learning

078: In a Learning Phase

May 15, 2018 by balzerdesigns Leave a Comment

I am taking classes like a crazy person! Well, like a person who really wants to learn stuff. A lot of stuff. As mentioned on the podcast, I’ve learned about Paper Piecing:

Thread Painting:

And most recently, about printing on fabric with dye in “Glorious Prints” (blog posts about it coming next week):

As usual, the conversation meanders into much more beyond just taking classes. I hope you’ll give the podcast a listen and then tell us your thoughts on the topic!

Thanks for stopping by!

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here. And if you like the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes!

077: On The Road Again

March 18, 2018 by balzerdesigns Leave a Comment

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It has been more than a month since our last podcast. My excuse: I’ve been busy. Most of the events we talk about on the podcast I haven’t yet shared here on the blog (I’ve got a major backlog of photos and stories to share!), so you’ll see a quick teaser photo for now and I’ll have to get to editing and sharing!

Connoisseurship Dinner:

Byzantine Tapestry Weaving Class:

The Met/David Hockney:

MoMA (This is a painting by Jasper Johns):

NJ Sewing Training:

Klimt/Schiele (I did a blog post on this one):

HSN (ScanNCut):

WhimSoDoodle Classes:

The Soccer Ball Art by Jared:

HSN (PTouch Embellish):

Housewares Show:

Boston Modern Quilt Guild Retreat:

Whew.

As I mentioned on the podcast, I’ll be on HSN on Wednesday (3/21) with all kinds of sewing machines! I’ll have the entire 12pm EST hour on HSN, so be sure to tune in online or on your TV!

Thanks for stopping by!

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here. And if you like the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes!

071: Jane Davies’ Abstract Painting

August 9, 2017 by balzerdesigns 1 Comment

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Our guest this week is Jane Davies.

Today’s podcast is full of excitement — dogs barking, Mom choking, and plenty of art talk! Mom, Jane, and I discuss creating abstract art, teaching, learning from students, making work your own, selling in galleries, and self-published books. It’s a great chat with lots of intellectual content.

Jane is a full time artist working in painting and collage.

She offers workshops nationwide, focusing on developing a personal and playful approach to art making.

After graduating Bennington College and attending the School for American Crafts, Davies began as a potter in the early nineties. She gradually transitioned into freelance art, using painting and collage as her medium.

Since 2010 she has been teaching, writing, and making art.

She participated in a residency at Vermont Studio Center in 2015.

In addition to The Elements of Visual Language, Davies is the author of three books on collage and mixed media, one on ceramics, and has one DVD on painting and collage techniques.

I love Jane’s work and could stare at it for hours! Jane was a guest on a previous podcast more than two years ago. You can find it here. I also wanted to share a blog post that an artist named Jacki Long posted after listening to that podcast two years ago. Take a moment and click through to Jacki’s post because I think it sums up the experience that many people have shared with me about listening to our podcast.

Thanks for stopping by!

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.
Today’s Podcast Sponsor is Van Gogh’s Ear

065: Tales from the Road & New Adventures Ahead

March 27, 2017 by balzerdesigns 2 Comments

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Today’s podcast features a conversation about my recent travels, teaching, and some new adventures.

Here are some photos from the surface design class I taught:

And here is Carol Anne Grotrian talking to us about how to critique quilts.

The two quilts in the photo are both hers — two variations on the same idea, one more successful than the other.

During the Workshop, there was a team of women stretching all the Ruby Red Quilts onto canvases. You can see my little owl on the table:

Most of the quilts had a red background, so I’m thinking my white-on-white background is going to pop in the big group of them. I’m super excited to see them all together!

Last but not least, I mention “Bullet Journaling” in the podcast. If you don’t know what that is, this a great article all about it: WTF is a Bullet Journal & Why Should You Start One? An Explainer.

Thanks for stopping by!

All podcasts are archived here. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

063: Julie Loves Learning

February 15, 2017 by balzerdesigns 3 Comments

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I’m delighted to bring you another episode of the Adventures in Arting Podcast! Today’s podcast features a conversation about learning in general and four particular learning experiences — the marbling class I shared in yesterday’s blog post, a lecture on Winslow Homer’s Summer Night (see a bit in this vlog), the connoisseurship dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts (see a bit in this vlog) and then a quilting class I took last weekend (photos below):

Class started with our instructor, Timna Tarr, sharing some of her quilts:

After some brief instructions….

…we were off and running with our own improvisational piecing!

The picture above is the quilt top that I finished in class. Kind of a hot mess, but I’m letting it marinate.

I don’t have a lot of photos because of the snow that day…

…most of the students left class early to get home before the roads got too bad. I was one of the few who stayed the whole day and at the end of the day, I took my little red wagon, and headed home!

Thanks for stopping by!

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.