We had so much fun with Christina Dean last Saturday learning to embroidery at the studio that honestly, I drank the proverbial KoolAid and had a hard time stopping finding things to embroider, in fact I spent most of my Sunday continuing to work on ideas which only led to more ideas!
The workshop led everyone through basic stitches along with pro-tips and then we dove into creating desert floral designs onto our bandanas. Everyone took their projects and supplies home to finish up. Oh yeah, and we had some delish spicy cucumber margaritas to accompany the day. So much fun!
Join us at Earth Art Studio for our second Crafts + Cocktails Workshop Series!
Saturday | Dec 13 | 1 – 4
Jenni Ward will walk you through all of the steps to mask and acid etch your own design onto a recycled glass bottle to use as a flower vase. All materials, cocktail/mocktail, water and light snacks provided.
We had to remove The Swarm installation over the summer because it’s original placement was in the arroyo and we didn’t want it to get washed away in a storm. But now that we’ve got the sculpture trail all cleaned up again, we re-installed it in a slightly new location.
This piece is a perpetual work-in-progress as new insects will be added over time allowing for the swarm to continue to grow. It is inspired by the shapes and varieties of the very strange insects we have in our desert ecosystem including our prolific honeybees that swarm from location to location. Amazingly, a swarm of actual honey bees flew over us during the installation – wish we had gotten some video of that too!
There will also be free surfing and volleyball classes for local kids, free composting workshop, free transportation shuttle, and live music by Los Hijos del Tropico and the Mexican Weirdohs!
While we sometimes don’t leave the property for days on end, it is fun to get out and take advantage of all the things to do in our community. So last week we went on an adventure to the santuario de los cactus while we were on our way to run errands in La Paz. It was such a surprise to see how different the biodiversity was only an hour away from our own desert. This area gets more rain than we do due to it’s proximity to the Sierra Laguna Mountain range making the trees and cactus taller, which provided so much shade to walk under, the dirt was loamier where ours is more of a decomposed granite and while many of the plants were the same as ours, there were not nearly as many torote trees as we have. We spent time walking the multiple paths and talking with the host of the space who had a ton of knowledge about the area and the plants. And it was such a nice way to begin a day of running errands in the big city.
We also went to town in the evening over Dia de los Muertos to enjoy the local events happening in our plaza. There were performances, alters, vendors and the night ends with the parade of the catrinas with elaborate costumes and make up. It’s so lovely to see the community come together to create art, celebrate those that have passed (including pets!) and to share the beauty of the culture.
We are spending a lot of time getting our sculpture garden back up to speed after a very stormy summer. I pretty much had to unearth the labyrinth from the tangle of weeds and vines that took over. While it’s walkable again, it still needs a bunch of work since the mini-flash floods washed away most of the sand layer that was keeping the surface looking nice and clean. Slowly, we are also unearthing all the trails and clearing away the debris as well as making new areas for art.
One of the newest areas we’re cleaning up is our gratitude garden. This space will be dedicated to everyone who donates to help us make the sculpture garden bigger and better. Large ceramic letters spelling gracias will be planted in the garden along with ceramic tiles with the names of our generous donors. Want to help us out? DONATE HERE
One of our closest neighboring businesses is Villa Santa Cruz, a sweet boutique hotel with sprawling gardens, beachside restaurants, horse stables and luxury rooms. Earth Art Studio has partnered with them to offer off site desert art tours for guests and we were just mentioned in this recent article written about them in Dujour Magazine. How cool is that!?
Just a reminder that if you come out here to visit the studio, you can make a day out of it by making a reservation and enjoy a meal with your toes in the sand at Villa Santa Cruz!
Most common question I’m asked: “Can that wire go in the kiln without melting?!?”
Yes. Yes it can.
In this online workshop I gave through The Ceramic School, you will learn everything I’ve spent a career figuring out about using clay and high temperature wire together. I share my process for making simple flower forms and using the wire to create the umbel or umbrella shaped structure of the flower. I’ll also show you other practical uses for the wire in your studio.
I haven’t, but I’m excited to try and learn a new skill! The Crafts + Cocktails Workshop Series is designed to provide a fun environment to try new things, learn from each other and be creative!
Join us November 22 from 1 – 4, to learn basic embroidery stitches and create a desert themed design on a bandana with Christina Dena, all while enjoying a cocktail/mocktail in the quiet of the desert!
