“As an artist I am an explorer and observer first. I like to wander and wonder, let things percolate while I ponder. I have numerous sketchbooks full of chicken scratch drawings and cryptic thoughts. Over time (and often during a long hot shower) an idea will keep rising to the surface, I might even push that thought bubble below the surface, telling it I don’t have time for you, but the best ideas won’t pop and so I move on from thought to action. I have used many mediums over the years from fabric to painting to printing and collage but the unifying thread through all these mediums is a love of the puzzle. I like to problem solve, to piece and play with an idea until it can take shape as a visual idea.  I love words and word play so words are often woven in the work and the work is woven in words.  Throughout, no matter the medium, I play with the verbal and the visual. In that vein I have an artist journey blog that pushes me to try new things, to play and produce and articulate both visually and in prose my ideas and inspirations. It has been a significant experiment, rewarding and daunting all at once. To create something and then share it with the world almost immediately is both thrilling and terrifying. But what is art for if not to share, if not to pique and poke? So that is my goal, my quest, my passion, to share art, to have conversations, to both reflect on and reflect back the wonders of the world I navigate.\”

— Lisa Thorpe

Lisa Thorpe is an artist and educator in northern California, and has been the resident artist at The Bishop’s Ranch retreat and conference center outside of Healdsburg for over 20 years. In her art, Lisa is always exploring and experimenting and she loves to share what she has discovered. Lisa has had technique articles published in Cloth Paper Scissors, Quilting Arts and Quilting Arts Studio magazines. She leads workshops at The Bishop’s Ranch and at other creative Mecca’s such as Mendocino Art Center, Art and Soul in Portland, and Crafting a Life in Napa.

Lisa works in an array of mixed mediums from print, paint, collage, and encaustic, to cloth, stitch and book making. Part of the fun for Lisa is making friends with new mediums and stretching the limits of old ones. You’ll see an array of techniques on display in this show, everything from collage and spray paint to printing, stamping and dripping paint.