Here are a few pictures from our trip to Indiana Dunes last week! It was beautiful weather and a beautiful spot to get away for a few days. Our first day we took a four mile hike through the bog to an overlook on the beach.
The scenery was beautiful, but the mosquitos were BRUTAL! You could literally wave your hand and feel them pelting against your skin. Ewww. Thank goodness for bug spray! There were some of the biggest ferns growing there that I have ever seen. Some were as tall as we were! Amazing. There were several varieties of wildflowers blooming too, very lovely!
Our second day we walked the beach for several hours in the morning, exploring barefoot with cameras in hand. It was a beautiful place to walk, listen to the waves hit the shore, snap some photos, get our toes wet and enjoy the sunshine. Although Lake Michigan doesn’t have a lot of shells gracing it’s beaches it had some beautiful, smooth polished stones. I couldn’t resist filling my pocket with a selection of favorites!
Along with the variety of stones there was a nice array of driftwood both in & out of the water. I love driftwood!
Our afternoon included a visit to the art museum at Valparaiso University and a trip to Anderson Winery to sample their delicious wines (and purchase a few bottles to enjoy at home)! We returned to the beach that evening for a sunset walk & more photos.
Add in some good food, time to rest & relax, swimming laps in the pool and lots of good conversation and it was a wonderful time! I hope you are enjoying these summer months and the beautful, warm weather!
xoxoxo,
Lynne
Categorised in General
Tags: beach, hiking, Indiana Dunes, photos
The ATC workshop/swap last Saturday was a lot of fun! We had a group of seven that gathered at Sugar Creek Art Center to play & create. From the enthusiastic response I would say a good time was had by all. Three of the participants were first time visitors to the center, which was a bonus, they got to wander the building during our lunch break and visit the various studios. I am working on scheduling a date for a second workshop, most likely sometime in the fall. Here are some photos from the day:
I’ll post about my road trip soon, it was a wonderful time, with beautiful scenery and time to relax mixed in with the other activities. I took almost 200 photos - I promise not to post that many though! :-) Talk to you soon!
xoxoxo,
Lynne
Categorised in General
Tags: art, ATC's, Lynne Medsker, photos, sugar creek art center, workshop
Just a note to let you know that I updated the website with some new images and info, as well as a bit of overdue cleaning and maintenance. Always good to stay current & presentable! I posted all the images of my newest artwork, here are a few samples:
”Sonata”, Mixed Media Assemblage, 16×20″
“Tribal” Mixed Media Assemblage, 26×16″
“Scatter”, Mixed Media Assemblage, 16×20″
After the opening reception at Sugar Creek last week this week is a bit quieter, in a good way. I’ve had some time to work on some submissions, spend a little time with family & friends and enjoy the less hectic schedule. Tomorrow I am going to start gathering materials and preparing for the ATC workshop this Saturday. So far I am expecting about nine people coming to play that day! I think we’ll have lots of fun, I am looking forward to it! I’ll be taking a short “road trip” for a few days after that, I am looking forward to getting out and seeing some new scenery and having time to relax & recharge. I’m sure I’ll have some new photos to share when I return. Have a great week, I’ll check in again soon!
Lynne
Categorised in General
Tags: art, ATC, Lynne Medsker, mixed media
As promised, here are the images of the newly created ceramic pieces from the April pottery class!
Ceramic Tile with Copper Wire - 19″x17″x1.5″ deep
Ceramic Tile with Aluminum Wire & Charms 19″x13″x2″ deep
Ceramic Tile with Aluminum Wire, Beads, Charm 16″x12″x1.5″ deep
Ceramic Tile with Wire, Charms 12″x4.5″x.5″ deep
Ceramic Tile with Wire & Beads 15″x5″x.75″ deep
Ceramic - approximately 5″x5″x5″
I really enjoyed creating these pieces by hand, adding the texture and playing with the different color glazes, as well as adding the extra wire & embellishments to the wall tiles. Although I have my favorites I was pleased with all of them. I hope you enjoy looking at them too! I’ve made arrangements with a local potter to do some firing for me so I can continue to create items during the summer months (as soon as I get some clay & glazes that is!).
Take care!
xoxoxo,
Lynne
Categorised in General
Tags: art, ceramics, Lynne Medsker, mixed media, pottery
Just a reminder about the show at Sugar Creek Art Center! It opened on Thursday, June 5th and will run through June 28th. Normal hours for the center are 11 to 6, Thursday, Friday & Saturday or by appointment. The reception is scheduled for next Friday, June 13th from 6 to 9 p.m. I hope you can be there! In addition to our reception there is a student show downstairs that evening, puppet shows for the kids and many of the resident artists will be in their studios to greet visitors.
I had some requests for directions so I am including them, as well as a MapQuest link to a map. From the west side of Indy there are two routes you can take to get there:
The first one is to go north on I-65, just past Lebanon and exit onto 52. Follow 52 about 4 miles to 47 (there is a flashing light at the intersection) and turn left. Thorntown is about 2 miles. Once you get to town you will turn left on Pearl Street, the center is just one block off of 47 on the left side. You can find parking around & behind the building as well as on the side streets.
The second route is to take I-74 west and exit at 75 near Jamestown. You will go to the right (north) on 75 through Advance, across 32 in Dover and follow 75 into Thorntown. It T’s into 47, where you will need to turn right. Pearl Street is about three blocks down, just past the grocery store on the right side of the road, the center is just one block off of 47 on the left side. You can find parking around & behind the building as well as on the side streets.
Please be sure and forward this info to your family, friends and people on your mailing list! Thanks!
Categorised in General
Tags: art, sugar creek art center, art show
(Fire & Flowers)
I am busy this evening (and I’m sure tomorrow morning!) getting everything prepared to hang the show at Sugar Creek. I am getting SO excited, I think it’s going to be an awesome display! Tonight I’m doing the paperwork type things that go along with a show, label/price tags, inventory lists…the “behind the scenes” stuff that makes a show a show but most people don’t think about. I am always amazed at how much time artists end up spending doing things other than making art. Many times because it’s what you have to do to get your art out there, opportunities rarely fall in your lap! They take application forms, submissions, copies of artist statements & resumes, letters of recommendation and that’s just for the chance to show your work! Occasionally, it is easier to do all the paper stuff than it is to start or complete a current art project. I have avoided creating work on many occasions by submersing myself into the “business” of art. I almost always wish, at the end of the day, that I’d chosen to be creative!
Right now I am basically in a state of letting out a big exhale - whoosh - and stepping back for a bit. I have cranked out over 20 pieces of new art in around 2 months. Like the image above a few of the pieces were digital/photo art, which (other than clicking my mouse a few thousand times!) doesn’t take quite the time & energy, but the majority of them were all “built from scratch” hand assembled mixed media pieces. Add in teaching some classes, a photo session or two, judging a show and my normal schedule caring for my grandson and the rest of the family and it’s been hectic! I don’t think I paid much attention to how hard I was pushing to get them done until I was finished. Now I am tired out and ready for a break! At the same time I am exhillarated to have so much new work to show. I guess that makes me satisfyingly worn out. :-) I found out earlier this week that the classes I was scheduled to teach at OASIS this month were cancelled due to low enrollment. I suppose I should be disappointed but the truth is I was kind of relieved. They would have added to the chaos that will be the month of June so it turned out to be a blessing to be able to take them off the schedule. Things seem to work out for the best, even though I am often convinced otherwise!
Later this week I will be picking up my finished ceramic pieces. I am SO anxious to see how they look all glazed and fired. They will be a bit of a late addition to the show (it officially opens on Thursday) but I plan to have them hanging before the reception. Even if I have to hang them in my little studio space and point people in that direction to see them! I will be sure to take photos and post them once I’ve got them home & finished (most of them are getting some metal and wire added to them before they hang).
That’s all the news for tonight, just hadn’t checked in this week and thought I would put in a quick update. Take care!
xoxoxo,
Lynne
Categorised in General
Tags: art, ceramics, creativity, mixed media, photo art, show
Last week I finally made it back out to my studio in Thorntown and, while I was there, I took some photos of my little space to share on my blog. I don’t make it there nearly as often as I would like and this trip was more for “work” than for fun. I needed to do inventory, sort, clean, organize, etc. But, having that out of the way now means my next visit I can spend playing and creating - woo hoo! Without further ado, here are the images:
Thru the hallway window looking into my studio space
Thru the doorway, looking at part of the back wall
The rest of the back wall, part of the left wall
More of the left wall, work table #1
The front wall and work table #2 in front of the window (with a view of two of my “neighbor” artists studios)
Part of the right side wall, back to where we started!
For those of you not familiar with Sugar Creek Art Center (and, honestly, I wasn’t until I moved out there last year!) it is located in a three-story factory building that has been (and still is being) remodeled into artist studios, a gift shop, gallery space and classrooms. (I’m adding a link to their website on my “blogroll” in the right column of this page!) There has been a lot of work done lately on the building (thanks to a very generous donation) and adjacent buildings have been purchased and are undergoing remodeling as well. I’ve even heard rumors of a coffee shop being part of the plans! It’s really exciting to be part of such a growing facility! This is also the building where my friends Karena, Lisa & I will be having our show next month. We will be the first artists to get to display art in a newly remodeled studio area, it’s going to look fantastic! My goal this week is the get the last few pieces of artwork finished and off to the frame shop, the show goes up on Thursday the 5th! Don’t forget about the reception on Friday, June 13th from 6 to 9 p.m. While you are there you can also tour the other artist’s studio spaces, visit the gift shop, listen to live music, see a puppet show downstairs - there will be lots of activities going on that evening!
Categorised in General
Tags: art, art show, Lynne Medsker, photos, studio tour, sugar creek art center, Thorntown Indiana
What a wonderful get-away the weekend turned out to be! The weather was more than cooperative, the scenery was beautiful, great conversations, lots of laughter and adventure, very nice indeed! We were able to do lots of hiking, slept well and often, ate some delicious food - just a restorative, refreshing time.
I took my tiny little camera so I could just tuck it in my pocket, I had so much fun I had to charge the batteries three times! There were still wildflowers blooming in the woods and all the recent rains had the streams running at a fast pace. One of the hiking paths crossed the creek three times. I think in slightly drier weather that would have just involved hopping from one stone to the next but this time it was wading in the cool water that was deep enough to run over the tops of my hiking boots and fill them up with water. But after that I was free to walk anywhere I wanted, what could it hurt?! The mud was prevelent as well, I still have shoes & boots waiting to dry so I can scrape them clean.
Our campfire the first evening was a challenge, the wood was so wet it sizzled when we were lucky enough to get it to burn at all. Saturday, after a successful trip to town to buy some better wood, the fire blazed quite nicely into the night. There is something so peaceful, almost trance-like about sitting watching a fire burn. Even after a shower I am still smelling traces of it occasionally. I sat and snapped photos of the flames and sparks for quite a while Saturday evening. Of course once I was home I couldn’t resist throwing some in Photoshop and playing with them:
Although we had packed a few art supplies we really spent the first two days just enjoying our surroundings, getting out into nature a bit, taking monster naps and relaxing by the fire. Sunday morning we finally brought them out and spent a few hours being creative. I brought some watercolor supplies to play with, I hadn’t done anything with watercolor for a while and I wanted to experiment with it again. Plus it’s not a medium that requires you pack & carry very much to use. Bonus! I also packed up some “spray webbing” to play with, it ended up being incorporated in all the pieces I made! A few of them have gold or silver leaf on them (although much of it ended up underneath the webbing). Here are a 3 of the 7 pieces I did, they are all small scale - either 5×6 or 6×6 inches:
I hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend and that your week goes well. I will try to write again soon!
xoxoxo,
Lynne
Categorised in General
Tags: art, camping, fire, Nature, wildflowers
I am busy today - planning, gathering and packing for a three-day weekend at a state park in southern Indiana. I am excited about a number of things! First, I haven’t been camping in nearly two years, so it’s long overdue. Secondly, I feel as if I have spent a lot of time cooped up inside the house lately. Sometimes due to my schedule, sometimes the weather, occasionally just pure laziness on my part. But I am ready to be out in nature, take a hike, breath some fresh air, enjoy the beauty of it all. Thirdly, I’ll be visiting a park that I’ve not been to before. I love exploring new places! I’m also excited because I get to spend some time with my artist/buddy/friend Karena at the campground. She has many big plans for her life right now - the largest being that she will soon be moving away. I am happy for her but also know I will miss being able to see her when I want. So that makes the trip even more precious. Our original intent was to participate in an art workshop in the area during the daytime hours and spend the evenings at the campground. But the call of nature and a less restrictive schedule lured us away from that plan so now we have three days of freedom to do what we want, when we want. I like the way that sounds! I’m packing my hiking boots, the mandatory “campfire” food, a few art supplies, some reading material and from there I’m ready to just let the time flow. What a treat! I opened up my tiny little camper earlier this week and did some spring cleaning so we are ready to roll out of here in the morning and begin our adventure. I hope you have an enjoyable weekend as well!
xoxoxo,
Lynne
Categorised in General
Tags: camping, Nature
There are many styles, sizes and types of artwork to choose from and, if you are looking for empty frames there is a large selection of those too. Since my newer work is either on canvas & gallery wrapped or is custom framed…I just do not need (nor have room for!) all this inventory. I plan on being around all day Saturday & Sunday, in & out during the day on Monday and home Monday evening. Tuesday morning it is OUT OF HERE so don’t wait! Touch base with me before you drive out, just in case my plans end up changing. Hope to see you!