New Class: Junk Drawer Art Charms

The Shake Rag Alley spring schedule is almost final. I'll be teaching four classes in the spring of 2012, including a new class during the Beads and Bangles weekend - Junk Drawer Art Charms. There's a complete description of all the classes I teach on my Mixed Media Workshops page.

I really had a ball making the samples for this class. I made some charms using a couple of my favorite cheapo craft materials, craft foam and vinyl tubing. Also used up some old scraps of collaged watercolor paper which I embellished with brads. But the rest were made from cast-off objects and materials - corrugated cardboard, safety pins, an old wooden ruler, speaker cable, and so on.

I have a pile of other little doodads and a raft of ideas for what to do with them. For the most part I am trying to use the objects as raw material for a design rather than just using the object itself as the charm. It's truly an "anything goes" proposition...and great fun. Hope you can join me!

I will also be teaching Mixed Media Paint Layering. Many people who like my Valentine cards have asked how I get the layered and textured papers that I use. This is it.

My other classes will be Bracelet With Handmade Beads (also on Beads and Bangles weekend) which is first and foremost about making the beads (out of unconventional and inexpensive materials, of course!), and Altered Mint Tins which I have expanded a bit since last time I taught it. There should be enough time to complete a simple assemblage figure or maybe do more than one tin if just decorating the box.

I will update my teaching schedule in the sidebar with links to the Shake Rag class listings when registrations are open. Should be in early December. In the meantime, here's a schedule of dates:

• Mar 17 - Mixed Media Paint Layering 
• Apr 29 - Altered Mint Tins
• May 19 - Bracelet With Handmade Beads
• May 20 - Junk Drawer Art Charms

Memory Wire Bracelets

Fall Art Tour is next weekend (10am - 6pm, Fri-Sun, Oct 14-16)...and I'm almost ready!

If you are in the area I hope you can stop by my studio - click the Fall Art Tour link above for the location of my studio. You can also click the Fall Art Tour tab above for a peek at our basement transformed into the "Lower Level Gallery".

I've got lots of new work this year including my memory wire bracelets.

Used to do five or six loops which was very cool but kind of a lot of bracelet. Then went to a single loop. I liked that look and found it really easy to wear, but also found that a single loop catches on clothing and comes off too easily, so now I'm doing 2 1/2 loops for extra security  - almost lost my favorite bracelet taking off my jacket!

I make many of the beads out of paper, fabric, vinyl tubing, and wire. I combine them with African trade beads, beads from deconstructed old jewelry, and commercial beads (mostly out of natural materials).

There seems to be a lot of glittery, sparkly stuff out there but I've abandoned all that in favor of a more primitive, earthy style. And, of course, being a collage/mixed media, "messy art" kind of person, I naturally go for the random, anything-but-uniform look.

New Figure Drawings

Still going to Monday night figure drawing. Here are a couple recent graphite drawings. The dreadlocks were especially fun to draw - loved the way they cast shadows on his face.

Stop by my studio on Fall Art Tour, Oct 14-16, to see more of my drawings.

Bird Collages

Fall Art Tour is around the corner - October 14-16.

Nothing like a deadline to spur activity! I've been spending more consistent time in the studio...and loving it. I've been concentrating mostly on collages - lots of layers of collage elements and paint and whatever other media seems to work.

Here are a couple pieces in a series of fanciful bird collages.

Fancy Hen

Fancy Hen has earrings made from craft foam, embellished eyes from one of my drawings, and telephone cable wire outlines.

Sandpaper Bird

I call this one Sandpaper Bird because the wings are the back side of some sandpaper I had on my work table.

Mint Tin Figures - Student Work

I taught a class in August making figures from mint tins. Here are some great pieces from students.

Sherri's figure. Gotta love the hair! Cool use of dress pattern  to cover the doll face.

Karla's figure - exterior. She calls it "Sooo Big". Fun piece.

Karla's figure - interior

Di's figure.  Is the "face" on the tin or above it? Hmmm.

Collage Class with the Middle School Kids

I don't usually teach kid's classes but recently had an opportunity to teach a Collage class in the Youth Program at Shake Rag Alley. What a treat!

And what an interesting difference from adult classes. This was essentially the same class I have done many times with adults - lots of collaging and paint layering and pattern making. Adults usually fuss and fuss and rarely complete more than one piece in a two hour period but the kids just charged ahead with complete abandon...so much so that I had a hard time keeping up with them. Oh, to still have that energy and lack of self editing!

Here are some of the collages they came up with. I think they are wonderful.

Monday Night Figure Drawing

Every Monday night a group us get together for figure drawing at Green Lantern Studios. An exhibit of our drawings will be up at Green Lantern through the end of the month. Artists are me, Richard Moninski, Charlie Baker, Linda Kelen, Jack Ford, and Kate McQuade.

Each week we do a half dozen short poses for warm up then launch into a single two and a half hour pose. Everybody works in the medium of their choice. Even though I repeatedly swear I am going to branch out and try something new, so far I seem totally stuck on graphite.

Here are a few partial images of drawings I have done on Monday nights...the originals are too big for my scanner. One of these days I'll have to get around to photographing them full frame.

Until Richard suggested this show I had not spread out my drawings and looked at them as a group - an interesting exercise indeed!

The show is a treat. Quite fascinating to see how differently each artist interprets the very same subject (albeit from slightly different angles)...and how remarkably consistent our styles are.

Thank you to Richard for giving us the opportunity to show our drawings!

A Wonderful Gift

About a week ago I received a surprise package from Ron Sachse, a student in my March Altered Mint Tin class. When I opened the package I was blown away to find two gorgeous altered mint tins decorated with pages from the Shake Rag catalog!

The catalog listing for the Altered Mint Tin class is on the bottom inside of the larger tin and his class name tag is on the inside cover...both beautifully aged. 

I have to admit I am the most reluctant of teachers having been sort of cajoled into it. I often doubt myself, thinking I have nothing to share and wondering if I should stop. Well, I'm hooked now! This is the most wonderful of gifts. I absolutely love these tins and they are now among my most cherished possessions.

Thank you Ron!

Summer and Fall Mixed Media Workshops

The Shake Rag Alley summer and fall classes are now up on the website. I'll be teaching a couple of new classes, Tin Man (or Woman) and Image Transfers. I've posted the full class listings in the Mixed Media Workshops tab above. Direct links to the Shake Rag class registration pages are in the Teaching Schedule at Shake Rag listing in left column.

Mineral Point WRAP Show

Judge Pamela Callahan with "Marilyn" by Karla Vogel

Fifteen WRAP artists braved wintry weather to exhibit in the 2011 WRAP show sponsored by Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts and held in the Shake Rag Alley Cabinet Shop. It was a small but impressive show with a nice variety of work.

Pamela Callahan served as workshop presenter and judge of the show. Pamela is a painter and former assistant director of Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. Her studio, Otter Creek Arts Studio, is located in the country between Dodgeville and Highland. Pam showed slides of her work and explained her recent progression from doing figurative work to doing mostly abstract (which she told us she NEVER thought she would do). In the last half of the workshop participants had an opportunity to try their hand at non-intentional mark making as a springboard to creating artwork. Pam handed out a list of exercises designed to help get your judgmental mind out of the way, from doodling to use of templates, and shared a wide variety of art materials she had brought in.

State Awards went to Jack Dennis for “Pre-Owned Trucks for Sale” (Acrylic on gessoboard), Tom Fjelstad for “Untitled Abstract” (Oil on paper), Susan Hunt for“The White Pony 2” (Pastel), Chris Morton for “Heading West” (Acrylic), and Karla Vogel for “Marilyn” (Mixed Media).

Bruce Braun (“Western Aspens in Autumn”, Acrylic on canvas), Terry Doeler (“Sunshine's Palette”, Acrylic), Brett Hermanson (“Untitled 1” , Photograph), Mary Lou Lindroth  ("Empty Handed”, Watercolor), and Sharon Stauffer (“Text Messenger”, Assemblage) received Honorable Mentions.

Congratulations to all of the participating artists and thank you for sharing your work!