ART IS YOU

I spent a fun weekend with my friend Liz in Petaluma, CA, taking three great art workshops from  instructor artists at  "Art is You" . My first class was "Translucent Collage", taught by Andrea  Matus DeMeng, where we made a 3-layer piece. The bottom layer is a piece of wood (4"x6") with an image of a clown family collaged onto a brightly colored design. The next layer is a piece of mat board with the center torn out big enough to see the image below. The last layer consists of a transparency of a ferris wheel sandwiched between two layers of mica. I  never worked with mica and it was great fun to peel the layers. The layers were separated by 4 nuts and bolts. I really liked the translucent effect and hope to use mica more in my work. Andrea was a wonderful teacher.

        Pierrot Family                                                                Pierrot  Family , complete


My second workshop was "Impromptu Millinery" with Jennifer Whitmer. Not only was it great fun, we  all walked out of her class with a finished hat, flowers included!  We lealrned how to work with a parisisal hood, and using blocking and sewing techniques, transforming the hat form into a unique and fashionable accessory. I was amazed at how many people stopped by the room and went crazy for the hats we were making. We are all looking forward to joining Jennifer at her Sonoma home to make more hats!  She is a great teacher and lovely person.

                              WEARING A HAT IS LIKE HAVING A BABY OR A PUPPY; 
                                 EVERYONE STOPS TO COO AND TALK ABOUT IT.



My last class was "Paper Shazam" with Albie Smith, a paper and book artist extraordinaire. Her classes are lively and busy! We began painting paper with paste paint which is made from a paste powder that is mixed  with water. Color is added resulting in a warm and rich colors that look aged. When the paint dried, we stenciled and stamped to add depth and design.

Paste paint/stencils

We used inks dropped onto wet paper and sprayed more water, moving the vibrant ink colors around. They looked good enough to eat! After those dried, we did more surface design with stencils and stamps, ending up with some wonderful art.

Ink/water/stencils

The last technique, "fracturing", was done by applying paint/ink and water and while still wet. placing plastic wrap on top, creasing and squishing the wrap. When dry, the plastic wrap is removed, leaving streaks that look like frost fractures.

"Fractured" painting