Zne Convenzione Day 2: Marionette Theatre Workshop, Post 3!
Day 2, the first day of workshops at the fairgrounds, here is my workshop students/artists with their Marionette Theatre's. Pictured left to right are: Lynn, Jill, Iva, Jen, Yvonne, Me and Joan. Jen's Box was outside drying, lol, it was too cute. All these girls are incredibly talented and super nice, I miss each of them, we all shared an arftful experience filled with laughter and joy, Honestly, I think my workshop tables for two days were disrupting the rest, LOL, I mean all we did was create and laugh, I laughed so hard I felt like I did 1,000 sit ups. They do say laughing is good for the stomach muscles, I better laugh up some more. LOL!Here is a photo of Me, Jill and Jen.
In this workshop, I showed everyone how to make their own dolls, from my molds, their own molds and free form sculpting. When ever I don't have to do kits, I don't, my philosophy is: "We all have different creative flows jumping around in our head, some of us love PINK and Pastels, Vintage Chic, Distressed and Grungy, Bright and Bold, we all have a vision and want to bring that vision to life. In my classes students are encouraged to run with that vision using the techniques and samples in my class to build on their own imagination and un-lock what is inside.Anyone who has taken my classes/workshops knows I bring everything to class, from glue to glitter, picures to paper, embellishments and more, in a variety of styles. Each of the students received a Shoe Box and began building their theatres. Once the class learned the basic box building, I split us up into groups: A. the one set began building their boxes B. the next set began building their dolls, then we switched and by lunch we were all on the same page.Here are Jen's Dolls on their way outside into the Sunny and Warm air ready for their drying time. She is an art hussler, lol, she said she never made a doll, UHM..I think she has, LOL! love her and her family!This is the section of the oustide where everyone's dollies were drying, I loved the blooms so I had to photograph it. Here are some of the finished boxes:Jen's Finished BoxUpclose of her box!Yvonne's Box! Now here is the other brat Yvonne, Jen's sister. I just love her, but am in competition with Mom over whose best Friend she is, LOL!, I've already accepted my defeat! LOL!Yvonne's Dollie Upclose!
Lynn's Box!Upclose of Lynn's Box!Okay I just had to photograph the marionette legs on Lynn's doll in her box, I loved it! Lynn even had her husband make a crepe paper roller for me, can you believe it, I almost fainted when she gave me it with a fleur de lis mold, Uhm, I feel faint again!Jills BoxJill choose a marie antoinette doll head for hers, I loved this variation!Jills Sweet Cake Base!Sweet and Sassie Jill, love this gal, here she is with her theater, seriously she is the best.Outside our hall, loved this tree and the blend of soft industrial meets nature!Afterwards we headed to the Hotel, Jen and Yvonne drove us all back to the hotel, we changed and took the shuttle to The Blue Agave Restaurant on Main Street in Downtown Pleasanton, our shuttle driver Ida was sooo nice.Here is a photo of all of us at the Blue Agave, the food was amazing, fabulous gourmet Mexican.Here is a photo of 2 of my favorite people: Iva Wilcox and Gina Gabriell, these girls are wonderful.
Well this concludes the recap of night two of ZNE in Pleasanton, California, I have a few more days to go, LOL!
Stay tuned for post 4, our 2nd day/ 1rst day of classes in Pleasanton. In the meantime take a moment and visit these fabulous art blogs of wonderful and amazing people, plus visit these extraordinary shops in Pleasanton:
http://www.americanharvestinc.com/site/
http://americanharvest.typepad.com/
American Harvest
438 Main Street
Pleasanton, CA 94566
http://auroratique.blogspot.com/
http://www.cottagejewel.com/
http://whimandfancydesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.ivascreations.typepad.com/
http://www.oldetowneantiquesmall.com/
http://www.themuseisin.com/
http://elevenmorningstangerine.com/
http://garb-oodles.com/
http://www.garboodles.blogspot.com/
http://juliebergmann.typepad.com/
http://hkwdesign.blogspot.com/
http://www.itsmysite.com/ruthrae/
http://ruthrae.blogspot.com/
http://kollaj.typepad.com/kollaj/
http://www.treicdesigns.com/
http://www.colleenmoody.blogspot.com/
http://www.handmadeforall.com/
http://glitterandgrungeblog.blogspot.com/
http://sabiiwabii.blogspot.com/
http://katiejeandesigns.com/
http://katiejean.wordpress.com/
http://thebagladysart.blogspot.com/
http://heartcollective.blogspot.com/
http://ullam.typepad.com/
http://theberrypatchcraftgallery.com/
http://blog.couragetocreate.com/
http://annacorbastudio.com/
http://thepolkadotpixie.blogspot.com/
http://jillzwhimzy1.blogspot.com/
http://littlepiecesofart.typepad.com/about.html
http://www.wendyaddison.net/
http://www.wendyaddison.blogspot.com/
http://www.jontroast.com/
http://www.lost-coast-designs.com/
http://www.melissamerrill.blogspot.com/
http://www.hannahgrey.com/
http://kvcreativedesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.edgarandedgar.typepad.com/

P.S. Magic and Artful Joy to you all!
Lisa!
P.P.S. To see more of the Zne 2009 photos click:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157617764536165/

Sweet Supplies for Marionette Theater Workshop at Zne Convenzione!

I have been shopping and making doll parts and pieces for the my workshop at Zne Convenzione, where my student attendees will receive a variety of goodies to play with including a gift pack of my handpainted doll pieces. In this picture you can see some of the ribbons, the doll parts: Yes Miss Sugar, the Queen of Candyland is missing her arms, that's because she is a Marionette and will have them attached during class, other parts will include a doll head/body where you will attach arms and legs so she can move, like well....a marionette puppet. There will be some cool Bohemian ribbon and trims, felt trims, pre made cupcakes, paper clay vintage style frames, dollie and vintage images. The student will also learn how to construct a sweet faux cake, cupcake, or candy tree, the main base for the marionette to dance upon. There will also be Sugary Sweet Colored Glitters, Martha Stewart glitters, Ranger's Stickles, Cupcake Chic Acrylic Paints, Claudine's Studio Paints and Mediums, Chalk Board Paints, Vintage style wrapping, scrap and wallpapers, sheet music and lots more.

All students are to bring an old shoe box, that is the base for these theaters.Play with a variety of ribbons, and learn a variety of paper building, altered, collaged, pierced, illustrative, sculpting and assemblage techniques, and leave creating a whole new world of magic of your own.

When:
Zne Convenzione April 29-May 3,2009, in Pleasanton, California April 29-May 3, 2009 at Zne Convenzione.

Sign up now for this class at:
http://www.znecon.citymax.com/catalog/item/6444668/6752199.htm
This class is on Thursday 4/30/09 from 10am-5pm, $25.00

Sign up now for the The Fairytale Boat Assemblage Class:
http://www.znecon.citymax.com/catalog/item/6444668/6752178.htm
This class is on Friday 5/1/09 from 10am-5pm, $25.00

For class samples of The Fairytale Boat Assemblage Class visit my Flickr photostream at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157606992244834/

If you want to go to the Zne Convenzione but are having difficulty paying please click on this link entitled: Pay What You Can and learn more!
http://www.znecon.citymax.com/PWYC.html

Art Doll Chronicles, Altered Book Workshop, March 15, 2009
Okay what is better then working on a project in your studio???? Working with good friends and new ones in a large studio right smack in the middle of NJ, that's what.. At least I think so...Nothing can beat a day dedicated to artful magic, when a group of talents together for a workshop and share their vision with each other, its pure MAGIC.

On Sunday March 15, I hosted a artful workshop at the Summit Visual Arts Center called: Art Doll Chronicles, Altered Book Workshop from 10am-4pm, in Summit, NJ. For those ever wanting to take a class there from NYC, the arts center is near the train.

In this class you will learn the many properties of recycling and seeing a variety of objects in a new light. The base this project is an old thick hard cover book, where the dust jacket is removed to reveal the fabric and embossed title. For this project it doesn't matter the topic or format, as long as it has a thick spine/binding of at least 4 inches wide, then the book is divided into 5 sections, each section is then held into place with paper clamps.

Next you seal these sections closed, let dry. Once the sections have been sealed, you are left with 5 thick pages inside the book, now with a ruler measure out a rectangular box, in each of the 5 sections, with an exacto knife cut into the measured box, until you have what appears to be a shadow box depth, 1/2 thick, repeat in all the sections. I pre-made all the books for each student to allow extra time for altering the books.

I did a demo of this stage of the books, then informed the class of the various paper layering techniques to build their books with, followed by quick tutorials on paper folding, piercing, collage, layering and the many uses for all kinds of crepe paper from discarded book pages to packaging paper, crepe paper, etc.

Its all in the perception, how do you see a piece, to me a scrubby dollar store steel dish brush can imitate German Bouillion, Paper bags can become paper doll clothing and well old books can become theaters in many shapes and sizes, they can become doll houses, or specimen boxes, the possibilities are endless. Each Student created their version of a storybook/doll opera, with each page being a different scene in their own doll opera.Here is a photograph of the amazing and beyond talented Kecia Deveney of Lemoncholy's Studio http://lemoncholys.blogspot.com/ whose work is over the top amazing, she creates so much artful magic, it was an honor to have her in the class, Kecia is wonderful, please check out her amazing works,and visit her blog to see another post of this fabulous workshop! In this next photo is the gorgeous ATC she made, It came wrapped so pretty, I didn't want to open it, glad I did, because this is what I feasted my eyes upon, this wonderful ATC, its currently sitting in my studio sending loads of magic my way.

In the next photo is my beautiful mother who is probably my biggest fan, always coming out to support me and show her dedication, I give her an A+++++++ and more. In this photo she is beginning to layer her paper to build her pages. The next is a photo of the 2 of us in the gallery, outside the workshop room.

My Mom is also an artist whose works can be seen in some magazines, my zines and on flickr, her work can be purchased on etsy http://auroratique.etsy.com/
Here is a picture of Kecia paper layering her book!
In the next picture, Michal, Lynne and Julie can be seen working on their books at the hot glue station. In this specific workshop I had set up several stations around the room:
1. Hot Glue Station
2. Paint Station
3. Doll Station
4. Glitter and Glue Station
5. Beeswax Station
6. Heat Tools, Rubber Stamping and Embossing Station
7. Paper Station
8. Ribbons and Trims
I found this makes a workshop go smoother by pre-doing somethings, demo the main, and set up various workstations, since everyone will be at different stages during the course of the class.

Here I am in the gallery by myself and then again with my buddy, the ever so talented: Linda Hahola, I love this woman, we met awhile back at Ranger U and became instant friends, I'll be heading over to her house with my other Ranger pals this saturday, I can't wait.

In the next few photos you will see some of the amazing books that were being created during the class, the first one is Linda's with a wizard of oz and distressed theme on the cover, complete with paper layering, beeswax and gold gilding with this new faux gold leaf ink pad and emboss powder I picked up for the class.Next is the first page of Kecia's book its pure amazement, looks like its illuminating off the page.The next book was created by the talented Lynne, who is just incredibly sweet and talented. I met Lynne over a year ago at one of my workshops at the Newark Museum and we just clicked, been friends ever since. Lynne creates beautiful pieces and moves fast too. Her book was almost fully done when she left. This is a photo of it. In the next picture is the amazing Julie's book, look at these pages, aren't they filled with magic. I'm all about the pink, which is why I just adore her book, pink colors, fairies, its fairy chic'.The next picture is Julie at the beeswax station, applying some beeswax from the melting pot to her book.Here is Linda working on her book at the table, notice the bevy of colorful and fun supplies. When ever I teach a workshop/class I must arrive on site with a quarter of my studio, LOL, I shop for extra supplies for the class, preparing for weeks, making sure I have a variety of supplies which can appeal to all art palettes. I normally make kits for my classes, but for this one, I made half kits and set up 8 work stations with the tools and supplies they would each need to complete their books, then they can leave with extras to finish their pieces, along with some of my molded doll heads, which I made with Model Magic, which was the perfect clay for the dolls in this book project. Model Magic dries fast, and light weight, like puffed foam.
Here is Lynne working on her book!
Followed by Michal working on her book. This was a fun day for all of us, the time went so fast, by 4pm, I was still thinking it was noon, thats what happens when a great group of people come together, like the saying goes: "Time flies when you are having fun"., that is absolutely true!

Thank You Everyone for sharing in on our day!
Magic and Joy!
Lisa!

The Altered Book: Art Doll Chronicles


Hello All,
On March 15, 2009, I will be teaching an altered art book class called:
The Art Doll Chronicles at the Summit Visual Arts Center from 10am-4pm, if you are interested sign up at the summit visual arts center, limit space of 15 students!
Sum Visual Arts Center, Workshop Sign Up

We are going to create vintage books with faux gilded covers, reminiscent of the most elaborate of royal opera books, each page is going to tell a story of your adventure in a secret Doll Land or Story Book Land, the pages of your book will be 3-D with handmade dolls sewn/glued to each page, or layered with dimensional silhouettes, backed by sweet distressed writing papers or piano papers. There will be an exploration into your creative mind during the whole class, with a question: What inspires you and how can that inspiration bring you into your own artful World.

I will have books from vintage opera to eye candy filled chic, romantic, doll house and my own for the class to gain inspiration from, while working. We will also embark on a mixed media/1920's doll illustration, 1920's Dennison doll making, book binding, altered art techniques, distress techniques. You will receive a template of vintage doll and storybook illustration that you can leave with and study for future projects. This turn of the century illustration had simple lines, and such cutesy attributes, so easy to duplicate and turn into your own style.

I'll be supplying most of the supplies such as papers, fabrics, images, ribbons, trims, glitter and more, along with goodie bags and some other surprises, revealed in the class. However students are encouraged to bring their own images, fave paper or fabric, stickles, glitter, etc that they could use in addition to the supplies I will be bringing.

Main techniques that will be taught:-Bookbinding
-Paper Piercing
-Rosettes: the art of folding
-Paper millinery flowers, learn to make your own
-Doll and Paper Doll making
-Altered Art and Collage Techniques
-Making your own silhouettes
-Basic Storybook illustration and Mixed Media illustration
-Vintage Art Techniques

I'm working on some various examples: Silhouettes with glitter and creamy colors against lettered writing pages and German Crepe paper doll book example, the painted version book, and the Living Opera Theater Book, etc.

Hope to see you there for some artful fun and magic!
Lisa!
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the Summit Visual Arts Center site reads:
The Altered Book: Art Doll Chronicles
Sunday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Bring your childhood dolls and storybook classics to life. Create a book with vintage tones and classic elegance with the use of basic book binding, altered art, sewing, doll making and other artful techniques. Each page will resemble a vintage story book, a doll house, and a fairytale theatre with 3D elements and miniatures. Work with designer papers, rich fabrics, vintage trims, crepe paper, tinsel, rhinestones, doll parts, images and other fun supplies.

The Fairytale Box Assemblage Workshop I am Teaching at Tinsel Trading and Contest Too! Read Below! Kits Available Soon!


In a land far far away where blue birds and sparrows can be heard singing sweet melodies as they fly by, a land where boats don't need water to sail, just a sprinkle of pixie dust on their sails and away they go, sailing gracefully through the sky, over storybook places such as Mother Goose Corner, Wonderland and Mermaid Cove where Peter and his bandits from Neverland can be seen playing mischievious pranks on Captain Kidd and his men.
Come set sail with me on the Fairytale Boat of Dreams in my workshop entitled: The Fairytale Follies Box Assemblage, at Tinsel Trading!

For more pictures and info on joining me at Tinsel Trading for this class and to join in on other workshops visit Terri Ventura's Flick page: Dimestoredaze or her blog/websites:

http://www.dimestoedaze.typepad.com/
http://www.dimestoredaze.com/

I will be teaching this class on May 31, at Tinsel Trading!

My class will be filled with Lisa Magic, Surprises, Enchanting Goodie Bags and more, not to mention some edible treats as well.


Also today begins the 2nd blog contest:

Contest Details:
7 winners will be picked to receive handmade tickets to ride this boat.
They are altered art vintage style boat tickets which I made to giveaway to 7 lucky winners, to represent 7 days of the week and the 7 seas. I will keep the tags a secret until the winners are picked, so start posting for a chance to win. These tags will also be made for my class as well!

Magic and Joy!
Lisa!

By June, I will be selling kits of some of the fairytale boxes, in different sizes and packs for all price levels!

Also take a stop by my flickr site of image and explore:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/