My Video is Available!!!

For pre-order, that is.  Scribble Collage with Hand-Painted Papers is the title of my new DVD from Creative Catalyst Productions.

 

For any of you who have take my Scribble Collage workshop, this video will serve as a review plus lots of more detailed demos and information.  And if you haven't taken this workshop, I hope that my new DVD will get you painting, tearing, collaging, and generally making a creative mess.

Sept. 21
OK, now that Nan has pointed out that CCP Videos already has a preview available, here it is!

Workshops at Random Arts

I'm just getting back to reality after spending last weekend teaching three workshops at Random Arts in Saluda, NC.  What a blast! We're already looking at scheduling workshops for next year, tentatively in early August.  What a fun place is Random Arts and Saluda, plus I got to see a bit of Asheville as well.  Here are a few pix from the trip:

My color class, with owner, Jane Powell, front and center

A page from the Visual Journal class by Lynn, who posted about the workshop

Holly and Ruthie doing fabulous painted papers

Deb making a grid collage, who blogged about it here.

The two Janes in Tree Pose (take my word for it, since you can't see our legs)

The fabulous front porch of Random Arts

Porch decorations made with colorful fabrics and embroidery hoops

Christy, center, who was extremely prolific!  Vickie, her mother, on the right, and Denise next to the wall.  Denise was drawn to my workshop by my video with the chicken.

Carol Stangler, a bamboo artist, with Jane Powell

 Thanks for visiting!

Extreme Composition

My new online class, Extreme Composition, is starting next week, and filling up fast.  Here is a little video of me doing an experimental composition.  This is the sort of thing we'll be doing in Extreme Composition after exploring line, shape, and color in the first three lessons.

We will make paintings, collages, drawings that explore the extremes of standard composition principles: extreme variety, extreme unity, no focal point, extreme movement, asymmetry, imbalance.  And then we'll make experimental compositions in which we consider the parts only, not the whole.  You will have the freedom to explore visual language and see where it takes you when you are not concerned about "correct" composition.  My hope is that you will discover a more personal sense of visual expression.

This is the piece I created in the video, 7"x11"

I made this piece in a similar manner, beginning with an ink doodle.  8"x8"

On another note, here is an interview that Sara Naumann did about my teaching.  Check out Sara's blog, "In Pursuit of the Muse".  Thanks for visiting!

Fiber Arts Show

Last night I went to the opening of a fiber arts show called "The Uncommon Thread" at Vermont Institute of Contemporary Art.  It totally renewed my passion for fabric and stitch, which has been waning over the last few years.  I knew several of the artists represented in the show from an encaustic workshop I took last January through North Country Studio Workshops.  These included Sandy Gregg, Marilyn Gillis, and Wen Redmond.  Great to see Sandy and Marilyn there, and also to meet Elizabeth (Betsy) Fram, whose work was breathtaking.  I also particularly liked the work of Karen Kamenetzky.

Here are a few samples:

Betsy Fram

Karen Kamenetzky

Marilyn Gillis

Sandy Gregg

Wen Redmond

If you are anywhere near Chester, Vermont, check out the show.  It is up through October 21.

Collage Journeys in Vermont

OK, here is my real post about the workshop last week.  Collage Journeys in Vermont is a five day workshop I do here in Rupert, Vermont, my home town, in August.  This year's group was awesome, and I think a good time was had by all.  We were very lucky to have Julie Fei-Fan Balzer among the participants.  Not only is she an accomplished artist and teacher herself, but she takes pictures of EVERYTHING, and very good pictures.  So she is responsible for the photos in the previous post.  AND, she did two, yes TWO blog posts about this workshop, so I'll just send you over to her blog.  While you are there, check out her line of stencils.  She brought a load of them to share with the class.

Meanwhile, here are a few more pix taken by other students:

This is Julie staring at The Blank Page.  It did not stay blank for long!

painted papers and a few collage studies

Cathy (with a C)'s gorgeous large piece, 22"x30"

A collage painting by Lu

Mona's piece

One from Elizabeth

Most of us.  Joan is still down at my house drawing my chickens.

Definitely check out Joan's Flickr site.  She's not in the picture above, but see her on Julie's blog. If you want to join us next year for Collage Journeys 2013, make sure to get on my mailing list (above, right), or e-mail me.  I'll be opening registration in the fall.

Pix of Collage Journeys

I'm still in Chicago teaching at CREATE, so I don't have time to do an extensive post.  Here are just a few examples of students at work:

Coming Soon!

I have not posted in a while because I've bee REALLY busy teaching this month.  Check out the schedule.  My Collage Journeys in Vermont ended yesterday, and it just could not have been better!  Several of the students took loads of pictures so I'm going to wait to get those before posting more details.  Next year's Collage Journeys is scheduled for August 13 - 17, and registration will open on November 1.

Just prior to Collage Journeys, I was in Phoenix teaching at Art Unraveled.  I taught Fabric-Paper and Plaster and Wax, and had fabulous groups of students in both.  I LOVE going to Phoenix in August!  The heat and the landscape are so exotic to someone from Vermont; it really feels like a world away.

My next teaching adventure is on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, when I'll be teaching at CREATE in Chicago.   Wednesday is Fabric-Paper; Thursday is Unbinding the Visual Journal, and Thursday evening is Scribble Paint.

After that I'll be at Random Arts (see previous post) in Saluda, NC, near Asheville, teaching three workshops, Friday - Sunday, September 7 - 9.  CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW WITH RANDOM ARTS OWNER, JANE POWELL. 

And don't forget Art and Soul, coming up in October.  I'll be teaching October 1 and 2.  More on that later.

Random Arts in North Carolina

I've heard much about the very active art scene in North Carolina - the Asheville area in particular - and met many people from that area on my blog and in my classes.  So I am DELIGHTED to be teaching at Random Arts in September!!  One of my blog readers from Asheville, Lynn, whose blog is here, just asked me directly if I would come and teach in the area, and sent a list of possible venues.  Random Arts is in Saluda, NC, about half an hour outside of Asheville.

Friday, September 7: Unlocking The Secrets of Color

Saturday, September 8: Scribble Collage

Using hand-painted papers to create an abstract collage

Sunday, September 9: Unbinding the Visual Journal

A page spread in my visual journal

Workshops are 10:00 - 4:30; fee is $110.  Click here to contact Random Arts for registration.
The Saluda Mountain Lodge has very reasonable rates and a free shuttle to get you to class.

CREATE in New Jersey

I just got back from two very full and terrifically fun days of teaching at CREATE in Somerset, New Jersey.  This was the first year of offering this mixed media retreat at this location, and as far as I could tell it was - and still is (it goes through Sunday) - a super well attended event.  I got only two photos, as I was too busy teaching and having conversations to stop and find my camera.  Here is my Scribble Paint  class, full of creative energy and output:

The gal in front is Jessica Sporn, a freelance artist who is relatively new to mixed media.  She recently started a blog, which you can check out here.  I also had  very full classes in Fabric-Paper, Fusion Fabric, and Unbinding the Visual Journal.

Other teachers I met include Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, who not only makes art and teaches workshops, but also designs stencils and stamps.  I met Seth Apter, who is relatively new to teaching, but not to making mixed media art.  And I met Cathy Taylor, whose work is just gorgeous!  I hope you will check out these links and enjoy the tour.

My next event is Art Unraveled in Phoenix, at which I'll be teaching Fabric-Paper on Sunday, August 5, and Plaster and Wax on Monday, August 6.

Composition Workshop

Do you tend to carefully compose your artwork from the beginning, or jump right in with mark-making or collage and then find compositional order within the chaos?  Do you think about composition as you are working?  Or does it just happen, or not happen?  What is composition anyway?  And how important is it to the overall success of your artwork?  On July 25 I'm offering my online workshop, "Keys to Dynamic Composition", where you can explore elements and principles of composition through a series of directed assignments based on specific formats. Here is some yummy student work from the last Composition class:

Making a cityscape out of the abstract landscape exercise

A beautiful example of the "cruciform" format

Layering collage, paint, and line

An exaggerated vertical orientation

Another beautiful and moody cruciform

Playing with the grid format

More playing with grids

Try playing with grids on your own!  Just download this pdf, which is not one of the lessons, and get a taste of how you can use a compositional format to explore many aspects of art.

If a more renegade approach appeals to you, or if you've already taken Keys to Dynamic  Composition and want to push it further, I'm beginning a new online class, "Extreme Composition: Breaking All The Rules" on September 12.  This will take you on a more personal and inventive journey of compositional exploration. 

Thanks for visiting!

Plaster and Wax, Part 2

Here is the second video demonstration on Plaster and Wax, which I'll be teaching at Art Unraveled in Phoenix on August 6, and again at Art and Soul in Portland on October 2. If you haven't already, take a look at Part 1.  There are so many techniques you can use on the plaster itself, and then again over the encaustic.  In this video I use Caran D'ache water soluble crayons on the encaustic surface.  Oil pastels, india ink, graphite, china marker, and many other materials are also compatible with encaustic.

And the Winner Is...

It's July 7, the day I promised to pick a winner of the gel plate from the blog hop post.  Jo Reimer is that lucky winner!  Thanks to all of you who visited my blog during this blog hop.  Hope you enjoyed the post and those of the other blog hoppers.  We are all very excited about the release of Sue Bleiweiss's book.  I think it is a real winner! 

You have probably seen Part 1 of my Visual Journal using the gel plate.  Take a look at Part 2, and then here is a little video we'll call "Part 2" - more work in the visual journal using gel plate prints.

The page spread after the first round of collage

Second round of collage plus some painting

Thanks for visiting.  Please join my mailing list (upper right) for monthly updates on upcoming workshops and online offerings.