A Sponge at the Bottom of a Large Old Rusted Bucket
A chronicle of my workshop experience with Encaustic Master Emma Ashby, in which I proudly and successfully reference Swan Lake, Frodo, Ozzy Osbourne, and an old bucket.
Welcome to The Nibbler by me, Jill Myer, a bi-weekly brief focusing on art, inspiration, creativity, snacks, and joy.
Good morning, Niblets,
Happy Tuesday!
I have extra juicy, artsy news to share today!
I’ve signed a contract to be a vendor at the
Schreiner’s Iris Gardens Seasonal Bloom Art Fair.
I will be there Memorial Day weekend, May 25, 26, & 27.
I hope you will visit me while there and shop for all the lovely flowers!
I have applied for two more art fairs for the year, so please keep your fingers and toes crossed that I get into these fairs as well!!!
I love being on the ground, chatting with people about art and the artistic process, hearing their stories, and watching the world go by.
ON THE BLOG / VLOG
A Sponge at the Bottom of A Large Old Rusted Bucket
A chronicle of my private workshop with master encaustic painter Emma Ashby.
In early March, I traveled to Portsmouth, NH, to take a private workshop from an encaustic painter I have long admired.
And by long admired, I mean I have been to the bottom of her Instagram page.
I have spent hours on her website looking at her paintings, attempted to recreate some of them as a master study exercise, and really done everything this side of out-and-out stalking.
My drive to learn (ahem, stalk all of her socials) from her process was that she achieved a quality in her paintings that felt so far beyond my reach that even Frodo would not have been able to find it.
Something in the way she wields her paintbrushes gives her paintings a glowing urethral quality that I could not recreate or even get close to, no matter what I did.
I had to know HOW??!!!
MY FAVORITE SNACK
Cookies!
I should not be allowed to go into Walmart unsupervised.
Walmart has the weirdest as-seen-on-TV style shit, and I’m equally fascinated and horrified that so many seemingly useless items exist.
I get overwhelmed and confused, and then, with my shopping list forgotten, I start adding stuff to my basket.
Stuff that I do not need or even want.
I’m just so curious.
The gluten-free section is also totally off the wall.
It’s clear that a 10-year-old getting ready for a field trip, a trash panda, and a beaver who loves the taste and texture of sawdust are the purchasing team for this section of the store.
Despite everything being against me during this solo expedition, I found these Confetti Cookies - they are excellent!
TODAY I LEARNED
The last few weeks have been A LOT (see the previous post for a recap), and while I know I've stumbled across many interesting tidbits worth sharing, my brain's current Swiss cheese status has not allowed me to recall any of them.
But, I took this amazing photo the other day, and I wanted to share it.
This odd yet gorgeous creature is called a Sail Jellyfish or a By-the-Wind Sailor.
Their only means of transit is the top fin/sail, and they show up on the beaches here in droves once a year.
I found a good info page about them with more photos HERE.
SHOP
Motivation is a funny beast that is missing a tooth and has a broken horn.
I've been meaning to add original paintings to my shop for months and months and months now.
However, for some reason (if the therapists in the room could please refrain from digging too deep), it's super easy to let this item linger flaccidly at the bottom of my to-do list, and not do it.
Fast-forward to the last time I worked in the gallery when a customer shamed me into adding several paintings to my website.
He was genuinely kind and very interested in my paintings, but his confusion and disbelief at not being able to go home and browse my inventory from the comfort of his couch was too much to bear.
As soon as the couple left, I began taking photos and posting them on my website.
Of course, like all things, the idea of and fear of doing "the thing" was much worse than just doing "the thing," so I did "the thing," and now there are paintings available in my shop.
I work in the gallery again on Friday the 29th, so check back then too - I should have more paintings posted.
They aren't organized perfectly by any means, but they are there, and that feels like a win.
These paintings are also available in the For ArtSake Gallery as well.
HAPPY TUESDAY!
Thank you for being a subscriber and for your support!
Jill
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