Art Unraveled in Phoenix

This was my first year at Art Unraveled, and I had so much fun!! The students were great, super creative, and a blast to be with. I met other teachers, some of whom I know in cyberspace, including Jane La Fazio (one of the Sketchbook Challenge sisters) and Ingrid Dijkers, whose gorgeous art dolls appear in my book Adventures in Mixed Media. I also met Gail Russakov, who introduced herself to me via e-mail beforehand, and was a great help in getting me oriented to Art Unraveled.

Without further ado, here is some eye candy from the experience:

A couple of collages from Deborah:



One from Meredith, Deborah's daughter:


The above collages were done in my Scribble Collage class, in which we painted papers all morning and made collages all afternoon.

In New Dimensions in Collage we made house-shaped dimensional collages using foam core. Here are a few samples:

Ingrid's house in progress. LOVE that red!


Debbie's house piece:


And Michele's:


And a couple of people shots:


This is a super well-organized event, so everything ran smoothly. The venue, the Embassy Suites, was luxurious and also very affordable for Art Unraveled participants. If you are looking for a retreat for 2012, consider this one.

ART UNRAVELED!!!!

Come join me in Pheonix on August 8 and 9 at ART UNRAVELED!!!! I will be teaching Scribble Collage on August 8, in which we spend the day painting papers using a ZILLION techniques, and then make collages with these yummy materials. On August 9, I will teach New Dimensions in Collage. We make our collages 3-dimensional by creating panels and shadow-boxes with foam core to add depth and layers to our art.

Here is one example of a "Scribble Collage"


I made a collage with my scribble painted papers, and then used the same techniques for painting over them to focus the composition.

A few from a recent "New Dimensions" workshop at Ink About It, which we called "Dream Houses" - same process:

Leslie's piece in progress:


And Pat's:


I hope you can join me in Phoenix for this art extravaganza and total immersion in creativity! To register, go here. Thanks for visiting!

Advance Copy

I finally got my advance copy of Adventures in Mixed Media, and I am happy to report that it looks terrific. Nice color reproduction; the book design is awesome; I'm always impressed with the work of my photographers, John Polak and George Bouret. The official release date is April 26, but you can pre-order the book from Amazon if you like. I will bring copies to Art Unraveled in August, and Art and Soul in September to make them available as well. Here are a few sneak previews.

Making a simple pamphlet-stitch book:
Remember these paper bags?
I did a chapter that includes making these shrines from foam core. The gorgeous one on the right is Carol Owen's; she is the inspiration for this project.
This chapter on Fusion, Fabric, and Fiber opens with a photo of Sue Bleiweiss's fabulous tea pot:
A couple of my own fusion fabric pieces:
There is a chapter on Mixed Media Dolls. The doll in the upper right of the left page is by Ingrid Dijkers.
And here is some eye candy from the chapter on books and boxes: paper mosaic with paper gems and glue gems. All the sparkle and glitz you could stand.
Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to check out the Sketchbook Challenge blog.

Clothesline, More Stages

OK, here are three more "stages" of the piece that I posted on December 22nd. Not sure where this is going. I've totally forgotten about the composition sketches I did before the painting. I think I'll let it sit for a while and see if it is finished or what else it needs.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday! I sure did. We have loads of snow here in Vermont. A true snow day. And fortunately, we haven't lost power yet.

The Sketchbook Challenge starts on Saturday, January 1. I can't wait to see what the first theme is! I hope you all will sketch along with us and post your pages on Flickr.

My first workshops of the year are at Ink About It in Westford, MA on Friday, January 7, and Saturday, January 8. Friday's workshop is the Panel Book, a particular type of accordion structure. In Saturday's workshop we'll be making a Dream House out of foam core. I'll post pix soon. Thanks for visiting!

The QUEEN'S Workshops

Yes, it's time to visit The Queen's Ink, in Savage, MD again!!! This time we're offering FIVE workshops in THREE days, November 4, 5, and 6. Yikes!!! We'll begin with Scribble Collage on Thursday, all day; then in the evening we'll do Collage in a Box, which is a handmade hinged box with a set of collage note cards. On Friday we'll make a panel book - a special type of accordion book, in which you can use your scribble painted papers, or anything else to decorate it or add content. On Saturday we're going to make little dream houses in foam core, using collage and found (or purchased) objects to bring the dreams to life! Saturday evening is a new workshop, the Jewel Box, which incorporates paper and glue-gem mosaic. I'll post a close-up of the mosaic here, to whet your appetite. Hope some of you can make it!!

Workshop in Westford

This Saturday, October 9, I am teaching a workshop at Ink About It in Westford, MA. We will be using foam core as a substrate for making dimensional collages. There are still spaces available, so check it out if you live within driving distance! Here are some examples of foam core collage projects. Ink About It carries a huge variety of papers, stamps, and supplies for paper crafting of all sorts. I love teaching there!

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.

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.

More Foam Core Collage

Here are two pieces that I am going to put together as a hinged "diptych" for my parents. Bev or Jimmy: if you are looking at this, STOP IT! These are made on foam core, with a little cut-out niche for a picture. First I was going to make straightforward picture frames, but then one of the students in my Monday night class suggested putting the picture of Bev and Jimmy on the frame itself, and something else in the niche. I used a printout of this cat, painted by our friend Gloria in Nova Scotia, because it looks a bit like Fiona, Bev and Jimmy's cat. I'm working on a few more foam core pieces today. My Monday students are having fun with it and doing beautiful pieces!

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".

Speaking of foam core, here are a couple of jewelry items I made using paper-wrapped foam core as the base. They are embellished with fused Angelina fiber and film, wire, and beads. I would love to see what other mixed media and collage artists are doing with foam core. Please e-mail me and send photos! Thanks.

Gloria

Tonight in our Collage Journeys workshop we will start a project making collage on foam core. The fun part of this is that you can cut openings in the top layer of foam core, creating little niches, and place little three-dimensional things in them. The piece in this post is called "Talking with Gloria", Gloria being the gal in the striped sweater. I made the background using old maps of LaHave, Nova Scotia, where Gloria lives, and a letter from her. In the little niche, I placed pieces of sea glass from the beach in LaHave. It has been WAY too long since I visited Gloria! This collage makes me miss her like crazy. Check out her paintings on her web site (click "Gloria" above.)