It's a Dry Heat
I just returned from teaching our class Mingled Elements with my sweet friend DJ Pettitt at The Paper Studio in Tempe, Arizona. Let me just say first...it was 115 degrees!! But, hey, it's a dry heat...right? Almost like no heat at all! At least that's how it felt for this gal from the humid, semi-tropical town of Houston. Still, it was hot. Now that that's out of the way, let me say this...the weekend was fantastic!
First thing off the plane, the lovely Maija whisked Tanya and I off to Apache Hardware (I think that's what it's called). It's one of those reclamation hardware places with rows and rows of old motors, dials, thingamajigs and doodads. Our hands were black by the time we finished but, just look what we reclaimed...
Next, we jetted off to a lovely, little shabby chic store then off to Beads Galore, then lunch.
Maija drove me all over Phoenix...at least it seemed like it to me!...thank you friend.
This is our gracious hostess, Cindy Iverson. She and her husband, Gary, are kind and generous and their store, The Paper Studio is outstanding. It's a nice space in which to work, play and shop. Did I just say "shop"? Oh yeah...I couldn't pass up this fabulous, silk ribbon Cindy carries in the store...
Then there was the trunk show. I couldn't get in to take very good pictures but, you get the idea. We had a great turnout and it was lots of fun.
Along with my jewelry, DJ was selling the most beautiful mixed media collages and, of course, her paintings.
The first day of class was painting with DJ. Our students were wonderful and very talented. The class was infused with a sense of peace and calm which made for a really productive and creative working atmosphere.
Our students caught on incredibly quickly and all the paintings were finished by the end of the day. Not only were they finished, they were beautiful!
During the painting process, each one has to go through a phase of the uglies. It's the first step of laying in shades. Here is the lovely Maija with her "ugly" painting (no offense Maija...we know it gets better!).
Lucky me, I got to take DJ's painting class. This one is mine in it's ugly phase.
Ah...good thing the uglies don't last!
The second day, I taught the wire work part of the project. DJ sat in on the wire portion of the class and picked it up like she's been doing it forever.
artwork by DJ Pettitt
In fact, all of the students took to the techniques right away and made lovely wire embellishments for their paintings. They wrapped, twisted, beaded and put their hearts into it. No wonder their projects turned out so beautifully! I was so pleased that the students took our techniques and made them their own.
Sophan (beautiful name!) Schleieifer
Judy Mobley
Nellie Wortman
I have to say that this lady had an incredible testimony to share, God having brought her back from health issues that left her not even knowing who she was. Nellie, I just want you to know what a blessing you were to me and, I'm sure, to the rest of the class.
Pam Beauchesne
Paula Kardell
Bridget Burke
Kathleen Burke
Kim Shuester
Jenny Hoffman
Rena Peterson
Laura Reardon
Donna Eyring
Cindy Shaw
Maija Lepore and Tanya Peacock
Tanya, Sylvia, Maija
I also got a chance to have dinner with my friend Sylvia and see some of the local "wildlife". Something exciting always happens when Sylvia is around!
The very sweet Angie Platten gave me this beautiful mix of papers...some in Hebrew, Russian and I don't know what else. Angie knows I'll use these in my work...such a thoughtful gift!
This lovely array of treasures is part of what was given to me by Tanya Peacock to "further my ministry". I'm re-naming Tanya "The Gift Giver" as that is her nature and calling in life. I guess I could call her "The Goodie Bag Lady" but "The Gift Giver" sounds much more intriguing and romantic!
And last but not least...this gorgeous little book given to me by DJ, handmade, of course...
This has got to be the longest post in all of history so I'll just wrap it up by saying that our students were incredibly generous with their time and energy and I'd like to thank every one of them for taking the class. Thank you as well to the attendees of our trunk show. It was a wonderful weekend!
