Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Studio notes and Art is You - Petaluma


I will be teaching an evening class at Art-Is-You in Petaluma, California in September. You can check out the class info by clicking HERE. I will also have a vendor table for their Saturday night venue. This class combines paper, fabric and a little pencil magic. It was so much fun, I made a bunch of faces...I couldn't stop. The cool thing is that they can be made into a pin, sewn on a doll body or attached to a journal. I have a bag of them just waiting for a project. 

On the studio front, I have been taking an online class with Flora Bowley . Her process is wonderful and terrible all at the same time. It requires really letting go, which is an issue for me! I am struggling and will post some pics when I get through the next lesson. I am supposed to be getting ready for Artwalk in San Diego in April, but it is all good.....as my wise hubby says - "whatever you have done will be the right amount."

You may have noticed that I changed the name of my blog. I have spent some time looking at the paintings and collages I have been doing lately. It is always a good idea to take a look at what you are doing as a "body" of work and evaluate where you are and look for the direction you are going. I am always pushing myself in new directions and have noticed that my pieces are starting to have more of a story. I have always had difficulty describing my art and the "folk" who populate it. My "peeps" are definitely an unusual group with oddly distorted features, soulful eyes and quirky natures. Somehow it brought me to "Urban Folk-tales." A new direction!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Online Class with Misty Mawn


I have been doing an online class with Misty Mawn called Open Studio Workshop. It has been an inspiring journey. I have been a bit frustrated because I have been out of my studio for almost 3 weeks, so the only exercises I have been able to keep up with are the Journaling Prompts. I intend on revisiting all of the lessons once I get settled in. Here are some of my pages....
Expressive Self Portrait
I really loved the exercise called your life landscape. I just do not seem to be capable of doing a simple landscape. It does not seem complete without adding some little strange creature....

The most difficult exercise for me was to do a collage page with NO PAINT! I used every marker, crayon and pencil I owned, but love, love, love this spread. 
What Fuels Me? What Feeds My Soul?