Sunday, August 14, 2016

The 2016 4th Annual Ashley Inn Art Retreat....

....was a huge success!

We had artists attend the retreat from as close as a couple miles away, to one artist as far as India.

All the ladies who came to the Ashley Inn in Cascade, ID and participated in this weekend learned new things, grew in their artistic abilities, stepped out of their comfort zones (maybe even a little bit?), made new friends, ate good food and just all-around enjoyed a relaxing getaway, in a beautiful setting, to make some art.



I had such a great time watching all the creative processes this past weekend (the 5th--7th). This year's project was a watercolor and/or acrylic project on a either a canvas or on a sheet of Arches 300lb hot press watercolor paper. We all learned (or re-learned) the importance of composition and design choices, as well as how complimentary color combinations (say that five times fast) work in a painting.  We also got to experiment with Gelli printing plates to make interesting prints to incorporate into our artworks.  So much fun.  We all greatly enjoyed the two and a half days of painting and creating art morning into the evening! 



I completed two main demos over the weekend, one on canvas with watercolor & one on paper with acrylic and mixed media.
 

 

What some of the ladies had to say about what they learned or enjoyed at the retreat:
  • "Sufficient time spent in demo and hands on"
  • I learned to "take time in pre-planning the subject/composition/colors"
  • "Branching out into other mediums and composition recognition"
  • "Mix of demos, teaching, answering questions, painting, individual & general critiques--a very full all-encompassing learning experience"
  • "This was a terrific turning point for me!"
  • "Very generous in art supplies for the artists"
  • "Other peoples' ideas and questions are enlightening"
  •  "Your expertise and feedback was very helpful to me to encourage me to pick up the brushes and get at it again.  Seeing my art through new eyes helps me open mine.  I am excited to try some of the new techniques.   ....I found that in your world (which I knew was your way of expressing that we didn't HAVE to do it that way), but in your world, when we are there, we don't have to worry about politics (scary), illness (also scary), cleaning, yard work or those kind of mundane things, but only had to worry about design, composition, color and technique.  I like your world better."


Check out all the lovely works of art done by these creative artists!






 
 
 
A portion of the retreat goers...
 
 
 
 
All loaded up, boat and all!
 
 
See you next year!
 

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