Paulette Insall ~ mixed media artist & mom

Inspired. Artist Workshop 2009

May 7-9, 2009
Concord, North Carolina
This is just one of my big announcements (so stay tuned for more)....I've been asked by Donna Downey to teach at her Inspired. Artist Workshop in May of 2009 in Concord, North Carolina. I'm so flippin excited!!! (as Donna herself would say) I will be one of six artists teaching two days of workshops. I'm just so immensely honored to be one of the instructors she's chosen to teach at her event next year!!! From what I've heard around blogland, it is a very unique and amazing...and life changing....event. Here's the info she has posted about it on her site...

"Inspired. Artist Workshop is a collaboration of creativity that blends the talents of some of the the most innovative Artists across several different genre’s of craft and hobby. Each Artist has been uniquely chosen and handpicked to offer crafter's of all skill levels and exposures an event that promises to be like no other. Each 3-hour core workshop has been designed with the Inspired. Artist in mind. Become a part of the journey, as each core Artist shares and guides you through their creative process. You will learn to work with new mediums and techniques, offering a tangible perspective into the Artist’s methods. The Inspired. Artist weekend is meant to expose and encourage students to stretch outside their comfort zones and embrace their unique creative potential within.

Each attendee will receive the same Inspired. and creatively charged experience and will attend each 3-hour workshop with all 6 Inspired. Artists. Each workshop will encourage you to incorporate your personal styles and touches resulting in a one of a kind completed art piece that bears your individual signature. The intimate workshop setting allows students to experience and explore creatively in a relaxed environment and walk away with a new perspective on their creative potential.

A wide array of optional evening mini-workshops will be offered each night to further students opportunities for Inspiration. Create a schedule that works best for you as you choose from the list of classes with talented guest instructors.

 

If mini-workshops aren't your thing, enjoy an open crop room that is accessible to you throughout the event to relax, craft or hang out with your friends.

Join me in another creative exploration of a lifetime as we challenge ourselves to experience creativity and inspiration in a whole new way."

For all the details and to see what other artists will be teaching, be sure to check out the event site on Donna's website. Oh and here's a little screen shot of my info page on the site. ;) :D My class description will be available there around mid July, so keep you're eyes peeled. ;)

Feeling better :)

Well it looks like this nasty icky cold thing is finally on its way out! YEA! The cough is still hanging on, but I'm finally starting to get some good rest at night and beginning to feel like my old self again....actually felt up to painting today. :) I just wanted to make a really quick post to thank all of you for your get well wishes and prayers. They are soooooo appreciated!!

I've got some big announcements for y'all, but it'll have to wait 'til either later tonight or tomorrow. I got a lot of catching up still to do, so just keep your eyes peeled here in the next day or so. :D

Oh and did ya notice the new bloggy banner? What do ya think? I was thinking that it was time I gave it a facelift. ;) :D

feeling kinda icky...

Just wanted to let y'all know I'm feeling under the weather. Woke up with a sore throat, stuffy nose, and general feeling of ickiness. Thought it was just allergies since it is that time of year, but I took some medicine for that and it really didn't help. So I guess I'm coming down with something. Guess its God's way of telling me I gotta slow down and rest. Okay, okay, okay I hear ya. LOL! :D

Sitting at the computer for any length of time gets me kinda light headed right now. So I'm gonna go lie down again and hope that my hubby makes it home soon. xo

Online class update (and yep, it's still busy, busy 'round here)

It's been a busy week with no time for painting outside of finishing up the painting for my current "All About Faces" online class. We're entering our last week and I'm just amazed at all the fantastic work my students are doing! I'm like a proud Momma! :D And speaking of the faces class, I have room for one more person in my next session of this class that starts on June 30th. So if you wanna grab it, go to the online classes page and send your payment quick! Update: "All About Faces" class is now full

Well, I'd better get back to work. Lots to do before I have to go pick up Aiden at preschool. It's gonna be another busy day, but its all good! :) Much love to y'all and hope ya have a fantastic Monday! Get out and enjoy spring for me since I'll likely be stuck inside all day. ;)

I just started a new group on Flickr

After endless searching for a group for mixed media and folk artists who are Christian and not finding quite what I was looking for (many Christian mixed media/collage artist groups have lots of swaps, round robins, etc. and I am never able to participate those and feel kinda out of place), I decided to start a group myself. :)

My intention is for it to be a place where artists (both new and experienced) who are Christian and also create any type of mixed media or folk art.......painting, collage, jewelry, or assemblage....to share their work (with or without a Christian theme), encourage, and support each other.

The only requirement is that you be an artist and a Christian. The art you create doesn't have to have a Christian message. I hope to see some of you there. I've made the group by invite only, so you'll have to request to join the group if I haven't already sent you an invite.

Click here to visit --> Christian Mixed Media & Folk Artists

More progress pics

I'm off to bed, but I thought I'd post a few more progress pictures to show you how much I managed to get done on this new painting this evening. I would work on it more, but I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open and Aiden's getting up earlier and earlier these days so I'd better hit the hay. Please excuse the not so great quality of these pics....I didn't turn on all my lights here in the studio, so they may be a little blurry or grainy, but I just couldn't wait to share! :) Nighty nite y'all!! xo

Started another painting...

While Aiden was at the drop-in daycare for a few hours today, I decided to start another painting. This is one of the sketches I showed y'all yesterday....thanks for all the lovely compliments on them btw! :)  I had hoped to play with some new brushes I'd ordered, but they didn't show up 'til after I got back from picking Aiden up. LOL! Oh well, maybe later in the week.

Sketches...

Things are still pretty busy for me, so I've had no time to paint in the last week......but I have been grabbing minutes here and there to do some sketches for new paintings. Sometimes I have so many ideas in my head, if I don't get them out I feel like my head might just explode! LOL! These are just a few of the many, many sketches I've done in the past week....hopefully to be turned into paintings soon. :)

Online Class status update

As of a little earlier tonight, the "Organic Dimension" (backgrounds) class starting May 19th is full. There is still a little room left in the "All About Faces" (portraits) class that starts June 30th. If you go to the online classes page and scroll to the bottom, you can sign up there by sending your payment.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making my online classes such a huge success and spreading the word about them!!! Y'all ROCK!!! :D xoxoxoxo

Better pics of work in progress

Just popping in really quick to post a couple of better photos of the piece I'm currently working on. Would love to hear what you think of her. I've tried a few new things while working on her face and I'd love some feedback.

Well I'd better run. Aiden's got an appointment with the speech pathologist at the elementary school down the street and we need to get going in a few if we're actually gonna be there in time. Much love to y'all! xoxo

Ahhh...quiet time for Momma

I'm sitting at Starbucks taking a few minutes for myself before I get back to running errands (Aiden's having fun at the drop-in daycare for a couple hours today). I don't know what it is, but sitting down with a cup of good coffee always calms me....of course it also helps with my ever so taxed energy level too. :) Hope y'all get a chance to take a few minutes for yourselves today...even of its only long enough to drink a cup of something yummy... Give yourself that few moments to relax and breathe. :D xoxoxo

Studio time.......finally! :)

900 hearts! Whoo hooo!!! :D

One of my favorite things about Etsy is the "hearts" system! I hit 900 the other day and I just had to save a screenshot of it. Thanks for all the Etsy love y'all! I ♥ you too!!!! :D

Classes getting close to being full

Just wanted to pop in and let y'all know that the next session of my online classes are getting close to being full. So if you were planning on signing up, you might want to go ahead and do so. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until September when I offer the classes again.

We had so much fun in the backgrounds class and the faces class is coming along fabulously as well! Here's where you can get a peek at what some of the students have been up to in the classes.

And to those of you who've signed up recently, I'm sending out payment confirmations about once a week. Otherwise I'd be spending alot of time just sending out confirmations. So it's just easier for me to do those all at once at the end of each week...hang tight and you'll hear from me soon. Also, I don't send out the blog access info or the supply list until two weeks prior to the class starting. I have alot on my plate at the moment and I really need to stick to this schedule to make sure I can give my current students my full attention. :)

Music that moves me..."Be Still"

Sometimes we get so busy with the day to day and we get overwhelmed (which is so me lately). I have a tendency to just shut down completely at that point outside of the "must do's". I have a full plate right now and stuff keeps getting added to it....and it just seems that I may never get caught up (please be patient with me y'all, I'm really trying). It helps me to know that I'm not alone in this....that God is always with me and if I stop and listen, I can hear Him...letting me know He's here right by my side.

This song below by Storyside:B is one of the many songs that are moving and inspiring me lately. I'm actually currently working on a series of pieces that were inspired by this very song (some of which are still in the sketch phase). It's message is poignant and so very moving.....so much so that sometimes when I really stop to listen to the lyrics, I feel overcome with emotion and the strong sense that God is really here with me, surrounding me with His love.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” Psalms 37:7

Update on online classes

Hey y'all! Just popping in to give you a quickie update on the status of the new session of classes I announced recently....the backgrounds class (starts May 19th) is about 2/3's full and the faces class (starts June 30th) is about 1/2 full. So if you were thinking of signing up you might want to do it soon because I won't be teaching these classes again until September.

Things are still super busy around here....thankfully I've found a drop-in daycare place for Aiden. Today is his first day, so we'll see how it works out. If he likes it, then I actually might be able to get caught up on things around here. That would be so awesome! Seems I'm always running behind these days and have so much to do....now if I could just find someone to come clean my house a couple of times a week then I'd be golden. ;)

I'll leave ya with a couple of video screen shots from the class lesson videos....the first one is from the faces class and the second one is from the backgrounds class. Be sure to click on the screen shots to see the full size of the video you'll be getting in the classes (640x480). Hope you're all having a great week!!! xoxo

Music that moves me..."Set The World On Fire"

Being creative is not a single act, but the act of living itself. The creative woman is on fire with imagination, ignited by the certainty of her relationship with a living God and her surety of purpose. She lives in freedom, not measuring herself by the lives around her. She takes calculated risks, understanding the value of going beyond the horizon of the known and coming back to report what she has discovered. She tackles life's challenges with heart, hands, and faith.
~Author unknown
Below is a video on YouTube of Britt Nicole singing her song "Set The World On Fire" live on a California radio station. It's a song that I just can't get enough of lately and it just relates so perfectly to how I feel about things going on in my life & art. At the beginning of the video, she talks about the meaning behind the song. I hope you'll give it a listen. :)

It's been so busy around here lately and it's left me no time to post. I hope to get back to posting regularly really soon. Speaking of being busy, Aiden's got a lunch playdate in about an hour, so I'd better get a move on. Hope everyone is doing great! xoxo

My online classes...new dates added :)

Just wanted to let everyone know that due to the huge response to my mixed media online classes, I decided to do another round. :) So if you missed out the first time, be sure to cruise on over the new newly updated online classes page and sign up. :)

Bits of life captured...

One of my favorite things about spring is...

...when these glorious trees start to bloom here in Oregon. It is just spectacular!!!! I believe they are blossoming plum trees. What ever they are, they just make my heart sing at the mere sight of them during the few short weeks they are blooming each year. Hard to believe that not even two weeks ago, these same trees looked like what you see in the last picture below....a reminder that time flies by so fast.

I've been meaning to get photos of these trees ever since we moved to Oregon almost 8 years ago and this is the first time I've managed to actually do it before the blooms fell. I'm feeling pretty happy about that. :) I've captured part of what is so special to me about Oregon in the spring. What about where you live is special to you?