TraillWorks: The Art of Jennie Traill Schaeffer
  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • TeaScapes
    • Take a Seat
    • Garden Watercolors
    • Kitchen Gods
    • Apron Strings
    • Red Carpet Icons
    • Optimism
    • Scapes
    • Portraits
  • Store
    • ARTaments
    • Dog Portraits
    • Garden Watercolors
    • Get Jennie To Houston
    • Gift Cards
    • Home Decor
    • Note Cards
    • Prints
    • Take a Seat
    • TeaScapes
    • Yoga Mats
    • SHIPPING & RETURNS
  • Commissions
    • Dog Portraits
    • Wedding Cake Portraits
    • ARTaments
    • How to Commission a Work
  • About
    • Exhibits & Events
    • Newsletter
    • Resume
    • Statement
    • Press
    • Contact
  • Create
    • Art Lesson Interest Survey
    • Art Coaching >
      • Online Class Policies
    • Outdoor Art Classes
    • Student Gallery
    • Testimonials
    • Workshops >
      • Serene Strokes: Virtual Watercolor Class
      • Workshop Policies
  • Blog

   The Teaching Artist
"You teach best what you most need to learn." Richard Bach

Sales Supporting WNC - Extended

10/2/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

I'm sure by now you've seen and heard about the devastation that Helene left in the mountains of North Carolina. While Durham, my hometown, was relatively unscathed, the destruction felt very close to home. mountains have been etched into my heart. In the short three years we've lived in Durham, we've visited Asheville, Hendersonville, Boone, Beech Mountain, Banner Elk, Black Mountain, Canton, Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. We've sent our oldest to camp just west of Asheville, north of route 40. We've ventured out for weekend trips for our son's mountain biking competitions with NCNICA, I've been out in the Black Mountain area for an artist retreat, and most recently took my first camping trip to Catawba Falls with my son.  None have been tremendously long stays, but the landscape in WNC is so vastly different from the Poconos of my youth. It's breathtaking in a way that jolts you - it's dramatic, steep, and surprising. It's a place we long to go - especially living in the heat of Durham - to get cooler temperatures and landscapes vastly different from the Piedmont where we live. 

Now, it's changed. Chimney Rock is mostly gone. Lake Lure is filled with debris. The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge has been hugely compromised. The campground that I stayed at with my son was highly devastated.  People are still cut off and isolated, without power, and basic needs. Many are without homes, and many have lost loved ones. I've been watching artists with total losses of studio space and decades of work. And, there's so much more. 

I've already made a small donation to the NC Artists Disaster Relief Fund, but have been watching to see how else and to whom I'd like to support. The trouble is there is so much need, and my family right now is not in a position financially to support, nor can we spend time volunteering at the moment. So without further delaying, I have two ways I can help through TraillWorks:

  1. Extended through October, 25% of any sales of my artwork or classes through TraillWorks will go to relief efforts. I'm going to split the donations to the NC Artists Disaster Relief Fund and Triangle Mutual Aid. 
  2. If you are looking for reliable resources to donate directly to - please visit this live GoogleSheet. I discovered this last week on a reliable group (though I can't recall where) and have seen many of these organizations mentioned. It's very comprehensive, and is constantly being updated.

Why NC Artists Disaster Relief Fund? Artists have been highly impacted, both in Asheville specific and surrounding towns. NC Artists Disaster Relief is an independent charity that spun off from a support group for the NC Arts Council in 2022. According to their site, . . . "the Arts Council remains an important partner, our administrative costs are not funded with state or federal grants, and we collaborate with many organizations and individuals that help us achieve our mission." Very early on, NC Artists Disaster Relief mobilized to start a fund for Helene. 

I also chose Triangle Mutual Aid because of their early support with boots on the ground gathering of supplies in the Triangle area. They are an approved organization and are still actively gathering donations and have the support of many local businesses as donation points including ArtPost in Durham, and Maverick's Smokehouse in partnership with Triangle Mutual Aid is now actively seeking clothing donations for the cold weather impending on the region.  
Collect Art
Create Art

​However and in whatever capacity you choose to help, it's greatly appreciated! Taking a seat right now in the mountains is probably a luxury. I hope that I can help even in small ways to get more to be able to do that. See a few photos below of some of my travels to the mountains: 
Picture
Jennie at the Flowering Bridge in 2022 on Lake Lure
Picture
Jennie's husband and son playing mini golf in Chimney Rock village by the Broad River. The mini golf course is gone and the Broad River Inn is covered with 2' of mud.
Picture
Jennie at Catawba Falls, August 2024 which is temporarily closed.
Picture
Unfinished watercolor sketch of Catawba Falls, painted on location.
Picture
Sunrise from Catawba Falls Campground. They are closed and highly impacted by Helene.
0 Comments

Help me get to NOAHCon

9/24/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

I'm thrilled to share that I've been offered a partial scholarship to fund my attendance at the National Organization for Arts in Health's 8th Annual Convention. What did you say? This is an interesting story - I've been following the movement of social prescribing and arts, healing, and loneliness since becoming more active on LinkedIn. I learned about NOAH, which was founded in 2016, but has roots going back to 1989 in Durham. Through this discovery, I've also started networking with another teaching artist, Beth Palmer, who was involved in their early years and lives in Durham. She and I have been talking about attending NOAH's conference this year and she encouraged me to apply for a scholarship.

GOOD NEWS! I was accepted, partially. Which means, I will owe $120 out of the $680 that includes the two-day conference, as well as a virtual day in November. However, that expense doesn't include airfare, lodging, meals, and other transportation and events. I already have a gracious aunt offering me flight miles to get me to and from Houston. I'm estimating it will cost me an added $800 out of pocket which includes the scholarship balance, an extra out of pocket hotel night, food and transportation expenses. 

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS TRIP which will undoubtedly enrich my teaching, allow me to network with teaching artists, health professionals, and other stakeholders in arts and healing, and ultimately find new avenues to support healing through my business? Timing is of the essence, because I need to tell NOAH by 9/26 if I'm attending or not. So, I need to raise $800 in 24 hours essentially. You can help me, and I'll reward you with gifts! And, of course, I'll come back with lessons and ideas to share. 

Read More
0 Comments

Sketchbook Philosophy - Just 10 Minutes

1/18/2024

2 Comments

 
Picture
In an effort to build consistency in making and open up some playful exploration I've decided to dedicate a newly gifted sketchbook to 10-minute daily sketches. It’s a beautifully constructed book by SugarBoo & Co., comprised of handmade paper signatures, bound with leather and embossed with a quote by E.B. White. 

The quote by E.B. White reads: “I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.” If you know me, this is fitting at times, and aspirational. 

I felt it too important not to waste the book, despite having other sketchbooks in progress, to set it aside until the others were full. I’m allowing this book to be a place of openness and play, not restricting media or subjects, to see what emerges. I'm finding some surprises and challenges with the paper, but it was the perfect blank slate from which to begin this practice.
Picture
The sketches began in pencil, and once I landed on the 10-minute framework, I quickly jumped from observational to a journaling, memory style sketch. I was enjoying this but also frustrated with how much the graphite was smudging, so it pushed me into trying different media, including wet media. 
Picture
Picture
You can see some of the ghost marks of the smeared graphite above. I actually do like to smear and shade my work, but in these drawings I was finding it frustrating. 
Picture
So this day I worked in watersoluble crayon and some colored pencil. It's definitely not mixed media paper, so I again felt somewhat frustrated, but equally enjoying brushing the medium on the paper. Additionally, the 10-minute time frame I used as a minimal guideline, so when I'm tired it feels achievable. ​In this case, I went over the limit. 
Picture
So I shifted again and worked in pigmented pen, ballpoint pen and marker. I'm just allowing the subject matter to shift with what's coming up for me when I sit down to draw.
Picture
I was tired and uncertain what to draw. I grabbed some swatches from a bedroom painting project and collaged them onto the surface, also noticing the marker seeping through the front and allowing the drawing to work with that as a palimpsest. 
Picture
And then I found my way back to landscape of North Carolina, along with the markers, the pens, the colored pencils and my brushes. And then the chair returned, which is the focus of the first painting above. 
Picture
While my first reaction to the paper was frustration, I think due to the learning curve on a new surface, I quickly adapted and have found that I love the feeling of the dampened paper, heavily worked and showing through the backside. Those impressions are adding texture and depth to the drawings in a way I hadn't considered. I'm due for day 16 already - I started on the 2nd of January and I did allow for a missed day, so long as I picked it back up again. 

Curious to see more? Follow along on Threads, or in my stories on Instagram.
​More depth can be found by subscribing to my newsletter. 

Have Questions? Drop a comment and I'll respond!

Love this? Please share with credit to me for my work.

2 Comments

September Virtual Art Residency Recap 2023

10/5/2023

0 Comments

 

Hemming and Hawing

September is a very full month if you're a parent with kids on a traditional school year calendar. This September was especially full, given two new schools for my 5th and 9th grade sons. As an artist mother, I was embarking on the decision whether to participate in the Thrive Together Network's bi-annual virtual artist residency, I was fearful it would be too much. 

Read More
0 Comments

Dog Days of Summer - Commissions Open

7/28/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
I'm thrilled to announce that I'm opening up dog portrait commissions again and supporting the Animal Protection Society of Durham during the month of August. In reviewing my history of making dog portraits, I recognized that I was building momentum in creating more portraits just prior to the Pandemic. With my relocation to NC, I've completed a couple, but haven't been able to promote them. My studio is almost 100% finished (enough that it is operable) and the renovations in our home are complete. Now, as we move into the Dog Days of Summer, I'm ready to officially open them up and donate 10% of the profits of all booked portraits to APS. 
Picture
Young Ringo, Oil Pastel, Cardboard, 2007
I've been making dog portraits since we rescued our first dog, Ringo, back in 2007. It started with just an oil pastel of him, roughly drawn on cardboard. I adore that drawing and have a dedicated spot in our powder room. At some point when I ran my studio/gallery in Newton, NJ, I began accepting dog portrait commissions, with one of the first subjects coming in for a photo shoot:​

Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    Jennie Traill Schaeffer

    Deemed the Kitchen God's Artist by NJ Savvy Living for my sainted appliances, I'm now known more for my vibrant, meditational paintings of chairs set surprisingly in landscapes. Since relocating to NC from NJ,  mothering my two sons, and caring for our rescue pup, Cider, took the lead. Now, that my Durham home studio is renovated it's open again for virtual art coaching and the resumption of my personal art and commissions. The work I make is inspired by my joy of teaching, exploring nature, and traveling. On The Teaching Artist Blog, I share my approach to teaching and educate my readers about my creative process.

    RSS Feed

    Join my VIPs for First Dibs

    WORKSHOPS

    Picture
    Red River Paper Logo

    Archives

    October 2024
    September 2024
    January 2024
    October 2023
    July 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    October 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Picture
    Want to read more from the past? Click here to read archived blog posts from my previous blog on Blogger. 

    Categories

    All
    10th Anniversary Gift
    2016 Calendar
    2016 Original Fine Art Calendars
    914Works
    Adult Art Classes
    Adult Art Lessons
    AEDM2015
    Agrotourism
    Amira Rahim
    Amy Poehler
    Anniversary Gifts
    Appliance Portraits
    Aprons
    #ARTaments
    Art And Brain Research
    Art And Fear
    Art And Healing
    Art And Motherhood
    Art And Travel
    Art Biz
    Art Calendar
    Art Centre At Riker Hill
    Art Challenge
    Art Collecting
    Art Collectors
    Art Demonstration
    Art Education
    Art Exhibit
    Art Exhibitions
    Art Fairs
    Art For A Cause
    Art For Everyone
    Art For Sale
    Art For Sale By Artist
    #Artful2016
    Artful Gifts
    Art Homes
    Artisan Jewelry
    Artistic Homes
    Artistic Yoga Mats
    Artist Mom
    Artist Mother
    Artist Motherhood
    Artist Mother Network
    Artist Mother Retreat
    Artists
    Artists Signatures
    Artist's Studio
    Artists Studio Tour
    Artists Sunday
    Artist Statement
    Art Lessons
    Art & Light Gallery
    ArtoberNJ
    ArtPost
    Arts Council Of Livingston
    Art Show Display
    Art Studio
    Arts Unbound
    Art Travel
    Art Workshops
    Association Of Teaching Artists
    Auggie
    Ball Jars
    Beach Plum Farm
    Beth Palmer
    Black Lives Matter
    Blueberries
    Bookmaking
    Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
    Brooklyn Botanical Garden
    Cake Paintings
    Calendars For A Cause
    Canvas Art Prints
    Cape May
    Changing Your Name After Marriage
    Charitable Giving
    Chelsea Galleries
    Chocolate Cake
    Christmas Ornaments
    Codex
    Coffee
    Collage
    Commissioned Art
    Contemporary Art
    Contemporary Landscape
    Contemporary Watercolor
    Coworking Space
    Creative Everyday
    Creative Idea Management
    Creative Moms
    Creativity
    Crock Pot
    Custom Art
    Custom Gifts
    Dachshunds
    Dale Chihuly
    David Sandum
    Desktop Calendar Wallpaper
    Dessert
    Dining For Women
    Dog Portraits
    Donation
    Dragonflies
    Drawing
    Drawing Tools
    Drawing Workshop
    Durham
    Durham Animal Rescue
    Durham Artist
    Durham Arts
    Durham Arts Council
    Durham Art Walk
    Egg Cooker
    Empire State Building
    End The Stigma
    Eno River
    Eric Booth
    Escoda Brushes
    Essex County
    Essex County Department Of Parks
    Essex County Parks
    Feeding America
    Feminism
    Figurative Art
    Fine Art
    Fine Art America
    Fine Art Prints
    Firehouse Gallery
    Floral Painting
    Food Art
    Foster Pride NYC
    Found Object Art
    Free Artists Monthly Calendars
    Friends Of Anderson Park Montclair
    Gelato
    Gender Equality
    George Billis Gallery
    Geothermal Art
    Geyser Art
    Giclee
    Gifts For Art Lovers
    GiveOrSave
    Giving Tuesday
    Goal Setting
    Greenville
    Gregory School
    Handalas
    Handmade Books
    Handmade By Foster Pride
    Handmade Pottery
    Hand Painted Ornaments
    Hand-painted Ornaments
    Hat City Kitchen
    Heather Funk Photography
    Hermitage Handmade Festival
    Holiday Market
    Home Art Studio
    Honey Cake
    Ice Cream Scoop
    Image Transfer
    Inclusive Calendar
    Instagram Giveaway
    INT-O Yellow
    IPhone Art Cases
    Isha Setia
    Jars Of Optimism
    Jennie Traill Schaeffer
    Jerome Witkin
    Jerry's Artist Outlet
    Jersey Blueberries
    JESPY House
    Jill Allyn Stafford
    John Belingheri
    Josette Urso
    Kathryn Markel Fine Arts
    Katrina Berg
    Keepsake Ornaments
    Kids
    Kindergarten Art
    Kitchen Aid Mixer
    Kitchen Artwork
    Kitchen God's Artist
    Kitchen Gods Artist
    La La Land
    Leah Piken Kolidas
    Learn To Draw
    Lee Seidenberg
    Lenka Clayton
    Loose Watercolor
    Louse Bogan
    Lucy Boland
    Luna Parc
    Made In NJ
    Madison NJ
    Mandalas
    Maplewood
    Maplewood Art & Music Walk
    Maplewood Memorial Library
    Maplewood NJ
    Marcia Le Beau
    Martha Traill Schaeffer
    Masconsumption
    Mason Jars
    Mental Health
    Mental Health Association Of Essex And Morris
    M.Graham
    M. Graham Watercolors
    MHA NJ
    Mindfulness
    Miscarriage
    Mixed Media
    Modern Heirloom
    Modern Watercolor
    Mompreneur
    Montclair Art Museum
    Mother Artist
    Mother Daughter Exhibit
    Mothers Day
    Mothers Day Gifts
    Muse
    Nancy Bossert
    National Organization For Arts In Health
    NC
    NC Artist
    NC Artists Disaster Relief Fund
    New Art
    New Jersey
    New Year Goals
    NJ
    NJ Art Classes
    NJ Artist
    NJ Arts
    NJ Arts Scene
    NJ Day Trips
    NJ Makers Day
    NOAH
    North Carolina Artist
    November
    NY
    NYC
    Oasis NJ
    Oceanic Free Library
    Oh Canary
    Oil Painting
    Oil Paints
    Optimism
    Orange
    Original Art
    PA Artist
    Painted Tiles
    Painting
    Painting Flowers In Watercolor
    Paintings Of Cakes
    Painting Without Solvents
    Paint The Town Yellow
    Passion Planner
    Pearls
    Peggy Pardon
    Peg Williams Gallery
    Periscope
    Personal Landscapes
    Peters Valley
    Photorealism
    Plein Air
    Plein Air Event
    Pocket Gallery Raleigh
    Portfolio Development
    Portraits
    Postcard Art
    Pregnancy
    Press
    Princeton Brushes
    #PVTeaPainting
    Raleigh Artists
    Raleigh Durham Arts
    Randyland
    Recreation And Cultural Affairs
    Red Carpet
    Red Carpet Icons
    Rescue Dogs
    Richard Bach
    Riker Hill Art Park
    Robert Simmons Brushes
    Rumson NJ
    Samar Hussaini
    Sarah Canfield
    Sarah Hotchkiss
    Sarah Irvin
    Save The Children
    SC
    Sculpture
    Sew Leana
    Silver Brush Company
    Sketchbook
    Small Art
    Small Group
    Social Prescribing
    Solo Show
    SOMA Studio Tour
    Sophie Severn
    Southern Artists
    South Mountain Convervancies
    South Mountain Reservation
    South Orange
    Spartanburg
    Sterling Silver Jewelry
    Sterling Silver Spoon
    Still Life
    Still Life Paintings
    Stonehenge Aqua
    Student Art
    Studio Montclair
    Studio On The 3rd Floor
    Studio Organization
    Studio Sale
    Studio Storage
    Superhero Book
    Support Artist Pledge
    Syracuse
    Syracuse University
    Take A Seat
    Taking Up Space
    #takingupspace2022
    Tea
    Teaching Artist
    TeaScapes
    Teen Art Classes
    The Creative Independent
    The Loveland Foundation
    Therapy Fund
    The Trevor Project
    Thrive Together Network
    Tips
    Tony Lordi
    Tony Lordi Empire
    TraillWorks
    TraillWorks Lessons
    TraillWorks Yoga Mat
    Triangle Artist
    Triangle Mutual Aid
    Trygve Lie Gallery
    Tween Art Classes
    #TwitterArtExhibit
    UMEWE
    Uncle Riley
    Unique Gifts
    Unique Stocking Stuffers
    Utah
    Valentines Day Gifts
    Valley Arts
    Valley Arts District
    Vintage
    Vintage Cars
    Virtual Art Residency
    Visionary Art
    Visionary Homes
    Visual Arts Center Of NJ
    Vulnerability
    Watercolor
    Watercolor Artist
    Watercolor Class
    Watercolor Classes
    Watercolor Florals
    Watercolor Lessons
    Watercolor Painting
    Watercolor Techniques
    Watercolor Workshop
    Watercolor Yoga Mat
    Wedding Cake
    Wedding Cake Portraits
    Wedding Gifts
    Wedding Memories
    Weddings
    West Orange
    West Orange Artist
    West Orange Arts
    West Orange Arts Council
    West Orange Public LIbrary
    Wildly Floral
    WNC
    WNC Disaster Relief
    Womb Chair
    Women
    Women Artists
    Women In Art
    Women In Art 278
    Work And Play
    Yellowstone Art Museum
    Yellowstone Forever
    Yoga
    Yoga Mat
    Yoga Watercolor Paintings

    Follow
    Blog Directory & Business Pages - OnToplist.com

© 2020-2024 TraillWorks
Studio on the 3rd Floor
Durham, NC

Want to Schedule a Studio Visit? email [email protected]
Photos of Jennie by Kat Dela Cruz , Jim Horton, Auggie Goldberg and Jennie Traill Schaeffer. 
  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • TeaScapes
    • Take a Seat
    • Garden Watercolors
    • Kitchen Gods
    • Apron Strings
    • Red Carpet Icons
    • Optimism
    • Scapes
    • Portraits
  • Store
    • ARTaments
    • Dog Portraits
    • Garden Watercolors
    • Get Jennie To Houston
    • Gift Cards
    • Home Decor
    • Note Cards
    • Prints
    • Take a Seat
    • TeaScapes
    • Yoga Mats
    • SHIPPING & RETURNS
  • Commissions
    • Dog Portraits
    • Wedding Cake Portraits
    • ARTaments
    • How to Commission a Work
  • About
    • Exhibits & Events
    • Newsletter
    • Resume
    • Statement
    • Press
    • Contact
  • Create
    • Art Lesson Interest Survey
    • Art Coaching >
      • Online Class Policies
    • Outdoor Art Classes
    • Student Gallery
    • Testimonials
    • Workshops >
      • Serene Strokes: Virtual Watercolor Class
      • Workshop Policies
  • Blog