Portland Art & Soul... On The Red Carpet!

Our first event for the year in Portland was amazing! They're always special, but the air was alive with excitement and energy this year.

With a brand new theme, we started off our event with a glamorous opening night party – On the Red Carpet – which featured a live band and we tripped the light fantastic, as if we were the stars.

We had some exceptional dancers spinning around the floor.

A celebrity selfie station!

Lots of glitz and glam including feather boas, feather eyelashes, and sparkly hair extensions were all part of the fun.

Many of us sported sparkles throughout the week. Attendees even arranged to have our glitz girl Sarah return to add more glam to their locks! It was so much fun. Mine are still in place and I love the comments I get as I venture out into the non-arty world.

And speaking of arty worlds... Wow! We had close to 500 happy, smiling, adventurous attendees at this year's Art & Soul Portland. A big thanks to those who came from NZ, Australia, the Netherlands, England & Canada. What an amazing tribute to A&S!

And as always, the gorgeous mixed-media creations that were made just blew me away. Like these metallic mini journals made by students in Jen Crossley's workshops.

Lots of gorgeous fabric classes with interesting techniques for making one-of-a-kind garments, or...

Something to tell a personal tale with, like these beautiful Storyscapes made in Roxanne Evans Stout's workshop.

How about these gorgeous metal bangles! There are always plenty of jewelry classes at Art & Soul, in all categories of mixed media.

Like these uniquely colorful Alcohol Ink pendants from Jennifer Jackson MacLean's students!

And speaking of colorful, check out these gorgeous papers and journal pages made in Nicole Austin's She Three workshop.

And this mixed-media portrait from Kate Thompson's experimental painting class. There was definitely something for everyone and every level of artist here in Portland. It warmed my heart to watch our tremendously talented teachers guide our students, while gently pushing them outside their comfort zone to create magnificent works of art.

Our vendor night was packed! The most vendors we had in years. Teachers selling their own creations. Antiques and mixed-media objects galore. Fabrics and fibers and found objects and all kinds of stuff to make more stuff with. It was a creative's paradise. Our special thanks to One Love Vineyards for coming with wine tastings and sale of their new products.

And it was so great to see a renewed excitement over trades again! Just like the old days, we've gone back to simple gestures, exercising our individual artistic flair, and appreciation for one another's creativity and kindness. Makes my heart go pitter-pat.

And lets not forget all the other amazing extras at Portland... Massages again were popular! Our necks and backs needed relief from all that intense creative focus. We also cannot say enough about the hotel staff, always rising above and beyond to take care of our special needs and crazy requirements. And if you've ever been to one of our events, you know our requests are pretty crazy! And of course, our on-site store, Collage. Holy cow! A selection to rival any big chain. We're pretty lucky.  Thanks to Maria Raleigh and her great team for an amazing job. And of course my Marie and Karen. So for my outstanding support system and all the wonderful teachers and attendees... this award goes to you! Thanks for making Art & Soul a winner year after year after year!!

Until next time. See you in Colorado!

Glenny
xo

Portland... a High(land) Time for Everyone!

Oh my gosh... what a fantastic time we all had at our Portland Art & Soul event! With more than 200 new attendees we had a total of over 400 who joined us! It makes my little Highland Heart go pitter patter. Especially because this means that creative souls are realizing that they really do love to learn new things and make art in-person with their tribe. It's the face-to-face connections and just being in the presence of like-minded people that makes us truly happy!

And happy we were! We had a bagpiper and highland dancers both Opening Night and Vendor Night to celebrate our Highland Fling theme. The dancers were young High School girls who practice 4 days a week. They were darling. Prior to dancing for us Saturday night, they had competed in a competition and had placed first and second. The performance brought tears both nights. It was probably the highlight of my 20 years of producing events!

And yes, we were all a bunch of giddy schoolgirls, hanging out with Outlander actor Jamie Fraser at the Opening Night Party. What do you mean he looks like a cutout? He took time out to bake these amazing Valentine cookies for us!

Students produced breathtaking art pieces and their excitement was over the moon throughout the whole event. There really was a renewed sense of joy exuding from our attendees this year, and the pieces they made were just proof of how much fun they were having.

With classes in every genre, there was something for every person in every category at every level of experience.

Our seasoned teachers — many of whom have graced the pages of your favorite mixed media magazines and how-to books — made sure to guide students through the process of making, whether they were brand new or already had a clue.

They literally take you under their wing and show you the ropes...

...or the stitches! That's why we have the teachers we do. They love to teach and it shows. They love to foster creativity in others and they've already figured out what works and what doesn't. They've done the homework for us.

And that makes for tons of fun in our workshops, as well as a whole lot of happy students who feel such a sense of pride. Just like I do when I see them filter out of the classrooms at the end of the day, gorgeous projects in hand, just beaming. It's really why I do this!

Am I gushing? You bet! These amazing instructors really took it to the next level this year. I'm so grateful to have such a great group of teachers and students. I feel like one big, happy family.

And let's not forget about Collage, our amazing on-site store. Like, seriously? This place was like Nirvana. Everything you could possibly ever need or want, and lots of things that you didn't even know you wanted but had to have. Yup, we all went home with more than we came with.

And Vendor Night was no exception. Mixed media art supplies, ephemera, metal, wood and plastic objects from days gone by, embellishments, original art from our instructors and so much more. And the bagpiper and dancers just made it extra special. I love the hustle and bustle of this pop-up

shopping event.

But really, the whole retreat was crazy busy and absolutely wonderful all at the same time. It passed in a flash, but most fun things do. I couldn't do this without my right-hand chicks and I must give a shout out to the hotel staff, who were exceptional in all aspects of working with us. We cannot compliment them enough for all they do to help make the event a success.

So thank you all for making this such a memorable retreat! See you in Colorado...

Glenny,
xoxo

photos courtesy of: Edens Canvas, Tamara James; Sally Wilson; Janet Wilson; Erin Keck; Roxanne Evans Stout; Liz Kettle; Kittania Miller; Susan Rossiter