Artascope in the Garden-Paper Flowers and Mosaics

Paper Flower Bouquets-
Spring has sprung at Artascope! Anyone walking down Cottage Rd will enjoy peeking around our blooming gardens that frame our front entrance. So much inspiration and color!

Here are a few shots of our paper flower demonstration that we held on our Second Saturday Art Stroll in May. What a fun way to make your own permanent flower collection for your home. Did you see our photo in the Forecaster a few weeks back? They came by to photograph the event. A conversation to create a paper flower bouquet class maybe in the works, since we received such a positive response at our demo.

Mosaic Table and Mirrors-
It's definitely time to get outside and celebrate all this beauty and we are so excited about all of our great classes that support your desire for the great outdoors and your personal gardens. We recently hosted the popular Mosaic Table and Mirror class at Artascope Studios. It was a very inspired group of talented artists and their final products are spectacular!

Students designed everything from a fabulous Chinese dragon to abstract eye catching designs. I find that with every class there is more and more levels of creativity pouring out of students and into these great pieces of art. There are more mosaic classes coming up over the summer along with other great garden themed Art Night Out and ArtEscape Weekends. Laurie will be teaching the Mosaic Stepping Stone Class Next Monday, June 2nd and again on Thurday, July31rst. Mosaic Table and Mirror will be happening again on June 16th & 23rd. So make sure to check out our newest schedules for full details! http://www.artnightout.com/

Woven Neck Tie Chair Workshop with Diane and the Callithump!

If you have ever stopped by Artascope and checked out our fabulous gallery full of artistic treasures made by our very own teachers and stewards, then you would surely remember Diane's fabulous series of Woven Neck Tie Chairs. Diane was savvy to find a class on saving your old wicker/caned chairs by replacing the thrush with old neck ties. Diane has mastered the art of weaving patterns and colors into exquisite works of art. Here are some pictures of Diane's students and their own Silk Tie Chairs from her impromptu workshop held earlier this month. The class was created when one of Diane's patrons purchased a chair and asked to be taught the process. Her daughter and a few of our stewards/local artists joined in for a Sunday afternoon of sewing, weaving and silk tie fun!












So make sure to take a stroll through our gallery to see one of Diane's new chair creations. Don't forget to bring a few quarters with you for our new Callithump! Vending Machine recently acquired by Artascope. Curious? Diane's daughter and son in law are taking their Vending Machine Art on the road. A Callithump! is a magazine that is sold out of toy capsule vending machines. Each capsule contains an "article," which might be a poem, a series of photographs, a small sculpture... really anything that they can create multiples of that fits inside a capsule! Never know what you'll end up with. Check out their website at http://www.callithump.org/.

Artascope Steward News- Ann Liller & Libby Barrett

Ann Liller has made quite a name for herself at Artascope as our PMC guru. That's Ann posing with fellow artist, Dan Clark, last Saturday during their art opening at SASS-Second Saturday Art Stroll. Their PMC and metalsmithing work will be up at the Artascope Gallery through the end of the month.

Ann's been working with PMC for quite a while now and her innovation and desire to deepen her knowledge has recently led her to become PMC certified with Tim McCreight, a true leader in the world of PMC.

Thought you might enjoy hearing first hand from her experience, so here's Ann: "I have just come from the 3 day PMC certification class with Tim McCreight and all I can say is WOW. I have never worked so hard for three days in my life or learned so much. Out of 15 students, only 4 were from Maine and they came from as far as CA. There wasn't an extra minute to spare built into the program, we had to check our creativity at the door and we even ate our lunch at our desks! Rio runs a great program and Tim is just the best instructor that I have had in a long time. He debunked a lot of PMC myths, taught me new ways to do things, gave me a whole new perspective on the medium. This next ArtEscape weekend group is in for a real treat because I am still on a PMC-Tim McCreight high and I have some great new ideas."

Ann will be heading the PMC Art Escape Weekend starting tomorrow May 16th-18th. It's a full weekend of amazing fun. You start on Friday at 6-9pm. You will be in studio all day Saturday and 1/2 day Sunday. It's going to be an absolute blast. We are all extremely proud of Ann's accomplishments and just in time for her birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Ann!!

In some other exciting Stewarding news at Artascope Studios, one of our newest Stewards, Libby Barrett informed me about her floorcloths and artist's books are being shown in the Stable Galleryin Damariscotta May-October. The season opening is this Friday, May 16th from 5-7. Sounds like it's going to be an exciting weekend for both our artists! You can check out more about Libby Barrett's work at her website http://www.libbybarrett.net/. We are excited to welcome her on board at Artascope Studios. Here are a few examples of her beautiful work. You will find a link for her website along with many other current and past stewards and teachers from Artascope under links we love.

The Metalsmithing Studio- Soldered Ring and PMC Pendant

Our Metalsmithing Studio is one of the most used spaces at Artascope Studios. We host a plethora of metalsmithing, PMC, beading, wire wrapping and sea glass jewelry classes in our fantastic studio. Equipped with drilling centers, acetylene solder stations, a jewelry kiln, tumbler and a wall stacked with hammers, filling, cutting and beading tools , this place has become the hub of jewelry creation in South Portland.

Recently, Gayle, our stained glass expert, switch gears and taught a fantastic Solder Ring Class. This was a great introduction to metalsmithing and they were thrilled with their results after just 4 hours of work. Sisters, Julie and Diane were excited to make their own rings. Leslie had such a great time and she can't wait to practice her new skills, so she joined Artascope Studios as a Member to have access to the studios. Kelly was able to refresh her skills from a class last summer and even set a dichroic stone that her sister has made. Very successful class indeed!

PMC is one of our hot classes right now. PMC, Precious Metal Clay, is fantastic product that combines artistry, clay and silver into one amazing jewelry experience. The creators of PMC found a way to combine tiny silver fragments with a binder to create a porcelain clay-like substance that can be molded, carved and formed into the most amazing pieces. Once dried and fired in a jewelry kiln, your final product is a pure silver unique creation. Check out the results of Deb's PMC pendant class. Students came in with their own ideas and in some cases, objects to mold in plastic in order to make a PMC replica. The detail and designs are very personal and the possibilities are endless. Although the pictures look like students are working in clay, once their pendants were complete bone dry and fired, their final products were 99.9% pure silver jewelry.

May 10th- Second Saturday Art Stroll-Artist Spotlight- Ann Liller & Dan Clark

Artascope Studios is celebrating Mother's Day with a special FREE event for our community. Join us on May 10th for the Second Saturday Art Stroll. Celebrate Mother's Day with Paper Flower Making Demo from 6:30 to 8pm. It's a chance to learn how to create a paper bouquet! Bring the kids! Bring your friends! Take Mom out! Or take the kids and leave Mom at home so you can shop for her special gift! We have a wonderful gallery full of unique handmade items that would be a perfect Mother's Day present. The Gallery @ Artascope Studios is OPEN daily from 9am-7pm. May's featured artist is a double jewelry feature with innovative, beautiful PMC (precious metal clay) pieces from Ann Liller and metalsmith creations from Dan Clark.

Sea Glass Extravaganza!

Sea Glass Private Parties & Lessons
To say that our Sea Glass Jewelry classes are popular would be an understatement. Our close proximity to the ocean and all of our fantastic beaches is sure to stir the imagination with visions of what to do with all the sea glass treasures you find while walking along the shoreline. That's where we come in! We have been offering some fantastic Art Night Out jewelry classes and private parties and lessons for sea glass. Here a few picks from Lynne's successful Sea Glass Pendant private party. Lynne is quite the Sea Glass jewelry expert and showed off her talents by teaching a private session back to back with a private party for another Artascope Studio teacher, Nicole, and some of her co-workers. Check out the fantastic wire working and embellishments on the pendants. The hand dyed silk ties add a unique colorful touch. See the students in action as they work on their pieces and show off their finished creations.
Art Night Out Sea Glass Jewelry Classes
Our Sea Glass guru Lynne was back in studio working with students on wrapped sea glass earrings. Lots of fresh new faces at the studio which we always love to see! Lynne helped students pick out their sea glass gems and decorative beads to begin the project. The students learn to work with the silver wire as they find ways to wrap their treasures together. Lots of teamwork and troubleshooting happens so that the students achieves the desired effect. What a fun way to learn a little about yourself, meet some new friends and go home with one fabulous pair of custom earrings.

Diane kept the Sea Glass theme with her Drilled Sea Glass Bracelet. You know the class is popular when your students are coming up from Portsmouth NH! Students learned how to drill the glass, shells and other treasures using diamond drill bits in a water bath...how exotic! The class was a huge hit and each bracelet reflected the personality of the artist. Now this is a charm bracelet class to remember. Any of our Sea Glass jewelry creations would be the perfect piece for a night on the town or a stroll on the beach.

If you have missed out on all these classes and would love to join the Sea Glass groupies, think about joining Lynne on Saturday May 24th from 2-6pm for the Sea Glass Wrapped Bracelet. Sure to be a hit!