Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Happy World Play Doh Day From ReMe Retreats!

Creativity is at the heart of ReMe, and most of us can trace our love for all things artistic to our earliest childhood memories.  Finger paints?  Yes!  Crayons?  Of course!  Coloring books?  Gotta love them!  Play Doh?!?!?!?!?  Only for the luckiest amongst us!

Our love for Play Doh begins at the moment we spy its distinctive yellow exterior on the shelf at the store; it continues as its sweet scent greets us when we lift the lid; and we just can't seem to get our fingers on it fast enough!  It's easily accessible, and working with it is soothing, forgiving, and oh so magical! And don't even get us started on the vast array of accessories and colors that are available now!

Did you know...

... that Play Doh was born in 1956, a very good year?

... that Play Doh is made up primarily of water, salt, and flour?

... that enough Play Doh has been sold through the years to go to the moon and back three times? 

... ,for metal lovers, that you can fit 172 pennies in a Play Doh Can?


You can learn all about this and more on Play Doh's very own Facebook Page here.

At ReMe, we love reminiscing about our childhood memories of creating.  Please join the fun by sharing your favorites in the comments section below. 

Friday, September 11, 2015

ReMe Recipes - Jean's Peach Upside Down Cake

Both in the studio and in the kitchen, at ReMe we adore creating.  We also love to share our personal culinary traditions with our ReMe Sisters.  

With that in mind, last week your ReMe Hosts took one for the team.  In the name of "quality control", they sampled Jean's Peach Upside Down Cake, and happily declared it fit to serve to our ReMe Guests!

Jean never learned of Pineapple Upside Down Cake until she was an adult.
In her family, the peaches for this cake came from her Grandpap's trees in his urban garden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania..

If you'd like to try it for yourself at home, her recipe follows:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Melt a stick and a half of butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan, and spread it around.  (This recipe will also work with two round pans.  Just divide all of the ingredients between them, and take about ten minutes off of the bake time.)

2.  Sprinkle  the melted butter with a 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar.

3.  Cover the brown sugar and butter with fresh peaches that you've peeled and cut.  Jean doesn't measure these; she just eyeballs them.  Maraschino cherries can be added too.  (Jodi's son, Josh, assures us that this cake is better with cherries!)  

4.  Next cover the peach layer with your favorite cake batter... boxed or homemade...yellow and spice are both delicious.

5.  Bake on the center rack for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6.  Cool in the pan, and invert onto a serving platter. 

7.  Ice cream makes everything better!

Please Note: This cake will work equally well with canned peaches.  Just be sure that they're well drained.

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Please comment below, and tell us if you think that Peach Upside Down Cake should be added to the menu at ReMe.  

We'd love to hear about your favorites too!

Monday, September 7, 2015

Congratulations to our "Favorite Things - Art Supplies" Giveaway Winners

First off, we would like to thank EVERYone who participated in our latest Blog Series:  "Our Favorite Things - Art Supplies!"  We had great fun sharing our Favorite Things, and enjoyed learning about some of yours.  We loved all of your comments, and appreciate your taking part.  Stay tuned, we have more creative sharing coming your way!

AND *drumroll, please...* we are tickled to offer our congratulations to our latest Winners!  We drew one name from among the entries from current and past ReMe Regisitered Attendees, and one from all other comments/shares.  The Winners are:  Audrie Prince (ReMe Guest, October '15), and Victoria Burgess (whom we hope to have with us at a future event)! Please contact us at:  reme@remeretreats.com with your mailing info., and we'll have your sampling of some our favorite things on its way to you!

Audrie shares:  "I enjoy a good art store; not just a craft store. The art supplies challenge me because we all know about paper and pens but I like to look around, inspect closely, and find something that I know nothing about. A new challenge or toy helps me to expand my knowledge. It's loads of fun."

Victoria notes:  "Haven't tried the Catalyst tools yet but I have used silicon kitchen utensils for mark making. :)  It is very simple, but one of my go-to tools is bubble wrap. You can make marks in wet paint, molding paste or mediums as well as stencil with it. Plus, you can relieve stress by popping it too! LoL"

We're only SIX weeks away from our return to Ocracoke in October!  Make sure that you are subscribed to our Newsletter (link on left side of BLog home page) and have liked our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RemeRetreats) for all the latest news and fun updates from the land of ReMe.

We'll be seeing you here again, soon!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Day 10 - ReMe Retreats' Favorite Things - We Love It All!



Today we'll finish the "ReMe Retreats' Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  If you've been following these posts for the last ten days, it's apparent that Penny, Jodi, and Jean each has her own list of art supply favorites that are longer than their arms!  In the previous nine posts, they just began to scratch the surface, and they'll return to this topic again with a future list of favorites.
Having said that, each of them has expressed that one of the biggest benefits of creating with others is that magically, each participating artist seems to receive more than they give.  This is true among them as the founders of ReMe.  

Penny educates Jodi and Jean regarding the characteristics and possible uses that make each type of paper unique.  










Jodi shares the ways that she uses paints and mediums in her own work, and helps Penny and Jean to see the possibilities of them in theirs.  



And Jean waxes poetically about her love of all things metal and found object.  



Each of them also finds the same to be true of their treasured ReMe Guests, aka ReMe Sisters.  These talented women teach them so much from them as they're creating together!





It's interesting.  Although each of the favorite art supplies featured in these posts appear diametrically different at a glance, many of the words that Penny, Jodi, and Jean use to describe them are exactly the same.  Fluid, flexible, soft, hard, luscious, versatile, brilliant, subtle, and inspiring; are words that could be used to describe almost any of their favorites.

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For your chance to win our Fabulous ReMe Favorites Prize Package, please post your answer to one or both of the questions below in the comments section.  You'll also earn an extra entry for each time you share this post on social media.  Just be sure to post a link to your share here for us to count your extra entries.  (All entries must be received by 12:00 Noon, EST, on September 4, 2015.)


What descriptive words would you use to describe your favorite art supplies?  

Why do you love to create with others?

Thank you for visiting; be sure to check our Facebook Page tomorrow when we'll announce our winners!

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In less than two months, ReMe Retreats will return to Ocracoke,
and there’s still time to join us!

Please use the link on the left side of this page to register.

When the link disappears, we’re full to capacity.


Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Day 9 - "Our Favorite Things- Art Supplies" Series: Mark Making Tools

                               



"Our  Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  
In no particular order; JodiPenny, and Jean will take turns sharing a few of
their creative must-haves.
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Hello Friends,  it's Jodi here today.   Welcome Back to Day 9 in our series of "Our Favorite Things"!  We are having a blast doing this, and hope you are enjoying it as well!

 In my first post, I shared with you the paint I love to use most before moving on to some of the mediums that can make your paintings full of texture and interest.  Today I'm going to share with you, some of my favorite tools that are also key components  for me in developing  a wide range of marks in my work. Some may be very familiar to you and others may be a wowza..I need to try that 'Thang' introduction!  

 Let me start by saying that I love texture.  I do not love flat looking paintings.  Let me rephrase that, I don't love for myself to create flat looking paintings.  I want my viewer to dive right into the painting and wonder how I achieved a certain look or to be mesmerized by the layers of depth created.  The bonus is that I get a huge thrill out of making this all happen!

Part of my own artistic process that gets my creative juices flowing, involves devising ways to create juicy touchable texture.  I encourage my students to try new things, too.  You can do this too!  Try combinations of things and not to be afraid to experiment.

Sometimes you stumble on some really cool processes that create looks that make you glow in a basic of discovery.


 You may never be able to replicate these marks again, but that's okay.  You will discover new things and keep yourself fresh.  Life would get boring if every piece you did looked the same anyway (or looked like someone else's), right?


Okay so without further adieu, here are some of the tools I love to use in addition or with the gel mediums and acrylic paints mentioned in my first two posts.


As you can see, all of these are well loved :)   

Palette knives-come in all shapes and styles, plastic, textured, big, small, flat, skinny.  One tip, if you buy a metal one be sure it's stainless steel as others that are less expensive will rust like no tomorrow if left in a water container.  Not that you would ever do that.   I use these to mix paints, to add paint to my canvas,  scrape into areas, and to draw or write sgraffito style into my work.

Foam backed Rubber stamp--this one featured has cool bubble wrap type circles by my friend Nathalie Kalbach. (I love your stamps Nat so much, I'm afraid I've abused them!!!.  I like the foam backed stamps because working on a soft flexible surface such as a canvas, you need a flexible stamp tool to get a nice mark.  

Catalyst Wedges--if you like to play with Gelli plates, you probably are familiar with these tools. They come in several different shapes or cuts as well as range in how flexible the plastic is to work with.   These make great lines and scratches along with patterns within your work.  


Can you see all the delicious marks and layers??  Yum yum and fun fun!!!



Another view  with some additional catalyst wedges and blade to the right.  I use the flat wedge all the time to paint with or scrape off paint with.  

Going back to my love for line work in paintings, the Fine Line applicators are the perfect solution for quick lines and for larger paintings. I normally use sketching dip pens and acrylic or india ink, but these are even easier to use.   Watercolor artists use bottles like these for masking fluids, so it's a similar concept except instead of leaving a white area from the masking fluid, you are adding line work in whatever colors you chose to work in.

**The replacement tips can also fit right on top of your small 1 or 2 oz jars of paint!

While there are always commercial products you can buy to make memorable marks and textures (such as stencils and tools mentioned above), take a moment to look around your home, kitchen, heck even look down as you are walking--you never know what interesting tools you may come across that can be used in your work to give it that unique flavor only you could give with your one of a kind bad 'arse' artsy self!

Let us not forget, the tool that generally is always available and can probably make some of the most interesting marks??  Your hands and fingers! :)



For your chance to win our Fabulous ReMe Favorites Prize Package, please post your answer to the question below, in the comments section.  You'll also earn an extra entry for each time you share this post on social media.  Just be sure to post a link to your share here for us to count your extra entries.  (All entries must be received by 12:00 Noon, EST, on September 4, 2015.)


Tell us of a favorite mark making tool you've  'collected' in your stash of go to goodies.   What kind of marks do you like to make while painting?


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In less than two months, ReMe Retreats will return to Ocracoke,
and there’s still time to join us!

Please use the link on the left side of this page to register.

When the link disappears, we’re full to capacity.


In the words of many of our pasts guests,  "ReMe Retreats, puts the 'treat' back into Retreats!  



Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Day 8: Our Favorite Things-Art Supplies Series: Paper!

Welcome to Day 8 of
"Our  Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  
In no particular order; Jodi, Penny, and Jean will take turns sharing a few of
their creative must-haves.

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Greetings, gentle readers!  Pardon our fumble, yesterday -- we are back in the groove, and in keeping with the wisdom that "good things come to those who wait," we will carry on with our countdown and if you have been waiting to to weigh in with your own favorite things, now you will have an extra day!  We can hardly wait to hear about the things you love to work with! 

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Hello, gang -- Penny here, again.  At the risk of appearing a "one note wonder" my final installment in our countdown once again features PAPER.  Don't get me wrong, I love paints, markers, inks, brushes, canvases, and all manner of artful goodness!  However, the starting point for virtually any project is usually the same for me:  what paper best serves to tell the story I wish to relay.

Vintage dictionaries (loaded with woodcut illustrations), atlases (colorful representations of faraway lands),
ledgers and stock certificates (with their patinas of handling and age related wear), and onion skin paper.
...these are a few of my favorite things!

Today, I have turned my camera on some of the treasures in my collection -- okay, fair is fair -- VAST collection of vintage papers to share with you the utter joy I find in working from this point of origin.  Having previously discussed my appreciation of quality Art Papers, and utter amazement at the sheer volume of Handmade Papers, I am now focusing on the heart of my horde -- vintage papers.

The vivid colors and fine details of lithographed cigar bands.

The muted colors and sequential numbers of British bus tickets.

The beautiful engravings and foreign mystique of Chinese commodity coupons.

Labels and tickets and coupons, OH MY!  I am not really sure how it started...  I remember playing Post Office with my cousin as a young girl -- using the "lick and stick" magazine stamps from Publishers Clearing House as our postage stamps.  The simple pleasure found in folding on the perforations, the satisfying whisper as the coupon was cleanly separated from rest of the sheet...  For as long as I can recall, I have been enamored with all things paper!

Old calendars yield beautiful illustrations (and all those NUMBERS!?).  Unusual bits and pieces can add an exotic flair or surprising 'pop' to virtually any creative undertaking.  Is it any wonder I can't seem to get enough of these treasures?

Birds from two old calendars find new life amid dictionary pages
in this mixed media triptych.
Altered tickets burst from a tiny blizzard book constructed from an index page of a vintage atlas.
 
An embossed cigar box label becomes a shadow box, framing the island of Sicily.
A tiny bird from a tea card peeks in.

So...  How about you? 
Do you have a favorite "oh, you can't throw THAT away"
ephemeral notion

Is there a 'certain thing' that you always have your eyes peeled for
during an outing to thrift stores and/or yard sales?


For your chance to win our Fabulous ReMe Favorites Prize Package, please post your answer to the question below, in the comments section.  You'll also earn an extra entry for each time you share this post on social media.  Just be sure to post a link to your share here for us to count your extra entries.  (All entries must be received by 12:00 Noon, EST, on September 4, 2015.)
 
-- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - --
 
 
In less than two months, ReMe Retreats will return to Ocracoke,
and there’s still time to join us!

Please use the link on the left side of this page to register.

When the link disappears, we’re full to capacity.