It's Here At Last (Well, Almost)

Keys4Art2012

It's that time of year again, when my great friend Elena opens her home (and her heart) to her lucky art pals, for a week of creativity, friendship, great food, and unending fun.  Three years ago we started out as virtual strangers, knowing one another only through online groups.  Elena brought us together, and now we are ready to begin our third annual get together in the Florida Keys.  The group has grown, and now two of my best local art friends are part of the excitement.  Teri started coming last year, and for Pat, this is her first time.  We are on the same flight, and will be heading south early tomorrow morning.  Woo Hoo!

 

We've always made little gifts to bring for everyone, and this year we decided keep it simple and alleviate stress.  So instead we've all made postcards for everyone, highlighting where we come from (and we come from all over the US and Canada).  I'm sure all my fellow travelers are way too busy packing (and some are already on the road) to look, so here is what I've done:

Since I live in the Bronx, which often has a bad reputation, I focused on things that defy the stereotypes.....the unexpected Bronx.

The front is a photo collage (done the old school way, cut and paste, no Photoshop skills for me!)

 The back explains what is on the front, features me in the stamp, and contains all my info.  This is an extra; the ones I'm giving out are all addressed to the recipients.



 

Nothing much left to do but wait.  I am more than ready.  And the overstuffed suitcase that weighs in at 45 pounds is mostly full of art supplies.  I think maybe 2 of those pounds represent clothing. 

 

 

Click HERE to see what happened in the Keys in 2011 (that will take you to the first of MANY posts).

And HERE for the first Keys4Art, in 2010.

 

Buried Treasure

Seth at The Altered Page has organized his second year of Buried Treasure. Here's the deal:   Starting Thursday July 15 all participating bloggers will re-post one (or more) of their favorite posts that ever appeared on their blog.
You know which is mine?  Any of the ones I posted after my Key Largo retreat, but especially the one where I shared some of what I learned of Lynne Perrella's techniques.  I think that's because it was a perfect combination of teaching, sharing, collaboration, and friendship, not to mention the art of others.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Keys 4 Art - Day 3, Part 1

The whole morning, and part of the afternoon was spent finishing the Lynne Perrella inspired project.  I was happy to share what I could with everyone, and even happier with how much they seemed to enjoy it.  We added color with paint, ink, paper.  I showed some of the techniques I'd learned for using the Portfolio water soluble oil pastels....awesome product!  I also shared some of Lynne's tips for making the images you find on the internet your own, through altering and coloring.  
The picture above shows all 12 of us holding our completed creations.  I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but this is the only picture I have of everyone....from left to right, artist and home base (I hope; the picture is small and my eyes, well, they're 62 like the rest of me):   Jacquie, Florida; Sue, Illinois; Marita, Oregon; Linda, Florida; Juliet, W. Virginia (or maybe just Virginia); me!, New York; Jen, California; Patty, Florida; Val, Michigan; Elena, Florida; Gina, Oregon, and Lillian, Canada.
First, some shots of artists at work, and works in progress:

 

 

I love the way each and every piece came out.  Some turned theirs into books, and some left them as is, planning on having them framed for display.  Who could blame anyone?  Look how gorgeous:

We went outside and posed for closeups with our creations, in a suitably beautiful setting, by a hibiscus (bush? tree?).

Juliet

Jacquie

Sue

 

Me

 

Linda

 

Marita

 

Patty

 

Gina

 

Lillian

 

Val

 

Jen

 

And last, but surely not least, our wonderful host, Elena

Well, this was a long and full day, so even though it isn't over, I'll end now, and pick up in the afternoon of Day 3 for my next post.

The Keys 4 Art - Day 3, Part 2, and Day 4 and.....goodbye!

To be honest,  I'm a little fuzzy on the time line here.  Not sure what we did when, or even if some of what I think happened on the afternoon of day 3 actually happened on day 4, and vice versa.  Maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with......

Whatcha think?

Anyway, at some point, Val taught us how to make those little wire nests with pearl eggs that everyone loves.  I'd made a few before, but mine were just the result of looking at one online and trying my best to duplicate it. Val had very good and clear step by step instructions, and I know my future nests will be that much better.  Working on the nests:

 And my little nest....the photo is fuzzy, the nest isn't!

We didn't even go out Friday night, just kept eating the delicious leftovers of all the wonderful food that had been brought in.....not to mention Nicole's fantastic baked ziti.

Val also showed us how to make tiles and embellishments from polymer clay.  We softened the clay and rolled it through a pasta machine, then either stamped images into it, or pushed it into molds.  I mostly made tiles, but did do that bird that is on the cover of my journal.  That was from a mold.  We brushed some mica powders on the pieces and then baked them in a low oven.  I think they are just beautiful:

I think I'm up to Day 4 now....a day of art and food and drink and a Key Largo sunset (sort of).

Elena has traveled all the way to Oregon to take a class with Teesha Moore, and she has also taken many online journal classes.  We all wanted to know how to make a hand bound book, and she assured us it was easy.  She taught us one way, and it wasn't difficult at all.  Since Elena had bought 4 rolls of the red rosin paper for my project, we decided to use that for our book.  I'll gesso them and fill them with something.  But not today, LOL.  Here is my hand sewn book (the beautiful cover paper is called Masa and I'll be getting some of that, for sure:

 At some point (today? yesterday?) Val showed us an embossing technique she calls inlaid embossing.  Very cool!  A chipboard shape is covered completely with embossing powder.  Once melted and cooled, an image is stamped over top, using clear ink, and then it is embossed with a very contrasting color of embossing powder.  I used this technique on the chipboard bird that is now in my journal:

It does very much have the look in inlaid enamel, and I love it!

Every Saturday, Bernie, Elena's husband, goes to Marlin (remember Marlin, home of the never ending stream of Cuban food and delicious Margaritas?) and does barbecued ribs for Manny, the owner.  We hopped on over there late in the afternoon to sample some.

Bernie's special sauce in the middle.....OMG!

That's me, Nicole and Marita showing we approve.

Now, mind you, Sue is about 90% vegetarian, and even she had a rib!

Notice, we're all in our Keys 4 Art t-shirts.  Colorful group, huh?

Bernie, Elena, and Manny.  Thanks for the great food all week!  And Bernie, your ribs rock!

We next drove to Marley's a waterfront restaurant/bar with live music and a fun atmosphere.  I think the pictures speak for themselves:

That's me, Jen, Val, Juliet, Marita and Sue enjoying this view:

We spent a nice hour or so there, where a new friend was made:

And everyone had a very nice, relaxing time.

We decided that nice as the view was, the mangroves would block the sunset, so we moved on to another, much more upscale place, The Big Chill, which was very crowded.  But, we managed to snag some great outdoor seating.

Way too many clouds for a proper sunset, and we did have a brief shower, but it was still beautiful.

We also enjoyed some conch fritters, nachos and dip, fried calamari, and wonder of wonders....Mango Mojitos!   We were joined there by Bernie, and Elena's cousin and aunt, both newly arrived from Cuba.  Bernie surprised the aunt with a very special gift......toilet paper imprinted with Fidel's picture.  Check out her reaction:

And not to be outdone by Gina and Jen at Marley's, Val met a pirate of her own:

Then.....sadly, home to pack.  Val and Juliet would be leaving first, then Gina, Marita, Sue and Jen would be taken to the airport in the late morning.  Lillian is staying on until Wednesday, and my flight is in the evening, so after the airport run, Lil and I went to lunch with Elena, then a brief visit with her daughter in Miami.  Stopped at a Michael's, then back to the airport, where I was really unhappy saying goodbye after such a wonderful 5 days.

How about a Keys 4 Art 2011??????