Inspired by Nature Fall Retreat

It's that time of year again! General registration for my fall retreat opens tonight at midnight EST.

I'm super excited about this year's projects, they are filled with color, texture and motifs inspired by treasures found on the forest floor. We'll play with polymer clay, copper and wire for three days of jewelry making bliss surrounded by the most beautiful woodland setting with a picturesque river as our backdrop.

This is my favorite event of the year, the one closest to my heart where I share my hometown and inspiration with my students. It's a small event will only 20 spaces open. My past retreat students get the chance to sign up early, so we are 1/2 full right now.

If you have been pining to join me for one of my retreats this is the one not to miss! It's Halloween weekend in my sleepy hometown of South Haven, MI. You can read all the details here.

I'll leave you with a few photos of the class projects.

Psst...East coast friends, Andrew Thornton of Allegory Gallery is hosting a 2 day retreat where I will be teaching polymer and metal classes inspired by the waterfalls of Pennsylvania. That event will be the weekend of September 18th. We'll have details soon. (That's in Ligonier, PA)

The Editors Take the Art Bead Scene Challenge

This amazing painting was painted by Dutch Renaissance painter Balthasar van der Ast in the 1600's! You can read all about our monthly challenge here. When I saw this painting I fell in love with that collection of shells. Shells were considered exotic to the growing upper class during the Renaissance, collected from tropical locations from merchants traveling the globe. The Dutch would paint still lives with flowers, insects and other mementos that would not only show off their wealth but had a deeper meaning that all the things of this world are temporary and transient. 

I decided this month to create beads for the challenge. One thing I loved about the painting was the play of pattern, color and shapes from one shell to the next and created small collections of headpins inspired by the shells and berries in the painting. 

These are one-of-a-kind sets and can be found on my website, here. 

Stop by the Art Bead Scene today to see what our other editors were inspired to create!