InnSane

Fabulous Fusible Flowers with Melinda Bula

2012-01-06T10:26:00.001-05:00

The fun and fabulous Melinda Bula was with us again in 2011 as our last workshop for the year. It was a wonderful group and it was sad to see them leave.

The busy holiday season prevented me from posting photos of the class until now. I hope you had a marvelous holiday season and a Happy New Year, too!

Below is a shot of the table where Melinda's work is spread on the table and on the board is a piece that she was working on during that class as she showed the process and techniques that she uses.

The ladies in the class were very industrious during class time and had loads of fun and laughter at the dinner table. Who knows what when on in the studio after dinner. LOL!

Someone's pin cushion looked as colorful as the flowers!

Successful Machine Quilting with Sue Nickels

2011-12-06T18:14:00.001-05:00

The incomparable Sue Nickels was here at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops to teach her machine quilting workshop. Sue is the co-author, with her sister Pat Holly, of Machine Quilting: A Primer of Techniques and Stitched Raw Edge Appliqué. This was the first time I had seen Sue's work up close and in person and all I can say is Wow.

A display of some of Sue's books and DVDs that she had available for sale in the class.

Sue made good use of technology, with a camera and digital projector, to allow her students to get a good look of her methods without having to all crowd around and look over her shoulders.

The students really enjoyed learning from Sue. Jeanine said, "Sue is very generous with her time and with her knowledge!"

Throughout the course of the 3-day workshop, Sue had a number of different practice exercises, including doing feathers and free-motion work.

This is Dalia, who came all the way from Israel, showing off the nifty idea that Sue showed the class for making it easier to grip the fabric while you are quilting - using the cut off fingers of dishwashing gloves.

More Stitched Paintings with Katie PM

2011-11-10T12:21:00.001-05:00

There is color all around the inn because the trees are finally getting into the Fall spirit.

But there is even more color in the studio with Katie Pasquini Masopust and her students! This is what is happening today:

Stitched Paintings with Katie Pasquini Masopust

2011-11-09T16:25:00.001-05:00

Katie PM is here this week teaching her marvelous stitched paintings process. The first day, the tables were covered with plastic and the painting started in earnest!

Here Katie is giving a demo of layered painting - paint dark lines (or whatever mark), let it dry, and then paint over it. While the second layer is still wet, you can wipe sections away to expose parts of the first layer.

This is all part of the process of creating the canvases that will then be cut apart and then reassembled into another composition.

Very exciting images are developing!

More Landscapes with Gloria Loughman

2011-11-08T10:04:00.001-05:00

On the final day of the workshop with Gloria Loughman, as I walked around taking pictures of the landscapes that everyone was creating, I was thoroughly enjoying the amazing creativity!

This is Kathy Nurge with her landscape.

This is Jan Sheet's birch trees.

Carol Newhart hard at work stitching leaves in place.

A fabulous landscape by Priscilla Kibbee. She worked with it turned this way the entire class. I guess it was easier to look at that way while she was seated right next to it.

Contemplating the design possibilities.

Such vibrant colors!

Debbie Ross finished one landscape and started in on another!

Barb Caldwell said she loves green! So do I.

Can't remember who's piece this is, but I love the marching rows of flat head pins.

Painting a Landscape with Fabric

2011-10-28T15:48:00.001-04:00

Everyone in Gloria Loughman's workshop are progressing fabulously with their landscapes.

This is a piece by Tina McHenry.

Carol Newhart is working on this piece with the brilliant Fall colors.

You'll have to turn your head to view the landscape by Priscilla Kibbee! Debbie Quarrington is actually piecing all of those diamonds of fabric for the background of her landscape. Wow.

Gloria brought paints and yummy Rainbow threads by Superior Threads. I noticed quite a few colors that I must add to my collection -- actually I'd like them all!

I just love this imaginative piece by Bonnie Pennybacker.

Nancy Trowbridge is using thread-sketching to create birch tree trunks for her landscape. They turned out beautiful.

Paints in use by the class.

Gloria constantly circulated through the classroom offering guidance where ever it was needed or requested.

All the tools a fiber artist needs - pencils and pens for drawing and planning, scissors, thread, several caffeinated beverages, and a chocolate chip cookie - fresh from the oven.

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day with Gloria Loughman

2011-10-26T10:11:00.001-04:00

Gloria Loughman, the marvelous quilt artist from Australia, is here this week to teach "Painting a Landscape with Fabric."

The colors are already flying all over the studio -- literally if someone happens to sneezes or leaves the door open!

The first day was spent discussing designs and all of the possibilities of playing with color. Then the whole group dove into their projects with full enthusiasm. They started with painting on fabrics and then by mid-morning Tuesday, background "fabrics" were taking shape and landscape designs were on the walls.

Most people are using a tiling technique to create background fabrics. The tile shape possibilities are squares, diamonds, rectangles.

This class is also like a mini-reunion for about half the people in the class, as they were all here together last year in a workshop with Katie Pasquini Masopust.

They are working hard and enjoying the meals. Tonights dessert is Banana Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce.

Slash and Burn with Pat Pauly Saves the Day

2011-10-19T14:23:00.001-04:00

Fiber artist, Pat Pauly, of Pittsford, NY stepped into save the day when an unfortunate spill by Liz Berg down some stairs in her home prevented her from coming to teach a workshop this week. (Liz is fine, but is recovering from her broken arm at home and hopefully will be scheduled to teach here again in the future.)

Pat was only able to teach for 3-day, but what a 3 days it has been! The laughter never stopped. Thank you, Pat!

Pat showed the class how to work from strip sets to create an improvisational composition without relying on templates, drawing, planning, or anything. It was hard work on the first day, but by the second day the concepts and techinques that Pat was explaining started to come together.

This is Mary from Maine with her fabulous composition. This was her first time working outside the quilt block format. Pretty impressive!

Carol and Pat are browsing through The Art Quilt by Robert Shaw and pointing out all of the quilts that the class can now say "I know how they did that" because Pat has showed them how. Pat made use of the many art quilt books in the studio library, besides having brought some of her own, to discuss and illustrate design concepts.

Pat is heading home today to prepare for her other upcoming workshops, but we sincerely thank her for be able to help us with such short notice and hope to schedule her for another workshop in the future.

Wiegardt and a Free-For-All

2011-10-12T10:17:00.001-04:00

Eric Wiegardt was here for a week to teach an outdoor watercolor workshop designed to help you "break the niggling detail habbit." Mother Nature had other designs, however, feeling that our area somehow needed more water! (We don't!)

But no matter, Eric kept everyone happy and working hard in the studio.

By the time we had a sunny day on Friday, no one wanted to go outside the studio. Instead, they brought a little outside to the inside by picking up several bouquets of flowers to set up in vases around the studio.

Eric will be back teaching for us again in 2013.

Following Eric was our Fall Retreat. We had a wonderful, fun loving group this year with a bunch of regulars and several new folks.

The retreat is a free time for people to work on their art, just relax around the inn, or explore the area. This year most people came for the full 6 nights, but we also offer a 3-night option. Of course, all the people who came just for the 3-nights all wished that they had come for 6!

Next year the retreat week is going to be in the summer -- to give people the added bonus of also being able to enjoy the 50 foot outdoor swimming pool at the inn.

A Bit of Scotland in the Catskills

2011-09-28T16:50:00.001-04:00

The weather seemed intent on making Margaret Evans feel right at home with a bit of mistiness every day, in between the sunshine.

On Thursday, the group went over to Olana, the historic home of Frederick Church. When lunch was delivered at noon, the class was still in their gear but having a good time in spite of the drizzle.

Soon after lunch, the sun came out to reward the class for their enthusiastic spirt! Margaret always brings out the party spirit in all her students.

Next year Margaret will be back again, this time to teach a 3-day workshop on the versatility of pastels!

Watercolor to Pastel

2011-09-19T18:03:00.001-04:00

David Taylor's class finished off the week with one and half days at Coeyman's Landing. The first day it started raining soon after they got there that they were only able to get photo references, but it was such a subject rich location that everyone decided that it was worth going back the next day, which cooperated by being a beautifully sunny Fall day.

Back at the inn for the final dinner on Friday night, David showed off his style by wearing his new Crazy Tie (a hand-made quilted tie featuring guitars) and fabulously colorful socks!

This week Margaret Evans of Scotland is here teaching a 5-day pastel workshop.

After lunch, Margaret presented a demo outside with the Carriage House as the subject.

We're crossing our fingers for more good weather for more outdoor painting!

Watercolor Landscapes with One of Australia's Finest!

2011-09-14T15:10:00.001-04:00

David Taylor has won several Gold Medals, including the $20,000 Haroldson Camberwell Rotary, one of the biggest and prestigious competitions in Australia!

We are always pleased to have David teaching workshop for us at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. Monday started out a bit drizzly, but it wasn't long until the sun came out and the temps climbed to the 80s.

After lunch the group walked over the Veteran's Park pond to spend the afternoon painting. The water of the pond was as smooth as glass, creating a stunning reflection of the blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

Some students watched as David did another demo and others just jumped in to painting.

A couple people turned their backs on the scenic pond, preferring instead to paint Tommy's Hot Dog trailer.

Ann Linday, Watercolor, and Irene

2011-09-01T07:51:00.001-04:00

It has been an eventful weekend, to say the least! On Saturday, Ann Lindsay and her full workshop of students arrived at our inn, the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn, to enjoy 3 days of a studio watercolor workshop -- and enjoy it they did, even though Irene, "Ms Tropical Storm", arrived on Sunday!

Our little creek that runs through the property became a torrent, overflowing its banks and covering half the parking lot with water.

We had everyone who had parked on that side move their cars to the town hall parking lot that is next to us just to be safe, although the water never was more than about 4 to 6 inches.

Here is one of our bridges that crosses over our normally mild mannered creek!

But a bit of water and wind can't keep a good watercolorist down! Ann Lindsay and the group kept warm and dry in the Carriage House studio. We had electricity all through the storm except for about 3 hours in the middle of the day.

Since the creek was preventing anyone from venturing outside the studio, Mark and I (none of our staff were able to make it to work that day - not surprising) made all the lunches and cookies for the class and then drove (thank goodness we have 4-wheel drive) around to our access road that brings us in on the Carriage House side of the creek, and then carried in the boxes of lunches to the studio, wading through about 1 foot of slowly moving water. We also brought them coffee and carrot cake!

Around 3 pm, the heavy rain stopped and the water immediately started to recede so that by 5 pm the creek was running below the bridges and the parking lot was clear of water.

The next morning the sun came out and you would never have known anything had gone amiss! Just look at this innocent looking little creek as it appeared on Monday morning.

Amazingly, the pool stayed crystal clear and bright blue through the whole thing, even though most of the lawn area you see in this picture was covered with flowing water during the storm.

This back lawn was also covered with flowing water. You can see the few tree branches that were carried on the lawn from the water.

The larger of our two bridges took the brunt of the force of the water and the pounding of the debris that was carried down the creek. The railing was broken by some rather large tree limbs, but the bridge held fast and strong. The railing was fixed yesterday and the structure of the bridge checked out fine.

But meanwhile, back in the studio -- everyone was enjoying their time with Ann Lindsay!

All-in-all it was a wonderful workshop with a great instructor and a great bunch of people, one we'd love to repeat -- just without the weather excitement!

Still Life in Egg Tempera with Koo Schadler

2011-08-24T17:59:00.001-04:00

Koo Schadler is here this week teaching a 5-day workshop on using egg tempera for still life paintings. Koo usually teaches a class here every other year and each time it is a real treat. She is so organized, so generous with her vast knowledge of the history of egg tempera and its techniques, and such a wonderful and encouraging teacher.

It is the third day and already the students are well into their paintings.

Toni S. decided to stick with her favorite painting subject - sheep!

Painting By The Pool with Kim English

2011-08-23T15:21:00.001-04:00

Around the pool is always a very popular place to paint. There is shade if you want it or you can bask in the sun while thinking of a dip in the pool after class!

Notice that Kim went around to the students in bare feet! I guess he was enjoying the nice green green grass we get in Greenville!

Bjorn set up his easel right at the edge of the pool. I kept watching to see if I could catch a picture of him falling in the pool as he stepped back to look at his painting. Didn't happen!

On another afternoon the class set up a colorful clothesline scene with the two models on the lawn in back of the studio.

Linda found another shady spot to stand while painting -- in the open garage/storage building next to the studio!

Everyone in the class commented about what a wonderful group it was and how it felt like hanging out with old friends. Here are some folks gathering in the dining rooms before dinner.

Quick-Sketch Oil Painting with Kim Enlish

2011-08-17T18:02:00.001-04:00

Kim English, the master of the quick-sketch oil painting from Colorado, is here this week teaching a 5 day workshop to a full class.

The first day Kim had the class doing 5 minute paintings with a model in the studio (it was a rainy day). Once the 5 minutes was up, you wiped off your sketch and started a new one with the next pose. Some people just about had heart attacks with the required speed, amount of paint and turp! But there was method to this madness. The next day the pose time was extended to 20 minutes and suddenly this seemed like a long and leisurely amount of time to paint.

And best of all the sun came out mid-day and the class was able to move outside with the two models and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Today the group went out to our favorite local farm. It was a gorgeous day!

Lots of beautiful paintings and beautiful smiles!

Collage Surface Treatments with Gerald Brommer

2011-08-12T17:28:00.001-04:00

Gerald Brommer was here last week teaching a workshop on some fun methods for surface treatments. This was a new workshop that he developed and the full class and long waiting list was a testament to the excitement that everyone felt about getting into this workshop.

Jerry started each day with a demonstration of new possibilities.

Then spent most of the day going around the room offering one-on-one guidance to the students.

Some really interesting and texturized surfaces were created!

On the final days Jerry showed the students how to use these textured surface as the base for a watermedia painting.

Here are the painting results from a couple students.

If you missed your change to take a workshop with Gerald Brommer this year, don't worry, he'll be back here again in 2013!

Charcoal Figure Drawing with Henry Yan

2011-07-25T10:44:00.001-04:00

Henry Yan, an instructor at the Academy of Art Collage in San Francisco, California, was here for the first time to teach a charcoal figure drawing workshop based on his book, Henry Yan's Figure Drawing, Techniques, and Tips.

"Henry's instruction was excellent" and "Best workshop I've taken" were common comments from everyone.

Henry did daily demos and continued to do additional drawings during the sessions so that anyone who wanted to watch how he worked could continue to do so.

The weather was a "bit" warm last week, so everyone enjoyed the evenings when the temps dropped back down into the 60s and 70s. Sitting out on the front porch of the inn was a favorite thing to do after dinner.

"The meals have been exquisite" -- including this marvelously light and creamy blueberry/orange tart, seen here being assembled in the kitchen before dinner.

It was a good week and we look forward to Henry's return in 2013!

Fabric Portraits with Esterita Austin

2011-07-18T13:33:00.001-04:00

Esterita Austin taught 2 back-to-back workshops here last week. The idea was to start with still life in the 2-day workshop and then progress to a portrait in the following 3-day workshop. Well, that whole premiss was scraped on the first day! Everyone decided that they wanted to jump right in to portraits, including the one woman who signed up for just the 2-day workshop.

As a result, there were some fabulous portrait pieces created by all!

This is Esterita demonstrating how to use textile paint to create shadows that then bring features forward. She is using the amazing portrait piece created by Janet in just two days.

This is the start of the self-portrait by Kris M. of Austin, TX.

And here is the finished piece. Amazing because this was Kris' very first workshop!

Teri spent a lot of time circulating the studio with individual guidance when ever it was requested.

Don't you just love the hair on Jo's self-portrait!

Cindy, from CA, was only there for 2 days of the 3-day workshop, but created this fabulous portrait that really captures her contagious laugh! She said she plans to use it for her FaceBook picture.

This is the portrait of Alison C's husband that she started a couple years ago in another of Esterita's classes at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops and this time she finished it!

The full piece has the entire motorcycle in it, which you can see in the first picture in this blog post.

Fond Memories of the Queen

2011-07-11T18:37:00.001-04:00

Nancy Eha, the "Queen of Beading," was here for what seemed like an all too brief 3-day workshop.

"Fabulous class. Nancy is an excellent teacher and her style adapts well to having a classroom of students with various skill levels. I bead a lot and I was never bored," is what Cheryl K. had to say about the workshop.

Each day was filled with demonstrations of unique beading techniques, such as 3-D beaded patterns and organic beading stitches including sticky lollipops, beaded coils, and easy beaded cabochon settings.

It was marvelous to walk through the studio and see all of beading patterns filling each persons beading sampler in such a variety of lovely hues of beads.

It was a very lively and fun loving group and the laughter never stopped, both in the studio, around the dinner table in the evening and at pool-side lunches in the afternoon.

On the last day of the workshop, Nancy arranged a coronation ceremony and each student was granted beading princess status!

Horses and Dogs with Ellen Gavin

2011-07-02T12:36:00.001-04:00

"Class has exceeded our expectations! Ellen is a fabulous artist and instructor." That was the type of comment we got from everyone in the workshop with Ellen Gavin - Painterly Oils of Horses and Dogs. The conversations around the dinner table were always animated and with lots of laughter. Ellen has a great sense of humor!

I enjoyed watching Ellen's demos myself.

This is the result of demo on the second day of class.

These two pastel paintings are by Barbara Leonardi, who said to me after the first day, "I had no idea I even liked horses!" She had stayed over for Ellen's class after being in the Paul Leveille portrait class just because it followed.

This is a painting in progress by Andrea Agresta. It's not finished but I love her style.

Here is Andrea working on another of her expressive dog portraits.

It was a very productive class and everyone worked on multiple paintings per day. Here are several more snapshots of the participants work.

Pancake Muffins with Strawberries in Syrup

2011-06-28T14:27:00.001-04:00

We debuted a new breakfast special at the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn - home to the workshops. Everyone loved it and was anxious to get the recipe. I've posted the complete recipe on our Inn blog.

Plein Air Portraits with Paul Leveille

2011-06-28T13:56:00.001-04:00

The weather was so beautiful and enticing last week during the Paul Leveille portrait painting workshop, that Paul set up his demo "studio" outside under the shade trees.

It was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon for everyone.

This is Paul's finished demo in oil.

The next day, Paul performed a portrait demo in watercolor.

It was a very relaxed week. Everyone raved about Paul - as a portrait artist and as an instructor! If you missed this year, Paul will be back again - same time, same place - in 2013!

Great New T-shirt Colors On Sale!

2011-06-26T12:33:00.001-04:00

I ordered more of our great Hudson River Valley Art Workshop t-shirts in all new colors and I must have been carried away by the colors because I ordered way too many and now I have no where to store them!

The colors left to right are: Crunchberry, Mystic, Violet, Sandstone, and Salmon.

So we are having a "what-was-I-thinking-ordering-this-many-t-shirts" SALE! The shirts are 15% off - normally $15 and now just $12.75. They come in Small, Medium, and Large. They are on sale until my office table space is cleared off!

If you can't stop by, I'm happy to mail it to you, adding just postage costs - $2.48 for 1 shirt via First Class Mail (or $4.75 via priority if you are in a hurry) or for 2 shirts, $9.37 via priority (no First Class option as the weight is over that limit).

Our toll-free phone number is 888-665-0044. We accept Visa, MC, or Discover.

Expressive Portraits with Paul Leveille

2011-06-21T11:08:00.001-04:00

Paul Leveille is here this week teaching a portrait workshop. Yesterday afternoon he did a demo portrait in oil.

Today and the next afternoon, he'll do one demo in watercolor and the other in pastel.

Last night the group enjoyed a savory Lamb Tangine, shown here in the process of being prepared. It simmers until the lamb pieces are melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Dessert was carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting!

After Paul's workshop is a 3-day workshop taught by Ellen Gavin - Painterly Oils of Horses and Dogs. Two of the people in Paul's workshop are staying for Ellen's, but there is still room in Ellen's class.

As you might imagine, during our workshop season we are kept quite busy and it is hard to get away from the inn, even for just a haircut. But luckily one of our waitresses, Megan, is also a hairdresser! So chef Mark, scheduled her to cut his hair in our office.

So next time you are here and need a new hairdo, ask for Megan!

Karen Rosasco Playing to a Full House

2011-06-14T17:59:00.001-04:00

Karen Rosasco, the award-winning watermedia artist, is here this week teaching an experimental watermedia workshop.

Already some students have expressed interest in signing up for her class here in 2012!

This is only day 2, but Karen has everyone working hard with the various challenges she has issued.

Students have come from far and wide. On this table we have Texas, Minnesota, and Quebec represented, but the prize for the farthest goes to Leo S., who is from Chile.

Karen continually circulates around the room, answering questions and offering individual critiques on the works in progress.

Susan insists that she is not being secretive, just trying to prevent stuff from falling off her table!

This is a great little piece by Sue St John.

A riot of color and materials! Call me crazy, but I just love seeing all that STUFF massed on the tables. Makes you want to just dive in and start creating.

After a full day (and then some) of painting, the group is hungry! Last night's dinner was a braised short ribs Moroccan style - the short ribs are under all of those savory vegetables . . .

. . . . and fresh corn on the cob. Fresh Blueberry Pie was the topper for the evening.

Tonight's dish is a favorite from last season - Chicken Thigh on a Portobello Mushroom with an Orange-Soy Glaze. Dessert is chocolate layer cake with a fresh strawberry cream filling. All of the desserts are made fresh in our kitchen each day.

The Spring weather has been wonderful the gardens around the inn. If you are interested in the happenings and gardens around the inn, check out our inn blog - Inn and Around

Fast and Loose with Frank Francese

2011-06-08T10:22:00.001-04:00

Frank Francese, a fabulous watercolorist from Colorado, is here this week teaching a 5-day workshop.

Frank is presenting a demo each morning and then giving the group a new challenge every day.

The view from the demo mirror. Some very exciting color use!

Final Intense Day in Leah Lopez Workshop

2011-06-06T17:33:00.001-04:00

Everyone in Leah's workshop was intensely focused on their painting while in the studio, but they knew how to let it all go and have fun around the dinner table!

There were some very accomplished artists in this workshop and all of them had nothing but praise for Leah Lopez as an instructor. Judy Scanlon said this of Leah, "She more than met my expectations. She was patient, insightful, and explained things clearly. Besides that, she’s a good person!"

This is Judy and the painting she worked on.

This is a painting by Kenneth Brant.

He started another painting on the third day.

Everyone had their own way of arranging their still life. I think Dottie Laughlin's was the highest!

Jeff Olson and Maureen Ohrtman worked side by side, but each had their own still life set up.

All in all a wonderful workshop and a wonderful bunch of people. Three days seem too short! So we've asked Leah to come back in 2013 to teach a 5-day workshop. It will most likely be sometime in June.

Still Life with Trees and Leah Lopez

2011-06-04T11:47:00.001-04:00

Leah Lopez, known for her incredible classical still life painting, is here teaching a 3-day workshop on still life. However, the weather was just so perfect today that she could not resist taking the class outside for her morning demo.

Leah is painting the Main Inn side lawn which is surrounded by maple, pine, and birch trees.

It's not hot enough to go in the pool yet, but it makes a lovely setting for lunch.

The next workshop is a 5-day workshop with the marvelous Frank Francese, a watercolor artist from Colorado. There is still room in this workshop, so if you have an urge to get away to the beautiful Catskills and paint for a week, give us a call!

Beer and Lightening with Bob Burridge

2011-05-31T12:22:00.001-04:00

We had an impressive lightening storm during Bob Burridge's workshop and Bob was thrilled with it! It turns out that he loves spectacular displays of weather, so during the storm some of us sat out on the front porch sipping beer and watching the show.

The weather during the rest of the workshop was beautiful which was great for experimenting with CitraSolv. CitraSolv is a natural cleaner and degreaser that many artists have begun to use for artistic purposes -- so much so that CitraSolv has an entire section of their website devoted to artists using CitraSolv.

Bob took the class out on the lawn in back of the workshop studio to show how CitraSolv can be sprinkled on National Geographic magazines to create wild and wonderful collage papers.

The class also celebrated Lois' birthday by requesting a specially decorated chocolate chip cookie at cookie time!

And Bob lead everyone in a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday.

Meanwhile everyone continued to produce some amazing work all around the studio. In this corner we have John, Elizabeth, Peggy, and Dale. Most people worked standing up and were able to use the table risers we provide to raise the height of the tables.

In this corner is Cristina and Louise. You can see out the windows how green the landscape around that inn has become.

That big grin on Tanya's face is probably because she got into the class 2 days before it began due to a last minute cancellation by someone else! Bob had a long waiting list for this years class and already his next years class is starting to fill.

On Friday night after dinner everyone gathered for a group photo. What a happy crowd!

Robert Burridge is in the House

2011-05-24T16:10:00.001-04:00

Robert Burridge, the charismatic artist and instructor from southern California, is here all this week teaching abstract painting and collage to a full workshop.

You think he could be a little more enthusiastic?!!

It is day two of the workshop, but already the studio is bursting with wonderful painting exercises and experiments. Bob says "come prepared to paint your stuff" and he means it.

Elizabeth M. got a special surprize this afternoon -- a lovely bouquet of white flowers "sent" by her three dogs, who miss her very much. Elizabeth said they must have gotten worry about her coming back when they heard what a fantastic time she was having at the workshop. Those dogs sure know how to pick a great bunch of flowers!

Outside the studio there is plenty of action with color, too. The trees are filling out with leaves, the lilacs are blooming, and the peonies buds are just about ready to burst open. Remember a couple of blog posts ago when there was a photo of Paul George doing a painting demo of this very same view? Now you can barely see the inn behind the oak and maple trees!

Spirals and Value to Value with Carol Taylor

2011-05-20T20:05:00.001-04:00

Everyone in Carol's class seemed to work non-stop! Each piece was unique to the individual.

As this was the last day of the workshop, everyone gathered for a class picture on the porch of one of the cottage rooms. Thank goodness the weather cooperated and the sun came out just at this moment

These are the small pieces that were create first to learn the technique and process.

And this is the long narrow pieces that everyone created after that! Some glorious colors.

Carol Taylor will be teaching for us again next year. The class will be titled Improvisational Scrap Quilts. Already this class is generating a lot of interest. So don't wait too long to get in on the fun.

Carol Taylor's Improvisational Art Quilts

2011-05-17T14:46:00.001-04:00

Carol Taylor, the renowned award-winning art quilter from Pittsford, NY, is here this week teaching a multitude of techniques for improvisational art quilts.

This afternoon she was explaining how she attaches yarn to the quilt in those perfect spirals that you often see on her quilts.

After the demo, Carol went around to each person to for further individual guidance with the technique.

It's been a good couple of days to stay in the studio what with all the on and off rain, but at least the lilacs are loving it!

May Workshops - Watercolor, Fabric, and Acrylic Collage

2011-05-08T12:38:00.001-04:00

It has been a quiet first week of May, especially after the lively crew here for Paul George's workshop!

However, the fun is about to begin again!

Coming up next is a 3-day watercolor workshops with Barbara Nechis - May 12 - 15. There is a couple spots left in this workshop.

Right after Barbara, we have a wonderful fabric and fiber fest with Carol Taylor teaching a 5-day workshop, May 15 - 21, on improvisational piecing and fiber embellishment.

Following Carol's class, is Robert Burridge teaching one of his "Loosening Up" workshops. This class is full with a long wait list, but never fear, Bob will be back again in 2012.

Watercolors with Paul George

2011-04-30T17:14:00.001-04:00

They may have had to drive through torrential rains, but nothing was going to stop these artists from getting to the 3-day workshop with Paul George! Luckily once here, the sun came out and it has been a beautiful weekend.

This afternoon, Paul took everyone outside to our parking lot to do a demo painting of the back of the main building of the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn (home of the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops).

He started with filling in the large shapes.

Then added the larger details.

After the demo, the students had the choice of painting outside around the inn or going back to the studio to paint. The workshop day was finished with a group critique.

Fresh Spring Pastels with Susan Ogilive

2011-04-27T11:08:00.001-04:00

Susan Ogilvie, a wonderful and talented pastelist from Washington, was here teaching a workshop for us last week. Susan has taught here many times and it is always a joy to have her back.

The week went by so quickly it was Friday before I realized I had not played my paparazzi role to capture the workshop in action! But I did manage to get a picture of some action around the dinner table.

All those smiles are probably (in part) because of the yummy cherry pie soon to be served for dessert.

Made fresh that day in our kitchen, this pie is made from organic dried cherries and features a marzipan crust. Naturally sweet without being overly sugary sweet!

Yard Show

2011-04-18T17:33:00.001-04:00

It was a good week with Fran Skiles' workshop group and it was over too soon.

On the final day, everyone hung a couple pieces of their work on the lines in back of the studio and a critique and discussion was had.

If you missed out on this class (there was a long waiting list), you'll have your chance again when Fran comes back in 2013.

Mono-Printing with Fran Skiles

2011-04-14T10:43:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the class was doing mono-prints. It wasn't long before the design boards and walls will filled with prints!

The class is very international. We have Gerri Bea from Canada . . .

Cristina from El Salvador . . .

Fern from Florida . . .

Louise LL (also from Canada and a wonderful collage artist and instructor, too) took over a corner of the studio and filled it with her work!

Today I'm making a run up to the nearest art supply store for more gloss medium to fuel the prodigious amount of fun this group is having.

Fiber and Paper Collage with Fran Skiles

2011-04-13T12:20:00.001-04:00

Fran Skiles is here this week teaching a 5-day workshop on fiber and paper collage. It is a full workshop and everyone hit the ground running! Within a couple hours of starting everyone working furiously!

The first day Fran showed how to use a sewing machine to create line and texture on white or black canvas.

The class is made up an exciting mix of art quilters and mixed media artists!

Fran is obviously inspiring a lot of enthusiasm in the class. No wonder the class filled up very quickly.

Today the class is working on mono-printing on various textured papers. Pictures to follow in the next post!

Inks, Paints, and Digital Photos with Lura Schwarz Smith

2011-04-06T15:09:00.001-04:00

Lura Schwarz Smith is here with us this week teaching a 5-day workshop on using inks, watercolor pencils, fabric markers, paints, and more on fabric.

Lura arrived a couple days early and the first thing she did was set up the media table -- a dazzling array of inks, markers, and pencils for everyone in the class to use.

The first couple of days were spent on exercises to learn or improve the students drawing skills and working with inks for shading and details on drawn images or digital images.

This is Janis using Fabrico fabric markers to add details to a digital image that she printed in Kerby Smith's workshop. (Three students actually took advantage of the back-to-back workshop experience -- and discount, to take both Kerby's class and Lura's.) She is turning an image of winter in New Mexico into a hot summer day! The colors are tremendous.

Here is an example of some of the drawing and shading exercises completed by Joan L. They practiced drawing faces both right side up and upside down. It was interesting to see how well the upside down faces turned out.

Then they used Tsukineko fabric ink to colorize their drawings.

You can also see some of the digital images that Joan created in Kerby's class.

She's a Pip and a Master Fiber Artist to Boot!

2011-04-05T09:49:00.001-04:00

On May 1 - 7, Elizabeth Barton will be back again at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops teaching a workshop.

Elizabeth currently lives in Georgia, but was born and educated in York, England. She still has that wonderful English sense of humor! Before devoting herself full time to teaching and making art quilts, she taught at the University of Georgia.

The workshop this year focuses working in a series and how this process can speed the development of your own unique voice. You will be exploring many ways of creating quilt designs based on a single theme or idea. The aim is to generate lots of designs and then critique them discovering as you do the basic principles of good design.

Elizabeth is excellent at encouraging and guiding you on how to work from your own ideas and discover your own unique voice. Your ideas can abstract, realistic or impressionistic.

This is an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a master instructor in a small class size setting. This means lots of individual attention and lots of room to work and explore multiple ideas at once. Not to mention, that Spring is a beautiful time of year in the Catskill and Hudson River region!

Elizabeth Barton also has a lively blog where she talks about art and thoughts there of.

Join the party and sign up for this fabulous workshop!

Digital Prints on Fabric

2011-03-31T14:48:00.001-04:00

Kerby Smith's class has begun playing with their digital images and printing them on fabric in ernest! When Nancy R came in to pick up the lunch she had ordered, she said "I'm so excited I can't sit down for lunch. I have to take my lunch back to the studio and keep on going!" Nancy is working with a marvelous collection of photos she has taken of old doors.

These are all images that are printed on fabric. They are using EQ Printables.

Here is a fantastic image created from an original photo by Joan L. Kerby showed the class how to take a copy of the original, skew and swirl it with photoshop, then overlay it with components of the original photo (the tea pots).

This is everyone still at work right through their lunch hour! The excitement is building as the ideas and prints keep coming through.

Digital Photography with Kerby Smith

2011-03-30T15:49:00.001-04:00

California professional artist photographer, Kerby Smith, is here this week at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. He is teaching a 5 day workshop on digital photography, working with PhotoShop Elements and printing on fabric.

The first 2 days of class were spent in the studio. Everyone was set up with their laptop or desktop computers following along as Kerby explained various uses of PhotoShop Elements and how to get the images and the colors you want for printing on fabric or paper.

Today Kerby took the group out for a picture-taking walkabout. It was the perfect Spring day for it, too!

They took pictures around the inn, Greenville Arms 1889 Inn, too. Here is Joan taking a picture of the shop thread display.

And, of course, when the group came in for cookie time, Kerby had to take a picture of his chocolate chip cookie!

Everyone is having a grand time and just can't say enough good things about Kerby and what a wonderful teacher he is and how patient he is explaining all the technical details of PhotoShop.

Kerby and his wife, Lura Schwarz Smith, co-wrote a fabulous book called "Secrets of Digital Quilting: From Camera to Quilt" with 8 projects and 25 techniques, including inking, painting, and embellishing. I highly recommend it! We sell it in our shop, but you can also pick up an autographed copy directly from Kerby and Lura

Was That One Too Many Pieces of Lavender Chocolate?

2011-03-26T17:39:00.001-04:00

Kerby Smith arrived to today in preparation for his workshop "Point and Shoot Fabric", which starts tomorrow. He arrived while we were all up to our necks making, packing, and shipping chocolate orders (trying to be finished by the time everyone arrives tomorrow!)

Kerby is a professional artist photographer and he will be teaching the students how to take great digital photos and then manipulate them in PhotoShop Elements to create unique artistic expressions. He will then show you how to print the images on fabric to use in art quilts or mixed media collages.

This image is an example of what the class will be exploring! I think the lavender chocolate has gone to his head! This is definitely going to be a fun workshop.

There is still room in the class, so if you are the spur of the moment type there is still time to sign up! The actual class days will be March 28 thru April 1.

Dynamic Smith Duo - Lura and Kerby

2011-01-13T14:26:00.001-05:00

We have a dynamic husband and wife team coming to teach back-to-back workshops at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops this coming March/April.

First up is Kerby Smith, an award-winning photo artist, who will be teaching Point and Shoot Fabric - March 27 - April 2, 2011. This five-day class shows you how to get the most out of your "point and shoot" digital camera.

You'll improve your picture taking skills on a photo walkabout led by Kerby Smith. In the classroom you will be given a simple and easy way to process your images for printing on fabric using the inexpensive computer program: Adobe Photoshop Elements. You will get the latest information on which fabrics and printers work the best for making digital fabric.

Right after Kerby's workshop, is Lura Schwarz Smith's workshop, Inks, Paints, Pencils, and Fabric - April 3 - 9, 2011.

Working with images of your choice, produce a small art quilt top from your own photographs or drawings while learning to draft distorted traditional blocks, and construct textures with a free-form paperless curved piecing technique.

Experience various paints, inks, materials and ways to play with imagery. Design and composition exercises are explored, as well as the opportunity for in-depth shading and drawing assistance in rendering images on fabric. Samples of digital photographic fabric will be provided, or bring your own, to enhance with art materials. Emphasis is on individual applications of techniques, and the fun of developing your own style.

The benefit of taking both of these workshops is that you get to learn how to incorporate the digital images that you create in Kerby's class into the art quilt that you create in Lura's workshop!

As an added bonus, when your sign up for both workshops you get the between night lodging (Saturday, April 2nd) for free AND $100 discount off the tuition of Lura's workshop.

Missing the Workshops Already

2010-12-29T09:40:00.001-05:00

It always happens -- when the last workshop finishes for the year we are always happy to have the time off to relax and work on long put-off projects, but then around the end of the year, we start missing all of the fun and laughs that the workshops bring! So I'm counting down the days until the fun begins again.

The first workshop of 2011 will be with Melanie Testa. This will be a 3-day workshop, March 24 - 27, 2011, on creating your own fabric designs with soy wax and Procison dyes.

Melanie is the author of "Inspired to Quilt, Creative Experiments in Art Quilt Imagery," Interweave Press, 2009 and graduated with a degree in Textile/Surface Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology.

Today, Melanie's art explores themes of the human form, birds and nature. The first steps of her process often involve journaling on paper using paints, collage and pen and ink. She then interprets those drawings and paintings using Procion MX dyes on both cotton and silk organza. After creating these whole cloth quilt tops, collage elements are added, the layers are quilted in place and the work is bound and finished to hang on the wall.

Melanie has a wonderful blog where you can follow along with her design and inspiration process.

Gone Squirrely

2010-12-10T09:04:00.001-05:00

We are having a blast in the studio and at the dinner table. Laughing, laughing, and laugh. Last night it was over American meanings to Australian slang. ;-)

But in the studio we have turned to squirrels -- as our subject matter.

The rabbits are mostly done -- except for their final composition scene.

Leonie Lister's is on the left and mine is on the right.

Leonie is well on her way with her squirrel.

While I'm tagging behind, as I was called away to the office way too many times!

In between working on the squirrel, Leonie has be trying to finish or at least get everything attached on her piece that she started in Esterita Austin's workshop.

Lynda Long is at the stage where she is assembling the final composition. This is a photo just before she started stitching the components together.

There is no snow close by to where Leonie lives in Australia, so when a sudden snow flurry happened the other day, we all rushed out to get pictures before it all disappeared by the afternoon.

Fused Animal Figures

2010-12-08T13:43:00.001-05:00

We are in the midst of our December retreat and the rabbits are coming together nicely.

We started out by creating the template patterns and enlarging them on the studio printer. (No one wanted to leave the nice warm studio to drive to Kinko's!)

Then the fabrics were selected and cut to the template pieces and assembled into rabbits!. Linda did a running rabbit.

This is Leonie's rabbit in process. Leonie is here from Australia!

And here is the rabbit I am working on.

Today we are stitching all of pieces down to finish them off. Linda is already creating the other elements for her overall composition - grass, cattails, and mushrooms - all made from some incredibly luscious hand-dyed fabric by Judy Robertson.

Leonie and I are having too much fun putting together animal figures, so we are going to next move on to squirrels! Leonie said that she loves squirrels.

In between working on her rabbit, Leonie is also working on completing the still life piece that she started in Esterita Austin's workshop. It is really coming together nicely!

Mark, the chef, has been taking advantage of the small number of people here and is trying out some dishes for next year. So far we've enjoyed a Moroccan beef stew and some Lamb Tangine. Both were so, so yummy. We also got to sample a new dessert featuring almonds and philo dough. Very yummy.

Still Life in Fabric with Esterita Austin

2010-12-04T12:09:00.001-05:00

Teri Austin is here teaching a 3-day workshop on creating a still life in fabric - with no sewing involved, just fabric, Misty Fuse, organza and textile paint.

This morning Teri gave a quick demo on painting an image to fuse onto organza. She starts with a line drawing of the object placed under a piece of release paper (shiny side up). Then using Lumiere textile paints from Jaquard, Teri showed how she mixes color to create the values for the painting, and then paints directly on the release paper.

Next, she lays a layer of Misty Fuse on top of the paint and then a layer of organza.

Then the extra release paper is folder over the image (or use another sheet of release paper) and the image is ironed to fuse the painted image to the organza.

The resulting image on the organza is a somewhat transparent image that can be sewn or fused into your still life composition. The image can be further enhanced by more paint or stitched lines.

Looked like a really fun technique. I think I'll have to get some Lumiere paint and organza in stock!

Tools and Techniques with Judy Simmons

2010-11-16T12:31:00.001-05:00

Judy Simmons, a Fairfield International Invitational Fashion Show designer for many years, recently taught a 5-day workshop for us. An experienced teacher and author, Judy packed the workshop with loads of technique and process information. A sampling of the topics covered were microwave dying, machine needle lace, machine texture, bobbin work, dimensional and off the edge appliqué, creative methods of machine appliqué and using sheer overlays. Surface design techniques include stamping, paint sticks, and Angelina fibers.

This is an example of machine lace.

This picture illustrates some bobbin work using heavy weight metallic thread and the decorative stitches available on most home sewing machines.

Judy presented demonstrations throughout the day, but allowed plenty of time for everyone to practice and play with the techniques.

It was a fun group that not only had loads of fun in the studio, but even had a little hula hooping session after dinner one night!

Nabila, a belly dance instructor, showed everyone how it was done!

Sandee, from Canada, showed great form too.

Sheila, from Oregon, worked on a jacket. The floral fabric is fabric that she designed from a photo of her garden. The picture was sent to Spoonflower, a custom printed fabric company, to turn into yardage. Sheila was thrilled with the resulting fabric.

Using the custom fabric as a start, Sheila then further embellished and painted the fabric using the methods that she learned from Judy.

The weather was beautiful all week. I caught these fabulous pink clouds as sunrise one morning.

Bonus December Retreat

2010-11-12T17:25:00.000-05:00

Come to our Bonus Retreat in December.

Our Retreats are a time for people to get together and work on their own projects with no set program. If you're self-motivated and could use time to concentrate without instruction, or if you have a friend you want to spend time with, or you just want a relaxing art vacation, the Retreat package is for you.

Take advantage of this uninterrupted time to finish your holiday projects!

As a bonus for this retreat, Kim LaPolla, workshop director and fiber artist, will be joining you in the studio and will provide informal lessons on how she designs and creates the rabbits for her quilts. Kim will explain how to create a pattern and templates starting with a photo or illustration. Kim uses both a turned-under applique method and a fused method. Other techniques and processes will be covered, such as the crazy-pieced background.

Come join us for this fun week. Enjoy the 24-hour access for the studio, full country breakfast, afternoon cookies and fruit, and delicious 3-course dinner. Also unlimited coffee, tea, and hot chocolate!

Dutch Baby Breakfast Dish

2010-11-04T11:41:00.001-04:00

Everyone has been asking for the recipe for the "Dutch Baby", a breakfast dish that is sort of like a large puffed pancake that is baked in oven. It is one of my favorite dishes and I don't get to make it that often, mainly because I usually only make it for small groups, as it does take a little longer to prepare and I only have so many small skillets!

So here is the recipe:

Dutch Babies (or German Pancakes)

For four servings,

4 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

1 Cup Flour

approx. 6 - 8 Tablespoons of butter/margerine

Preheat oven to 425 while you are blending the the egg mixture. Crack the eggs into a blender and whirl at high speed for about a minute. With the motor running, gradually add the milk, and then the flour. Continue whirling for 30 seconds.

Portion the butter into one large oven-safe non-stick skillet (3 - 4 quart size) or 4 small oven safe non-stick skillets (1 quart size) (I use a 8" teflon oven-safe skillet to make individual servings), then put in the oven to melt. If you are using 4 skillets, divide the butter equally between them. I also spray the pan with non-stick coating to make sure the Dutch Babies don't stick to the pans, which would spoil the presentation!

When the butter is melted, pour the egg mixture into the skillet/skillets and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. It is done when edges are browned and the center is firm.

Serve immediately. May be served plain, sprinkled with powdered sugar, syrup, lemon wedges, or fruit.

Fiber Revolution Exhibit in Hunter, NY

2010-10-31T09:35:00.001-04:00

Fiber Revolution is a group of artists that exhibit their work around the country and recently held a retreat at our inn, the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn.

This year they have an exhibit at the Kaaterskill Fine Art Gallery in Hunter, NY. Hunter is only 40 minutes away from us.

This is one talented group, so you don't want to miss this exhibit. It is open from Nov. 27, 2010 to Jan. 9, 2011. The opening reception is Saturday, Nov. 27th, from 4 - 6 pm.

Watercolor Portraits with Mary Whyte

2010-10-28T15:22:00.001-04:00

Mary Whyte is known for her stunning portraits and she is sharing her process with the students in this workshop.

Today is day 2 of portrait work. The day starts with a quick demo by Mary and then the class spends the rest of the day working on their own portraits while Mary circulates around the class offering guidance and advice as needed.

There are two models in the class room with the students spread out around them. One of the models is one of our waitresses, Megan.

Megan says this is the first time she has ever worn a hat!

The other model for the day was Bonita. This is her first modeling experience but she says she is enjoying it very much!

How quickly the week has passed! Tomorrow is the last day of the workshop. During the first half of the day, everyone will get to choose their favorite subject matter - still life, landscape, or portrait, and work on a painting. Then in the afternoon, the group will gather for a critique.

Watercolor with Mary Whyte

2010-10-26T11:34:00.001-04:00

Mary Whyte is here teaching a workshop this week. She will be leading the class through the process of painting still life, landscapes, and portraits.

In case you didn't see it, Mary was recently featured in a bit on CBS Sunday Morning show about her series of paintings to preserve on paper a vanishing breed of workers. Really worth watching!

Yesterday was spent in the studio working with still life compositions. Today, everyone is outside enjoying the magnificent Fall weather and colors.

This morning they are painting around the Greenville Arms, but this afternoon they will be heading over to a local farm.

The sculpture you see in this photo (the tall "house") is by a California artist, Lisa Friedman.

Here is Mary giving an individual critique of one of the student's work from yesterday.

You'll see how nice the weather is by the short-sleeved t-shirts worn by some. There was a Hudson River Valley Art Workshops t-shirt buying frenzy last night after dinner, including an impromptu fashion parade!

Still Life and Abstract Designs

2010-10-21T15:26:00.001-04:00

It's day 4 of Katie Pasquini Masopust's workshop and everyone is working feverishly to assemble their designs. Colors and fabrics were selected yesterday and no time was wasted at the breakfast table this morning! Before you could say "Scrambled Eggs with Horseradish Cheddar Cheese" (the daily special), everyone had rushed off to the studio to get cracking!

This piece is by Alison Chandler. She is working totally abstract, as a number of others in the class are as well.

I had taken a picture of Alison ironing some of the pieces in place, but decided not to put it on the blog when Alison said, "Oh, great. Now my husband will want me to do ironing for him!" I understand her sentiment - don't ask an art quilter to iron clothes!

Jane Strickler is working on a still life of a tea pot.

This is friends, Libby and Pam, hard at work in their corner of the studio.

Katie is showing her technique of using spray starch to get a neat edge turn over on the pieces.

This is Barb Caldwell, who is working on a really nice leaf composition.

Everyone is making great progress and I'll bet the studio lights will be burning late into the evening for a bunch of folks.

Meanwhile, there is a lot of color happening outside of the studio. The leaves on the trees seem to changing right before my eyes. Within a couple days, I'll bet the trees one either side of the yellow tree with be changed as well.

Katie Pasquini-Masopust is Here Again

2010-10-20T11:03:00.001-04:00

It is always a grand time when Katie is in the house! She is a wonderful teacher, has a great sense of humor, and has a wealth of knowledge that she generously shares with her students. And she just had one of her own works accepted into Quilt National!

This year Katie is teaching "Transforming the Still Life." She started everyone off drawing a still life design based on white objects. Everyone was suppose to bring in something white and Katie brought a number of things, too, as well as a spray can of white paint to convert anything to the right color!

Once everyone was finished, all of the white object were gathered together to get picture of one large still life set up!

The group also did exercises creating black and white studies of their designs and then played with watercolors to work up some color schemes for their design.

This is Jane Stricker. Love her color exercises!

Here is the design wall of another student.

Besides enjoying the workshop tremendously (several students have already said they are signing up for Katie's 2011 workshop here before they leave), everyone is having a great time around the dinner table. It is apple time in New York, so this week is sure to see some yummy apple pies for dessert.

Searching with Skip Lawrence

2010-10-13T11:28:00.001-04:00

Skip Lawrence always says that in art, the "search is more important than the find", and in last weeks workshop the class had a grand time searching!

Here are Stan and Rosemary busy with one of their daily challenges.

Skip was constantly circulating through the group to provide individual assistance, as well as preparing for his daily demos.

I love this piece by Peggy Gardner!

Another regular, Ruth Rooks, was busy in her corner creating some wonderful figurative pieces.

Study to Studio with Kenn Backhaus

2010-10-12T10:30:00.001-04:00

Kenn Backhaus taught a wonderful workshop just a couple of weeks ago. This was his Study to Studio class.

The week was prime for Fall color -- if only the weather would cooperate! And it did finally on Wednesday. It was a glorious, sunny Fall day and Kenn immediately took the group to Olana, the historic home of Frederick Church.

They started out down by the pond and barn buildings, then at lunch time Kenn moved them up to the site of the house.

The views were magnificent!

Here are some student comments about Kenn and the workshop:

Kenn is an outstanding, dedicated teacher. He teaches concept and thought process, as well as many technical things. He have many hours of this time beyond the 9 to 4.

The combination of the Victorian Inn, the wonderful instruction, the meals, and comradery, and the time to work at painting was a little bit of heaven for me.

----- Marla S.

The class surpassed my expectations. Kenn is a patient, understanding teacher who imparts his knowledge freely to the class.

-- Sandra K.

Pat Dew's and Her Rowdy Crew

2010-09-28T11:00:00.002-04:00

Pat Dew's was back again to teach a 5-day watermedia and collage workshop. This years group had an especially good time. The laughing started on the first night at the dinner table and continued right until check out time!

On the second night we had a brief power outage in the town and were prepare to make and serve dinner by candlelight.

But luckily the power was restored just as the salad was being served. Everyone still requested dinner by candlelight, so we left the candles on the table burning and just dimmed the lights. Some marvelous freshly made blueberry pie was the dessert for that night.

In the studio there was a constant buzz of creative excitement as Pat provided lots of demos and the students then took their turn at using the ideas.

This is Roxie Johnson, a digital artist from Hyde Park, NY. Pat asked her to bring in her portfolio of work to the class and Pat herself went home with a couple of Roxie's pieces.

Pat Dew's shares a studio with Jada Rowland, a landscape and portrait artist.
Pat talked Jada into stepping out of her normal mode of painting and joining the workshop to tried her hand at abstract work!

Before Pat left she generously gave us a copy of her new DVD - Pat Dews: Let's Get Started Finishing. It will be in our DVD library, so next time you are here - take a look!

Margaret Dyer and Judi Betts

2010-09-27T20:01:00.003-04:00

The end of summer has been a whirlwind of activity, so I'm a little behind in my blog posts.

Margaret Dyer was here at the end of August teach a 3-day workshop on pastel figures. Margaret is always a very popular instructor. She had just taught for us the previous year, but all the students clamored for a repeat so we quickly added Margaret to our 2010 schedule.

This talented group of students worked with both nude and clothed models. Margaret kept them challenged with multiple changes of model poses and painting angles.

The 3-day ended too quickly for us and the students! But not to worry Margaret has already agreed to return in 2012 to teach.

The next class up was with Judi Betts. Judi is such a delight to have here. Her enthusiasm and passion for her art is contagious!

Judi introduced a number of exercises to stretch the students skills with using color in their compositions.

Another fun/challenging exercise was when Judi surprized everyone with a male nude model! Ok, the male in question was our Dalmatian, Hudson.

The last time Judi had taught here, Hudson had been a puppy and was slightly less energetic! This time Judi said he was the wiggliest model she's every worked with.

But everyone did their best to capture the "essence" of Hudson and some really nice sketches resulted.

I was the model handler and if the students wanted a less wiggling model, they could sketch me instead of Hudson.

If was a fun class and several of the students, who have attended many of our workshops, said that Judi was a really wonderful and generous teacher, in fact they said that she was "Xtraordinary"! (Judi's website is Xtraordinaryart.com.)

Judi Bett's will also be returning in 2012 to teach another 5-day watercolor workshop.

Maybe we can find a less wiggly male nude model by then!

Another Wonderful Week with Stanley Maltzman

2010-09-15T19:43:00.001-04:00

Several week ago was Stanley Maltman's pastel workshop here at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. Stanley is a local artist (from Freehold, NY), but has been getting a lot of national and regional acclaim lately. He has been winning awards and get exhibit invitations left and right. Pretty good for a young 80-something!

Because Stanley has living in this area for such a long time, he knows all of the good painting spots! It was a beautiful weather week and this location on the Catskill Creek was perfect.

Stanley will be teaching a workshop again for us next year - August 7 - 13, 2011, and besides the daily painting instruction, he is going to do an evening presentation on how to frame your pastel paintings.

They Had Joy, They Had Fun . . .

2010-08-13T18:25:00.001-04:00

On Thursday, Mel Stabin's group spent the day in the studio working with two different models.

Mel did a demo in the morning and then the students had the rest of the day to work.

It will be sad to see everyone leave tomorrow morning after breakfast. It was a fun week and the smiles and closeness of this group photo says it all!

Look for Mel to return again in 2012!

Mel Stabin is Back in Town

2010-08-13T13:22:00.001-04:00

Mel Stabin is here this week teaching a 5-day watercolor workshop to a full house! And what a fun loving full house it is.

The week was started by Mel taking his group down the street from the inn to paint in his favorite "first day" location.

Besides this former church, there are a number of other interesting old houses on this corner.

Everyone found a shady spot to settle into and went to work, after Mel's morning demo.

At lunch time I loaded up our garden cart with the sandwiches and salads (a complete salad bar) that some of the students had ordered and carted it down the street.

The hungry crowd immediately swarmed around the cart.

Oil and Water Do Mix Well Together

2010-08-13T12:51:00.001-04:00

Well, at least the oil painters and the watercolor painters in Betty Carr's 5-day workshop did!

They enjoyed a lively time at the dinner table and in the studio.

We had perfect summer weather that week, which of course meant it was time for a barbecue!

Mark prepare beef ribs, slow cooked over mesquite charcoal and then slathered with his own secret BBQ sauce (it includes a hint of chocolate!)

Everyone enjoyed the feast and were appreciative of the warm washcloths handed out after dinner to clean off the yummy BBQ sauce.

Daily Painting with Carol Marine

2010-08-12T13:49:00.001-04:00

Just a few weeks ago Carol Marine arrived from Texas to teach a 3-day workshop in creating small still life paintings in oil.

Carol is well know for her daily paintings blog and her work, that she sells on eBay.

Here she is doing an "egg demo" - a small still life featuring just a raw egg on a orange plate.

Carol put everyone through their paces creating quick still life paintings - both as value studies and with color.

There was a lot of fruit in the studio for those three days! Luckily the A/C kept the studio cool and the fruit stayed fresh.

Here is a lovely pear painting . . .

And the model for the painting!

On the third day, Carol explained to everyone how to capture your paintings in digital photos and use PhotoShop to crop them in preparation to posting them on a blog and on eBay.

She also discussed how to start a daily painting blog and set up a store on eBay for your paintings.

It was a marvelous 3 days with this fun loving group with Carol as their ringleader!

We look forward to Carol's return to teach a 5-day workshop in 2012. If you are even thinking about it, don't hesitate too long before signing up -- we are already getting enrollments for this class and the class size is limited to 16.

Sketching at the Fair - with Lew Lehrman

2010-08-11T19:09:00.001-04:00

Lew Lehrman came back for one more time to teach his Travel Sketching workshop.

This time the workshop coincided with a Youth Fair in a near by town.

It was a sweltering day, so the group took refuge under the "Fair Idol" tent. They sketched the sights of the fair while listing to the vocal stylings of the idol-hopefuls.

The fair was a well attended event and had all the requisite fair pleasures - the big white tents,

Food vendors, selling things like Texas Tornado potato chips and lemonade.

Here is Lew helping a mother-daughter team, Elizabeth and Sarah, as they painted their sketches.

Couldn't be a fair without the kids and their horses.

And flop-eared rabbits.

And what could be better for dinner after spending the day at the fair, but yummy fresh the farm sweet corn.

Paired with Orange/Soy Glazed Chicken Thighs baked over a Portabello Mushroom.

On another night, Lew had the group sketching their dinner. Mark, the chef, did his best to create a dinner with large shapes and clear contrasting colors - like this fresh spinach salad with white mushrooms and red tomatoes.

On dinner sketching night, some of the students contributed to the colorful display, bringing sunflowers and a watermelon purchased from Story's Farm, where they had spent the afternoon sketching.

Dinner was finished with some White Chocolate ice cream. Mark added the brush of dark chocolate to provide contrast with the white bowl.

Thanks, Lew, for another successful workshop!

Yes, We're Still Here and Still Having Great Workshops!

2010-08-11T18:23:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it is a month since my last blog post. I guess we've just been having too much fun with the workshops.

Now let's see . . . where did I leave off.

Yes, the wonderful weekend with Larkin Van Horn (she'll be back in 2012!)

Following Larkin, was another fantastic workshop taught by Rayna Gillman - Deconstructing the Screen.

This is Rayna giving a little trunk show of her own work.

This was a wonderful class made up of both fiber artists, wearable art artists, and print makers. A marvelous convergence of ideas and talent.

If you're wondering about the pile of white fabric on the tables, it is
the mother lode of machine-made lace. It was donated to us by an inn
guest of ours who was downsizing. The piles use to fill 4 tables, but
now it is down to just 2. It is free for the taking, so if you're in the
area stop by soon before it is all gone!

The railing on the North Cottage was turned into a drying rack / display!

The rope lines strung between trees in the back of the studio also featured a colorful display every day.

Rayna and Calli talk about screen printing. Calli is the sister of Koo Schadler. Koo teaches an egg tempera class for us. (Koo is coming next year - sign up early as her class always fills quickly.)

Freeform Beaded Medallions with Larkin Van Horn

2010-07-18T19:50:00.001-04:00

We welcomed Larkin Van Horn back again to the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops, this time to teach her workshop on Beaded Medallion quilts.

This was a 3-day workshop, so everyone got right into it right away! Within a short time after arriving everyone had their workspace set up for maximum beading efficiency.

It was interesting to wander around the studio to see how each person organized her beads and supplies.

Larkin started everyone creating small fused compositions that they could embellish with beads. It wasn't long until everyone had a colorful piece in the works.

They also had a hilarious time around the dinner table. The laughter seemed continuous.

The biggest joke of the weekend was about our new white towels.

During orientation, Mark when on and on about what was not "allowed" to be done to our new fluffy white towels. (He was doing a little embellishing of his own with the towel "rules.") No painting in your room, no wiping off makeup, no using at the pool, no cleaning shoes, etc. Mark even kidded that we were thinking of having the towels hung in locked plexiglas cases - just to keep the white.

Everyone joked about the towel policy for the next 3 days. (We don't really have a towel policy.)

Then on the final evening the group presented Mark with a flagrantly misused white washcloth! Everyone had beaded, quilted, and kissed with lipstick a washcloth (one of our old ones, not the new ones).

Now Mark had a visual aid for his orientation on towel use!

The turtle on the washcloth in reference to the snapping turtle in the pool story Mark told people so that they wouldn't try swimming at night in the dark.

It's always a fun time with Larkin and we look forward to her return in the future.

Plein Air Fiber Art

2010-07-10T18:17:00.001-04:00

I told Carol Soderlund that she was our first plein air fiber art workshop! (We've joked about having solar powered sewing machines for more outdoor fiber art workshops!)

The weather was so beautiful that the class spent a good part of the time outside. A clothes line was strung up in back of the studio for drying the created fabrics. It made for a very colorful display.

It's a good thing that Carol Soderlund is close enough to drive to our location, because she was able to bring a lot of dyes and other supplies for the class.

The class turned out some really fantastic fabrics. This is an example of a discharged commercial fabric.

Here is a closer shot where you can see some of the original fabric design showing through.

This is an example of a potato dextrin resist used prior to dyeing.

This was also potato dextrin used with a paper pattern pressed into the resist and then dyed.

Carol also presented a slide show of fiber artists who use discharged fabrics in their work. It certainly was inspiring.

It was a wonderful workshop and everyone had such a good time and learned a lot. We look forward to the next time that Carol Soderlund teaches here.

Dye Magic with Carol Soderlund

2010-06-30T15:36:00.001-04:00

Carol Soderlund has returned to Hudson River Valley Art Workshops to teach her "Dyeing to Discharge" workshop.

Her students are discovering the possibilities of discharge-- the removal of color from dyed cloth. Using both commercial fabrics and cloth dyed specifically for discharge, they are selectively removing and replacing color.

Carol always emphasizes safe studio practices, even though the weather has been so nice that the class is working outdoors most of the time.

Looks like martians have landed!

I think this is our first "plein air" fiber art class. I'm hoping to get pictures of the incredible fabrics the group is creating on the cloths line that we are stringing up between two trees.

The pool is also a big hit with the class, with several folks taking a dip every morning before breakfast. This is the first time that fiber art workshops have been scheduled in the summer.

This is Mark playing "sea monster" with Hudson.

David Dunlop at Olana Again!

2010-06-30T07:58:00.001-04:00

On the final day of the workshop, David Dunlop took his group to Olana, the historic home of Frederick Church.

It was an absolutely beautiful day!

This is David giving an individual demo to Judy on painting Van Gogh style.

Everyone like to paint at Olana, not only for the incredible inspiration, but also because there is plenty of shady spots to paint from! This is at the edge of the large pond located near the barns of Olana.

This student set up right at the water's edge!

The reflections on the water that day were brilliant!

The clouds against the blue, blue sky were mesmerizing.

Painting at John Boyd Thatcher Park

2010-06-25T17:23:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday, David Dunlop took his class to John Boyd Thatcher Park, which is long the Helderberg Escarpment, one of the richest fossil-bearing formations in the world - nice views, too!

David got his exercise going from person to person to offer assistance with their painting.

A group of classmates set up on the little bridge over the top of a waterfall.

Each day David covered different art period techniques and showed people how to paint in the style of the past masters.

While I waiting for everyone to finish the lunch I delivered, I took a quick hike down the Indian Ladder Trail.

You descend the first part via staircase and get to admire the view and marvelous rock formations.

Further along is this waterfall. The trail leads under the waterfall, but I didn't go that far because I didn't have anything to protect my camera from the spray. This is the same waterfall that the artists were set up at the top.

When I return to the picnic table, everyone was already enjoying their sandwiches.

The class participants weren't the only ones interested in a good lunch. This little chipmunk perched in this tree next to the table keeping an eye out for stray bread crumbs.

Painting at John Boyd Thatcher Park

2010-06-25T17:22:00.001-04:00