Art all weekend with Kristen Robinson

So I am totally blissed out on art!  I have just returned from a lovely art filled weekend at Smittendust, a beautiful art studio in Diamondale, Michigan.  Dusty, our hostess, had Kristen Robinson teaching classes all weekend long and I indulged in every one of them.  

Dusty made each class participant a name tag filled with relaxing lavender.  What a great token to remember this weekend!  Above you can also see a super sweet tiny house made by Kristen that I won in a raffle.

Day one was right up my alley with the first offering called A tale in my heart - plaster, wax and paperclay shadowbox.  We actually made two pieces as the class progressed.  Kristen is so generous in her teaching and her super duper class kits. 

I love all the interesting texture achieved my mixing all the techniques offered.  I am definately inspired to play with plaster and wax in the future for sure thanks to my exploration during this class.

Day two was Divine Bangles and the title was aptly named.  We did so many different things through the course of the day such as etching, soldering and adding patina.  We also fold formed and did some basic metal working techniques.  As you can see not everything is complete, I have a bunch more wire and some assembly to do soon and I am really looking forward to it.

Then on to day three with Grunged up and Glamorous - Upcycled Journal.  I had so much fun playing with these ideas and techniques.  

There are lots of transparent elements through the use of packaging, upcycled materials and glassine. I loved adding lots of stitching with a sewing machine too.  Thanks to my art gal Joanne for sharing and a few teaching moments on her machine too.

One of the stickers from our cute kit boxes wandered into my book.  It is a sweet reminder of the day and this little junk journal is the perfect home for it.

These pages are filled with all kinds of fun.  I used resin paper, strings, feathers, tatted butterflies...whatever I could find to create texture and interest.

I was able to utilize lots of resin elements I had on hand.  Finding the opportunity to incorporate previously made components is always a good thing.

Here is another peek at my fantastic book as a whole.  It is really something that needs to be seen in person, the pictures just do not capture how special it really is.

Thanks to all who actually made it to the end here!  It was such a great weekend and it really did deserve a nice long homage!  If you are ever offered the chance to take one of Kristen's classes, I highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Rhea

House of Grace with Kristen Robinson

I finally had a moment to post the last of my classes with Kristen Robinson.  Her inspiration will stay with me a long time though.

In this class we played with mold making, something I have never done before.  It really was quite simple to make them, and I can see it opening a whole new realm of possibility in terms of using those things I really treasure in a new way.

Kristen brought a paperclay heart already dry for us to work with.  Since I decided to do a series of three hearts, I made a few more hearts from her molds in class.

I decided I wanted to add some metal elements, so I rooted through my junk and found lots of fun objects: wings, keys, a pen nib and eclectic scraps.

On this last heart I actually stamped right into the clay when it was wet.  This was a fun technique that evolved as we played in  class. 

I would highly recommend any class that Kristen ever offers in your area.  She was a very kind and generous teacher.

Cheers, 

Rhea

Etched Cuffs with Kristen Robinson

So here is the day two installment of my wonderful retreat with Kristen Robinson last weekend.  The subject of the day was etching, something I tried out once before in a group setting. We had the opportunity to make two bracelets and here you can see my outcome.

I chose to keep one of them on the simple side and "not mess it up."  I had a bit of a struggle in this class, not only with my stamping, but with the distress soldering technique.  Soldering is something I am so interested in, but it will take a while to master.

I think my favorite part of this cuff are the secret words tucked inside.

Here is a better image of the etching.  I was hard pressed to get a decent stamp, due to the curve of the black.  I ended up embracing imperfection and the design still came out pretty.

The bezel on my second cuff is layered with filigree.  Inside the bezel I stacked paper, a transparency and a snippet of text and covered with resin.  I will be playing with resin more in the future, that is for certain.

Well I have one more class to show off and I think it was probably my favorite, although it is hard to pick! Stay tuned for the last installment, plus a few more Graphic 45 treats.

Cheers,

Rhea

Adorned Relics with Kristen Robinson

I was blessed to have the opportunity to take three workshops this past weekend with Kristen Robinson at a super cool spot called Smitten Dust.  The first class I had was called Adorned Relics.  Here we learned how to create beautiful faux mercury glass while playing with resin.  I absolutely fell in love with Ice Resin!

In order to add some of my usual touches, lots of gilders paste was used along the way...surprise, surprise...

A lot of trinkets, charms and filigree used were from Alpha Stamps as I have been designing for them for some time now.  I am so grateful for their support, especially when I am rooting through my amazing Alpha stamp stash!

I think this one is my favorite because it is so different for me.  I think you can really see the faux mercury glass well in this necklace too.  The stone used is picture jasper, there are so many lovely patterns and colors within each and every bead.

This is another bezel that I was excited about.  I simply added paper rhinestones and a Graphic 45 ornate key.  It made for a fantastic focal that was perfect for some vintage embellishments.

I took apart an old three strand necklace and re purposed bits and pieces to create a new necklace.  Bits and bobs were also added to the bottom for balance and movement.

The top portion of this necklace had already been made.  It was not laying correctly with the last focal I had attached.  I was happy to be able to simply add the focal and shore up the chain and I had a finished piece.

On this last one I kept it simple by adding a chain to my enhanced bezel.  I tried my hardest to make something asymmetrical out of these centerpieces, but for whatever reason, my meticulous brain has a hard time not making my jewelry balanced.

I actually have many more bezels to show off, so stay tuned for more art inspired by this class.  I will also be posting from my two other classes from Kristen soon. 

Cheers, 

Rhea