We Felt It! Chad Alice Hagen is Coming to Portland!

The amazingly vibrant, vivacious and colorful felting aficionado Chad Alice Hagen — who has instructed workshops at our Virginia Beach retreat — is coming to teach at Portland Art & Soul in March of 2015! And we are tickled pink, and blue... and orange... and yellow.... and green, and purple, and.... wow!

Chad Alice Hagen has been happily and intensively exploring resist dyeing and surface design of hand felted wool since 1979.  Textiles, fiber, fabric, material, felt, cloth – these words are more exciting to her than “You have won the lottery!”  Starting from a textile history background, she has supported herself through her BA and MS from University of Wisconsin and MFA from Cranbrook by weaving rag rugs from thousands of pairs of corduroy pants.  Why?  Because of the color!!  When she discovered feltmaking and the way the wool felt absorbed color through dyeing in the late 1970’s, there was no turning back.

Chad Alice has written extensively on art and feltmaking and her artwork has appeared in and on the covers of Surface Design Journal, Fiberarts and Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot Magazine. She also is the author of three books: The Fabulous Felt Scarf (2007), Fabulous Felt Hats (2005), and The Weekend Crafter: Feltmaking (2002) all published by Lark Books. She has taught hundreds of classes and workshops since 1979 throughout the United States and Canada, England, Ireland, Holland and Germany - from the early felted boots through hats and scarves and artworks.  Her large scale felt work can be found in major collections including the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, NC, The Knoxville Convention Center, TN, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. B.F. Goodrich Corporation Collection. Chad Alice maintains a full-time felt and book studio in Asheville, North Carolina. Take a look at what she's teaching at Portland Art & Soul in 2015...

Mokume Pin Shaped Resist Felted Scarf 
Join Chad Alice for a fabulous workshop where you will make a full size fine merino scarf using needle-punch batts and learn an ancient Japanese resist stitching method called Mokume to create a bark-like design and texture.

Wrapped Resist Dyed Felted Journal
Create a perfect sized (4.5" W x 3.5"H x 1") marvelous hand bound Journal from your very own hand felted and resist dyed felt.

Resist Dyeing on Hand-Felted Wool
In this class you will first learn how to felt and full fine Australian Merino needle punch batts, and Dye Master Chad will show how to set up a safe and workable dye kitchen. Then, using hundreds of weird and fascinating resist tools, you will be guided into the world of resist dyeing on felt – very different from anything else!

Pretty amazing stuff! So check out what Chad Alice has to offer at our Portland Art & Soul event. Whether you love the process or are swooning over the textures you'll create... we know you felt something that will make you want to sign up! So happy for her to join our creative family!

For more information and to register for Portland Art & Soul, visit our website at www.artandsoulretreat.com today!

A Stitch in Time is... Here Forever!

Patti Calande has always been a maker. As a child her cousin taught her to sew, and her grandmother taught her to crochet. She's taken many classes since that time to further her creative endeavors. When Patti discovered Alabama Chanin, she felt an immediate affinity for their techniques, style, and integrity. She knew this was what she wanted to do. Patti eventually went on to attend multiple workshops at their factory in Alabama, completed their teaching accreditation requirements, and is now a certified Alabama Chanin Sewing Instructor.

Patti is excited to help others discover the wonderful world of hand-stitching heirloom pieces. She not only embraces the pleasure of the process, but also the thoughtful crafting of something beautiful and useful, something to be enjoyed by the maker now and their future generations to come, that’s so good for the soul.

And she's going to help you do that too!

Patti is teaching her Alabama Chainin technique in an amazing workshop at our Portland Art & Soul in March 2015. And it's not just about stitching... it's about beading and patterns and stencils and fabrics and more! Check out her video...


Hand Stitching & Embellishing, The Alabama Chanin Way
Sunday, March 8th, 2015

The Alabama Chanin way offers a fresh take on age-old hand stitching techniques. Join Patti in exploring these techniques, such as applique and reverse applique. She'll talk about different types of stitches, from the running stitch to elaborate embroidery stitches, and their applicable uses. She’ll go over some of her favorite tips and tricks to help make for a smooth, successful sewing experience. She’ll touch on materials, pattern cutting, beading, and stenciling; and you’ll learn garment construction too.



So... are you inspired? I certainly love the peacefulness and calm of hand sewing, stitching and embrioidery... and Patti Calande is just the soul to take you through it!

For more information on our Portland retreat, as well as registration, check out our website today!

And The Beat Goes On...

Lots of the time we talk about our spectacular retreats, the amazing workshops we offer, our professional teachers, and our tireless staff. But what we don't talk a whole lot about is what happens after the retreats (hmmm, I feel a theme coming on!). So this week, I thought we'd share an exciting success story...

Recently I received a thoughtful e-mail from one of our attendees — Darlene Koppel — letting me know that she'd been published in the Autumn issue of one of our all-time favorite magazines...  Art Journaling! Oh, and it's not her first time either. She's had her work featured in several publications for many years now. How about that!

It seems that her mixed media art gathering — Tidewater Artists Group (TAG) — was formed after meeting some kindred spirits at one of our Art & Soul events 5 years ago... and they're still going strong today!

And Darlene doesn't stop creating. She's learning and playing and trying new things all the time, and sharing it all on her blog Cinnamon Pink! You all know how much I love seeing the finished products at the retreats, but I am over the moon when I see that sense of creative exploration and experimentation continue after you've all gone home!

Congratulations Darlene, we're so proud of you! And if any of you Art & Soul Retreat-ers out there have a success story to share with us... we'd love to hear it! We may even feature you in an upcoming blog post!

Virginia Beach Was Pure... LOVE!

Okay, so you know it's going to be a fantastic week at Art & Soul when LOVE is in the air... or in this case... the airport! What a fun and whimsical giant mixed media version of our favorite word. The beginning of Art & Soul Virginia beach was off to a grand start when we saw this at the Norfolk Airport.

We were ready for all our lovely attendees and for dipping our toes into the creative pool. Wow, that's a lot of creativity out there!

Our spacious classrooms were packed — as usual — with happy souls, ready to take on new artistic adventures.

The instructors this year — both long time and brand newbies — were exceptional, as always. They took great care of their students, taking time to guide each and every one to their highest potential.

And our attendees... what can I say? They shined and sparkled like bits of diamond in the Virginia Beach sands! You all know that seeing what everybody makes is one of my favorite aspects of each event!

Happy faces means our students are so proud! And happy faces make my job so rewarding!

Chime in if you've heard this all before! These ladies did, in their class by the same name, hosted by Erin Keck! Yeah, yeah... I know... you've heard it all before, but it's true. And so let's point out something interesting about Virginia Art & Soul...

I noticed lots of color during the event this fall. For example, our attendees were very colorful! I just love to see all the adorable outfits people have for making art. Hey, even if you're going to get messy, you gotta look cute!

And really... at this particular retreat... there was color, color everywhere! From a tie-dyed patron who make a clock to match, to the batiked fabric scarves in Artistic Artifacts to art made with wax and art made with paint... there was a pop of brightness around every creative corner.

And what's this we see here? Students in surgical masks? Was there an ebola scare in Virginia!?!?

Of course not! It's just our new instructor Deborah Petronio, demonstrating the proper safety techniques for cutting off doll faces... in her class, Heads Up! Where students got to create little niches in vintage dollies. Good times!

And speaking of dollies, Leslie Brier's students rocked it out in Machine Age Santos!

Judy Gula rocked it out all week long at her on-site store! Look at those yummy supplies. Mmmmm!

And Vendor night, well... that's always rockin'!

So from the bottom of our hearts to the tippy tops of our Souls, I want to thank all of you for another spectacular event and for a fabulous 2014 season. We will see you next year!

Glenny, Marie & Staff
xoxo

Virginia Fun & Frivolity!

Okay, so Marie and I had to pose by the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel marquis. Who doesn't love to see their name in lights!

steampunk style fun in Leslie Brier's Machine Age Santos class

We're having a fabulous time in Virginia, but sometimes... when our Art & Soul students are busy, busy, busy...

gorgeous mica journals from Erin Keck's workshop

...making really cool stuff inside...

...well... some of us head outside for a little break! Here I am posing by the King Neptune statue with longtime attendee turned bestie, Dennis Webb. P.S. I'm much taller than I look! And...

...so is that statue! Holy sea creatures!

And if you've ever wondered what some of our instructors do on their time off, well... Ingrid Dijkers is just playing it by ear!

We're packing up to head home now, but... Wow! What another great retreat we had. I'll catch up soon with more photos and details of the Virginia Beach event.

Ta-ta for now!
Glenny
xoxox 

We Are Here! Yay for VA!

Marie and I arrived yesterday... excited and enthused!

So what do we do first? Head out to the beach for a selfie, of course!

And we found that all points lead to Art & Soul!! (p.s. no Horseshoe Crabs were harmed in the making of this mixed media collage!)

And, oh.... I mean... SERIOUSLY? I know we said we arrived in Virginia Beach, but you'd think we just got to Heaven! And a little bit of Heaven is what you'll have here at Art & Soul.

Can't wait to see you all!

~Glenny, Marie, Liz and crew
        xoxo