Off to study

This is a busy week. I am preparing to go to two workshops, one right after the other. This is unusual, it just worked out that way. Friday I will be taking a seminar class with Prudy Vannier. The class project is a clock (clocks seem to be a recurring theme in my life these days) with a Christmas theme. It is actually quite large--30" tall. Here is the design photo.


Then, I am leaving on Saturday morning to spend a week in Virginia Beach taking a workshop with Ros Stallcup. This is an annual trip. As you can tell from most of my paintings, I tend to paint in a somewhat photo-realistic style. My work is relatively detailed and very tightly controlled. Ros' style is very loose and not so controlled. During the week with her, I have to think about design and painting in a less controlled way. It is good for me. Then, of course, there is also the obvious advantage that Virginia is already a bit warmer than western Pennsylvania. March in Virginia makes me think about Spring!

More clocks

Today I am thinking about clocks. My decorative painting club is sponsoring a workshop with Prudy Vannier in March and as the Seminar Chair, I am responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly. One of her projects is a large wall clock with a Christmas theme. I have 4 boxes of wood clocks in my foyer and living room right now waiting to be distributed to students on Sunday so they can do the preliminary preparation before the seminar. I have painted a number of clocks. Most of them are small table clocks. One of the most fun is to use an old CD. When you are going to paint on a CD, it is important to first sand the surface to scuff it up so that the paint will adhere. Then, you need to basecoat it with your background color. At this point, you will have a paintable surface and can paint any design you wish. When the painting is finished, apply several coats of a good varnish and then assemble your clock. You will need a clock works with a short shaft and you will need to find a large flat washer to cover the hole in the CD so that it is small enough to install the clock works. When you are designing a clock project for a CD, you need to make sure your design is off-center so that the clock works do not come up right in the middle of your painting. Here are a couple of examples. The apples are a class that I taught as a Make-It-Take-It and the penguins were a gift for a friend to add to her penguin collection. Small clocks like this make wonderful gifts. Something to think about when Christmas gift exchange season comes around. (or birthdays, or whatever)

Weather is warming. I spring on the way??

Today was such a treat. After weeks of temperatures that never even reached 20-degrees with snow every day, today was sunny and WARM--it got up to 46-degrees!! WooHoo. Still working on "haftas" but by the end of this week I hope to be able to move on to "wantas". Here is a little something you can do with an old CD or one of those CDs that you get in the mail or in magazines. Would this not make a great gift?