More Portraits with Paul Leveille

Everyone has such a great time in a workshop with Paul Leveille. If you are interested in portraits, whether you have never tried them or are an experienced painter, Paul is the teacher for you!

Here are more snapshots from this week's workshop.

This is Paul and Chick. I love the lighting in the photograph.

This is Gus, a good friend of Paul's, who came along just to observe the class, but enjoyed a little sketching himself when he wasn't sitting in as a model in the evenings.

This is the result of Paul's watercolor painting demo on Wednesday.

Here is the rogue's gallery -- especially that one in the center! ;-)

When the class wasn't painting, they were enjoying the fine cooking of Chef Mark. Here he is preparing his Italian Breaded Chicken.

He also makes fresh bread every evening. A real treat!

Look at all those smiling faces. The week went by too quickly.

Today the 3-day pastel workshop with Margaret Dyer checks in. This class is full, but the one after this with Karen Rosasco still has a couple of spot open. Check it out on our website.

Portrait Workshop with Paul Leveille

Paul Leveille has returned once again to Hudson River Valley Art Workshops to teach his amazing class in painting expressive portraits. He is fluent in oil, watercolor and pastel and does a demo in each.

This is the portrait from his pastel demo on Monday.

Our model that day was Rudy V from Rhinebeck, who is an artist himself, besides being a professional artist's model.

The next afternoon, Paul did a demo in oil. This time the model was none other than chef Mark, who was in a Texas BBQ sort of mood, so he wore his chocolatier whites but with his black Stetson. This may seem unusual to some, but you have to remember that Mark lived 9 years in Texas and that means sometimes the hat and boots appear in his outfits from time to time.

Here is Paul as he is about to get started.

First he used charcoal to sketch the basic shapes and to establish the position of the features in portrait.

Then Paul does his portrait dancing magic and suddenly the portrait is just about done!

The subject and artist are happy with the results. Paul even got the Life By Chocolate logo on the jacket.

There was a reason for the BBQ frame of mind. In between sitting for the demo, Mark was BBQ'ing some huge beef ribs with his special homemade BBQ sauce. Here he is about to put the ribs on the grill.

Look at the size of those ribs!

This is Mark giving his best Texas sneer. I told him to either smile when I took his picture or give me a good cowboy sneer. He choose the sneer!

The 4+ hours slow-cooking on the grill yielded these mouth-watering ribs.

Mark gave the largest rib to Paul and when Paul saw the size he said, "This could feed my entire family!"

Yesterday, Wednesday, the class had another model. This time it was Heather W. from our town.

Here are some snaps of the students hard at work. Paul did a demo in watercolor that evening, but I haven't taken a picture yet. I'll do that today.

This is Jaieur B, who is from Hong Kong and is staying for the Margaret Dyer workshop, too.

This is Ann C. from Naples, FL, who is a frequent participant at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops.

Here you can see Heather, Chick (in the middle) and Len.

Here is a closer view of Chick and Len's portraits.

Today more portrait fun is on the schedule. This time they will have two different models, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Stained Paper and Collage Workshop with Gerald Brommer

How can you beat a 5-day workshop with Gerald Brommer? Jerry has been teaching workshops for more than 30 years and has written a multitude of books on art, including Emotional Content: How to Create Paintings That Communicate and Watercolor and Collage Workshop: Make Better Paintings Through Mastery of Collage Techniques.

Not only is Jerry a fabulous artist and wonderful teacher who encourages and inspires, but he is a genuine nice guy! He always buys the wine for the first night of dinner.

The dates of the workshop are August 2 - 8, 2009. This year Jerry is teaching his Stained Papers and Collage workshop. This studio course is designed to take you in new directions, using either acrylics or watercolors, combined with collage. You will learn how to abstract natural landscape resources in order to create vivid, exciting images.

This unique workshop features some design exercises which lead directly into designing with subject matter of your choice. Emphasis is on exploring ways to create strong, colorful, unique landscape imagery that is truly personal and different.

Don't wait too long to sign up for this great class. Jerry's classes usually fill up pretty quickly!

Call us at 888-665-0044 to sign up or ask questions!

Watercolor Workshop with Judi Wagner

It was a wonderful week with Judi Wagner, master impressionistic watercolorist, and co-author of several books on painting, including The Watercolor Fix-It Book.

Judi loves to paint "in the wind and the weeds" but the weather during the week behaved only a couple of times. However, as Sharon L said, "what rain? I was so busy I didn't even notice!"

It was hard to move this group away from the dinner table on most nights. Judi kept everyone entertained with her ready stream of thought provoking questions and stories.

Alan L., one of the students in the workshop who came all the way from California, was joined mid-week by his daughter, Amy, who was also from CA. They stayed an extra night after the workshops to have the chance to explore our area together. A great pre-father's day thing to do. Both had a wonderful time.

Expressive Portraits with Paul Leveille

Paul Leveille is returning to the Hudson River Valley Art Workshop June 21 - 27, 2009 to teach his fabulous Expressive Portraits workshop. He does a demo each of the first 3 nights - one in oil, another in pastel, and another in watercolor. He demos are really performances that you don't want to miss!

Here are some snapshots from his 2007 workshop demos.

You'll work with a different model each day and learn Paul's step-by-step approach to capturing the expression of your subject.

There is still some room in this workshop, but don't delay! The class dates are coming up soon.

Pastel Landscapes with Susan Ogilvie

Susan Ogilvie was here last week to teach a pastel workshop. Susan has been here a number of times and it is always great to have her back.

Susan arrived a day early to scope out a couple of great farms as painting locations. Here is Susan snapping a portrait of one of the farm residence!

The class usually spent the morning in the studio preparing their pastel surfaces using Susan's technique. This is Donna S. with Susan.

Donna struggled with her paintings on one of the days, but you can see by this mile-wide grin, she had a fabulous time in the class.

This group really had a lot of fun at the dinner table, telling stories and laughing a lot. It was hard to get them to leave at the end of the evening so that the tables could be set for breakfast!

The week went by too fast. Everyone had great things to say about Susan and her teaching methods. "Her teaching skills are great - emphasizing the basics - a lot of individual attention to encourage you to experiment," said Judy B.

Susan is sure to be back at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops to teach again, so when her name show up on our schedule - sign up quick!

New Guide to Girlfriend Getaways

I just received our copy of the new book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Girlfriend Getaways by Lisa Kasanicky and Hudson River Valley Art Workshops is written up on pages 148 - 150!

I had spoked with Lisa, the founder of ArizonaSpaGirl.com, more than a year ago when she interviewed me for information about our workshop program. I was really excited about this book because it can be hard to find good girlfriend getaways AND mother-daughter getaways places.

So I finally have the book in my hands and can't wait to start planning my next getaway! It has spa getaways, historical getaways, wilderness adventures, festival getaways, mystical experiences, and lots more. And best of all painting and art quilt getaways! Get your copy now. ;-)

Plein Air Watercolor with Paul George

Paul George, a wonderful watercolor artist and teacher from Gloucester, MA was here this week to teach a 5-day workshop.

The weather was beautiful all week even though the forecasters kept predicting rain.

On the first day, the group stayed close to the inn, just in case of rain. Here is Lorraine painting out near our carriage house.

This is the demo painting the Paul did in the morning. It shows the back of the carriage house.

A good time was had by all after class at the dinner table, too. Here is Chef Mark showing off his freshly made Feather Bread. The bread for our dinners is always made fresh that day and is usually coming out hot from the oven right to the dinner table. Yum!

On another note, we have added a couple of new items to our wine and beer menu for this year. We now have a couple of the award winning beers from the North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California - Red Seal Ale and Blue Star wheat beer. I use to frequent the north coast in the Fort Bragg/Mendocino area and remembered this brewery fondly, so I'm happy to now have some of their beers on our menu.

Also added to the menu is Woodchuck Draft Cider from Vermont. We currently have the Granny Smith version and will soon be adding the Amber cider. You may not know it but our parent company is called Woodchuck Ventures, Inc., so when I found a product called woodchuck, I just had to check it out. I found six pack at a store in Albany and brought it home for testing! Well, it definitely passed the test. Delicious and refreshing - and has a cute woodchuck on the label!

We have quite an extensive wine and beer (and now cider) menu at the inn - over 100 items. And now for the even better news - I've reduced the prices on just about all of the items on the menu! Cheers!

Classical Still Life taught by Leah Lopez

The Leah Lopez workshop is drawing to a close this afternoon, but it has been a marvelous 3 days. All of the students are raving about Leah and what a wonderful artist and instructor she is! Some of the students were experienced still life artists but said that the insight and tips that Leah provided were a real break through for them.

The class arrived on Thursday and the studio quickly became the still life artist enclave! Each student composed, with the assistance of Leah, the particular still life set up that they wanted to paint. A number of fruits and vegetables were "borrowed" from our kitchen for the set ups, as well as the variety of vases, tea kettles, and such in our still life object collection. A bit of the greenery of the gardens also made it's way into some set ups.

This is what Leslie G was working on the first day.

Next to Leslie was Patricia G, with another classical still life set up.

Here is Leah, standing, offering advice to Mary P with her composition.

This is Jeff O, working with the same set up that Leah used for her morning demo.

Mark took more pictures this after on the final day of the workshop and I'll post them tomorrow.

More Fun with Acrylics in Robert Burridge Workshop

The week with Bob Burridge seemed to fly past. This big happy group painted until they dropped each day, but still laughed and had a grand time around the dinner table.

Here's Bob showing his art director talents as he tries to get everyone to smile and look good for the class picture.

He did a great job. Look at the results!

More shots of happy "campers". This is Gloria, part of a mother-daughter team.

This is Bob taking picture of some of his students work in back of the studio/carriage house. Nice lighting.

More enjoyable times at the dinner table.

And this is the man himself.

If you didn't get into this class you missed a good one. But don't worry, Bob will be back! He is scheduled to return in 2011, May 22 - 28th. Mark your calendars now and sign up early.

Another Award for Stanley Maltzman

Stanley Maltzman, a highly acclaimed landscape artist, author, and educator, plus a really nice guy who brings us flowers every holiday, is one of our instructors at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops.

He was just notified that the painting that we used in this year's workshop brochure won an award at the Fifth Annual Northeast National Pastel Exhibition 2009 that will be on exhibit at the Art Center of Old Forge in Old Forge, NY.

The exhibit runs from June 13 - July 12, 2009.

Stanley will be teaching a 5-day workshop for us July 26 - August 1, 2009. He will be teaching drawing and pastel.

He is the author ofDrawing Nature and Drawing Trees. (Unfortunately, these books are out of print and in high demand on ebay!) Learn direct from the source!

Art is the business of seeing and Stan has designed his drawing class to encourage you to learn to see. Class is structured to help you discover the drama taking place, to approach the subject with inspiration and craftsmanship and to enjoy working outdoors. Over the course of the week Stan demonstrates techniques using drawing media such as charcoal, graphite, conte, pastel, and pastel pencil. Teaching themes include composition, improvised and planned drawing, and capturing the mood of the moment.

Stanley provides individual demonstrations and one-on-one instruction daily while painting on location.

Loosen Up and Paint Like Crazy with Robert Burridge

What a guy! Bob Burridge is here teaching a full workshop of eager and happy students. I wish I could join in the fun.

Bob gives demos throughout the day. Love his use of color and sense of play.

Bob set up his command center in the back corner of the studio. He said that the lighting in the studio and from the windows was terrific!

Here is a shot of one of the student's work tables. Such color and expression.

Today is day 3 of the workshops so there will be more pictures to come. But tonight is my night for cooking dinner, so I'll be busy, as usual!

But speaking of food -- look at these great cream puffs that Mark and Brian made for cookie time yesterday.

The cream had a slight hint of rose water. Yummy. I think they should have been topped with chocolate! But that's just my idea.

Tempting the Muse with Laura Cater-Woods

Laura Cater-Woods arrived from Montana on Sunday with her dog buddy, Beau, and her studio assistant, Becky. The workshop retreat began on Monday when all the students arrived for the wine and cheese reception, followed by dinner.

It has been a busy week for me in the office and today was the first time I had the opportunity to slip into the studio to take pictures. I caught them in the middle of doing a critique.

They are looking at the work that Josie McD. has been doing in class. Josie is working in watercolor and acrylics, instead of fiber for this workshop.

Here are some small thread work studies.

I believe that this is dyed/painted paper. I wasn't there for this, so I'm not sure. Dang! I'm missing all the good stuff. ;-)

This is a whole cloth piece that has been layered and stitched first, and then painted. Very nice effect.

Laura has the group collecting tea bags for some as yet unshown technique! Very curious. Tea and cookies in the afternoon has helped to boost the collection.

This is something that Debbie DiG. is working on. She is hoping to incorporate word/text into her landscape.

And here is Beau, classroom mascot and all around good dog. I can't imagine our wild hounds lose in a studio full of fabric, especially Hudson!

Everyone is really enjoying the class and lively conversation at the dinner table continues long after the last bite of dessert is gone.

(Dessert update: Monday is was hand-made chocolates. Tuesday was Peanut Butter Pie with Oreo Crust and Blackberry sauce. Wednesday was Peppermint Brownie Pie. Tonight will be Apple Tart!)

More Merry Minchin Moments

Sadly it is the final day of the Ted Minchin workshop here at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. The week always goes by so quickly.

Today Ted is having them work with layers.

I absolutely love this painting by Julie G.!

This is the sister duo in the workshop - Ann and Ellen. Ann is of Green Brothers Coffee fame (married to one of the brother's). She brought us a bag of Peaberry coffee beans. My favorite.

"Sir" Ted Minchin is Here Teaching Watermedia

Edward Minchin (aka Sir Ted) is here at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops teaching abstract to semi-realism with watermedia.

Everyone in the class is having a blast. Ted is a very encouraging teacher and also has a million funny stories!

Everyone is all smiles in this group. Here you see Susan, Julie, and Renee, all from Canada. That's Ted in the blue shirt!

Here is Ted using a sheet of plexi-glass over a students painting to suggest some improvements.

Every morning Ted brings out a new set of his paintings to display on the wall shelf in the studio. All of the paintings you see in this photo were painted on Yupo paper.

This is Julie, also from Canada. Canada was well represented in this workshop!

Still two more full days of workshop happening and I'll be taking more pictures this afternoon.

The next workshop coming up is a fiber art workshop with Laura Cater-Woods. She is driving here this time (from Billings, Montana) and tells me that she is bring LOTs of goodies for the class to play with.

Lyrical Watercolor with Barbara Nechis

Barbara Nechis, a marvelous watercolor artist and instructor from Calistoga, California, is here at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops teaching a 3-day workshop.

Here is Barbara during a class critique on the second day.

While lots of fun is going on in the studio during the workshop, conversations around the dinner table can get quite lively! This is one of the great things about taking a workshop at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops.

Our all-in-one location allows and encourages the whole group to bond and inspire each other.

Barbara is always so cheerful!

The group is here for one more day (Sunday) and then our next workshop, with Ted Minchin, checks in Sunday afternoon.

There is still room in Ted's workshop, so don't delay, give us a call to sign up now. He has a lifetime of funny stories to tell that you don't want to miss - not to mention that he is a terrific instructor!

Rose Water, Saffron Pistachio Ice Cream

I just love rose water ice cream and I love pistachio ice cream and, well, everyone loves my banana saffron ice cream and their equivalent caramels. So, what better combination than rose water, saffron pistachio ice cream.

To my saffron ice cream base I add, before I put it into the machine, 1/8 cup of rose water and 3 cups of chopped pistachio. I use the Cuisinart to do a very course chop on the pistachios.

Saffron Ice cream base

1 qt heavy cream
1 qt 1/2 and 1/2
1 1/2 cup sugar (normally I use only 1 cup but felt that this should be a little sweeter.)
3 tea spoons saffron
2 table spoons vanilla paste (normally in my ice cream I only use 1 bean equiv. This is 2 bean equiv.)
10 egg yolks

Add
1/8 cup rose water
3 cups chopped, toasted but unsalted pistachios. (Do not use salted. I use raw pistachio and then lightly toast at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes.)

Combine the heavy cream, 1/2 and 1/2, sugar, saffron and vanilla into a heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat. Let steep at least 5 minutes, 10 is better. In this recipe, I use the vanilla paste, 2 T, which is the same as 2 beans. You can use 2 beans or you can use 2 t of vanilla extract. If you use the extract, put it in after you make the custard.

Reheat the mixture and after tempering the egg yolks, add into the base in a thin stream. Stir until either 170-180F or until the custard allows you to put a clean line through it on the wooden spoon. I use a spoon not a whisk. You do not want to put air into the ice cream. Stir all the time.

Strain into a bowl or a metal measuring cup. I strain because I don't want to have saffron threads in my ice cream, just the taste. If you have not done the custard properly, straining will also take out any scrambled eggs. If you don't want to, don't strain, you'll have threads in your ice cream which may not be a bad thing.



Put the ice cream into an ice bath. Now, if you have a great ice cream machine like mine, it takes hot ice cream into and churns until done, put in the rose water now and make your ice cream. If you don't have a great ice cream machine and the ice cream has to be cold, then wait till the ice cream is cold from the bath, put in the rose water and then churn. Add pistachio as you churn. I add the pistachio almost immediately. I let it churn for about 30 seconds before I add the chopped pistachios.



It's that simple. I made 3 batches, two with pistachio and one without, that is a saffron rose water ice cream sans nuts. Yummy. Now you can make this at home and pretend you are attending an art workshop or a fiber art workshop at the Greenville Arms.

Watercolor Workshop with Paul George

Paul George, a popular New England watercolor artist, will be back again at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops, May 31 - June 6, 2009. There is still room in this workshop, so won't you join this enjoyable and inspiring workshop. Check out our website for more details and enrollment rates.

Paul has a BS from Northeastern University, Boston, MA. He studied at the MFA school in Boston. Paul is signature member of the National Watercolor Society. He is also an active member of the New England Watercolor Society,Cape Cod AA, North Shore AA and former Vice President of the Rockport Art Association.

Paul's painting "Winterblues" was accepted by the American Watercolor Society for their 133rd exhibition at the Salmagudi Club in NY City.

He has also won the Winsor & Newton Award for Excellence in Watercolor at the National Watercolor Society. He has won many awards including the Gold Medal from the New England Watercolor Society. His work is in collections throughout the United States and Europe. Now a professional artist, Paul resides in Ipswich, MA. He has been teaching oil and watercolor workshops in Cape Ann Ma, Monhegan Is. ME, and Florida since 1996. His work can be seen at The George Gallery in Gloucester, MA.

Paul was teaching a 3-day workshop at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops in 2007. Here he is working with Lorraine and Karen in our studio. Lorraine and Karen thought that 3-days was too short a time with Paul George in 2007, so they will both be back this year for his 5-day workshop!

Laura Cater-Woods Workshop in May

Laura Cater-Woods will be returning once again to teach here at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops - May 11 - 17, 2009. This is right after Mother's Day. What a great way for a mother or any woman to spend a week! You deserve it, so come on and join us.

We always look forward to seeing Laura and so do her students. She has been nominated for Professional Quilter's Teacher of the Year in 2004, 2006, and 2009.

Here are some pics from her workshops here in 2006 and 2007.

In 2006, everyone spent so much time laughing around the dinner table, it's a wonder that they were able to eat anything!

In this picture, they are learning about gel printing. Laura teaches a number of different techniques.

This is Mary B from Canda and the piece she started in the 2006 workshop.

This is Pat D. working on her project in the 2006 workshop.

As an added bonus in Laura's workshop, she leads evening discussions on topics such as nurturing the creative self, getting around an “artist’s block” and building a series.

Laura is a working studio artist with an extensive international exhibition record and numerous awards. Her mixed media and fiber art work is held in international public, private and corporate collections.
After completing an M.F.A. in Painting (Ohio University, 1990) she began to integrate her love of fabric and thread with her approach to drawing and painting. Her images explore the textures and rhythms of details from the landscape, often interwoven with eccentric grids.

In addition to Public Art Projects, Percent For Art Commissions, and gallery exhibitions, Laura teaches Internationally for conferences, guilds, shops and private groups. She juries and judges for fiber exhibits, all media shows and quilt shows. In 2008 she was honored to be one of the Juror/Judges for the International Bead Museum's first juried show.

Nominated for Professional Quilter’s Teacher of the Year, 2004, 2006, and 2009, she is known as a nurturing and inspiring facilitator who offers highly personalized instruction. She is also a Creativity Coach and works with private clients: writers, musicians and visual artists.

In 1998-99 she was honored with a Montana Arts Council Fellowship in Visual Arts, Mixed Media.

More Carol Shinn Workshop Pics

This is the last day of this 3-day workshop and everyone is wishing it were longer!

This is one of the practice exercises created by Jean M. Great colors!

This piece was created by Judy S. Wonderful texture and movement.

Here is one by Karen A.

Another of the leaf exercise. Sorry, I don't know who did this one!

The workshop had a little mascot - Dante, who came with Jody P. He is a sweet little Yorkie.

When Jody arrived, Delores, our office assistant, told her that her "roommate" must have already arrived because she didn't see the check-in packette for the person listed on Jody's form as her roommate. Jody said, "What, I'm not suppose to have a roommate!" So Delores found me and said, "I think there is a problem here. Jody says that she is not suppose to have a roommate." I took a look at the check-in form and saw the name "Dante" as roommate. I had to laugh and explain to Delores that Dante was Jody's dog! She had not mentioned the roommate's name to Jody.

We do have several pet friendly rooms at the inn and so sometimes people will bring their dog. Dogs are not allowed in the studio during a workshop, unless there unanimous approval by teacher and students and, of course the dog must be an angel in behavior!

Freestyle Machine Embroidery with Carol Shinn

Carol's class began today and already everyone is getting into the hang of thread painting. They stated out with learning to do color gradations.

Next they painted a rough image or design on canvas and then covered the image with thread, using various shades and colors for the gradations. Very cool looking work!

This is the image that Jenny was working on.

If you've gone to our website or to Carol's website to see Carol's work, well, I can tell you that as amazing as it looks in pictures, it is even more amazing in person.

Carol's new book by Interweave Press will be coming out soon. Put in your order now! I'll certainly be getting a copy for our library.

Amazing Portraits in Fabric

Another workshop comes to a close. Esterita Austin lead this wonderful group in creating some amazing portraits.

This piece was created by Susan K. A great likeness of her friend!

Here is one by Sandy C., who came with her sister from India. She did a fantastic job capturing the expression and mood of her original photo.

This is a self-portrait of Carol D. I love the colors in the her hair in the portrait!

Alison C. is well on her way to one incredible portrait. I can't wait to see it when it is finished.

No one in the group had done any portraits or drawing in the past. So these results were Esterita's teaching and techniques added to the creativity and willingness of each student.

I took this picture of Susan taking a picture of her piece.

Teri provided invaluable individual assistance to anyone who needed it. With so many years experience as an art teacher, she knows just how to approach each student and offer advice and/or encouragement along the way.

I surely wish I had been able to attend this workshop! Maybe next time - Teri will be back in 2011 in the summer.

Dramatic Portraits with Esterita Austin

We have a small but spirited group here for Esterita (Teri) Austin's workshop. They are working on portraits also, but in this workshop the focus is on creating dramatic portraits by emphasizing the dark and light values. The portraits are also all in fabric rather than drawn in ink on fabric. Two techniques, two very different results, but both wonderful to learn.

Teri is the type of teacher we love to have here. She is enthusiastic and knows her stuff!

This is Alison, who is working on a portrait of her husband on his made-from-the-ground-up Triumph motorcycle. A very ambitious project, but already it is looking great.

Here are another couple examples of a portraits in progress.

The group found some wonderful batik fabrics to work with from their shopping expeditions to Woodstock Quilt Supply and Log Cabin Fabrics.

Final Day with Lura Schwarz Smith

It's hard to believe that the 5 days of this workshop have gone by! Everyone made such amazing portraits, even those who those that they never be able to draw a face.

Just look at the fabulous pieces done by Sue Andrews -- and this is her very first fiber art workshop!

Here is Alexandra doing a little ink shading on a work in progress that she brought with her.

This is Lura showing Susan how to add shading to render a realist eye.

Even I finally had a moment to sit at the "play table" to try out the inks, oil pastels, fabric markers and more that Lura brought with her for everyone to try out. That's me in the purple plaid. (Thank goodness for cropping on the fly - cut out most of the evidence of my bad hair day! ;-)

Look at this incredibly rich piece that Toby is creating. Great use of brocades!

Lura Schwarz Smith Workshop Continues

They've covered transferring images onto fabric, using inks and ink applicators for drawing and shading, free-piecing, and distorting traditional blocks.

This is Lura's sample of a distorted traditional block.

Here is Lura explaining her free-piecing technique. No rulers needed!

Everyone is enjoying having a mini-fabric shop onsite, but when there is another fabric shop within driving distance you know some folks are going to want to go! Sandy and her sister, who are here from India, definitely heard the call of the other fabric shopping opportunity! Woodstock Quilt Supply was the place to be yesterday afternoon!

From Image to Design

It is day 2 of the Lura Schwarz-Smith workshop and the group are doing amazing things. Not surprising since Lura is such a bundle of energy and has such a wealth of knowledge about what she is teaching. You are missing a great class! But don't worry, we'll have her back here again.

So here is a look at what the class is up to.

This is Lura explaining the important "dot test" to check the suitability of the fabric for ink drawing.

Here is Nell working with the overhead projector to create her composition made up of several images.

Lura's wonderful collection of inks.

Here is Sandy working with the lightbox.

Toby practicing with the ink applicator brush to get just the right shading technique before starting on her project.

This is Sandy's work in progress. It's going to be fantastic.

A couple examples of Lura's drawing on fabric. I love the horse! This photo doesn't do it justice.

I can't wait to see how everyone's projects progress. I'll keep you posted!

New Workshop Season About To Begin

I can't believe it is only about week until the first workshop starts. Where did the winter go?

The first workshop this year is with Lura Schwarz-Smith who is coming from California. The class is Art Images to Fabric and there is still some room, so why don't you join us!

Following Lura is Esterita Austin doing a portraits and still life in fabric workshop.

Teri is a blast and a wonderful teacher.

On to another subject -- we just got our new shipment of mugs for this year. New colors and new shapes.

These mugs are hand-made by Deneen Pottery. I always like to try new colors each year. If you have a favorite from the past and would like to see it again, just let me know.

Eco Blog: The Alternative Consumer

The Alternative Consumer is doing a piece on us including a chocolate give-away. Just in case you're interested. Check it out. As a matter of fact, what they'll be giving away are the following LBC chocolates:



Vegan Truffles in a Velvet Heart Box just like this one, with 7 to 8 vegan tea truffles.






and a set of Vegan Chocolate Bars.

So, go register to win.

Fiber Art Supply New Year's Sale

It is time for our annual sale here at the inn. All of the fiber art supplies, books, sketch books, logo t-shirts, and more are on sale for 30% off.




Our books are normally 15% of the suggested retail price, but now they are an even better deal at 30% off! Now it the time to get one of these inspiring books. Authors, Rosemary Eichorn and Rayna Gillman have taught workshop for the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops.



We have some great thread selections.

• Aurifil Cotton 12wt (red spool) - normally $8.15
• Aurifil Cotton 24wt (grey spool) is normally $8.10
• Superior Thread Bottom Line - normally $6.75
• Madeira Super Twist - normally $8.05
• Star Cotton - normally $5.15 (great for piecing)

More thread:

• Superior Thread Glitter (400yd) - normally $5.50
• Superior Thread Glitter (3300yd) - normally $25.00 (Glitter is one of my favorite specialty threads!)
• Glitter set of 8 400yd spools - normally $38.00

We have some fabulous scissors by Gingher, Micro Pigma Pens (sets and individual), Fabrico Marker sets and Olfa Rotary Pinker.



Our watercolor sketch journals (normally $13) are also on sale. These are great for sketching or any kind of art journaling. We have them filled with either various colored pages or with white and off-white pages.



Even our popular Hudson River Valley Art Workshops logo t-shirts and hats are 30% off!



We also have some great sets of Shiva Paintstiks on sale.



If this wasn't enough to whet your appetite, Life By Chocolate is also having a sale on all holiday themed chocolates (40% off) and all other chocolates (25% off). The chocolate sale lasts only until January 18, 2009. So don't wait for this chance.

Merry Christmas! Big Sale on Chocolate

Go to Life by Chocolate for a big sale on many of our chocolates. Sale will only last for two weeks.

Yes Virgina, there is a Santa Buzz!

I just got this email:

"Hello Mark,

Congratulations! You are the winner of the Foodbuzz Tell a Friend Weekly Raffle for the week of December 15-21, 2008. Your prize? Cuisinart Cordless Immersion Blender! We hope you enjoy your new kitchen gadget.

Please provide for me your mailing information so we can send you your new Cuisinart Cordless Immersion Blender.

Thanks for playing and keep on buzzing!

Dorian Asch
Foodbuzz.com
Assistant Editor
dorian@foodbuzz.com"

And the odd bit is this is the FIRST week I started telling my friends. I sent one out to Daniel at Denman Island Chocolate and also to Sassy at VeganCoach.com Wow. I am so happy. I didn't even know I was playing. I really needed one of these puppies. Thank you Dorian and thank you Foodbuzz.

A Winter Fairy Land

We finally had a nice picturesque snow! We got about 8 inches on Friday and another 8 inches on Sunday. It was wonderfully fluffy and light - which is great when you are clearing walkways with a shovel!



I took these pictures on Sunday. It was so quiet as I walked across the street to take the pictures of the front of the inn. Every noise was hushed by the snow.

The shot below is looking towards the carriage house from driveway by the main inn.



The lighting is still gray and overcast in these photos, but as I was out clearing the walkways around the carriage house (yet again) on Sunday, the clouds suddenly parted to reveal a brilliant blue sky. It was absolutely stunning. I had to pause and just drink in the sight. I quickly finished the clearing and ran in to get my camera to try to capture this awesome sight, but just at that moment some inn guests arrived and by the time that they were checked in and everything squared away, the blue sky was dimming. Sigh. I'll have to try to catch it again some other time.

Larkin Van Horn Delights Us with Embellishments

Obviously I'm way behind on blog posts because Larkin Van Horn was here in November! It was great to finally have Larkin here to teach her Fiber Embellishment workshop for us. Mark had first met Larkin at the International Quilt Festival in Houston back in 2006 and after meeting her, Mark told me "you have to get her to teach a workshop for us!" So I did.

Here is the happy crew at the first night dinner. Already they are laughing together and having a ball.




Isn't it fabulous the way Larkin's hair matches her shirt!



Here is Larkin showing the class samples of all of the different beading techniques that she will be teaching to them. Larkin was so organized! Great sample book!



Larkin wore a different beaded necklace each day. Each one was incredible. I love bead work and this was my favorite necklace. Green is a great color. This photo doesn't do it justice, of course. You really need to get close to see all the wonderful detail.





If you weren't here you missed a great workshop, but you can make up for it by getting Larkin's book, Beading on Fabric. It is a must-have reference book for anyone interested in adding beaded embellishments to fabric, where you are creating an art quilt or wearable art or jewelry. I'm sure it will just make you want to learn more, which is a good thing because Larkin will be back here teaching in summer of 2010.



Click Here To Buy Larkin's Book on Amazon.com

Reliving the Glory of Summer

Such glorious greens and yellows! These are a series of photos the I took during the Robert Norieka workshop in early August and only just discovered that Mark had downloaded them on to our iMac and erased them from the camera before I could load them on my Mac laptop! Well, as least it is easy to transfer them over.

So enjoy this look back at summer and a really fun workshop.




This is Robert's demo at the Campbell Farm.




Nothing says summer like sunflowers!



Once more with feeling . . .

When we first got here we ambitiously planted 10 fruit trees in the "back forty" and then didn't have the time to protect them from the deer! So I'm starting over, but this time we are planting just one or two trees per year and making sure that the fencing goes up at the same time the trees go in. (The cherry trees that I planted the first summer and fenced right away are doing just great.)

So this year's tree is a Persian mulberry! I've wanted to get a mulberry tree ever since seeing one for the first time at a farm in Gilroy, California. I had never seen "blackberries" on a tree, but grew up with loads of blackberries growing in our backyard. Nothing like fresh picked berries. Of course, a mulberry is not a blackberry, but they look very similar.

And this is why I use grass fed, free range local beef

Besides the fact that grass fed tastes better than corn fed. Besides the fact that I get free range beef at the arms. Besides the fact that all the calves are only 200-400 lbs when I get the meat. Besides all that, there are the reason in this article.

So, next time I serve you beautiful, grass fed, free range local beef, enjoy it and know you are healthier. You've been eating it for most of this year. Enjoy.

Fall Has Fallen But Liz Berg Brought Us Lots of Color

It is hard to believe that just last week the trees around the parking lot of the inn were still in full color. Now all of the leaves you see on the trees are on the ground -- waiting for raking!



This is what it looked like while the annual Fall Retreat was in session. Just beautiful!

Here is the happy crew that took advantage of the Fall Retreat to enjoy the inn and the area while working in their favorite medium. Some came for the full 6-nights and some for just 3 or 4. Peggi has already signed up for next Fall! We can't wait.



Liz Berg was here teaching her Abstract Quilt principles. I first met Liz in California when she and I were in the same art quilt groups - first the Studio Art Quilt Association (there is a fund-raising auction of some incredible fiber art going on right now on the SAQA site), and then the California Fiber Artists. I knew then that she'd be a wonderful teacher, so I'm glad that I finally got her to come out East to teach a workshop for us.

Liz put this hard working group through their paces as they studied the elements of design and created first compositions on paper and then in fabric.

Here are Alison and Melinda totally focused on their work!



This is a shot of some of the students first work in fabric. Isn't it fabulous!



This is Susan Garfield-Wright strip piecing on her featherweight. She created a wonderful composition using the fabric she created with the strips. A Nancy Crow alumni? I forgot to ask.



The colors of the trees in the front yard matched the fabric used in the studio!



Here is Liz with Moira, who came all the way from Australia for both Liz's class and also Carol Soderlund's workshop (with a fun couple of weeks in NYC in between).

You can see on the table in the foreground the notebook/journal that Liz had everyone create from the handout, their own notes, sketches, and thumbnail compositions. What a fabulous idea and a great reference.



Here is Sheila from Canada. If you see her ask her the way to Woodstock! She and Liz arrived a day early and went on an unintentional tour of the Catskill Mountains on their way back from Woodstock to the inn. They had a grand time anyway!



This weekend is our final 2008 workshop (Boohoo! And I mean that!). Larkin Van Horn is here teaching a plethora of beading and embellishment techniques. It's only the first day and already everyone is creating such interesting designs. Larkin is the author of Beading on Fabric: Encyclopedia of Bead Stitch Techniques, published by Interweave Press. I'll start take taking pictures tomorrow.

Kim's Fabulous Quilt Talk

Well, I wasn't actually there fore her fabulous talk because she was too nervous having me in the audience. She was afraid I'd heckle her the way I do when we are showing the up and coming workshops. I would not do that to my sweetheart.

This is the where. As in where's Waldo?

Who's having a great time?

Getting ready for the lecture. She's ready. Isn't that sweater beautiful? Kim made that.

Just in case you didn't know, Kim is head of Crazy by Design.

After her talk, we went over to a very rustic, very collegy coffee house for a very needed rest and recuperation. Actually, Kim had a fantastic time and was energized.

Now that's relaxing.

Kenn Backhaus Was Here

Kenn Backhaus, oil painter extraordinaire and just an all around great guy, was here teaching his outdoor oil painting workshop.

He took them to the Hollyhock Nature Preserve on one day, stayed around the inn on the one iffy weather day, and then spent 3 glorious days at Olana.

The views from the upper part of Olana, where the house is was beautiful with all of the fall colors. Everyone also went on the house tour while they were there.

These follow photos were taken on the last day when the group paint down by the barns of Olana.







Don't you wish you had been here!

Here is a shot of one of the apple pies I was talking about.

Carol Soderlund Brings the World of Color to Greenville

Carol Soderlund, master fabric dyer, taught a workshop for us for the first time this past October and hopefully it won't be the last time! Everything that I've heard is true. Carol is not only an expert at dying fabric, she is a wonderful instructor. She has broken down the steps for getting the exact color you want into a easy to follow process. I will definitely have to sign up for a class with Carol sometime myself!

Everyone had a marvelous time including at the dinner table. I never heard such laughing and carrying on! ;-)



Here is Carol wearing one of her many hand-dyed shirts.



A couple of happy dyers!



And a luscious stack of yellows.



Everyone created such beautiful fabric.



Don't miss this class the next time around!

And speaking of color, there's a good reason that New York is called the Big Apple! October is apple picking time and there are lots of pick-your-own orchards in the area. We were lucky enough to be invited to pick apples at an orchard belonging to an inn guest who stayed here this past summer. 800 trees and loaded with the most delicious Empire and Red Delicious apples.



Mark has been making lots of apple pies for dessert. Yum!

Mary Whyte - Watercolor Landscapes, Portraits, and Still Life

Yes, Skip Lawrence's workshop was here before Mary Whyte's workshop, but horrors of horrors, I didn't get any pictures! My excuse is that Mark was freshly home after having rotator cuff surgery and needed extra attention -- AND our dalmatian Hudson had bladder stones! I had to take him him to the emergency animal hospital twice in one day - one time at 1:00am. The good news is that finally Mark and Hudson are recovering nicely. Both are itching to get back to their regular activities.

In any case, it is always wonderful to have Skip and Diane and the rest of the crew, both regulars and new students, here for their week at the start of Fall. We look forward to it every year. Next year I promise to take a ton of pictures.

Mary Whyte also had a full workshop (next time I think we'll keep the number down to 18 students! when you add 2 models into the room, it does get a little tight. ;-) and kept busy all day and into the evenings.

Here is the happy group at the dinner table. Mary is the first one on the left.



The first day was spend on still life set ups. The second day on landscapes. On the third and four day, two models were brought in for portraits. On the final day, students had their choice of subject matter.





Mary also included general discussions on topics of interest to the students. In this particular session, they discussed things such as how to get your art "out there" with postcards and other methods.



It must be Fall because the mums are on the front porch. Stanley Maltzman brought a huge white mum plant (his annual tradition) and I put it center stage. I also finally potted the red and white dahlias and they looked great for about 2 days until they were hit with the first frost! Oh, well. I'll have to dig them up and winter them in the garage. They were beautiful dahlias that I bought at one of the local nurseries, Mosswood Gardens, for Eric Weigardt's workshop to paint.

John Salminen - From Abstract to Realism

Following Pat Dews was John Salminen, who taught a fabulous watercolor workshop in which he took the students step-by-step from abstracts to realism.

Kathy Salminen, an expert photographer, always comes with John and helps out in class with critiques and answering questions. That's Kathy in the white shirt.



John and Kathy set up the studio so that each person could set their work on an easel at one end of the studio and then sit with John at the other end of the studio for a critique session whenever they needed.



Here is Kathy help with a critique by pointing out the elements as John talks about them.



The group met each evening before dinner in our front parlor for a bit of beverage and lively conversation.



John is an instructor who give 100% and then some to all the students in his workshops. Everyone was very happy with this workshop. Kathy Salmenin takes a photograph of each student holding their abstract piece and creates a "class photo" sheet that she sends to everyone after the workshop - a great momento and reference! She also takes a class group photo and sends that to everyone, too.

You'll definitely want to sign up for John's class the next time he teaches here, which will be May 16 - 22, 2010. Put it on your calendar now.

On the same day that the John Salminen workshop checked out, I hopped on a plane and headed west for a mother-daughter vacation in Seattle and Whitefish, MT. Our first stop was the Pike Street Market. What gorgeous colors!



Back at the inn, as the workshop season winds down, we are preparing for the holiday chocolate season to begin. Check out this festive boxes and, of course, luscious chocolates.

Pat Dews - Another Wonderful Workshop

I know I'm way behind in the posts, but I'm finally finding a break in our busy schedule to start getting caught up.

We'll start with Pat Dews' workshop that was back in September. As usual, we loved having the non-stop energy of Pat and the students at the inn for the 6 nights.

Here is Pat giving one of her many demos. Everyone was amazed at the continuous amount of information and techniques that Pat demo'd.



Look at all the wonderful stuff that the class worked with.



More demos from Pat.





To bring you out of the past and into the present, here is a shot of the trees in our "back 40". This was taken just last week. The trees around the inn are still in all their glory. The maple trees in the front of the inn are just not starting to turn a bright red. The snow storm that hit this region last night totally missed our little corner of Greenville. When I went out at 7:00am with Hudson (our Dalmatian), the sun was out, the temps were already heading up to the 40s, and no snow in sight. I guess I have no excuse not to rake more leaves today! That's ok, I love to rake leaves - a good thing since we have so many of them. I'm using them to line the pathways in our woods and when that is done I'll start a monster compost pile near our future organic garden.