New Workshop: Bento Box

-post updated in orange 10/19/18-

I will be announcing portions of my 2019 workshop schedule in the coming weeks and introducing the new additions to my workshop schedule as well. First up...

BENTO BOX

NEW FOR 2019

Hungry for creativity? Build your own Bento Box filled with art in this jam-packed workshop. We will be making a series of projects, small in size but big in impact, that will each nest in its own container - think tins, boxes, bags, etc. 

Each of these will in turn be placed and housed inside one larger box, creating a very special treasure chest. 

Your unique art pieces will include some combination of handmade books, paintings, collages, assemblages, scrolls, wraps, shrines and more. 

This workshop will be taught across 2, 3, 4 or 5 days. The longer the class, the more projects will be made. And each workshop will be unique.

In the end, the process of opening and exploring the contents of the box becomes a magical part of the art.

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Bento Box debuts as a two day class at The Queen's Ink in Savage, Maryland from 2/9 to 2/10/19. Joker's Wild, another new workshop that is the sequel to 52 Card Pickup, will also be offered at the same visit on 2/8/19. Registration is now open for both classes and only a few seats remain. These classes have both filled but I have added a repeat performance of Bento Box at The Queen's Ink from 2/20-2/21. Registration is open.

Bento Box will make its way to the west coast later in the year at two very special events. First up is the first week of May at Tinker Tailor Artist Maker, a retreat from Art is You in Redwood City, California. Registration opens in December.

In June, I am excited to be teaching a four day version of Bento Box as part of my own retreat (including housing and meals) sponsored by the Pacific NorthWest Art School to be held at the Port Townsend School of Arts in Fort Worden State Park in Washington. The retreat starts 6/5/19 and registration opens in November.

If you are interested in the California or Washington retreats, please let me know by comment, email or direct message. I will be sure you are the first to receive more information and registration dates and details. I must have your email address to send the info and, while you may think that this is always provided when you leave a comment -- it actually usually isn't.

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Head to my workshop page to see additional 2019 workshops already announced, including classes in Arizona, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and both England and Scotland. Check back often as many more classes will be announced soon.

The Exquisite Corpse: Part I

I recently had the pleasure of co-teaching a five-day workshop with Holly Dean in Burritt's Rapids, Ontario - just outside of Ottawa. The workshop was originally called The Exquisite Corpse...but almost nobody signed up. We changed the name to Lovely Creatures and filled the seats.

Burritt's Rapids is a small town that was quaint and peaceful. We taught at the community center and couldn't be happier with the space.

It was hot outside but nice and cool on the inside. And we were able to provide everybody with their own table - always a bonus at a workshop.

The concept of the Exquisite Corpse is based on an old parlor game, later popularized by a group of surrealist artists. Three people participate and draw on the same piece of paper - without seeing what the other has drawn. One draws a head, one a torso, and one a set of legs. The drawing is then unfolded and hilarity ensues. Here is an example, completed with a group of local artists after the workshop ended. I drew the torso.

For our workshop, we put a twist of this concept. Every participant made a seven-page, flip book divided vertically into three equal sections - one each for heads, torsos and legs. Everybody also made their own box to house the book. For the images, we used collage pieces rather than drawings.

We painted, ink, embossed, and collaged. Here are some pages in progress.

Here are most of the book covers.

One of the boxes.

And the wonderful class.

Next Post: my book and pages

Art Down Under - Part 2

I found my recent trip to Australia very inspiring and was in an art making mode whenever I had a free moment. I am sharing this work in a series of posts. You can find the first post here and additional work below. Available pieces have just been added to my online shop. 

Iron Mountain (available here)

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Bird of Paradise (available here)

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Art Down Under - Part 1

One of my favorite parts of traveling is the creative inspiration it provides. I find that my art can change, in both subtle and dramatic ways, when I am away from home and on an adventure. This has always been the case when I visit Australia and my recent trip there was no exception.

Several of my workshops were hosted by Fiber Arts Australia and my use of fabric bits and stitching, already a part of my art to a degree, has noticeably increased as a result. Happily I found time to create a good deal of work during my stretch in Australia and am itching to create more now that I am home. Here are just some of the pieces I made, with more posts to follow in the coming days.

(Sold. Thank You)

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Available pieces from this post have now been added to the shelves of my online shop. Stay tuned for more posts and additional work to be added there soon.