Sunrise from my room the first morning at the  2009 workshop.

Wild acres is a great place to be and to be there with a group of like minded artists is even better!

Plan to join us as The Charlotte Art league and Wild Acres joins up to provide you with a one of a kind experience.

Prominent NC Artist, Diana Arvanites and me, Shanti Marie  will be there to provide  instruction, tips,  & techniques  to create a piece of art that looks and feels like encaustic without the hot wax.

Are you a creative type who would like the opportunity to experiment with various mediums? If you are then give yourself a special gift this year and spend the weekend at Wild Acres with Prominent NC Artist, Diana Arvanites. She will assist you in a learning experience that will be both fun and relaxing. You will learn how to use various mediums to achieve a look of ancient encaustic without the use of Hot wax and blow torches. Feel free to allow yourself the time and in this environment the space to experiment with some new techniques that you can take back to your studio and incorporate into your own work. With experimentation and guidance you will you be able to create something unique and truly your own. This event is sponsored by the Charlotte Art league. And in cooperation with Wild Acres Mountain learning Center in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. Wild Acres is a true retreat undisturbed by traffic and the noises of the city. Located on Pompey’s Knob, near the Blue Ridge Parkway, it is situated on 1600 acres at an elevation of 3,300.00 feet. Inspiration exists behind every tree rock and sunset Acrylic wax? Yes, you can achieve encaustic wax effects with acrylics. It can be mixed up to look just like encaustic, creating beautiful transparent and translucent layers that simulate the qualities of wax. It is a viable alternative to the hazardous process involving solvents and heat. In this workshop you will learn how to create wax-like surfaces that resemble unrefined, yellow, and pourable bleached beeswax. All without the wax! Explore your style using collage and embedded images with acrylic gels and poring mediums.

These are two examples of the surface created using mediums.  You can also use paint, transfers, collage and many other techniques you already incorporate in your work.  Its endless really.  Your only limited by your imagination!

The price  for food lodging and instruction is $285.00 double occupancy or $50.00 extra for single or private rooms.   This is  from 3:00 pm Friday October 1st to Sunday at noon.

come joins us!!!  the class size is limited so email me asap if you want us to hold your place.    email :shantmarie@aol.com  we take pay pal and checks…

Jeff Nishinaka carves and pinches paper to create intricate paper sculptures. The 52-year-old Los Angeles based illustrator and sculptor has been refining his paper craft since 1982. Taking anywhere from three days to four months to produce, Jeff's detailed pieces range from 8in by 8in to 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide Jeff Nishinaka cuts and crushes the paper with an enviable skill to create exquisite paper sculptures. 52-year-old illustrator and sculptor from Los Angeles creates his work from 1982. The stunning elegance of Jeff Nishinaka’s paper art calls for a new definition of paper. His meticulous sculptural 3D work appears to have been created from marble or extremely fine sand or vanilla ice cream or thick foam — definitely of something other than “just” paper. The Los Angeles-born artist works mainly with white, which makes the exquisite play of light and shadow a large part of the appeal of his work.