Rebecca Wachtman

I've been enjoying creating a few examples of different Shibori techniques for my upcoming workshop Resisting Your Dyes With An Ice Kicker at Allied Arts Gallery-in-the-Park on June 11th. I was having so much fun, that my daughter decided she had to join me (which I LOVE!) - and then we decided we couldn't just make a few samples, we had to dye some shirts too (12 to be exact - which is a LOT of shirts!).   It was a lot of work (a lot more than I was expecting because of the additional shirts!), but it was sooo much fun!! In fact, I'm thinking I may see if I can find an old tablecloth and dye it for my studio worktable and maybe my dining room table too! Just a couple more weeks before the workshop - I can't wait to see what my workshop students create! FUN! FUN! FUN!

Well today was the day - I FINALLY managed to get my bowls labeled (a challenge in and of itself!), protected (thank you bubble wrap), a box cut down to the right size (thank you hubby for the new box sizer!!!), and the box lined with high density foam and loaded with artwork... and shipped. whew.  3 cute little sculptural bowls shouldn't be that much work right?  That's what I thought! THEN I got busy with the actual processes....and always making sure I followed the show's rules and guidelines for shipping (sure hope I did it all correctly!!). The rules seem simple enough.   Must be mailed by x-date (no problem IF you've done all the other steps!) Your name, artwork title, and inventory number must be on all packaging materials (hmmm... lots of packaging materials means lots of labeling!) Create an inventory sheet to place inside the box that has   Your name Your artwork title Retail value Your contact info The shipping to information Your shipp...

Oh My, Camellia! Resin-a-bowl Star(t) and Starter So much to do in the next month!  I've just sent out a box containing 2 paintings (Oh My, Camellia! and Pocket Full of Tulips) and 2 silk & resin bowls (Resin-a-bowl Star(t) and Resin-a-bowl Starter), to the Summit Gallery at the Community Summit Conference in Wenatchee, WA.   It's such an honor to be included in their show! Now that those pieces have been shipped off to Wenatchee, it's time for me to focus on my next art adventure - which is teaching a workshop on Silk Painting and a workshop on Resists and Ice Dyeing.   Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to teaching workshops at Allied Arts in Richland, Wa! This week I'm starting to go through my supplies and order new/replacement materials to use at New Serti example for class Allied Arts.  I've been going through my stretcher frame supplies (ie. pvc pipes and joints) and making sure I have enough for everyone  (plus a few extra...

Silk Painting example 1 I'm so excited!! My two workshops are officially posted on Allied Arts Gallery's website!!    They are being offered in conjunction with the new Fiber Fusion show which is opening the previous weekend.  (HOORAY!).   I'm offering a beginning Silk Painting class (Serti method - which means "closing", "Wall" or Fence"...what it really refers to is using a resist to stop the dye from flowing into undesired areas of your painting), and I'm offering a workshop that will let participants play with various forms of Shibori-based resists as well as Ice Dyeing .   Shibori is a ancient Japanese set of binding techniques in which you bind your fabric in different ways to create a wide variety of patterns.  Tie-dyeing is technically a modern version of Shibori.  Silk Painting example 2 Both classes are being offered  on June 11th at the Allied Arts Gallery in Richland, WA.   Introduction to Silk Painting is bein...

A Resinable Trio I am thrilled to announce that one of my new art pieces was juried into the 2016 Surface Design Association show (the show is entitled Fiber Fusion)!  The piece they accepted is a trio of small resin and silk bowls entitled A Resinable Trio (ok, I have to admit, do love playing with words!) The Fiber Fusion show opens June 1st at Allied Arts in Richland, WA and runs through the 23rd of June 2016.   After that, the show moves to VALA in Redmond, WA where it will reside from November 2016 to January 2017.   From VALA, Fiber Fusion moves to the Northwind Gallery in Port Townsend where it will be available for viewing in February 2017.  And for it's final location, Fiber Fusion will be at The Schack Art Center in Everett, WA from March through April 2017.  My Latest example of the Serti technique - made specifically as a demonstration for my silk painting class. I am so honored to be included in this show!! And I also t...

By Pablo Picasso (inspiration only!) I have a wonderful friend who asked me to think about creating a Picasso-inspired art piece for he and his boyfriend.  LOVE the idea... but um... that's a new style for me.   So I took a look at a bunch of Picasso and Picasso-inspired art on Google and Pinterest - and then got to work. Face-in-face Cubist Face I have to say I had a BLAST!  I'm not sure that Picasso would be impressed, but it is a LOT of fun to do!  So much so, that I'm now incorporating abstract-style faces into my daily drawing/doodling.  It's a great opportunity to practice drawing skills, play with shading, and step outside my normal, realistic style of drawing and painting. My friend wanted either a face-in-face style or a cubist-style or abstract face.    These are my original drawings (trying to get a feel for what he was looking for). He liked them both and asked me to try creating a face-in-face of him and his b...

A close-up, angled view of the new textured surface on my 3rd journal I've been using sketchbooks as art journals for a while now.  For me, they are a way of documenting my ideas for art and business (instead of just using them to practice art).  I first started utilizing my sketchbook as a journal a few years ago when I found a sketchbook at a thrift store - and the sketchbook had been covered in fabric with a pocket for pens etc.  LOVED that!  (didn't love the colors of the cover.. but it was unique!). My next sketchbook-turned-journal was a cheap (and I mean CHEAP!) sketchbook with rather awful paper in it.  Horrible for artwork (anything wet would almost destroy the pages) but lOTS of pages and perfect for note-taking!   I ended up decoupaging the cover with papers I had originally used as drop-cloths for my artwork.  I LOVED the result!! The original journal cover of my new (3rd) journal Front cover with some silk scraps decoupaged ...