I feel SO GUILTY. I didn’t post anything last week! I always seem to forget something when I go on a trip, this time it was my laptop bag. I was away at the International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown last week and had a wonderful time but was wracked with guilt the whole time that I hadn’t posted to the blog. I tried posting with my phone but totally failed at that (by the way if you find yourself in Provincetown and you’ve forgotten your phone charger in your laptop bag you can pick one up at Conwell Electronics at 21 Conwell St.).

The conference was full of informative talks, demos and panels. I renewed old friendships and made new ones. The best part of the conference for me is always the Hotel Fair where all of the artists have the chance to display their work and view the work of others. It is a great opportunity to get feedback on works or projects in progress. I got a lot of great input on the project. I want to thank everyone who came by my room and offered input and suggestions on the direction that the quilts are taking. It was invaluable.

Quilts spread out on bed for Hotel Fair (left to Right) “Cake Stand (for Boo), “Joy of Cooking (for Gracie)”, “School Girl’s Puzzle (for Halice)”

It’s easy when you are working alone in your studio to lose focus. The conference helps serve as a reset point for me each year. I get to be with other artists and recharge my artist’s soul. I learn new techniques, hear about new artists and ideas. I also get to feel like a ‘real artist’ for a while. Something that I don’t always allow myself to indulge in. Being around other artists, exchanging ideas and enthusiasms rejuvenates me.

This year I took a three day Post Conference Workshop with David A. Clark and it was amazing. For any of you reading this that are printmakers, I can’t recommend taking a class with David highly enough. I learned skills that I’ll be using for years to come in my work. Here is a wall of grey-scale prints that the class did from stencils that David made for the class:

Student prints on wall at David A. Clark printing workshop at Castle Hill

I finally realized what I was doing wrong with printing with stencils (the duralar I was using was too thick – need the .003 mm). Here’s a stencil I cut in the class and one of the prints I made from it (I’ll save you a picture of the callous I developed from holding the exacto knife).

Stencil in process

Print from Stencil

I am having SO much fun printing back in the studio using the skills I learned in the workshop. I may not stop for weeks!