SuzeBlogz

I am packing.....

....the suitcase as we speak....

The last time I went on the big R to R ride (to Savannah) it poured like the dickens....I just read the forecst for Toronto for Friday (the day of the big ride)...90% chance of rain !

NINETY PERCENT !!!

WTF !!!

I have rain gear for the motorcycle and now I have also packed rain boots...I think I am a tad nuts !!

*********

Okay...enuf of that...I tore the paper work sheets off of the back of the frame that I painted the other day with the Ver-Day paints. The paper had stuck a bit to the wood. If you remember I then sprayed the dry paint with the Ten Seconds Studio Ver-Day special solution.

I was so excited by the "face" it left me that I sprayed that paint too..look at the fantastic rust finish it left.

I LOVE these paints...now I just HAVE to do something with that...I'm thinking WAX !

*********

Managed to finish off the frames for Temple..they are simple...no fancy-schmancy. We then take a pix of the board member (who is leaving office), with the Rabbi, and it goes in that frame.

But...speaking of Fancy Schmancy....I did manage to finish two pieces of jewelry for ETSY

both involve these wonderful glass vials I got at a show.

whaddya think??

In The Process

On Thursday I'll be flying up to Toronto Canada to meet up with The Lenster. He's with a large group of his motorcycle friends who, every year, take a long bike ride called the "R to R"....the Ride to Remember. They make this ride to raise funds for Holocaust education.

So...in the meantime...I'm trying to get some projects finished.

For me, the Toronto trip will be a super fast one cause I fly back on Sat to attend my Temples 10th Anniversary dinner. We give small plaques as token gifts to outgoing board members and I usually make them.

First a couple of coats of paint.

then, melt black UTEE and pour into a mold I've made of a Mezuzah.

that's how far I've gotten so far. I've applied Rub n Buff to the black UTEE to give it the gold and silver color. You can find Rub n Buff at almost any craft store.

********

Next...I have been practically salivating to try the new product from Ten Seconds Studio ...their Ver-Day paints

and, heck, I didn't want to limit myself to just trying one color (as below)...I had to see what it would do on multiple colors...

so I painted a wood frame that was sitting in my garage with a few different Ver-Day colors

then comes the magic...the secret ingredient....you spray a special solution over the dry paint and let that dry too...

it turns the paint old and rusted looking, or veridigris looking.

utterly amazing....

and, do I have any idea yet what I'll make from this frame

NOPE !!

but I do know that you gotta call or go online to Ten Seconds Studio like NOW and get yourself some. Check out their blog tutorials.

They always have the most interesting stuff...you'll never be disappointed !

****************

When ya have an extra minute, don't forget to also hop over to my ETSY site...lots of good stuff there too !!

really...it's WHO ya know, right??

So, yesterday, as The Lenster and I walked from booth to booth at the Washington Square Park Art Show, we came upon some REALLY fantastic artists whose work stood way out from the others...

Meet Tommy Conch

His work is BRILLIANT !!

he takes antique and one of a kind ceramic shards that he imports fom the U.K....

and puts them into handmade sterling silver settings. His equally talented mom uses gemstones to create the necklaces they hang on.

you had to see them up close and personal...simply gorgeous handiwork.

he also makes incredible bracelets

and he uses sea glass that he finds near his shore home in Connecticut.

not to mention the earthiness of just his cork display stands !

He makes Rings too !

and brooches

and belts

I could have stayed and talked to him forever.....his enthusiasm for his creative process was infectious ! I've bookmarked his website !!

********

We were happy to run into Lila Turjanski-Villard, a sculpture artist, because we own one of her pieces.

they are made from PAPER !!

I find her work really different and a great conversation starter !

If you go to the artist links I've provided you'll see their show schedules.

we've had this one hanging in our house from the last time we saw her. At night it casts amazing shadows on the wall when the room light is just right

*********

Then I told you about the T-Shirt I bought for The Lenster with the Flatiron building on it. I love the work Dan Butler does. Here's his rendition of the GW Bridge.

How does he do it..?..it's fascinating...he never looks at the paper while he's drawing...he looks at the object and just draws! His line work is amazing.

so, for example...he doesn't just do T-Shirts

This is a contour drawing of the old clock in Jacob Riis Park in Queens, New York. The actual clock is 12 feet high. This is a hand-pulled silkscreen print, signed and numbered edition of 300. This print measures 10"x20" which is a standard frame size. He mails all prints packaged flat in cardboard which makes for safe travels.

**********

When we came upon Anna Upston I had to stop !!!

her passion for yarn was amazing. She makes beautiful things from hand spun luxury yarn. But, this particular piece was made from an old kimono and I was drooling over it !!!

she will spin yarn to order....go check her out ! If you love yarn you'll love her blends

**********

Today began with a busy morning...it's the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (pronounced Sha-voo-oht), the Festival of Weeks.

Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai

In our congregation it is the day of Confirmation. The boys and girls who went on past their Bar/Bat Mitzvah become confirmed at age 15. They read from the Torah again and we also read from The Book of Ruth (always a great story, I especially loved the old movie with Peggy Wood and Stuart Whitman...I'm a sucker for those old religious movies !)

We had a big crowd of proud parents and grandparents....followed by...what else...LUNCH at the deli!!!

Now..I need a nap!!!

 

WOWie Weekend

Aaaahhh....despite the humidity, the sun came out, as it hit a high of 80 degrees today. A perfect day to drive into NYC

for the annual Memorial Day weekend Washington Square Art festival.

it is held right near NYU and in the heart of Greenwich Village.

surrounded by lovely townhouses

The famous Washington Square Arch

and lots of wonderful vendor art

My $6 hat purchase to keep the sun off my head !!!

and the original artist renderings screenprinted onto T shirts....I got The Lenster the navy one with the famous Flatiron Building

a quick stop for crepes, for lunch

and, right before we left for the day I got to sit at a booth for a make-it, take it demo...monoprinting using a copper plate.

never did this before. Discovered using an empty water bottle created cool circles on my abstract print.

***********

Just made it home in time for a big college graduation party for our friends daughter, which was celebrated with tons of friends

and, where I discovered a new APP !!!!

friends...you GOTTA get this one...we'll play it with each other...it's called LET'S SING! It is so much fun. It's my new favorite  !!

tra la !!!!!

Tomorrow I hope to tell you about some specific artists that were at the show today that I thought were just wonderful.

doubly blessed

Somtimes you just look at life and say "Boy, I sure am glad I'm alive now and not back in the middle ages" (watching too much Borgias and Game of Thrones!!) or even the early 1900's.

Today I went with Jennifer and Jared on his class trip to Ellis Island

and re-learned so much about the time when my grandparents...and even my father...came over to this country.

Unfortunately for all of us it poured rain most of the day...some of the time torrentially

which made for a semi-cold windy day. Then it would stop and the sun would pop out... only to pour again.... BUT, didn't matter...we didn't float away and we had a terrific time.

**********

You board the ferry which takes you to the Immigration Building

Ellis Island is in New York

you enter the big hall where ALL immigrants had to come before being permitted to stay (or not..!!) in the U.S.

the guide (and we had a wonderful fellow) showed us some of the REAL luggage that people came over with.

and gave us a fantastic tour of what life was like back then and what people brought with them when they came and what they did for work.

when the rain temporarily let up we went outside to the wall of names. We found many Millers (my fathers family) and some Weinbergs and then we also looked for some of Jareds dads family members. They will give you crayons and paper to do tracings.

One of the sections inside was devoted to The Statue of Liberty, with lots of unusual representational art.

I especially loved the Chanukah Menorah

Speaking of the Statue of Liberty....The ferry goes all around Liberty Island too. Thje Statue of Liberty is actually in New Jersey !!

The view of the Freedom Tower peeking out of the clouds was amazing.

You are able to get a full 360 degree view of the Statue from the ferry

a great day for the 3rd grade and all of us "chaparones' !!

**********

Aside from feeling blessed to be able to do these things with family, we had a fun day at my temple on Sunday when the Rabbi blessed the animals !

It says God created the animals on the 5th day...so...we honor them too...

didn't matter if they were real

or stuffed !!!

or even a dog or a cat

and, like all Jewish festivities...after its over...we EAT !

**********

Okay..sooooooo, before I sign off....a reminder to drop by my ETSY SHOP

still lotsa good stuff there....all affordably priced !

the other woman !

AHA.....

got your attention there did I??

well...let me tell you about Shiri.

Shiri comes from Israel and she arrived here a week ago with a group of 10 Israeli women,(brought over by a Jewish organization in New York)  every one of whom had been wounded in some type of skirmish...either a bombing or while serving as a border guard, or in a terrorist shooting, etc.

They were all, at one time, members of the Israeli army, altho not all of them were on active duty when they were injured. Shiri was singing in a nightclub in Tel Aviv when 2 terrorists came in and detonated a bomb.

She had severe facial burns and partial loss of hearing.

The Lenster was asked if he would like to participate, by motorcycle, in taking them on an excursion to West Point followed by a Bar-B-Q at the home of a member of the group that brought them over.

He asked me how I felt about it because the event was on Mothers Day.... silly question...what a wonderful, worthwhile reason to give up spending the day with Lenny.

These women practically gave up their lives. Some of their injuries were quite severe. I was really proud of their service to Israel and of Lenny for wanting to do this for them.

Our weather was magnificent today...they had a beautiful day for a ride. Overlooking the Hudson Valley

a home in West Point

and, after a full day touring they went to the Bar B Q

(thats the garage of the house behind them...it's bigger than my whole house !!)

Quite a pool too....

Shiri was one of the only girls to speak English. Most spoke only Hebrew. She's connecting with the youngsters at the party.

at the end of their day....(they go home to Israel on Tuesday)....they were all given IPads as gifts...HOW FABULOUS !!!!!

Now...lest you think I just sat at home....after speaking by phone to my middle son Lee and his family in Texas, my older son Marc came down, Jen and Jared came down and Jens friend Veronica....

and we all went for lunch.....

and later in the day for dinner

with some shopping in between.......and a great day was had by EVERYONE !!!

SO....HAPPY MOTHERS DAY ALL...a tad belated but the feeling is most assuredly there !!

Blissful Saturday

Beautiful, sunny, warm...

a 'soak up your Vitamin D kind-a-day !!

and, an art fair going on in the enchanting Victorian town of Ocean Grove, NJ

Ocean Grove is on the Atlantic Ocean and is part of what's commonly called "The Jersey Shore". It's a terrific summer resort for many people.

A typical type of house would look like this

today a small cluster of vendors (about 40) had their wares for sale including my friend Michelle Bernard

a lady selling her hand made steampunk style jewelry

lots and lots of jewelry vendors.

The Lenster made a friend

I loved these repurposed bottles

now, the town itself is also full of individual boutique type shops....so...we took a little stroll there too

more vendors demonstrating

charming atmosphere

(look carefully below...it's shaped like a purse)

and, it goes without saying...I found a treasure...

cool, huh..

Mica, old jewelry pieces, hand painting, old photos...loved it !

then...we stopped at our favorite Wild Birds Unlimited store to get some bird food and we sat outside on the patio and admired everything that's beginning to bloom....

waiting on these peonies....hurry...hurry!!!

Wax On....Wax Off

 

Yesterday I did two teaching sessions for the Brandeis Womens Club on 'Beeswax Collage 101'. I belong to this very worthwhile group so when I'm asked to do a class I love to say "of course, absolutely" !

These are NOT crafters so it's wonderful and rewarding to see some of their ideas take flight.

we used the Ranger Melting Pots, Ranger Beeswax and some of the new Dylusion stencils with Perfect Pearls and Pan Pastels.

I brought a huge colection of images for them to pick from

most of these gals had no idea what a heat gun was...so try to imagine what an exciting experience this was for them....virgin crafters !!

I did the one below during class as the sample for step outs.

I always like to spray my finished piece with some of Rangers Perfect Pearl Mists because it dries in sparkly droplets and adds a nice element. You don't need to spray anything...beeswax is quite permanent by itself.

as I've said before...I love Dyans new products and I really love her stencils with Pan Pastels. I hear her Dylusion sprays are selling out everywhere !!!

**********

How many of you live near Cleveland, OH?? Well, even if you don't you need to make a trip to...

SMALL STUDIOS

owned by John & Ginny Carter Smallenburg 

*******

Andrea Matus DeMeng (yes..thats Michaels' beautiful wife) will be teaching there..

and who in the world wouldn't want to learn how to make art like this....??!!

Her classes are on June 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Atypical Aphrodites

CLICK HERE for all info on this & her other amazing mixed media classes.

Andrea is also doing a class using transparencies

Collaging the Translucent

and one called  Dorian Gray Portraits

her work BLOWS MY MIND !!!

Now...not to be outdone...her hubby Michael is teaching there as well...so..go for the whole package boys and girls !!

This really is an opportunity NOT to be missed.

*********

Have you ordered your copy of Daniella Woolfs new book/DVD yet?

The Encaustic Studio

if you want to learn about wax....you will love it !!

 

Dyan Dazzles

 I am thrilled that Ranger has come out with a line of beautifully bright dyes for UK artist Dyan Reaveley.

Dyan is quite well known for her amazing journaling style and the techniques that go with it. She has the keenest eye for finding the weird, the amazing and the funky !

and, with that in mind, she did a 2 hour Ranger U workshop this morning using her DYLUSION dyes that also happen to go with her line of rubber stamps and stencils.

Students got busy...

with a small assist from Tim...

Dyan explains her Bleach Out technique using NO bleach

and her resist techniques...that no one could resist !

and she approves of everyone getting nice and inky !

she spritzes and sprays

but my favorite is when she shows what to do with a roll of kitchen towels

and how she begins the background for a journal page

how she uses her stencils

and how she works with various white pens

her journals are completely amazing..here are a few highlights...

*************

In the evening I had some of my favorite gal pals over for dinner and drinks....

The adorable Aurea Estelle from Barcelona... who had never tasted corn on the cob before !!!

from L-R, Ronda Palazzari (author, designer & instructor), Lisa Pace (author, designer & instructor) and, Carolyn Ross (owner of Crafty Scraper in Waxahachie, TX.)

they loved the Lensters home made wine...can U tell??!!

hope you all have a copy of Lisas' book..I do !

time to call it a night....what a bizzzzzzie day it was !

Let's all EAT Together

Aaaah...Food...it always brings friends together...

and,. so it was last night when students at the first session of Ranger "U" got together for the annual Bar-B-Q

and don't even ask if they had the BEST time ever in class cause that goes without saying....

They are going to have 3 days of classes with Tim, Claudine and Dyan...they are super lucky.

I may have retired (NO MORE TEACHING..THANK YOU !!)

but I'm always asked to be a part of Rangers activities...we're still a family !! (is everyone in crafting a blonde?? LOL)

Tim shares his thoughts with the two hungry Ranger owners Justin and Alain

Rangers Patti Behan (r) gets her picture taken !!!

Pattis' hubby Kevin and The Lenster

Two very talented ladies...Lisa Pace (l) and Tammy Tutterow

Lisa is loving playing with UTEE and also with wax...look at this incredible little canvas she made for me with beeswax

I already hung it in my house. I am crazy about it !!

Aurea came all the way from Barcelona, Spain

Tomorrow Dyan (rear R)  will be teaching her techniques and I'm coming in to help her and see what she does in class. I am completely taken with her new products and techniques. I've been waiting for these very bright colors for a long time !

*************

Lest the eating and celebrating should stop....off we went into NYC (again !!) to Sammys' Roumanian restaurant on the Lower East Side, with our friends from home.

and, as U can see we're back in the area where we were just a week ago with my brother...where Chinatown and Little Italy come together.

and where you can still find the historic & famous art supply store, Pearl Paint.

the same street vendors are everywhere on every corner

Lower Manhattan has its own special flavor

the tenements with their fire escapes

but, one of these great 'landmarks' is SAMMYS.

34 years in the same location.

Now, trust me when I tell you that once you come up upon Sammys you're saying to yourself...."Self....there is no way I'm gonna eat here in this dingy little hole in the wall." Yes, I can absolutely hear you saying it !!!

 

 

This restaurant is a one of a kind, unique experience, serving large portions of homestyle Jewish food.

NOW, If you don't like homestyle Jewish food, served in a loud, festive atmosphere, then this ain't your kind-a place !

HONESTLY...you can't even imagine....the homemade chopped liver is made right at your table. OMG Delicious !

Like waaaaay more food than you could ever eat at one sitting...even with 9 of us we each took a lot home !

that's it...dig in...help yourself !

and there's dancing and entertainment...riotous entertainment...a singer who tells really funny jokes, sings songs, and has a whole riotous schtick.

Everyone gets up to dance...'Zorba the Greek' style or 'Hava Negilla' style with handkerchiefs and napkins...

 

You need rezzies and there are 2 sittings for dinner, 6 or 9 pm.

and, as you can see the whole room is covered in pictures of patrons

it was fascinating

BUT...the best has yet to come...

AT THE END OF THE MEAL COMES A NEW YORK TREAT

an honest to goodness, real, genuine NY eggcream

**********

Step 1: Fill glass with milk

Step 2: Squirt in REAL seltzer from the original fizzy bottle

Step 3: Pour in the one and only original FOXES U BET CHOCOLATE SYRUP

Step 4: Stir it all up

Step 5: MAKE A TOAST

STEP 6: Drink Up

or do it the ole fashion way...with a straw

One taste of an old fashion eggcream and my mind is right back to my childhood in Brooklyn...How wonderful !

upon leaving...after all that food...they put out

everyone should make a point to go there just once for the experience

Unbelievable !!!!!

(belch !!)