Sunrise at the Cottages

A couple weeks ago, I had a crazy idea to invite a few friends over for a day of art in my new hometown, Newburgh, Indiana.  Our waterfront town, with antique shops, boutiques, and historic homes would be the perfect setting for a day of arts and crafts over looking the river. The event is called Art at the Edge...because we're going to meet right at the edge of the Ohio River. 

 

 

I knew that out-of-town guests might be looking for lodging close to the event site, and come to find out, our town has historic cottages for rent overlooking the Ohio River.  I was really happy to hear from some friends who are coming that they'd already rented one of the cottages for their stay in Newburgh.  So...

 

 

I walked up the street today to get a sunrise view from the cottages...and...WOW...what a view.  The cottages are perched on a bluff over looking the water.  They were built in the 1920's for the lockmasters who tended to the system of locks and dams on the Ohio River.  Now, the cottages belong to the city and are made available for guests and out-of-towners who are visiting Newburgh.

 

 

 

There are two cottages, each cottage sleeps eight...and they are very reasonable. If you are planning to attend  Art at the Edge with 2-3 friends, the cottages are perfect.  They are within walking distance of the restaurants and shops, and they sit right on the town's greenway if you like to walk or run...

 

 

 

Both cottage have wide front porches to let you enjoy the river view. 

 

And the view will be especially beautiful, Art at the Edge is October 25th, at the height of the foliage season in our region. 

 

 If you are considering coming to Newburgh for Art at the Edge...you'll want to look at the cottages as a place to stay while you're here...you are going to love the view!

 

 

 

Here's a link where you get more information about the Lockmaster Cottages.  I kinda want to go stay there myself...and I live just down the street...Hope to see you in October!

 

Ken



Mixed Media Techniques for Art Journaling

This year, I'm involved in a really cool mixed media workshop...I'm teaching mixed media techniques for art journaling.  We meet once a month to learn a couple new techniques, to practice those techniques, and to share a little bit about what we've created since we last met. 

The premise is simple...let's get together and explore some new techniques using the vast array of products and tools we have at our disposal.  We started with a blank journal...

Then used stencils, spray mists, to add color and pattern to our pages...

 

 

I love this class because everyone's journal is a unique piece of personal art. 

 

We've even used vintage Tupperware doilies from the 60's to add some cool pattern...

 

Tonight we're going to work with some paints and mediums to mask out specific areas of pages we've already worked on....

 

We're also going to work with acrylic mediums to create interesting backgrounds...in this lesson we'll explore mixing color for energy and visual interest.

 

And we're going to use modeling paste to create some really cool texture with stencils...it's going to be a fun class. 

 

 

We're just getting started on our mixed media journey together...so up until now, we've been creating backgrounds and experimenting with color and texture...in a few weeks, we'll start stamping, adding collage pieces and using words as we continue our mixed media journey...

 

We meet once a month at Mary's Scrapden in Evansville Indiana...the class is basically full at 20 students and we're on a wait list for anyone else who wants to join in...depending upon availability...this is really a cool experience...

 

Art at the Edge in Newburgh Indiana

Would you like to see this project taught at your store or art event?  It's a beautiful A4 sized book...it's big.  The class will include everything you need to create the book...it's really a nice project that you will be proud of. 

 

I am planning to teach this book as one of the projects at an upcoming art event I holding in my hometown, Newburgh, Indiana. 

The event is called "Art at the Edge." It's a one day event that includes: 2 classes, lunch, some time to shop and explore the antique stores and trendy boutiques in town, and a little studio tour of where I live and work.  It's going to be a great day, and our event will be during Newburgh's Harvest Festival...there will be a parade and the town will be decked out in fall decorations...and I've already arranged some cooperative discounts with some of the nearby antique stores. 

Art on the Edge will be October 25th 2014, in Newburgh IN.  I'll be announcing more details soon...so check back here.  In the meantime...here's a little glimpse of the venue and some of the shops nearby.

 

This is the room where we'll have "Art at the Edge." This is the second floor event space at The Edgewater Grill (hence the name "Art on the Edge).  It's an amazing venue with views of the Ohio River on three sides.  And there's a veranda that wraps around the entire space...you can take a quick break outside to enjoy the crisp fall air and a close up view of the river.

 

Our downtown is as pretty as a Norman Rockwell painting.   

 

More views of our event space...the space and the waterfront views are inspiring in themselves. 

 

We have some of the best antique shopping in the Midwest.

 

The views are spectacular!

 

And the brick streets of our town are lined with stately 19th century homes...it's really quite beautiful. 

 

So, if you'd like to attend "Art on the Edge" or you'd like to see this book project taught at your  store at your next event,

 

 

 

Leave a comment below...I will be sharing more event details as soon as they are available.  I am really looking forward to "Art on the Edge."  I can't wait to share my quaint little river town with everybody. 

 

Let me know what you think!

 

thank you,

Ken

 

 

DYI Handmade Cards that are Fresh, Clean and Simple

Today, I set out to make some unique handmade cards...and wanted them to be fresh, clean and simple.  They needed to be simple and clean in design and easy to assemble...let's face it, we're all short on time these days. 

 

 

I also wanted to keep the supply list simple...so I started with one sheet of paper and one pack of ephemera from Prima Marketing Inc. The paper I selected is from one of their recent summer releases Forever Green.  The botanical themes are perfect for summer and it's "chalkboard look" is right on target with the DIY trend in stationery and décor.  It's perfect for what I wanted to do. 

 

 

I love making cards, but all too often it seems that my cards get done, done, and over done...and when I've finished I've used every ink, every die cut, nearly every stamp in my stash, and had to run out to the scrapbook store for just one more embellishment...today, I just needed to keep it simple.  And I love the results.

 

 

The botanical themes and positive sentiments are really nice...who wouldn't love a card whose simple message is "Chase Happiness?"

 

 

 

Or, a "Hello" card with illustrations of woodland birds.  It's happy stuff!

 

 

"Life's a Garden Dig it," is a collage of floral themed ephemera, a wooden embellishment and new lace trim...this card is both vintage and fresh and very appealing.

 

 And, all the positive affirmations in the paper and ephemera will make the cards I created "just right" for anyone on my card list. 

 

 

And some of the sentiments lend themselves well to some of my more artistic friends...these cards were fun to make and I hope to offer this as a class soon...I'd love to share it with you. 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by today...I hope you've enjoyed the clean and simple cards I created.  I'd love to see you in a class soon...make sure to look over at my "events" page...I have classes listed through the end of August. 

 

Thank you again,

Ken

A Post Card from Historic Newburgh, Indiana

This summer, I've been really busy and as much as I am ashamed to admit it...this blog has suffered from "blog-lect." Blog-lect is the act of neglecting one's blog for an extended period of time.  I plan to get back on the blog-wagon though and wanted to share this little post card from my new hometown.

 

 

On a whim, I pulled up, and moved back home to Newburgh, Indiana from Phoenix, Arizona.  I'd only lived in Phoenix for a couple years, and it just wasn't right for me.  So rather than stay in a job that wasn't working for me, in a climate that can only be described as harsh and unbearable...it only made sense to come home so I could be close to my family and enjoy the pleasures of small town living in the Midwest. 

 

It seems the folks in our town have a real love for things that are old...after all,  our little village has been around since 1803 and still has some structures from pre-1850.  Our town recently celebrated it's 211th birthday...there was a little parade, ice cream, cake and punch, guided tours to visit the historic homes and buildings, and a vintage car show.  It was awesome...the sense of community, the pride for our town, and the real connections between the residents who call this place home. 

 

I wanted to share just a few shots, or a postcard of some of the vintage autos.  They were so lovingly restored and in perfect condition.

 

Our town has also had a calliope since the old days...they bring it out for parades and special occasions.  It seems calliope music has been part of the town's tradition since the middle of the 19th century.  Newburgh first became prosperous as a river port, and the big steam boats that docked at our port had calliopes as part of the on board entertainment.  Hearing calliope music in the distance signaled that a paddle wheeler had docked on our shore, and was the "call" to go to town to see what the excitement was all about. It's amazing to me that someone in our town, has lovingly restored the calliope and keeps the tradition alive.  Here's a little video snippet of what calliope music sounds like.  It has a sound all of it's own. 

 

 

 

Over the next few days, I'll share a few more postcards and glimpses into life in my new hometown...thanks for stopping by.

 

Ken

 

 

Talismans for Everyday Living and Protection with Susan Lenart Kazmer and ICE Resin

tal·is·man-[tal-is-muhn] an object which is believed to contain certain magical or sacramental properties which would provide good luck for the possessor or possibly offer protection from evil or harm. 

I've long been intrigued with the study of talismans that Susan Lenart Kazmer has done over her career.  Whether pencils or paintbrushes, or the shapes we choose as our "talisman" shapes, we consciously or subconsciously infuse energy and power into the works we create with them. And whether we're aware of it or not, as we create, we assign power or magic into our work.  I was very pleased to work on some talisman pieces with ICE Resin.

In this piece, I brought together ICE Resin and a large natural quartz crystal to work together as a talisman. The clear quartz crystal is one of the most sacred stones of ancient cultures. Its clarity and transparency give it a mirror quality through which things can be seen clearly. The natural quartz crystal symbolizes white light energy. Crystals are also said to realign energies.  I set this large crystal in ICE Resin colored with pastel...the blue pastel makes the ICE Resin look like lapis, a stone that has been revered since antiquity for it's intense blue color. Together the crystal and the intense color of the ICE resin serve as my talisman for clarity of thought and inner peace.  The thing that makes this crystal talisman really meaningful to me is that the crystal was a gift.  Recently while teaching a class in St. Louis, my friend Ann Werner, came to me with a box, and gave it to me.  When I opened it, I found a box of beautiful natural crystals.  Her father collected them over his life, and as she told me, collected them, cleared them naturally by cleaning them in sand and ocean water with the express idea that they should be used for good, for healing and for love.  This was such a meaningful gift from Ann the fact that the crystals were from her father and his intent, really imbue a lot of good energy around them for me.  

Ann said she knew that I would appreciate them...she was right. Although Ann didn't know it at the time, I am going through some transitions in my life right now where I will need clarity of thought, harmony and inner peace. It's cool how the universe works like that.

     

I worked with another talisman this week too...recently a friend told me my animal spirit guide was a raven.  I've never really thought about it, or known too much about animal spirit guides, but when I learned about how the raven can be a spirit guide, it all kind of made sense to me.  

The Raven's wisdom includes introspection, courage, self-knowledge, magic, healing, creation, rebirth, keeper of secrets, master magician, shape shifter, mysticism. All of these attributes describe some aspect of my personality...It was interesting that someone actually looked at me and told me that the raven was my spirit guide, I was unaware.    

I chose to use the raven as the background of this talisman piece.  I hand painted a raven's eye as the focal point.  The raven can symbolize introspection, self knowledge, creation and rebirth...we understand those qualities by sight, whether by actually seeing something or through intuitive sight. The other feature of this talisman are tiny figures.  As I created this talisman, I wanted to invoke the mystical or symbolic powers of the raven to watch over or protect me, my family and those close to me. As artists, we tell our stories and communicate our ideas with imagery. These images and symbols work together as a protection talisman.  Although it's unorthodox...it's powerful.       

Talisman pieces are charged or infused with energy by those who create them.  It's really expanded my thinking as I've studied and worked with ICE Resin to create talismans this week.  And, after having created these pieces, I have a deeper understanding of the energy we use to create and the power behind that energy...which gives our artistic endeavors mystical if not magical meaning.  

Thank you for stopping by today, and thanks for letting me share some of my art with you...I hope you'll be inspired.  

til next time, Ken