Blue

I've been fascinated by more-or-less-monochrome paintings, and started a Pinterest board to collect images.  How do you make a painting interesting when you are using predominantly one color?  I thought I'd investigate this issue by making a series of paintings, or collage-paintings, dominated by a single color.  This one is 12"x12" on canvas.  I did shoot some video of the process, but will edit and post at a later date.

This was meant to be predominantly blue, but I can see I got very green in some places.  The collage pieces, using the paper demonstrated below, are on the middle left, and lower left just below the orange.  They get sucked right into the painting.

In the meantime, I made a video of a painting technique I use to make collage papers:
This is one of the many techniques I'll be sharing in Expressive Collage and Painting at Omega in September, as well as Scribble Paint and Unbinding the Visual Journal at Art and Soul in Portland in October.

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.

Upcoming Retreats

fabric-paper in progress

Just a reminder of upcoming workshops this summer:

In July, I will be teaching at CREATE, hosted by Interweave Press, in Somerset, NJ:

• Wednesday, July 18, Fabric-Paper, 9 - 4
• Wednesday, July 18, Fusion Fabric, 6 - 9
• Thursday, July 19, Unbinding the Visual Journal, 9 - 4
• Thursday, July 19, Scribble Paint, 6 - 9

There are just a few spaces left in each of the above.

encaustic with plaster on panel

In August I'm returning to Art Unraveled in Phoenix:

• Sunday, August 5, Fabric-Paper
• Monday, August 6, Plaster and Wax 

Register here.
I'll be returning to Art and Soul in October:

• Monday, October 1, Abstract Landscape
• Monday, October 1, evening, Scribble Paint
• Tuesday, October 2, Plaster and Wax
• Tuesday, October 2, evening, Intro to Encaustics
  

The above daytime classes are almost full.

Collage Journeys in Vermont will take place here in Rupert, August 14 - 18 (Tue. - Sat.). This year's focus is on color and abstract composition.  Some of our activities will include:

• scribble painting
• staining tissue paper
• working with a gel plate
• working large
• collage marathons
• working in series
• keeping a sketchbook of ideas

 I have two spaces left for this workshop.


Later in August I'll be teaching at CREATE in Chicago.  The line-up includes:

visual journal page spread

• Wednesday, August 22, Fabric-Paper
• Thursday, August 23, Unbinding the Visual Journal
• Thursday, August 23, evening, Scribble-Paint

One more thing:  my next online workshop begins July 25, with Keys to Dynamic Composition.

scribble painting

Visual Journal Part 2

OK, now back to the visual journal.  What is a visual journal anyway?  Everyone seems to be making them.  Are they playgrounds or places to experiment like sketchbooks?  Or documentary like scrapbooks?  Are they artworks in themselves?  Do they have to include text? What is your visual journal to you? 

I keep sketchbooks, as you may know.  These are my visual playgrounds, where I can do whatever I want, and share or not share as I please. Sometimes I work on loose sheets of paper as my sketchbooks, and sometimes I work in spiral-bound books. My sketchbook starts as a series of blank pages, bound or not bound.

This visual journal is something else.  It starts out as a book of already-painted pages.  The pages inspire further mark-making, as you'll see in this video:



 Here are a few page spreads that did not make it into the video:

 

  

 

 And a few the you see in progress in the video:

The process of making and then working in this kind of journal has a couple of benefits for freeing your creativity and putting your Inner Critic in her place:

• First, you can be totally experimental in making the papers.  They are not Art On The Wall, and they will not be seen as Compositions.  They will be folded in half, nested together, and covered with more paint, collage, and drawing.  So you can't get too precious about them.  

• Second, the journal itself is an ongoing work-in-progress.  It gives you an opportunity to exercise your visual muscles without the pressure of Making Art.  And this exercise, this practice, will hone your skills, strengthen your art, and expand your visual vocabulary.

Don't forget, I'm teaching  Unbinding the Visual Journal:

• July 19 at CREATE in Somerset, NJ
• August 23 at CREATE in Chicago
• September 9 at Random Arts in Saluda, NC

Visual Journal with Gel Plate

I am putting together a little series of visual journals in preparation for Unbinding the Visual Journal, which I'm teaching on:

• July 19 at CREATE in Somerset, NJ
• August 23 at CREATE in Chicago
• September 9 at Random Arts in Saluda, NC

First I paint, draw, collage, print, or otherwise decorate the unbound folios, or pages.  Then I bind them into a book format, and use the painted pages as starting points for visual exploration.  This is akin to making Scribble Paintings that I cut up and use for collage.  In the following video I use the Gelli Arts gel plate to print on some papers that will end up in my book.

These are a few of the papers on which I used the gel plate.  After printing, I added painting and drawing, leaving room for more painting, drawing, and collage once the book is put together.

There are way more techniques you can use with the gel plate on the Gelli Arts Blog.  For some great tutorials on simple ways to make books, see Sue Bleiweiss's blog, and then buy her book.

Stay tuned for the second part of this post, in which I will show you the book and discuss how I use it.