Wilderness is not a luxury
but a necessity of the human spirit.
Edward Abbey
Last week end, a wonderful group of creative women gathered up, in a very special place in the heart of Connemara.
There we learned, we shared and experimented and spend time creating while laughing and taking time for ourselves, what a blessing this was !
Despite the rough year 2020 came to be, with lockdown and general doom and gloom, they demonstrated that the human spirit in action is the most amazing sight to behold and that the power of Art and beauty can transcend it all, I am in awe !
A shift towards abstraction
I love abstract paintings, because they tell stories without words and resonate deep within the creator and viewer of the painting. they speak or shall I say, ‘sing’ straight from the heart and soul .
This year, and I noticed especially during that particular art retreat, I have witnessed participants daring to venture in the abstract realms and soaking in the delights of unveiling their own style through abstraction. Would it have been the location? Connemara is reputed for its incredible ‘otherworldly’ inner light which radiates from every hill, stone wall or hidden valleys and lakes.
My job really was to share with them ‘the rules’ of encaustic paintings and the vocabulary of abstraction to bring them gently in this journey of self-discovery and what incredible artworks they created !
Dedication
So today, I am dedicating this blog post to all of you ladies ( and rare gents who come to my workshops, you do matter too !) and I would like to honor the beautiful artists you all are by showing off some of the works created during this special event, bathed in the light of Connemara.
This is only a tiny glimpse of the numerous gorgeous artworks and daring experimentation that they have created.
I hope it will inspire you!
Some studio news
The online courses have had a lot of interest and the places are filling rapidly ! the doors are closing soon ( 19th December) so grab your space quickly !
My Spring schedule of encaustic workshops and art retreats will be live via my website VERY SOON, with workshops in Dublin and East Clare and two more retreats in Connemara and the Burren…so get on the waiting list and avail of the early bird offer !
I feel so blessed and honoured to do what I do, by sharing space, in the flesh and now online with such daring and incredible people and sharing their journey by interacting and supporting them all.
Something I have learnt in 2020…
these crazy weird times have allowed us all to discover what matters the most,
i.e. what makes our heart sing and what makes us feel alive and on fire…
and encaustic painting is a good place to start !
So keep lighting my world beautiful, spirited beings and I hope our light will meet in 2021 !
I look forward meeting some of you in 2021 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!
