Happy Memorial Day to all of you in the blogosphere! Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful holiday weekend!

It’s been quite a long while since I’ve posted here. It’s spring in Wisconsin, and that means the end of the school year is fast approaching. As a public school teacher, I find that this time of the year is most challenging for me when it comes to my art; it seems that now more than ever, my creativity and productivity end up on the back burner. Some of it has to do with the beautiful weather, which beckons me to the outdoors each day after work, compelling me to forego studio time. Some of it has to do with the overpowering feeling of burnout and fatigue that I suffer as summer break gets closer; there are evenings I just don’t have any fuel left in my tank to do anything but lie on the sofa and rest. It’s impossible to deny that both students and teachers really struggle at this time of year. After nine long, stressful months, everyone is more than ready for a break. The good news is that it won’t be long until June 8 rolls around and I am free. I look forward to recharging my batteries, and to having enough time to fit in all the things that I love, especially art!

Knowing that I’d need extra inspiration in the month of May, I scheduled a few workshops, which helped me to get my creative juices flowing during this time. A couple of weeks ago, I took part in my friend Crystal Neubauer’s Wax and Wire Jewelry Workshop at her studio here in Racine, Wisconsin. We spent a wonderful two days shaping wire into forms and then filling the interior spaces with paper collage, using encaustic wax to bond everything together. Here are some photos of my finished pieces, which are currently hanging in the window of my studio:

The pieces were built with wire, wax-dipped papers, pieces of mica, wax-dipped pieces of lace and cheesecloth, found text, and dangling tiger eye charms.

This weekend I attended Art & Soul in Minneapolis. It was my first time at an Art & Soul event, and I loved every minute of it! One of the workshops I attended was taught by Mindy Lacefield, another of my mixed-media heroes, and in it we made gorgeous bookboard journals. Here are some pics of my journal, which is a work-in-progress that I hope to finish very soon:

At Art & Soul, I also took a class called “Translucent Triptych” with Caitlyn Dundon, and will post pictures of my finished triptych once the varnish dries on each piece.

In the meantime, enjoy what’s left of this weekend. See you soon!