Book Release!

Today is the official release date of my new book, Adventures in Mixed Media. Thanks to all of you who have pre-ordered it from Amazon, or otherwise bought a copy. I invite comments, questions, feedback of any sort via e-mail, Amazon (or other book seller) reviews, or comments on my blog.


Adventures in Mixed Media is a book of projects and techniques, with lots of side bars on creative process Here is a little teaser video on my "fusion fabric process, described in Chapter Four of Adventures.



I am grateful to the many artists who contributed their work to this book, including Sue Bleiweiss of Sketchbook Challenge fame, Elissa Campbell, Ingrid Dijkers, Pamela Hastings, Autumn Hathaway, Sherrill Kahn, Carol Owen, and Dawne Polis.

Enjoy the video, check out the contributors' web sites, and, as always, THANKS FOR VISITING!

Backgrounds on Paper and Cloth

I decided to take a Mixed Media with Paper and Cloth online class with Jane LaFazio, one of our Sketchbook Challenge bloggers. She is a fabulous fiber artist, and artist extrordinaire, and offers online classes through Joggles, one of my favorite mixed media supply retailers. For our first lesson, we are making backgrounds on paper and cloth (these ones are on muslin), using gesso, maybe texturing it, and then acrylic paint. Here are just a few of mine:

I applied gesso, then created texture using a knitting needle, scribbling lines in it. Once that was very dry, I Played With Paint!! Transparent turquoises and blues, and opaque Baltic Green; then I stamped the little white dots.

This one is done the same way, using a different color palette. I LOVE this muslin thing!This one is similar, though I let the first Paint Playground dry before adding some of the transparent colors: quinacridone gold and nickel-azo yellow.
I have no idea where these will go. Jane demonstrated a stencil technique as well in the first lesson, but I may wait to use that later in the process. Thanks for visiting!

Rupert Workshop

I am having SUCH a great time with the students in my Collage Journeys workshop this week. What a creative bunch! ON Monday we did Scribble Painting, Tuesday we we explored personal text and image relationships as well as composition; on Wednesday we made collages with foam core; and today everyone continued work on their chosen project. Gretchen collaged in a journal she had begun, as did Deborah. Marianne continued with the foam core constructions, while the rest worked on collage / paint compositions. Tomorrow we wrap up with some show and tell and discussion. I have lots more pictures, but here are just a few to give you a flavor of the creativity we all experienced.

Fabric-Paper

Here is one of the samples I made for my Fabric-Paper workshop this weekend (detail above, full piece at left). I'm working on a series of geometric vertical compositions using a limited number of fabric-papers. The workshop is at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT. There are still a couple of spaces available. Thanks for all your comments on my painting/collages in the last post!

Back From My Workshop

With Karen Rosasco at the Arts Center Old Forge, in the Adirondacks. I had an absolutely fabulous time and learned so much from Karen that I need at least a year to assimilate it. We had three intense days of painting and collage, learning some techniques, but mostly focusing on composition and finishing, or "solving" (as Karen puts it), our pieces. To me, that is where the rubber meets the road - finishing a piece, making it work. I have lots and lots of practice ahead of me, and I look forward to every minute of it. Here are a few pieces I did in the workshop. Anyone have suggestions for titles?

Karen Rosasco Workshop

OK, I've been bragging about the workshops that I am teaching. Now I get to be a student and TAKE a workshop! Karen Rosasco, whose work is pictured here, is teaching a workshop in Experimental Watermedia at the Art Center at Old Forge in Old Forge, NY, on July 8, 9, and 10. I can't wait! I love her work and am so looking forward to some new inspiration and instruction. The other thing that makes this so exciting for me is that Sally Clark will be taking the workshop as well. I've never met Sally, but have seen her work and love it. She is the mother of my Sweetie's best friend from college, Tim Clark, who is a furniture maker. I know I will learn a lot from both Karen and Sally, and be able to bring some fresh ideas to my own workshops.

Collage Journeys in Vermont August 16 – 20, 2010

Join me for a four-day adventure in collage and mixed media at my studio in beautiful rural Rupert, Vermont.

Workshop Description
This workshop, based on my books “Collage Journeys” and “Adventures in Mixed Media” (forthcoming), will take you on a journey exploring diverse avenues for tapping into your creative wellspring of ideas and images. You will draw and paint with abandon, tearing up the results to make beautiful collage compositions, learn techniques for using foam core as a dimensional substrate for collage, discover the evocative possibilities of text and images relationships, develop personal visual and iconographic vocabularies, and much more. You will come away from this workshop with

* Greater confidence in your expressive capabilities
* New skills and techniques for creating meaningful art
* A sense of your own creative potential through collage and mixed media
* A set of practices for keeping your creative skills honed
* Several finished projects

We will take some time for projects of individual interest, and the studio is open 24 hours for your use. Some materials will be provided, though I will provide a supply list as well.

Housing and Meals
You will be accommodated in a beautifully renovated guest house, which is conveniently located next door to my studio. It has full kitchen facilities and two full baths, a wrap around porch, a barbeque, and water frontage (a stream runs along the back side of my studio and the guest house).

I will stock the guest house with breakfast materials (locally made bread, fresh local eggs, milk, coffee, cereals, juice, etc.), and lunch will be brought in each day, Monday – Friday. You are on your own for dinner, and I can direct you to grocery stores and restaurants. There is a general store two miles down the road which has a deli.

Cost: $675, includes tuition, accommodations, breakfast, and lunch.
Call or e-mail me to request more information and a registration form. Deposits due June 15.

Workshops

Hi! I don't have any pictures to post today. I taught three workshops over the weekend, and my camera's batteries were dead. !!! Friday evening was "Paper and Mixed Media Dolls" at Ink About It in Westford, MA. As usual, we had a blast. Everyone made a unique and highly expressive doll - and you'll have to take my word for it unless anybody can send me a photo of their doll. You just can't go wrong with paper dolls. Saturday's workshop was "Unbinding the Visual Journal", again, a wonderful group; Sunday's workshop was at The Scrapbook Cupboard in E. Bridgewater, MA. Mostly new faces there, except for the Jane Junkies, Marissa and Elyce, who came to all three workshops! We made boxes and then filled them with collage note cards. Bev, the owner, served us lunch and was altogether helpful and accommodating. I'll be teaching there again in September, as well as at Colorful Creations in Hyannis on the Cape. I promise to post again soon with pictures. Thanks to everybody who made the workshops so much fun!

bird ornaments

Here are just a couple of the bird ornaments I've been working on. They are made with foam core, which is collaged with my hand-painted papers. Then I attach the feathers, feet, head gear, and a hanging mechanism. I teach a workshop in foam core collage, and this is one the menu of projects.

Dream House

I can't believe it is already February! My book manuscript is due at the end of March, and I'm feeling behind, as usual. Right now I am working on foam core pieces, some for the book and some for teaching projects. I love this material as a collage support and building material, and first was inspired to use it by Carol Owen's book, Crafting Personal Shrines. I am so excited that she will be contributing a few pieces to my current book! Here are a few foam core "Dream Houses" that I've been working on. It seems like a fun format, offering lots of opportunity for content as well as embellishment. These may need a little work yet. From left to right: "Butterfly House", "Bird House", and "Home".

Collage Dolls

Here are a few of the dolls I made last week. I had loads of fun playing with all kinds of materials, ones that I've been using in other projects for my book. Tyvek, Angelina, fabrics, papers, paper clay, and so forth. Thank you Pamela Hastings for your encouragement!

Edwina's Exhibition!

Edwina Kinch, a collage artist and (I am flattered to say) reader of Collage Journeys, is having an exhibition of her gorgeous figurative collages. Here is what she writes:

I thought I would let you know that I am having my first major exhibition of my artworks (20 exhibits) in my home town of Bromsgrove, England. The Exhibition is being held at The Artrix Arts Centre running from 5th August to 12th September 2009. If you have any friends, relatives or acquaintances coming to England during this period do encourage them to come and visit the exhibition. Remember, Bromsgrove is not very far from Stratford on Avon (a popular tourist stop!) The exhibition is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday.

So if any of you are in England this summer near Bromsgrove, CHECK IT OUT!