Upcoming Retreats
Harrisburg, PA May 2024 - May 13-19, 2024
Portland, OR 2024 August - August 11-18, 2024
Gubbio, Italy 2024 - Sept 1-18, 2024
Portland, OR April 2024 - April 14 - 21, 2024
Portland, OR 2025 - March 15-24, 2025
Harrisburg, PA May 2024 - May 13-19, 2024
Portland, OR 2024 August - August 11-18, 2024
Gubbio, Italy 2024 - Sept 1-18, 2024
Portland, OR April 2024 - April 14 - 21, 2024
Portland, OR 2025 - March 15-24, 2025
To begin registration for the Portland, OR 2024 August retreat: click on the class that you're interested in and it will take you to the class description--scroll to the bottom and, if there's still space, it will say "Register for this class"--click on the link and it will put it in your shopping cart. Repeat the process until you have chosen all your classes and are ready to 'check out'. If a class is full, it will indicate that at the bottom of the description page, and it will not let you choose it.
All registration is Online ONLY!
Jody Alexander is a mixed media artist who lives and works in Santa Cruz and Penn Valley, California. She combines textiles, paper, found items and imagery to create books, objects, wall pieces, garments, and installations. Her current work is inspired by the art of repair, reuse, and imagery and stories encountered in her travels and everyday.
Her work appears in a number of publications including Masters: Book Arts: Major Works by Leading Artist, 500 Handmade Books, and 1000 Artists' Books: Exploring the Book as Art. Jody was an artist in residence at the Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Facility in 2019, and is the 2015 recipient of the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from U.C.L.A., and a Master’s degree in Library Science from Simmons College, Boston, MA.
Jody teaches and exhibits nationally and internationally.
Hailing from Salt Lake City Utah, Thomas Ashman now lives and works in the magical town of Taos, NM, and is a book binder, doll maker, and mixed media artist who likes to create with one foot in the light and one foot firmly in the dark. Reveling in the irony of juxtaposition, Thomas starts with forgotten toys, discarded dolls, rusty metal, and other resurrected materials, then breathes a new and interesting life into these abandoned objects by transforming them into macabre story-tellers and unexpectedly complex studies of the literary characters and supernatural deities that inspire him. The haunting images adorning the covers of his glass and metal journals give his work a kind of classical darkness that conjures a spooky and ‘old-fashioned’ aesthetic.
Coming from an academic background with a degree in English literature and music, his visual art explorations began back in the early 2000’s, and have allowed him to travel all over the country to teach his original “no-sew” metal book binding technique, and other workshops, at local shops and national retreats such as Artfest, Art & Soul, Art Unraveled, Create, Art Continuum, et.al. Thomas exhibits locally whenever he can, and has had his work published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors, and Somerset Studio magazines, and has received a few awards in juried exhibitions.
When he isn’t in the studio, Thomas enjoys camping, kayaking, skiing, reading, educational podcasts, horror movies, live music, and banging his head and his drums, as often as possible (with a particular affection for classic heavy metal skullduggery). Thomas also loves just hanging out in his his 100+ year old adobe abode, baking cookies, growing flowers and vegetables, and watching true crime shows with his four favorite ladies. Leighanna, Lily, Peetie, and Jessie, and an ornery ol’ gato gordo named Hairy B.
ThomasAshmanArt@yahoo.com
www.blacksheepartist.com
Orly Avineri is a mixed media artist, a teacher, and an author. She was born and raised in Israel, ended up in Southern California after living in the Netherlands for nearly a decade. Now living in the beautiful Willamette Valley in Oregon she teaches workshops and retreats in intimate settings, locally, in the US, and abroad. Orly’s work’s purpose is to advance the well being of those who seek it through unique and intimate natural and man-made processes and materials. Engaging in a world that is far more expansive than her own enlivens her to no end and she hopes to invoke that feeling in others by introducing and marrying multiple media to inspire freedom of expression and a deep belief in the possibility, the power, and the beauty of change. All for the sake of a deep sense of interconnectedness to all.
www.orlyavineri.com
Instagram: @orlyavineri
Facebook: @orlyavineri
I love to create and have been teaching off and on for about 40 years. I love sharing my creations and techniques with creative people. My arts have been shown in several magazines over the years and I was a featured artist on the Carol Duvall Christmas Special. It's been about five years since teaching because of COVID and relocating from Santa Barbara to Bend, Oregon. I am looking forward to being and sharing with the smiling faces at Art and Soul once again.
Stephanie Burton teaches Hand-Building in Ceramics & Mixed Media (drawing and painting) Workshops in her peaceful unique home studio in Vancouver, WA and rents out her studio to Ceramic Artists. She has been working for Georgie’s Ceramic & Clay for 10 years as their Hand-building instructor. She sells her artwork at Clark County Open Studios, Portland Ceramic Showcase, Chehalem Mountain Art Affair, Art in the Garden,
Tigard Grange Show and galleries.
Stephanie is passionate about sharing her years of experience with others and you can see the joy and energy expressed in each one of her pieces as well as her student’s work. Stephanie’s Ceramic & Mixed Media Workshops are packed full of great techniques and creativity.
For more information visit Stephanie’s website and find her on social media.
www.stephanieburtonstudios.com
Instagram: @stephanieburtonstudios
Facebook: @stephanieburtonstudios
Andrea is a life long maker. From an early age there has been no material
that does not inspire her curiosity.
Starting A Work of Heart in 1998 Andrea's passion for making has blossomed
into creating an online community centered around a monthly membership called
Watch.Learn.Play. where she nurtures connection in community through bite sized
mixed media art & book making lessons. When she is not making art, designing
stencils or building custom art kits, Andrea enjoys fostering kittens for her local
county animal shelter
Pam is a full-time science teacher and a part-time artist, indulging her imagination by creating whimsical characters of polymer clay. After dabbling in many forms of mixed media art, Pam found her niche in polymer clay sculpture after taking several classes taught by Lisa Renner.
Pam enjoys trail running near her home in Northern California and was recently able to be a kidney donor.
Jen Crossley is an Australian mixed-media artist and highly sought after instructor. Her art is truly unique, incorporating found objects, vintage ephemera, etched metal, resin, and more. With a true eye for detail and the ability to see past a rusty bit of metal, Jen is able to create assemblage pieces, tiny books, and stunning jewelry from this assortment of pieces she collects.
In her own words...
“Teaching is my passion. I have been doing it now for 22 years, thirteen of which have been spent teaching mixed media techniques. eight years ago I achieved my dream of teaching in the United States, and have gone on to teach at art retreats such as the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, Art & Soul, Artiscape, and Vivi Magoo’s Art Retreat at The Prairie. Over this time I have featured in many magazines including Somerset Studio, BelleAmore Jewelry, Cloth Paper Scissors, and Australian Stamping and Papercraft. In literature, I was featured in “The Guilded Journey” by Anne Freund and Cynthia Shaffer, and was chosen one of only three Australian artists to feature in Seth Apter’s book “The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed”.
Jen has filmed four DVD’s for Cloth Paper Scissors featuring my more popular classes.
Jen also has a range of Rubber stamps out with her unique designs I have also instructed for many additional webinars and online classes, and served on the ICE Resin design team for two years which also involved many online demonstrations of my techniques. I’ve been praised for appealing to both beginners and advanced students, giving clear and concise instructions, and making techniques look easy which in turn, provides my students with the confidence to go forward in their creative processes.”
www.amarkintime.com
amarkintime.blogspot.com.au
@jenatamarkintime (Instagram)
facebook.com/JenCrossleyAMarkInTime
info@amarkintime.com
Rochelle has always loved art – it has been a way to express herself and her style. Her road to creating jewelry began 12 years ago where she attended a chandelier class in Cortona, Italy. From that point on she fell in love with the art of soldering and jewelry making. It truly has been the best journey of her life meeting so many wonderful people, learning new things, and opening many doors to new opportunities.
In 2022 I turned 60…one of those milestone birthdays. That same year, I traveled to Paris for the first time since I was 21 years old. It was an amazing, joy-full, and life-changing trip. I played the part of an adventurer and instinctively set about my mission to document and observe my trip to Paris as if I’d never traveled before. I took notes. I collected things along my way throughout my days in Paris. I documented my findings in the biggest, juiciest, most beautiful travel journal to date. I noticed patterns in the wallpaper and tiles of the pied-a-terre I rented in Montmartre and copied them into my vintage travel journal. I traced typography from a women’s magazine advertisement from 1896. I focused on just one thing at a time. I recorded only what I was drawn to in those moments.
I came home wanting to keep that “Paris feeling” alive. That feeling of exploration, of discovery, of living in the moment. That’s when an idea came to me: sharing my love of travel and techniques I use in my handmade vintage travel journals to other like-minded and curious souls.
The No.1 Ladies Travel Chronicle Society was born.
I now teach workshops locally and internationally to other travelers. We find a vintage book, deconstruct it, then put it back together with layers and layers of vintage papers and ephemera, notes about what we see, feel, smell, and taste. We layer our pages with bits and flotsam collected throughout our wanderings. We tell our stories.
Email: good2btlg@comcast.net
Website: www.tammygilley.com
Art is such an amazing gift. Whether we enjoy looking at it or participate in creating it. I have always had some form of artistic influence in my life in so many forms. Entertaining, cake decorating, wire wrapping, Precious Metal Clay and now Silversmith work.
I love learning from so many wonderful artists and creating works of wearable art, but the best is teaching someone else how to create their own artistic voice. Seeing that “AW HA!” moment when it all comes together
I look forward to working with you and seeing what inspiring pieces you have tucked inside your heart and challenging you to let it shine!
Pamela Sue Johnson is a mixed-media artist and full-time creative. Known for her engaging teaching style, Pamela's workshops empower her students into more freedom with creative self-expression.
"All art making is about voice," says Pamela. "I love to help others find and use their voice through art, especially those who are just getting started."
Pamela makes her home in Vancouver, Washington. Her social media is as engaging as she is in real life as she writes about art, nature and the passion (and anguish) of her creative life. "I invite you to come prowl me as you decide to take one of my workshops," offers Pamela. "I love to be prowled!"
Find her online at:
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pamelasuejohnson11/
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/pamelasuejohnson/
Website : https://www.pamelasuejohnson.com/
As a mixed media artist and teacher Chris believes in fostering an authentic spirit of inquiry and exploration to develop rich creative experiences. Chris paints, photographs, assembles, stitches and dyes her way through explorative processes that weave their stories in her life’s journey. Chris has taught thousands of students across the world; her purpose is to help light students from within in finding their own voice as they weave creativity with life’s experiences and explorations through self expression.
Chris has been an Artist in Residence in Orquevaux, France. She has her work in the Denis Diderot Gallery in France, the 2024 Artist Almanac, and she is a regular contributor to Somerset Studio, the world’s premier mixed media magazine.
Chris teaches on line in her own school (Chris Karpiak), and this year she is a teacher for Fodder School 3 and Wanderlust 2024. Chris also teaches live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Chris calls Edmonton home now after having lived in Victoria, BC for 23 years.
instagram https://www.instagram.com/christinekarpiak/
you tube https://www.youtube.com/@chriskarpiak/videos
An Assemblage Artist residing in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Erin Keck's artwork results from re purposing found discarded objects. She loves to breathe new life into castaways from yesteryear. Erin's artwork is shown and sold in three prestigious art galleries in Pa. The 2nd Floor in Mechanicsburg, Pa, Village Artisans Gallery in Boiling Springs, Pa, and Perry County Council Of The Arts in Newport, Pa. She has been a Featured Artist in two of the galleries with Private Showings. Recently Erin's work has been published in the book, “1000 Steampunk Creations” by Grymm. Seven of her pieces were chosen for this book. She has taught community craft classes on a monthly basis from 2007 – 2010, and has taught classes at the Charmed I'm Sure Studio owned by friend and colleague and fellow Art & Soul instructor, Jean Van Brederode. Erin has lectured at the Central Pa. Bead and Jewelry Society, and has also taught private classes in her home studio. She has attended Art & Soul retreats for the past three years, and values the inspiration and knowledge that she has received from the Art & Soul instructors.You can see more of Erin's artwork at www.EKCreations.etsy.com. (be sure to view her sold items.)
Since the early 1970s, Kat has been a believer in the healing power of the arts and creative self-expression. After retiring from a 40-year career as an Expressive Arts Therapist, her passions include teaching a variety of workshops such as creating art journals, collage, handmade books, Mixed Media arts, watercolors and doodles, and more. Kat enjoys exploring and experimenting with art materials, and sharing her discoveries with her students. She hosts a free Zoom session every Tuesday through her private Facebook group, “Kat’s Clubhouse.” When she teaches, whether it be virtual or in person, her two rules are: 1) You can’t be wrong, and 2) Have fun!
https://katkirby.com/
kat4clay@gmail.com
https://www.youtube.com/c/kat4clay/videos
https://www.instagram.com/2katstudios/
https://www.facebook.com/kathryn.w.kirby/
Art is our universal language. From pre-historic bison scratched onto a cave wall, to the fervent expression of religious faith brushed onto a chapel ceiling; humans have been driven to leave a legacy of their hopes and dreams etched in stone, wrought in metal or wood, woven in cloth or painted on paper and canvas. It is a unique characteristic of human nature to create visual form that goes beyond function into abstract thought. No culture, past or present, has failed to leave this expression of their existence and humanity. The message can be patently obvious as an epic battle immortalized in a Medieval tapestry or as enigmatic as a legion of stone heads staring out to sea on a long deserted island. It can be as realistic as a photograph or as abstract as swathes of color. Art can be used to invoke spirits or exorcize demons. I am driven to speak with my hands, to translate my visions into a form that bridges all language barriers. My visions come from my perception of the world around me, dreams and faint remembrances of lifetimes lost in the past. I am a storyteller at heart and my quilts are my stories.
I was born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula in central California, a beautiful area that served as an inspiration to set me onto a creative path for life. From a very early age I showed a keen interest in art, starting with drawing and painting and exploring different mediums for my self-expression. In the early 70's, I turned my attention to fiber and fabrics with a focus on quilting and embroidery. For the last 40 years or so, fiber and quilting has been my primary focus and passion.
In 1991, we moved to the Pacific Northwest. I began teaching fiber and quilting classes in 1999. Over the years, my work has won awards at local, regional and national shows and the recognition has served me well in promoting myself as a teacher. In 2006 I received a nomination for the ‘Teacher of the Year’ by Professional Quilter Magazine another teacher ultimately won the top award but to be nominated was an honor itself. Some of my quilts have appeared in the pages of books and the cover of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine; and I have written articles for various magazines and currently design quilt patterns. This year, I became a fabric designer for Northcott Fabrics and my first line came out in May of 2018.
In addition to art and quilting, I have a passion for gourmet cooking, books (the only place I can get into worse trouble than a fabric store), films and music.
Ruth lives in Portland and is an amazing fabric & paper collage artist. Her work can be seen on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1168385395
Equal parts human rainbow and transformative educator, Cindy Lohbeck is 100% DYEHARD! Her colorful contributions to the fiber community include an extensive line of fabric dyeing kits and innovative techniques, making her a favorite for guild events, quilt shows, retreats and quilt shop venues. Watch faces light up as she humorously brings a deep knowledge of color, dye and textiles along with and an array of unique tools, tips, and tricks to help quilters, textile artists and crafters share in the empowering experience of dyeing their own fabric. Having worked in textiles and fabric dyeing for over 40 years, Cindy’s mission is to pass her knowledge on to other artists, and helping make the world a more colorful place!
Jennifer's artwork is often influenced by nature, contemporary science, duality, and the geometry within the natural world. Her artistic pursuits include mixed media painting, jewelry design, and teaching art classes.
She has designed and created jewelry for the last 25 years. Jennifer loves how a piece of jewelry can open conversations and be a wearable traveling art relic.
Jennifer has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from Oregon College of Art and Craft. Her paintings have been in several local and national art exhibitions, including New York, Chicago, and Seattle. Her jewelry has been featured in the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum in Seattle.
Jesse Reno is a self-taught mixed media painter. He has been drawing since he could hold a pencil, and painting and exhibiting his works since 2000.
Jesse has amassed over 3000 paintings in the last 12 years, and has exhibited his work extensively across the US and Canada as well as France and Mexico. Jesse's work has been covered in various art publications including Juxtapoz, Artnews, Artension, dpi and Somerset Studio just to name a few. One of his largest works can be seen in Winnipeg, Canada where he was commissioned by the Province of Manitoba to create a 25 x 40 ft mural as a reminder to the cultural importance of the Native American people in the region.
Renée Richetts (November 5, 1954) is an American artist best known for her mixed-media artist books, often created from re-purposed materials. She received her education at U.C. San Diego, where she attended an exchange program to study art history and literature in France. Examples of Richetts’ work are represented in public collections at the University of California in San Diego, and the Girl Scout Museum in New York. Her work is widely collected in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
Richetts has been teaching art to adult learners for over 30 years in the U.S. and in Europe. Her teaching style combines demos with skills application by attendees, and lots of feedback to support each attendee’s unique artistic vision. Richetts is known to be a huge fan of all things pop-culture related, and for bringing a sense of fun and generosity to all her classes.
Carol’s painting journey started when she learned to paint with acrylics during her lunch hour at the office where she worked. If not for the step-by-step process of decorative painting, she would not have been introduced to the world of painting. In 2000, Carol started painting primarily in transparent watercolor and her teaching career was launched. Carol paints primarily with watercolor accented with multimedia.
Carol’s workshop is a perfect opportunity for the beginner as well as the experienced painter to learn techniques enabling them to complete successful paintings. Carol shares her step-by-step approach to painting with students of all levels. All projects include written instructions, a line drawing and a color photo. Drawing ability is not necessary, allowing the student to focus on the mechanics of painting.
The creative backgrounds in Carol’s paintings set her artwork apart from other artists. Her use of color and textures invite you into her joyful paintings. Each lesson is designed to introduce the student to a new technique or way of looking at art. Students paintings are successful when they “trust the process” of Carol’s methodical instructions. No two paintings are alike, and that is a good thing!
Carol recently retired to be a full time artist and instructor. Painting is her joy and often times, her therapy. As much as she enjoys painting, Carol’s first love is teaching painting to others. Carol is a popular instructor at community education classes in St. Paul, MN, decorative painting conventions and travel workshops throughout America, France, Italy and Canada.
A lifetime resident of Minnesota, Carol lives in a 125+ year old house in Saint Paul, Minnesota with her husband Coz and their two cats, Mickey and Bailey.
Stephanie Wolcott, an artist from Nebraska. I love to teach a large variety of workshops from my studio. The workshops range from pottery, impasto painting, cookie decorating, gardening, fabric and textile dying to soap making…. Workshops are in person and on zoom. I have been teaching workshops in person and on zoom for over ten years.
My inspiration comes from nature and spending time outdoors.
For your convenience, you may pre-order your materials for classes! Your materials will be waiting for you at the retreat. And you can always purchase additional materials at the retreat.
Runaway Art and Craft Studio is our onsite store and sponsor for Portland, OR Retreats.
Visit Runaway Art and Craft Studio...
