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TAKE THE ORDINARY AND MAKE IT EXTRAORDINARY WITH LESLIE WEST


TAKE THE ORDINARY AND MAKE IT EXTRAORDINARY WITH LESLIE WEST

July 26-28, 2024

Port Orchard, WA

Artist Leslie West’s last class was such a huge success that we asked her to return, but this time the workshop will be in the Bellissima Art Studio where you will see many of her influences in the design of this beautiful art space. As a former stager, she has an eye for clean, calm designs, and it is reflected in her art.

We were overwhelmed by the number of projects Leslie had ready for us as we waxed, dipped, inscribed and assembled.

In this workshop you will learn how to view ordinary objects and change them into treasures using encaustic, plaster, paper, and assemblages.

ITINERARY

Each day we will meet in the studio at 9:30, break for lunch, then return to the studio and create until 4:30. We will share dinner together Saturday night. On our last day, after lunch we will finish any last minute touches, then clean up and share our work.

Student Supply List

  • apron

  • scissors

  • ruler

  • small tins like Altoids

  • any personal ephemera

Leslie is still cleaning out her studio so I’m sure that we will be benefiting from this purge. So many possibilities!

Shown below are some of the creations made in last year’s class by students.

This Art Escape includes

  • Three days instruction from Leslie

  • A beautiful studio to create in

  • 3 lunches, 1 dinner

  • Some supplies, encaustic wax, brushes, torches

  • New tribe

The cost for this Escape is $700. A $400 nonrefundable deposit is due upon registering. The remaining $300 dollars is due May 26, 2024.

Port Orchard is the site for the workshop. The location is 9 miles north of Gig Harbor, WA which is listed as one of the most desirable cities in the US to visit (or live). It is located south of Seattle, across the Narrows Bridge on Hwy 16.

The Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter stops in Gig Harbor and in Port Orchard.

There are many Arbnbs and B&Bs in the area.

Bellissima Art Studio

Leslie with one of her paintings


Leslie West is a mixed media artist who creates assemblages and paints with both cold wax and encaustic wax. She has exhibited in Seattle and surrounding areas where she also had a successful staging business. She is a world traveler and her adventures have influenced her aesthetics. She lived in Seattle for many years and now lives in Atlanta with her husband.

Kathie Vezzani, who is hosting the workshop, also is an artist who paints, rusts and waxes. She organizes trips for other artists and in a former life was a caterer. She has over three decades of experience organizing trips for foodies and artists.


Leslie and Kathie