Weekly Art Sessions

Our fall weekly art sessions are now drawing to a close and we have had a lot of very interesting and beautiful artwork produced. The following are just a few of these creations....I will post more in the next month or so.

Monique Masseau is new to pen and ink, and this was her first project. The pattern was designed by Mary Owens and is called S'Nobody's Home. Monique is now working on a Christmas piece designed by Jamie Mills-Price - I will post it when it is finished.

Sue Deighton (who is always wowing us with her creativity), brought some skates in, and proceeded to ink this design on. The pattern is Cardinal, and it was designed by Laure Paillex. Since completing this piece, Sue has done designs on a number of skates, including a black pair. All the pieces turned out beautiful.

This project (Cardinal on a Fence) was completed by Ruth Hisko, and it was designed by Mary Owens. Ruth just started working with the pen & ink technique last year, and she has since completed a couple of Mary Owens projects. She is currently working on a project she has taken from a photograph- it is all inked and she is about to start the rouging - it looks great so far!!

The man (Hoeing the Strawberries) and woman (Grandma Celesta) are projects designed by Claudia Nice. The patterns are in two of her older books (Barnyards & Billygoats and Scenes from Seasons Past). Linda Dufour took the patterns, added a little detail, inked the design, then rouged on oil paint. The two pieces side by side look wonderful.

Ginette Beaulieu completed these little ornaments (Chilly, Icy, and Flake - all were designed by Jamie Mills-Price and can be found in her new book Christmastime between the Vines #6). There are actual wooden cutouts for the designs, but, at the time Ginette did her pieces, the cutouts were not available in Canada. So, Ginette put the designs on wooden decorations - they look great. (I understand the wooden cutouts are now available in Canada).

That's it for now - there are several new projects in the works, along with some that are finished, but I just haven't posted them yet. So, stay tuned for more interesting pieces in the future.

Colored Pencils

The first weekend in October I attended a 3 day colored pencil seminar in Ajax...the course was taught by Janelle Johnson (http://www.janellejohnson.com/). It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, but I learned a lot, and, since returning home, I have been working on several projects. The first day of the course we completed the Baltimore Oriole in the Cottonwood, and on the second and third day we worked on Copper Still Life (I did not get this picture done, so I will post it when it is complete). I love colored pencils! It is so nice to work with just the pencils, a sharpener and scotch tape in front of you - no paint, no cleanup material, nothing to spill.....it is great. At this point, I realize I still have a lot to learn, so since returning home, I have been working on 'beginner' pieces. I have attached a pic of the two pieces I completed - Albert's Rose and Calla Lillies (both of these are patterns by Janelle Johnson). I do have some harder pieces to work on, and I plan to tackle them very soon.

Janelle was a wonderful instructor, and I certainly learned a lot from her. I feel with a little time and experience I will be able to convert some of my patterns into colored pencils, and I am really looking forward to the challenge.

Some of the girls in my Monday and Thursday art sessions have expressed an interest in working in this art form, so I expect to have some company while I am learning.

Well, I'm off to work with my colored pencils....I will post new projects and information soon....

Pen and Ink with Oils

Over the past couple of months I have been so busy working with colored pencils, that I do not have a lot to report on pen & ink with oils. I did complete the attached two pieces....both projects were designed by Renee Mullens, and can be found in her book 'Christmas Spice'. Renee's instructions for the projects are for acrylic paint, so, I converted this to pen & ink with oils. The snowman outside the window pane is on 4 1/2" x 4 1/2 " wood (the pane and window are separate pieces), and the larger snowman is on a porcelain plate that is approximately 7" wide.


On the top project I was able to add color to some of the very small areas with colored pencils. I had sealed the wood with J. W. Undercoating, and I found the surface rough enough that the colored pencils worked. The larger piece (on porcelain) was all done with oils, as the surface was much too smooth for the pencils to work.




Mary Owens News: Mary (http://www.maryowensdesigns.com/) has added a new feature to her webside called Monthly Tips. You might want to check this out - I'm sure the tips will be very interesting and helpful. Mary has not released any new patterns in quite some time, but, as soon as she does, I will report it in my blog.

If you are interested in purchasing any Mary Owens supplies I do have most items in stock, along with a lot of her patterns...just call or email me if you are looking for supplies.

Weekly Art Sessions - October

This fall, rather than hold our regular Monday night and Thursday morning classes, I switched to 'creative art sessions'. We currently have 8 artists on Monday and 4 on Thursday, and we are all working on various types of art on a variety of surfaces, including, canvas, porcelain, wood and hand dyed paper. In this section of my blog I will show some of the completed artwork from our Monday and Thursday sessions.

The Owl on a branch was designed by Susan Scheewe and completed by Linda Dufour. Linda chose an 8x10 oval porcelain for this project, inked the design first, then rouged on oil paint. Some of the girls have taken this design and put it on a small oval porcelain ornament for the Christmas tree.







Bev Laabs completed a design by Claudia Nice - House Sparrows and Birdhouse. This project was done on a large, round, wooden piece, and Bev added some border flowers to it. The piece was first inked then oil paint was added.






The Western Meadowlark and Wildflowers is a Claudia Nice design and was completed by Sue Deighton. This piece was done on a 11x14 canvas - it was inked then finished by rouging small amounts of oil paint.









Ginette Beaulieu completed a two piece set - Barn Swallow and Oil Lamp and Sparrows and Basin - both are designs by Claudia Nice. Both projects were done on small canvas (I believe 5 x 7). Ginette first inked the picture, then added very small amounts of oil paint to finish them off.



Stay tuned ........ I will pass on more of our artwork soon.....

CLASSES (All classes are pen & ink with oils)

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: My studio, 48 Forest Park Road, Pembroke
Project: Students choice (I will discuss this with you on registration)
Cost: $40.00 plus supplies (disposable pen and surface you are working on)
**There will be a deduction of $4.00 for students who bring their own brushes
**Additional information will be provided on registration

Date: Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time: 9:00 a.m. - noon OR 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (students can also attend both sessions )
Location: My studio, 48 Forest Park Road, Pembroke
Project: Christmas ornaments (wood or porcelain)
Cost: $18.00 for a.m. OR p.m., plus supplies (disposable pen and ornament)
**Students will complete at least one ornament per session (some might finish two)
**There will be a deduction of $2.00 for students who have their own brushes
**Additional informatin will be provided on registration

To register for above classes please call me (613) 638-9769 or email me: joan_sarginson@hotmail.com



CLASSES AT THE SENIOR DROP IN CENTER, PEMBROKE:

Date: Friday, October 16, 23 and 30, 2009
Time: 9:30 a.m. - noon
Location: Drop In Center, 42 Renfrew Street Pembroke
Project: Autumn Charm















Cost: $60.00 (includes everything except frame and matting
**Students must be a member of the drop in center to register
To register please visit the center or call (613) 735-1226


Date: Friday morning, November 20 OR 27, 2009
Time: 9:15 a.m. - noon
Location: 42 Renfrew Street, Pembroke
Project: Christmas ornaments









Cost: $20.00 (includes everything to complete one ornament)
**Students must be a member of the drop in center to register
To register visit the center or call (613) 735-1226



NOTE: I will not be scheduling any regular weekly lessons for pen & ink with oils. I have decided to hold Monday evening and Thursday morning weekly creative art sessions, which will start the week of October 5. During these sessions everyone will be working on whatever they want, and can work with techniques other than pen & ink with oils if they wish. Rather than teaching, I will be a member of the 'group' and will also be working on various projects. This is all in the planning stages, and more information will be posted shortly. My goal is to bring together a group of artists to share ideas, be creative and delve into different areas along with pen & ink with oils. Students will have access to all my books, patterns, etc. I will be contacting my regular students to see if they are interested in attending these sessions. If you wish to work strictly on pen & ink with oils (as in the past), you are welcome to join us - I will continue to assist and help in this area. If anyone is interested please give me a call or email me.

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