Patterns part deux

By the time this posts, I should be high in the sky, winging my way to beautiful Portland for a glorious week of art and friends at Art & Soul!  It did make me think however of a question I get frequently from my students about how I feel about them 'copying' my style.  Thought it would be a good time to address this.

Over at the Sketchbook Challenge Blog, I put up a little bit about how I go about making things my own style, even when in another's workshop or class.  When I teach a workshop, I never get upset if someone makes a piece of art that looks like mine.  It's only natural that when learning a new technique it will resemble the piece that inspired it.  BUT you don't want to get stuck there, making derivative work.  The goal is to move forward!  Jump in and make it your own.  I fully expect my students to do this once they are comfortable with the techniques.  It's my DESIRE that you master the technique I teach, and take it further!  I want you to be successful and move beyond where you started when you were in my workshop!  It's not acceptable to make 50 that look just like mine, and sell them, or teach the class I worked so hard to create (Even if you change the name).  PLEASE!~  Change it up, adapt it to the way you work, and add your own special ZING to the mix.  My zing is layers and pattern overload.  I will somehow find a way to add texture and pattern and layers, no matter what medium I am enjoying.  In fact, my favorite PART of a new technique is always getting it back to the studio and playing around with it, and discovering what works with it, and what doesn't! 

A simple way to make something your own in a fast workshop situation is with pattern!  I was so fortunate to take my friend Pam Carriker's class out in CA this spring.  I so adore her style!  She is the master of her style for it is authentic Pam.  No matter how I could try to copy the style, I know it would fall short, because it would just be Kari copying Pam- not true Kari.  I have to let my freak flag fly and be authentic me.  So even though I was using an image / Thermofax she created, I could still put my own personal touch on it with my own hand.  A happy meeting of her technique, with my style and embellishment.

Jump in to the unknown, learn, enjoy and own your art!

Artiscape, Art & Soul Hampton revisited!

Goodies on our Vendors table at Art & Soul

Wow has time ever flown! In a little less than 3 weeks Mike and I've been all over the place, and visited with friends from around the country!

First, we had a visit with our good friends Kathy from TN, and Andi from WV. So nice they could come in early and spend time with us! First Mike made us his awesome world famous ribs, we enjoyed the comedy styling of John Pinette. The next day the girls and I spent a glorious day stimulating the economy of Dublin Ohio at Miss Biddies Coach House & Tea Room, and then shopping at The Morgan House. Not finished yet, we finished the day with a car full of goodies from The Greater Columbus Antique Mall.

From then the race was on. Artiscape was in full swing, with Mike, Kathy and I setting up and them vending while I demo-ed my new favorite tools, Knead-a-mold and Casting Resin! (More on that later!!!) So all day & night Friday and Saturday we were swamped busy. Our booth was small but mightily filled with goodies, and the shoppers and other vendors were so much fun!

Sunday was my "Happy Bird Sings" clay covered journal class, taking the majority of our day. Had great students, and a lot of fun. Andi shot home after her classes, and Kathy and Mike and I wound down getting Kathy ready for the Airport the next morning.

Upon arriving home from the airport, I was lucky enough to spend time with my cousins Wendy and Laura. Sadly, we lost Laura's mom- my Aunt Linda, and I was heartbroken at not being able to attend the funeral due to my Artiscape commitments, but thank goodness I got to spend time with my girls. We were the closest in age, and so of course we spent lots of time together growing up. I miss my time with my cousins. Now that I'm always travelling, Wendy is in CA and Laura has 5 kids- that time is precious and scarce these days. They kindly helped me re-stock my supplies for my booth and we spent nice times together at the Antique mall and then splurged on Jeni's Ice Cream. If you've never had their Bangkok Peanut....OHHHH MY! Thai Chili Spice, Peanuts and Coconut....ice cream that sets your mouth on fire....I DREAM of it...

Then Easter! And Mike was on the freeway, and a Canadian Goose flew right into the car! Smashed the windshield, dented the roof, and sent glass all over him. The Lord was good and spared Mike from any injury, and other than being shaken and having an un-driveable car, all was well. We scrambled, and Mom lent us her car, as the very NEXT day we were to leave for Art & Soul in Hampton VA.

Mike's Easter Goose Encounter

We loaded the car to the gills, and headed out- stopping at Andi's to spend the night. Mapquest said it was exactly halfway... Mike and I were used to our GPS, and my Mom's was totally different. We ended up going thru the most twisty, turny, 180 degree, one laned roads, but we eventually got there, and we had a lovely, VERY rural drive doing it. We hit an antique store with Andi and found even more goodies, and had a fun dinner out. A nice evening chatting and then off to bed to get ready for the next day. Of course Andi had prepared her WORLD FAMOUS Creme Brulee' French Toast, and so Mike and I waddled to the car and said goodbye, knowing we would meet up with her again in a few days at Art & Soul!

Mike and I went through the Monongahela National Forest & Park, and the George Washington State Park on our way to Hampton Virginia. Lovely all- stomach did not like the curves much though...

Hooray! We arrived at Art & Soul, and I taught 2 full classes of the most awesome and open-minded, creative artists! Each and everyone a happy success story! Fluid Romance and Event Journals Extraordinaire! Can't say enough good about the experience! Everyone was positive and happy and thrilled to be there, enjoying the venue and each others company! Class spaces were wonderfully large and comfortable. The hotel rooms were lovely suites with plenty of space to sit and work and still be comfortable.

I got to spend good down time with my friends Christy from VA and Deb from TX, along with Andi and a new friend Adriane. Seemed I also got to quickly connect and see dozens of friends in the halls and at breakfast every day.

I also was fortunate to meet several of my art heroes- which is always a big kick! I was so pleased to meet Suzanne McNeill, Pam Carriker, Lesley Riley and Susan Lenart Kasmer. Fabulous ladies each and every one!

Vendors Night came, and with a WHOOSH it went, but boy did our booth just BLOW OUT the goodies! Can't believe how many empty containers we had on the table at the end of just 3 hours! I just barely had a few minutes before opening to scour the room, and a few minutes after closing to go back and pick up my treasures. I always have to stop at Lesley and Tom Venables table- they have the most MARVELOUS goodies! And Lesley is an awesome instructor on top of it all!

Finally the sad day came. Art & Soul was over, and we headed home. Mike and I shopped at little out-of-the-way antique shops all the way home to restock our supplies for our vending booth again. And WOW! What cool stuff we found! Can't wait to show you!

Whew! If you've hung-on this long, my thanks. I don't know when I'll get to get back again, as I am leaving for the CREATE Retreat in Costa Mesa CA in just a few days, and I am crazily getting ready for those classes. Unpacking, Repacking, Restocking and Shipping has taken it's toll on the house. Thank goodness Mike will be home this time, to keep things under control!

Art and Soul Art Retreat, Blog Hop...and a Prize

Are you ready for NEXT winter? You will be if you take an exciting and inspirational break before you head indoors for months! Rest, rejuvenate, and recharge your creative muses in September with us at ART & SOUL, Portland!

From Mon Sept 26 thru Sun Oct 2, hundreds of kindred spirits will be gathered together to connect, learn, play, grow and experiment in mixed media workshops taught by internationally recognized instructors—designed to energize the creative spirit!

Mon Sept 26th, I'll be teaching the "Happy Bird Sings" Clay Covered Journal that is featured in Cloth Paper Scissors Jan/Feb 2011. You might want to sign up early, as this class has been selling out quickly!

On Tues Sept 28th, in "Green Art Goodness" I'll show you how to recycle, alter and use all that stuff you have laying around that you don't want to throw out, but you don't really like it enough to use! We'll transform common cereal boxes and broken, mismatched bits and pieces into something you will love. We'll even have a trading session as every artist feels other peoples embellishments are cooler than their own!

I invite you to join me Wed Sept 29th for "A Fluid Romance" where we will explore the juicy, color rich world of Fluid Acrylics. Layering, Optical & Physical color blending, Bas-relief, Composition, Hot-foils, are only the beginning of our playtime...3D ephemera additions will be the taste of steam punk topper.

Still Reading? On to the prize info... Leave a comment on this post about what sort of art classes you would like to take in the future and why, and I'll enter you into a drawing to win one of my handmade journals! Easy!!! Drawing will be held in June~ Make sure you leave info about where to contact you.

Checkout all the inspiration Art & Soul can offer you here. (Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a lot of new projects to inspire your work when you have to settle in for a long winter!) Keep reading to find out about an even BIGGER prize from Art & Soul! I mean wowza big!

Choose from dozens of wonderfully talented and dedicated Art and Soul instructors! Take a quick tour around this blog hop and you'll learn more about just a few of them!

Janne is a master of freestyle and creative machine embroidery and textile portraits, so lifelike!

Janne Robberstad- http://www.spindelmaker.com

Whether inside out outside of boxes, houses or ATC's Stephanie Rubiano's little butterfly people are charming. Stephanie Rubiano- http://www.soigathered.typepad.com

Liz has Gorgeously delectable fabric and fabric painting classes, with a delightful fabric memory journal. Elizabeth Kettle- http://www.textileevolution.com

Ingrid has lively, absolutely thrilling journals with things that truly jump off the page at you!

Ingrid Dijkers – http://www.ingriddijkers.blogspot.com

Ty and Marcia Schultz are enchanted people! They teach you how to make coool big stuff out of Paverpol, and then how to make cool molds of smaller stuff you want more of!

Marcia Schultz- http://queenofarts.blogspot.com

Karen O'Brien's juicy, richly colored, multi-layered collages always make me smile!
Karen O’Brien- http://karenobrien.blogspot.com

Glenny Moir is the magic behind the machine, who works tirelessly night and day, year round to create the whole Art & Soul experience.*** Stop by Glenny's blog and learn about the MOST fabulous prize! A 5 night stay at Embassy Suites! Drawing June 1, so don't hesitate! http://artandsoulretreats.wordpress.com

Want COLOR and ALOT of it? Jane Davies beautiful paper and collage classes are for you!
http://www.janedavies-collagejourneys.blogspot.com

Art And Soul, here I come!

I am so excited, I'm about to burst with happiness! I'm so pleased to tell you that I will be teaching at the 2011 Art and Soul in Hampton, VA! Registration begins August 15, 2010.

I've made so many nice friendships at Art events like these, so if you are planning on being there, please stop by and say HI!

Thursday April 28, 2011 you can find me enjoying...
A Fluid Romance

Fall in love with Fluid Acrylics! As we explore the allure of layers using both physical and optical color blends, you’ll discover the subtle differences between transparent, translucent, and opaque paints. While building your paint and collage story on canvas, you’ll learn sexy tricks to easily put your own marks, sketches and artwork into the painting. I’ll share how to see if something will work out before risking what you have already done. We will delight in bas-relief and appealing textures. We will explore the attraction of using wax oil crayons, oil based markers & stabilo pencils with Acrylic mediums. You’ll learn veiling techniques to help give your paintings a deeper charm and an aura of mystery. We’ll play with stencils, stamps, rub-ons and hot foils. We will focus on freeing our inner artists, and learn skills to rebuff the dreaded Artist Block. Secrets to successful compositions will be revealed. Our finished charismatic canvases will be rich with juicy colors, individual dreams and glamorous mysteries. We will adorn our art with final kisses of 3-D ephemera that will pull the viewer into our artful embrace.

On Friday April 29, 2011, we'll dive whole-heartedly into... Event Journals Extraordinaire!

Ever been so thrilled about an event that you want to create a spectacular journal to commemorate it in a special way? Excitedly gather your supplies and sit down to begin only to find your muse missing? Want to journal on the road, but the thought of packing supplies daunting? Stuck as to where to begin? THIS is the journal class for you! Plenty of tips, tricks and visual aids, before and after, sample pages, and ideas for journal prompts will be given. We will work on background techniques, and as you paint, Kari will discuss all things journal! Beyond just composition and color, she will show you her actual working travel journal kit, give you lists of what sorts of things to collect and include in your journal, as well as how to attach, insert and incorporate them! You will learn creative places to find images, quotes, ephemera and background materials. Your inspiration well will overflow with cool techniques that can be made with simple household materials, and multi-tasking mediums! During the day we will also discuss studio storage methods for our journaling treasures, with actual photo examples.

Art & Soul Reflections

Some of my journal page backgrounds

Do you have Art Heroes? I do. Not just ones like Leonardo da Vinci, Monet or Cassatt. But ones still among the living and creating... I think it's no secret to anyone how much I adore Anne Bagby, Lynne Perrella and Carla Sonheim. I've written and spoken of them often. It's not enough for me to read their books, watch their videos and attend their classes in order to soak up every single drop of insight and wisdom they might share... I want to eat what they eat, sleep how they sleep, breathe what they breathe in hopes that some of their awesome talent just MIGHT be influenced by environment, and therefore I might- by osmosis or some other such magic- soak up some of the elements to be able to create in a similar fashion!

These past few days I was busy soaking! I was fortunate enough to attend Art and Soul, and sit in some of my Hero's classes, and to find some new Heroes to learn from as well.

Jan Harris

Jan Harris, an incredibly gifted artist started me out with some new journaling prompts. She also caused me to work bigger- something which I had shied away from prior to spending time with her. Maybe I worked small because I was afraid to have to do too much writing on any one page...now I'm embracing it and no longer hesitant to work 9 x 12 in journals! Brave Jan stepped in and took over Judy Wise's classes with very little notice and did an admirable job!

Julie Haymaker Thompson
(Although it looks as if she's yelling, she wasn't! I just always seemed to be shootin' while she was 'splainin'! She's just the cutest little thing!)
Julie Haymaker Thompson. Was in Jan's class with me, and then the next day I got to take a class from her. I can't say how much I enjoyed her class! She too was a last minute addition to the Art & Soul lineup, and I was THRILLED to have been in one of her classes. Lively and fun, supportive and creative! Can you say new hero???

Lisa Kaus & hubby Dave

This is my painted, collaged and bees-waxed box from Lisa's class.
Lisa Kaus was my 3rd instructor. She certainly knows her stuff and shows up very organized and prepared. Hubby Dave even lends a hand with the power tools!

Carla Sonheim

Finally, Carla Sonheim! In her class, I reached a level of whimsy and looseness that is very difficult for me to reach on my own. She is so intuitive in her teaching! She seems to have perfected the timing and exercises to be able to help open you to a new area of your own style. I've been a big fan of hers for years, and even have her prints up in my house, so to get to meet her was an absolute joy!

This is my junk mail art book. Everything you see was junk mail, and then the birdees morph from page to page. I'm addicted and can't put it down! I've never been this loose and free with my sketching before! I'm not done with it yet, so I'll keep you posted with updates.

The other thing about these art retreats are that you meet the nicest new friends. I had the pleasure of sharing 2 seperate classes with these darling and beautiful two "sisters," Sheryl and Teresa. What a hoot they were!