wrapping technique that can be used to dress up almost any kind of bead? This caged bead wire wrap pattern works particularly well on larger round beads like the gorgeous ones used here. This design may also be adapted to create a necklace by increasing the number of beads.

Materials:

• (8-10) 10mm beads
• (12') 18 gauge copper wire
• (2") of 16 gauge copper wire
• (1) 4mm copper jump ring
• Wire cutters
• Round nose pliers
• Chain nose pliers
• Hammer
• Steel block 

Instructions:

1. Cut 14” of 18 gauge copper wire. Using your round nose pliers, make a small wire wrapped loop at the center. String bead on vertical wire and make another small wire wrapped loop at the other end.



2. Holding the top loop with your chain nose pliers, begin to gently wrap the wire over the top of the bead in a spiral pattern. Make approximately 5 to 6 wraps. Be careful to apply even tension and pressure and you will form a bead cap. Repeat the spiral wire wrap at the opposite end of the bead.




3. Bend leftover wire towards the opposite pole with a gentle curve and loop it around the wire wrapped loop. Trim excess wire.



4. Create another loop at the other end of the bead in the same way. Repeat the previous steps through the first loop only with your second bead.



5. At the opposite end of the second bead, start the wire wrapped loop as shown.



6. Before closing the wire loop, slip the first bead on, then continue with making the wire wrapped loop and the bead cap. Repeat these steps until you have enough beads to go around your wrist, less 1/2 inch.



7. For the dangle bead begin by making a spiral as shown. It should be about the same size as the other bead caps.



8. Instead of a spiral wrap on the other end, create a loop: Bend leftover wire towards the opposite pole with a gentle curve and loop it around the wire wrapped loop. Spiral wrap back to bottom again. Trim excess wire. Connect the dangle bead to the last bead with the jump ring.

9. Make an “S” hook using the 16 gauge copper wire. Hammer it on the steel block to harden. Attach it to the last bead as shown. Hook the “S” hook in the jump ring to close. The dangle bead will keep the bracelet evenly weighted so it does not spin on wrist.

Please note that this tutorial was created by me and may be used for your personal use. I respectfully request that you not copy it, but feel free to direct others to this link. Thank you!




Eva Sherman will be teaching several workshops at Art & Soul Portland this September/October, so check them out!

Eye of the Storm - where you'll get to create "sheet metal" from wire and open up a whole new world of jewelry making possibilities!
Fold Forming 101 - a series of metal folding techniques which allow rapid development of three dimensional surfaces using simple equipment.
Rosette Cuff & Bangle - a workshop exploring a variety of basic metalsmithing techniques such as forging, texturing, wire working, and cold connecting.

Lots of interesting and unique classes from Eva for every level of jewelry makers.... from beginning to seasoned. Hope to see you there!