The Chicks Have a New Roost

A Teary Goodbye & an Exciting Beginning

by Jennifer Drummond Ferris on 3/20/2013 10:43:00 AMComment on this

Saying Goodbye to The Coop

Today I am finally getting settled in at my new studio: The Treehouse at Sis and Moons, even though we officially opened on March 1^st.  It is an exciting time, but it was also sad to say goodbye to my previous studio: The Coop.  We have only moved about a mile up the road, and 16 of the 18 “Coop Chicks” made the move, so in many ways, not much has changed. 

We started with 8 “chicks” about a year ago on March 3, 2012.  Most of us had been painting together for years in classes or at each other’s houses.  It was such an exciting time – the thought of being able to paint together whenever we wanted, and to have our spaces all set up and ready to dive in and paint – no more toting of supplies – yay!  It always takes me a while to get settled in to paint, so this was a huge bonus.

When we started our little studio, we had no idea that it would turn out to be such a success.  By the end of 2012 we were up to 16 artists with two more on our waitlist.  Apparently there was a great need for the sense of community that a studio such as ours provides.

Unfortunately, The Coop that we called our home for almost a year turned out to be only a three-season place to “roost”.  Winter in 2012 was colder than we have had in a while, and The Coop lacked central heating and air.  We made a few great memories huddled all in one room with all the space heaters going and with curtains hung in doorways to lock in the heat.  But, after a few frozen pipes too many, we decided it was time to look for a new home. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.  While the Coop Chicks were dreaming of a warm place to roost, the owners of Sis and Moons were dreaming of filling a space next to their shop with artists working and selling their art and bringing the community together…The Treehouse at Sis and Moons was born.

Sis and Moons is the creation of two sisters, Chris Tamisin and Wendy Vogt.  They have created a beautiful, vintage-inspired shop in downtown Alpharetta on Historic Milton Avenue filled with handmade items from local artisans.   The Treehouse name was selected to pay tribute to their cousin, Brian Michael Fritz who passed away in 2008. Brian co-owned the Treehouse Gallery in Los Angeles.

You can access our studio through the Sis and Moons shop, or from our entrance off the parking lot behind Sis and Moons.  Just look for the yellow door.  Come and check it out…24 Milton Avenue…I am here most weekdays from 10:30 to 2:30, but you are welcome to come by anytime.

Painting for Fun

By Carole Drobes

Member Websites

See more of our artists' artworks on their individual websites:

• Jane Berke: http://www.janeberkeart.com/
• Jennifer Ferris: http://www.jenniferferrisart.com/
• Lorra Kurtz: http://www.lorrakurtz.com/
• Jennifer Slavik: www.jenniferslavik.com/

Great Food and Fun!

WoW! What a great group of talented artists. Thanks to Jane and Jennifer for keeping us organized. It was nice to see old faces and new. Lorra

Lunch and Meet and Greet today, August 15, 2012

Hey all artists/chicks!!
Great meeting today and great food!!

Thank you everyone for coming and for all the enthusiastic input. Hope to see everyone at the studio in the coming weeks.  Painted at the Coop last week...
Cheers,
Jane

The Chicks Encaustic Workshop

A few weeks ago, Kim, Jennifer and I took an encaustic workshop with Sherri Rae Broyles in Sandy Spring.  It was great to try and experiment with a new medium.  We learned that this requires an entirely different tool set – ventilation mask, masonite or wood cradle boards, plain wax, parafin (to clean brushes), demar (hardener), blow torch or heat gun.  To color the wax, you can use oil pastels, R & F Pigment sticks, oil sticks or oil paints.  You mix these in individual tins.  The great thing is that you can save the tins of color for another time.  You heat the tins on a big griddle.  The goal is to keep the colored wax at 180 degrees since wax gets toxic around 220 degrees.  The first step is to brush several clear coats on the board to achieve a smooth surface.  Then it is time to start layering, photo transferring, embedding, carving and more layering.  The more porous the materials you use the better.  Once you have completed the piece, you can use demar as a top coat.  It was a fun medium to learn although we just "scratched" the surface.  Thanks to Jennifer for organizing.

Lorra Kurtz

Thank you Jennifer!

A big Thank You to Jennifer for organizing & writing the agenda for our meeting today! I love painting at our Coop! My first painting at the Coop...Champagne Wardrobe!