Fall Artist Series News

There's a little chill in the air. It's time to start thinking about taking some of your activities inside. So what are you planning to do for yourself this fall? What about learning a new craft or deepening your artistic skills?

Suzanne, our amazingly talented studio manager, has been working hard over the summer to wrangle up some very talented teachers and expanding our Artist Series listings. The Artist Series is a 6 week class to allow you to really indulged your inner artist, investigate materials and connect with fellow free spirits. Our Early Fall Artist Series will begin this Sunday, Sept 14th, with a brand new addition, PMC with Ann Liller. She has become quite a PMC star over the years. Her Art Night Out Classes and ArtEscape Weekends are always packed, so make sure to take advantage of learning about this amazing silver clay material with our PMC guru. Class from 10am-1pm.

We will have a busy Monday from 10am-1pm with two Series offerings. Libby Barrett will teach Decorative Painting while Christina Taylor will host her metalsmithing class. Tuesday mornings, Gayle Raposa is back with her popular Stained Glass Artist Series. Wednesdays are another busy day. Liz Prescott starts us off early with Acrylic Painting from 9:30am-12:30pm and our newest Metalsmith teacher, Clint Fulkerson, will make his debut with his Wednesday night jewelry class from 6-9pm. Look for a future blog on this exciting new teacher....

10am-1pm on Thursday, Sue Drown-Trout returns for Batik and Dying and Suzanne Kiertianis, the mastermind behind all this, will end the week with her Sewn Beading class. We request preregistration for all courses to ensure running the classes without a hitch. Please click on this link to find out more details about these fantastic offerings. http://www.artnightout.com/artistseries.htm

So now all you have to decide....which one should I start with! Feel free to give us a ring if you are having trouble deciding which one. Our talented staff of Stewards will be able to help direct you to the right choice...like there's a wrong one!

Artascope Steward News- Ann Liller & Libby Barrett

Ann Liller has made quite a name for herself at Artascope as our PMC guru. That's Ann posing with fellow artist, Dan Clark, last Saturday during their art opening at SASS-Second Saturday Art Stroll. Their PMC and metalsmithing work will be up at the Artascope Gallery through the end of the month.

Ann's been working with PMC for quite a while now and her innovation and desire to deepen her knowledge has recently led her to become PMC certified with Tim McCreight, a true leader in the world of PMC.

Thought you might enjoy hearing first hand from her experience, so here's Ann: "I have just come from the 3 day PMC certification class with Tim McCreight and all I can say is WOW. I have never worked so hard for three days in my life or learned so much. Out of 15 students, only 4 were from Maine and they came from as far as CA. There wasn't an extra minute to spare built into the program, we had to check our creativity at the door and we even ate our lunch at our desks! Rio runs a great program and Tim is just the best instructor that I have had in a long time. He debunked a lot of PMC myths, taught me new ways to do things, gave me a whole new perspective on the medium. This next ArtEscape weekend group is in for a real treat because I am still on a PMC-Tim McCreight high and I have some great new ideas."

Ann will be heading the PMC Art Escape Weekend starting tomorrow May 16th-18th. It's a full weekend of amazing fun. You start on Friday at 6-9pm. You will be in studio all day Saturday and 1/2 day Sunday. It's going to be an absolute blast. We are all extremely proud of Ann's accomplishments and just in time for her birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Ann!!

In some other exciting Stewarding news at Artascope Studios, one of our newest Stewards, Libby Barrett informed me about her floorcloths and artist's books are being shown in the Stable Galleryin Damariscotta May-October. The season opening is this Friday, May 16th from 5-7. Sounds like it's going to be an exciting weekend for both our artists! You can check out more about Libby Barrett's work at her website http://www.libbybarrett.net/. We are excited to welcome her on board at Artascope Studios. Here are a few examples of her beautiful work. You will find a link for her website along with many other current and past stewards and teachers from Artascope under links we love.

Metalsmithing Studio- Soldered Ring and PMC Pendant

Our Metalsmithing Studio is one of the most used spaces at Artascope Studios. We host a plethora of metalsmithing, PMC, beading, wire wrapping and sea glass jewelry classes in our fantastic studio. Equipped with drilling centers, acetylene solder stations, a jewelry kiln, tumbler and a wall stacked with hammers, filling, cutting and beading tools , this place has become the hub of jewelry creation in South Portland.

Recently, Gayle, our stained glass expert, switch gears and taught a fantastic Solder Ring Class. This was a great introduction to metalsmithing and they were thrilled with their results after just 4 hours of work. Sisters, Julie and Diane were excited to make their own rings. Leslie had such a great time and she can't wait to practice her new skills, so she joined Artascope Studios as a Member to have access to the studios. Kelly was able to refresh her skills from a class last summer and even set a dichroic stone that her sister has made. Very successful class indeed!

PMC is one of our hot classes right now. PMC, Precious Metal Clay, is fantastic product that combines artistry, clay and silver into one amazing jewelry experience. The creators of PMC found a way to combine tiny silver fragments with a binder to create a porcelain clay-like substance that can be molded, carved and formed into the most amazing pieces. Once dried and fired in a jewelry kiln, your final product is a pure silver unique creation. Check out the results of Deb's PMC pendant class. Students came in with their own ideas and in some cases, objects to mold in plastic in order to make a PMC replica. The detail and designs are very personal and the possibilities are endless. Although the pictures look like students are working in clay, once their pendants were complete bone dry and fired, their final products were 99.9% pure silver jewelry.

A New Venture for Artascope Studios

Artascope Studios has decided to create a new art blog as a way to stay connected with artists everywhere and let everyone know about all the wonderful things we have to offer.

Artascope Studios is located in South Portland Maine and home to the popular Art Night Out™. Artist Series and ArtEscape!™ programs. We offer art classes in everything from glass working, wireworking, beaded jewelry, PMC, photo transfer, printmaking, batiking, metalsmithing, collage, decorative painting, fine art painting and book arts to name a few!

We have a fabulous in-house art supply store and 5 unique studio classrooms. The Art Night Out™ program is a great way to learn new skills, get together with friends or make some new ones. We hold classes every Monday and Thursday Nights from 6-9pm and Saturdays from 2-6pm. Our Artist Series are 6 week long classes that meet once a week and offer an excellent resource for students looking to find a new talent or sharpen their skills. The ArtEscape!™ Weekends are three day intensives held year round where you can experience a huge amount of creativity in a small amount of time!

There are opportunities for the community to join as members, using the facilities and receiving some great perks for a small fee. The steward program has been an intregal part of Artascope since its beginings 3 years ago. Local artist donate a few hours of their time on a weekly basis to watch over the studio, give tours and help keep Artascope looking its best. The stewards also share their talents by teaching the extensive list of classes we have to offer here. Our lovely gallery is home to creations by all of our stewards and members with a montly highlighted artist to check out.

Check out some of our upcoming February classes. Check out www.artascope.com for more information!

Cheers!
Maggie

February 2008 classes!

Intro to PMC
23 Feb - Sat (2-6 PM) $125
Explore the fantastic world of PMC and what you can create! You will learn how to roll, stamp, shape and watch your designs come to life with PMC. You will be amazed with the results. Includes a brief introduction to the medium.

Silver Spoon Necklace
25 Feb - Mon (6-9 PM) $45
In this class you will take a silver spoon or fork and convert it to a stunning pendant! Learn about sawing, drilling and wireworking! Who knew there were so many possibilities for a spoon?

Tin Collage People
25 Feb - Mon (6-9 PM) $45
Using copied photos of loved ones, create these adorable tin folk! Bring your imagination to life as your loved ones serve as your inspiration! Great for holiday gifts!

Beachstone Pendant
28 Feb - Thu (6-9 PM) $45
Are you looking to increase your wireworking skills? This new class will add another method of wire wrapping to your repetoire. Learn how to use wire to accent beachstones in a way that is sure to delight everyone!