Fundraising for Mundo Lindo!

Mundo Lindo~beautiful world lives on! California Center for the Arts Escondido will be hiring me to continue to teach afterschool art to 4th and 5th graders of Escondido--FREE to the kids! The above letter tells how you can make a donation--any amount--and it will be MATCHED by a generous anonymous donor (up to $5,000)! PRINT this letter, by clicking on the letter and it will take you to Flickr; select 'All Sizes' at the top, then download original size, and print out on your printer.
THANKS in advance! Most Sincerely, Jane LaFazio

winery leaf

Here's my leaf from the lesson I gave at the winery on Wednesday. It was kind of blah, since I was talking and drawing at the same time (always a challenge) so I jazzed it up with background and border.

98 degrees in the shade

I think I'm into orange. Another page from the winery...I'll blame it on the heat.

A lesson at the Winery

I taught a one-on-one "Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style" lesson at the Bernardo Winery today. Here's my wonderful student, Amy. She did wonderful work! We met at 9:30 and worked till 12:30....It was 98 degrees when we left. whew! Even so, the winery is a lovely setting.

Art appreciation

My Buddy knows fine art work when he sees it! Look at his little pink tongue checkin out the bird sculpture I made. toooooooo cute. I created this in a workshop I took at Art Unraveled from Stephanie Lee. They're made from styrofoam and plaster. I painted and collaged them at home--the heart with wings is meant to look like an old Mexican wood antique (don't cha think?) and the bird...well, like a yellow bird with french words on him. It's a fabulous technique and I am making more--I've got three in my studio, waiting to be finished. And clearly, Buddy likes them!

My sculpture

Funny how Buddy has chosen the bird to chew on. He IS a born hunter!

bird of paradise

and another.....this is fun!

and another

new thing

Workin' on a workshop proposal idea......

Mixed Media intensive workshop

Taught a 3-day workshop (my 3 day-er) "Mixed Media with Paper & Cloth 3 day intensive" this past week. There were 16 fabulous students who cut and pasted and painted and sewed from 10-4 each day. I hope, I think they all enjoyed it!

Latte Macchiato anyone?

Thinking of Orvieto. "Bella Italia: Orvieto Sketchbook."
My trip is May 2010 and it's a go. Join us! We can drink Latte Macchiatos and draw them too. In fact, we can taste all the Italian Caffès and create a beautiful page in our sketchbook all about caffè!
Caffè - In Italy the word “caffè’” means an espresso. There is no need to specify “espresso.” It is served in a demitasse cup “tazzina” with its own saucer and little stirring spoon.
Caffè Macchiato - “Macchiare” means to stain. This is an espresso “stained” with a tiny bit of hot milk, probably frothed.
Caffè Macchiato Freddo – Freddo means cold. An espresso served in a demitasse cup with cold or lukewarm milk on the side. It is a regular caffè next to a carafe of milk, which you add.
Cappuccino – Most of us know this one – an espresso and steamed, frothy milk added so that there is a layer of milk foam in a larger cup, a tazza. Many barristas make an art of the way the foam appears. An Italian cappuccino is smaller than you get in the U.S. - and better!
Marocchino - In some areas of Italy, also called an Espressino or Mocacchino. It is a shot of espresso served in a glass demitasse with a sprinkling of cacao (chocolate) and milk foam spooned on top.
Caffè Corretto – This literally means a corrected coffee. It is an espresso in a demitasse cup, with a “shot” of liquor of your choice.
Caffè Americano - A shot of espresso with hot water added and served in the larger cup – this is as close as you'll get to American brewed coffee.

felt making workshop at athenaeum

I taught a 1/2 day workshop at the Athenaeum today for 15. We wet-felted! Such a satisfying art---so low tech--so beautiful, and you get felt in just a few hours!

felt that was made

Here are some of the pieces from today's workshop at the Athenaeum, some in progress, some finished. Now they can embellish, or embroider or needle felt--endless possibilites! Denise at Try Our Designs, online, made up the packages of wool roving for us.

Seaport Village, San Diego

Our San Diego SketchCrawlers group met for our monthy..duh...SketchCrawl yesterday at Seaport Village. It's always lovely to sit and sketch, then gather for lunch and share our sketchbooks.

Speaking of camaraderie and art! You know I'm doing the Bella Italia: Orvieto Sketchbook in May 2010? And you know you need to come too! In a nutshell, we'll be sketching and painting (I'll teach you!) and winetasting and sketching and painting and learning to make pasta and sketching and painting and wandering the ancient town of Orvieto and sketching and painting and shopping in the local market and picnicing...Pretty darn lovely, if you ask me. Also, my very good friend, the amazing and extremely witty Jan Phillips will be leading a photography-based trip at the very same time! That means we can all hang together for many of the activities and if you have a friend or spouse who'd rather take photographs than sketch and paint, they can be happy too!

graffiti: in progress

I started the pieces of this in a workshop with Lisa Englebrecht at the Long Beach Quilt Festival. (She's an excellent teacher, by the way, and a lovely human.) At home, I sewed it together, did some stamping, free motion stitching and a little additional paint. I'm not sure what it will become. Maybe a folder, or book cover, or part of a tote..

Today, after yoga, I was thinking how lucky and blessed and I am to be able to create art nearly every day. I LOVE making art--either alone, with friends, and while teaching. Making art is the best thing ever. I'm so glad I discovered my gift for art, and even more glad I've created a life where it is such an integral part of my day. Mucho GRATITUDE here!

soywax and monoprint play date

Remember last June, I brought Melanie Testa out to San Diego to do a workshop? Well some of us got together yesterday and used our new skills. We had a great time and worked all day creating fabulous fabric!

I'm a messy worker

My table was the messiest...thickened dyes and tools.

succulent

This is one of the pieces I did yesterday, the soywax has not been rinsed out yet. I could print this photo and transfer it onto my actual fabric...

arizona aloe

And here's my page from the Botanical Gardens.

me teaching in Arizona

Me (and those shorts, by the way, do those shoes make my butt look big?) teaching at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix last week.