Mixed Media Workshop in the Quonset Hut

The first Shake Rag Alley workshop in the new Quonset Hut was Mixed Media Paint Layering held in mid March. The Quonset Hut is pretty funky around the edges and scheduled for renovation, but nobody minded at all, especially not me. What a great space to spread out in! I had room to set up a separate demo station for the first time ever. It was glorious.

There were 10 terrific students and everyone did great. We first made some fabric paper which is an overnight dry meaning they would have to take it home wet for later use. (But we had ample room to spread it out - yeah!)











Then we moved on to layering thin coats of acrylic paint (glazing), collaging, and stamping on watercolor paper to build up patterned paper with lots of depth.

This was a very short class, only three hours, so there wasn't much time to take these papers and work them into a finished piece. But there were lots of stencils and card stock on hand for anyone who wanted to use some of their newly created paper to make a card like these pomegranate and hand cards.

Altered Book Workshop

I've had two great groups of students for workshops so far this month. Both through Shake Rag Alley, but both firsts in terms of location.

At the beginning of the month, two women from Rockford who were here for a Shake Rag Alley custom retreat weekend, joined me in my studio for an afternoon making Altered Books. First workshop that I've taught in my own studio. Really a plus to have all my supplies at hand for them to use.

My second class was the first Shake Rag workshop in the new Quonset hut! More on that class in a separate post.

Both Rhonda and Barb are veteran crafters so they really moved right along and got a remarkable amount done in only three hours. Here's Rhonda's amazing book. Can you make out the image of the man peeking out from under the torn pages in the detail? Very clever.

Book detail showing
face peeking through

I'll be teaching the Altered Book workshop again in the fall at Shake Rag Alley on September 28th. 
Registration will be open by late April. See the workshop tab above for a class description.

Altered Book

I was asked if I would teach an altered book class for a group of women coming to Shake Rag Alley for a custom retreat, a girls getaway weekend. I was dubious. I hadn't done anything with altered books in years, plus they wanted only a three hour class...a pretty short time to complete an altered book. After some thought I concluded it might be possible to create a niche and get two pages and the cover completed in three hours if I prepped the books before class. 

So I needed a sample. This is what I came up with. Not in three hours mind you, but admittedly I got a little carried away. In fact I had a great time doing this book. I decided to give it a heart theme, maybe in part because I had hearts on my brain after a January of obsessing on Valentine card making. But actually, I just like the heart imagery.

I found that I really like using the book format as a substrate for art. I get a little tired of thinking that art always has to hang on the wall. There's something really appealing about an art object that you not only are allowed to handle, but actually HAVE to handle and hold and manipulate in order to see all of it.

So now I'm completely obsessed with altered books. I'm working on one about drawing and have lots of other ideas, more than I will probably ever get done. I'll post more when they are finished.

Iowa County Courthouse Exhibit

The Iowa County Courthouse in Dodgeville invites local artists to show their work on a rotating basis in their second floor atrium space. I will have an exhibit up throughout the month of February with 5 drawings, 12 collage/mixed media works, and my large canvas wall hanging.










It's a large, wonderfully open area with exhibit space for hanging on either side of the central staircase. Lots of natural light from a large skylight. Even on a somewhat gloomy winter day there were no lights on and yet it was bright. I'm very pleased with how the show looks. Jan Johnson, another Mineral Point artist, also has a wonderful exhibit on the first floor. Stop by and have a look!

Iowa County Courthouse

222 N Iowa St

Dodgeville, WI

weekdays 9am to 4:30pm

through February, 2013

Park in the lot behind the building and use rear door.

Exhibit is on the second floor.

Mixed Media Paint Layering Workshop

We were a small but enthusiastic group for my Mixed Media Paint Layering workshop last weekend at Shake Rag Alley - they were really into it. But then what's more fun than spending an afternoon playing with collage and paint?

Some fun stuff created by the students:

Lynn's sweet collage (wouldn't it make a great card?)

Really like the layering in Christine's pomegranate piece.

Ron's piece - great combination of colors!

Some Fun With Valentines

Just can't get enough of making valentines.

Here's one with used palette paper for a background:

Here are a few little valentines with layered pieces of fabric:

Mixed Media Valentines

Every year I look forward to the Shake Rag Alley Valentine Sale.

I absolutely love making valentines for this event. Gives me the perfect excuse to haul out ALL of my supplies and play with EVERY technique I can think of. 

Here are are few of my mixed media cards with lots of layering. I use just about any sort of scrap from my stash of materials - fabric paper, muslin that I have hand stamped and colored with acrylic paints, collaged papers, old book pages, hand-made paper, package wrap...basically whatever I find in the studio that just looks great. Oh yeah, and stitching.

These two are samples of a very clean, simple design I like to do. It's so fun and easy to discover a terrific looking heart in just about any piece of fabric paper, cut it out and hand sew on an interesting old rusted washer or a bent wire metal shape. Glue the heart onto some nice paper backing, then glue that to the front of a card and the effect is quite elegant.

Art Charm Jewelry

I've been busy making little Art Charms from various junk. Here's some of what I've come up with.

The dangles on these earrings started out as a pair of semi-translucent plastic beads or buttons (not sure which) that I had in a box of buttons and old jewelry I picked up somewhere. I decoupaged them and used a couple of washes of acrylic paint. Thought they were a bit bulky for a bracelet, so added a few beads and made them into earrings. I originally intended to hang the dangles from a chain instead of a beaded wire so I could call them my Ball and Chain Earrings, but the beads are these very nice aged metal that just seemed right.

This is a mismatched pair of dangle earrings made from hairpins. I was trying out a few different designs. I think I like the longer one on the left best. The other one just doesn't want to hang as nicely.

And here's a completed charm bracelet made from a bunch of Art Charms, most of which were shown in an earlier post. The chain, like much of my raw materials, was a thrift store find. Added some buttons and wooden beads to kind of pull the whole thing together. I see many charm bracelets with widely spaced charms. Great for appreciating each individual charm, but not surprisingly, I go for the wild and totally mixed-up chunky look.

2012 Teaching Schedule Through June

I'll be teaching four classes this spring at Shake Rag Alley. Registrations are now open.

Hope you can join me!

Mixed Media Paint Layering
March 17

Altered Mint Tins
April 29

Bracelet With Handmade Beads
May 19
(Beads and Bangles Weekend)

Junk Drawer Art Charms
May 20
(Beads and Bangles Weekend)

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