Exploring Cold Wax and Oil Painting : A Mini Retreat of Fun and Creative Adventure!

ReMe Presents-Exploring Cold Wax and Oil Workshop

Hello everyone!  This year has been a whirlwind for Jean and Jodi as they have moved studios,  grown their event hosting from 2 to 4 workshops & retreats,  added on a 'home' for the ReMe Sandhills event, and perhaps even bigger news for Jean-she's opened a gallery & studio space right next to the ReMe studio called "ARTworks Vass"  (be sure to like the gallery page on Facebook if you haven't all ready!

The  latest ReMe mini retreat was recently held at ARTworks Vass,  "Exploring Cold Wax and Oil Painting" with  (Jodi Ohl) at the helm as the instructor, and Jean holding down the hospitality end of the mini retreat  throughout the weekend.

And what a weekend it was!  We started off the event with an arty party/show opening,  featuring Jodi's new collection of cold wax paintings entitled "Serendipity".   Tons of visitors stopped into the shop to mingle with fellow art lovers and students, as our ReMe co-owner, Jodi Ohl, discussed her new work and processes.    With students traveling in from around the country to take part in this contemporary process of using cold wax with oil painting, you could almost feel the excitement in the air the night before the  weekend of creative exploration!

After learning the basics of what cold wax painting entails,   the students began working on various substrates that would develop over the 3 days of scraping, scratching, painting, and layering!  We were all amazed that with the same instructions, how different each and every painting turned out!

Eating, drinking, painting, and being merry--what more could anyone want?  To be sure, all the students and instructor walked away with a treasure trove of information to explore even further after we parted ways on Monday.

If you missed out on this mini retreat and are interested in cold wax and oil painting, rumor has it that Jodi will be teaching an introductory course online entitled  "Abstracts in Cold Wax and Oil Painting" at the end of the summer.  She is gathering up student names and emails that have expressed interest and want to potentially join in  the online course. If that person is YOU, be sure to sign up by clicking HERE.  *Students on this list will be first to know about having early early bird specials, plus benefit from some product and or class giveaways*

Our next major retreat for ReMe will be our flagship event in Ocracoke the first week in May.  While it is sold out (our May event is very small and sells out each year BUT in the event someone cancels and you'd like to be on our waiting list, please email us at reme@remeretreats.com

We hope you will continue to visit us and and partake in all that ReMe and ARTworks Vass has to offer both online and in person!   Thank you for your support and patronage!   YOU are why ReMe continues to grow and evolve, and YOU are why we love our jobs more than you will ever know :)

Until next time,

Jean and Jodi
Along with the ReMe Team

A New Home for ReMe - The Sandhills - October 2017

Early registration is now open for
ReMe - The Sandhills - October 2017!  

(Yay!)

And we're happy to annouce

(Insert Drumroll Here!)  

that due to popular demand

(More Drumroll Here!)

We have a new house to call Home for ReMe - The Sandhills - 2017! 

• This house is all that we could have imagined for our perfect home in The Sandhills.  
• It's located in the Historic District in Downtown Pinehurst, North Carolina.
• It's within walking distance of The Village and its shops and restaurants.
• It's within a twenty minute drive of our studio classroom.
• There's an outdoor garden and yard area that's beyond beautiful.
• There's a cozy living room and fireplace for informal gatherings.
• There are several dining areas and other gathering places.
• There's also a pool table, a dart board, a hot tub, and so much more!

The only downside to this property is that there will be room to house just ten guests, plus your ReMe Hosts, Jean Skipper and Jodi Ohl.

We'll be offering two different ReMe Retreat Reservation Options next year as a result.  The first will include lodging in The ReMe House, and the second will be offered for guests who wish to coordinate their own lodging.

Rooms in The House will be filled as reservations for them are received.  If informal communal gatherings are a priority in your ReMe Retreat Experience, we encourage you to reserve early to be sure that space is available.

You'll find photos of the house and more information about it here...

http://www.remeretreats.com/lodging-and-travel1.html

You'll find our reservation page here...

http://www.remeretreats.com/register-now-for-reme---the-sandhills.html

(Please note that both "First Time Guest" and "Alumni" payment buttons are available.)

And you'll find the first draft of our week-at-a-glance-schedule here...

http://www.remeretreats.com/reme-sandhills-schedule-at-a-glance.html 

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In the mean time... we'd love to hear from you.
If you've stayed under the same room with us at a previous ReMe Retreat, 
what were your favorite parts of the experience?  

If you've not stayed under the sane roof with us yet at ReMe,
what would you anticipate most eagerly?

Please provide us with your thoughts below in the comments.

We really mean it!  

In fact, on March 28th at noon, we'll use a random number generator to select a winner for a surprise package from us to you.  What will be in it?  We'll be as surprised by that as you will!  And we promise that it will be good.




More of your thoughts are a good thing. So to keep things interesting, we'll ask you to leave up to one comment per day.  


Sharing our post on any social media site will also get an extra entry too.  Just be sure to leave a separate comment below that contains a link for your share.

Thanks for playing!

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

                               

"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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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!  

ReMe - It's All About The Art!

The calm before the creative storm of ReMe!

When ReMe was just a twinkle in its founders' eyes, they set out to design an all-inclusive mixed media art retreat.  The three of them... Jodi, Penny, and Jean... joined forces because of their similarities and their differences.  At their core, each of them is big hearted and hard working; they love to create; and they have what appears to be a compulsive need to share their love of creating with others.  (What more do they need to have in common?!?)  As for their differences, one of the most apparent is the manner in which they express themselves through their art.

Jodi's Dirty Flirty Birds

Jodi Ohl loves to paint.  Yes, she's multi talented.  Collage, stamp carving, lettering, journaling, and more are all well within her areas of expertise.  Regardless of what Jodi creates, she does so in her very own big bright beautiful style.  From birds to hearts, from villages to abstracts, from sea creatures to pods, Jodi's enthusiasm is contagious in the classroom.

Penny's recent demo at Jerry's Artarama

Penny Arrowood loves all things paper.  Penny binds books, alters books, and knows more about paper itself than almost any person we can imagine.  Each piece of her finished work is a treasure and a testament to her love of her craft.  The precision with which she works is one of her greatest strengths, and it's absolutely amazing to watch her students flourish under her enthusiastic
tutelage.

A few pieces from Jean's collection.

Jean Skipper loves metal, found objects, and stuff in general; and she's obsessed with incorporating these materials into her sentimental
and whimsical jewelry and mixed media assemblages.  In the classroom, Jean thrives on translating metalsmithing techniques in a manner that relates to each students at his or her level of experience.

Begin with the diverse interests of ReMe's founders...

Add the enthusiastic wildly creative spirits of eight or nine guests from across the country...

Shake it up with a healthy dose of The Spirit of Ocracoke...

Then sit back and watch the ReMe Magic happen!

 

 

At ReMe, it's all about The Art.  

Or is it? 

Our guests, our ReMe Sisters, are really the most important part of each ReMe Retreat!

Of course, some of our Guests are more "special" than others!  ;-)

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Please stay tuned, as our next post will share a bit more about our guests!

(Special thanks to Patty Sieck for allowing us to use this "special" photo of her!!!)