JaneVille: February 2016

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Abstract Collages ~ three new ones

Zen Blue (10x10 inches) by Jane LaFazio $100 in my JaneVille ETSY shop

Blue Leaves (10x10 inches) by Jane LaFazio $100 in my JaneVille ETSY shop

Words and Music (10x10 inches) by Jane LaFazio $100 in my JaneVille ETSY shop

I'll be teaching this workshop "Abstract Collage with gelli plate monoprints" in San Clemente, CA on Thursday, May 12th.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Registration open for ONLINE Sketching and Watercolor in a Mixed Media Journal

Registration is open. Details here.

Class starts March 18, 2016

Monday, February 22, 2016

Zen Eucalyptus video ~ wet felted

Zen Eucalyptus (48x36 inches) by Jane LaFazio $2200.00

A short VIDEO of "Zen Eucalyptus"
Description:
Eucalyptus pods and leaves fractured by cutting into bits, chunks, and squares. In this case, reassembled and overlaid with circles to become nearly whole again if only in memory. A Zen meditation and tribute to the giant, regal, scented Eucalyptus tree with its colors of taupe, celadon and plum.

Backstory:
I start work with no concept of where it will go. This piece started with a single piece of hand made felt (wet-felted by me), cut into squares, and hand stitched individually. The meditative process of stitching is so enjoyable; I don’t need to know what will happen with the results. Another piece of hand made felt, another set of individually stitched squares. As I began to lay the piece out onto 48”x36” of pieced, hand dyed cotton batting, I realized I didn’t have enough squares to fill it up. Out to the garage to create another piece of hand made felt! The large size made it too difficult to hand stitch as one piece, so I assembled it by doing one quarter of the quilt at a time, intuitively arranging the squares of color to fill the space.

I’m a native California, and, to me, the scent and multi-colors of the ubiquitous Eucalyptus trees are endlessly fascinating and beautiful. Early in my career as an artist I created a large watercolor painting of just the trunk of a 100 year old Eucalyptus, and framed it in Eucalyptus pods, because I wanted to retain the scent along with the image. Included in this piece, is also an earlier piece of hand made felt (by me) of the leaves and pods of the Eucalyptus.

BeBop supervises the composition of "Zen Eucalyptus"

FYI: I have an instructional DVD "Wet Felting Essentials for Fiber Artists" in my JaneVille Etsy shop.

Wet Felting Essentials for Fiber Artists, starring me!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Join me on Madeline Island, Wisconsin July 11-15, 2016

Madeline Island School of the Arts, Wisconsin

I taught at Madeline Island School of the Arts last year, and enjoyed the experience so much, I promised to come back. It's a wonderful island and school and environment. Perfect of creativity and relaxation.

Watch this short video about my NATURE JOURNAL workshop. July 11-15, 2016.

Details and registration information CLICK HERE.

Monday, February 15, 2016

RED ~ an art quilt and video

"RED" by Jane LaFazio (40x40 inches) $1750.

Here's a SHORT VIDEO of my talking about "RED"

This kind of work is totally original, in that the cloth is one-of-a-kind and created by me using the machine needle felting process:

roving and silks

embroidered and beaded

I created a bunch of ~11x14 inch pieces.

of course, I had help. (BeBop)

I arranged the pieces in a composition

and got help, stitching them all together

Here is a tutorial on my process. And some of my other machine needle felted work can be seen here, here, and here.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Happy Anniversary to me and my husb!

this is how my husband addressed the envelope
of the anniversary card her gave me.

Don and I celebrated our anniversary recently. We went to a workshop at Art on 30th in San Diego and painted abstract hearts!

the start of the evening

Paint, wine and snacks. And a cute husband! perfect combination

Ann Golumbuk was the facilitator for the 2 hour workshop.
She did a great job, made it fun with no pressure!

masterpieces in progress

Happy 39th Anniversary to us!

Don't worry, I'm not quitting my day job to become an abstract artist! But we had a great time. Lots of fun and good vibes!

I teach at Art on 30th, in San Diego, so check out the classes here.

Tuesday, February 09, 2016

Basilica San Marco Venice ~ a short video on the inspiration behind this quilt

Basilica San Marco Venice (50x21 inches) by Jane LaFazio $800.

Thought you'd enjoy this video of me talking about my art quilt, Basilica San Marco Venice.

My husband and I visited Venice, Italy, in 2012. It was our first time there. Oh my goodness, I love Venice!! Just an amazing city and you should add it to your bucket list for sure.

I was so inspired, I created this artwork inspired by our trip.

You see this classic architecture element everywhere!

I love architectural details and am always inspired by them. I created a dimensional shape (using cut up mat board) and then did rubbings using Shiva paint sticks for the colors.

a rubbing created by me, Jane LaFazio

the cloth in progress by Jane LaFazio

detail of the finished quilt Basilica San Marco Venice by Jane LaFazio

My husband, on the balcony of Basilica San Marco,
with the replicas of the horses behind him.

The original, over 1100 year old horses of San Marco inside the church museum

The horses are an iconic image in Venice, so I had to include them in my quilt too.

detail of the finished quilt Basilica San Marco Venice by Jane LaFazio

Hope you enjoyed a closer look of Basilica San Marco Venice.

Monday, February 08, 2016

Join me in England this year!

The Los Angeles Times named Stratford-on-Avon one of the MUST SEE spots in 2016.

August 3-9, 2016 Stratford-on-Avon

I hope you'll join me, Jane LaFazio, for sketching and watercolor classes in the English Countryside August 3-9, 2016. (Yes, I'll be teaching you to draw and paint if you are a beginner, or I will inspire you if you are more experienced.) You'll learn to capture what you see and do and eat in your travel sketchbook.

No more coming home from a trip with an empty travel journal!

France ArtWalk 2013

We'll spend 6 nights in a wonderful hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, right on the canal. The first night we'll know each other at our welcome dinner.

As the week progresses, we'll explore (with our sketchbooks in hand) Stratford, the world famous home of Shakespeare. Stratford is nestled in the beautiful Cotswolds; a legendary inspirational setting for our daily art classes and adventures.

There will be an orientation walk in Stratford, also a one day pass for the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, to orient you in your exploration of the cobblestone alleys, shops, pubs, restaurants, and all things Shakespeare.

Danube RiverCruise ArtWalk 2015

A daily program of sketching and watercolor classes will be held in beautiful, on-site locations like Britain's greatest palace and world heritage side, Blenheim Palace. Winston Churchill was born there and now the 12th Duke of Marlborough lives there and will no doubt greet us with open arms. (Well, that is if we happen to see him...) On the way to see the duke, we'll stop at a charming village known as the Venice of the Cotswolds.

France ArtWalk 2012

We'll also experience a real English tea at Hobsons Patisseries, a boat trip along the canal, and a visit to the town of Woodstock. We can even see a play at THE Royal Shakespeare Theatre, if we choose.

We'll go on a special "Ghost Walk." Led by actors, we'll visit Shakespeare's haunted streets in Stratford complete with tales of ghosts and witches, murder and mystery. We'll probably be too scared to draw in our sketchbooks on that evening!

Dedicated walkers are welcome to join our fabulous tour organizer, Carlo, for optional morning guided walks as she follows the rivers, canals, and meadows. There will be plenty of time on your return for our full daily breakfasts and the day's activities.

On our last evening in Stratford, we'll enjoy a farewell dinner together, and share our sketchbooks and celebrate our new-found friendships.

Greece ArtWalk 2015

August 3-9, 2016
Stratford-upon-Avon $3250 pp double
Single supplement: $399
Program subject to change and to a minimum number of participants
Limited to just 14 people.

But wait, there's more!
An optional three night pre-tour in London!

Italy ArtWalk 2014

Arrive early and join us:
July 31 to Aug 3, 2016 for three nights at our London hotel, daily breakfast, London sightseeing tour, and private group transportation from our London hotel to our Stratford-upon-Avon hotel.
London: $950 pp double, single supplement $350

Italy ArtWalk 2013

After Stratford: The Festival of Quilts, in Birmingham, England takes place August 11-14th. Birmingham is about 1 hour away by train. I'll be going to the festival, but it won't be part of our escorted tour.

As you can tell from the photos from our previous trips, we have a great time with a wonderful, genial group of like-minded souls. Join us!

click here for more info ART IN ENGLAND

email jeannette@thebluewalk.com

Friday, February 05, 2016

Havana ~ in an art quilt

While my work was on exhibition at a gallery in San Diego, I had a few videos made of me talking about my art. Here's the story of my art quilt: Havana, the video.

Husb and I visited Cuba in January 2012 and here are a couple of photos from that fabulous trip!