Inspired Art 2010: A Great 3 Days

Flying to North Carolina, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Having only attended Artiscape in the past, I knew there would be some fundamental differences. Donna Downey's Inspired Art experience was beyond my expectations! Excellent hotel and convention center, friendly hosts and crew of volunteers, Artists who taught with their hearts and souls....supplying attendees with their knowledge and QUALITY supplies and examples.....WOW!

Limited to 250 students, attendees were divided into six groups with friends being grouped together. The event began with a day of mini-workshops, followed by our "core classes", three 3-hr classes each day for the next two days.

• Cha-Cha necklaces were created, using our handmade UTEE beads and an assortment of complementary beads and baubles
• Life is Beautiful recycled art journals made us get outside our comfort zones
• Vintage ephemera art journal covers were personalized with lots of experimental techniques
• Powertex sculptures had everyone wary, but extremely pleased with the experience as well as their completed "lady"
• Encaustic wax and beeswax were experimented with collage and powders thrown into the mix
• Glass mosaics were created over colorful paintings and inspiring words

Friday night's dinner included a "raffle", where Donna drew 26 names and allowed all the "winners" to choose a prize from a bowl. She told everyone there was a trip for 2 back to Inspired 2011 in the bowl. My name was called third from last....and I won the seats for next year's Inspired!

The final night featured a keynote delivered by Stacy Julian. She was truly inspirational, and referred to one of my recent favorite books: Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. I could truly relate to everything she said.

My favorite moments? Meeting Pam Garrison and C.D. Muckosky and enjoying their classes, and spending time with a good friend who's a fellow artist AND veterinary practice manager. My "unexpected" favorite moment was a mini-workshop by Diana Hollingsworth Gessler. Her most recent  book, Very Washington DC: A Celebration of the History and Culture of America's Capital City is a must-have if you'll be traveling to our nation's capital anytime soon. Travel journaling  is something I had never thought about before taking this fun workshop.

Since I'll be returning to Inspired 2011, I'll have to lobby for a friend, who I think would be a perfect fit for this event: Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. She would be a wonderful addition to next year's line-up of core classes! Her book, Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working with Wax is my recommendation for working with encaustic mediums.

Live the dream:) Brenda

BRAC Team Art Show

This Friday, I will be showing my work for the first time in a few years. I have to break out of the "too busy for art" frame of mind. Moving forward, I've promised myself to always make time to create! Showing what I create is also part of the process. On Friday, surrounded by friends from work, four of us will take that plunge together and exhibit our work as part of the Spring Gallery Tour in Broad Ripple!

Dr. Elizabeth Murphy paints these wonderful custom pet portraits from photos. She does a fabulous job at capturing the purrsonalities of the pets.

I believe she works digitally, with a paint software program. The brushstrokes are amazing, but more noticeable is the "essence" of the pet leaping off the canvas.

A relative newcomer to BRAC, Alysha Calender will be showing some matted and framed pencil drawings of horses. Alysha is a veterinary technology student who is pursuing her degree as a Registered Veterinary Technician. She loves to draw in her free time.

Dr. Christine Heinz is an avid photographer in her spare time, which is about to be cut very short with the coming birth of her first child:) Christine's photographs are gorgeous studies of nature and the environment. Full of peace and tranquility, these pieces reflect her personality and style.

My contribution will be a hodge-podge of mediums that I've explored in the past few years. From woodcut prints to beeswax collage and encaustic wax paintings, I'll be showing a little bit of this and that.

If you're in Broad Ripple this Friday between 5-9pm, stop by our Wellness Center location at 5897 N. College for a taste of our teamwork!

Live the dream:) Brenda

Inspired Art: Around the Corner

Eleven days and counting...that's how long I have until I head to Inspired Artist Workshop retreat in Concord, NC! An art buddy and I decided to try something "new" this year and when I stumbled upon this 3-day workshop event, we decided to give it a try. Looks like I'll be dabbling in a little more than just wax, though: mixed media, paper arts, mosaic, a little encaustic and throw in a sculpture for good measure! Having only experienced Artiscape before, it will be interesting to experience a different venue.

The challenge for this particular event: strategic packing! How does one get all the necessary art supplies and clothing packed while still allowing plenty of room to bring treasures and finds home with them on a plane? This should be interesting....

Live the dream:) Brenda