In the Name of Art

Pasting Scrap at the Cleveland Museum of Art

 

 

I helped to teach a collage workshop with Gretchen Bierbaum at CMA last weekend and had just enough time in the 5 hours alloted to make this collage. The pieces were all from Gretchen's many transfer techniques with a little bit of something I picked up from the floor. There were 14 students and the collages they made were stunning. 

Not Heaven but a Kiss

A batch of valentines is up next. I had fun with them but lost my mojo along the way and had to give myself a talking-to. Somedays are like the Anne Lamott quote, "You can get the monkey off your back, but the circus never leaves town", sent to me by my comrade in art Terry. After the talk I just decided to make bad art. That worked pretty well. This was made for the Medina Art League demo, but it also results in lots of art to send to family and friends, a very good thing....

And then There were None

Actually, I made a couple more, but Valentines ended and though I was heart happy it's onward (finally) into spring! This is collage, drips with ink, scribbles with color pencil and dots on vellum. 

That Bird had Flown

This can only go on so long.....today's valentine is blue, I got a bit tired of all the reds and pinks.

Play it Again Valentine

Here's another with a strategy of grouping similar colors and shapes together, no single images are emphasized with the exception of the heart. The previous valentine entries all had an image that became the emphasis. Yes, I had these strategies in mind when I began. OK, Feb.8 is the same but in the entries before that the faces and figures call attention to themselves because they're not abstract like the rest of the composition. Collage appeals to me because all the parts are out of their original context. This is collage with some color pencil scribbles and gold marker. Love those scribbles....

Love Child

....and she doesn't look thrilled about it either. Collage, color pencil, dimensional paint and acrylic.

Valentines Forever

Well, not really, but for awhile. I'm giving a workshop entitled "Sticky Love" for the Women's Art League on the 12th of February and had to make a mess of valentines to suitably show all techniques/strategies. This is the first of 9 (perhaps I'll get tired of all the sweetness and not post all) with a reproduction from a work by Bernardino Luini. His name is as beautiful as the woman in the painting. This is acrylic paint, color pencil, various collage papers and dimensional paint.

I'm still working on the last 6 of the dozen cards about Andy and Laura so they'll be her in awhile. This is the intermission....

Karen's Demo and Color Fritter

Well, if you can fritter away the time, then you can make color fritter, right? I finished this page in my journal when I got home from the Icon Experience and just wanted to cogitate on it all. Sort of an ending ritual. There are notes I took when Karen Cole gave her demo and then, as I said, color fritter was added. A thank you to Karen for the lesson, she makes the most marvelous art! A head's up, Karen's blog has been added to my list in the sidebar on the right.....

Black Bird/White Day

A white day with some olive, tan and gray thrown in. The photo is from Gretchen K. and comes from her grandparent's archives. They seemed to like to document weather but I think I'm down to very few of their winter pictures and will have to find more somewhere.

We are having similar dreary days hear and I'm looking forward to the frozen but sunnier days of February, plus there are the art days! Sunday the 7th is "Sunday Sampler" a collaboration between Summit ArtSpace, the Akron Museum of Art and the Akron Public Library, the 13th Cathy Wooley is giving a playing card collage workshop and on the 20th Gretchen Bierbaum is doing an image transfer demo. So February will be an artistic month!

 

Winter Whites Today at Summit ArtSpace

You never know who will arrive for a workshop so I'm planning a very structured direction and a less structured direction. This, as you can see, is the structured variety. Squares are easy to cut, the shape lends some unity to the comp, and the limited palette strengthens that unity. So for those who like their instruction tight and straight forward, this is their part of the lesson. 

Then there's a 3rd group who do what they damn well please and the workshop is simply an excuse to make art! Hooray for them too!

News and pictures about last night's opening will be up on the blog(s) shortly.....