Everchanging leaves?

Mae Hawkins decided to find her own way
to play with the glorious fall leaves this year.
Here is her "formula" for transforming leaves
from disappearing treasures into
permanent, colorful collage pieces.

This is what you will need:

• fresh leaves
• rubber stamps & black/brown permanent stamp pad
• mulberry paper or other soft, flexible paper
• versamark stamp pad or embossing pad
• UTEE or Amazing Glaze clear embossing powder
• Ultimate or Sobo glue for gluing words on leaves
• Heat tool
  

Stamp words of your choice using a permanent stamp pad onto the mulberry paper.
let dry.
Then tear each section of words into little segments and glue onto leaves
When dry and secure, coat each leaf with the embossing pad by rubbing it on.
Quickly coat each leaf, before the embossing fluid dries, with the powder and heat with the heat tool until melted. Dip into the powder again, and heat. Repeat up to 4 times until the desired effect is achieved.
That's all there is to it, but try experimenting with other kinds of leaves, different translucent powders and other papers to see how it works.

Finally be sure to send us photos of your results so we can post them online.

Fluttering Friends...

Do birds flutter? or is it butterflies? hmmm, that could be debatable.
Nonetheless, these intriguing little gals were created out of metal by
our friend in Columbia, SC, Caroline Hatchell.
These are for sale here in our shop and she will take special orders for
"special" birds, with special words on each one.
Get your order in time for the holiday gift giving season.

Lea Nickless, watercolor artist who resides here in Saluda
part time, provided an interesting demo using large sheets of
decorative hand made papers.
After creating several large 5x7 foldable books
Lea added to the excitement by telling us that
any size paper will work because it's all about the folding
that makes it happen!

Jen added to the excitement of the evening by
demonstrating a very awesome bead making technique
using strips of batik fabric along with vintage paper bits.
After rolling the pieces together Jen coated each piece with
UTEE and glazed them with Rox to create glass like beads.







Rounding off the evening was Louise Mc Clure, Jewelry
Artist from Saluda who makes amazing things happen
with shrink plastic. Yes, you heard that right, but it
is NOT your mother's "shrinky dinks" any more!
Louise's talent far surpasses anything that you can even
imagine using this fabulous product for jewelry.
Oak leafs, fleur de lis, floral elements and more
add to the range of pieces that Louise can turn
into a breath taking work of art.

We weren't going to the end the weekend on
Friday night so we continued the excitement
into Saturday with mixed media artist Susan Edmonson.
Susan was here to teach her ever popular
canvas pendant workshop
"sticks and stitches".
Yes, a sewing machine was a must but
oh my! What beautiful results
one can achieve while sewing up a hem
or mending a knee patch.
Again, it's "not your grandmothers sewing machine anymore"!
What a marvelous piece of machinery
and what marvelous things we can make!

Below, happy students and a happy teacher
show their appreciation for a
great day of creativity in Saluda.

Susi Cook works on her beading
on the canvas pendant.

Below is Sharon Kolbye's
"almost" complete pendant.
Just a few more beads at the bottom
along with that very special "bird in flight"
and her project will be complete.
I love it! Just look at that
little feather that Sharon added.

From challenging charms to beautiful books

These translucent charms were a hit
in Louise McClures workshop here last week.
I think that it might have had something to
do with pounding the copper wire into
interesting shapes. Next step was to
attach the wire to a very old page of
an old dictionary, trim and fill the center
with amazing glaze or UTEE.
Do a little heat with the toaster oven and
presto, magico, a fascinating hand crafted charm!

Using mica, Utee, photo holders and images,
each person was able to create a menagerie
of beautiful charms.


Next came Jen Salak's
uniquely designed book that utilized
strip paper covers and pages,
sewn signatures, painted edges and spines
and lots of batiks fabrics.

We're in Batik heaven

All those long,luscious strips of beautiful batiks
and nothing to do with them?
Right......
Share them with the world around us and create
our own little batik heaven right here at Random Arts.
That all time favorite woven ribbon served as a great
carrier to attach all these strips of batik, and one
thing led to another and it got longer and longer.
All of sudden we had a banner and then we had
side banners and now we have leaves on the
banner and words on the leaves.

Any other suggestions?
We have more batik!

Back to play...

It's time to get back to "work" for me after my little Costa Rican adventure and that starts with scheduling upcoming classes and events. Let's start with Jen's Eyelet Bound Book on Sat. October 10th. This is full day filled with paper creations, book binding, a little sewing and a lot of FUN! It's only $50. for the entire day of instruction and all the materials are included. Don't miss out as the space is limited. Call or email us to register. 828-749-1165

Time: 10 am till 4pm

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Wed. October 14 - 10 till 4
Louise McClure's Charms Galore
Join Louise for a fun filled day creating
a multitude of unique charms with modern day shrink plastic,
mica, images, UTEE, and more.
You will have the opportunity to view, up close and personal,
some of her finished creations which incorporate her charms.
Each one is sure to inspire you to use your
charms in very special ways.
$50.

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Susan Edmonson's "sticks and stitches"
pendant workshop.
Sat. Oct 24th
Join quilt/mixed media artist, Susan Edmonson
for this unique workshop using canvas, paints,
stitching, beads and... her inspiration.
Your imagination will take you where you want
to go, but Susan will be your guide gently
encouraging you to "fly" with your creativity.
This can be hand stitched or free motioned
with your sewing machine. Either way
it will become one of a kind "wearable art".
10 am till 4pm
$65

Sustainable, Eco Friendly, Enviro Conscious

The driver from Finca Rosa Blanca drove us
through little villages and farms to our final destination
in the beautiful Central Valley mountains of Heredia, provence in Costa Rica.
It is surrounded by towering "Higueron" trees and exotic flora.
There are views of the cloud forest, volcanoes and coffee plantations nearby
from it's 4000 feet above sea level location.

Each of the 11 private suites is architecturally interesting
with it's curved windows, doors, hand made tile
and bright colors. Our room was an inspiration in
and of itself.

Leo took us on a 2 hour tour of their very small but
productive organic coffee plantation.
They grow 30 acres of Arabica hard bean coffee which is
certified organic by international organization called OKO Garantie.
It is also certified sustainable by the Rain Forest Alliance and ICAFE.
Native banana trees planted within the coffee rows provide
shade and nutrients while rows of lemon grass
filter run off water for recycling.

The rain fell mid afternoon into the spring fed infinity
pool that features solar heated chemical free water.

Organic banana leaves nestle my
warm & inviting gallo pinto, sauteed bananas
and locally raised scrambled eggs
This "tipico" Costa Rican breakfast is
prepared each morning by this amazing chef,
Jose Pedro Alas Villafranco.

The show continues...

The ONE and ONLY mixed media sculpture
found in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Looks to me like they are still working on it.

A couple that we met here from Charlotte, NC
call these the camouflage trees. Up close the
muted colors of rust, ochres & chartreuse blend
with the brown earth tones. LaSabana Park in
San Jose is filled with these trees and no one seemed
to know, or care, what they were.
What a great background for art work, huh?

Each night we sat here on the terrace and played
cards, read, visited with other Americans & Canadians.
The peacefulness of the night overlooking the pool
was always a soothing way to end the busy day.

But, during the day, this crystal clear pool was
my respite.

Another flower market on Avenida Central in Downtown San Jose.

Costa Rican Observations

While enjoying the lush grounds at the
Finca Rosa Blanca coffee plantation in
the provence of Hererdia, Costa Rica,
these unusual plants caught my eye.
These unique flowers filled with water as the rain fell
and continued to look as though they stayed full
the entire day. Quite an amazing plant in my estimation.

In San Jose, Costa Rica, the capital city, we spent
much time walking through the sometimes
hazardous sidewalks & streets. Hazardous to us because the
driving practices are clearly dangerous and
hazardous because every sidewalk, anywhere you go
has holes in it... BIG holes. Holes big enough to
lose a child, even an adult. No marking, no covers,
no warning, just a hole.
I could do an entire photo essay of the holes
found in and around San Jose.
So, while avoiding the holes and the
possible broken bones we would duck into
interesting museums that we found enroute.
That was part of our adventure
and in the Teatro Nacional, we found a lovely
exhibition that included textile work by
Dinorah Bolandi
along with a friendly tour guide
from Overseas Adventures that was happy to
include us on the tour.

A simple path leading to the spa
at our hotel in LaSabana Park, San Jose.
Simple, clean, undisturbed, nurturing and silent.

On the wall grew contrasting vines that
grew profusely as grass and created instant
attraction. Inspiration for color choices in an
upcoming journal page? Maybe so.

The colorful display of local flowers spill
over into the Mercado Central in San Jose.
Everyone has fresh flowers in their house and why
not? With the temperate climate, only 9 degrees from
the equator, of course everything would flourish.

Believe it ....or not.

See that rusted wholey paper as the background?
That is how I started this project.
I thought that it would make really nice rolled
paper beads with a coating of UTEE (ultra thick embossing powder)

In my spare moments at the show in Blowing Rock, I
started the process and lucky for me I had the
gentle guidance and expertise of jewelry artist, Louise Mc Clure
to assist me along the way.
She knows everything about connections and wire
and beads and design and composition so having
her by my side was a big big help.

So, off I went on my adventure to create the beads
and I must say it was quite fun.

I distressed a shiny chain in Blue Patina
and watched it turn dingy. What a concept huh?
Rinsed it in water and wiped it off.
Presto, a distressed finished to along with my beads.

After each bead was rolled up, I applied embossing
fluid and UTEE. Then I heated it each one
with several applications of UTEE.
You can see the shiny-ness of that process on the
dull, rusted wholey paper.

With Louise's assistance I created multiple beads with
some African trade beads, recylcled glass beads and copper
wire.
It was an NO RULES experiment in full force for me!!!
What fun and I love the results.

The crowds loved us!

This past weekend was great fun in Blowing Rock, NC
as we unpacked our "assorted goods"
for the Believe in Yourself retreat.

Returning friends from past retreats enjoyed the
weekend shopping frenzy with us.
Many thanks to all of you.

Happy, creative shoppers enjoyed demonstrations at
our booth along with
seeking out the perfect items to include in their
nature journals.

Who's your Da da?

Linda & Opie's book is finally here! Actually it's early as the release date was in October.
The first time I heard of this husband and wife team was in a studio publication written by Teesha Moore. SHE discovered them and that was it! Then they "happened" to be in Saluda for some unknown reason and spent the weekend at our place. It was pretty primitive back then but they didn't seem to mind. ( you know artists) Then Opie and I discovered that we have the same birthday, June 10th. Gosh that was long time ago, at least one other book ago Now we see them from time to time at different shows but we are pleading with them to come to our new studio to teach for a weekend - heck! Why not a week?


What about their new book?

Inspired by the "Dada" notion of making art from materials
that would not typically be combined or expected to go together,
and driven by a similar sense of irony and humor,
this exciting book by Linda and Opie O'Brien
shares their unique approach to making mixed-media dolls.
It is not only a "must have" volume for anyone interested
in found object art and the human form,
it is a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the power,
symbolism, and cultural significance of dolls and representational figures.

Wait ! ! ! There's more.... full color pages, lots of ideas
tips, techniques and way out fun!

Color this, Journal that...

Just in!
New book written by Diana Trout is here!

It's all about mixed media techniques for "free expression".
One of the first things that Diana writes is
"forget about the labels such as artist or writer"
Just do it... no pressure to "be an artist".
She suggests that you leave the the labels out
and simply be a person who enjoys making art and writing.

Her book also contains great step by step, full color instructions
that will make the process of art journalling
easy with full color techniques throughout such as...

I like the matte feel of the paper and I enjoyed
deciphering her scribbles around
the book pages. It shows me that she is just like
us, trying to figure what goes where & when & how.

Each page of instructions and how-to's are clearly
written with a common sense approach to materials.
All in all I would definitely recommend this
book to someone looking for some simple,
no frills approach to putting the paint down.
And, the side dish of encouragement
goes a long way.

Egg Crates + Sparkle = Wow Factor

What do you do with vintage egg crates?





You create a window display with other organic
elements such as handmade paper
& vintage, leather luggage.

Then you add unique jewelry pieces created
by local North Carolina artists
and you have created an amazing window.