Workshop at Dinnerware Artspace in Downtown Tucson

Introduction to Art Cloth

Adults

Dates: May 7 and 14, 2011

Time: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM with 1 hour for lunch

Workshop Fee: $160

Supply fee: $17 and includes all the paints used in class and an extensive student booklet (approximately 50 pages)

Supply list:  Available upon registration

 

For this workshop, Susan has assembled all her favorite techniques for creating exciting layers of colors and textures using fabric paints on cloth. Included in her repertoire are dribbling, splattering, flicking, spraying, sponging, squirting, scraping with credit cards, jell-o printing, printing with cardboard wrapped with rubber bands, Styrofoam stamps, bubble wrap, leaves, vegetables and textured brayers, and more. Students will produce beautiful pieces of cloth to hang by themselves (art cloth) or that can be used in mixed media collages. This workshop also provides information on color; design; and techniques for creating vibrant hues, mixing rich colors, developing color gradations, and producing exciting mingling of various color combinations.

Free Fabric Printing Workshop at Dinnerware Artspace in Tucson

Adults

March 19, 2011

10: 00 AM – 12:00 PM

Dinnerware Workshops are based on exploration and experimentation. I’ll bet you never thought of using Jell-O to make an art print. On March 19th, 2011 join me and try it out for yourself. I will lead a demonstration of printing on fabric using gelatin, yes, Jell-O, to make monoprints. I will also show you how to print on fabric using found objects and kitchen utensils. If you think this sounds crazy, come join me and be crazy too. 

It’s great fun for those who want to explore new mediums, test the waters, and bridge the gap. Bring a friend and make it a friend-art-date. Be sure to wear old clothes or an apron. Dinnerware will provide all the fabric paints and several pieces of fabric. Bring extra fabric of all kinds to broaden your adventure. 

Orange Fabric was Printed on Jell-o!

Art Cloth Network Call for Members!

Art Cloth Network is open for a few new members. If you'd like information about
the group, see our website at http://www.artclothnetwork.com.

Those of us who are members find that the opportunities for community,
conversation, sharing of techniques, inspiration and resources benefit our art
and creativity. We have recently increased our membership limits to 30 members
in good standing, including those on formal leave. When the number falls below
30, we accept new member applications. We currently have openings for up to six
new members.

While some of us also make art quilts or mixed media work, the group is focused
on art cloth and its specific surface design techniques and approaches. This
includes making lengths of cloth, rather than small samples or fat quarters.
Please read the information about art cloth on our website and look at examples,
to make sure that you are interested in this field. Only those artists who
submit examples of art cloth that meet this description will be considered for
membership.

We meet as a group every 9 to 10 months in different regions of the United
States, usually between August and October. Since these meetings are critical to
our growth and vitality, we require attendance at 2 out of 5 consecutive
meetings. Membership begins with the first meeting attended. Members bring and
discuss their work at these meetings, and we share other professional concerns
and opportunities. Previous meetings have been in Texas, Minnesota, Illinois,
Florida, California, Georgia, Arizona, and New Jersey. The 2011 meeting will be
in Florida.

We also produce a new exhibit annually, with a call for entries each year. Since
opportunities for showing art cloth are limited, this is an important membership
benefit. Members are required to enter two of five calls for entry in order to
maintain their membership status.

Only applicants who can and will attend the next meeting will be accepted into
the Art Cloth Network during this membership call period. That meeting will be
in or around St. Petersburg, Florida on either October 13-16 or November 10-13,
2011. Full details about the conference and this financial commitment will be
mailed to those extended a membership invitation.

The current deadline for membership applications is March 15, 2011, and you can
send in your application materials at any time prior to the deadline. You will
be notified by April 15, 2011 whether your application has been approved.

Send a request to susiemonday@... in order to receive the POSTEROUS
application site address.

On-line Class with Tamara Laporte (AKA Tam)

I found Tamara Laporte's web-site, Willowing and Friends, from a posting on Facebook. Tam is a mixed media artist with lots of personality and a BIG Heart. This site and its sister site Willowing.org are filled with a variety of groups (such as, a support group, a critique group, an art challenge group, an art journal group, etc.), interviews, classes she offers, links to other mixed media artists, and more. You can find pictures of her student's work there and free videos.

I signed up for her free Art, Heart, and Healing course. Over 1200 have enrolled in this course. It was first offered in October of 2010. However, it is still available. I started in December. Each of the four classes consists of two 1-hour videos and two pdf files with written instructions. The videos primarily consist of watching Tam create the project for the week. The camera is pointed at what she is doing and not at her. You can either watch the videos on-line or download them to your computer.

I downloaded lesson 1's videos, so I could watch her, stopped (hit the pause button) the video, and performed the step she just demonstrated. When I was done I had drawn and shaded in a face. This is about the third face I have ever drawn and the first I shaded. She uses watercolor crayons and pencils. I was amazed. It was easily and I had fun doing it.

After doing the face, we worked on the background. In addition to the art lesson, a healing exercise was incorporated into the artwork. I am always too serious; consequently, the message I created for myself was "It is okay to be playful!"

I know, I know, I need to work on a happier look! I have already started.

To continue my goal of being more playful, I have enrolled in her Magical Mystical Makings course where we will create goddess, angels, fairies, mermaids, and unicorns. This course begins on January 17, 2011. Go to her site, click on the class, and view a video advertising it. In her courses, you can upload your work for her to suggest ways for improvement. She uses Photoshop to show you what you can do to improve your work. If you want to give yourself a creativity present, may I suggest you consider enrolling in this course.

Rainy California Visit

It rained my entire visit to southern California. My flights in both directions were late. On my return, part of the baggage machinery broke down and it took an additional twenty minutes to get my bags. And then it poured last night here in Arizona. However, I am home and sleeping in my own bed. There is no place like home!!!

In California, my mom, sister and I baked cookies and cakes all day Sunday. Here is a picture of mom hard at work. 

 

We had a great time making and sampling our products. Monday, we took mom shopping and watched a movie. We had fillet mignon for dinner that I cooked. As many of you know, my husband does almost all the cooking in our house since he retired. 

As I was typing this post, the cookies I put in the oven almost burned beyond recognition. I set the timer for 45 minutes and came into the studio to write this post. I had the clothes dryer on which is between the studio and the kitchen. Ali was making chestnut soup for dinner. This was a new recipe from book his Austrian friend sent him on Trieste. 

The timer went off for the cookies and he just ignored it. I did not hear it because of the clothes dryer.When I came into the kitchen for dinner I remembered the cookies. The other rim is burnt, but the inside is okay. The soup was just okay. Ali did not like it and did not even finish it. So we joked about our two cooking fiascoes over dinner. Better that then cry!!!!

Florida Bird Safari

Last week, my husband and I went to Florida to visit the Everglades and the Keys. In reviewing all of the 351 photos I took, I decided that I would characterize them by topics. The first topic is birds. While we did not see any bald eagles, we did same some amazing birds. First, were the birds we saw on the beaches on our trip from Tampa to the Everglades.

Next were the birds we saw in the Everglades while on a boat trip through the coastal mangroves.

As we traveled down a creek in the mangroves, we kept starling many of these white birds from their sanctuary, as depicted in the next photo. This was an awesome adventure.

The next bird is an Anhinga. They have no oil on their wings, so they have to dry them in the sun after diving into the water for food. Their feathers are beautiful.

We next visited the "River of Grass." While walking on boardwalks we saw a blue heron and other friends.

All of these ducks had eyes that were this gorgeous green-blue color. I was amazed!

                                         

Then we drove down to the keys. In Key Largo we had lunch on a boat dock. While there, this great white heron also came by for some lunch.

This small sea bird was not very happy with the heron.

When we arrived in Key West, I noticed that free range roosters and hens just wandering the streets. Check out this color guy!

I leave for California tomorrow to visit my mother and sister. Rayna, I will post some non-bird pictures when I return next week.

Mix Media Wood Collages

Yesterday, I finished five mix media collages mounted on wood. I am getting ready for the Wild Women Artists Trunk Show which is scheduled for this Sunday. I will be selling my dyed clothes, dyed scarves, mix media collages, and cell phone purses.

Four of mix media collages contain fabrics that I have colored either with dyes and/or fabric paint. A variety of techniques were used to created the interesting textures on these fabrics. The first two collages were mounted on solidly painted wood panels.

I decided to get a little creative with the painting of the wood panels for the next two fabric collages. I just love to paint. 

The fifth collage was made using colored tissue paper that was torn into pieces and glued together with a mixture of elmer's glue and water to form a new sheet of paper. I plan to do some more with this technique. Texture was created on both the paper and the wood panel by applying gold metallic paint with a large holed sponge.