Art at the Edge, Spring 2015 With Ken Oliver Crafts and For Keeps Sake Events

You may be in the doldrums of winter now, but it's time to start planning for spring and I could not be happier to let you know a little more about Art at the Edge in Spring of 2015.

There's no doubt that spring is one of the loveliest times of year in our little corner of southwest Indiana, in fact, it was last April that I decided to move back to Indiana after many years away...I'd visited with my family for spring break...and I was hooked.   

Spring in Newburgh brings saucer magnolias, tulips, daffodils, and dogwoods...southern Indiana is one of the lushest garden spots in the Midwest.

And Art at the Edge will be held April 24th-26th, right in the heart of Newburgh and, like last time, our local shops and merchants will offer some special deals for anyone who comes to Art at the Edge...you'll find antique shops, upscale clothing boutiques, gift shops, great restaurants and most of all a beautiful view of the Ohio River.

 

And I could not be more excited to teach workshops in Newburgh, with one of my new paper collections, Hometown, it's a collection of craft papers inspired by our historic little village.  It's going to be fun to see the places and sites that are the inspiration for Hometown.   

This time, we're offering 4 incredible classes featuring products from Graphic 45, Um Wow Studios, Ken Oliver Crafts and lots more...I like to create classes that pack lots of retail value and lots of value in the techniques you'll learn...this is going to be one heck of a creative weekend.

Here's what your weekend at Art at the Edge includes a lunch and dinner at Newburgh's famous Edgewater Grill with it's amazing river views, classes, Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, a Sunday morning workshop, a tour and some time with me in my studio, an onsite store with great prices and lots of brand spankin new products, a historic walking tour of historic Newburgh and lots of time to explore your creative side.  

For Art at the Edge Spring 2015 I've teamed up with For Keep Sakes Events to help me manage some of the administrative aspects of holding an art event of this size.  I've worked with For Keeps Sake for years...when it was a retail store in St. Louis and now as an event organizer...For Keeps Sake owners Nancy Wethington and Timmie Taylor have been in the craft industry for years and I am really happy that we're planning this event together.  

  

There's a certain kind of "joy of living" around Newburgh and I can't wait to share it with you...whether it's a stroll by the river, pausing for a moment to enjoy our river views or shopping in our shops and boutiques...you will love spending time with us in Newburgh. 

 

And one of the things that we're known for is our amazing sunsets...there's something about the way the river meanders past our town as it flows westward that makes a sunset here spectacular...most evenings the sky is ablaze with color.

Signing up for Art at the Edge is easy, simple follow the link to the For Keeps Sake catalog of events complete the "sign up" sheet and send your deposit to Nancy or Timmie to reserve your spot...it's that easy and I guarantee you'll love the time you spend with us down on the river in Newburgh...I hope to see you here. 

Teaching Creativity

One of the really fun things I get to do is travel to art retreats and weekend gatherings where artists and crafters gather to create. The events are often held in some of the most scenic places in the world.  

Yesterday, I went to Rio Rico Arizona, to a retreat held by Arizona Scrapbooking.   

It was truly one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen, it was high desert, the clouds overhead looked fake.  

The mountain landscape was inspiring. 

We were right on the Mexican border, it was amazing.  

When I visit retreats and art gatherings, I like to teach "creativity."  I go with a plan, projects, and supplies, but I like to let students create their own "works of art."  After-all, students attend retreats to learn how to create and to be inspired.  All too often, instructors go to an art or craft event with a project that requires their students to "paint this here, stamp this there, stick this here" type of  project that doesn't really let a student explore his or her own creativity or learn new techniques.  Instead, the student ends up with a knocked off copy of whatever the instructor chose to create that day. 

Yesterday, I went in with a plan  to let students explore making handmade DIY cards with some craft papers and die templates.  

  

 The cards they created were amazing...as you can see below, two different students, using the same materials, created very different projects.  Both are very beautiful, and each represents how the student interpreted the the supplies and instruction they received.

This card is decidedly vintage, with inked, distressed edges and a lacy doily, while the card below...     

is crisp, clean and simple. 

Both are very elegant and show a great use of the supplies provided to create a tiny "work" that is personal and expresses the unique creativity of each student.

I feel really luck to have the opportunity to teach "creativity." It's really rewarding to see how other artists create and I am always inspired whenever I see how students work and create.  I love the creative process.  

It's always really fun...new friendships are forged and old friendships rekindled as we create together.     

And, we always make time for a little silliness...

Thank you again Arizona Scrapbooking for letting me visit to teach a little creativity at your art event!  

Ken

March is National Craft Month!

March is National Craft Month....I kicked off the month long event by teaching a workshop at Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale Arizona.

Frenzy Stamper is known in the Phoenix area for it's mixed media classes.   

I'd been looking forward to working with the artists at Frenzy Stamper for a long time...a workshop there was a great way to kick off National Craft Month.  

I taught a class on how to create an embossed copper tag deck.  I created this project a while back but I'd never taught it as a workshop before.  You can see more images and details in this earlier post...

Since I knew the artists who frequent the shop liked mixed media, I wanted to show them some cool techniques using leaves and modeling paste to create background textures.  

We started the day creating textured background images in modeling paste by impressing leaves, burlap, combs, and strings into the modeling paste.  Then we adding color with acrylic paints to really bring out the textures.  

It was really interesting to see everyone's textures come to life with color!  

In fact, the texture sheets were so beautiful, they looked as if they could be framed and used as art.  

Each student's texture sheet was different and each amazing.  

We cut pieces of Kraft*Tex and copper sheet to use as mats behind die cut pieces of the texture sheets we'd just created. 

 

The layered effect is beautiful.  

And then we used bits of scrapbook papers and printed ephemera to create mini collages.  

Each collage was different, and interesting...

Some students brought copies of family photos to use in their collages.  Jill brought color copies of photos of her grandchildren.... 

to make her art personal.  

The results were amazing!  

It was great to kick off National Craft Month with a workshop at Frenzy Stamper!  I've got a busy month in store with more workshops and classes.  

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you will be inspired to create something beautiful! 

Ken

Resources:

Spellbinders Paper Arts

DecoArt

C&T Publishing

Tattered Angels