So I Gathered...

California Dreamin'...Um...Teachin'

So, next week I will be back in sunny CA to teach at two very talented ladies' studios!  I will be teaching my Butterfly Boxes class at Katherine England's studio in Fullerton on Thursday, October 11.  This will probably be the last time I will teach this class live...sniff, sniff.  I believe there is one spot left...email me if you think you might be interested in joining us!

Then I will be teaching a class I call "Enviable Encaustic Panels" at Jenny Doh's Studio Crescendoh in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 13.  We will play with encaustic medium and find out about all of its amazing versatility!!  We will use inclusions like gem tintypes, real butterfly wings, antique laces and sewn papers, just to name a few!  

If you would like to come along for the ride (there are still a few spots available!), check out Studio Crescendoh and sign up right away!  It is going to be a blast!  Really...don't be afraid...I am a trained professional...

 

Encaustic Lighthouse Workshop-Student Work!

So, don't fall out of your chairs, but here I am posting within TWO days of my last post!  Incredible.  The planets must be aligned or something...that something is probably the fact that my 8 year old is at summer camp and I have long hours to fill and no excuse not to blog.   

The second workshop I taught at ArtFest earlier this year was Encaustic Lighthouses!  I love houses and am always looking for ways to create 3D pieces.  I noticed some double-sided, fusible interfacing while wandering through Hobby Lobby one day and wham (!), the lightbulb flashed on!  I could make stiff fabric panels that could be sewn together to make a stand-alone house!  I made a few of these, then one day, when the encaustic medium was warming on the griddle, I thought that it might be fun to coat the houses in wax.  Voila!  A new class was born!  What's really cool is that you can put one of those electric tea lights inside and watch the flickering light through the translucent fabric walls!  

In this workshop, the students learned how to create their own printed fabrics,  make fabric panels and decorate them with various media.  Basics in using encaustic wax medium were covered, along with how to create inclusions in the wax, carving and back-filling with oil paints.

So, get ready to view some amazing home improvement projects!  If only my own house were this easy to put together, lol!  Preparing the walls...

I love these close-up photos of hands at work...

This student drew all of her own designs on blank panels!

This house is a good example of how you can use the wax to "stick" things to the surface...note the puzzle pieces...

This detail shot shows that the fabric panels are stiff enough (even before the wax is applied!) to enable you to add decorative elements with cold connections such as brads, nuts and bolts or stitching!

And now for some village shots!  I love seeing all of the tiny houses standing together...

Notice the stitching detail in the houses below...

This student cut out the image from the business card I gave her!

Stilts!  What fun!

Fantastic detail stitching!

Butterfly!

The "Party House"!  'Nuff said...

I wouldn't mind doing time in the "Big House"...

Here is a note I received from a student after this workshop:  "I just wanted to let you know again how very much I enjoyed your class!   I just loved the little houses and cannot wait to finish decorating mine and to make more of them.  I really appreciated your teaching style and how available you were to help out and answer questions.  I hope to join you for another class somewhere down the line."

This workshop is one that I will be teaching at several venues this fall!  Check out the front page of my blog for a list of dates and locations.  I hope to see you there!

 

 

Encaustic Homebodies Workshop-Student Work!

So now it is August...and I suppose I should start blogging about the new workshops I debuted in the spring of this year.  First up is Encaustic Homebodies!  In this workshop, students learned some new techniques for creating and using their own fabrics and photos in their encaustic work.  We also covered some basic principles in working with encaustic medium such as fusing, layering, carving and back-filling, to name a few!  To augment their 2-D work, students also hand-stiched a small fabric 3-D house that was attached  to the cradled hardboard with wax.

  

Here is what the lovely students from ArtFest 2012 came up with!  Be ready for some serious eye-candy!

Wonderful skeleton leaf inclusion above and some great inscribing and back-filling below!

Hard at work...

A paper ruff is a wonderful accessory...

Real butterfly wings and a lovely gem tintype!

Some had to sacrifice for their art...the electrical system in the classroom gave us fits!

But definitely worth the sacrifice!

 

Love the idea of a cut out window to showcase the tintype!  And beautiful color added with colored pencils!

Looking great!

Leaving the threads free for added interest and dimension!

Carol works on adding some inscribed wording to her house...

The edges of this fabric house were treated with ink!

Pencil doodles in the background and wonderfully inscribed words...

As always, one of the biggest joys I receive from teaching is watching all of the creative students come up with new ideas, each one going in a unique direction to make their art their own!  Look at how each photo was treated differently...

Here is what one student wrote to me (unsolicited) after the workshop: "I would love to be on your email list and would definitely love to come to more of your workshops...  I must tell you that I have been inspired by your work. Your recent workshop at the Artfest was stimulating and gave me confidence in my own abilities to express myself through my art. I too work carefully and methodically and sometimes I felt that those were not qualities found in a 'true' artist and their work. But you showed me that the way you work is part of your style and your artistic voice and yes, there is room for artists like us in this world! Thank you!"  It is comments like this one that keep me sharing and teaching...thank you.

If you think this workshop looks like fun (and it really is!), I will be teaching it at several venues later this year, along with several other encaustic classes!  See the schedule on the front page of my blog to find a location near you...or one you might like to travel to!  Stay tuned...my next post will be on student work from another encaustic workshop, Encaustic Lighthouses!  

 

Grand Opening!!

So, a couple of friends of mine have been nagging me, I mean, gently suggesting (repeatedly) that I need to sell T-shirts with my work on them.  I finally sat down and opened a Zazzle store where you can do so!

You can go to www.zazzle.com/stephanierubiano to start shopping!  I plan on adding more products through the spring...iPhone and iPad covers, water bottles, tote bags, etc., so check back every so often!

I Am A Featured Artist Today!

So, when I was out in California at Jenny Doh's studio this past January,  I met the lovely Harmony Pyper at the book launch.  She recently contacted me and invited me to be a part of her Friday Features on her blog. Read on if you would like to learn a bit more about me...or wait for the next post if you don't, lol!

Harmony's Blog

 

I Suppose You Would Like to Know Who the Winner Is...

So, once again I have been remiss in posting to my blog.  It was a busy week as the weather tried to decide if winter was over yet.  The geese flew over one day...

Phineas decided that the couch was much more comfortable than a rainy backyard...

Fiona discovered modeling clay, marveling at how it was never, ever, ever, going to dry out...and now these pieces sit, not drying out, gathering dust...

And I have been working frantically on butterfly boxes, once again taking over the front room...

And the kitchen counter...

But I suppose you are rushing through all of this to see who the winner of Jenny Doh's book, Creative Pilgrimage, is going to be...my handy, dandy name picker-outer helped once again...

And the winner is...

Traci Severson, you are the winner of an autographed (by me) copy of the book and a bit of my art, because as you can see from the previous photos, I have gobs of art just laying around the house...

And last but not least, a touch of spring color for those of you in cooler climes...

Thank you for all of your kind comments and I hope to be back soon!

Leap Day Give-away!!

So, I am thankful that we have an extra day in February this year because I got busy and almost forgot about my three year blog-iversary give-away!  How could I?  I am offering you a chance to win a copy of Jenny Doh's fabulous new book, Creative Pilgrimage!  Lots of talented artists contributed to this book, speaking about their lives, the venues they teach at and a special project.

I have a spot in this book and a project that I just love!

In order to win, you must leave a comment in the comment section on the blog (not FaceBook, please) by midnight central standard time on March 3, 2012.  If you share on FaceBook or your blog, I will enter your name again!  I will announce the winner on the evening of March 4, 2012.

I know my photos of the book seem self-serving because they are of my pages, but it is dark outside and the photos that I take inside never turn out...again, not preparing ahead of time for this post.  Sorry.  

Now, you won't win a kookaburra such as this handsome fellow (disappointing, I know), but you may just have a bit of my art tucked in with the book...so comment away and keep posted!  I will be putting up some new work as I get ready for my spring show/teaching season!

"I'm Tired of Looking At It!" Sale

So, here we go!  Every item has a price and a number.  Leave a comment about which piece you would like to purchase, making sure to include the number.  The first person to do so for each piece will be considered the new owner!  Shipping charges are additional.  And there will be some other things posted on Face Book after this post goes live, so if you don't see anything you like here, check out my wall (Stephanie Jones Rubiano) on Face Book!  Good luck and have fun!

Enameled egg pendants.  Hand cut from copper and hand-formed.  Layered with vitreous enamels on both sides.  Soldered sterling tube for bail.  Matte finish.  Necklace not included.  Originally $80  

Sale Price $40

 

Dichro Diva Pendants.  Layered dichroic glass fused in a kiln.  Fine silver forms the loops for attaching base metal faces, hands and feet.  Curled wire and seed beads accent this piece.  Originally $125

Sale Price $50

 

8x10 Butterfly Box "Call Girl" 2007. Vintage Jell-O mold, metal numbers from cash register wheels, real butterfly wings, original receipt from 1926 hardware store.  I love the color combination in this one!  Originally $225  

Sale Price $50

 

8x10 Butterfly Box "Fairy Tale" 2007.  Vintage typewriter tin, player piano music for background, swallowtail butterfly wings.  Says "Telling Tales of the Fairy".  Originally $225

 Sale Price $50

 

10x13 Butterfly Box "Stellar" 2007.  Vintage tinsel garland, metal star, German glass glitter on wand, rice paper family butterfly wings (some of my favorites!), crackle background.  Originally $350

 Sale Price $150

 

8x10 Butterfly Box "Take 5" 2008.  Vintage bottle with cool finish, vintage plastic 5, vintage pearl trim, original receipt from 1932, real butterfly wings.  Originally $325

 Sale Price $125

 

8x10 Butterfly Box "Childproofing" 2008.  Vintage letter press blocks, vintage baby fork, original letter in background, real butterfly wings.  Saying reads "Before Childproofing Was Popular".  Based upon my childhood experience of sticking a fork in a live socket.  True story.  Originally $350  

Sale Price $125

 

There you go!  Happy shopping and remember there is more on Face Book!

Preview: "I'm Tired Of Looking At It!" Sale

So, I am fortunate enough to be able to sell most of what I create.  However, there always seem to be a few pieces that don't find homes during my time selling at different venues.  I cart these pieces around, sure that I will find someone who treasures them.  Well, I am tired of carting and they are taking up room here at the house!  So, in an effort to share the love and perhaps clear out a bit of much needed space, I will be having a sale beginning on Sunday evening at 7 pm (Central Time).  Butterfly boxes, fused glass jewelry, enameled egg pendants and whatever else I can dredge up from the depths of storage!  Prices will be marked way down to help the artwork move along.  Here are a few shots of work that I hope will be leaving my home very soon...

The images will have a number under each piece.  Leave a comment stating what you would like to purchase, making sure to include the number.  First come, first served!  First comment to mention a particular piece will have the opportunity to purchase it.  I will send Paypal invoices out to those who decide to buy something.  So, feel free to share this info, or keep it to yourself until you have made your purchase decisions.  No one is judging...  ; )

Oh, and remember to check back later in the month for a Blog-iversary give away of a signed copy of Jenny Doh's Creative Pilgrimage book that has a project of mine in it!

Creative Pilgrimage Launch Party!

So, way back when,  I received an email from Jenny Doh, inviting me to contribute to a new book she was working on about art retreats and the instructors who taught at them.  The working title was Creative Pilgrimage and I sent in a new project (developed specifically for the book) and filled out the questionnaire. Months later, I was at ArtFest when I received an email containing the beautiful preliminary layout for my section of the book.  I thought to myself, "This is going to be a book full of eye candy!  And informative to boot!"  I couldn't wait to see the rest!

Well, the book was released on January 1st of this year!  Jenny decided to host a launch party at her new studio space in Santa Ana, CA and I decided that I just had to attend!

I flew in and Jenny and her friend, the lovely and talented Cynthia Shaffer, squired me around downtown for the day.  We did some antiquing and had dinner at an incredible Mexican food restaurant.  By the end of the day, I felt like I had known these two amazing ladies for years...or maybe that had something to do with the amount of tequila imbibed!  The next afternoon (after a silk-screening class and romp through an art supply store), we set up for the party.  Here is a peek at the studio space...

And here is Jenny, designing a new welcome sign on the chalk board...

Kim Caldwell of Artistic Bliss was in attendance as well, conducting a fun and beautiful make-it-and-take-it bracelet.  Here is a shot of the three of us before the festivities began.  Thanks for the photo, Cynthia!

I owe a huge thank you to Jenny's beautiful family for making me feel so warm and welcome in their home during my stay.  And that is a potato tornado Jenny's husband is holding, just in case you were wondering...

I wasn't prepared for the sheer number of people that came through!  The launch party coincided with an art walk that was taking place that evening in the building where the studio was located.  We were packed most of the evening...

I met so many new people and had a great time chatting about art.  Here is a picture of Cynthia and Jenny taking a well-deserved break outside of the studio...

The next day, Jenny, Cynthia and I  ran around the town gathering a few necessities for an encaustic wax set-up.  We then proceeded to spend a few blissful hours playing with wax in Jenny's home studio (I COVET her studio room!)  I think I might be coming back out later in the year to teach some classes at Jenny's studio, so keep your ears open...and don't be afraid...

Oh, and remember that February is my blog-iversary and give-away month.  I am thinking that a copy of Creative Pilgrimage needs to make its way out into the world...