ArtPlantae Today

Artist Andie Thrams has updated her schedule for 2011. Classes filled to capacity have been removed and new classes have been announced for Fall. Take a look!

Andie Thrams, Coloma, CA
Andie is a painter and book artist devoted to creative work in wild places.
Her work is widely exhibited and honored, and is held in many private and public collections. She is currently at work on two series, IN FORESTS and FIELD STUDIES. View Andie’s 2011 IN FORESTS calendar on her Etsy page.

• Printers Night with Andie Thrams (Free event) – May 12, 2011; 6-8 PM. San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA.
  Go to SFCB website
• Transformation: The Journal into Artist’s Book. May 14-15, 2011. San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA.
  Go to SFCB website
• A Sense of Place: Art and Hiking Retreat – June 10-12, 2011. Awaken your senses on this weekend camping trip in Yosemite! Balanced Rock Foundation, Yosemite National Park, CA. Cost: $450. View details
• Finding Your Colors (Color Mixing Mysteries Solved!) – June 23-24, 2011. Focus on the Book Arts Conference, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR. Conference website
• Book Arts for Kids – July 2-3, 2011; 10 AM – 4 PM. Use ink, watercolor, sticks, feathers, stones, reeds, pen, brush, crayon, and other objects to create book structures. Ages: 8 & up. Cost: $107. Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Cascade Head, OR. View details
• Watercolors in the Wild– July 7-1, 2011. Learn to paint in wild places through the creation of a series of outdoor studies. Cost: $390. Ages: 12 & up. Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Cascade Head, OR.
  View details
• Field Studies: Sierra Flora & The Artist’s Book – July 20-24, 2011. Focused field study of plants and habitats in the Sierra Nevada. Supply lists, camping gear requirements are available online. Cost $370. San Francisco State University Field Camp, Sattley, CA. View course details
• International Year of the Forest Celebration! Tongass Rainforest Festival – September 7-11, 2011. Petersburg, Alaska.
  Visit Tongass National Forest
• Watercolor in the Wild – October 7-9, 2011. Yosemite Conservancy, Yosemite National Park, CA. www.yosemiteconservancy.org
• Sitka Center for Art & Ecology Invitational Exhibition. World Forestry Center, Portland, OR. Dates for this Fall to be announced. www.sitkacenter.org
• Ongoing: Private Art Instruction & Creativity Coaching –
  Individually tailored instruction is available to a limited number of students. Lessons are conducted via email and/or in Andie’s studio or your workspace. Contact Andie Thrams.

This information has been added to Classes Near You > California.

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NEW! at Classes Near You > California:

Helen Shafer Garcia, Vista
http://www.helenshafergarcia.com
A garden illustrator for San Diego Home and Garden Magazine for 7 years, Helen is an avid gardener who manages a ½-acre garden filled with succulents and perennials. Helen teaches at the San Diego Botanic Garden, at artist retreats, and at conferences. Visit Helen’s website to view the many ways you can combine plants and art using watercolor, pastels, and mixed media.

• Watercolor Basics – Mondays, March 28 – May 30, 2011; 1-4 PM. A class for first-time artists. Experience watercolor in a relaxed atmosphere. This class is more about process than creating a final project. Practice watercolor techniques, learn color theory and learn how to mix colors. Discover how to create surface textures too! Cost: $175. View details
• Pastels: In the Studio and Plein Air – Wednesdays,
  March 30 – June 1, 2011; 1-4 PM. Investigate nature-inspired subjects, explore techniques, and learn drawing skills in a relaxed atmosphere. This weekly class combines studio time with painting outdoors at locations such as the Santa Rosa Plateau and Elfin Forest Reserve.
  Cost: $175. View details
• Contemporary Book Arts: Embellished and Stitched – Thursdays, March 31 – June 2, 2011; 1-4 PM. Discover the art of bookmaking using contemporary mixed media techniques. Explore endless possibilities. A great way to re-purpose art papers, unresolved paintings, ephemera and other assorted nature-found objects. Cost: $175. View details
• Tesoro del Corazon Mixed Media Retreat – April 13 – 20, 2011. Join Helen Shafer Garcia, Jane LaFazio, Laurie Mika, and Lynn Leahy for an incredible week of inspiration and art making in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. View itinerary
• Monotypes, Pastels and Paint – Wednesday, May 18, 2011;
  9 AM – 4 PM. Using nature as their inspiration, participants will create scrumptious textures and color patterns with this unique process that combines watercolor, pastels and hand pressed Monotype printmaking. This transparent watercolor printing technique lends itself to water drop textures and watercolor crayon calligraphy along with other textures that will be explored throughout the day. The printing process is user-friendly and not complicated. This process is made for quick, bold marks and details! These finished works have endless possibilities for book arts and collage techniques. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA. Cost: $145 (plus $15 materials fee)
• Batik Watermedia Bits – Wednesday, May 18, 2011; 6-9 PM. Explore a special watermedia batik technique on small bits of Masa rice paper. Participants will use a dropped-in color acrylic ink technique to draw vivid imagery, paint with watercolor, and dive into detail with colored pencils, ink lines and collage elements to embellish their creations. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA.
  Cost: $75 (plus $8 materials fee)
• Wrapped Bird Book Cover – Thursday, May 19, 2011; 6-9 PM. Create an extraordinary bird-shaped book cover with painted Tyvek papers and collage. Students will construct a hardboard wraparound cover with a textured and painted inner folder insert for journal notes, paintings, or other treasures. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA. Cost: $75 (plus $8 materials fee)
• Batik Tree of Life – Friday, May 20, 2011; 9 AM – 4 PM. Draw and paint plants, flowers, birds and more using a special batik technique with Masa paper. Make connections between plants, animals, and all living things. This workshop will be taught at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Costa Mesa, CA. Cost: $145 (plus $12 materials fee)
• Watercolor Basics – Mondays, September 12 – November 7, 2011;
  1-4 PM. A class for first-time artists. Experience watercolor in a relaxed atmosphere. This class is more about process than the creation of a final project. Practice watercolor techniques, learn color theory and learn how to mix colors. Discover how to create surface textures too! Cost: $175. View details
• Pastels: In the Studio and Plein Air – Wednesdays, September 14 – November 9,
  2011; 1-4 PM. Investigate nature-inspired subjects, explore techniques, and learn drawing skills in a relaxed atmosphere. This weekly class combines studio time with painting outdoors at locations such as the Santa Rosa Plateau and Elfin Forest Reserve. Cost: $175. View details
• Contemporary Book Arts: Embellished and Stitched – Thursdays, September 15 to November 10, 2011; 1-4 PM. Discover the art of bookmaking using contemporary mixed media techniques. Explore endless possibilities. A great way to re-purpose art papers, unresolved paintings, ephemera and other assorted nature-found objects. Cost: $175. View details

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Now at Classes Near You > California:

Andie Thrams, Coloma, CA
Andie is a painter and book artist devoted to creative work in wild places.
Her work is widely exhibited and honored, and is held in many private and public collections. She is currently at work on two series, IN FORESTS and FIELD STUDIES. Her new website will be launched soon. View Andie’s 2011 IN FORESTS calendar on her Etsy page.

• Spring Flora: Watercolors in the Garden – April 2 & 3, 2011.
  9:30 AM – 4:00 PM. Quickly capture gesture and form using watercolor, gouache, ink, and colored pencil. Classes can be taken separately as a one-day class. Cost: $100 per day members / $105 nonmembers. Tilden Regional Park Botanic Garden, Berkeley, CA. View course details and register.
• Printers Night with Andie Thrams (Free event) – May 12, 2011. San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA. Go to SFCB website
• Transformation: The Journal into Artist’s Book. May 14-15, 2011. San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA. Go to SFCB website
• Summer Magic: Surface Design & Accordion Books. June 3-5, 2011. Santa Fe Book Arts Group, Santa Fe, NM. Go to SFBAG website
• A Sense of Place: Art and Hiking Retreat – June 10-12, 2011. Awaken your senses on this weekend camping trip in Yosemite! Balanced Rock Foundation, Yosemite National Park, CA. Cost: $450. View details
• Finding Your Colors (Color Mixing Mysteries Solved!) – June 23-24, 2011. Focus on the Book Arts Conference, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR. Conference website
• The Artist’s Journal – June 25-26, 2011. Focus on the Book Arts Conference, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR Conference website
• Book Arts for Kids – July 2-3, 2011; 10 AM – 4 PM. Use ink, watercolor, sticks, feathers, stones, reeds, pen, brush, crayon, and other objects to create book structures. Ages: 8 & up. Cost: $107. Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Cascade Head, OR View details
• Watercolors in the Wild – July 7-1-, 2011. Learn to paint in wild places through the creation of a series of outdoor studies. Cost: $390. Ages: 12 & up. Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Cascade Head, OR
  View details
• Field Studies: Sierra Flora & The Artist’s Book – July 20-24, 2011. Focused field study of plants and habitats in the Sierra Nevada. Supply lists, camping gear requirements are available online. Cost $370. San Francisco State University Field Camp, Sattley, CA. View course details and accommodations.
• Ongoing: Private Art Instruction & Creativity Coaching –
  Individually tailored instruction is available to a limited number of students. Lessons are conducted via email and/or in Andie’s studio or your workspace. Contact Andie Thrams.

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Sketchbook retreats added to Classes Near You for California, Oregon, and Utah. Scroll down to see what’s new.

Jane LaFazio, Plain Jane Studio, San Diego
www.plainjanestudio.com
Jane is a mixed media artist and a member of the San Diego Sketchcrawl group. In addition to the sketching classes below, Jane teaches workshops in collage, mixed media, and quilting. A detailed class schedule can be viewed on her blog.

• Mixed Media with Paper & Cloth
  Mondays, January 24 – March 14, 2011; 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Learn about new materials and learn how to create art from paper, cloth or a combination of both. Create layered textured artworks using collage materials, paint, drawings, and thread. Location: La Jolla Athenaeum. Register online
• Make Felt the Tibetan Way & Embellish the California Way with Jane LaFazio – February 5, 2011. Create a felt piece that can be used as a wall hanging or become part of another textile project. Learn more about felting and how to register for this class here.
• Sketching & Watercolor Journal Style: ON LOCATION
  January 20 – February 24, 2011. $75. Learn how to draw, paint, and keep a journal on location. Set aside your inhibitions and become comfortable sketching in public by working through a series of exercises requiring you to sketch away from home. Register at Joggles.com
• Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style – March 3 – April 7, 2011. $75. Begin with simple subjects and progress to vignettes while learning how to record your life in a loose, quick, and expressive way. Register at Joggles.com
• Mixed Media with Paper & Cloth – March 4 – April 8, 2011. $75. Explore mixed media using paper and cloth. Draw, create collages, and paint! Register at Joggles.com
• Art Retreat in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico – April 13 – 20, 2011. Go on a Mixed Media Art Retreat with artists Jane LaFazio, Lynn Leahy, Laurie Mika, and Helen Schafer Garcia. For more information about this retreat, click here.
• Bella Italia: Orvieto Sketchbook – May 20 – 26, 2012. Learn how to slow down, sit quietly, and really see your surroundings. Create a travel sketchbook out of 5″ x 7″ pages under the warm Italian sun! Complete details are available at Adventures in Italy.
• Art Quilt Explorations with Jane LaFazio – April 21 – May 26, 2011. $75. Participants will create six small art quilts based on their own designs. View class projects and register at Joggles.com here.
• NEW! Big Book – 2nd Annual CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, May 18, 2011. Registration opens February 2011.
• NEW! Sketching & Watercolor – 2nd Annual CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, May 21, 2011. Registration opens February 2011.
• NEW! Sketchbooks & Visual Journals – July 9-10, 2011. Jane will teach with Linda Blinn. Please contact San Clemente Art Supply to register.
• NEW! Sketching & Watercolor in Utah – July 21-24, 2011. See Creative Inspiration Mountain Retreats for details.
• NEW! Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style – Art & Soul Mixed Media Art Workshop, Portland, OR. September 28, 2011. Register

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