My Birdsong

Take a Sneak Peek at My Online Paper Mache Workshop for this Summer!

 

I'm so excited for this summer workshop! Here's a sneak peek at what you'll see in my classroom!

Up, up and away!

Color Keys to My World

Organizing is what you do before you do something,
so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.

~ A.A. Milne

There's nothing like being able to see what the paint looks like on the paper BEFORE you squeeze it out of the tube and paint with it! This is a great tip I discovered recently, and have now put it to use! Every tube of watercolor paint I own has been added to my personal color key. And I still have the browns and blacks to add!

Getting ready for lots of painting, so watch for some new pieces coming in the next few days! Hello to all my new Artful Gathering friends! Look forward to a wonderful summer with you during my online paper mache workshop, June 6 - July 17.

Happy May everyone!

 

Hurry...Blog Hop Giveaway Ends May 5!

It's here! The Final Destination Blog Visit for the

$200 e-gift card giveaway!

Our last and final blog destination belongs to  and this is the final location where you'll find the last TWO words left in our secret word collection.

Pick up the last two words here.
Bring ALL your secret words here.

All Entries will Close May 5

Winners will be Announced May 7 at : ArtfulGathering.com

Winners will be drawn at random through random.org. One winner will be chosen to win the $200 e-card gift certificate to Jerry's Artarama, and two winners will be chosen at random to win a $25 e-gift card to Jerry's Artarama.

Please leave all the necessary contact info with your secret words in the moderated comment section of Artful Gathering's Hop Page.

Thank you so much for hopping with us and we look forward to seeing you at Artful Gathering 2012. Special thanks to Jerry's Artarama, Artful Gathering's prize sponsor of the blog hop event.

Good Luck, and thank you for playing!

Roar in Delight from Inspiring Images

I've been busy with my camera, taking all sorts of pictures around town and in the neighborhoods for inspiration. There are so many scenes I want to transform with watercolors! The lion on the right is from Flagler College, which used to be the grand Ponce de Leon Hotel in the days of oil tycoon Henry Flagler. It's time to get busy painting though, since April is already half over!!

Not only do I have lots of ideas for paintings, but paper mache pieces and holiday lamps are swirling around in my head. And Tinsel and Treasures is not too far off, as is a local Halloween art show I'll be participating in - but more about that in another post!

In just a few weeks, on May 3, Artful Gathering registrants will be able to start signing up for classes. And then not too long after that, I'll be leading my online summer session of Up, Up and Away with Paper Mache - A Vintage Hot Air Balloon Ornament, June 6 - July 17.

So why not find your inspiration and try something new this summer? Check out the classes being offered at Artful Gathering.com. Join the Artful Gathering Blog Hop, and you could win a $200 e-gift certificate for art supplies!! See rules below.

Please HOP over and visit the sweet and amazing

Cristina Zinnia Galliher

http://zinniasart.blogspot.com

(Pick Up the Next Secret Word)

From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.

Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!

Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.

You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25 e-gift card from Jerrys.

Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:

1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the $25 e-card to Jerrys.

    

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

 

 

Art for the Birds

We recently took a boat tour of Salt Run, a long stretch of water that flows from the St. Augustine inlet and the Atlantic Ocean. It was a birding and boating tour, and my, oh my, was it beautiful! I took lots of photos of St. Augustine from the vantage point on the water, and I downloaded them into my "Images to Paint," folder on my Mac. I can't wait to get started exploring these images for inspiration.

 

Picture above is the Bridge of Lions, that I altered in Photoshop as a duotone and then colored. It makes me think of some European town and new adventures. Speaking of which....the day for class sign ups is drawing near for the summer adventure at Artful Gathering. On May 3, you can sign up for classes once you've registered at ArtfulGathering.com.

 

I hope you join me for an exciting summer of learning!! Head on over to the uber talented Monica Zuniga's blog for a chance to win an e-gift certificate and see her amazing art. (Blog hop details are below.)

  http://monicazuniga.blogspot.mx/

Happy exploring!!

 

• • •

From June to August  2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.

 

Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!

Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.

You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.

Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:

1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the $25 e-card to Jerrys.

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

 

Please HOP over and visit the Amazing

Monica Zuniga

 http://monicazuniga.blogspot.mx/

 

(Pick Up the Next Secret Word)

Another Clue to the $200 E-Gift Card Giveaway!

Next up in the Artful Gathering 2012 Online Art Retreat blog hop is the talented Diane Cook! She is a mixed media jewelry artist. Head on over to her blog: 

http://www.rosa-josies.blogspot.com/

 ...and pick up the next secret word. By now you should have a lot of them! (See the rules below.) And it's all building towards the big day when in May you can actually start signing up for online classes at ArtfulGathering.com! Remember, the first session of classes start's June 6, and features my paper mache hot air balloon class. I so look forward to "meeting" my students on the first day!! Here are more details about this exciting summer event.

Rules for Blog Hop Giveaway and More About Artful Gathering

From June to August  2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.

Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!

Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.

You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.

Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:

1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the $25 e-card to Jerrys.

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

 

The Excitement is Building!

Filming is just about complete for my class sessions at Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat this summer, and I can feel the excitement building! Supplies are coming in for the limited number of kits I'll be selling to those who sign up for "Up, Up and Away with Paper Mache," June 6 - July 17. I hope you'll make some time this summer to learn a new technique. Watch the video below and you can't help but be inspired to take a class or two from the fabulous assortment of workshops offered. Plus, enter the blog hop and you'll have even more reason to join in the summer fun with a $200 e-gift certificate for art supplies. So, pop on over to the talented Pam Carriker's blog after reading the giveaway instructions below. I just can't wait to share the how-to on my hot air balloon ornaments with you in June!  

 

Celebrating Artful Gathering 2012

Online Art Retreat

Open for Registration!

Blog Hop your way for chance to win!

From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.

Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!

Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.

You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.

Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:

1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the $25 e-card to Jerrys.

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

Please HOP over and visit the Amazing

Pam Carriker
http://pamcarriker.com/blog/

(Pick Up the Next Secret Word)

 

 

Giveaways, Gardens and Glass

Last week, my husband and I jumped aboard a bus headed for Winter Park, Florida, to tour Leu Gardens, the Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens and the The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. What a treat it was!

Our traveling companions were 50 of my fellow St. Augustine Garden Club members, whom I recently joined officially last month. We learned much about what types of plants grow in the northern part of the state and what might work with what, we plan on creating, as a New Orleans courtyard in our backyard.

Afterward, we headed to lunch on our own and happened upon a delicious little restaurant, the Paris Bistro. We sat outside, had a glass of wine and quiche of the day. Then, we were awed by the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. I just can't explain the beauty of the leaded-stained glass windows - many of which came from Tiffany's own house after it had burned, jewelry, paintings, art glass, and of course, gorgeous lamps. We had no idea what to expect, but I can tell you we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! On the way back, the bus load of us sipped wine and munched on cheese, crackers and cookies as the final capper to the day! I encourage you to take a local garden or museum tour. What creative inspiration it provides!

Speaking of tours....hop on over to the amazing:

Riki Schumacher
http://rikijewelry.blogspot.com/
 

(To Pick Up the Next Secret Word in the Artful Gathering Blog Hop)

All the details are below, so read on and take the blog tour!

   

Celebrating Artful Gathering 2012 Online Art Retreat,

Open for Registration!

Blog Hop your way for chance to win!

From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.

Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!

Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.

You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.

Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:

1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the $25 e-card to Jerrys.

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

Come Along for a Video Tour of My New Studio!

Drum roll please....my first studio tour is on video! Watch as I unveil the final transformation of my new studio. It's my first video effort, so I'm hoping the critics circle will be kind! ;)

The door is wide open, so please come in! 

 

 

 

Hop on Over & Take a Peek at My New Studio

You are seeing the first glimpse of my garage loft studio, after our move from Northern California to North Florida. I'm happy to say that the day has come when I can actually feel at home and move around my new studio unencumbered by moving boxes! What a relief! Although, I still have too much "stuff" and will destash over the next few months – as soon as I finish filming my art workshop for the Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat!

I'm so excited about this new online art event! I will be teaching during the first of two six-week sessions starting June 6 and am filming my Up, Up and Away with Paper Mache segments now. In fact, the photo above was a still taken from my studio footage for an introduction video that I will release in the next day or so.

Why not embark on a new art adventure this summer and check out Artful Gathering. Better yet, join the AG blog hop, visit the wonderfully talented Cat Kerr of In the Light of the Moon, and a chance to win a $200 e-gift card for art supplies of your choosing! The rules and how to are below. I hope you join me this summer!

Celebrating Artful Gathering 2012 Online Art Retreat,

Open for Registration!

Blog Hop your way for chance to win!

From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.

Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!

Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.

You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.

Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:

1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the $25 e-card to Jerrys.

    

Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!

Please HOP over and visit the Amazing
Cat Kerr
Http://inthelightofthemoon.blogspot.com
(Pick Up the Next Secret Word)