Before & After... My Hometown Art Retreat

Before... they came I daydreamed about all we would do... and now in the after... I daydream of a time when we can do it all again... Leslie & Dede... how do you describe a new friendship that has shifted everything that came before and gives to great plans for the after?

We drank... ate... and made art... lots of it!

We rolled - wrapped - and bundled

to make the fabric bits hanging on the rack above

looked good in the pot and the results were amazing... now we are set with bits to create a "cloth"... something we all want to try

The week gave way to finding such goodness

We tried to list all the things we did... hand dyed fabric, twisted wire and bead into a necklace, etched metal, made a "teesha" book, painted - scraped - and such page after page, image transfers, embossed metal, stitched wool applique pin cushions, took photos and had photoshop 101. We slept... walked... shopped... we took in farmers market & peoples market... my favorite bead, yarn and fabric shop...the sweet palace in Philipsburg and spent 15 mins in front of the fire... we found lots of treasures and treats along the way....

Sean Kochel... being one of the treasures

We stopped into Sean's booth at the people's market... and all of us were drawn in at the sight of tin types... wet plate photography... done today... by Sean

"Do you teach?" - Sean "I've been thinking about it" - "Yay! how about to us... this week?"

He is amazing! Such a great teacher... so passionate about the history and so willing to share. We are all going to do whatever we can to help him find his way to a teaching venue... and then you should do all you can to get in his class!

I soaked it up... all of it

these next two photos would be symbolic of me... before and after

thanks to Leslie's PS 101... and a work over of my camera my pictures are looking better

thanks to a week with Leslie and Dede... My view of things is much better too!

My Before

My After

The studio will up there... waiting for you all to arrive

Indeed

Three Girls.. Three Hometowns... Three Trips...

Three girls - from three time zones - found one another at an art retreat a couple years ago. As the months have passed we have taken classes together... we have shared in each others "halloween" books...last fall we traveled to Leslie's house in Pennsylvania and last winter we headed to "sunny" California to hang out with Dede... and tomorrow I get to play host... in Montana! I cannot wait to share with them this place I call home. I've gathered a little "welcome" pack to give them a taste of whats to come while they are here... the art work of Courtney Blazon... copies of old post cards of Georgetown Lake... old book cover... because we always make a book. My favorite bead shop - Bathing Beauties - just gave me $5 coupons to give them - because folks are just like that here... My head is just a buzz with all the fun places I want to take them...all the art supplies that will get a workout after a summer sitting dormant.

I know we will go from dawn to dusk...

and it will be the most restful - wonderful time I've had all summer.

I'll be back to tell you all about it.

Hometown visits... Trip 3