Artascope's 1rst Annual End of Summer Sale Excitement!

End of Sale Preparations
The word it out and everyone is gearing up for tomorrow's great End of Summer Sale here at Artascope Studios. Although the rain clouds seem to be appearing on the horizon and the threat of a few raindrops may be in our near future, looks like everything will clear up for our big day tomorrow. Temps in the upper 60s/lower 70s and lots of sunshine midday. What a perfect fall day.The artists are preparing for the big event, the staff is making sure everything will go smoothly and hopefully you are anxiously waiting to see all the goodies we have to share! This is a great time to do some early holiday shopping and meet the artists. All participants will be there on hand to talk about their work, answer questions and help you find the perfect treasures. We will have a central check out inside in our newly remodeled gallery, so there is only one place to stop with all your items. We accept credit cards, cash and checks to make your buying experience convenient and easy. So what are you waiting for? See you all tomorrow from 10am-4pm! http://www.artascope.com/shopsummersale08.htm

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!

September Art Festivals and Show Spotlight

Picnic MusicArts Festival
Artascope Teachers, Sue Hellier and Betina Clark are participating in the Picnic Music + Arts Festival, Saturday, Sept. 13, 11am-6pm in Lincoln Park (Congress + Franklin Art) There is going to be about 70 participating local artists, musicians and crafters.Sue will be showing some new work (framed original block prints, small prints on linen, and mixed media collage) along with the usual Zaz & Moe fare, printed clothing & homewares, SS jewelry, button bracelets and cards. Betina will be sporting her new line of silver jewelry with some old favorites. Check out more about this festival at http://picnicportland.wordpress.com/ . Sounds like an absolute blast!

Laudholm Festival and Artascope's End of Summer Sale
Talented Batik Artist and Artascope Teacher, Sue Drown-Trout, joined Sue Hellier in an absolutely beautiful show with many of the best craft artists from across New England at the Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival in Wells, Maine. The festival raises funds for the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve. Check out highlights from last weekend's show at www.laudholm.org/crafts_info.htm. If you were unable to catch Sue in Wells, word on the street is that she may be showing some of her goods at our Artascope End of Summer Sale this Saturday the 13th from 10am-4pm, so come check her out along with our 20 other talented Artascope folks.

End of Summer Sale Press

End of Summer Sale is almost here... So has anyone checked out the latest and greatest addition of the online newspaper: southportlander.com? Artascope has made their front page with our upcoming End of Summer Sale. We are very excited about art sale event. We have over 20 confirmed local artist participating in the outdoors sale. Perfect way to start September and maybe get in a little early holiday shopping. The studio and gallery will be open as well, so make sure to take a peek inside to see all the extra goodies! http://www.southportlander.com/

Artascope Studios
End of Summer Sale
Saturday Sept 13th 10am-4pm
(rain date Sunday Sept 14th)

Private Parties and Classes Galore

Over the summer, Artascope Studios hosted a plethora of a fantastic private parties and classes. We thought you might like to take a look at some of the events we have hand crafted for our community.

Mosaic Garden Stone with Grandma:
One very special grandma,featured in the pink flowered shirt,treated her grand kids and a friend to the Mosaic Garden Stone Party. They created elaborate scenes that we sure to make their gardens look spectacular.One of the grand kids designed a killer whale, another made a cool looking monster of some sort and the third worked hard on her sunflower scene. An excellent day for everyone!

Collage Charm Pendants:
Deb taught a private party in collage charm pendants a few weeks back for a group of friends. Everyone got into creating their own personal designs using some great papers and other materials from our stash. The group learned how to solder their images between two pieces of glass to make some very special necklaces. Everyone went home wearing their work to show off to their families.

Sewn Beaded Cabochon:
Suzanne taught a private sewn beaded cabochon class to one of our summer stars, Valerie. She learned basic peyote stitch in the round pattern to set a beautiful piece of dichroic glass! Valerie learned how to work with seed beads, a needle, thread, wax and a fun thread burning tool in order to create her elaborate piece. Quite a masterpiece.

Artascope Teacher News- Libby Barrett

Libby Barrett, one of Artascope Studio's talented teachers, has some exciting news to share! Her painted floorcloths and table runners as well as her giclée prints have been accepted into the Maine Crafts Association's Center for Maine Craft retail gallery. The Center will be located in the new West Gardiner Turnpike Authority Rest Stop and will open in November. The Center is based on a similar, wildly successful facility in Tamarack, West Virginia. We are so excited for Libby and know they will be a hit!


Libby Barrett has lived in Maine since 1971. Barrett received her BFA in graphic design from Portland School of Art (now Maine College of Art) in 1988 and worked in that field for eighteen years. Looking for a more tactile involvement in her art-making, Barrett began painting and exhibiting floorcloths in 2002. In 2005 she took a six-month educational leave from her job to pursue an independent study making artist's books. Barrett continues to work in both mediums and exhibits her work internationally.

Libby says, "While making artist's books offers the opportunity to experiment with structure, materials, and processes, painting floorcloths fulfills my desire to play with design and color. I enjoy the different ways of thinking--a visual approach when painting floorcloths and a more conceptual approach when making books. "

Something for Everyone in September

The kids are heading back to school. Summer is over and life will become a blur of packing lunches, getting to work and finding a way to keep everyone's schedule straight. So, how are you planning to keep yourself inspired?

Maybe you are young, crafty and unattached. As the fall approaches and you are looking forward to celebrating the beautiful fall season, what are your plans for the next few weeks. Want to collect a few friends for a night of art, wine and laughter?

Thursday Night from 6-9pm, September 4th, is our first ANO (Art Night Out) offerings for September. Libby Barrett will be teaching a two week class on painted floor cloths and Diane Brakeley will be in the metals studio working with the Silver Spoon Necklace class. Tempted? How about making your very own collaged night light for a kid's room or bath? Maggie Bokor will be introducing this new ANO program on Saturday, the 6th, from 2-6pm. Now we got your attention....

Monday the 8th, you have an opportunity to make hammered metal jewelry with Betina Clark or felted flower pin with one of our talented teachers. New teacher, Melissa, Knowles, will be teaching a linked beaded bracelet class on Thursday, the 11th, while Libby winds up her Painted Floor Cloth class upstairs. Lynne Holland will assist you in making a beautiful Autumn Wreath during our 2-6pm ANO class offerings on Saturday the 13th. Or you can try your hand at cutting glass with Gayle Raposa's Stained Glass Votives.

So...how about it. Signing up is easy. Follow this link to the schedule and you can even sign up on line. http://www.artascope.com/sept2008.htm Feel free to call us anytime if you have any questions. 207-799-5154. Can't wait to see you and meet some new friends!

New Metals Classes- Spiral Link Bracelet and Etched Copper Pendant

New Metals Offerings
Betina, one of our talented artist and Art Night Out teachers, has expanded her metal class offerings at Artascope Studios. We've been working with her to develop fun new classes that are always a crowd pleaser. So, the Spiral Link Bracelet class was held on the12th of August. Betina taught the students how to use copper brass and silver plated metal wire to create these whismical jewelry pieces. The students learned to twist, turn and hammer their spiraled wire into a stunning bracelet! Be sure to look for it in our fall listings. I am sure we will be hosting this class again soon.

Kate Osler introduced her new Etched Copper Pendant class on Monday. Students designed their own intricate etched copper pendants. Kate walked them through the process needed to resist etch, saw, and even dap their piece to create some dramatic results. This Etched class will be coming back around twice in the fall....so see if you can make it. Monday October 13th and then again on Monday December 29th. Both classes are held from 6-9pm for $65 each. Think you may be interested? Check out our monthly schedule for more details. http://www.artnightout.com/schedule.htm#october

Artascope Home Improvements

Artascope's New Look
Have you stopped by the studio lately? We have been working hard at making Artascope Studios pretty spiffy lately. With some amazing help from stewards, teachers, staff and family, renovations went smoothly. Thank you everyone!!!

Where to begin! Suzanne designed and built a brand new kiosk for the gallery packed with space of new work and an easy place to purchase gifts for everyone. With new inventory on the shelves, our art supply store has something for everyone.

And how about the fresh coat of paint? The studio looks a lot brighter these days inside and out! Our purple porch coordinates with our famous Artascope color scheme. Our community board is now on the porch, so that you can view it day and night. The gardens have grown outside to accent our colorful entrance. We have added a beautiful white picket fence. After a successful day out in the gardens yesterday, next years blooms are sure to delight.

End of Summer Out Night Out Classes

The summer is coming to a close and Artascope Studios is gearing up for a fantastic fall. So what are your end of summer plans?

Monday August 25th from 6-9pm, come join us for Etched Copper Earrings with Kate Osler. You will design your own intricate etched copper pendants or pair of earrings! Learn the steps needed to resist etch, saw, and even dap your pieces. $55 per person. Or come get your sea glass fix in Lynne Holland's Sea Glass Earring Class for $35. Create these fun, summer-inspired earrings from our vast collection of sea glass! Learn how to wrap and connect sea glass with beads to make these eye-catching earrings in copper, brass, or silver. Makes one pair of earrings in either class.

Need a birthday gift for friend? Diane Brakeley will be hosting the Lavish Fiber Scarf this Thursday the 28th from 6-9 PM for $65 per person. Combine luscious ribbons, yarns and fibers with our magical materials to design your scarf. With a basic machine stitch to secure your dynamic array of fibers, add a little water to make your scarf come to life. Makes one scarf.

We end another busy month with the ANO class, The Accordian Book with Libby Barrett on Saturday August 30th from 2-6pm. The cost is $45 per person. You will learn about this unique, simple, and versatile book binding technique. Create this fun bound book that can hold treasured family photos, shared memories or even be a work of art itself! Makes one book. So are you game?

We have made it easy for you and you can sign up online. Just click on the class and follow the prompts. http://www.artnightout.com/aug2008.htm You are more than welcome to sign up the old fashion way and gives us a ring at 207-799-5154. We are always ready for you.

Batik Pillow Talk and Private Party Round Up

Batik Pillow Talk
Sue Drown-Trout, our resident batik teacher recently taught a very exciting Batik Pillow Cover class as a part of our ANO Series. The students were working with the batiking process of sketching, waxing and emerging in dye to bring their designs to life on their pillow covers. Sue told us that one of the students was wearing a white t-shirt that ended up getting splashed during the dye process. She decided to dye the t-shirt all together and pulled it right over her head and added it to the dye bath. Sounds like a pretty silly night at Artascope. I sure she will share that story anytime she wears her new batiked t-shirt out on the town! It was definitely a first at Artascope for sure. If you would like to try your hand at batiking and missed this class, Sue will be hosting our Fall 6 week Artist Series in Batiking and Dye on Thursday mornings from 10am-1pm. First class is on Sept 18th. Please check out the link for more info.http://www.artnightout.com/artistseries.htm

Private Parties: Sea Glass
We are always happy to accomodate private parties at Artascope Studios and have few picks from our latest events. Lynne Holland led a fantastic Wrapped Sea Glass Pendant party of local coworkers just a few weeks ago. Each party goer learned to wrap their hand selected sea glass pieces with silver wire and beads. They all went home with two pendants a piece and were looking forward to wearing them off at the office "fashion show" the next day. Lynne will be gearing up for her next jewelry making class, Intro to Earrings, on Monday, August 25th from 6-9pm. Check out the August Schedule to find out more details. http://www.artnightout.com/aug2008.htm

WigJig Earrings
Marcia Wigjig of the Wigjig family was our guest teacher for a fun Wigjig Earring Private Party last month. Students had a blast working with this amazing product that helps you create the most amazing earring designs. The best part is that the Wigjig family has already done all the hard work of creating the patterns. Students just have to follow their directions and they end up with professionally styled earrings. We are always excited to have Marcia here to teach and she adds so much to this class.

Wedding Bells and Baby News from Artascope Studios

Emily Leonard, one of our talented acrylic painting teachers at Artascope Studios is getting married this fall. Not only is she a talented painter, but a fantastic metalsmith. She has been diligently working on matching white gold wedding bands for her fiance and herself. She did a wonderful job and I am sure they will add such a personal touch on their day. Emily will be relocating to the Bangor area after the wedding. We wish her all the best. We will miss her here at Artascope, but know she will be a great addition to her new community and husband. Congratulations Emily!

She not the only one with special news to share from the studio....our August highlighted Artist, Steward and Teacher, Judy Babin is expecting her first baby next month! We are all very excited to see the new addition to the Babin family and know that Judy will be switching gears from working with silver jewelry to baby bottles and bath time for a while. Many of the our Artascope community was able to share in some of the excitement with Judy at her baby shower. Here are a few photos from the event. We all had a ball. We will all be ready to meet little baby Babin when she arrives! Featured in the photos are Maggie and Pat with Judy and Ann, Sue DT, Deb and Lynne. Our support and prayers go out to Pat and Lynne right now....sending lots of kind thoughts your way.

Art in the Park- Mill Creek South Portland

Art in the Park

Show & Sale

Mill Creek Park South Portland, ME

Saturday August 9th 9am-5pm

Rain date: Sunday August 10th

Featuring one of our favorite Artascope Steward andTeacher:

Sue Drown Trout-Sunfire Batiks

http://www.sunfirebatiks.com/

Collage, Tin People and Stained Glass Class Review and Teacher Request

Basic Collage Techniques Our studio manager and talent teacher, Suzanne Kiertianis, taught the Basic Collage as part of our Art Night Out Classes last week. She worked with the students to play with color, design, composition and style to create paper collage masterpieces. The class was very successful and Suzanne reported that everyone enjoyed themselves and felt good about the new techniques they had acquired in class.

For all those experienced Collage Experts out there....we are currently looking for a new Basic Collage teacher and would love to hear from you. Please contact Suzanne at 207-799-5154 if you think you would like to join our talented team!

Tin People
Sue Hellier has a knack for getting students excited about making family and friends into fantastic tin creations. We make sure to offer this Art Night Out class every season to make sure everyone gets a chance for this playful event.

The students bring in photos or copies of their loved ones heads and create costumes or completely outrageous new tin bodies to apply them onto. They sketch out ideas before cutting the tine parts. Using enamel paints and grommets, each element is brought together and properly decorated for some fun effects. Lots of laughs and creativity coming out of this classroom and they are always different!

Stained Glass Panel
Gayle Raposa can usually be found in our stained glass studio when she isn't working on her latest metalsmithing masterpiece. Multi-talented artist and teacher, she has made quite a name for herself as our stained glass guru.

She recently taught the Stained Glass Panel class and the results were fabulous. Students worked with large colored sheets of glass that they cut down to the desired size. Personal photographs added a nice touch. So many options to consider. Gayle is wonderful at helping students refine designs and feel confident with their new found talents. Gayle is currently teaching Stained Glass on Thursday mornings as part of our Artist Series. This fall, Stained Glass Artist Series will be moved to Tuesday mornings 10am-1pm. Please check out the link for more information: http://www.artnightout.com/