About Face!

"You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art 

to see your soul." 

— George Bernard Shaw 

There have been so many works of art in my studio over

 the last few months that I haven't taken the time to write 

about it. It has already been a full summer and it is only

 halfway done! 

So... here is a long pictorial of happenings.

For Lakeview Summerfest in June, A Work of Art Studio hosted Face Painting & Sidewalk Chalking. Both were taken to the extreme, with at least a hundred getting faces painted!

And a few beautiful grandmas cooling off before the parade.

 Didn't I say there was a line up? Both sides of the table for two hours!

There were so many kids I am running out of room for more events! I will add another post soon about all the art classes going on at A Work of Art Studio!

Some awesome sidewalk creativity. Give some people a little chalk and watch out.  A few of the visiting Summerfest vendors in front of the shop.




















In other news........

Several braided wool rugs and rug baskets were finished on our Tuesday night rug classes.

 

More to come about the terrific classes happening at the studio: quilting, mixed media wood fish, mosaic, and cement leaves to name a few. So, tune in for more pix and fun.

Gradual Enlightenment

"As we pass one step, and as we recognize it as being behind us, the next one already rises up before us. By the time we learn everything, we slowly come to understand it. And while you come to understand everything gradually, you don't remain idle at any moment: you are already attending to your new business; you live, you act, you move, you fulfill the new requirements of every new step of development. If, on the other hand, there were no schedule, no gradual enlightenment, if all the knowledge descended on you at once right there in one spot, then it's possible neither your brains nor your heart could bear it." 
— Imre Kertész 

As in life, this is also true in art and craft. Every little thing we attend to or learn today can be added with our extended knowledge to whatever project we are working on. Practicing, practicing, practicing makes you crazy when you're a kid and don't understand what the outcome will be from all that repetition. Here are a few examples of the enlightenment happening at A Work of Art Studio & Salon.

 Quilting experts who come for a quilting bee every first Wednesday of the month.

 Beginning mosaic class. Obviously, this client is a "natural".

 More advanced mosaic and sculpture techniques. Bodice and wings in preparation for mosaic glass.

 Underside & top of mosaic sculpture flower and the happy client who purchased it.

 Salon Price Board.

 Crocheted wire and beaded bracelet class.

 Crocheting and felting class.

 Finished crocheted bracelets!

 Advanced student bringing her at home mosaic projects in to share!

 Busy, busy night classes! Rugs, crocheting, mosaicing...

 Braided wool basket making.

Check out the art class schedule on my newly crafted website

www.aworkofartstudio.com and click on "Studio Schedule" page.

Advancing in the Direction of My Dreams

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one 

advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and 

endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet 

with a success unexpected in common hours." 

— Henry David Thoreau 

Check out my new video of the Shop!

http://youtu.be/jBJfXvIrKZc

A compilation of happenings at the salon/studio in the last five or so years. Thanks for watching and for participating in my dreams. Molly

Learning From Experience

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the 

utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and 

richer experience." 

— Eleanor Roosevelt

Today I had the privilege of re-visiting one of my first "professional" mosaic back splashes. My friend, Kelly and I designed, made and installed this about 8 years ago. It was a great experience, one that provided confidence and basic know-how for the next job. My friend who commissioned the mosaic has sold the house and when I photographed this today I thought I would be sad to possibly never see it again. In the making of it I did so much pondering and praying over its soon to be owners that once we installed it I was glad to move on and leave it in its permanent spot. My part alone was almost 200 hours. It is kind of like preparing for and having a baby, except that once it is "born" it is a static immovable work of art that won't grow or change. You notice all the possibilities of how it could have been improved or altered only after it is finally installed, and then like a child leaving the nest, you must set it free hoping you did everything in your power at the time to create a pleasing product.

Re-visiting it helped me to realize how much I have improved as an artist, and after inspecting it by taking some final pictures I am ready to let it go; for I have lived it, experienced it to the utmost, and now am ready to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience. This may all sound a bit melodramatic, unless you have experienced all that goes into an initial idea, lengthy design process, and production of a large project. It is love of a sort that I will definitely be spending time with again. 

Here is Mike & Suzanne's kitchen backsplash mosaic. The initial design was worked around three adored frog tiles that Suzanne brought back from a vacation. I made a template of the walls, laid the tiles in place and started drawing the tropical and beloved flowers and frogs around them. One of my favorite parts of the mosaic is the koi pond with Suzanne's Grandmother's plates (the orange and white dots). It was a labor of love, love of the craft, the subject matter, and the people to whom the house belongs.

Year Long 2013 A Work of Art Class Schedule!

"Art makes the spirit soar. And when the spirit is lifted, life 

follows." 

— Adriana Trigiani 

a Work of Art Studio 2013 Class Schedule 

Here is the year long schedule of art classes for our studio. Check it out and start planning your classes today. This is just a preliminary list, individual class descriptions and possible changes may follow. If you are interested in any of these classes, please email the studio at aworkofartstudio@me.com and get on the class list, pre-payment is necessary to verify your spot, so either stop by the shop and pay or mail your payment to:

A Work of Art Studio & Salon

PO Box 374

Lakeview, MI 48850

As each month rolls around a description and price will be available on this blog or on my FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/AWorkofArtStudio

March 

Tuesday, March 12

• 3PM Oil Painting 
• 6PM Braided Rug Making and / or Prodded Rug Making
• 7PM Oil Painting

Thursday, March 15

• 6PM Mosaic Class

Tuesday, March 19

• 3PM Oil Painting 
• 6PM Braided Rug Making and / or Prodded Rug Making
• 7PM Oil Painting

Thursday, March 21

• 6PM Mosaic Class

Saturday, March 23

• 10AM Hand Built Pottery Class – Glaze Pottery

Tuesday, March 26

• 3PM Oil Painting 
• 6PM Braided Rug Making and / or Prodded Rug Making
• 7PM Oil Painting

Thursday, March 28

• 6-9 OPEN STUDIO

April  

Tuesday, April 2

• 6PM  Beginning Crocheting and Felting Project – Journal/Notebook Cover

Wednesday, April 3

• 11AM  Quilting Bee:  All Are Welcome

Thursday, April 4

• 6PM Mosaic

Thursday, April 9

• 6PM Beginning Crocheting and Felting Project – Journal/Notebook Cover

Thursday, April 11

• 6PM Soap Making

Tuesday, April 23

• 6PM Beginning Crocheting and Felting Project – Journal/Notebook Cover

Thursday, April 25

• 6-9 OPEN STUDIO

Tuesday, April 30

• 6PM Beginning Crocheting and Felting Project – Journal/Notebook Cover

May  

Wednesday, May 1

• 11AM Quilting Bee:  All Are Welcome

Thursday, May 2

• 6PM Stained Glass 

Tuesday, May 7

• 6-7 Planning for Summerfest
• 6-9  Stained Glass

Thursday, May 9

• 6-9 Work on Summerfest project

Saturday, May 11

• 1-4 Mixed Media – “Wild” crafting and photography (Outdoor Project)

Tuesday, May 14

• No CLASS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED 

Thursday, May 16

• 6-9 Cement Leaf Making

Saturday, May 18

• Alternate Date for Outdoor Project

Tuesday, May 21

• 6-9 Beginning Quilting

Thursday, May 23

• 6-9 Cement Leaf Making

Tuesday, May 28

• 6-9 Beginning Quilting

Thursday, May 30 

• MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY

June 

Wednesday, June 5

• 11AM Quilting Bee: All Are WElcome

Saturday, June 15

9 AM Setup for Summerfest

**July and August are intentionally missing.  We are currently planning a limited schedule of summer classes.  We will post the summer classes after the schedule is finalized**

September

Tuesday, September 3

• 6-9  Beginning Textiles in Weaving

Wednesday, September 4

• 11AM Quilting Bee: All Are Welcome

Thursday, September 5

• 6-9PM Mixed Media

Tuesday, September 10

• 6-9  Beginning Textiles in Weaving

Thursday, September 12

• 6-9 Mixed Media

Tuesday, September 17

• 6-9  Beginning Textiles in Weaving

Thursday, September 19

• 6-9 Mixed Media

12 Weeks Of Christmas Starts

Tuesday, September 24

• 6-9 Basket Weaving

Thursday, September 26

• 6-9 Basket Weaving

October

Tuesday, October 1

• 6-9 Calligraphy

Wednesday, October 2

• 11AM Quilting Bee: All Are Welcome

Thursday, October 3

• 6-9 Primitive Rug Hooking 

Tuesday, October 8

• 6-9 Soap Making

Thursday, October 10

• 6-9 Primitive Rug Hooking 

Tuesday, October 15

• 6-9 No CLASS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED 

Thursday, October 17

• 6-9 Primitive Rug Hooking 

Tuesday, October 22

• 6-9 Stamping - Hand Made Gift Tags

Thursday, October 24

• 6-9 Stamping – Hand Made Christmas Cards

Tuesday, October 29

• 6-9 Stamping – Hand Made Christmas Cards

Thursday, October 31

• 6-9 OPEN STUDIO

November

Tuesday, November 5

• 6-9 Jewelry Christmas Tree

Wednesday, November 6

• 11AM Quilting Bee:  All Are Welcome

Thursday, November 7

• 6-9 Jewelry Making

Tuesday, November 12

• 6-9 Making DIY Lip Balm and Deodorant

Thursday, November 14

• 6-9 Bow Making

Tuesday, November 19

• 6-9 Evergreen Wreath Making

Thursday, November 21

• 6-9 OPEN STUDIO

Tuesday, November 26

• 6-9 Making Evergreen Boughs / Centerpiece

Thursday, November 28

• THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

December

Tuesday, December 3

• Ornament Making

Wednesday, December 2

• 11AM Quilting Bee: All Are Welcome

Thursday, December 5 

• No CLASS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED 

Tuesday, December 10

• Potluck and Cookie Exchange

Thursday, December 12

• OPEN STUDIO

Tuesday, December 17

• OPEN STUDIO

Thursday, December 19

• OPEN STUDIO