Spring into The Purple Pear

The rain the last few days has been unrelenting in Portland. I have to say I don't mind it and I am not sure why this is, but a lot of people are seriously affected by it. Last Friday, I stopped to buy some spring flowers to put in the window of my shop, and it seemed to lift a few spirits.

Annie Sloan is nearing the end of her US Tour in a few days and I am ending my last scheduling of workshops on Saturday. I am doing the Basic Six from 1-5 or 5:30 pm. I am completely revising my workshops and labeling them according to level. I have also decided to offer fewer techniques per class, so there is time to assimilate things, ask more questions. I also want to do a color class where we play with Annie's Chalk Paint and take certain colors and make gradations of tones. All these and more will be available in early April, so stay tuned for a more eclectic mix and lots of fun! And before we know it the sun will be bright, and we will be wearing summer dresses and shorts.

Collaging from the Heart

Kathy Sandler taught a fun workshop at the Purple Pear last Thursday. I was amazed what her students produced.

All the journals were collaged with images and papers that Kathy brought. Some of the students brought images they wanted to include as well.

I think the fact that the representations are all so different reflects the individual expression of each and how Kathy encourages each person to work from the heart and design accordingly.

I was in the back most of the time with customers, but when I walked out to see what they had created, I was amazed at the beauty and well as the differences expressed by each.

Kathy has wonderful stamps that she shares as well. I love the written word anyway, and I like the way it is used in some of these journals. Kathy's next classes will be on April 14. She will be teaching two classes back-to-back from 11:am to 2:pm and from 2:pm to 5:pm. Leave a comment here if you would like to join her and explore the many variations of this fun and personal collaged journal.

Annie Sloan's San Francisco Tour

I started to write a post on Annie Sloan's San Francisco Tour last Wednesday, but could never get it finished. Now I am in bed with the flu on my day off, have slept most of the day, but decided it was the perfect time to get it completed and posted. So here I go.....

Views outside my classroom window in the early morning hours as we are setting up for our workshops. What a beautiful spot for the Annie Sloan San Francisco Tour!

Beginning registration for the event. We are all excited and full of anticipation.

We had the perfect location for an ending to a wonderful day, the second stop for Annie along her remarkable tour.

Annie signed so many books that day and through every moment was her warm and gracious self.

What fun it was to mingle after the event......

and enjoy a glass of wine while gazing out the window at the Golden Gate Bridge and the boats below.

Thank you Annie for your warmth, sharing, vast artistic knowledge, and time. You are an inspiration to all of us and we appreciate and love you!

Kathy Sandler's Journal Class

Kathy Sandler will be teaching another great class at The Purple Pear. She will teach her special techniques for taking an ordinary notebook and turning it into a beautiful collaged and encaustic-covered gem! I love everything she does. She has an extraordinary sense of color and design, and she will show us how to create personal and beautiful journals that reflect our deepest selves. Please visit my website if you would like to sign up and participate in this inspiring class.

I am off to San Francisco to join Annie Sloan and the other Stockists from the West Coast for her tour in this region. Stay tuned and I will post photos and lots of news about this great event!

Annie Sloan is here!

Annie Sloan just arrived in the US! She is in NYC for the next three days meeting magazine editors. Over the next few months Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Waxes will be mentioned in all of your favorite magazines.

Starting on Monday, I will be joining other stockists and local retail supports to join Annie in New Orleans for advanced workshop training.

Don't miss out on Annie's tour when she comes to a city near you, and sign up quickly for this great event to meet her and watch her paint and help you paint.

Please go to anniesloanunfolded.com to sign up.

Don't Miss the Tour!

Annie is just days away from coming to San Francisco for one of her tour stops. There are still a few tickets left. Don't miss out on the fabulous, one-time event. To register go to anniesloanunfolded.com. Read about the event and register now!! She will be in San Francisco for one day only on Monday, March 19th. Hope to see you there!

Zetty's Brocante

Zetty's Brocante is a delightful shop that just recently opened in Bend, Oregon. It is owned by Gina Brown who loves all things French and named the shop for her beloved Great Grandmother Zetty. Gina is a whirlwind of delight, energy, and enthusiasm all rolled into one. I met her a few weeks back when she traveled to Portland to take one of my workshops. She loves Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and intends to create her new-found decor shop with lots of painted furniture, beautiful French toiles, and her custom candles and beautiful pillows. She painted these two lovely chairs above with Paris Grey and embellished the floral detail with the newest color, Antoinette. She even added a small line of it on the front seat rail of the chairs. She finished it with a mixture of clear and dark wax blended together.

Old White on a beautiful French-designed chair....
Gina's candles are so incredible. She collects a lot of old silver and pours the beautifully scented soy mixture in each one to create the most gracious and lovely candles. The fragrance is divine!
She loves beautiful china, silver, and of course anything painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. This table is painted in French Linen with clear and dark waxes.
And who does not love Duck Egg Blue? Gina also added clear and dark wax after she painted the color.
Her toile pillows are so unique and beautiful because she gets all of her fabrics from a friend who sends her things from France.
I love this piece that she did in Versailles with clear and dark wax.
This is an actual grocery cart from the 1920's that she inherited. What a charmer of a piece. I had never seen one until she sent me this photo. The little chair next to the cart is painted in Versailles.


So the next time you are in Bend to ski or play golf or climb one of the beautiful mountains or take a hike, please visit Zetty's Brocante and meet the delightful and lovely Gina Brown. I guarantee your visit will be an adventure and loads of fun!

Kathy Sandler's Newest Class

This is one of the inside covers of Kathy's journals. The nice thing too about this class is that the materials she uses are not expensive. She will provide the wax to melt and use as a protective medium as well as some of her own papers.
Kathy Sandler will be teaching a new class at The Purple Pear, a mixed media journal class. I intend to take this one too! Kathy loves collage and will show us how to incorporate papers of all kinds to create a book cover that reflects who we are and what is important to us. I love patterns of all kinds, and she will encourage us to mix an array of images on a page. This is the front of her journal.
This wonderful front inside cover is actually sealed with melted wax, an encaustic method of sealing and protecting. She also uses wonderful tapes and some of her images are simply things she has saved from magazine cover. I have saved a lot of my Anthropology catalogs for projects that would be perfect for this.

This is the back cover and I love the pieces that she has chosen, the monochromatic display of pattern. If you are interested in this class, send me an email to phyllis@purplepearshop.com to get times and cost. It will be a fun class and Kathy is an exceptional teacher.