lisamitchell

Barcelona's VI Festival of Artist Books and Limited Editions, and a special guest...!

It's been quite some time since I've last posted; since the beginning of the new year I have been dividing my time between various projects. I am very pleased to finally share some news on them with you:
Next month will be time once again for this year's annual celebration of the Barcelona “VI Festival of Artist Books and Limited Editions”, hosted by the Barcelona Cultural Association IDLE (I libri de...), organized and curated by the Association's Art Director Elisa Pellacani.

(click here for my summary on last year's Festival 2010: “Human Book”)

The Festival is held in Barcelona once a year, to specificially coincide with The Feast of St. George, on April 23rd, 2011, declared by UNESCO as the "International Day of the Book". Each Festival carries a specific theme; this year, its fourth, has been titled “Use A Book”, intended to inspire reflection on the usefullness of the book in artistic creation.

The Festival features the work of book artists from the world over, and coinciding with this year's theme of "Use A Book", will include “handbooks, travel logs, journals, books to build with and books to play with, memoirs and projects: the book; an opportunity for the artist to dialogue with the world".

 
My participation in the Festival this year is particuarly special, as not only will I be taking part as a book artist and author at the event, this year I am honoured to have been invited to participate as a contributing author in this year's edition of the book-catalogue that is edited and published to coincide with the day of the event, (April 23rd), of this year's edition of “Use A Book”. (Whoo-hoo!)

The Association ILDE is currently coordinating a program of events, including “meet the artist” venues, book talks, exhibitions and specific workshops so that everyone will have the opportunity to be present and take part in and enjoy the Festival “Use a Book” 2011!!!:

 

I will be present as a participating author at these meetings and exhibitions, as well offering workshop activities planned as part of the Festival at the various participating venues in Barcelona.
For further information on the many venues and workshops being planned for the Festival, please click here to consult the Association's website.

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In conjunction with the Festival, I am also pleased to share some news on upcoming workshop opportunties with a special guest artist who will be present to coincide with the Festival 2011: for the first time in Spain, Cheryl Darrow, owner and founder of “TENseconds Studio” based in Texas, USA will be present both at the Festival itself as well as at several other venues where she and I will be giving workshops.

Cheryl Darrow is the author of the book "Metal Effects", the DVD&CD “the A to Z of METALworks” and two “Die Cut Art” books.

She is the "creator and owner of TENseconds Studio, founded in 2004, which she runs together with her daughter, Megan, since 2005. Cheryl conducts mixed media workshops at Scrapbooking shops and workshop studios all over the world. She has taken the age-old art form of repousse and brought it into the 21st Century, using her many metal embossing tools, mats, a wide range of coloured metals and her incredible selection of fabulously textured molds. Her passion for arts includes Calligraphy, Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and showing others how to "metalize their worlds"!"

You will be amazed and inspired at all the wonderful things you can create with TENsecond Studios metal, tools and molds! Come and see us at the Festival and join in on the fun and creativity in our workshops!

Here is a small sample of some of the amazing Scrapbooking, mixed media and artist book projects that have been created using TENsecond Studio's fantastic products:

I will be updating in the near future with more details on Cheryl and my workshops.
In the meantime, should you have any questions or if you are interested in reserving your spot (as spaces in the workshops are limited), please don't hesitate to contact me directly by email...To be continued...!

this Friday: an "inedible Fondu"

This weekend is Barcelona's annual craft and hobby trade fair, "Creativa". I will be collaborating with Scrap House Barcelona for the third year in a row, and sharing some new workshops, which (I am happy to report) have sold-out!

I am really looking forward to my first workshop on Friday afternoon, as it will be the official "debut" for the Ranger Melting Pot® in a workshop in Spain! We will be experimenting with UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) and Beeswax! I've put together a vintage style Christmas project on wood, which we will use as our base for a series of 3-dimensional pieces that we will create out of UTEE and wax, by way of another great Ranger Inc. product, known as the "Mold-n-Pour" (so addictive!)

Here's a peek at what we will be making!

...So versatile, what you can do with some stamps, some Tim Holtz® "Idea-ology™ Findings, Ranger "Perfect Pearls" pigment powders, acrylic paint, UTEE and a nice hot Melting Pot® of bees wax...! Can't wait!!

Enjoy the rest of your week! ...Happy NOVEMBER!

a little update and some new workshops

Hidey hoe! Comment ça va? I hope all is well in your orbit. Things are tickety-boo around here...busy, but managing to keep myself at an arm's length from getting stressed by any of it. Except today I guess I have to admit--because I was, by 10 o'clock in the morning, dealing with 1) workers on our rooftop hosing water at high pressure to try and determine the source location for the various incessant leaks we've had in our ceiling since 2004 (which have been repaired only 3 times), 2) addressing the kitten pee left by our lovely new pets on our aupair's bed...in other words, looking up on the Internet recipes for "how to clean cat pee out of mattress and sheets" and brewing up a concoction of "hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and hand soap" to clean as instructed...AND 3) walking around with plastic bag atop my head, as part of my head de-liceing ritual. How's that for an entertaining start to your day!?! Holy Rumoli! ANYHOO...Fortunately for me, the afternoon was "less eventful" :)

I've some new workshops coming up over the next two weeks: On October 30th, I'll be teaching an "Altered Photo and Images" techniques workshop at "Scrap, Paper, Tisora" LSS in Vilafranca del Penedés (near Barcelona), and then the weekend of 5-7 November, teaching for the third year in a row at Barcelona's annual Craft and Hobby and Fine Arts trade fair, "Creativa". (Creativa began in Belgium in 1998 and currently is held annually in a circuit of 16 cities throughout the southern regions of Europe.
This year, Spain is participating with its recently held in Valladolid fair (1-3 Octobre), the upcoming Barcelona fair, and then a third and final edition in the city of Zaragoza, in 2011 (25-27 February).

I will be teaching two new workshops at the Fair--I'm looking foward to those, as we will be learning how to work with a product that isn't very well-known in Spain: the Ranger Melting Pot, and some great techniques using melted bees wax and Ranger UTEE to create a hangable Christmas-themed project!
I will also be teaching a techniques workshop that focuses on a variety of products from the Ranger Distress line. Fun, fun, fun!! If you're at the fair, please do come by the Scrap House stand and say hi! Information on the workshops is posted here, on my Spanish blog. 

I also would like to share, or more correctly shall I say "introduce" you to someone I have just discovered via Youtube. I saw this video the other day and it just left a huge smile on my face and made me have a little think. And I like people who inspire me that way. As such, I always like to pass that on. You might have already heard of him (as things sometimes take a little bit longer to reach me over here in Spain). His name is Sean Stephenson. And here's one of his videos. I hope you enjoy it :)

Have a good one! And I agree with him: life is s'posed to be fun--it's too short to be so serious...So go get your groove on and get SILLY!

on the road again...!

Hey, it's been awhile...!! And it's been a super active September! Been busy with multiple projects and things at home, what with all that getting into the new "back-to-routines" routine. But of course you know how that goes, I am sure you've had a busy month as well.
Tomorrow will find me on the super speedy AVE train from Barcelona to Madrid and then on to Valldolid for our first edition of Spain's "Creativa" Craft and Hobby Fair,

...where I will be teaching two new workshops for "Bambola Casa Creativa" Scrapbooking stores, based around the Madrid area.

I am looking forward to sharing these two new workshops with participants at the fair--(both workshops have sold out if I am correct). I'm also looking forward to the road-trip part of it, as it's the first time I have visited this area of Spain (Valldolid). I am told that area is where the "purest Castillian Spanish" is spoken. We will see how it compares to my Barcelona Spanish (which I usually unintentionally tend to mix with Catalan, so I'll have to really make an effort not to mix the two languages this weekend! ;)

Click here, here and here for more information on my workshops, if you are interested (or simply want to practise your Spanish! ;) 

Cheers and enjoy your weekend!

        ...Happy OCTOBER!!

I'm goin' to New Jersey!

 

 This coming 12-14 March, I will be participating in Ranger U! (For those of you who have never heard of Ranger U before, or are not familiar with Ranger Industries Inc., I shall explain a wee bit!)

Ranger Industries Inc. is a well-known manufacturer of products in the stamping, scrapbooking, mixed media, jewellery and home décor industry. Twice a year, they offer a carefully-selected group of 24 store owners, instructors and published designers the opportunity to visit their New Jersey headquarters and receive training as “Certified Ranger Educators” via their training program, known as Ranger U. 

Ranger U is a full 3-day advanced hands-on curriculum with some 75 techniques that features Ranger products and the Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth and Suze Weinberg signature lines. We work with Tim, Claudine and Suze throughout the duration of the course and have the opportunity to learn their “tricks of the trade”, up front and centre! Participants also get a behind-the-scenes look at Ranger Industries, their manufacturing facility, and learn about how Ranger products are made. 

Here are a few links to blog posts that Tim, Claudine and Suze shared about their sessions last year, just to give you an idea of how much fun is had at Ranger U!!

Tim 1

Tim 2

Tim video

Claudine 1

Suze 1

Suze 2

Suze 3

So it is indeed an exciting opportunity for me to be able to travel to the other side of the world to take part in this education and training experience! For someone like me, who loves Ranger products and uses them in just about every project I create, I don’t feel at all unlike Charlie when he’s about to visit Willy Wonka’s factory! 

Not only am I excited about everything I'll be learning, I am also looking forward to having the opportunity to meet and chat with the other participants who are all a part of the industry: store owners, instructors and designers coming from all over Canada, the US and Europe. 

I don’t doubt that I will be bursting with new ideas and inspiration when I get back from Ranger U, so if you’re interested in knowing how it all went, check back here sometime after the Ides of March!

Cheers and happy trails until then!

Well, hello, October!

Holy guacamole. I just noticed I haven't posted since the end of August!
It's not that I've been ignoring my blog, mind you. I have been busy keeping up with things on the Spanish version of this blog, it's Siamese twin so to speak ;)

So what's been happenin'?

Well, the beginning of September was mostly about all that "back to school" routine stuff. We had our new aupair, Siri, arrive from Gotland, Sweden early in the month, so we spent the first week helping her get her bearings and into her Spanish classes and all that. Then we all took a little long weekend trip away to the mountains, just an hour out of Barcelona (Montseny, it's called) for some R&R in the country. (I'll try to post some photos of that cuz it's so gosh-darn beautiful up there).

Then Annie was back to school on the 14th. We got a new (wonderful) educadora in our project (she doesn't go to a regular preschool, but rather an alternative ed--Montssori type--project that is run co-op style amongst the participating families) so we are looking forward to a great year with her. We are all looking forward to the return of one of our families, next month, from Vanuatu (Melanesia), where they have been for the last few months...Annie has really missed her best friend. It will be a wonderful reunion for all the kids!

Then on the 19th, I hosted a 1-day workshop event with guest artist Nathalie Kalbach in my studio. She taught two Prima endorsed classes, which all the participants thoroughly enjoyed. Check out my Spanish blog for photos! (click here) There was lots of creativity and experimentation going on in there all day, and we were especially impressed with our youngest participant (an 11 year old), who amazed us with the originality of her ideas. It's always the kids who are best at thinking out of the box, eh what? And Nathalie was a great instructor, and a wonderful person to work with, as well as being a talented artist. Thanks again, Nathalie!

Coming up next weekend, I am repeat hosting an Intensive Weekend Workshop on "Byron Katie's The Work" (click here for link).

If you ever have the opportunity to experience a workshop in The Work, I completely "heart-fully" recommended it. Learning how to do The Work has brought me SO much peace of mind, and has become my greatest tool in dealing with what life deals me. I use it every single day and I know of no other method that brings me more in touch with myself and my own individual truth.
I have had such great insights both in my own inquiry and in witnessing those of others in the workshops. It's a blessing and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn how to do The Work, as it teaches and helps me to let go of the battling with Reality, and to simply attempt to love what is. If you ever do do a workshop, let me know what you think!

And following along at the end of the month, I am hosting a second weekend event of Scrapbooking, Mixed Media and Art Journaling workshops with the fabulous Dina Wakley (Arizona, USA)!!
Participants will be exploring how to use "layers, layers and more layers" in our art journaling work, and she will be sharing some wonderful hand-bound mini-album projects with us, ones that are sure to include lots of her signature elements and of course, spray-ink glaore!!
Check out my Spanish blog for project photos (click here!)

Other than that, not much else is going on! ;))

I hope that this new month of October brings you lots of new adventures (cuz life is an adventure, isn't it!?), that the seasonal change relects the continuing change and renewal in your own life, towards creating just the life that you want for yourself and those you love.
Wishing you blessings and happiness,
...until next time! :)

On the "Prima Endorsed Artist-Educators" blog...

The scrapbooking products manufacturer Prima Marketing Inc. has created a special blog for its international “PrimaDonnas” (Artist-Educators) as a platform to share information on upcoming workshops and classes, as well as share ideas, techniques and inspiration.

Their latest post on upcoming classes includes our workshop event with Nathalie Kalbach (as she is a PrimaDonna) on 19 September, in Gavà (Barcelona) Spain.

If you would like to see the Prima blog post (scroll down the page), click here.

For more information on the workshops with Nathalie, click here.

I hope you are having a good week...More news on upcoming workshops soon!

An update on the Workshop event with "PrimaDonna Artist Educator", Nathalie Kalbach!

As some of you (including myself!) have been on holidays, and others are soon to return home, and yet others are about to begin them, I thought I would do a quick update on information relation to the upcoming event of Workshops with “PrimaDonna” Nathalie Kalbach from Germany, on 19 September, 2009, in Gavà (Barcelona), Spain.

We will have the wonderful opportunity to spend the day together and learning with this Prima Marketing Artist-Educator in what will be her debut workshop event for Spain!

As a highlight to these workshops, Nathalie will be sharing some of her secrets and techniques for working with what is perhaps a lesser known or less utilized product in Spanish scrapbooking and mixed media circles: Ranger Adirondack® Alcohol Inks.

Both workshops will include techniques using these inks, some of which might be surprising! 

We will also have the opportunity to utilize and learn about how to work with a new product, specifically created by Tim Holtz for working with Alcohol Inks: the Tim Holtz Adirondack® Alcohol Inks Fillable Pen (also a lesser-known product here in Spain).

Click here for the original post on this workshop event, with details on each of the workshops and content.

As I realise there is just over a month left until the workshops, I am starting to get excited!
There are still spaces left in both workshops, however space is limited, so if you have any questions or require additional information, or if you would like to reserve your spot, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly by email (a link for which you will find in the top upper left corner of this blog: “Email Me”, or at "lisamitch@telefonica.net").

NB: for those of you who would require overnight accommodation: there are economical hotel options very near the location of our workshop (and if there are people interested in sharing a room, to bring the cost down even further, I would be more than pleased to help set that up).

I'll be back soon…with more announcements on other upcoming Scrapbooking and Mixed Media workshops for the Barcelona area with other guest artists!!

Holy Holidays, Batman!

Well, here we are and it’s been over a months since I’ve posted. Can you believe that?!?

I’ve been hankerin’ to put together an update for days now, as I don’t like my blog getting so darn dusty. However, the time factor has been a bit tricky since we got back from holidays, what with the unpacking and the piles of laundry and shrapnel to deal with…and subsequent tidying up from that epic process! And the readjustment to an 8-hour time difference and just the general heat and humidity and day-to-day-ness (Daddy was already back at work before us gals came home)…

And of course I had to carry out a complete overhaul cleaning of the entire apartment!! (Doesn’t that happen to you when you get back from holidays?!?). Yep, you heard it right: I spent the entire first week cleaning…!! It’s that feeling of being disconnected from your house when you get back, like nothing is yours…and I just looked around and saw so much clutter and really needed to lighten the load just a wee bit! Feels much better now! :)

And of course, the day-to-day routines with my 4.5 year old, of: what to do all day, of who can we visit (her cousins and playmates are all away at the moment), and who has a pool...or waiting for later in the day to head to the beach. And me trying to avoid having to make meals…HAR HAR! (well, it’s summer holidays, right?).

Another factor was my needing to include visuals in whatever new post I create. And THAT meant going though and selecting photos from the thousands taken over the course of a month in Canada. And tweaking them (inevitable!) so they look all purdy!

So finally, last night, I put the mermaid to bed, said goodnight to Mr. Right...rolled up my invisible sleeves, cracked open the corresponding folder and whipped up an appropriate potpourri of visuals, which I share for your viewing titillation here below:

Our holidays in Canada (part 1…I am sure there will be more!).

I hope you enjoy it!

We spent a month (2 weeks of which was without Daddy as he had to come back to work after 12 days off, so as to save the rest of his holidays for the Fiesta Mayor in his hometown at the end of this month) in my hometown of Lumsden, Saskatchewan (Canada) in order to (among other priorities) attend the wedding of my 2nd youngest brother.

It had been a full 2 years since we had been back to my hometown, so you can imagine the excitement from both sides of the family equation! Annie was very pumped to see her Grandpa and Grandma and Auntie Kiera once again. And me, just plain ecstatic to be back home, back on the prairies, back to my roots, back with “my peeps”!

This gift of this trip for me was a great deal of renewal on many levels: the obvious presence of my immediate and now new political family, as well as cousins, aunts/uncles, dear friends and neighbours…and of course, bestest buddies! But it was also time with a few others with whom I hadn’t spend much time with in past visits...these unexpected meetings also rejuvenated and inspired me in many ways.

Thank you to Everyone, both Family and Friends...who made time for us while we were back!!

I carry you all in my heart-pocket.

Also important was the chance to spend time with the little ones (some of whom I hadn’t even met yet!) of relatives and friends and folks around my home-town. This was particularly important for me, as Annie really had the opportunity this time to experience what it feels like to be Canadian (i.e. Canada Day at the Burlocks!! ;). And I am so grateful that things came together for her to experience that!

So...much to be thankful for. And yes, I was homesick for it all after I got back. It’s hard to leave so much big sky...and that prairie breeze...and my gosh! a land so GREEN (from all the spring rain this year)! And all the people and things dear to my heart (and stomach!).

But I bring it all back with me (in the form of thousands of photos!!). This trip gave me a great amount of peace of mind and heart, much love and joy felt and shared…renewed friendships...inspiration, wonder…

And what with a whole TON of books from Chapters, and even more crap from a trip to Michael’s!!...I’m a happy camper!!

Life is good. And I am darn grateful for that.

I hope these summer months have brought you lots of sunshine (both external and internal), good times, rest and relaxation...Time to enjoy friends and family, and a few wonderful, unexpected suprises!

ps. I'll be updating the information on the Workshops with Nathalie Kalbach (there are still spaces open!) and a couple of new workshop events coming up for October!

 ...Talk to you soon!