Hello Sunshine

water-media painting class .......north carolina mountains in the fall

Early in October I will head into the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, into the little town of Brasstown to be exact,  to teach painting at the magic John C. Campbell Folk School.  The name may sound familiar to you, as it has often been featured in national publications such as Southern Living Magazine, Country Living Magazine, etc. 

Founded in 1925, the Folk School began as a collaboration between two progressive educators  and an Appalachian community (Brasstown) working together to create an institution that seeks to bring out the best in people. Although lifestyles and our relationship to tradition have changed since 1925, the individual expression and social interaction that is offered today at the school - through classes in music, art, crafts, nature studies, gardening, cooking and dance -is still meaningful to people today.

The class (Mix-and-Match Media) I will offer this fall at John Campbell features an exploration of painting techniques that employ mixed water media - watercolor, acrylic, build-up mediums, inks and whatever else we might "dredge up."  We are very interactive as we work - learning from each other, sharing techniques, trying new techniques that may have been created right on the spot and just painting like crazy.

The NEW painting studio is really  "state of the art" with lots of space to work, fabulous lighting (natural and artificial), a great demo mirror so everyone can watch what the instructor is doing all the time, plenty of sinks for water and brush-washing and handicapped equipped restrooms.  Although the painting schedule goes from nine to four I find my students there burning the midnight oil most evenings.

Lodging is very comfortable and has a little rustic feel.  Rooms are scattered about campus in cabins and vintage "former" private residences owned by the school.  Many of the rooms are shared - a wonderful opportunity to meet someone "really neat" with artistic interests (great talent is optional) or just quality time to spend with a friend, child (adult), spouse, or significant other.

MEALS!  This topic should really be a separate post but I will share a little info.  All meals are served family style in a lovely dining room.  A "real" chef and his staff prepare the delicious fare using veggies and herbs from the organic garden on campus.  Vegetarian selections were so good that I frequently found myself making that choice.  (At the end of the week the chef actually had recipe print-outs for those of us who kept asking "how did you fix that?")  Food is served family style at long tables and you can sit wherever you wish.  I met so many neat people from all over the country by just sitting at different tables part of the time.

A day on the secluded mountain campus might begin with a morning walk on the chip-bark campus paths or on trails through the woods or by the stream, or an "expert-led" bird walk with binoculars provided.  Coffee, tea and the morning paper are available.  "Morning Song," a Danish custom of singing,  folklore and camaraderie, is another wonderful way to start the day at 7:45. You really need to be there for a week just to try all the options! The harmonic strings of a banjo, fiddle and/or dulcimer frequently are the background music on campus.

You will just have to get a school catalog or get on line to see all the class options offered during the year.  My class paints inside and outside - the scenery with mountains and gardens galore make for a difficult choice of subject.  Some of my students just like to go out and pick flowers and leaves and set up a still life in the studio. There is time for it all.

At the end of the week we have a special exhibit and each class shares their creations with the entire school.  There is a wonderful closing musical celebration held in a former old dairy barn, the stage backdrop created by the picturesque mountains bathed in the waning light of a setting sun. You just wonder how in the world you are going to leave this place the next day!

 

My class this year is going to be during one of the best times to be in North Carolina - during the fall and surrounded by mountains covered with beautiful turning leaves (October 4-10). This is the time of year I really miss living there so this schedule couldn't be any better personally.  I will need to take a sweater - let's see, do I still have any turtlenecks and long jeans packed away?

If you would like to join me or have any questions about my particular class please contact me.  marcy@marcychapman.com  You may request a catalog or peruse the online catalog with a description of my class at www.folkschool.org or by calling 1-828-837-2775.

I will be talking about my class and the creative ideas I will be sharing in the days to come on this blog.  Hugs, Marcy

wake up call...............

I just love this photo and have been thinking about posting it for such a long time!  You may have to pause and gaze at it for a few seconds to really see it (click on photo to enlarge).

No, it is not me!  Although my last post was at the end of May, I have not been snoozing, or just "sitting back," or letting grass grow under my feet or waiting for moss to appear.  Dear husband has been in the hospital all summer (and an out-of-town hospital at that!) and my creative time and energy has been going in a plethora of other directions.

At last! He is home and beginning to recover, and the thought of some normalcy is now more than just wishful thinking. The power of the body to heal is so magnificent and GREATLY under acknowledged and under appreciated....but not by me or dear husband or our family!

In the midst of all that has been going on I have managed to water the garden enough to keep it going.  We have had the hottest and driest summer I can remember.  The tomatoes have failed but the basil is thriving and I have made and frozen lots of pesto.  My mini muffin tins have worked out perfectly to use to freeze this yummy mixture.  The little "muffins" of frozen pesto pop right out of the molds, once frozen, and then can be kept in a freezer bag for later use.

My "blue garden" has been the great survivor of neglect.  I have had a blue garden for years and years.  It began following the purchase of a beautiful original handmade birdbath at an art show. Since I used to exhibit at forty-some outdoor juried art shows a year, most of my "stuff" is original, purchased from fellow exhibitors or sometimes traded for my own artwork. This beautiful vessel, glazed in a stunning lapis hue, perches on a base with a sun design. It has been a constant challenge to grow blue flowers. Moving from the mountains back to Florida required being introduced again to new varieties. So many varieties don't fare well in our heat and I always feel a little bit guilty when planting them - like maybe is is actually a little funeral ceremony. But here are the survivors in all their blue glory. 

Ah, it feels so good to be back "clicking" the keys again. It will also feel good to get a paint brush in hand again.  I am chipping my way through the studio to the painting area.

Leave a comment if you are still "out there" my "blog space" friends. I have missed you and am glad to have finally heard my wake-up call.  Hugs, Marcy