Grateful Moments ReMe October 2015

If we have been a little quiet over here at ReMe it's because we all are coming down from the retreat high of our latest ReMe adventure in Ocracoke.  As quick as it started, it seemed we were saying teary goodbyes!   As all of us immerse ourselves in the 100's of photos taken during the course of the event, here's a sneak peek at some of the beginning preparations we had going on behind the scenes before this lovely group of women joined us a little over a week ago on Ocracoke.  We will be sure to share even more as the weeks go on so you can be at the retreat in 'creative spirit' with us!

We try to make the retreat as carefree of an adventure as we can, that's why you'll see all of the organizers and instructors schlepp tons of goodies for the 'kids' to play with and or purchase if they choose while we are together.     Lucky for students, we are all hoarders    "collectors" of a bountiful  amount of goods they are able to use  for classes. That in and of itself saves tons of money and stress from having to purchase your own stash for one class!

Yes you see prescription bottles to the left of Penny's display, but there's no pharmacist needed for what's inside--a dose of artsy goodness in a variety of forms (some have labels, ink nibs, watch parts and more).

Jean has a huge collection of stamps and tools to make embossing metal a breeze! Hammers, pliers, and stamps..oh my!

Jodi may have more paint then a Michael's store just sayin :)   Plenty of colors, mediums, and other fun tools to be shared with our guests so they can get their paint on with professional results!

A little peek at our pre-guest arrival the first night. The ReMe 'elves' had a fun little project to get everyone started in the festivities.  That was after our catered opening night dinner from an island favorite eatery. I'm not sure how we created anything after that feast!!!

Can you believe Eduardo brought all this delicious authentic Mexican cuisine over to our house on these beautiful platters?     Be sure to visit Eduardo's Taco stand if you are on the island.  You won't be disappointed!!

Oh lookie...a treasure from our May girls!   A sweet surprise for us to discover as we set up for the event!

Penny brought a personal treasure to decorate and inspire our coffee station.  The island brings forth a sense of peace and grounding for sure, but we all need reminders from time to time to allow it to come into our being.   One of our lovely guests, Audrie,  was nice enough to share breathing and yoga techniques each morning to whomever wanted to participate.  Taking a few minutes each day to breathe deeply to  ground yourself is so important.  Self care is something we all say we need to do, but do we really take the time necessary to do it? It doesn't even have to be a huge amount of time Audrie shared, it can be as little as 15 minutes a day or whenever you have time to spare, and you will start to see a difference in your world.  

This year has been  quite a year for your ReMe organizers, we all have faced our own personal mountains to overcome, yet at the core of it all is our faith in doing what we love and faith that we are on the right path no matter what life twists and turns show up at our door step. Each and every one of us uses words and text in our art.  Here you see one of Jean's pieces that reminds us that One Day At A Time is all we need to focus on in those crazy days of life. Sometimes it's one minute at a time.      This year once again we were blown away by the stories our October girls shared with us. Poignant stories, of triumph, overcoming obstacles,  funny adventures, and amazing accomplishments.    

We are lucky indeed to have had the pleasure of their company for our 4th ReMe retreat.  Thank you all who joined us, you will forever be in our hearts and are now one of our ReMe Sisters for Life.

Stay tuned as we will be sharing more memories and moments from ReMe 2015.  

If you are looking to join us in 2016, please sign up for our newsletter (link is on the left) for updates and announcements!

Artfully and gratefully yours,

Jodi, Jean and Penny

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!