Friday, October 27, 2017

Introducing... Our 2018 Theme & Logo!


We are so excited to announce our Art & Soul theme and logo for 2018...

Highland Fling


Yup... you guessed it! We are total Outlander fanatics. My trusty sidekick Marie and I are addicted to the show. The struggles and triumphs of the era. The beautiful costumes. The lush settings. The romance and adventure. I have a friend from Edinburgh and love her stories of the country, and have always wanted to visit the area. So, while I wait for the chance to go, I thought we could bring the Highlands to Art & Soul!
Leslie's Robots

The intricate Highland Fling crest-style logo was created by the talented Leslie Brier. She is a mixed media artist and graphic designer with a degree in fine arts, who has taught for Art & Soul in the past. She's always coming up with something unique and her execution is meticulous and thoughtful. So we thought she'd be the perfect one to design our Highland Fling logo for the 2018 season.

So put on your thinking caps my little mixed-media marvels! I can't wait to see what imaginative ideas you come up with for trades, swaps, themed clothing and oodles of ephemera to bring along to our Art & Soul Retreats next year.

And in case you hadn't heard yet, we have a new location for Art & Soul in 2018... Colorado Springs, CO! Going to Colorado has been a longtime dream for me and this is thrilling. We're in the process of working on classes for 2018, so we'll keep you updated and let you know when they're up on the website. Until then.... let your Highland flags fly and start those creative wheels turning!

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Virginia Beach... Faces, Flowers, Fire, Fingers, Friendships & So Much More!


Let's face it... the Virginia Beach Art & Soul event is always an amazing time in a breathtaking location with lots of happy, adventurous, artistic souls!


This retreat is flowered with all different kinds of folk, of all ages, from all walks of life, who love taking time out of their busy lives to treat themselves to some well-deserved play time.


I mean, really... our attendees are full of fire! It takes a certain type of soul to know how important it is to keep learning and growing by adding new, creative experiences to their lives. Okay, I'm getting choked up now...


Because to get to be the purveyor of such things makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. Like this lovely enamel pendant must've felt as it was being forged in Jean Van Brederode's workshop. But seriously, in this day and age, to be able to bring people together in common interest and that interest is treating themselves to a good time... well, I'm so very lucky. It touches me to my very core.


Like Neil Diamond sings... Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you! That describes what we do here at Art & Soul. Many hands together make up what we do, from our staff, the planning of it all, the execution, the hotel personnel, the students, the teachers... everybody! We all have a hand in creating this marvelous event, where we use our hands to make things... even rings to put on our fingers.


And the friendships forged at our events, well I can't even begin to tell you how many have been started at this very location. Because when you gather these kind of artistic souls together, it just can't be helped. And these friendships last a lifetime.


So whether you like to get your hands dirty, or keep them clean... we had workshops for that. Fun with fabric, playing with clay, drawing from scratch, molding, folding, sewing, gluing... so much for your hands to do!



There aren't too many in-person retreats left that allow you to show up with real live teachers, in real live classrooms (with lots of plastic covering the floors, LOL), inside a gorgeous hotel, with a view of the beach, and I'm just so ecstatic that Art & Soul is still a part of that movement. Maybe we can move more people out from behind their computers and get back into the real world, huh?


At Virginia Beach, there's always magic that happens. It's in the air! Maybe it's the salt air, which gently blows through the sliding glass doors of our oceanfront rooms? But in addition to our own event, this time we were witness to all kinds of enchantment...


Like the beach wedding that took place right outside our hotel on the sandy shores of the Chesapeake Bay!


Or the multitudes of frolicking dolphins we encountered swimming our way!


And although sometimes the ones we leave at home may get a little mopey... while we get to play and have fun... it's all worth the time we invest in ourselves. Don't you agree?!

So from the bottom of my heArt, thank you all for such a wonderful retreat! I look forward to seeing you next year!

Hugs,
Glenny
xoxo