Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Elen Star-Path & class

I finished my 'Beloveds' Painting - & what a lovely turn she took! Elen of the Pathways is a horned goddess, whose tales stretch back through time. 
Elen Star-Path
Researcher Caroline Wise writes: "She is the Guardian of the ancient track ways, the Leys, the kundalini currents in nature, and as the Horned Goddess, she leads us to the first trackways, the migratory tracks of the reindeer and later, she leads us to the path of the red deer through the forests. From here she leads us to the lost Shamanism of the isles of Britain, and we can follow her across Scandinavia, Russia, Mongolia, Siberia, India and beyond."  

It was a fun challenge to paint on a smaller canvas (16 x 20") & develope this painting in a quicker time frame. ...and then
On Sunday, I held my first 13-step painting Playshop' - "Dancing with the Muse!" I had three students, and we had a lovely time! This was my first Intentional Creativity class on canvas & I was a bit nervous, but it went really well.

One, my friend Sepha, has been teaching for years, & is a 'Paint Night' instructor; she offered to share some of her tips & helped me set up! What a blessing. 
At the Canvas
  • A bucket and pitchers for water - we were in a room without a water source, & this was great! You bring water in the bucket (s), fill the water cups, spritz bottle & pitchers, students can dump dirty water in the bucket periodically, & refill their paint jars. At the end of class, you simply dump the bucket(s).
  • Microfibre cloths for cleaning up spills - squeeze into the bucket.
  • My friend Elisabeth suggested using old T-shirt pieces for paint rags, & for 'burnishing' the canvas after 'glazing.' (I had paper towels at each station as well) With the 'glaze' step, we cover the whole canvas (or part!) with a mix of water and a transparent color, to Integrate the colors & elements of the painting. You can let this dry, or burnish it in.
  • Inexpensive plastic tablecloths (Dollar Store) on the tables, & be sure to wipe dry after use, so they don't get musty in storage
  • Tabletop easels (we could have painted flat) 
  • A clock 'just in case' the room doesn't have one (this one didn't)
  • I brought several 4' x 5' tarps to have under the tables/chairs (Duck taped to the rug at the corners, to avoid tripping) 
  • TV table for my paint supplies
  • Master's Brush Cleaner for the brushes when we were cleaning up - helps extend the useful life of the brushes
  • Square trays (dollar store) for each paint station - I'd purchased these before my 'Soulful Story Card' class, & they are a boon for keeping supplies corralled! 
  • Totes & a good Dolly for transport (I am still acquiring my tools for this!) 
  • I got a 12 x 12" three drawer container for the paint & other small supplies 
It was a fun class, our ladies are still 'in process ... a couple of the students already paid a visit to the art store, for paint, a new brush, ... while I got a jar of the brush cleaner, & D hooks for the back of my wood panel paintings, which will be in my next show at Walnut City Wine Works.

And this morning, my Muse was whispering in my ear instructions for crafting our next class, 'Medicine Woman' .... stay tuned! 

Harvest Muse - WIP


Posting to Paint Party Friday - & to Express your Creativity  - come join the party!
 

12 comments:

Linda Kunsman said...

what really lovely paintings and I also love the intentions and thoughts behind the making of them too. Happy PPF!

denthe said...

Beautiful intriguing painting. And great tips about the class! Thanks for sharing :-)

Kate Robertson said...

Beautiful painting of Elen. Loved seeing your work. Lovely seeing someone doing Elen as I did one of her too. I'll probably post it sometime in the near future on a Friday.

Kate

Tracey FK said...

it does sound as though the class was a great success and I am sure people learned a huge amount from you...xx

Carol Rigby said...

Lovely paintings and congrats on a successful class.

Lisabella Russo said...

What a gorgeous painting and I loved learning about this goddess. Great tips for teaching a class too, I'm glad it went well for you!

DVArtist said...

These are so moving. The first one really has a powerful feeling to her.
Nicole/Beadwright

Beth Niquette said...

I love fairytales and legends. This is a beautiful painting!

Nadya said...

Thank you all!! Two of my students have been 'painting up a storm' since the class - one finished her lady, & the other began a new one ... so fun!

Nadya said...

I was intrigued to find this little blurb written the fall before, on my blog Vestella's Vale - (which I'd forgotten about!)

"Like my grandmother's name Vestella, Ellen is a family name - my daughter's. Pulled out of the hat by my husband, we agreed on Mary, had a couple of choices for her middle name; Ellen won. Ellen, Helen, Elenore all come from the Greek root ēlē - light, torch, bright. When I mentioned Elen of the Pathways to my daughter, she commented maybe Elen lights the path, the way.

"Elen is elusive, ethereal, gossamer, yet in my research and experiences over the years, she has shown me glimpses of her quicksilver thread as she revealed herself in her various guises." - Caroline Wise

Nadya said...

Kate DID post a picture of her Elen -
http://www.katerobertsonstudios.com/2015/06/16/a-new-stamp-and-the-new-moon/

Louise said...

Oh I love your horned goddess and your harvest goddess as well, beautiful! Great post Dia and great list Sepha.