Monday, June 12, 2017

Moving right along....

We've had a good spring and early summer. Jeff Dever was in for two sessions of hollow pod making, followed by amulets and talismans with Sarah Shriver. Talk about two dynamite classes! We are delighted to have their work in the gallery now (Jeff, for the first time, and lots of new work from Sarah!)
Next on our class agenda is Doreen Kassel. I hope you have been following her facebook posts along with Donna Greenberg, as they get ready for Synergy in August. It is definitely whetting my appetite for Doreen's class making flowers, pods and butterflies.....and her whimsical figures! We have some wonderful examples at the studio so you can be tempted.


We will be on the road again (in mid August) for the IPCA's Synergy4 conference up in the Philadelphia area. Ellen has the honor of speaking at this important international polymer conference. Hope you will be attending to get her take on mokume gane. She is already busy gathering photos and fine tuning her talk.
Be sure to check the upcoming classes page.  We've updated the rest of the year's classes. Classes fill up fast so if you are interested, you need to hop on it quickly. We are trying to have a second session of Lindly's color class. There is a spot in Laura Tabakman's class on wire and translucent clay.


We'll be winding down the year with Leslie Blackford, November 10-12, right after we get back from Ron Lehocky's Dam Retreat at the end of October. She has a fun class on tap, as she helps you clean out Auntie's old jewelry box!
Hope we'll see you for a class. Plan a visit to see what's new in the gallery. We have lots of new products (that you know you need!) in the supply store. Come check out Ellen's new long and double design silk screens before we run out again.



Thursday, February 16, 2017

February 2017....really?!

How did it get to be February already? Guess I better catch everyone up on the goings on at Creative Journey. We had a nice holiday season and now we are busy fielding the aftermath of Ellen's two classes on texture. We are spending a few hours restocking the clay and rotating the packages.We have undecorated from Christmas---oops! Now we have to clean up the leftover glitter and pack up the decorations. We have a nice batch of new valentine hearts from Ron Lehocky. Soon it will be time for Easter hearts! And Mother's Day is coming! There is always an appropriate heart for any occasion.
We have new work from Nikolina Otrazan. In advance of her class (which, sadly, we had to cancel due to fears of the travel ban) she sent work for the gallery and some wonderful pieces for the collection. Her work is really interesting and you should definitely plan a visit. While you are at the studio, you can check out all the new products we've gotten since your last visit! Primary Elements arte-pigments, Silks acrylic glazes and Mica Minerals are new lines from Colourarte. We have loaded up on Moiko silk screens. I'm going to try to get some pictures up on line so at the very least you will be able to call and place an order.
Pictures and descriptions are slowly coming in for the year's lineup of classes. It's quite telling that despite no class descriptions on the "upcoming classes" page, most of the classes are already full. We are starting waiting lists and/or trying to line up second classes.
We are very excited to host Jeff Dever in April. His first class is Sunday to Tuesday, the 2nd to the 4th. We are trying to fill a second class from Wednesday to Friday, the 5th to the 7th. He will be teaching all about 'miniature polymer holloware' whict he is known for. Jeff is a frequent lecturer at Synergy and has work in many museums. He was a major presence at Racine Art Museum's groundbreaking polymer exhibit, filling a wall with hollow pods. (google 'Jeff Dever Racine pods' for a great picture) Check the classes page for a more detailed description of the class. We have several great examples of Jeff's work in the Collection. Another great excuse for a visit!