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.

Newsletter

I just sent out my first Constant Contact newsletter last week! I can't put a link to it on my blog unless I purchase one more service - archiving the newsletters - but it you'd like to see it, or sign up to receive it, let me know via e-mail and I will forward it. I'm posting a couple of "snapshots" of the newsletter here to give you an idea. There should be a "join my e-mail list" button on it, but I'm not sure if it actually shows up on everybody's computer. I'd love to hear comments on this, as I'll be sending out more, about once a month I think. This one features my Summer Workshops, all of which information is posted on this blog and also on my web site. Thanks for checking it out!

Workshops at The Queen's Ink

I am so excited to be teaching at The Queen's Ink in Savage, MD, in June. We're offering three workshops: Collage in the Box Format, Unbinding the Visual Journal, and a new workshop, Collage Layering with Paint and Tissue.

Collage Layering with Paint & Tissue
Sunday, June 13th / 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Instructor: Guest Artist Jane Davies
Class fee: $70.00
In this workshop we will discover the possibilities of creating color, texture, and image spontaneously and intuitively using primarily tissue-weight papers, paint, gesso, and drawing tools. We start by creating a basic composition in tissue paper, and then build layers by brushing, rolling, sponging, stamping, and scraping paint between more tissue and collage papers. We'll also explore techniques of subtractive collage, tearing and scratching through the layers to reveal depth and complexity. We'll use drawing and collage imagery to finish the compositions, bringing them into focus and balance. This is an approach to collage that emphasizes process and open-ended exploration rather than a particular goal. Come join the fun, and discover a new sense of freedom in your artistic endeavors!

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.

Box with Collage Cards Workshop

Here are a few pictures from the box and cards workshop I taught the other weekend at the Scrapbook Cupboard. Judy Shea was kind enough to take the photos and post them on her blog, so you can look there for more.

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!

Handmade Book Workshops

Well, I FINISHED MY BOOK!!!! last Monday. A few days ahead of schedule, which NEVER happens. I sent it off to the publisher - all 3.5 pounds of it (print out plus five disks) - and then collapsed for the rest of the week. So now the focus is back on teaching and making new pieces. I am teaching two intro level handmade book workshops in Manchester, VT on May 1 and May 8.


The first is:
Hardcover Pamphlet Book
In this workshop we will make a multi-signature (lots of pages), hard-cover book, using the basic pamphlet stitch. This method of book binding is accessible to the novice, and yet produces as substantial, sturdy book that will last a lifetime. Use it as a journal, a sketchbook, or photo album, or give it as a very special personalized gift.
The second workshop is:
The Accordion Fold Book and Beyond
The accordion is probably the most widely used structure for a fold book. And it is no wonder. This technique is easy, endlessly variable, and can be easily combined with other book structures. We will learn the basics of the accordion book, with several variations, and then begin to work on a special type of accordion called a “panel book”. At the end of the workshop you will have several accordion books, as well as several pages of your panel book.

I finished my panel book (as you can see)so I can show my workshop students. It is not as pristine as Elissa's, of course, but it was so fun to do, and I hope to make more of them.

Panel Book

This is a panel book made by Elissa Campbell, who was so gracious as to let me put photos of it in my new book. I just LOVE this construction, and am making one myself to see how it is done. Elissa learned it in a workshop with Julie Chen. I will post a photo of mine when it is finished. Anyone else out there familiar with the panel book construction?

Pizza Book

I am on what I hope is the home stretch of my mixed media book. I have all the final photographs and am busily writing captions for many of them. I want to share ALL the photos on my blog, but I don't think that would go over so well with the publisher. Here is one, though, which may or may not make it into the book. It is my "Pizza Book" for pizza recipes. The cover is made from a fused fiber sheet, fused to a stiff interfacing. The tomatoes and basil leaves are cut from fabric I designed for Free Spirit Fabrics several years ago. I just love these tomato slices! They are fused to the background and then stitched by machine. I added a few beads to the tomato seeds. This is a one-signature book sewn in a few places to the cover at the spine. Now I have to compile all my pizza recipes. Anyone want to send me a recipe? If anyone wants a few tomato slices I'd be happy to send them.

Sneak Preview

I had a photo shoot last week in my studio for the how-to sequences in my new book. I thought I'd share the visual how-to on the paper bag posted on Feb. 26. This was a really fun project, and it's just paper, paint, and a bit of marabou! Stuff it with soaps and creams as a great girl gift, or chocolate, or a handmade something... More detailed instructions plus variations will be found in the book (due out in spring of 2011).

First, paint some paper (I use cheap drawing paper or the back of a paper grocery bag) make a pattern for your bag. Cut out an oval the shape you want the bag; measure its perimeter, and then cut out a piece of your painted paper the length of the oval's perimeter plus an inch for overlap, by the desired height of the bag plus a half inch for the fold-under. Fold under a half inch, and cut notches as shown (1).

Next, glue the notched folded over edge of the bag to the oval bottom as shown. Do this a few notches at a time, slowly and carefully (2).


You can also work from the outside (3).


When you have glued all the notches, glue up the seam in the side of the bag, and then glue another oval piece to the bottom to cover the notches (4).


Now, if you like, tack-stitch a length of marabou to the top rim of the bag and glue handles to the inside. Or you could embellish it with any kind of trim you like. Feathers, lace, beads, ribbons, etc. Put something luxurious in the bag and give it to someone you love.

Workshop Photo

OK, here are the photos for the workshop at Scrapbook Cupboard (see post from Feb, 25).

Paper Dolls

I'm almost on the home stretch of writing my collage and mixed media book - I had a photo shoot yesterday with George Bouret, who is doing the hands-on how-to sequence photographs, and I have what I hope is the final shoot on Monday with John Polak, who is photographing the finished pieces. Then I have about three weeks to finish the manuscript. YIKES!!!! Today I received two beautiful handmade books made by Elissa Campbell, whose work I just found on the web a few days ago. I am so excited to be able to have these two pieces in my book. So why am I posting pictures of paper dolls? Just for fun. I made these a few weeks ago; I don't know if these exact pieces will be in my book, but I do have a section on paper and mixed media dolls. With some fabulous contributions from real doll artists. After the book is done (end of March), I want to spend some time exploring paper dolls, collage figures, and a whole bunch of stuff I've not had time to do while working on this project. Those collage dresses a few posts back? Love to explore that format in more depth. Thanks to all of you who are stopping by my blog and commenting! It really helps me feel connected.