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March Open House

On Saturday March 14th, Artascope Studios held our third Open House/Church of Craft event for 2009! It was a great time to play here at the Studios! There was a kids birthday party downstairs, a few members working on their mosaic projects, and our fabulous Dye & Batik teacher, Sue Drown-Trout, presented a demo in waxing and dye painting! Sue set up wonderful stations so that all attendees could try out differnt tools for apply wax, including sumi brushes and a jaunting tool. There was even a pre-wax flower design that everyone was able to paint dyes onto, and create fun, colorful, colaborative piece! Some of our visitors brought their friends, coworkers and family with them to explore Artascope!

Our Next Open House/Church of Craft event will be Saturday April 11th! We will be having a free exploration of paper flower making from 10am to 1pm

Learn something new @ Artascope Studios

Looking for a fun way to ride out the rest of winter? Artascope is offering a fabulous line up of workshops and events that are sure to keep a smile on your face, no matter the weather.

Are you are itching to try out something NEW? Or, just looking for a comfortable environment to get artsy? Whatever your creative desire, we have what you want! Join us for a FREE gathering on Saturday March 14th. Bring a project to work on or just take in a demo from Batik artist Sue Drown Trout. Our next round of Artist Series classes start on Monday, March 16th. Try one of our standards like Metalsmithing, Stained Glass, Fine Art Painting, Sewing, or Precious Metal Clay. Or, try something NEW like Needle Felting, Book Binding, Alternative Techniques in Acrylic Painting, Beading, even Dye Painting. Affordably priced, these Artist Series classes are a sure way to keep you engaged and inspired.

Metalsmithing
Here's your chance to learn metalsmithing in a fun, relaxed atmoshpere! Learn how to handle the equipment necessary to create fantastic soldered jewelry. Master the torch, drill, rolling mills, hammers, mandrels, and other tools to create gorgeous rings, bangles and earrings. Great for beginners or returning students. Christina Taylor

Mar 16th thru Apr 20
Mondays (10am to 1pm)



Sewing
Here is your chance to learn how to sew or simply refresh your skills! This class will explore the various elements such as materials and fabrics, stitches and how to create from a pattern. Master the sewing machine while learning how to assemble your fabulous creations! Perfect for learning how to sew or stepping up your sewing skills. Diane Brakeley

Mar 16th thru Apr 20th
Mondays (10am-1pm)


Needle Felting
Learn a modern technique of a classic art form as you investigate the world of wool felting. Using needle felting tools, student will explore dry felting with a colorful array of wool fibers. Create and embellish fabulous works of art that are sure to further inspire you.
Ashley Wernher-Collins

Mar 17th thru Apr 21st
Tuesdays (10am to 1pm)



Metalsmithing
Here's your chance to learn metalsmithing in a fun, relaxed atmoshpere! Learn how to handle the equipment necessary to create fantastic soldered jewelry. Master the torch, drill, rolling mills, hammers, mandrels, and other tools to create gorgeous rings, bangles and earrings. Great for beginners or returning student. Clint Fulkerson

Mar 17th thru Apr 20th
Tuesdays (6-9pm)



Stained Glass
This class is a great way to get started in stained glass. You'll learn the complete copper foil method from start to finish. Create ornaments, panels, and votives. Work from standard patterns or create your own design and then cut, foil, and solder gorgeous glass accents for your home. Gayle Raposa

Mar 18th thru Apr 22nd
Wednesdays (10am-1pm)



Dye Painting
Add a beautiful painterly quailty to your dyed creations! Using soy wax and paintable dyes, enjoy the art of painting on fabric to create beautiful designs. Turn a simple piece of cloth into a masterpiece! Perfect for someone curious about dye painting or for the seasoned artist to try out new methods. Sue Drown-Trout

Mar 19th thru Apr 23rd
Thursdays (10am-1pm)



Book Binding
Books are great containers to hold memories, photos and even be their own works of art! Have you even been curious as to how books are made? Students will get to explore the art of hand sewn books while chosing from delightful papers to cover and bind into ther book. Libby Barrett

Mar 19th thru Apr 23rd
Thursdays (10am-1pm)



Acrylic Painting
This class begins with a thorough introduction to the tools and materials that are used for painting. Explore the basic elements of line, form, color, and composition. Finally, investigate how to create space and light on a two-dimensional place. Great for the first time painter as well as the continuing student. Liz Prescott

Mar 20th thru Apr 24th
Fridays (10am to 1pm)



Alternative Techniques in Acrylic Painting
If you have ever wanted to loosen up your style and explore acrylic paint, this is the class for you! Begin with a thorough introduction to the tools and materials that are used for painting. Find composition elements using color, line or simple forms. Perfect for the novice, or to loosen up the more traditional painter's hand. Matt Owens

Mar 20th thru Apr 24th
Fridays (10am to 1pm)



Precious Metal Clay
Curious about this popular new material? Precious Metal Clay, or PMC, is an intriguing material that has the versatility of clay and the end result of fine silver! Get your ideas ready as you learn the basics of PMC. Develop your confidence as you learn how to prep, roll, cut, stamp and shape your PMC as you experiment with the possibilities! Ann Liller

Mar 21st thru Apr 25th
Saturdays (10am-1pm)

Valentine's Card Making Explosion!

Just after 10am, papers were everywhere! Paper heart confetti dazzled the floors! And glitter was being shaken over the perfect valentine love quote, as dozen of people joined us for our Open House Valentine Card Making event, Saturday Feb 14th from 10 to 1.

A heart shaped Thank You for everyone who came! We had a blast and think you did too!

This was our third year of creative valentine making! And we had many regulars show up as they made it part of their Valentine's tradition!

We even set up a mini Hammered Metal demo to give folks a little fun in an Art Night Out™ workshop! While papers were being tossed to find the perfect piece, you could hear the pounding of hammers and laughter as folk were delighted with their results!

Every month we will host an Open House! Bring that project you can't seem to finish for some inspiration, check out our demo of the month, and sometimes, we even have FREE make and takes! Check back for more upcoming events.

NEXT MONTH: Sat March 14th 10am to 1pm

We will have a waxing and dyeing demo with Sue Drown-Trout!

Family Fun Private Party

With February dragging out winter, everyone is looking for something fun and inspiring to keep them warm!  Try a Private Party!

Saturday Feb 7th, a family of 5 joined us for a private party in Hammered Metal taught by our lovely Betina Clark!  Mom and Dad joined us with their 3 children, the youngest was a bit too little to play with the fun hammers, but we helped create a fun beading project so that the entire family could have a day of fun!

Hammered Metal Jewelry is a classic Art Night Out™ that everyone loves!  Shaping and forming heavy gauge wire, students can texture their creations using many different types and shapes of hammers.  

If you have friends, family or co-workers that are looking for something to inspire them these last few weeks of winter, we are offering a Private Party Special, now through the end of March!

Chose ANY Art Night Out™ class of your 

choice, arrange of group of 5 or more, and you come for FREE!

It's a great idea to pull the group together and 

be creative as the snow starts to melt...or, to encourage us to THINK SPRING!

Fine Art Drawing Fun!

While jewelry making and stained glass are well known Art Night Out classes, we also offer fine art drawing and painting as one day workshops!

Francis Carlier joined us one Saturday to share his love of drawing and phenomenal skills in the medium! Experimental Drawing brought in a range of students who had great curiosity and enthusiasm. Many took the class to learn formally, with no prior experience, and others, to improve their painting skills!

Through the class Francis guided students to explore the depths of their drawing skills. Using rulers, and pencils and other simple tools, everyone was able to gain understanding of what they were seeing in their photographs and still lives to translate onto their paper.

The results were amazing! One student was thrilled that she was able to push herself to draw bigger. Another LOVED how she was able to define a boot with clarity. The students were thrilled with their developped skills and were excited to return home to continue drawing!


It was the perfect afternoon dose of fine art!

Valentine's Open House

Join us Valentine’s Day, Saturday February 14th from 10 am to 1pm as we invite everyone to join us for a card making Valentine extravaganza!

Grab your friends and family and get out of the house and join our card making workshop.

We’ve got great lighting, bright colors, warm cookies and inspiration that'll keep you toasty!

Whether you are looking for a fun valentine’ activity for the family, or need the inspiration to make that fabulous valentine for that someone special, Artacope Studios is the place to be!

Artascope Studios

Valentine's Card Making Workshop

Saturday February 14th

10am to 1pm

FREE!

Inspire yourself with this Journal!

On Monday January 26th, Artascope Studios introduced a new Art Night Out™ workshop, Inspirational Journal. Kim Dubay returned to teach for this one night of fun! Kim is a phenomenal collage artist and rug hooker and often a visiting instructor here. We love when Kim comes to play with us!

With a fabulous new tool for the class, a die cut template for book pages, the class was ready to jump into fun and easy book binding, collage and memory making! Students made their pages out of paper, canvas, cardboard and even fabric and embellished them with their own photos, cool papers, paint and other items from our brilliant collage collection.

One of our long time members, Betsy and her friend , Deb, joined us. Also, Julie and Megan attended, who travelled all the way up from Georgia to create with us! We were excited to have them visit and get a chance to experience an Art Night Out™! I hope they enjoyed all the snow and cold! Catherine, our fearless leader, even stopped by to join in the fun (she’s behind the camera)!

Julie wasted no time spreading out and being inspired! Red is definitely her color!

Betsy made a page dedicated to her granddaughter and proudly shared it with everyone!




It was great to see students excited and sharing their books with each other! We had a great time and loved that such a fun group was able to introduce a new class to Artascope! The next offering of Inspirational Journal is Monday March, 16th from 6 to 9pm.

Artist Series 2009 kick off!

Keeping warm and creative, this round of Artist Series classes includes two Metalsmithing classes, Decorative Painting and Fine Art Acrylic Painting!

In Studio 2, the jewelry studio, Metalsmithing students are learning about the fine skills to create beautiful objects with different techniques, such as soldering, annealing, shaping and creating bezels! Students have really enjoying learning how to set stones as they create fabulous silver rings! Our next session starts Monday March 16th. thru April 20th (10am – 1pm).

Can’t make it in to the morning class? We also offer a Tuesday evening Metalsmithing course with Clint Fulkerson. Clint’s next session starts March 17th thru April 21st (6-9pm)

Upstairs in the Painting Studio, Libby is inspiring her students with bright colors, fun designs and creative techniques in Decorative Painting! Students have begun their exploration by applying their new skills to creating gorgeous painted floor cloths. As this series continues, a few students would like to move their decorative painting talents to chairs, stools and other small pieces of furniture! For Session II, Libby will be taking a small break from Decorative Painting, and instead, share her Book Binding knowledge on Thursdays, starting March 9th thru April 23rd (10am-1pm)

Also, going on for Winter Session I in 2009 for Artist Series, we have Fine Art Acrylic Painting with Liz Prescott. This session we are really excited because it is the first opportunity we have to present the new open line of acrylic paints, acrylic paints that have many qualities of oil paint, and the students are loving them!

The next round of Artist Series start up Monday March 16th! We are offering Monday AM Metals with Christina Taylor, Tuesday PM Metals with Clint Fulkerson. Sewing for Adults returns with Diane Brakeley. Ashley Wernher-Collins explores Needlefelting with us and Liz Prescott shares more of her love of painting with Fine Art Acrylic Painting. Unlock secrets of Stained Glass with Gayle Rapos OR learn Dye Painting with Suzanne Drown-Trout. Ann Liller joins us for Precious Metal Clay (PMC). Libby Barrett puts on her Book Binding hat and introducing a new class to our Artist Series workshop, Alternative Techniques in Acrylic painting with Matt Owens!

Creating Needle Felted Ornaments

Just before the Holidays kicked into full gear, new Artascope teacher, Ashley Wernher-Collins shared her love and skills in needle felting! Students spent the evening creating their own Felted Ornaments!


Chosing from delicious colors of wool rovings and fun fibers to accents, this new class rocked in the season! Ashley taught students about the different types of wool roving and touched base on the different techniques to felt with wool. Needle Felting tools in hard, with their colorful selection of wool chosen, everyone had a blast!


Check out some of the fabulous ornaments that the students made! They were super creative and colorful. The snowman was great inspiration for some snow creations in the days that followed!



Interested in learning more about needle felting? Deadra will be teaching Felted Critters Saturday January 3rd from 2 to 6pm, spaces are filling up fast!

Happy New Years!

Fun Handmade Gifts While Supporting the Community

Artascope’s 3rd Annual Holiday Show and Sale kicked off December 12th with many new and inspiring additions!


Wrapping to feed the community!
Three of our neighborhood girls were invited to share their card-making and wrapping skills with us! All of the money collected went directly to the South Portland Food Pantry. They made adorable cards and envelopes made from old books and magazines. And anyone who needed their gifts wrapped, could be gift wrapped in style! Thanks gals!

Also new this year was the Silent Auction to benefit the Community Crisis Ministries Fund of South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. With over 40 items donated by local Artists, when the Auction wrapped up Sunday Dec 21st, over $1,300 was raised to help those in need! Great job everyone! Thank you for your goods and your bids!

We hope you are still enjoying your Holiday Season! During this vacation week, we are open! Our Holiday Sale will remain up through the end of the year and our new schedule is ready! Treat yourself to some creative R & R in ’09!

Happy Holidays!

Artist Spotlight-Suzanne Kiertianis and Judy Babin's Show in CT

Suzanne Kiertianis, Artascope Studios fantastic manager, and Judy Babin, one of our fabulously talented stewards and teacher, were featured artist at the Guilford Free Library in Guilford CT in November. Their jewelry exhibit was up all month and featured their work in a beautiful enclosed case! This was their 3rd annual showing at the library. Both Judy and Suzanne are Connecticut natives and have a strong following back in their home state. Their show was well received and they were both able to make it down to meet and greet the show goers.

Suzanne and Judy will both be showing their work at our upcoming Artascope Holiday Show and Sale this Friday, Dec 12th. Judy will be showcasing her gorgeous silver work and Suzanne will have a taste of her jewelry talents with some other great items, such as handmade cards and prints. So when are you coming by to see their work? You can check out Judy Babin's work at http://www.judybdesigns.org/, but I would highly recommend seeing it up close, so plan on adding us to your holiday weekend plans. Suzanne is always there to show you around and give you a sampling of her latest endeavours!

Gift Certificates and our Well Stocked Store

Gift Certificates
We know how hard it is to pick out the perfect gift for your crafty friends and family, so why not purchase a Gift Certificate from Artascope Studios that they can use towards Workshops, Supplies and Artisan Goods. Try one out for $25, $50 and $100. Gift certificates are also available in class amounts, such as an Artist Series, ArtEscape! and even Memberships! Treat someone you love to an inspiring night out filled with creativity.

Do you know someone who has been wanting to take one of our Art Night Out™ class? Give them the gift of Inspiration! Gift certificates can also be used in our supply store and even in the Gallery-filled with handmade goods by local Artists!

Artascope Art Store
Does someone on your list LOVE to make things? While we offer supplies to supplement our classes, we also have books, magazines, kits and other items to settle that creative outlet that is on your shopping list. Check out the fun art supplies that filled the store! From beads and findings, to paints and brushes, to mosaics and glass, and even collage and fiber arts materials. There is even some Gocco materials - while supplies last! You are sure to find something special to inspire the ones you love!

'Tis the Season-Wire Wrapped Ornament

'Tis the Season! Can you hear the holiday tunes at every turn....it's Christmas time again. Suzanne got in the holiday mood with a Wire Wrapped Ornament class! What a fun idea to make your own ornaments for your tree.

Bette is showing off her two ornamental creations. She even played with beads and fabric to finish her work. She will be using these great decorations to adorn a few packages this Christmas. What a great way to make your gift giving a personal touch!

There is lots of time this month to come and try your hand at a new craft. Maybe something you could proudly place under the tree?

How about our FELTED ORNAMENT with Ashley next Monday night, December 8th from 6-9 PM? You will create these darling ornaments to adorn gifts, your tree or even decorate your home! Learn techniques of needle felting as you embellish with wool roving, beads, ribbons and small charms. You will make 2 ornaments and the cost is $65. Sounds like a fun time!

What about a MINI FOLDED BOOK to put some of your favorite memories from the past year to give to a loved one this holiday season? Pat will be teaching this great class next Thursday, the 11th from 6-9 PM. This mini-book is a simple and easy, no-bind book! Learn cutting and folding techniques to create this fabulous miniature! For only $35, it's a holiday bargain for sure!

Please check out all of our current listings at http://www.artnightout.com/dec2008.htm and remember you can always purchase a gift certificate for your crafty someone!

Artascope Studio Stars

Suzanne Drown is one of our batik specialist at Artascope Studios. Long time steward and teacher at Artascope, Suzanne also runs her full time business, Sunfire Batiks. Using the ancient process of batiking, Suzanne Drown creates colorful and unique images for framed artwork, scarves, pillows, prints, pins and cards. She is very well known for her beautiful work all over Maine and has quite a busy schedule of shows throughout the year. We are excited that she will be ending her busy crafting season with us. You can learn more about her work at http://www.sunfirebatiks.com/ .

Diane Brakeley, owner of Della Mano Designs, is a popular teacher at Artascope Studios. Diane has also had a lasting relationship with our studio as steward and teacher. She is primarily a fiber artist, using fabrics and fibers in different ways to enhance wearable art. Diane also have an aversion to throwing anything away (her Mom survived the Great Depression) so she has branched off into found object jewelry. She loves giving things a second chance, so you’ll find her recycling most anything. Always unique, stylish and fun, Diane's work is definitely work a second look. So come check her out this December.