A Little More from Vegas

I'm back with a little more for you to ooooo and ahhhh over. Hehehehe. My next class was with Stephanie Lee. But first, I have to say that all my teachers were very, very good teachers. As an art teacher myself, I am very observant of this quality. And all three were very knowledgeable and willing to share their craft. It takes a special type of artist to want to share their skills, does that make sense? By sharing their techniques, they open a world up for those of us pursing art to new possibilities in our own work. And I am very thankful that these ladies did just that for me. Because my head is now spinning with ideas!! This class was called Plaster Architecture. We used floral foam, wire and plaster gauze to create various forms. I was originally going to create an airstream camper. But in her demo she used wire. And from their I took off running. I'll have to photo this once it's all done. Because of drying time, I was not able to put my piece together nor paint it. It will have a rather robust birdie hanging from the center. I enjoyed her technique and more than anything, can't wait to try it with my afterschool art classes. They are going to love playing with these materials! BTW, I think I really irritated the airline steward with this baby. You should have seen the painful look on my face when they said it had to go overhead and not stay in my lap! Thankfully it made it safe and sound.

Of course we had to try out the machines. I spent $2.00. And even though it was a .1 machine, I only got one roll. What's up with that?

The last day was a class with the adorable Julie Thompson. It was entitled, "Life is but a Dream". Now I'll admit, I took this class because of her picture on the website. It was just too, too cute! But once in the class, I quickly realized that technique wise it was my favorite of the week. You will be seeing many more creations from paper clay from me! This is Vivian. And she is a crank music box which plays What a Wonderful World.

Julie kept describing her style as "Steam punk". I have no idea what that means, but I know her work was beyond adorable. And her knowledge and skills were A+. She's coming to Atlanta this summer and I told her count me on the roll for sure!

Of course you can't leave Vegas without a little show. Here we were able to see the famous Bellagio water show. It was quite magical. And later that night we saw the Jubilee show at Bally's. I personally found it incredible (ok, not the boobies don't get any funny ideas) but the scenery changes and costumes....holy cow. Amazing. They advertise it as "35 pounds on their head and a costume that can fit in a tea cup." This was very, very true for much of the show. I can't balance a book on my head, so hats off to those women! Well, the trip was beyond worth the dollar amount I have added up. And it does add up. If you are ever considering an Art and Soul Retreat you can be guaranteed that the instructors are very well prepared and skilled. Mine and Valerie's classes both filled our minds and hearts with creative ideas beyond what we can probably carry through. I am thinking of instructing in Portland in October of 2011. So......start saving your pennies(realistically $1's) and join me!