Changes in my Life

Changes.  Changes and Decisions.  It is a part of life.  In this case, it's a good change.  Soooo much has changed in my life over the past 5 years, and now I feel like I've come out of it on the other side.  I can look back, and see how I've changed, and I can look forward to what is coming.  One of the changes I have made here, in this little space, is that I will be moving this blog over to Wordpress.  I know, I know, it is a pain for you, my sweet followers, and for that I am sorry.  But it is all for the good!  I now have a sweet new website that you need to check out and I am so pumped about it!  My old website was good, but it wasn't mobile!  With all the mobile devices these days, I felt like it was a major mistake to have a website that wasn't viewable on an iPad, tablet, or phone.  I would cringe every time someone wanted to look at my website and couldn't do it due to mobile devices!!  As a busy mom of two little girls, I thought that if I EVER wanted to get a new website in motion, I had better hire someone to do it for me.  And so I did.  It was an awesome decision and I have many THANKS for Laura for making this transition as easy as pie.  If you know Laura, you know that she doesn't let any grass grow under her feet!

So, now I have to ask a favor of you.  Please, please, pretty please, come on over to my new space.  I would love to have you join me over there, where I will continue to write about this crazy thing called life - and ART.  Don't forget the art part!

If you follow me via RSS, don't forget to update that as well - here's a link for you.   

http://kellythielstudio.com/?feed=rss 

And for you folks that like the Bookmark or "favorites" method, here's your link too. http://kellythielstudio.com/blog

I'll be moving stuff over to the new blog soon, and in some ways, I'll miss Blogger.  I've been here for a while, and I still like my blog design over here.  But life goes on, and I'm ready for it!  

And just to leave you with a little teaser, I've been working on a new sculpture.  It's called Of Two Minds, and it's almost done being built.  Still wet, needs to dry and then be glazed, but the forming of the sculpture is almost complete.  Come on over to the new blog and check it out :)  See you soon.

xoxo

Kelly

Fascinations with Robert Ivey Ballet

This post is coming a few days later than I had hoped, but I think I needed time to process the whole event.  This event was so great, in so many different ways.  We had a Fascinations performance both Friday night and Saturday night, (Jan 18 and 19) and I really loved seeing it both nights.  I was able to take in more on the second night; little details of the dance or costuming I hadn't noticed before.  This was a huge experience for me.  I think I am very, very glad to have participated in this event. If you want to read about how this came about, check out the post here.  It's a cool story about synchronicity, written by my good friend Laura!  And painting on such a scale, what an eye-opening experience that was!  It truly is a full-body movement to get paint on the canvas when you use giant brushstrokes like I was doing.  And a ladder.  One must have a ladder to reach up so high!  So I was climbing the ladder, and flinging paint around with my 4" paintbrush, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Just before we delivered it to the theatre.

After the show I was approached by someone who is in charge of outdoor murals around Charleston.  He invited me to do a wall of my own!!  I was thrilled, and I have a feeling I will be tackling that project soon :)  It's called the Outdoor Art Initiative and Gallery; Check out their Facebook page; they have some pretty cool stuff over there.  Everyone in this group seems very open and friendly, and I am excited to learn more about what they do.  

On stage!

One other cool thing about this project is that both of my girls were involved in this project.  Especially my 4 yr old.  She loved it and she was inspired to work on a larger scale too.  She actually decorated the back of the couch one night recently with sidewalk chalk, and I couldn't be mad because I know where this came from.  It was from watching me paint so big; she only wanted to do the same.  I thought a good way to channel this inspiration onto a more suitable substrate would be to hit the art store and buy a canvas for her.  So that's just what we did!  Here she is starting to work.  I love how kids just jump on it; no hesitation or concern about how it will turn out.  They just get straight to work :)

Can you guess her favorite colors??

So yes, this was quite the experience for the entire family.  I want to thank my hubby for going the extra mile on this - he helped me get my canvases home and then delivered to the studio.  He watched the kids, so I could work, and he gave me feedback when I got stuck or panicked.  He's the best.   Pure Theatre also played a big part in this.  They gave me my canvases!  They had used them in a previous play, and the canvases were just sitting in their storage area, so they saved me a lot of time by me not having to build these canvases.  Thank you!!! If any of you are local in Charleston, you really should go see a play over there.  Those guys are super passionate about what they are doing.  And they are doing a phenomenal job of it!

The Deadline is Looming!

The deadline is almost here!!  This painting has to be finished by tonight, so that it can be dry for delivery on Wednesday.  I can't even begin to tell you what an ADVENTURE this has been!!  I've always been kind of fascinated with the idea of working large.  This project has CHANGED me in so many ways.  Ways I can't even begin to comprehend, and it will only become more obvious over time.

Here is a quick video that my husband and I shot yesterday.  Robert Ivey Ballet is putting together videos for each dance/music/art segment and I sent this to them for use in their video.

Two nights ago, I got to see the dancers rehearsing and listen to the orchestra practicing.  It is the Youth Orchestra, and these kids were great!!!  I also met the other artists (everyone was very friendly), and I came away from that production meeting completely buzzed with energy and excitement.  This event is truly about the WHOLE experience.  It's not just about the ballet, or the music, or the art - it's about the total experience of seeing three of the basic art forms come together.  It's about reaching for your dreams, and visualizing something and then making it happen.  These kids in the ballet and the orchestra are just awesome and they work HARD.  The professionals who are there are leading the way, supporting the kids, having fun, and pursuing our dreams as well.  It's very exciting. :)

Fascinations! with Robert Ivey Ballet

Here is the flyer for the super cool upcoming event!  I've been painting away, and just today I have FINISHED!  It's drying, getting ready for delivery on Wednesday.  I am so excited for this event! What a very cool opportunity this has been! Even my 4 yr old is excited and will be attending the event on Friday :)

Painting on a HUGE Scale!

Surprise! I'm back!  I'm sorry for the absence - sitting down at the computer is so hard these days.  The kiddo always sits in my lap and bangs on the keyboard - which makes it very hard to type :)  She's almost 1 1/2 yrs old now and is in such a cute phase!

But I am writing because I want to share with you a crazy cool, crazy fun project that came my way 2 days ago!  I was contacted by the Robert Ivey Ballet, here in Charleston.  They are putting on a very cool event called Fascinations, and it is a multi-disciplinary event combining dance, music and art.  What it is is this: each artist is given a piece of music (to be played by the orchestra) that is to be the inspiration for the artwork.  The artwork will act as a backdrop for the scene; it will be brought in via the stage rigging, and the dancers will perform their original numbers in front of the original painting.   Therefore, the size of the painting has to be way bigger than anything I have ever done.  My painting will be 9'x12' and it is on two pieces of stretched canvas.  

I was a little freaked out by this project - it is due NEXT week - but things just started falling into place!  The babysitter was available for extra hours (thank goodness!), the canvases were already built and I was given permission to use them, the girl at the art store gave me some good advice on which paints to use.  I even almost got a parking ticket, and the meter maid let me out of it!!  It was like the universe was giving me the push to do this project!

Here's my music - Its called Dance of the Knights by Prokofiev, a well-known Russian composer.  This  will be a performance of Romeo & Juliet, and this piece of music will be for the scene where Romeo and his friends enter the ball and start a fight.  It's so powerful!  I love it and I can't wait to paint to it!!

So yes, I am very excited, and I will  be sharing the process, here, as I go!  Here's to big challenges and new experiences!!!

Sharing my Story

As an artist, it is my responsibility to share my story.  When you make art, people always want to know the inspiration behind the pieces or why you've made a certain thing.  As most of you know, I make a lot of bird sculptures, and here is a short video about how it all got started.  I could go on and on about the symbolism of the birds in my works, but this little video certainly gives you a good idea!

Kudos to my amazing husband who did this for me.  He shot and edited, and then put this all together!  Thank you, babe!!

In this video, I'm building one of my newest sculptures, entitled Thinking Cap.

Let me know what you think!!!

Studio Workshop in my personal studio!

I am so excited to be sharing some news today!  I am preparing to start offering  
weekend workshops in my studio!  My first one is already scheduled for march 2 and 3, 2013, and I have a limit of 5 students.  I have a great studio space, but there is only enough room for roughly 6 (including me), not to mention my dogs! :)  And I am also pleased to say that my first workshop is already full!  We've got students from Colorado, South Carolina and Georgia, and I can't wait to share my studio with them. 

We are planning for a nice, relaxing weekend, creating sculptures of Human/Animal Hybrids.  We will be talking about techniques for blending the two bodies together, and focusing on construction techniques.  I'm going to have our lunch brought in both days to the studio so that we don't have to leave (and since I live in a rural area), and we are just going to play, play, play! 

If there's interest, I could easily see this as being a 2-3 times a year thing, depending on my schedule.  I enjoy sharing my studio with other people who are interested to learn.  I have gotten so much of my knowledge from workshops, that I wanted to start giving back to the system.  Going to workshops is one of my favorite things - I love the synergy that is created and the knowledge that is shared.  There is always something to be learned!

More information can be learned on my website, under Workshops.  Let me know if you have any questions!!  I'll be posting photos and a video soon, as we get closer to the date. 

Yay, for fun things and fun times!