The Alchemy of Transformation:
Encaustic, Fabric, Stains & Paint with Natural Processes & Materials
A CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH LORRAINE GLESSNER & BRENDA HOWELL, TEACHING ASSISTANT
Experience is never limited and it is never complete; it is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spiderweb of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness and catching every airborne particle in its tissue.
— Henry James
JUNE 23-27, 2025 AT LAREAU INN & FARM, WAITSFIELD, VERMONT
Limited to 10 participants
Ready to transform the mundane into the extraordinary and challenge convention? Using raw, disparate materials while drawing on the fertile land of Vermont, participants explore creating patterns on fabric or paper with the ephemeral beauty of, Shibori (Japanese tie-dye), and flowers and botanicals. Participants will also experiment with several ways to scorch and brand wood or paper and embed carbon and soils, further capturing the essence of decay, alchemy and transformation of the earth. Utilizing the printed fabrics and papers as grounds, participants are encouraged to expand on their ideas with mark-making and collage. These unconventional techniques and materials add a touch of rawness and unpredictability to the work, echoing the ever-changing nature of the Vermont landscape.
**Please note that participants should be prepared to spend time outside as well as in the studio. Any participant unable to take part in the outdoor activities are welcome to opt out and alternative indoor creative exercises will be provided.
Retreat Information
-
The Retreat fee includes accommodations for 4 nights at Lareau Inn, daily breakfast and lunch, one dinner, daily afternoon snacks and first night orientation, plus most workshop materials. A list of available rooms with links to images is listed on each of the Retreat pages below.
-
$2500 Per person includes all of the above accommodations, food, snacks, most workshop materials and FUN.
Payment of 50% of the workshop fee ($1250 if paying via check or Venmo, $1294 if paying via Paypal is due at the time of registration with the remaining 50% ($1150) due approximately 6 weeks before the workshop date. Please contact Lorraine for payment details.
Not Interested in Lareau Inn Accommodations, breakfast or lunch?
$1400 includes workshop fee and most materials.
-
Registration Instructions if staying at Lareau Inn:
1. Review the list of available rooms below and choose your room-each is linked to images and a brief description.
2. DO NOT book your room from the Lareau Inn web site. All rooms have already been booked in advance for our Retreats.
3. Contact Lorraine via email with the name of the room you’d like to book and for payment details.
-
Please Note Although the workshop continues through Friday, you must check out of Lareau Inn on Friday morning. If you would like to stay in the area Friday evening or beyond, there are many places in the town of Waitsfield and in nearby Stowe as well as Additional Accommodations in Waitsfield (see menu item below).
-
Available at Waitsfield Inn and Featherbed Inn which are within one mile of Lareau Inn.
Please Note Although the workshop continues through Friday, you must check out of Lareau Inn on Friday morning. If you would like to stay in the area Friday evening or beyond, there are many places in the town of Waitsfield and in nearby Stowe.
-
In the event that you need to cancel your workshop, please notify Lorraine via email.
Cancelations made 30 days or more from the workshop start date will be refunded their deposit (minus $100 processing fee).
Cancelations made 30 days or less from the workshop start date will be refunded their deposit (minus $100 processing fee) only if the space can be filled. If the space cannot be filled, no refund will be issued.
In this circumstance, a credit of 50% of the deposit may be applied to another Vermont Retreat Only. The other 50% of the deposit will not be credited or refunded.
Itinerary & Materials
-
Monday 6-9pm Orientation
Tuesday-Friday, 9am-4:00pm Workshop Hours
Tuesday-Thursday, 6:00-9pm optional night studio hours
*NOTE* A Detailed Daily Itinerary including optional evening activities is emailed to participants a few weeks before the Retreat start date.
Monday 6-9pm Orientation
Meet & Greet Wine, Cheese, Snacks and Smores by the Lareau Farm Fire Pit & a short demonstration/activity to get started on our art-making.Tuesday 9-4:00 Workshop, 6:00-9:00pm Optional Night Studio
We will hit the ground running with a demonstration and samples sharing discussion of Shibori (Japanese tie-dye) and eco-printing, as well as aspects of the environment that may be recorded while outdoors. After the demo, we will begin to tie and lay out our fabrics and papers to create our first samples. Lorraine will lead a short hike to begin our first day of experiencing the land, brief meditation, breathing, listening, drawing, journaling, as well as collecting inspiration and materials suitable for brush making. Back at the studio is a focus on translating our gathered information using pyrography, scorching and painting with walnut ink, handmade brushes and found objects on wood, paper and fabric. The rest of the afternoon is devoted to refining drawings, free painting time and inspiration gathering through individual discussions with Lorraine and Brenda.Wednesday 9-4:00 Workshop, 6:00-9:00pm Optional Night Studio
We will begin with an exciting morning of unwrapping our eco-prints-this is like unwrapping a long awaited gift! Lorraine will demonstrate covering a board with fabric or paper to ready it for encaustic painting as well as a brief discussion of texture using carbon powder, encaustic and stencils as well as composition-how one might go about responding to these dramatic natural patterns with content and sensitivity. The rest of the morning is devoted to free work time experimenting with the new techniques, creating additional fabric samples and expanding on your encaustic paintings. Continuing individual discussions with Brenda and Lorraine.After lunch, we will discuss interesting ways to add personal marks to our encaustic paintings using alternative drawing media. The rest of the afternoon is devoted to free work time and individual discussions with Lorraine and Brenda.
Thursday 9-4:00 Workshop, 6:00-9:00pm Optional Night Studio
After a morning demonstration of basic encaustic collage, more mark-making, content and composition discussions, we will continue with uninterrupted work time to further explore the layering and printing of natural materials in combination with encaustic, collage and mark-making to build a series that expresses your personal connection to natural elements and the landscape at large.Take the rest of the afternoon to experiment with marks, make studies, ask questions, request informal demos, take some time to peruse books and continue with individual discussions with Brenda and Lorraine.
Early evening work in progress show and tell and group dinner.
Friday 9:00am-1:00pm Workshop
Morning work time to complete projects, look at books, journal your thoughts and continue individual mentoring with Lorraine and Brenda. Lunch, clean up and good-byes. -
• All encaustic paints, encaustic medium, tools and equipment
• A variety of pigment sticks
• Sumi ink & other misc. drawing media
• Misc. drawing papers
• Paper towels/rags
• Extra encaustic brushes
• Stencils and other textures
• Misc. collage materials
• All dye equipment, steel, copper, solutions
• Textile soap
• Flowers & plants suitable for eco-printing
-
The following is a list of materials to bring to the Retreat—Visit Lorraine’s Amazon Store for Art Supply/Portable Art Supply Ideas
• Sharp scissors for cutting fabric (small to mid-size is best for cutting tight areas)
• 1 yard, even-weave, white or light colored natural fabric for rust printing, dyeing and painting. RTD or PFD fabrics are preferred and are available from dharmatrading.com. Fabrics from dharma that are suitable for this class are White 8mm silk habotai OR 10mm silk habotai OR The Cotton Print Cloth. As an alternative, you may also bring an old cotton bedsheet, doily or T-shirt—something cotton that has been washed many times. Please do not bring fabrics from fabric stores, they have chemicals and sizing that will interfere with your dyes.
• Watercolor or Mixed Media sketchbook (lay flat, size 9 x 12 or 11×14, heavy stock to withstand wet media, encaustic sketching-at least 117 lb or above)
• 1-2 drawing media of your choice in black or earth tones (pencil, pastel, conte charcoal, oil pastel, Crayon, graphite, Sharpie felt pen, etc.)
• 1-2 water based drawing media of your choice black or earth tones (Small, portable watercolor set, India ink, walnut ink or India ink pen, Tombow markers, artgraf water soluble graphite, Stabilo Woody or All-pencil, etc.)
• Closed toe shoes for safety in the studio
• 3-5 hake or hog’s bristle natural hair brushes in 1-2 inch sizes for encaustic painting (1 brush will be designated your medium brush, so it must be free of color if you are bringing used brushes)
• Materials for collage (fabric, papers, magazine images, photos, etc.)
• 4-6 wooden painting panels (your preference of 8×8 or 10×10 or 12×12, but no larger or smaller, please)
Optional Materials
Smock, any encaustic paint color or pigment stick color you favor, Iwatani torch with extra butane, any tool or material for any technique that you normally employ while working with encaustic, textured objects and/or sharp ended tool for pressing into/incising/writing/drawing into wax, flat edge Catalyst wedge, silicone tipped clay tools or Catalyst tools, 1-2 inspiring books to share with the class, sweatshirt or sweater for chilly evenings and mornings, head lamp or battery operated desk lamp. If you would like to share your current work with Brenda or Lorraine, bring 2-4 actual OR images of your work, digital prints or phone/iPad sharing is fine. -
Sturdy hiking shoes/boots
Small waterproof cushion or portable chair
Small backpack
Comfortable clothing
Light rainwear
Hat
Water bottle
For art supply/portable art supply/hiking or travel ideas, visit Lorraine’s Amazon Store
About Lorraine & Brenda
Brenda Howell has explored her passion for color, texture and beauty through different materials and mediums. Her desire is to produce beauty but not in the traditional sense. Attracted to the quirky and overlooked she uses anything discarded yet lovely --rust, old books, burned wood, nails.... These unconventional materials are the basis for her encaustic paintings, sculptures and installations. Brenda has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and has taken coursework at Temple University, Tyler School of Art.Her work has been included in juried exhibitions throughout Pennsylvania and New Mexico and is included in public and private collections. She is a member of Artessa Alliance, InLiquid, DaVinci Art Alliance and the Cheltenham Center for the Arts. Brenda lives and maintains a studio in Philadelphia, PA
Lorraine is a former Assistant Professor at Tyler School of Art (2003-2016), a workshop instructor and an award-winning artist. She has a diverse art background with skills that include painting, sculpture, photography and digital imaging. Recent professional achievements include curating, With Wax: Materiality & Mixed Media in Encaustic at Chester County Art Association in West Chester, PA, a Grand Prize Award from the show (re)Building, Atlantic Gallery, New York, NY and a recently appointed position as an Artist Instructor at R&F Paints. Her work is exhibited locally and nationally in galleries, museums, craft centers, universities, Fine Art Shows and more. Lorraine brings to her teaching a strong interdisciplinary approach, mixed with a balance of concept, process, experimentation and discovery.
Website
Instagram
Gallery
Please enjoy these images of artwork and fun scenes from recently taught workshops and retreats similar to this one
