Don't Forget The Groceries!

We're so excited to boast that LeBrie Rich — one of our very own amazingly talented instructors — currently has an exhibition of felted works! Grocery, is LeBrie's series of life-size branded food products, such as Fritos, Ritz Crackers, and Reese’s, that were lovingly felted and stitched with painstaking attention to detail. The almost irresistibly soft texture of wool felt and the many hours of labor clearly spent on each piece invite you to slow down and (re)consider your connection to these familiar products. This particular body of work is both a tribute to and a critique of not only the foods that have shaped our lives and our memories, but also their branding. Through her careful rendering, each piece becomes a precious, tactile totem of our throwaway culture and an opportunity to reflect on our relationship to it.

Grocery

Felted Artworks by LeBrie Rich

on exhibit now through October 28, 2018
Wolff Gallery • 2804 SE Ankeny St • Portland, OR 97214

 
So if you are in the Portland area, do yourself a favor and go check out LeBrie's Exhibit... it's the most adorable gallery show I've ever seen! And in the meantime, to find out more about her exhibit, processes and inspiration, here's a great article about the work.

And now that you know what an impressive artist LeBrie is, check out what she has in store for you this Spring at Art & Soul Portland....

Your Perfect Felted Handbag - Sunday - March 17 

Felted Slippers - Thursday - March 14 

Welcome Spring! - Sat Eve - March 16

LeBrie Rich is an artist and educator living in Portland, Oregon. She is the proprietress of PenFelt, a line of felted accessories and objects that are available in select craft galleries nationally. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications, for print and web, including The New York Times and 1000 Artisan Textiles by Lark Press. Her work has also been shown in diverse settings, including museums, storefront windows and art vending machines. LeBrie has been teaching feltmaking for 10 years and loves to introduce people the miraculous and fun process of transforming raw wool into felt! To find out more about LeBrie, her workshops and all our classes at Art & Soul, visit our website!

Portland Registration is Open!

Fabric Angel Book with Kate Thompson

We have lots of exciting classes for Art & Soul Portland 2018 and registration is now open! We're thrilled to offer such a unique selection of workshops for our attendees. No matter what type of mixed media art you enjoy making, or would like to learn how to make... there is something for everyone in Portland.

Make polymer clay Bird Peeps with Lisa Rinner

Want to try your hand at felting, sewing a garment, dyeing fabric, painting in watercolors, acrylics or pencils? We've got that! Interested in making books and journals out of fabric or paper, 3-dimensional assemblage, and fabulous jewelry techniques in enamel, clay, metal or resin? We have those too! How about sculpting with clay, collaging with magazine pages, or literally trying your hand at drawing, doodling, or lettering the alphabet? Well, we have workshops in all of that and so much more!

Susan Lenart Kazmer's Talisman Jewelry

Did you know that 2018 will be our 15th year in Portland! I actually started producing weekend art events in 1998, Art & Soul Retreats became a phenomenon all its own in February 2003. I hope you can join us to celebrate this milestone.

Felt the Perfect Handbag in LeBrie Rich's workshop

Registration will open May 26, 2017. We are once again offering special discounts for early registration. Classes will be $135 for one month only, until June 30, 2017. At that time, they will raise to $150. Make your selections EARLY as many classes will fill rapidly.

Discover Gel Transfers with Heather Kindt

Art & Soul Portland 2018

February 11-18, 2018

Portland Airport Sheridan Hotel

This was just a little taste of what we have in store, so go ahead and grab a beverage and a snack check out our Portand offerings! You can peruse them on our website in 3 ways... by workshop dates, your favorite instructors, and by photos of all our example projects. Once you register, don't forget to make your hotel reservations too. The Sheraton has given us an unbeatable rate that includes lots of extras. Happy browsing!

Don't Miss This Amazing Offer!

David Molder & Eric Scott - Alternative Approaches to the Self Portrait

Wow, wow, wowie, wow! Can you tell I'm excited about the new lineup for our 2016 Portland Art & Soul? I'm thrilled to let you know that classes for this event are now online and ready for you to browse! AND.... we're kicking off open registration June 1st with an awesome sale!! If you sign up during this early bird special, Event Registration will be $35 (instead of $50) and all Full Day Classes will be $135 (instead of $150)! The sale ends August 1st, so take advantage of this discount offer and insure you get the classes and teachers that you wanted!

Oh, and besides the savings we have for you... check out some of the incredible lineup of classes we have in store for Portland 2016!

Ingrid Dijkers has turned journaling on its head — or should I say YOUR head — with her Crown Chronicles workshop! And seriously... what better way to share your favorite affirmations, quotes or journaled random thoughts than on your head with a crown?

Lulu Moonwood Murakami is going to take you on a tale of a journey in her Fabric Collage Storybook Dolls class. Love mixing fabric patterns and colors? So does LuLu! Get funky creating whimsical storybook characters with fabric collage and some wild machine stitching in her workshop.

Create your own polymer clay "bunting" with Laurie Mika in this Heraldic Clay Banner workshop! This is a perfect class to explore a number of techniques using polymer clay because each triangle provides an opportunity to try out a new way of embellishing the surface. Swoon!

And OMG! Are these Needle Felted Cakes taught by LeBrie Rich just the most adorable things you've ever seen? You'll create beautiful and intricate desserts inspired by Japanese felt master Rio Fukuda. This class is a good introduction to needle felting: you’ll learn to make many basic shapes and will be prepared to create anything on your own at home! Sweet!

Ever want to try your hand at Precious Metal Clay? Well now you can and come out looking like an expert in Ruth Greening's Intro to PMC Silver workshop! You'll fall in love with the versatility and beauty of this workable, forgiving medium that lends itself to so many different crafts.

So that's just a small sample of the amazing lineup we have for you at Portland next year! With all types of mixed media disciplines like collage, assemblage, journaling, bookmaking, painting, sculpting, fabric and fiber arts, digital manipulation, jewelry and so much more... we have something for everyone!

Art & Soul Portland 2016

February 29th - March 6th

Registration opens June 1st

[special introductory sale ends August 1st]

Happy Browsing!

Focus on Fiber, Fabric and Fun! Follow Me...

Last week I shared all the classes for Portland 2015 Art & Soul. So this week I thought I'd focus on all the new fiber and fabric workshops we have to offer at that event! For years our mixed media classes offered a variety of avenues for expression... but lately we've gotten a lot of requests for sewing and weaving and quilting... oh, my! So we've incorporated tons of classes that involve all types of cloth, thread, ribbon, stitch, and so much more. Not only that, but we're going to have a dedicated sewing room equipped with machines, so you may not even have to bring yours!

Here's just a sample of what's in store for Portland 2015...

Lorri Scott's Affirmation Scarf workshop uses a technique she's nicknamed "wayward threads" that elicits the absolutely gorgeous result you see above. Mixing it up with additional mixed media techniques makes this class a must!

Want to try your hand at felting? Maybe you've read about it in many of the fiber magazines or seen an intriguing blog post about this technique online, and you've always wanted to try it. Then check out LeBrie Rich's class where you'll learn to create wet felted round beads and cane beads (reminds me of sushi!)

Want to challenge yourself in the art of felting? Then check out LeBrie's Felted Slippers workshop. Adorbs!

Jamie Fingal wants to help you Fly Your Own Flag in this fun fabric class. You'll get to create 3 prayer flags using quilt patching techniques and freeform stitching until your heart's content!

What do they say? A stitch in time, saves 9. Well in Leslie Jennison's workshop, a few stitches will bring you Sheer Bliss! In it, you'll release your inner ya-ya. You'll be working with a variety of sheers to create a surface worth stitching, which can then be used for a wide variety of projects. Wheeee!

Maybe you'll let Jill Berry and Lorri Scott take you down The Garden Path to create this meandering mixed media WHEREable scarf! Not only will you get to utilize items from nature to colorize and dye your fabrics, but you'll use journaling, mapmaking and embroidery techniques to embellish your adornment. Sounds like heaven!

And speaking of nature, how about turning seagrass into fabric you can weave with? Students will learn the ancient craft of twining in this unique workshop by Donna Crispin to make a Seagrass Basket! Now that's mixed media with Mother Nature.

Perhaps you'll take a walk on the wild side with Jamie Fingal and Leslie Jenison in their Twist and Shout - Painting & Quilting workshop. On day one, you'll create a collaborative free form painting on fabric with your fellow students. On day two, you'll get a section of the finished cloth to incorporate into a quilted design piece! And get this... all you need to bring are a pair of scissors and an apron! It can't get any easier than that.

Portland Art & Soul 2015

March 2-8, 2015

Sheraton Airport Hotel

So I hope you enjoyed our little sneaky peek of these inspiring classes we'll have to offer in Spring of 2015. Don't forget, we have an early sign-up special going on now... so don't miss out on registering for your favorite Portland workshops today!