A Cut Above!

 Last October at a workshop with Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby, Anne showed us how to transfer photo copies of patterns and designs onto large (12x12") slabs of  Safety Kut (a material for making rubber stamps).   I did the transfer - using matte medium on both the Safety Kut and the copy, and let it dry over night.  Then sprayed water on the paper and rolled it off until the what was left was the Safety Kut with the design transferred onto it.  At this point it was ready to carve.  And so it has sat in my studio for the last 8 months.

I watched Anne do it at the workshop, I watch her (several times) on her DVD doing it, but I was nervous of making that first cut. So last week during my time off I thought "OK, now's the time!"  I got out the Xacto and the lino tools, took a deep breath and just went for it.

It was not as scary as I had thought it would be.  I sliced through a few stems and leaves I hadn't meant to, but on the whole - not bad for my first time.  I will proof it several times to see what needs to be fixed and then start stamping away.  I know it will be easier next time and will not be another 8 months till I try it again!

Complicated Paper a la Anne Bagby

 Spent a bit of time this past weekend making complicated paper,

all of these done on Linco tissue paper,

 a very thin, strong tissue used in book making.

 I raided my stash of paper scraps that I keep in 

several drawers surrounding my art table.

I'm looking forward to amassing quite a stack of these and 

then having them available to use in my future projects.

Front and Back

At the workshop with Anne Bagby she told us it's always a great idea to collage the backs of your small canvas boards and use a small detail brush to paint the sides black. This gives the work a wonderful "finished" look.

 There wasn't time to do this at the workshop   

 but I have done so now that I'm back home again.

 Here are two of the 5x7" collages I did
with their now collaged back sides.

Anne said she often puts a bunch of these in a basket at a show and people love to go through them - enjoying both sides.  A great idea for my next studio sale.

Workshop - The Last Day

That's me, hard at work on the last day of 

the incredible 4 days of art, art, art!

There were only about a dozen of us left, as many 

had to return home following the Sunday class.

Here,  above and below, are some of the
wonderful pieces created,

by my talented classmates,

using red rosin paper, Portfolio oil pastels, paint,

black and white toner copies and lots of creative genius.

Lynne encouraged us all to keep layering, 

to add more and more and then 

just that little bit more after that.

Here's part of the panel I did,

 (will get a better picture in an upcoming blog). 

Lots of layers, lots of colour - it works well.

 

A last glance at Friday Harbor as the ferry pulled out.  

A great six days - what a ride!!

Workshop Day 3

 

 That's the ferry pulling out of Friday Harbor taking me back to normal life and away from an amazing four days of intensive art making and learning,

On day three with Anne Bagby we made stencils

 of different types of body shapes.

Then we made complicated paper using deli paper and tissue paper as substrata and collaging with bits and pieces of coloured and patterned  paper.

 We used the stencils on the complicated paper to cut out the body shapes,

and then created our figures on 5x7" canvas board.

These are the four I did and I was quite pleased with the results.

On Friday I'll wrap up with day four and Lynne Perrella.

Workshop Day 2

Day 2 and more faces.  Lynne Perrella taught us to make these colourful and amazing portraits starting with black and white toner copies and Portfolio water soluble oil pastels.

 The results, as you can see were varied and stunning, running the gamut from Oriental princes to classic clowns to sultry divas.  My two are bottom right and the one above it sightly to the left.

 Backgrounds of layer upon layer and then those 

that were exquisitely simple yet compelling.

 Colour and drama were the themes of the day 

and the entire class delivered in spades.

 

It was such fun that I got started on a third one - 

can't wait to see where she leads me.

Workshop - Day 1

It doesn't get any better than this!  Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby,  and four days to create and be immersed in mixed media art.

As it turns out this is the last time Anne will be teaching a workshop outside of her home studio in Tennessee, so I feel extra blessed to have this chance to work with her again.

Lots going on, techniques learned, connecting with old friends and making new. Worked on these 5x7" clown collages.

And the best part?   Three more days! 

Off to the Islands!

San Juan Islands that is -  sweaters and boots
not swim suits and sunhats.

Anne Bagby

Four days with Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby!

 Lynne Perrella

Art-tastic!!

What are you doing next May?

Anne, Erin(me) and Lynne in Taos, 2009

Just found out that Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby will be teaching together again, for the first time since 2009. Next May 4-6 at the Interlaken Inn in Lakeville, Connecticut. No details yet, planning stage has just begun - but my calender is already marked, my vacation slip turned in - haven't quite started packing yet, but soon!

Juried Show

Doorway to Paradise 24 x 36"

Allied Arts of Cambria is mounting a juried show this month and the above piece has been accepted! This is my first juried show, so I'm very pleased. The piece, done on gessoed red rosin paper features string, cheesecloth, foil, collage elements and acrylics. I did this piece last year at Southwest Passages in Taos, a marvelous workshop I attended, taught by Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby. The show opens tomorrow, opening reception from 5:30-7:30 at the Allied Art Gallery in the Old Cambria Grammar School. If you're here on the central coast, drop by.

Artful Abundance

Here are three of the delightful artful presents that came my way this holiday season. Anne Bagby's Collage DVD, Lynne Perrella's new book Art Making and Studio Spaces and Brilliant Beginnings:The Youthful Works of Great Artists, Writers and Composers
I look forward to many evenings of eager perusal - eye candy and inspiration to last throughout the coming winter.

Travels in North Africa II

Here are a few more pages from my latest altered book. And yes, that is a scrap of Anne Bagby paper on the lower right side. At the Taos workshop last February, Anne said we were welcome to take her papers if they were in a piece of art when we left.

I had taken this book along for a "Show & Tell" session we had one night at dinner, and grabbed the opportunity to enliven the page with Anne's delicious paper.

In this shot you can catch a glimpse of the end papers that I added - wonderful Italian paper that I found at FLAX in San Francisco for - wait for it - $.25 a sheet!

The Somnolent Prince

One of the things Anne Bagby had us do in the workshop was to spend some time each evening drawing. Practice makes perfect - or at least a lot better - so if you draw everyday, it will become easier. She had us doing faces to use in our Santos projects. I've dabbled in watercolour and sketching, but usually landscapes and street scenes. I very rarely have attempted figures or faces, so this was a real challenge. I did about a dozen and was pleasantly surprised that a few of them were OK!

But what's with noses?! All of my faces look like they had had a horrible mid-face accident. And yet, if practice makes perfect - I should have some better noses as time goes by.

I used my best face for this little piece that I call "The Somnolent Prince". He's backed by canvas with cheesecloth laid over it and painted. The figure is made from collaged paper and his wooden hands and feet are covered with the same. His buttons are made from doilies with buttons in the center. A chipboard crown, painted gold, is embellished with a lacquered and embossed washer, and his scepter consists of two decorative wooden squares, again painted gold, attached to a coffee stirrer and tied with lengths of French ombre' ribbon.

More Taos snow!

Show and Tell

Nuestra señora del Oxido

Our classes with Anne Bagby resulted in Santos - depictions of saints, sacred clowns, etc. - representational or abstract. I was able to complete two and am pleased with both of them. The above, uses a rusted piece of metal for the female saint's crown or corona - hence her title, which translates to "Our Lady of Rust". The body is canvas, the face polymer clay, wooden crosses and canvas boards are painted and covered with bits of collaged paper.

Anne Bagby

The second piece "Mano de Dios"-"Hand of God" started with an old painted board that I found in the woodpile on the porch by my room. Delightfully worn and peeling, it became the perfect backdrop for a plastic backscrather, painted red and rubbed with gold,and then adorned with the face of a peasant saint outlined in gold acrylic. This was placed atop a length of frayed burlap. The small wooden dowels at the top of the piece reach to heaven. Two found hardware objects, one in the hand and one at the bottom of the board complete this Santos.

Mano de Dios