SPIRIT BEINGS WITH MORGAN BRIG

Bainbridge Island, WA

If you believe that horses are spiritual animals then you will love the Wacky Nut Farm, our beautiful location for this workshop with Morgan Brig. It has stunning accommodations for both horses and humans with a bountiful community garden where we will share lunches (weather permitting).

The spacious art studio is where Morgan Brig will weave her magic. If you follow Morgan on Instagram, you already know of her recent totem creations. Typical of Morgan’s sculptures, they each weave a unique story with words, pictures, shells, bones or whatever the creature calls out for.

You will create your own totems that can stand alone or be affixed to a larger sculpture. Be prepared to be immersed in your own story.

Itinerary

Day 1

9:00-12:30

We will meet in the studio for introductions and a class overview by Morgan with samples.

This will be followed by a demo on how to use Apoxie Sculpt. You will be set free to start creating your three totems and one larger piece.

Lunch 12:30-1:30 (Weather permitting, we will eat in the community garden).

Class resume at 1:30. At the end of the day, Morgan will demonstration how to paint, fit and cut copper wrap and other variations on wrapping.

Class will be over at 4:30. Dinner is on your own. We will have suggestions for local eateries.

Day 2

Class starts at 9:30. Morgan will demonstrate how to use the torches. Instruction will include safety, annealing, brazing wings, antlers, ears, and arms.

Lunch 12:30-1:30

When we return from lunch, Morgan will demonstrate charms, jump rings, wire hangers, chain, brazed charm hangers and brazing wrap tacks and u-hooks and other parts, with a grinder safety demonstration.

I know, it sounds overwhelming, but you will get it and there will be lots of help from Morgan and students who already know how to do these techniques.

We will end the day at 4:30. Dinner is again on your own.

Day 3

We will meet at 9:30 for our last day together. Everyone will be working on their projects until lunch at 12:30.

1:30-3:00 Class continues working

3:00-4:00 We will clean up and then share our work with each other. Picture time!

Here’s a look at the beautiful Wacky Nut Farm. One of our favorite places to create.

 Wacky Nut is a 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle. Alternatively, you can drive up the peninsula. Situated on 20 acres, it is a beautiful horse farm.

Please note: You must be vaccinated in order to attend this workshop and you will need to take a rapid test at least two days prior to the workshop. (These are available through your local pharmacist). Your card and negative test will need to be shown to Bellissima Art Escapes in order to join the workshop. Thank you for your cooperation and for considering your fellow artists.

THIS ESCAPE INCLUDES

• Three days of instruction by Morgan Brig

• Copper Packages

• Wood Block Bases

• Facebook Private Page

• New Art Tribe

• Three lunches

The price for this workshop is $590 and does not include lodging or transportation. 

$590 is due at registration

The workshop is limited to 10 —This workshop is full.

ACCOMMODATIONS: There are limited spaces available in the guest house. There are two queen size rooms that share a bathroom, and bunk beds that can be shared by two friends or four VERY good friends who share a separate bathroom. The cost of the luxurious bunk beds is $50/night/person. The queen beds, $100/night/person. Here is a video. These will be allotted on a first come basis and will be in addition to the workshop fee. (update - two single rooms are taken, and two bunk beds.

Other options are VRBO. There are several on the Island.

WE WILL PROVIDE

• Dowels

• Brazing Rods

• Torches

• Firing Stations

• Copper Tacks

• Copper packet

• Drills and Drill bits

• Grinder

• Copper wire

STUDENT SUPPLY LIST

• 8 ounces matte medium

• 2 part 5 minute epoxy glue

• Apoxie Sculpt, 4LBS, white

• 75 ft roll of aluminum foil   

• Exacto knife

• Pliers Kit: needle nose pliers, rounded needle nose pliers, wire cutters

• Black and raw umber acrylic paint

• Small and medium paint brushes

• 2 rags

• 2 sheets paper for pattern making

• Scissors

• Roll of masking tape

• Sharpie Ultra Fine point marker in black or blue

• Box of wood screws, size #4 x ½” OR #4 x 3/8” (most hardware stores or on Amazon

• Small screw driver to fit box of above screws

• Elmer’s glue OR Elmer’s Wood Glue

• Twine (basic cheap twine made with natural jute fiber. Most hardware stores)

• Colorful/interesting (to you) string, yarn, gut string, in small quantities for decoration

• Beads, also for decoration

• Interesting paper, ephemera, fabrics to wrap totems’ bodies.

• Charms (also of a smallish scale); i.e. clock parts, very small glass vials, fur, leather bits, old jewelry to disassemble, typewriter keys, bones, Milagros, etc. …whatever is interesting to you! All is fair game.

Morgan Brig is a mixed media artist from Vashon Island, WA. She loves to capture emotion in her sculptures using multiple layers of media that bring the subtlety of expression to each character. Her layers include etched metal detail, enamel patinas and found objects that suggest the old and familiar, but ask to be viewed in a new light. She often uses language and occult symbols in her designs to support her belief that there is always guidance to be found from external and internal sources as we go through life. There also is playfulness in her design inspired by her love of old metal and tin toys and her desire to lay humor next to truth or fear in her work.

Kathie Vezzani, who is hosting the workshop, also is an artist who paints, rusts and waxes. She organizes trips for other artists and in a former life was a caterer. She has over two decades of experience organizing trips for foodies and artists.

TRACING THE LANDSCAPE - CONSTRUCTIONS OF TIME AND PLACE WITH GILLIAN LEE SMITH

Due to Covid, this trip has been cancelled

Shetland Island, Scotland

May 29 - June 6, 2021

When our friend, Sheley Unger returned from Shetland Islands, we were inspired by her pictures and enthusiasm for the Islands. Visiting these islands are on Artist Gillian Lee Smith’s bucket list so what else could we do but plan a trip there next May?

Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies northeast of the mainland of Scotland. The islands lie some 80 km to the northeast of Orkney, 168 km from the Scottish mainland and 280 km southeast of the Faroe Islands.

Shetland, like neighboring Orkney, was once a Viking stronghold and the imprint they left on the islands still exists to this day. The names of places, geographical features, birds and parts of boats have Scandinavian roots, as do many personal names. The Shetland dialect is infused with words that have their origins in Old Norse, a language with strong similarities to Faroese and Icelandic,

To get there, we will take a 12-hour ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick, the capital of Shetland. From there we will travel 10 minutes to Scalloway, a village once the ancient capital of Shetland. Today the village is a modern progressive community centered around the sheltered commercial harbor.

When we approach Scalloway, we will be at “The Scord” giving us a breathtaking view of the harbour, Scalloway Castle once ruled by the Stewart Clan, bridge and the scattering of smaller isles in the distance.

History runs deep and long in this area, with the ridge that runs through the centre of the valley in which Scalloway is situated was found to be the location of human occupation of the area reaching right back into the Bronze age. That’s more than 600 years ago!

Our sketches this week will respond to ancient history, the landscape and mythology. We will create a large sketchbook to take with us into the field and with this information, we will design an imaginative, beautiful, refined art book.

The Workshop

It is this unique landscape of Shetland that will inspire us in the exploration of sculptural artist books.

Using mixed media and paper and card to create forms that lie flat in closed book form but can be shaped to reflect the landscape in ways that reflect the shapes of the landscape and our inspiration.

We will be working from a starting point of a basic book project but experimenting with different ways of taking this so much further into 3-dimensional form.

Creating inspiration in the form of sketches we will be exploring the landscape in mixed media – gestural studies that are a response to the time and place, environment and atmosphere in inks and watercolour.

Using these studies, we will be creating experiments to begin to explore ways of interpreting the landscape in book and page form. Techniques will include monoprint, collage, ink explorations, experimenting with paper textures, text and form. The artist book is a fascinating way of creating objects that fold flat (brilliant for an away from home workshop) but that can be made three dimensional for display.

Gillian will have examples of the possibilities, and will share the process, and students will be encouraged to take this development further and make their own discoveries along the way.

We will finish the week with a sketchbook and pages of studies and sketches and practice book samples as well as completed several unique artist books.

Itinerary

Day 1. May 29 We will meet in Aberdeen for the 5:00 p.m. ferry to Lerwick. We will settle in for the 12 hour ferry ride.

Day 2, May 30 Once we arrive in Lerwick at 7:30 a.m., we will pick up our transportation and travel the three miles to Scalloway to our hotel.

There will be time to unpack, take a shower and rest before we meet for lunch at the hotel. We will go out sketching after picking up the key to the Scalloway Castle. Gillian will demonstrate some expressive sketches to inspire us in gathering imagery for our classroom days. Dinner this evening will be at the hotel at 7:30 p.m.

Day 3. May 31 Breakfast at the hotel, then we will leave for our studio at the nearby NAFC Marine Center in Port Author. Lunch will be at De Haaf.

Gillian will be sharing samples of the possibilities for taking sketches into the creation of unique artist books. We will spend the day exploring many ways of creating simple book forms – practice pieces to utilize techniques that we can use for inspiration for our finished pieces. You will finish the day with a selection of sample pieces to work from with our gathered landscape inspiration.

Class is over at 4:30. You will have free time until dinner this evening at 7:30 p.m. at the hotel.

Day 4. June 1 Today is a travel day. Our guide will meet us at the hotel after we have had breakfast. Then off we go traveling to Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse settlement with sketchbooks, paper and inks/watercolours in hand. Gillian will demonstrate ways of responding to the landscape through image and writing.

Here there are vestiges of more than 4,000 years of human settlement on a single site, including the Iron Age broch and wheelhouses. Here, too, there is physical proof of the Norse communities having lived in the Northern Isles in early medieval times.

We will stop by to visit other local sites along the way. Pics below provided by Sheley Unger.

We may stop in Lerwick for dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Day 5. June 2 Breakfast at the hotel then off to our classroom. We will continue to explore the landscape on paper using techniques to inspire possible book forms. We will be creating pages and papers for our finished books as well.

We will again have lunch at De Haaf, then work until 4:30. We will return to the hotel to wander along the harbor or rest until dinner this evening at the hotel at 7:30 p.m.

Day 6. June 3 Breakfast at the hotel then we will drive to Lerwick to visit Shetland Textile Museum and perhaps the Jamieson’s Spinning and Weaving Factory in Sandness, or just let you wander. There will be a stop at Mirrie Dancer’s chocolate shop. There may be an option for kayaking or taking a boat cruise for birding instead of visiting museums. We will go with the flow. Depending on everyone’s energy level, we will either return to the classroom or call it a day.

This Escape Includes

• Six days of instruction with Gillian

• Train ride from Newcastle to Aberdeen (if on previous workshop)

• Ferry to/from Aberdeen

• 8 nights accommodation (two on the ferry) 6 nights at Scalloway Hotel

• Sketching in surrounding area

• Visit to local sites including the Scalloway Castle and museums in Lerwick

• Farewell dinner

• All meals

• Some art supplies

• New art tribe

The price for this workshop is $3,500

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due at registration. The final deposit is due November 15, 2019.   

Price does not include airfare to/from Aberdeen. Price is based on shared accommodations. Single rooms are available for an additional price of $300. 

Airport: Aberdeen International Airport is an international airport, located at Dyce, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately 5 nautical miles northwest of Aberdeen city centre. The code: ABZ

Accommodations: The Scalloway Hotel

This itinerary may change due to weather, new opportunities or the whim of the group.

Student Supply List

(specific suggestions will be available via the FB group)

• Embossing tools

• Craft knife (with snap off blades) and a small X-acto knife with extra blades

• Small spray bottle

• Tapestry needles

• Awl and bone folder

• Brayer

• Small cutting mat

• Choice of handmade paper (we will be working in a limited palette of earth colours such as green, umber and ochre/gold and paynes grey/black so your papers can co-ordinate with these colours)

• Stabilo pencils and Art Graf tailors charcoal

• A brush for applying glue

• Small selection of watercolours – green, umber, gold, black, red oxide, paynes grey for example

• Small mixing palette for watercolours

• Watercolour brushes

• White uniball Signo pens

• Nib pens for ink

We Will Provide

• Paper and Board

• Newsprint and carbon paper

• Glue

• Printing acetate and printing ink

• Wire and thread

• India and Quink ink

Day 7. June 4 Breakfast and then a full day in the studio. For our final workshop days we will be completing our book forms. Lunch at De Haaf. Dinner at the hotel at 7:30 p.m.

You will finish the workshop with a sketchbook full of inspiration and various unique artist book forms that represent each individual response to the landscape and the beauty of Shetland

Day 8. June 5 Breakfast then check out. We will load our luggage into the van and head over to the classroom. We will be here for a half day, then finish up, share our work and head off to Lerwick for a late lunch and time to wander until our ferry leaves at 5:30 p.m.

Day 9. June 6. The ferry arrives in Aberdeen at 7 a.m. The trip is over and you can leave for the airport or train station.

Gillian Lee Smith is a Scottish artist living in the beautiful, historic North-East coast of England that daily influences her work. As a teacher, Gillian is inspired to bring her love of people and place to each workshop using a wealth of techniques to make new discoveries along with her students. She has several very successful online courses and a mentoring program. This will be her seventh Bellissima Art Escape.

Due to Covid, this trip has been cancelled.

Puebla City, Puebla, Mexico

April 10-18, 2021

Puebla is the capitol of the State of Puebla, Mexico. It’ s a tile laden city with an historic story. It is believed that the nuns of Santa Rosa Convent created mole poblano for the King of Spain. He was so thankful for this very special mole, that he sent tiles from Spain as a gift of appreciation and those tiles still line the ex-convent’s kitchen walls. For over 200 hundred years, Talavera Uriarte hand painted tiles and pottery has been created with only five colors, blue, black, yellow, green and a reddish pink. Today, Talavera de la Reyna is the more modern painted pieces that are sold world wide.

Puebla is also known for Calle de Los Dulces, or the Sweets Street lined with shops selling a wide variety of sugary treats. Lucky for us, Ana Elena Martinez, a pastry chef and owner of Margú, a bakery with four locations in Puebla, will be our guide. This is her home so she knows where to take us.

Workshop

This workshop is a collaboration of two artists, Debra Fritts and Frank Shelton, sharing their love of combining materials for art making.

Humans and animals have always inhabited the earth. We will explore the possibilities of this human/animal relationship in clay and mixed media.

A clay head will be constructed with an emphasis on facial features and the spiritual connection with an animal.

A second piece will be constructed combining the human figure and animal with mixed-media including paper, fabric, paints and plaster.

The participant can chose to either combine these two pieces or keep them separate.

ITINERARY

Day 1, April 10. Meet at 6:30 for introductions, and our first meal together.

Day 2, April 11. Today we are on the road to gather information that will inform our artwork this week. We will travel to the Talavera Factory and store.

Then we will visit the Choloula market with our friend Monica Mastretta who will also teach a cooking class in her beautiful home. If we have time and the energy, we will also visit the Zona Arqueológica de Cholula, an ancient Mesoamerican site known for its huge pyramid & tunnels.

Day 3, April 12. After breakfast, it is a full day in the classroom with Deb where we will begin building our heads. We will break for lunch and we will have dinner together this evening.

Day 4, April 13. After breakfast, it’s back in the classroom finishing up our heads, again breaking for lunch and dinner together this evening.

Day 5, April 14. After breakfast, it’s our first day with Frank. We will build our armatures and start covering them with shotcrete. We will break for lunch and hopefully our clay pieces will be going into the kiln tonight or tomorrow morning. We will have dinner together this evening.

Day 6, April 15. We will meet in the classroom after breakfast, and paint our pieces that we made with Frank. Then off we go to visit the Amparo Museum, candy lane (Puebla is known for its sweets) and we will visit our amiga, Ane Elena’s bakery where she will also teach a cooking class - hopefully of some of her delicious desserts!

Day 7, Arpil 16. Breakfast, then back in the classroom with Frank finishing up our pieces. Then we will break for lunch and continue with class. Dinner will be together this evening.

Price for this workshop is $3,700 and includes lodging (based on double occupancy, there are a limited number of single rooms available for $500) and all meals. A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due now with the remaining due Nov. 15. The workshop is limited to 12.

Please do not make your plane reservations until notified.

AIRPORT: Puebla International Airport otherwise known as Hermanos Serdán International Airport. Km 91.5 Carr Fed Mexico/Pueblo Municipio, de Huejotzingo,

Airport Code: PBC. United has direct flights from Houston to Puebla. Taxis are available 24/7. Uber is around $600 pesos.

Student Supply List

• plaster gauze strips

• mod-podge

• permanent inks and/or acrylics

• brushes

• scissors

• optional- scrap fabric, jute, threads,etc.

• clay tools - needle tool, loop tool, wire cutter, metal rib

• soft brush - Debra prefers watercolor brushes, a variety of sizes, including one fine detail brush

• palette paper

• sketchbook or journal

• banding wheel or turntable if you have one

Supplies that will be Provided

• clay

• engobes and underglazes

• some paint

• water buckets, rags

• tape

• newspapers

• quikcrete

Day 8, April 17. After breakfast, we will have class where we will finish up our projects. We will break for lunch, then clean up and have our show and tell. You will have some free time this afternoon before we leave for our last meal together at Ajurio.

Day 9, April 18. Workshop is over and you are free to travel home or to other destinations.

Student work in Gig Harbor workshop pictured below.

Pictures by Joe Molinaro taken at the former Santa Rosa Convent.

This itinerary may change due to weather, new opportunities of the whim of the group.

Debra Fritts is a studio artist working in Abiquiu, New Mexico. She received her undergraduate degree in Art Education from the University of Tennessee and continued graduate studies in ceramic sculpture, painting, and printmaking.  Debra currently conducts figurative sculpture workshops at her studio, and master classes nationally and internationally.

Debra enjoys national recognition for her work in ceramic sculpture through invitational exhibitions and awards, museum exhibitions and collections, gallery representation, private collections and publications.  Her one of a kind sculptures are hand-built and multiple fired with a painterly glazed surface. The work is a continuous story of awareness and the celebration of daily living.

Frank Shelton is a mixed media artist. He describes his process of working by paraphrasing a quote from the late Israeli artist, Moshe Kupferman. "...I first put in emotion and expression. Next, I cover it up. Then, I put in silence..." While the process and product are important to me, I feel both are dead without passion. It is the passion that sustains me as an artist and human being