We had a wonderful 4-day intensive mixed media collage workshop at the Mendocino Art Center. We explored working with acrylic paints & mediums, assemblage, gluing, tearing, layering, cutting, drawing, and scratching to create unique, layered paintings and 3-D assemblages.
Mixed-media collage, a way to re-contextualize everyday objects to create new works of art, is one of the most expressive ways to explore and expand your creative practice. Adding acrylic paints, 3-dimensional objects and working in layers provides the freedom to work in the moment and be open to discovery. In this workshop, you will be guided through techniques and processes to enhance spontaneity and help you to transform your way of working…or playing!
What a full summer it has been! A few weeks back I spent a lovely week on the coast at the Mendocino Art Center teaching a Book Arts workshop entitled “Open Secrets.” What an incredible experience. The class was wonderful- it was an intimate group which led to a lot of collaboration and creative discoveries. The chemistry of the four of us was perfect and to say we bonded is an understatement! The MAC staff and other workshop faculty and students who were also there only added to the fun.
We made paste paper, accordion books, sewn-in pamplets, learned pop-ups, tried some various transfer techniques, but the biggest nut to crack: learning to make Hedi Kyle’s blizzard book. This is an ingeniously designed origami-like folded book that has no stitching or glue. There are pockets that can be used as such, or folded open to reveal hidden gems. It was a folding, collaging, creating, paste paper-ing extravaganza.
Here are some of my Hamsa/Hamesh Hand prints.
Today is my Grandmothers’ birthday. These collages are of her and my Grandpa. I love how sweet the photo of the two of them is.
OK, so I have an obsession with leaves. I love them, delicious and colorful and surrounding me everyday. I especially love the sound of the wind as it shakes through our great eucalyptus, it gives me chills. (The good kind.) I also love books, and besides collecting and making them, I have been known to alter them or repurpose what I call “dying” old books. I find the quality of the paper delicate and beautiful. I am always finding things on my walks- bits of paper, rusty things, leaves, petals, rocks, anything that strikes my fancy. I love creating something new with found treasures.
I painted and collaged these little cards on repurposed/recycled paper. (Most of my work now-a-days is made with things I find or scrounge.) Each card has an image on one side and a word on the other. Sometimes I deal myself a card or hand to put something new in my noggin. It helps get my brain off in a new direction!
In these pieces I was experimenting with using the paste and paint directly on wood, and working on a larger scale. Hence, I needed larger pieces of paste paper to add on top. Ay-yi-yi! I also finally got to use some of my old rusty shmushed bottle caps.
I am fascinated with playing cards, Tarot, and what I call “divination” or”inspiration” decks. I have been making and assigning card deck projects for years. Working with an original old deck of cards, I glued and scratched and painted & rubbed myself the Two, Three and Four of Wands. There are more to come…
Confessions of a Paste Paper Addict 