Art & Soul Retreat
Virginia Beach Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach, VA

Susan K and me

Art and Soul is a creative retreat held each year in Portland, Kansas City, and luckily for us… Virginia Beach! The organizers bring in world-class instructors and schedule dozens of amazing classes for artists to choose from. This year I got to take 2 sold-out classes from Susan Lenart Kazmer, an internationally recognized mixed-media jewelry artist and teacher.

I enjoyed both classes, and I especially enjoyed Susan’s teaching style,
her generosity and her energy.

The jury is still out… Hot Enameling vs. Cold Enameling

I can’t decide which class I enjoyed the most. While using the kiln or a propane torch to add a glass surface to metal was really fun and empowering, I also enjoyed using resin and various colorants on metal to form cold enameled pieces. Each has its own unique beauty and each has its benefits. The hot enameling dries to a hard, glass surface immediately when cooled while the cold enameling takes less equipment and can be done easily and inexpensively at home. Both methods create luscious layers of color, pattern and texture on metal.

My favorite part of both classes was using the torch to ball the ends of copper and brass wire to form a more beautiful wire wrap and a more professional looking finished piece of jewelry.

Jill, Sandy, Pinky

More than anything else, Art and Soul is a place to meet like-minded folks, make new friends, connect with old friends and have fun. We make art and we learn from amazing teachers from all over the world. We get out of our comfort zones, stretch our creative selves and laugh until all hours of the night…

It’s a once-a-year
creative party!

See you next year
Art and Soul….