WHAT'S NEW?

Just a quick post to point out some new additions to this blog. If you've visited before you can tell that I've worked on it...after all, it is Springtime in Texas! The Wildflowers are blooming, the sun is shining, the birds are singing!

FOLLOW THIS BLOG!
One feature (or widget, as it's called) that I've added is the "Follow This Blog" box. It's in the column on the right. Just scroll down a bit and you'll see it. I invite YOU to click on it so you'll know when I've posted something new here.

SUMMER ART CAMP LINK
At the top of the column to the right, you'll see a link to my Casa de Linda Classes page where you can read about the great Summer Art Camp 2010 I have scheduled. You can also download a brochure and registration forms from my website.

WILDFLOWER ART SLIDESHOW
Just for some eye candy, I've added a slideshow widget in the column to the right as well.

Remember, you can also sign up for my e-newsletter mailing list. It's free and be assured that I will never sell or knowingly share your address! Plus, you can unsubscribe at any time.

SUMMER ART CAMPS 2010 — NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS

The Casa de Linda Summer Art Camp 2010 schedule is ready! And I am so excited. This summer will feature new camps, new projects, and even three new instructors at Casa de Linda Art Studio in New Braunfels, Texas! More information below or you can go to my classes website and download a brochure.

NEW ART CAMPS FOR SUMMER 2010
Each year I try to offer something new while bringing back popular camps for years before and this year is no exception. So, what's new for 2010?
• For ages 5-9, we have 4 new camps plus we are repeating 4 of our most popular camps for past summers. The new camps are: "Monsters & Aliens," "Fun with Photos," "Little Princess," and "Let's Draw!" Returning camps are: "Prehistoric Times," "Creepy, Crawly Bugs," "Pets are our Pals!," and "Circus, Circus."
• For ages 8-13, we have 5 new camps and we are repeating 3 camps from previous years. New this summer are: "Basic Photography," "Advanced Photography," "Build it in 3-D," "Making Pictures 3-D," and "Advanced Drawing." Returning camps include: "Basic Drawing," "Girl Power!," and "Painting-Famous Artists."

ART CAMPS FOR TEENS AND ADULTS, TOO!
We are thrilled to include on the schedule this year 4 camps for the "big kids" (ages 14-adult). The offerings include a basic and advanced drawing and two painting camps, one on Texas landscapes and one on florals.

SUMMER ART CAMP INSTRUCTORS
I've decided to bring a few new people on board this year for the Summer Art Camp program. They are all accomplished artists and I am honored that they are sharing their expertise with our students this year. Here's a brief introduction:

MAREN PHILLIPS is an amazing artist well known for her portraits of dogs, hummingbirds, butterflies and people. Maren will be teaching basic and advanced drawing camps for ages 8-13 and for teens-adults. I've known Maren for almost 20 years and have been impressed with both her talent and her people skills. She has been teaching art at various venues for more than a decade, including three years with the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio as well as the North East Independent School District's Community Education program. You can read more about Maren and link to her various websites at www.marenartlines.com

PAM POHL is a extraordinary mixed media artist. Best known for her incredible press flower artworks, Pam started experimenting with acrylic abstracts and the use of gel mediums and clay to add texture to her paintings. Pam will be teaching camps in "Making Pictures 3_D" for ages 8-13 as well as a bug-themed and a dinosaur-themed camp for the younger children. While I had known Pam for sometime through our mutual membership in the New Braunfels Art League, I was able to get to know her better several years ago when I interviewed her for an article for the San Antonio Express-News (when I was still doing a lot of freelance writing). Pam enjoys talking with people, and especially children, about her art. Read more about Pam and see samples of her art on the New Braunfels Art League website.

DAVID JACOBSON may be a familiar name since he is my husband and business partner and you may have met him (or read his posts on this blog). If you live in the Canyon Lake, New Braunfels or Seguin area, you may know David for the talks he has given at libraries, garden clubs and even for the Master Gardeners on horticulture topics. But what you may not know about David is that he is an accomplished photographer. Hundreds of his photos of Canyon Lake, Canyon Gorge and scenes of the Texas Hill Country are hanging in homes and businesses throughout Comal County and beyond. He has been selected as the New Braunfels Art League Artist of the Month for April 2010 and a large selection of his photos will be on exhibit at the NBAL Gallery all month. David will be sharing his knowledge of the art of photography this summer as he teaches basic and advanced photography camps for ages 8-13. David is also the official photographer contracted to document the building of the new Tye Preston Memorial Library at Canyon Lake. You can see samples of David's work on the TPML website.

Of course, yours truly (Linda Calvert Jacobson) will be teaching again this summer! To read more about my life as an artist and see my online gallery, you can visit my website.

To read more about the Casa de Linda Summer Art Camp 2010 program, visit our website where you can download a brochure that includes a registration form. If you have questions, feel free to e-mail linda @ casadelinda(dot)com or call me at 830-624-5302.

Texas Wildflowers and St. Patrick's Day

I wrote this for my e-newsletter last week. I had so much positive feedback that I thought I'd post it to my blog for others to read. That's a photo of me taken on the farm where the Bluebonnets bloomed and, as you can see, so did the wild prickly poppies! Enjoy...

So you might be wondering: What do Texas Wildflowers, my art and St. Patrick's Day have in common? How could there be a connection?

To explain that, I need to tell you about my early years, growing up on a farm outside of Floresville, Texas, and a little about my dad.

In case you don't know, Floresville is located south of San Antonio and is believed to have been named for its early founders, the Flores family (who came here from the Canary Islands, but that's another story). But I always liked to think that it was a play on the Spanish term for flowers and was named for "town of flowers." Very appropriate, don't you think?

I am the youngest of four children and spent my childhood roaming the fields and creeks of our farm with my sister. I have many memories of coming across a bed of clover and looking for that elusive 4-leaf specimen. While Irish, that's not the real St. Patrick's Day connection that I'm writing about today.

My dad moved the family from Corpus Christi where he had a heavy equipment business and took up farming and ranching. He'd plan the crops, making use of the land, plowing under the weeds and grass as needed. There was, however, one corner of one field right at the front entrance of our farm that my dad did not plow under. And each Spring, Mother Nature provided the most glorious display of Texas Bluebonnets. Even so, I remember asking him one day why he did not plow that field. He told me that he liked the flowers.

Of course, this flew in the face of conventional farming wisdom of the time. It was the early 1960s and Texas was just emerging from a horrific drought from the previous decade. The neighboring farmers, no doubt, shook their heads in disbelief that my dad would prefer the wildflowers, which many considered to be nothing more than weeds, over a crop that would be harvested or, at least, baled into blocks of hay to feed the cattle.

About the time that the Bluebonnets would start to bloom in March was special in another way. My father was born on St. Patrick's Day. Not only did mid-March signal the start of Wildflower season, but it was also a time to celebrate my dad's birthday.

My father encouraged my art from a very early age and as I developed my skills in my teen years and into my early 20s, he became my biggest fan. He died a few days after his birthday almost 30 years ago. Not a St. Patrick's Day passes that I don't think of him. But more than that, I owe my love and appreciation for Wildflowers to this amazing man who was willing to let a field of weeds bloom, which created not only colorful childhood memories but influenced what would become my life's work decades later.

Thank you letting me share this little story with you today. Happy Wildflower Season and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wildflower Days at the Wildflower Center!

The temperature is rising, the native grasses are greening and the wildflowers are growing and starting to share their joyful beauty. This can mean only one thing that spring is almost upon us in Central Texas and the Wildflower Center’s annual Artists and Artisans Festival 2010 is close at hand. The show is this coming weekend March 13 and 14. The Festival hours are Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday it opens at noon and goes to 5 p.m. This annual event brings together an amazing array of artists from throughout the region offering their latest artistic creations. I have shown here for several years and always enjoy being a part of this wonderful event that kicks off the Wildflower Days at the center.

Dalhart Windberg will be on hand Saturday afternoon to sign his latest spring print. Shou Ping will be there too from 1-3 p.m. to share insights into her incredible 3-D paper sculpture on display at the McDermott Learning Center. On Sunday Julia Webber will be signing the official 2010 Wildflower Days art print and T-shirt.

Bill Brockmeier, a dear friend and incredible photographer of panoramic photos, joins in the fun this year as one of the displaying artists. With over 20 artists in the Fest you are sure to find a treasured piece of art that will just have to come home with you or share as a gift!

I’ve been busy creating new wildflower paintings and I have a new line of colorful wildflower mugs that I feel are sure to please along with coasters, keepsake boxes, note cards and other great items, all in my signature wildflower style! Join us if you are in the area or check me out online at CasaDeLinda.com.

Wildflower Painting to Receive Award

Linda’s husband David filling in for her. Just a quick note that Linda is set to receive an award for one of her two entries in the “Art in Bloom” Show at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery tonight. The gallery is hosting a reception tonight from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M. and the award ceremony will begin at 6:30 P.M. Linda was notified a few days ago and does not know which of the two paintings won an award or what the award is yet. We do know that either Crimson Tapestry or Joy Filled Spring will be the winner of an award in the oil, acrylic and mix media category. We invite anyone that can attend tonight to join us at 239 W. San Antonio in beautiful downtown New Braunfels. The Art in Bloom show opened March 2nd and runs through April 6th so if you can’t make it tonight you have the rest of the month to see two of Linda’s newest artworks. I will update this post after we find out more about the award this evening. The events get more prolific as we move into spring. Next weekend we will be at the Wildflower Center in Austin. I will get you all the information on that show this weekend. It looks to be a great year for wildflowers indoors and out!