Nominate someone deserving

Those Art is You girls (Sallianne and Ellen) are at it again! These 2 women are constantly giving back to the community through their events,  charitable contributions, their generous spirit and the understanding of how to encourage women to bring more art and creativity into their lives.  

This time they are holding a contest where you can nominate someone deserving to attend one of their retreats (Petaluma, CA or Stamford, CT), a $1000 value! Here is what the prize consists of:

3 nights’ accommodation at our host hotel – King

 Room with Breakfast.

3 Full-Day Workshops (Chosen by winner but based

 on availability) and Kit Fee subsidy ($20 per day

 where applicable). Lunch each workshop day

.

Full access to events such as Morning Motivators,

 Art Trunk and charity events.

here's how to nominate someone: 

Tell us who

 you’d like to nominate to win the prize above

 and why you feel they deserve this special

 creative-outlet treat.

We’ll be making a new 

post here on Create Mixed Media each week

 for the month of June and we’ll announce the

 winner of the prize the first week of July.

 (Winning nomination to be chosen by Art Is 

You andCreate Mixed Media.) You can leave

 a comment any week, but please only one 

nomination per person.

To spruce things up

 and increase the fun, we’ll randomly select

 one commenter each week to win a North

 Light book.

You can enter the contest here:

Art is You 2013!

"Come. Join the Art is...You family in 2013 for a retreat that is all about Community through Creativity. Artists across the country are waking up to the power of each other, coming together.
Now in three venues: Nashville, Petaluma or Stamford, Art is...You is an ALL INCLUSIVE joyous week of art workshops, all lunches, panel sessions, heart starter mornings, and suppers each night."
You will be amazed at all that is offered when you attend one of these fabulous retreats that Sal & Ellen put together. This will be my 5th year of teaching for Sal and Ellen. They events are always amazing, full of spirit and friendship and much needed girl time. (although we have fun with the guys there too ;)

Workshops will be going up real  soon. We are busy finalizing all our wonderful workshops so be prepared for some awesome classes!

What to expect: FUN!, laughter, meeting new friends, running into old friends,  friendly faces, abandoned art, comfy sheets, creating amazing art and sharing in an Art Adventure. Don't be shy and don't be nervous. Adventure is out there. See you soon!

 ****Give yourself permission to play and REGISTER your intention to attend by paying a refundable deposit of $100.00.  This deposit will secure your spot and ensure you will get first opportunity to register for any or all retreats*** 

feel free to email me at: keeshagirl4@aol.com with any questions about attending an art retreat. especially if it is your first time and you are feeling "nervous". 

in the studio

busy in the studio. lots of prep work for a May class, designing samples for 2012 "Art is You" workshops and making things to sell.






this bracelet is currently on my worktable.

Great News!

The Art-is-You gals are spreading the love around and bringing their event to California in September. The event will take place in Petaluma, California, September 22 - September 26th.

here are just a few of the instructors who will be teaching there:

Dara DiMagno
JoAnnA Pierotti
Kerin Gale & Charley Slaughter
Laurel Steven
Laurie Meseroll
Laurie Mika
Leighanna Light
Lesley Venable
Linda Willis
Nicole Bowen
Nina Bagley
Pamela Huntington
Serena Barton
Shelly Massey
Thomas Ashman
Traci Bautista
Keith lo bue
Stephanie lee
Judy wise
and MORE!

stop by and check it out and if you sign up for some classes, let me know which ones!

**you'll notice i am not teaching- that's because Dillon is off to school about that same time and i will be watching tucker while jeff gets dillon moved to Florida. But i might fly in at the end to take a few classes!

and for you east coasters- the Oct. art retreat will be taking place in Danbury, Connecticut on the 6th-11th. Come and join us!

here are my classes for Danbury:

Tin Art Jewelry and more



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Home is where the heart is

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Adventures in Resin

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My crowning glory

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Lulu's Tutu

hitting the road

dillon and i are hitting the road tomorrow! we are heading up to Maine, where i be teaching at Art in the Rough. Saturday i'll will be teaching this and Sunday i will be taking this.





i am really looking forward to it as i will know many of the girls that are attending and looking forward to seeing them and the area. it will be fun to see our friends Taryn and Scott of Navel Jelly Studio, our lovely hosts for the weekend. (be sure and check their stuff - they have the best goodies)!

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growing up in the Navy, I've traveled far and wide and have been in almost every state in the U.S. except Maine and Rhode Island.
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Our first stop will be in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a coastal community 18 miles outside of Boston. We are staying at a B&B and plan on having a lovely seafood dinner at the waterside somewhere.
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i'm looking forward to spending time with my son, relaxing with friends and doing art .

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I've finished my packing so just need to go through my checklist:



birthday gift for someone special - CHECK!

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hostess gifts - CHECK!

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kits for class - CHECK!

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teaching supplies - CHECK!

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sweet old teddy bear - CHECK!

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cowboy boots, resoled and smelling good - CHECK!

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cowboy hat - CHECK!

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rosette swap finished - CHECK!

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we will still be playing Flea Market Friday this week. i'll remind you on Thursday and then post on Friday. so see you then!

Art is...you, the East Coast Art Retreat

Your hostess's, Ellen and Sallianne
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Have you heard about the east coast art retreat, Art is...You? The event is taking place in October at The Danbury Plaza Hotel in Danbury, Connecticut. The dates are Oct. 7-12. I will be teaching 3 classes there along with many other very talented instructors. you can find all the workshops being offered here. It's not too late to join in on the fun!

here are a few of the workshops that are being taught:

"There's no place like home" with Jenny and Aaron
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"Icons and Angels" with Pamela Hastings
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Etching with Keith Lo Bue
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"Almost Home" with Taryn, Robin & Rachel
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"Waxing Wonders" with Suze Weinberg
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"Souvenirs de ma Vie" with kecia deveney (me!)
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"I love mudcakes" with Laurie Meseroll
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"Chunky Loteria Cards" with Michael de Meng
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"The keeper of secret and dreams" with Lesley Venable
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"Fairy Album" with Pamela Huntington

goings on

well i am trying to get settled after being in Connecticut teaching at Art-is-you. i've got everything out of the van and for the most part unpacked (the worst part!). the rest of the stuff will have to wait until after i return on Sunday from Seattle. Oh, didn't know i was leaving again? well, i am - heading off to Journalfest to meet up with my friends, Jennifer and Keli. i am taking classes this time, so it will be nice to relax. i am going barebones with supplies. i am taking classes with Anahata (my favorite!), Stephanie Lee (another favorite!) and karen michel, so it'll be fun. jenn is in one of my classes and i think keli is in two of them; so that will be fun. my bags are packed and just finishing up some other things before i leave. jeff and i did some Halloween decorating today. just a few things on the front porch. it was fun. haven't decorated for Halloween in quite awhile. Dillon used to be so into it, but as he gets older, he's into other things. i think they are still going trick or treating this year though. he's going as "Wolverine". i do miss that little kid stuff though, their excitement about decorating and holidays. i have to work on Halloween at the shoppe in Pt. Pleasant, so i will be dressing up as a form of Friday, from the Adams family. i'll be wearing this red satin doll baby looking dress, black and white tights, my ghoul bride necklace and maybe i'll whiten my face a bit. so that's the skinny!

Art-is-you 2009

i began my journey to Art-is-you on a very gusty and overcast day. driving in Tucker's big econoline van, packed to the gills with art supplies, class kits, display stuff for vendor night, stuff to sell on vendor night, luggage and my 2 favorite pillows. the wind was so bad, i had to death grip the steering wheel to keep the van from being whipped around. it was a little stressful to say the least. so if you were driving behind me, i apologize for going so slow!
i taught 4 classes; all of them so different from the next. i did a sewing class, a jewelry class, a soldering class and a collage class. i loved everyone of them and received so many compliments from my students after class was over. we worked very hard and all left with an almost completed project.
there were many friends to see and new ones to meet. i ended up spending a lot of time with di, taryn and jane and we bonded over silly things, interesting people and our similarities.
i found people to be extremely helpful and for the most part, everyone, although tired, wore a constant smile on their face.
i wanted to thank all the vendors who were so helpful to me with selling my stuff or watching over it while i was in class (scott, lenny, terri, linda and the bead girl). it was sad to say goodbye as that close knit, "girlfriend power" feeling of art camaraderie just does not happen enough. but i know we will get to see each other soon and i look forward to it.

(click on image to see enlarged photo)

Alice in Wonderland @ Art-is-You

i'm leaving on Tuesday for Portland to teach at Artnsoul, but i am also trying to get much done for the art retreat, Art-is-You, which is where i will be teaching next week. Their theme this year, is Alice in Wonderland, so i painted a little watercolor using a Suzi Blu type of girl (taught at her San Diego workshop). I also used page from a vintage book for the scene. i added the little birdie on my own, just because! i am making little ornaments and a few collages on little frames and i also made myself a little t-shirt to wear at "Alice's coronation".

day three

well today was an ok day. sales were quite slow (i'd say today equalled (sp?) what a typical NJ show would be like for me; lots of lookers, but not many takers). the weather held out til about 1:00 ish and then it started to drizzle. it wasn't bad and it's not like it drove the crowd out; but by 4:00, the place was dead. we got packed up really quick, thankfully as it started sprinkling again. between the 4 of us, we bought goodies to go home with, so the truck is a might fuller than we started!

i met many wonderful vendors and made new friends. loved my neighbors, William and Jan, and of course, "The Summerhouse Girls + Miss A" who were so good about booth sitting while i ran to the potty, grabbed food, etc. It was really a great experience. can't wait to show off all my pictures.

and i wanted to thank everyone that i met who raved about my art and especially to those who bought their special purchases from me. i know that $ is tight these days, so for you to spend your hard earned money on my art is a real compliment. very much appreciated. headed home tomorrow!

for those of you keeping up on my blog, you know that i am entering my "whirlwind tour of chaos" (t-shirts are on order....) in the next week. i'm feeling a bit stressed about all i have to do, but i will manage. next week i fly out to teach in Portland. Then i'll be home a week and leave to teach in Connecticut. After that i am off to Seattle to attend Journalfest!

i look forward to early November when i can relax and begin more jewelry projects since i am almost out of product.

Taking tea with Alice

We were given a kewpie doll to alter for "Taking tea with Alice" (in Wonderland) for the "Art is You" art retreat that will take place in a few weeks in Connecticut. so this is what i came up with. I still want to do something around the base under her skirt (i see a poofy ribbon). I am teaching 4 classes there (snippets, soldering, a jewelry class and a collage class). I am really looking forward to it.

In the meantime, i have finally taken booth photos and shots of most of my jewerly and mixed media pieces - so i'll probably post those tomorrow. tonight i begin pricing everything. (yuck, i hate this part).

first class at Art is, "Cherished Snippets"

Here are pictures from the first class i will be teaching at

Art is. we will be using snippets of leftover material, fabric, tapestry, tulle, lace, hankies, deconstructed material, etc. plus and image to create a fabric collage that we will use to create our own personal journal cover. i love creating these as they are very simple and a great way to upcycle pieces that your would normally just toss out.

Registration is now open!

registration for "Art is you", an East coast art retreat is now open. from the link above, scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you will find the workshops listed starting on thursday. there are many great workshops (mine included, which i will blog about next), so have fun going through the classes to see what might entice you to attend. feel free to email me with any questions if i can help out in any way.