Altars & Amulets

Conjuring Meaningful, Magical Objects from Everyday Materials

An online hands-on creative workshop with Sara Saltee and Melissa West

April 5, 12, & 13
10 am - 1 pm PDT
Online via Zoom

$275

Sign up below to attend the
FREE introductory session
March 22, 10 - 10:30 am PDT

• Meet Sara and Melissa

• Learn a little bit of the history of altars and amulets

• Find out more about what to expect from the Altars and Amulets workshop

• Registrants will also receive the session recording.

Sara Saltee grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she absorbed the rich cultural mix of Mexican, Anglo, and Indigenous cultural traditions. She was particularly taken by the Mexican folk art traditions of nichos and retablos, and learned to savor the smell of roasting green chiles and the sight of brightly colored hot air balloons against a crisp blue sky.

Sara started making her own shrines and altars in 1999 as part of a self-designed program of recovery from academia, and she’s never looked back. Each of her one-of-a-kind art boxes brings together Sara’s crow-like love of shiny objects with her poetic and philosophical sensibility to express themes of nurturance, creativity, freedom, and the Feminine.

Today, her assemblages are shown at the Rob Schouten Gallery in Langley, Washington and at art fairs on and near her home base of Whidbey Island.

Melissa West is a 13th gen New Orleanian: gumbo, voodoo, and magic run wilder than the Mississippi through her veins. She grew up surrounded by shrines and altars and magical objects, accompanying her mama to the St. Christopher shrine before trips and the St. Jude shrine when all hope was lost. Her family threw French bread crusts—blessed by the Archbishop at a St. Joseph’s Day altar—up on the roof before hurricanes to protect home and family (it worked!).

She retains a deep love for altars, amulets, and magic. At last count Melissa has more than a dozen altars throughout her home and garden, and she always wears a secret amulet or two around her neck.

This New Orleans magic has deeply influenced her dollmaking and painting through her adult life.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:

In this 3-day hands-on workshop, you’ll create a 3-dimensional collage, shrine, or shadow box that expresses something meaningful to you.

• Discover the diverse styles and fascinating history of shrine-making and assemblage art

• Play with paper, paint, glue, random ephemera, natural bits and shiny things

• Experiment with layering techniques

• Delve into the wonderful world of glues

• Meet amazing people, and...

• Get your creative juices flowing!

• NO SPECIAL SKILLS OR ART EXPERIENCE REQUIRED - JUST A WILLINGNESS TO GET MESSY AND EXPERIMENT WILDLY

You Bring:

• A box to build your assemblage in. (Great options include: cigar boxes, small dresser or jewelry-box drawers, pre-made craft-store shadow boxes, etc.)

• Any special objects, photos, or ephemera you want to incorporate in your piece.

• Any materials you want to swap or share with others.

I Provide: Everything else! Including: glues, paints, papers, ephemera, glitter, etc. I pretty much put my whole stash out there for you to pick through!

About the Studio: We’ll meet at a delightful, homey private studio on South Whidbey Island. (Address provided when you register.)

After you register: You'll receive an email with further details and suggestions for things to think about as you prepare for the workshop.

SIGN UP NOW! - Group size is limited to 9. If you get a message that the session you want is full, please email Sara to be put on a waitlist.

QUESTIONS? Please Email Sara

FEES:
$300.00 (most materials included)
*Contact Sara to arrange a payment plan if that helps make it possible for you to participate!