SPIRIT MASKS WITH THE PALE ROOK

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Feb. 20-28, 2026

Throughout history, and around the world, masks have served as symbols of our ability to transform, as conduits to the spirit world, to manifest power and protection, or simply to explore different levels of our own identity. Join The Pale Rook in San Miguel de Allende for a very special Spirit Mask workshop.

Mask making is deeply rooted in the history of Mexico, and has been a significant part of Mesoamerican culture, ritual, entertainment and celebration for thousands of years. During her previous Bellissima trips to Mexico, Johanna has been deeply inspired by the mask making traditions of the country, and this has permeated her doll work and sculpture.

In this workshop you are invited to create your own Spirit Mask. Your mask can be symbolic, representational, ritualistic, or simply entertaining.  You can choose to create a mask that represents a specific character, persona, story or concept, expressing hidden aspects of your personality or qualities you admire. 

Using methods developed within her own practice, Johanna will guide you forming a solid base to work on, then show you how to build layers of fabric, stitch, drawing and embellishment to bring your project to life. 

You are encouraged to bring found objects, fabrics and trimmings from your own collection to incorporate into your work, making your finished project even more personal and special. Your finished mask will not only be beautiful, but lightweight, robust and easy to take home.  

Itinerary

Day 1, Friday Feb. 20

Everyone arrives and we will have a reception with botanas and drinks at 7:00 p.m. in the main courtyard.

Day 2, Saturday Feb. 21

Have breakfast before meeting in the studio at 9:30 a.m. Johanna and Kathie will go over the schedule for the week. We will begin to design our sculptures, breaking for a quick walking tour before having lunch nearby. We will return to the studio to continue creating. Class will be over at 5:00 and you will have time to relax before we meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 3, Sunday Feb. 22

Breakfast and then it is a full day in the studio as we continue working. Lunch will be provided on site by Chef Ana Elena. Class will be over at 4:30 and then we will meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 4, Monday Feb. 23

Breakfast and then into the studio at 9:30. We will break for lunch at Pegaso on our way to our amigo, Hermes Arroyo’s mojiganga studio where you will create masks. Dinner will be on your own this evening.

Day 5, Tuesday Feb. 24

Breakfast and then meet in the studio to continue working. Lunch will be provided by Chef Ana Elena. Dinner this evening will be at Los Milagros.

Day 6, Wednesday Feb. 25

Breakfast, then meet in the studio at 9:30 to continue working with Johanna. Lunch will be provided by Chef Ana Elena. Return to the studio and work until 4:30. Dinner will be provided.

Day 7, Thursday Feb. 26

Breakfast and then a full day in the studio with a break for lunch. Free afternoon. Tonight will be a cooking class with Chef Ana Elena at CDLN.

Day 8, Friday Feb. 27

Breakfast and then meet in the studio at 9:00 a.m. We will add our final details to our sculptures, then we will clean up and have our Show “N Tell. The rest of the afternoon is free and lunch is on your own. We will meet in the lobby at 6:30 to walk to our final farewell dinner together at Zumo.

Day 9, Saturday Feb. 28

The trip is over and you are free to leave anytime this day.

This Escape Includes

• 8 nights at Casa de la Noche

• Classes with The Pale Rook - Johanna Flanagan

• Class with Hermes Arroyo

• Welcome reception and fiesta

• All breakfasts, six lunches and 5 dinners (one lunch and one dinner on your own)

• Visit to markets

• Cooking Demonstration with Chef Ana Elena Martinez

• Free time to explore

• A farewell dinner

Price: $4500, limited to 12 people based on double occupancy, limited single rooms are available for an additional $700.

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due Dec. 1, 2025.

Price does not include airfare to/from Mexico, alcohol, and travel insurance (mandatory).

Accommodations: Casa de la Noche

CDLN is a boutique bed and breakfast located minutes from the center of SMA. Rooms will be assigned to you and transportation is included and coordinated by CDLN. See the video with a surprise guest at the end!

Airport:(BJX) Del Bajio Airport, Leon/Guanajuato which is 1 hour and 15 minutes from SMA. Or Queretaro (QRO).

We will Provide

• Aluminium foil

• Fabric glue

• Batting

• Some fabrics and yarns

• Wire

• Embroidery Threads

• Yarn - twine, cotton, flax, hemp

Artist Supply List

Artist’s Supply List

• Hand sewing needles - all purpose mixed sizes

• Sewing threads (cotton or polyester)

• Brush for glue

• A pencil for drawing/ pencil sharpener, eraser

• A selection of light weight fabrics (these can be small pieces but make sure that you have a selection to collage with)

• Fabric Scissors

• Ball headed sewing pins

• A pin cushion

• A sketchbook (small)

• Paper scissors

• A roll of mssking tape from the hardware store

• You are also welcome to bring any fabrics, trimmings, beads, buttons or embellishments from your own collection to incorporate into your doll

We are so thrilled that Johanna Flanagan of the Pale Rook is teaching another Bellissima Art Escape. She is a Scottish textile artist, doll maker and costume designer, trained in fashion, constructed textiles and historical costumes. Doll making was her first love, and she has been making dolls for as long as she can remember. In the last fourteen years, Johanna has taught in art schools, museums and colleges throughout the UK and Europe, as well as writing and tutoring correspondence courses for the last two years.

You can see her work on her Instagram and Facebook feeds.

WHIMSEY WITH A SIDE OF LOVE WITH TIFFANY OWNBEY

Feb. 28-March 8, 2026

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato

If you love paper, ephemera and tying the past to the present, you will love Tiffany Ownbey’s whimsical creations. A North Carolina artist who lives in a family-built cabin in the woods, Tiffany combines her love of papier-mâché with ephemera that she has collected since she was a young girl. Her work has been shown around the United States and in Japan.

She has taught one Bellissima Art Escape and we have asked her to teach again with a magical collaboration with Mojiganga Master, Hermes Arroyo in San Miguel de Allende. We knew that when we met Tiffany and saw her work, that she and Hermes are simpatico. We can’t wait to see what everyone creates!

Hermes Arroyo, is a mojiganga master who espouses the “old ways” of having his studio in his home where he and his various family members create the colorful, unique and often, humorous giant mojiganga puppets that parade through the jardin and at various venus for weddings, anniversaries and special events.

Hermes has one of the greatest smiles and his love of his craft emanates from his designs. We love taking groups to his studio and when we were last there, he offered to teach a class on how to make a small mojiganga. What a perfect complement to Tiffany’s work!

Itinerary

In this workshop, you will create your own special mixed media sculptures, one (or two!) with Tiffany and one with Hermes.

Day 1, Saturday Feb. 28

Everyone arrives and we will have a reception with botanas and drinks at 7:00 p.m. in the main courtyard.

Day 2, Sunday March 1

Have breakfast before meeting in the studio at 9:30 a.m. Tiffany and Kathie will go over the schedule for the week. We will begin to design our sculptures, breaking for a quick walking tour before having lunch nearby. We will return to the studio and continue forming our molds. Class will be over at 5:00 and you will have time to relax before we meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 3, Monday March 2

Breakfast and then it is a full day in the studio as we continue working. Lunch will be provided on site by Ana Elena. Class will be over at 4:30 and then we will meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 4, Tuesday March 3

Breakfast at CDLN and then we will walk to Hermes’s studio where we will make our forms. Lunch will be at Pegasus and then you will have the afternoon free. Ana Elena will give a cooking class this evening.

Day 5, Wednesday March 4

Breakfast and then meet in the studio to continue working. Lunch will be provided by Ana Elena and this afternoon we will return to Hermes’s studio where we will finish painting and adding special bling to our creations. We will walk to the jardin and then have dinner.

Day 6, Thursday March 5

Breakfast, then meet in the studio at 9:30 to continue working with Tiffany. Lunch will be provided by Ana Elena. Return to the studio and work until 4:30. Dinner will be on your own this evening.

Day 7, Friday March 6

Breakfast and then a full day in the studio with a break for lunch at the Library. Dinner will be provided.

Day 8, Saturday March 7

Breakfast and then meet in the studio at 9:00 a.m. We will add our final details to our sculptures, then we will clean up and have our Show “N Tell. The rest of the afternoon is free and lunch is on your own. We will meet in the lobby at 6:30 to walk to our final farewell dinner together.

Day 9, Sunday March 8

The trip is over and you are free to leave anytime this day.

Some of the creations made by the artists in Tiffany’s class in the Bellissima Art Studio.

This Escape Includes

• 8 nights at Casa de la Noche

• Classes with Tiffany Ownbey

• Class with Hermes Arroyo

• Welcome reception and fiesta

• All breakfasts, six lunches and 5 dinners (one lunch and one dinner on your own)

• Visit to markets

• Cooking Demonstration with Chef Ana Elena Martinez

• Free time to explore

• A farewell dinner

Price: $4500, limited to 12 people based on double occupancy, limited single rooms are available for an additional $700.

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due Dec. 1, 2025.

Price does not include airfare to/from Mexico, alcohol, and travel insurance (mandatory).

Accommodations: Casa de la Noche

CDLN is a boutique bed and breakfast located minutes from the center of SMA. Rooms will be assigned to you and transportation is included and coordinated by CDLN. See the video with a surprise guest at the end!

Airport:(BJX) Del Bajio Airport, Leon/Guanajuato which is 1 hour and 15 minutes from SMA. Or Queretaro (QRO).

We will provide

• Liquid starch

• Matte Varnish

• Non-stick cooking spray

• Wire

• Wooden dowels

• Wire cutters

Supply List for Artists

• Scissors

• Apron

• Paint brushes for varnish

• Sharpie fine point pens

• Sewing patterns

• Various old papers - stamps, green stamps, etc.

• Old doll bodies and feet and bowls to use for molds

• Box cutter knife

Tiffany Ownbey of Rutherfordton, NC is a mixed media artist whose work plays on the combination of the past and the present, nature and consumerism, and reuse and beauty. 

From an early age, Ownbey adopted her parents’ appreciation for flea markets and antique stores, transforming the magical quality and history of vintage objects and materials into new stories. Her work focuses on the experience of familiarity for the viewer, each reused element an opportunity for discovery and igniting memory. 

Ownbey studied art at Savannah College of Art and Design, Penland School of Crafts, and Western Carolina University. She has exhibited throughout the United States and in Japan and is currently living in a 100 year-old family-built log cabin surrounded by her sweet furry creatures, both domestic and unexpected.

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.

ANTIQUITIES THAT BIND US WITH WANDA HELA KATZ, ALSO KNOWN AS THE PAPER PALACE QUEEN

Bath, Somerset England

May 7-15, 2026

Join us for a mixed media/vintage and antique ephemera workshop in Bath, England with handmade book Artist Wanda Hela Katz, also known as the Paper Palace Queen on Instagram.

As well as being a vibrant and thriving twenty-first-century city, Bath is a living museum. History and heritage line the city’s streets, with every footstep revealing compelling cultural attractions and astonishing Georgian architecture. It’s why Bath is the only city in the UK designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with its unique second inscription at part of UNESCO's Great Spa Towns of Europe.

We are so excited that Wanda has agreed to teach her first Bellissima Art Escape so you are in for a really special experience. She is very enthusiastic about giving this workshop and has put together an unbelievable supply packet that includes 17th, 18th and 19th century ephemera from around the world, a Pre-1900 antique book, eco dyed papers and fabrics, vintage paper (correspondence, tickets, receipts, invoices, ledger papers) and more. She envisions that you will create gorgeous books with this ephemera that for most of us, is unattainable, at least of that vintage.

We will hold our workshop in the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution.

Itinerary

Day 1, Thursday May 7

Everyone arrives and we will meet this evening for a quick introduction and go over the schedule.

Day 2, Friday May 9

Breakfast is in the hotel, then we will walk to the studio where we will set up for the day. Wanda and Kathie will go over the schedule each day.

Wanda will share some of her books as examples —this will be a great treat! We will break for lunch and walk to a nearby eatery. Afterwards, we will visit an antique bookstore and bindery for a tour and a little shopping. We will stop on the way back to the hotel for an early dinner.

Day 3, Saturday May 10

Breakfast at the hotel then walk to the studio where class will start at 9:00. It’s a full day in the studio. Lunch and dinner will be provided.

Day 4, Sunday May 10 Travel day

Breakfast at the hotel, then meet the coach at 9:30. Lacock, a small village in the Cotswalds, is a 25 minute ride from Bath. Here we will visit the Abbey and the garden. In its 800 years of history, Lacock Abbey has been many things. It started as a nunnery in the 1200s before becoming a Tudor family home. Since then it has evolved with every owner and in 1835, the first photographic negative was captured in the Abbey. Today Lacock is a well-known location for a host of film and TV productions including Harry Potter and Downton Abbey.

On site is also the Fox Talbot Museum which is housed in a 16th-century barn once used as stables. It tells the story of the birth of photography with objects and technology from the early years of photography. 

We will stop for lunch at the Tea Room.

When we are through exploring, we will head into the quaint village where you will have some free time to wander before we meet at the Stables Cafe for dinner at 6:00. Afterward, we will return to Bath.

Day 5 Monday, May 11

Breakfast at the hotel and then be in the studio by 9:00 a.m. You will continue working on papers and Wanda will give a short demonstration on the traditional binding technique/open binding — but she will also talk about her “rebellious stitching binding” that is one of her signatures. She will share examples of both.

Lunch and dinner will be provided.

Day 6 Tuesday May 12

Breakfast at the hotel and then meet in the studio at 9:00. Today Wanda will discuss book covers and ways to age them by distressing and adding visual interests. If you are ready, you can begin to bind your rebellious stitching book.

At noon, we will walk along the Royal Crescent, a sweeping curve of townhouses built from honey-colored Bath stone to the majestic Royal Crescent Hotel where we will have lunch. There will be time to explore the gorgeous hotel and grounds.

Dinner is on your own this evening.

This class is full. Join the waitlist.

This Escape Includes

• 8 nights at the DoubleTree by Hilton

• Classes with Wanda Hela Katz, The Paper Palace Queen

• Unbelievable antiquity supply packet!

• Excursions to museums, villages, and book bindery

• All breakfasts, six lunches and 5 dinners (one lunch and one dinner on your own)

• Free time to explore

• A farewell dinner

Price: $5,100, limited to 12 people based on double occupancy, limited single rooms are available for an additional $1000.

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due January 8, 2026.

Price does not include transportation to/from Great Britain, alcohol, country visa and travel insurance (mandatory).

Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton

Walcot Street, Bath BZ1 5BJ, United Kingdom

We will Supply

• An amazing antique ephemera packet

• Book gauze

• Book Glue

• Artist Book boards

• Rubber Gloves

• Matt medium

• Cardboard

Artist Supply List

• Scissors/apron

• Water pot and a glue pot (can be yogurt cup)

• Stapler with extra staples

• Sari silks (optional)

• String

• Sewing and Embroidery needles,

• Brushes for glue and for painting

• Stanley Box Cutter

• Awl

• Small cutting pad

• A mix of strong cotton and embroidery threads

• Waxed thread for binding and stitching

• Small jar of textured gesso

• Fragments of your work that you have been collecting in that “scrap box” that you will someday use

• Tim Holtz Oxide inks

• Walnut ink

• Either a few watercolors or a couple small bottles of acrylic paint

• A minimum of 40 papers no less than A5 of all kinds and thicknesses.

Day 7, Wednesday, May 13

Breakfast at the hotel. Meet in the studio at 9:00. It’s a full throttle day, finishing covers, and binding both your traditional and rebellious stitching books. Lunch will be nearby and dinner will be provided.

Day 8, Thursday May 14

Breakfast at the hotel and then over to the studio at 9:00. Today we add finishing touches and inside page covers to the traditional binding book. We will break around noon to clean up and have our Show”N Tell.

Lunch will be on your own today and you will have a free afternoon until we meet for our farewell dinner at this evening.

Day 9, Friday May 15

The trip is over and everyone leaves or stays on to continue exploring Bath and the surrounding area.

Wanda Hela Katz brings a calm meditative holistic approach to her book making responding intuitively to her materials. Her passion for incorporating vintage and rare antique ephemera fragments sourced from across the globe is magically woven into her more than 170 books made to date.

A decade living amongst the ruins of Rome, Italy has fed her endless fascination for appreciating and finding beauty within decay, deterioration, and disintegration which feeds into her beautifully crafted one-of-a-kind art journals filled with darkness and mystery.

Look for Wanda’s Keeper of Memories article in the latest issue of Somerset Studio.

MAY GARDENS IN THE LAKE DISTRICT OF THE UK

What do May gardens in the Lake District of the UK, Beatrix Potter, Williams Wordsworth, and Derwent have in common? Our annual workshop with Gillian Lee Smith. We are so excited to share that we are going to the beautiful Lake District, not far from where Gillian lives in Northumberland.

The inception of this trip was cooked up at our workshop in Belfast this year. Some of us are avid gardeners and we were talking about some day seeing UK gardens in season. Then Gillian told us about the Lake District……..

We will stay at a beautiful hotel in the Lake District’s most famous lake —Windermere. It blends classic Lake District charm with modern comforts. Here you will experience the best of the past and present in one unforgettable stay. The in-house horticulturist tends to the luscious green lawns, vibrant flower beds and peaceful spots to relax.

Gillian’s wild and chaotic garden is her sanctuary, and she spends hours just sitting, absorbing the textures, details and beauty. To slow down, absorb, notice and gather is an act of rebellion in a world that says ‘go faster.’ But nature knows the score. We will gather inspiration and create something that encapsulates nature, memory, and a moment in time in the beautiful landscape of the Lake District in Cumbria.

Gillian’s garden pictured below

Our mixed-media botanical journals will feature beautiful botanical prints, hand-drawn and hand-embroidered elements, pockets and pages for natural collections, and envelopes for tiny, precious fragments that we find along the way.

We will use Gelli-plate printing in various ways to capture the intriguing textures and fine details of plants and flowers. Metallic inks will highlight shapes and details, and embroidery will enhance and embellish, creating spaces to gather the natural forms we find. Finally, the book will be beautifully bound and finished with fabrics and any other elements you choose. You will finish the week with a book to treasure and one that you can continue to add to over time, according to the seasons.

We will gather and sketch on our exploration days and work from our studio base to create our books.

Itinerary

Day One– Sunday – Everybody arrives and we will meet for our first dinner together this evening.

Day Two - Monday – Gillian will share her handmade artist books and sketchbooks in the morning, offering some easy ways to sketch and gather inspiration on our travel days. We then depart for Holker Hall with its more than 200 acres that include elliptical, summer, and sunken gardens, the meadows, a labyrinth and a sundial. We will have lunch here and dinner will be provided at the hotel.

The estate has dramatic formal gardens that welcome you with displays of color and interest throughout the year. From there, winding paths take you through the collection of rare and exotic plants and trees that thrive in the extraordinary micro-climate of the Cartmel Peninsula. Highlights along the way are the Cascade and Burlington Fountain, the Sunken Garden, Pagen Grove, and the 400-year-old veteran Lime tree, the Holker Great Lime, voted one of Britain’s grandest trees with its girth at over 8 meters Here you can gather ideas for your own gardens and where we will take inspiration for our project with Gillian.

Day Three Tuesday. Today is printing day! Using the Gelli plate, Gillian will share various ways of printing, create backgrounds and use our botanical collections to create gorgeous multilayered prints. All meals provided.

Day Four - Wednesday. We will be further inspired by a Windermere Lake tour that will bring us to a delightful visit at the National Trust’s Beatrix Potter’s Hilltop Home and gardens. It is a time capsule of Potter’s life full of her favorite things. The house appears as if Beatrix had just stepped out for a walk. We will have lunch in the nearby village and tonight dinner is on your own.

Day Five Thursday. Gillian will share some embroidery techniques to create elements for our covers and to incorporate into our pages. All meals provided.

Day Six Friday - It’s going to be an awesome travel day through the Lake District National Park. First we will travel to the Lakeland Arts & Crafts Blackwell House designed by Ballie Scott, one of the foremost designers in the Arts and Crafts movement, and built between 1889-1900. It is a stunning example of the design movement.

We are off to visit Grasmere where we will wander through the poet William Worsdworth’s Dove cottage, gardens and museum.

Nearby is Grasmere Gather that brings together a unique range of artisan products, echoing the legacy of traditional heritage industries in Cumbria: farming and food, weaving and textile mills, mining and minerals, and tourism. We will have lunch here and then after we are done perusing (and buying), we will travel 30 minutes to the Derwent Pencil Museum where we will learn the history of these famous pencils. On our way home, we will stop for dinner in the quaint village of Ambleside.

This Escape Includes

• 8 nights at the Lakeside Hotel and Spa

• Classes with Gillian Lee Smith

• Gardens —Holker House, Beatrix Potter, Blackwell, Dodge Cottage

• Windermere Lake Tour

• Visit to Beatrix Potter’s House

• Visit to the Derwent Factory

• All breakfasts, six lunches and seven dinners (one lunch and one dinner on your own)

• Free time to explore

• A farewell dinner

Price: $5,100, limited to 12 people based on double occupancy, limited single rooms are available for an additional $1000.

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due January 8, 2026.

Price does not include transportation to/from the UK,, alcohol, country visa, and travel insurance (mandatory).

Hotel: Lakeside Hotel

Newby Bridge, Cumbria, UK LA12 8AT

Telephone. 015395 30001

Materials List

We will provide

• Paper for book pages and book board for covers

• Waxed bookbinding thread, curved needles, and sewing needles

• Acrylic paint

• Dip pens

• Deli paper, tissue paper and vellum paper

• Typewriter/carbon paper

• Book glue

• Cutting mats

• Awls 

Students Please Bring

• Camera or phone camera

• A Gelli plate – approx. 8 x 10 inches (There are various brands, Gillian will provide options upon booking)

• A brayer

• A few sheets of handmade paper or fabric to cover your book with

• A sketchbook (around 8 x 8 inches or so)

• Drawing pencils, sharpener, eraser

• A bone folder

• Small embroidery scissors

• A small portable palette of watercolors with a mixing palette

• A water container and a glue pot (yogurt pot, for example)

• A small selection of watercolor brushes

• A small spray bottle

• A small ½ inch Glue brush

• An Exacto knife and a scalpel knife with spare blades

• A metal edge ruler

• Ribbon for books, buttons for closures, and embroidery threads to decorate

• A couple of bottles of acrylicink (Gillian likes Liquitex transparent inks)

• Metallic ink – Gillian likes C. Roberson & Co Liquid metal acrylic inks

• A small tub of Dorlands wax

Optional Extras

• Hand-dyed or vintage fabric scraps

• White pen

• Color pencils – Gillian likes Derwent Drawing Pencils (natural colors which go well with inks and paint)

Day 7 Saturday - Our books will be hand-bound today, with fastenings added, and we will have more time to continue working on our book pages. All meals included.

Day Eight - Sunday. We will work for half the day, making any last minute additions to our journals. We will share our creations and then the rest of the day is on your own, including lunch. You have time to hike, explore, rest, or get a massage before we meet this evening for our final meal together.

Day Nine - Monday. The Trip is over and you are free to continue exploring more of the District, or to return home.

This itinerary may change due to weather, new opportunities or the whim of the group.

Gillian Lee Smith is a Scottish artist living in the beautiful, historic North-East coast of England that daily influences her work. As a teacher, Gillian is inspired to bring her love of people and place to each workshop using a wealth of techniques to make new discoveries along with her students. She has several very successful online courses and a mentoring program.

THE ART OF CRAFTING FIBER SCULPTURE WITH JACQUELINE MALLEGNI

June 11-14, 2026

Bellissima Art Studio, Port Orchard, WA

Join us for an immersive process focused experience exploring the art of handcrafter paper tailored for sculptural applications with Jacqueline Mallegni.

This workshop invites you to engage with the themes of imagination, materiality, and a deep sense of place.

Discover the joy of creating textured paper using flax roving through a contemporary fusing technique that departs from traditional methods. With guidance from Jacqueline, you will design and apply your stunning paper onto an organically shaped, reusable mould crafted from wire mesh and plaster cloth.

This innovative papermaking approach opens the door to endless creative possibilities, allowing for various inclusions, mark-making, and stitching techniques. You will also have the opportunity to harvest fibers from the local environment, enhancing your creations with unique textures and distinctive qualities.

Embrace the transformative power of hand crafted paper and unlock your artistic potential in this hands-on workshop.

The workshop is designed to allow time for surface embellishment with sumi ink, indigo dye, thread and paper applications adding depth and interest to your finished pieces.

Itinerary

We will meet each day in the Bellissima Art Studio at 9:30 a.m., breaking for lunch, and then ending the day around 4:30.

On Saturday evening, we will share dinner.

On Sunday after lunch, we will clean up and have a Show ‘N Tell where we will share our work from the workshop.

This Art Escape includes

• Four days instruction by Jacqueline

• Four lunches, one dinner

• Some materials

The cost of this workshop is $900. A $500 deposit is due upon registering. The balance of $400 is due March 14, 2026.

 We will provide:

• Sponges

• 2-QT water bowl

• Plastic sheeting for work tables

• Sumi ink

• Indigo

• Gesso brushes

• Rags

• Container for storing indigo

Artist Material List

• Apron

• Lineco PVA glue - 8 ounces

• Flax  Roving - bleached & natural (8 oz. each per student)

• Activa brand wire mesh, Large Weave, 24" x 10 ft roll

• Fiberglass window screen (36”x84” roll) (Hardware stores or Amazon)

• Plaster cloth - 2-3 rolls (Dick Blick or Amazon has a box of 8 rolls for a good price)

• Hand clippers (foraging option)

• Garden gloves (foraging option)

• Favorite calligraphy brush for indigo and sumi ink

• Stitching materials (cotton pearl thread - or similar, tapestry needle)

• Spools of thread, twine or narrow cordage

• Decorative handmade paper

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.

MYTHICAL CREATURES WITH THE PALE ROOK

Bellissima Art Studio, Port Orchard, WA

June 22-26, 2026

The Pale Rook offers Mythical Creatures only to Bellissima Art Escapes artists. We decided to offer this class in the Bellissima Art Studio in Port Orchard for those artists who are unable to join us on our foreign workshops. Join Johanna for what is a magical workshop next June.

See what others made in her class in Oaxaca below.

Johanna has developed the methods we'll be working with over the last eight years in her own practice and they've been honed especially for this workshop. You can adapted them to make whatever creature, combination of creatures, or mix of human and animal that you want to make. 

The dolls/creatures can also use a collaged combination of fabrics, layered with symbolic embroidery, using as many or as few of the participants' collection of dyed fabrics and yarns as they wish. This means you can have a narrative element to your work, telling stories through symbolic use of color, pattern and form.

Each day, Johanna will demonstrate her techniques to develop these mythical creatures.

This Art Escape includes

• Five days instruction by Johanna

• Five lunches, one dinner

• Some materials

The cost of this workshop is $1500. A $750 deposit is due upon registering. The balance of $750 is due February 12, 2026.

Materials provided

• Florist wire

• Wool fleece

• Felting needles

• A selection of sewing threads

• Tailors chalk

• A selection of embroidery threads

• Pattern drafting paper

• Unspun flax

• Pliers

• Wire cutters

• Felting sponge

Materials to bring

• Hand sewing needles ( mixed sizes)

• Fabric scissors

• A small pin cushion

• Pins

• A sketch book

• A pencil

• Colored pencils ( or any other color medium you'd like to work with when designing your project)

• A pencil sharpener

• A selection of fabrics and found objects/trimmings from your own collection (optional)

• A range of interesting paper - size A4 or 8 1/2” x 11 “ - art paper or hand-made

• Some trinkets or beads

• Ruler

• Apron

We are so thrilled that Johanna Flanagan of the Pale Rook is teaching another Bellissima Art Escape. She is a Scottish textile artist, doll maker and costume designer, trained in fashion, constructed textiles and historical costumes. Doll making was her first love, and she has been making dolls for as long as she can remember. In the last fourteen years, Johanna has taught in art schools, museums and colleges throughout the UK and Europe, as well as writing and tutoring correspondence courses for the last two years.

You can see her work on her Instagram and Facebook feeds.

Kathie Vezzani who hosts 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.

OUT OF CONTEXT WITH GARY AND MARY ANN CARLSON

July 9-12, 2026, Port Orchard, WA

Back by popular demand for their third Bellissima Art Escape are Gary and Mary Ann Carlson. Believe me when I tell you that if you are an assemblage artist, you need to attend this workshop. They are masters at attaching materials of any kind.

You will learn:

• Compositional methods and critique skills to unify your composition

• The appropriate products and methods of attaching a wide variety of materials

• Material techniques using Apoxie Sculpt, Sculpt Noveau Metal Coatings paint and patinas

• Appropriate tools for specific materials, rivets, saw, cutof saws, grinders, etc.

• Appropriate display hardware for asymmetric physical weight balance of artwork

From the chaos of an overabundance of materials, our artists swapped supplies, helped each other and created amazing pieces.

Itinerary

We will meet each day at 9:30 am, stopping for lunch provided by our host, Kathie Vezzani, and ending the day around 4:30 pm. Dinner will be provided one evening.

On the last day, we will work until we break for lunch, then we will finish any last minute details before cleaning up and sharing our work in a Show ‘N tell.

This Art Escape includes

• Four days instruction by Gary and Mary Ann Carlson

• Four lunches, one dinner

• Lots of materials

The cost of this workshop is $950. A deposit of $500 is due upon registration. The balance is due February 12, 2026.

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 manyAirBNBs and B&Bs in the area. A list of accommodations will be provided if requested.

We Will Provide

• 12” edge glued wood round

• 16”x 16” x 1/4” plywood

• Primer paint, water-based

• Metal Coatings brass and iron paint

• Metal coatings patinas, tiffany green and tan

• Clear acrylic Matt spray

• Jig saw (metal and wood blades), small pull saw, coping saw

• Drill and bits

• Hammers

• Safety goggles

• Metal shears

• Metal files

• Wood rasps

• Brad nailer

• Escutcheon pins

• Nail set

• Center punch

• Wood scraps

• Wire and wire cutters

• Metal cutoff saw

• Clamps

• Nails and screws

• Bits of wood and tin that you may want to use

• Acrylic paint

• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

• Sponge brushes

• Paint brushes

• Wood glue

• Plastic gloves

• Sandpaper, emery paper, steel wool various textures

• Rivet gun and aluminum rivets

• Apoxie Sculpt

Student Supply List

• Apron

• Pencils, sharpies

• Scissors,

• E-6000 glue,

• JB weld kwik glue

• Bring ideas and found object materials that have similar elements such as color, shape, line for your wall sculpture.

These are just ideas. You do not need to collect all of this:

• vintage wood typesetter’s letters or typewriter keys or metal letter stencils

• wood blocks, letters

• vintage clock insides, watch parts

• various sized wood balls, pool balls, beads, ¼”- 1½”

• croquet balls, mallets or sticks

• small decorative brass horns

• vintage embroidery hoops or circles, old tin lids

• vintage wood hangers or any wood or metal arc

• interesting sticks or wood shapes - objects

• small hollow, plastic bird forms

• small rusted metal sheet material that has some color left,

• small metal lamp parts, metal leaves, brass or chrome metal bits

• old rulers, wood metal or cloth

• old paintbrushes,

• small vintage tools

• small antlers or horns

• copper or aluminum tape

Minnesota artist Gary Carlson is a sculptor and retired art teacher. He has worked as an art educator, a graphic artist, a portrait photographer, and painter. Since retiring from teaching, his worked has been primarily creating found object assemblage sculptures.

Throughout his career, he has exhibited in galleries, art centers, art competitions and art fairs in and around the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, as well as the Midwest. Gary’s work is in the collection of the East Central Regional Arts Council and he has received numerous awards.

MaryAnn Carlson also is a former art educator. She has worked as a jeweler, a picture framer, a gallery director, an art administrator, a small business owner, a graphic artist, a digital photo editor, a painter and a sculptor. She has exhibited in galleries, art centers, art competitions in and around the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. Her work is in the collection of The East Central Regional Arts Council and she has received numerous awards for her unique sculptures. She is a master at hanging artwork!