It's all black and white

photo by Jane LaFazio

 In Stratford-upon-Avon, England, I saw many of these "timber framed houses." I am fascinated by all the different patterns!

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

And these two wrought iron designs, from the Victoria & Albert Museum, London,  just seemed to fit with this post!

photo by Jane LaFazio

photo by Jane LaFazio

London ~ random photo recap

Yoga Poses in Public Places Tate Britain

This is an especially cool yoga pose in public places. Why? I'm in the middle of a performance art piece with those dancers in red, on the white maze at the Tate Britain, London. They are doing historical dances in an antique setting, according to the artist.

Husband Don and I, on the River Thames with the Millennium bridge behind us.

I'm home from 2 weeks in England. A few days in London (shown here) and the teaching at Stratford-upon-Avon, then to Birmingham for the Quilt Festival. 

One of the highlights of our visit to London was seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights at the Kings Cross Theatre. It was EXCELLENT!! (Of course you know, he created Hamilton.) 

Tate Britian

I love the photo above. I caught this little girl sitting on the floor drawing one of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings. I spoke to her, of course. She was about 7 years old, and informed me this painting was her favorite in the "O'Keeffe Exhibition." She was drawing one of O'Keeffe's Taos, NM, landscapes with color pencils. I told I had just visited that location and that her rendition was very good. She grinned! Great kid. Great parents to encourage her!

the gorgeous William Morris dining room in the cafeteria at Victoria & Albert Museum

Husband and two friends at London's oldest still in operation pub. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street. The likes of Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. 

So thrilled to see this retrospective of Georgia O'Keeffe's work at the Tate Modern.  

Grab a cuppa and watch this hour long documentary from BBC. It's fabulous!

 

Don and friends watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace

from my sketchbook ~ learning the money!

Happy Husband with beer!

Teaching at Stratford-upon-Avon

that's me, teaching on location in Stratford-upon-Avon

I just returned from two weeks in England. First, a few days in London, then a 6-day art retreat in Stratford-upon-Avon. Then to Birmingham for the Quilt Festival.

Here's the first installment.

another view of my students at work

Have you wondered what my Sketching and Watercolor trips are like? The top photo says it all! I teach on location. The students grabbed some tables at the cafe across from Shakespeare's house and I did a demo and then they drew and painted with my encouragement and instruction. (And yes, I made them order tea and scones at the cafe!)

We were all drawing this building.
It's the house where William Shakespeare was born and lived.

You see, we travel together (this time in Stratford-upon-Avon) and I find a cool location and then we draw and paint. Sometimes a cafe, sometimes a park bench. It's lots of fun! We're all in it together, and we really capture the moment on paper and in our memories.

(I'll be leading more adventures like this to Charleston, South Carolina, Montreal to Quebec City and France in 2017. See my teaching schedule here.)

my wonderful students!
(photos and layout by Cheryl Sargent Flatt)

 I've got lots more pictures to show you from my trip to England! stay tuned!

My Taos Journal

My little book ~ by Jane LaFazio
(Artwork is from a brochure. Nicoli Fechin painting of Mabel Dodge Luhan)

 My husband and I visited Taos and Abiquiu, New Mexico in late May. I created this little book from our trip.

map of Taos ~ by Jane LaFazio

photo and then watercolor cloud study ~ by Jane LaFazio

 Mabel Dodge Luhan Inn~ by Jane LaFazio

the view from our window at Mabel Dodge Luhan Inn ~ by Jane LaFazio

Rancho de Taos church~ by Jane LaFazio

Georgia O'Keeffe Rancho de Taos church from the back 

waiting out the storm~ by Jane LaFazio

tree from our room~ by Jane LaFazio

Mabel Dodge Luhan timeline from the Harwood Museum~ by Jane LaFazio

BeBop poses...for scale ~ by Jane LaFazio

painting loose in Georgia O'Keefe country~ by Jane LaFazio

painting loose in Georgia O'Keefe country~ by Jane LaFazio

Last page ~ by Jane LaFazio

My little book ~ by Jane LaFazio 
(Artwork is from a brochure. Nicoli Fechin painting of Mabel Dodge Luhan)

And here's the video of our trip to Taos and Abiquiu, New Mexico

The Quilt Show, starring ME.

The hosts of  The Quilt Show, Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims

  

I flew out to Denver, Colorado, a few months ago to film my appearance.

I was the only guest for this episode #1903. I sat on the sofa, and Alex and Ricky interviewed me. Then, did a segment with Alex, using my pine cone stencils on fabric. Then a segment with Ricky, doing machine needle-felting.

Chatting on the sofa

The show was filmed in front of  a live audience

You'll see how I create this piece (below) on The Quilt Show episode #1903

"Dreaming: The Greek Islands" (11x7.5 inches) by Jane LaFazio
(for sale in my JaneVille Etsy Shop)

from my sketchbook ~ a peek at my Madeline Island sketches

my sketchbook on location in progress ~ by Jane LaFazio

I recently returned from teaching a week long workshop at Madeline Island School of the Arts. I'm thrilled to announce I'll be teaching there again next year, July 10-14, 2017. (Details on Nature Journal workshop 2017 here.)

Meanwhile, here's a look of some of page from my sketchbook on beautiful Madeline Island.  

from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

stamp carving ~ by Jane LaFazio

my sketchbook in progress ~ by Jane LaFazio

from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

gelli plate printing from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

from my sketchbook in progress ~ by Jane LaFazio

from my sketchbook in progress ~ by Jane LaFazio

Join me in July 2017! Here's a little video about the Nature Journal Retreat: 

You can see my finished Nature Journal here and take a look at the student work from my Madeline Island workshop here.