The month of January has been very busy here at the Invincible Art Studio. So busy that the New Year resolution of posting once a day went down the drain. Oh well… I am declaring it a February resolution.
The workshop with Hadar Jacobson was FANTASTIC! I hope that I am not going to upset anyone, but I think that on the matter of working with metal clay, Hadar is one of the best, if not the best.
Hardar’s technique is cutting edge and she is an incredibly talented and inspiring artist. This workshop in Phoenix, organized by our local PMC Guild chapter, was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am happy to have been able to attend it.
Although I had gathered quite a few supplies and tools before the workshop, I needed to order new stuff. Ha, the smell of new tools… yummm… After the Foredom flex shaft and the ring maker, I just received the propane-oxygen torch I ordered from Ottofrei. Little leery to blow up the house, but excited by the possibilities. The world of metal clay is new to me and there is a learning curve… but it’s a lot of fun.
I officially started this afternoon. Stay tuned for some photos, maybe tomorrow (if I do not screw up the firing which is running right now).
Then, the Arizona Highways Click n’ Photoshop with J. Peter Mortimer and Steve Burger. This one was great too. I am such a fan of J.P.!!! This was my 3rd workshop with him. Some features of digital SLR cameras just leave me like brain dead and J.P. has a knack to make me understand them in 2 minutes.
We went to the Phoenix zoo early in the morning. Quick meeting with J.P. to learn tricks on shooting animals (with a camera, of course!!!) and get our assignments. Then, each of us went their own way, a zoo map in hands, looking for the prefect shot of our favorite animals.
This was not the perfect shot, but when I saw this one it cracked me up. Right away, I saw the potential of the image 
Saturday afternoon, review/critic of the photos and selection of the ones on which we were going to work on Sunday. To my big surprise, I did better than I thought!
Sunday was the Photoshop day. Very interesting. And yes, a few Photoshop tricks can make a world of difference on a photo.
Some of my favorites… another rhino (serious this time, not worried about his butt) and an African wild dog. Look inside the ear of the wild dog. The hair looks like the face of a woman. Spooooky.
Besides, I have attacked my big project of the year: de-clutter our house. Very simple strategy: I keep only what we need, use, like. The rest will go to the trash, the charity, or will be sold on Ebay and Amazon.
Right now, my first (and worse) task is to tackle the paper monster in the office, aka 12 years of paperwork accumulated in banker boxes….
Then, the second will be the studio. Goodbye supplies I do not use and tools I do not need. Hello clean slate!!
The rest should be a breeze compared to those two. I give myself one year to complete the project.
Of course, Hubby is looking at me strangely. I think he is worried to find his unicorns collection on Ebay 
And that’s it for the highlights of January. February will be placed (is already placed) under the sign of developing new jewelry collections, starting my new site invincibleart.com and let’s not forget the big piece of preparing my taxes.
I have more learning planned in another category. Some one-on-one time with Harry from the Shooter’s World to improve my shooting skills.
A bientôt!
Patricia
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