As a gift to my Newsletter subscribers, I’ve been creating cut-out pages with an inspiration challenge to get the ball rolling. Read on to see the May cut-out page and challenge, then view the work of the brave artists who submitted their work to be published for this very first challenge.

The first outdoor art show I participated in was the 2016 Chester County Studio Tour. I had no idea what I was doing and used a borrowed tent with borrowed walls and participated as a guest artist at a borrowed studio. It rained the entire weekend, and it was so cold and damp I wore 3 jackets- by the end of the weekend I was shaking inside and out! Despite the weather, there was a great turn-out and I almost sold out my booth. Beginners luck, maybe, but I was interminably hooked on the show scene from that weekend on. However, after visiting a few shows and talking with other artists who have participated in outdoor fine art shows, I quickly discovered that there must be a time, money and experience investment to get really good at this outdoor show thing.

The article below is excerpted from a recent email conversation I had on the subject with an artist friend who asked me that burning question “Should I go to graduate school?” I discuss the whys and why nots, but my answers are mostly just my story and ultimately my story ends with pointed questions to ask yourself as this decision is so very individualized.

You’ve all heard that there is nothing new in art, I don’t believe this is true to begin with and especially as it pertains to these Materials. There is so much still to explore for artists who choose to take the leap and dive into something new. Artists are innovators and pioneers, there is still so much to discover.

I was mesmerized by the intricacies of the surface of our amazing earth. I desperately wanted to replicate these marks, but when I tried, the results looked forced, hesitant and just wrong….when I literally discovered fire, I was in love.

For a long 5 years I had been searching the world for the perfect drawn line in encaustic; something thin, clean, that would flow from my hand like a pencil line. I had always been a doodler, I love to draw and was always frustrated by the line drawing techniques I found with encaustic. I tried it all-wire, thread, transfer papers, tracing paper transfers, oil pencils, incising and filling the wax-all were good, but I found something unsatisfactory about each.

As artists, Whatever we do in the course of making work begins as a mark on a surface that is made by one human to be interpreted by another in an effort to communicate.

I’m thrilled to say that now going on the 4th year, I have many returning retreat attendees as well as new participants. Over the years, I have answered many questions regarding these retreats and I’ve also made a few discoveries from my frequent visits to Lareau Farm Inn and Vermont in general, so I decided to compile them into this handy list of answers, secrets and revelations.
If you’re on the fence about registering for a retreat, hop on over that pesky thing and join us!

If you are stuck or need prodding like I did when the events in this story took place, it might help nudge you out of your rut. I have shared this story in bits in pieces, but never in full. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did in recalling and writing it.

If you’ve taken a workshop with me in or spent any time longer than a few minutes with me when I’m in teaching mode, I probably encouraged you to draw at least 5-15 minutes a day. Over the years, I have received many requests for suggestions on how to get started. Even if you think you can’t draw, think you don’t know how or just stubbornly refuse, these 5 exercises will help.

Looking for a unique holiday gift for someone special? How about a gift for yourself? Look no further, scroll down for your Holiday Gift Checklist….

I’m not sure what it was that possessed me to use the Pepto Bismol pink in this age-old painting of mine. I had used pink many times before, but it was the usual pink that comes to mind-washed out baby, fuzzy 70’s robe pink…typical. This new pink was daring for me and it was exactly what the piece needed to finish it off.