Month: June 2020

Oh the places you will go !

The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you ‘ll go

Dr. Seuss

Happy Friday !

First of all , I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been in touch the last few days, it feels so good to be back full steam ahead in my encaustic studio and know that you are delighted of my return, feeling the love dear ones !

 

 Emerging from lockdown, how safe are we ?

I was also very touched by the lovely messages received about your gratitude regarding the safety measure I am putting in place during my workshops during the pandemic. My main priority for the next few months is to make sure that everybody present is safe and can enjoy the experience of pure creativity ! Do not hesitate to  contact me here  if you would like to have a more detailed outline of my hygiene protocol for all my workshops.

 

Oh the joy of learning!

My grandmother told me a very long time ago’ keep learning my child, it will make you go places’. And how right she was ! I get such a kick at learning new things all the time, I never get bored and this life will not be long enough for all the learning I am planning.

With so much time spent at home these days, I have learned so many new skills, ranging from beekeeping to experimenting at making soap or natural product with beeswax….the studio has been wonderfully busy and smell divine ! A creative life is a wondrous blessing.

 

 

The last couple of weeks, have been busy learning audio and video skills and I have enjoyed immensely  being part of a group of artists and creatives who have been very fortunate to learn  from the very vast expertise of  the one and only artist and video & film maker extraordinaire Michael Fortune ( you can check his fabulous work here on folklore and folk belief ).

This series of workshops which will last until mid-July, has been designed to help us creatives, to be aware and make use of the full potential of audio visual facilities, in the prospect to move our work on online platforms. This course  could not have arrived at a better time ! Those who know me, are well aware that I  have been working like a busy behind the scene here in the ‘Wild Fire and Wax’ studio in order to move my business online in a couple of months and have already started to film classes ..but more about this soon my impatient pretties, just click botton below if you would like to be notify of the launch of online classes.

 

 

Stories

 

But I can hear you lament…’how about us, those who still want to experience encaustic painting first hand and experience the beauty of a full day well spent creating in wondrous company … well fear not ! I will still go around Ireland and share my passion for encaustic painting with you, I love this too much to give it up !  plus nothing can beat the sheer enthusiasm of a live workshops, of the shared laughters, the inspiration, you guys fed my soul and your stories, just like this one  still makes my heart skip a beat !

 

 

 

 

Isabelle inspires creativity. She is a great artist with talent and passion and you can see it clearly while looking at her art or experiencing her teaching. She is a fantastic person to spend time with, encouraging you to experiment and test your boundaries. I strongly recommend her workshops. A relaxing experience which leaves you with craving for more.

Monica, workshop participant 2019

 

Keeping the best news for the end !

Today I am delighted to announce that the official registration for my summer schedule of workshops is now open for all with a delicious early bird offer!

My subscribers had a sneaky peekaboo last week at what is on offer and the seats are filling fast ( the two days encaustic retreat in Dublin only has two places left and so is the workshop taking place in east Clare)

I am blown away by the wonderful response ! So to recap, the early bird registration is on offer for one more week, and when the places are gone, well they are gone ! Click the link below to reveal the early bird coupon and dates !

 

 

 

I look forward meeting you this summer and share with you blissful moments of sheer unbound creativity !

Don’t forget to share the encaustic love to anyone you would think may be interested into trying their hands at this amazing process and do not hesitate to drop me a line if you wish to know more!

 

Have an inspired week end !

Isabelle
#firepaintwithme

 

PS: I regularly post my artist process, free encaustic demonstrations, and what fires me up along the way on my blog. If you wish to be notified by email, please subscribe to my mailing list, thank you!

 

 

Go tell the bees !

 

I wish I could show you
when you are lonely or in darkness
the astonishing light of your own being.

Afez

I know that it has been a rather long time I have sent you some news and I am also well aware that you’ve been waiting to hear from me about the re-opening of my studio and workshops.  But until now there was so much instability going on with Covid 19 outbreak, I felt uncertain to contact you. Such dark times, have also shone the light on so much, time was needed to digest.

 

Slowly waking up

I’m back online after a much-needed break  that has allowed me to brew new ideas, while working in the garden tending our vegetable, flowers, and herbs. The garden has been a source of delight, keeping track with life and her tiny buds becoming blossoms, then fruits.

 

Among others things, we have finally taken on the much overdue project to finally build a upcycled potting shed with old windows we had had for years.

 

it was quite an intensive job but the result is bringing us joy each day ! Now I can watch our plants and veg grow each day from the kitchen window.

 

 

 

 

Inspiration

During this slow-paced time , I have spent so much times rediscovering my surroundings, the places I am blessed to call HOME: swimming in the lake daily, wandering the woods, sitting in my garden, just being in that beauty has feed my soul and inspired me.

I do believe that at times, we all need to stop, take it slow and look around and look, really look.

 

 

A new buzzzz

Have I mentioned that since the last time I sent you some news, two beehives have been trusted into our care?

Beekeeping has always been a  dream of mine.

Painting with beeswax have always stirred me to get a proper relationship with these extraordinary beings.

and boy, do they bring daily joy into our lives !

I do not believe that you truly know what LIFE smell like until you have caught the scent of the inside of a beehive.

it smell like warmth, flowers,  life, and beauty.

The way they all move together,
the sound they make has us enthralled on each of our  weekly inspection of the hives .

They dance with the sun, what more do you need to know !

Bees have so much to teach us. By the way, do you know about this beautiful ancient lore when it is customary to tel the bees of all important events in the keeper’s life, such as birth, death, marriage or departures and returns to the household. A beautiful routine which I am now obliging each and every evening. They are wonderful listeners too ! You can read more about this wondrous custom here

 

Studio updates

 

The studio has been busy too, where I managed to spend a few days a week, amidst home-schooling my teen daughter ( like so many of you, I never realised that maths, after 40 years would still make me cry, oh dear, thank the gods for gin and tonics !)

 

The solo show which was due to take place in Dublin this summer has been postponed until next year, however I have managed to keep my groove going during the lockdown  and have created a body of work which I am very happy with.

Looking back at them, I can actually see two streams of thoughts…

 

Some still have remnants of memory and longing for the sea, I was unable to go near for three months

Others, as the lockdown deepened, were directly inspired by my immediate surroundings, the deep waters, the damp earth, the giant skies,  the moon shining bright on the lake during night swimming.

And now for the big news!

 

I have finally had the go-ahead this week  from some of the venues in Ireland to re-open my registration ( with a delicious early bird offer )  for workshops taking place in July and August.

The workshops will obviously comply with social distancing measures, hence the reason why I will focus my schedule to workshops in Dublin, where the venue is large enough to have space between us.

Yet without affecting the joy and delight of creating together.

it somehow feels surreal  and I am beyond exited to meet ( or re-meet) some of you this summer for some furious creativity and inspiration, I am polishing my blowtorch in anticipation !

 

 

So watch this space, as I will be opening my waiting list this Friday, 19th June to my subscribers only

This will mean that you will be the first to have a sneaky peak before everybody else!

Now that’s lovely news don’t you think!

Have a wondrous and creative week!

Don’t forget to share the encaustic love to anyone you would think may be interested into trying their hands at this amazing process and do not hesitate to drop me a line if you wish to know more!

Thank you all for your wonderful support and looking forward sharing this amazing process with you in the near future!

Isabelle
#firepaintwithme

 

PS: I regularly post my artist process, free encaustic demonstrations, and what fires me up along the way on my blog. If you wish to be notified by email, please subscribe to my mailing list, thank you!