scc encaustic workshop session 2

a lovely piece by monica zettler-segal, 2 wonderful pieces by linda dieringer, a great landscapey painting by john skrabalak, a branded drawing and collage by elaine morris(?), michelle maroni's fabulous feathery collection, charlotte toal's lovely collages and our cozy class busily working.

my second introductory encaustic class at the society for contemporary craft was just as successful and enjoyable as the first (see this post about the first session).

i kept both workshops small in number of participants because i was concerned about ventilation and electricity issues. fortunately, none of these issues arose during either session and because of that, we will be admitting more participants into next year's workshops!

we all had a great time during this second session, everyone learned a lot and made a ton of great work as you can see from the pics above. the participants during this workshop were charlotte toal, john skrabalak, linda dieringer, monica zettler-segal, michelle maroni and elaine morris.

because both workshops were so successful, we've already set dates next year for a one day mark-making workshop with a 2 day intro encaustic class immediately following and a 3 day advanced encaustic workshop a few weeks later. please visit my web site (information menu to events page) for specific dates for these and other upcoming workshops. if you can't make any of the scheduled workshops, i'm always available to schedule a private workshop for 1-3 participants in my home studio. please see my web site for more information about private workshops (information menu to workshops page).

sandra sheehy

untitled, 2009, mixed media, 10.5x5.5x9.5, untitled, 2007, mixed media, fabric, 24.5x10.5x2, untitled, 2007, mixed media, fabric, 29.5x8.5x3.25, untitled, 2010, mixed media, 11x10.5x6.5

there's a meditative quality, a quietness, a comfortable, homey nature that i feel must come from the heart of the maker and i SO want to own one...see more here.

susan chrysler white

mad about saffron, 2004, acrylic and enamel on canvas, 82x124, chimera, 2006, acrylic and enamel on canvas, family filigree, 2009, acrylic and enamel on canvas, 80x78

at first glance, these could be cheesy black-light posters one used to find at spencer gifts. upon closer inspection, i totally fell in love with the infinite detail the asymmetric symmetry and psychedelic madness...see more here.

Michael Shemchuk

fault line, 30x30, three 2 shuffle, south shore, 31x31

loving the marks...see more here.

Lawrence Cromwell

kill it nice, 2006, oil and wax on board, 24x36, huffin-puffitus, 2006, oil and wax on board, 60x48, bound for/bound to, 2006, oil and wax on board, 48x48

it's refreshing to see this awesome, bold, bright use of color as it seems overall that i've seen an almost muted palette in paintings lately...see more here.

sunday church drawing

elias sime

mewled, 2006, what is love? 6, 2007, yarn and bottle cap on canvas 132x188cm, filega 4 (searching 4), yarn on canvas, what is love? 1, 2007, yarn and bottle cap on canvas, 132x188, fertility, 2005, yarn on canvas, 155x93cm

i just read about this artist in the latest sda journal (see this post about another african artist from this issue) and i just love the simplicity and intimacy of these embroideries. unfortunately, there isn't a large online presence of his work, but if you google his name, you can find random images.

Madeline Denaro

undine, mixed media on canvas, 48x60, breaking through, mixed media on canvas, 48x48, sunday morning, mixed media on canvas, 65x63, the day after yesterday, mixed media on canvas, 48x60

clouds, wind, summer storms, rain slick city streets, foggy sunrises, lakes, raging rivers, mountains, green valleys, the smell of the woods at night in the summer...see more here.

toyin omolowo

visual rhythm 2, board, sawdust, oil color, tiles, straws, epoxy, resin, wax, 102x102cm, private passion 2, board, sawdust, oil color, tiles, nails, epoxy, resin, wax, 102x102cm, red aso-oke, board, newsprint, glue, hard card, acrylic color, resin, wax, 81x110cm, demystifying aso-oke 4, board, newsprint, glue, hard card, acrylic color, resin, wax, 102x142cm, private passion 1, board, sawdust, oil color, epoxy, tiles, dyed mat stick resin wax, 101x102cm

i read about this artist in the most recent sda journal which was devoted to african fiber artists. it was a great issue and i found it extremely inspiring. this artist was a standout to me with beautifully crafted work that speaks to architecture, the grid, domesticity, technology and life...see more here.

bovey lee

Beach Ball Blast (detail), 2009, hand cut chinese rice paper, 18.5x20, Power Plant-The Butterfly Dream, 2008, hand cut chinese rice paper, 40x27, Power Plant-The Butterfly Dream (detail), little crimes III, 2008, hand cut chinese rice paper, 19x19, Tsunami-Enmeshed (detail 2), 2008, hand cut chinese rice paper, 27x36.5

i was fortunate enough to meet this artist while i was teaching a workshop in pittsburgh last month. we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at my host family's house and i knew she was an artist, but i'm embarrassed to say i had no idea what her work looked like. when i got home, i checked out her web site and needless to say, i was both blown away and quietly humbled to know that i was in the presence of such an amazing artist. i've never seen such intricate detail and precision in cut paper work and she's surprisingly prolific despite the meticulous nature of her work...see a lot more work and details here.

ccp markmaking workshop

two awesome pieces by christine aaron, 2 of jane tracy's striking textural pieces, june berman's exciting mixed media paper collaged pieces inspired by maps, ethel renek's unique collage and soy wax discharge/stitched paper piece, a blind stitch exercise (sorry, can't remember who this belongs to!), 3 interesting glue drawings and a beautiful rust print by nancy berman, participants working on their blind stitch exercise.

i recently taught my explorations in markmaking workshop at the center for contemporary printmaking in norwalk, ct. this class was made up of all women and all were working artists, which made it a really fun group to teach. this was another small group, but small groups only mean that you have room to make a bigger mess and a ton of work! and they certainly did....
because this workshop was held in a printmaking center and because i'm all about fibers, all of the techniques i demonstrated could be done on fabric and paper (with the exception of composting, which can only be done on fabric). we started out with rust printing, composting and branding on the first day, with some fun markmaking exercises to get everyone in the spirit. the second day was response drawing day, where we covered many kinds of transfer techniques, exquisite corpse, drawing with horsehair and working with water soluble crayons. by the third day, everyone seemed really comfortable with the techniques and they were beginning to put them together in ways that reflected their personal work, which is most exciting for me to see. the techniques of the day were soy wax resist and discharge with bleach, blind contour drawings, instant indigo and texture drawings on cardboard. the fourth day was most exciting for me because it involved drawing with hand and free motion machine stitching and collage. i love introducing stitching as a drawing tool because it's the last thing that comes to mind when one thinks about drawing. we started out with a blind stitch exercise so as to demonstrate that stitching could be a mark, it doesn't have to be done exactly like the stitch manual diagrams (although it's always good to learn how to do it right first). everyone took to stitching right away and a couple of participantss are interested in buying a sewing machine!! once everyone got the stitching bug, they were combining and stitching the drawings they had started in the first days of the workshop.
the last day of the workshop is bittersweet for me, i'm sad to leave my new friends, but so excited for show and tell. everyone made some great work and some have written to tell me how they're continuing to work with and incorporate these new techniques into their current work. above you can see some of the great work produced during this workshop as well as see some other techniques i taught that i didn't mention in my brief synopsis. the participants in this workshop were jane tracy, nancy berman, ethel renek, june berman, christine aaron.
don't be sad that you missed this awesome workshop because i'll be teaching it at peters valley craft center in layton, nj in a few weeks (august 13-17) and there's still time to sign up!!!