03.31.10 Need Feedback About Workshops

Hey folks -- I need your advice!  

I'd like to teach a small group workshop here at the studio this summer or fall, but I'm not sure when would be the best time.

I've set up a poll at the blog.  For those of you reading this on Laf'n Bear's blogspot page, the poll is in the right hand column, third item down.  

If you are reading this on Facebook or an email version of the blog, please take a second to click through to the blog to participate in the poll.

Of course your comments are welcome too, either at the blog or on Laf'n Bear's Facebook page.   Or, send me an email, it's always good to hear from you!

A bit about the workshop, "From Wire to Whinny";  this is a three-day workshop usually held on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday.  I have gotten some feedback that four days would be a better match to the copious amount of material that we cover, but I know that getting time off can be a challenge for folks, especially when you have to add in travel days.

Students will learn the basics of equine anatomy, how to best utilize references, form an armature, and then apply clay to create a sculpture.

"Wire to Whinny" is open to all levels of experience. The workshop is as much about sharing ideas, learning to analyze various references and how to then translate that information into three dimensions as it is about creating an object. These techniques can be used to create a sculpture of *any* animal.

Workshop tuition includes armature supplies, clay, and an extensive workbook.  At $345.00 it's a tremendous value! Class size will be limited to six students, so you're sure to get lots of individualized attention.

Please help me figure out if there's a good spot on the calendar this year for a workshop.  Thanks so much!  ~ Lynn

03.29.10 Update on Bay Tobiano "Enviado"

Making some slow progress on this piece!  The last time you saw this piece his basic pinto pattern and color had been laid in with underglazes.  Since then he was glazed, then I began building more color with china paints.

I've been using china paints for a little more than a year.  That I am using them at all is thanks to Karen Gerhardt who so kindly demonstrated their use and sent me home with a starter kit when Barry and I visited her Colorado studio in October of 2008.

On Karen's blog, "A Westerly View" she has shared many of her basic china painting techniques.  In her November 13, 2008 post about painting pintos she describes how she has become more bold in applying several layers of china paint at once.  I aspire to that!  Right now I'm still very timid, applying one thin layer at a time. 

Karen also described the process of wiping away china paint to reveal the glazed white areas underneath.  That's the basic process I use as well. In this photo of Enviado you can see a thin layer of china paint color on the right hand side of the white pattern; you can also see the individual brushstrokes that have removed that thin layer.

Progress is very slow at this rate!  But with each layer I'm gaining a better understanding of how the china paint colors interact with each other and how they build upon the underglaze colors that I've used as a base.  It's a bit like working with watercolors, the paints are so translucent.

They are also the devil to prepare -- it seems like I've been spending more time prepping paint than actually painting!  Karen has a lovely overview of paint prep in her  January 16, 2008 post.

I think I'm getting close to where I want this fellow's color saturation and shading to be. Just a few more layers and this pinto will be looking for a new home in early April!

~ Lynn