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Archive for October, 2014

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We were thrilled that The Studio – A Place for Learning was chosen as one of the five small local businesses to compete tonight at the Entrepreneur Cafe from 5:30pm – 7pm at the Holiday Inn & Suites at Blue Ridge Shadows for a cash award of $500 and a marketing package valued at over $1000.

The café will provide a forum where these entrepreneurs can gain exposure while addressing funding needs.  Members of the community are invited to participate. The five selected entrepreneurs present their project – giving a 5 minute presentation & 5 minutes for questions/answers from the audience regarding their goals, experience and business plan – and when all the presentations are complete, the attendees get to vote for the winner.

We are happy to be one of the five in this group of entrepreneurs:
Kendra’s Cookies – Kendra Allanson
Chris Wines – Extra Arms
The Studio: A Place for Learning – Kelly Walker
Donna Allanson Catering – Donna Allanson
1000 Cranes 4 Peace – Arlene Butler

Refreshments will be provided.  And Dr. Miles Davis, Dean of Harry F. Byrd School of Business at Shenandoah University will be our keynote speaker.  Come join us!

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Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth

I spent a delightful afternoon leading a tour group from The Village at Orchard Ridge to the National Gallery of Art in DC yesterday.  We made the trip to see the wonderful Andrew Wyeth exhibit, “Looking Out- Looking In”.  The exhibit closes the end of November and if you haven’t seen it yet you MUST go take a look.  Amazing watercolors with a limited palette.  Wonderful!

 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. "Lady with a Dog", oil on cardboard, 1891

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. “Lady with a Dog”, oil on cardboard, 1891

Auguste Renoir, "Mlle Charlotte Berthier", oil on canvas, 1883

Auguste Renoir, “Mlle Charlotte Berthier”, oil on canvas, 1883

We had some time to see a lot more art and I will share more with you this week.  Here are two we saw in the Impressionist Galleries by Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec.  Of course, they caught my eye because they had pups in them.  🙂

 

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Robin's Pinecones

Robin’s Pinecones

Lea's Kitties

Lea’s Kitties

Katrinka's Cat Side 1

Katrinka’s Cat Side 1

Katrinka's Cat Side 2

Katrinka’s Cat Side 2

Kelly's Snowman 2

Kelly’s Snowman 2

Kelly's Snowman 1

Kelly’s Snowman 1

We had a great time painting on metal at the Paint Party yesterday.  We painted buckets and trays.  They are all so different and all FABULOUS!  Great job ladies.

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20141016_185820Thursday evenings Adult Art Class was so much fun.  Joy finished up a beautiful painting of a tree that she had been working on for a few weeks and Linda was game to try a “Painting with Paper” piece.  The beach scene with an elephant, yes elephant, turned out GREAT!

Good job ladies!  ANd thanks for the laughs.

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20141015_170826Our Kids Class started back this week with a wonderful landscape painting.  Great job everyone.

Kids ages 8-13 meet on Wednesday from 4:15-5:15.  Just contact kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com to register your young artist.  Let’s paint!

And don’t forget the 3rd Saturday Paint Party tomorrow.  We are doing something a little different – painting buckets!

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Crochet Mickey

Crochet Mickey

A month or so ago a friend asked me to crochet a Mickey Mouse outfit for her newborn grandson.  Really?  So, of course, I said I would give it a try.  (Actually I said you crochet too.  Why don’t you try it? LOL)  And here it the result.

I am hoping she takes a photo of him soon in it so I can see how it turned out.

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Big Bang’s Soft Kitty

"Soft Kitty" embroidery

“Soft Kitty” embroidery

For all my Big Bang Theory friends out there, I saw this really cute little design for the Soft Kitty song and had to make a little embroidery piece.  I love Big Bang Theory and Shelton’s need to hear the Soft Kitty song in the first season was one of my favorites!

This piece measures 12″ x 10″.  I think I am going to make a pillow out of it.

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Cute Goat

Cute Goat

Cutest goats!

Cutest goats!

Another shot of the cute goat

Another shot of the cute goat

Chickens everywhere

Chickens everywhere

The Chicken Poses

The Chicken Poses

Maia in her Tutu

Maia in her Tutu

Maia Can't Wait for her Animal Crackers

Maia Can’t Wait for her Animal Crackers

CITR Retreat Maia eating cookies 2

Maia in her Super Hero Cape

Maia in her Super Hero Cape

One thing I love about going different places are the reference photos I take so that I have loads of material to choose from when I paint.  Of course, at Sassafras Farm this weekend there was lots and lots to photograph.  Here are some shots from the weekend.

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Painting buckets

Painting buckets

Painting more buckets

Painting more buckets

Beautiful Buckets

Beautiful Buckets

Great job on the Folk Art Buckets

Great job on the Folk Art Buckets

Bread Rising

Bread Rising

Loaves of Grandmother's Bread ready to go home

Loaves of Grandmother’s Bread ready to go home

The second day of the Pioneers & Primitives Retreat at Sassafras Farm with Suzanne McMinn was just as much fun as the first.  (See the first day here.)   The attendees spent the morning making bread…homemade, old-fashioned bread and each created a loaf to take home.  They also made the “Burnt” Sugar Cake cupcakes to take home.

They completed their potpourri by gathering more items and incorporating dehydrated sliced corn cobs, orange slices, apple peels, cucumber peels and some amazing scents.

And of course, we painted Folk Art Buckets!  And each person painted their own amazing design!  GREAT JOB!!!

So many other fun things happened as well with the many animals at the farm and I will try to describe some more of it to you tomorrow.  In the meantime you need to consider coming to one of our retreats next year.  We will have several scheduled next spring and summer.  Suzanne will post the descriptions and dates soon and I will share those with you.  It’s fun to learn new  (or improve) on skills.

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Suzanne demonstrating how to "burn" sugar for the cake

Suzanne demonstrating how to “burn” sugar for the cake

Fabulous Folk Art Paintings

Fabulous Folk Art Paintings

Our youngest painter working on her cow

Our youngest painter working on her cow

Items to add to Potpourri

Items to add to Potpourri

The first day of the Pioneers & Primitives Retreat at Sassafras Farm was CRAZY busy.  (Learn more about Suzanne and the farm here.)  The participants milked the cow, cut corn from cobs to make corn cob jelly, made the jelly, made lard from fatback, made taper candles, made butter, painted a “masterpiece” and learned how to make homemade vanilla flavoring.

Oh yeah, they also collected items for their homemade potpourri, learned to “burn” sugar for a cake they will make tomorrow and learned to clip chickens wings.

WOW!  When did they breathe???!!!  A very busy, busy day!  Wait till you see what we do today.

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