Back Online at last with Beatrice, Nebraska workshop

Nasty bronchitis nearly did me in. I've been wanting to upload this selection of collages from my Beatrice, Nebraska workshop. They were so productive, and not many had done collages before. I put one of each on this page. They did a fantastic job. I'm leaving on Monday for Granbury, Texas, my last workshop of the year.

Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society collage demo

I had a beautiful early morning drive yesterday through the countryside from my home near Centerville to the Cincinnati Art Club at the foot of Mt. Adams. The back route I took winds through historic Lebanon, Ohio, a visual delight, especially as the old trees are beginning to turn color. One of my students (Vernie) accompanied me and we enjoyed the drive, which I had timed perfectly to allow for leisurely setup at 9:30 before the meeting began at ten.

Oops! I missed a turn going through Eden Park and ended up climbing Mt. Adams, a series of narrow, winding, confusing streets. I knew where I was, but couldn't figure out how to get where I was going! I figured out that I should be heading down instead of up. When I finally got near the bottom of Mt. Adams we asked a workman and found we were about two blocks from our destination. We arrived at about two minutes before ten. The meeting hadn't started, but I felt rushed as I began the demo shortly afterwards. Not a problem, as it turned out, with such a receptive audience.

What a great group--around sixty people attended, not bad for a midmorning, midweek meeting. I eavesdropped on the meeting while I was setting up and was impressed with the announcements of several members accepted in prestigious shows and the many awards they received. The group was very attentive, many taking notes and others asking good questions as I went along. I confess to being a bit off balance at the start, probably from the late arrival and rush to set up, but I soon hit my stride. It's easy when you love what you do and have an appreciative audience.

My collage demo is a summary of what I teach in my workshops, from a brief history of paper collage to introduction of new materials and techniques. Some in yesterday's audience have tried collage, but few were aware of the newer products that are available. I took collage charts I've made and many samples of materials and techniques, in addition to some of my smaller collage works.

What I love about collage is that anyone can do it with just a few simple materials. Collage can be a craft or fine art. You can produce small collage postcards or big collage artworks. Collage can be a great blockbuster or a major medium. My book, Creative Collage Techniques is a comprehensive course in collage from beginning to advanced techniques.

Check out these links to collage projects on my web site:
Magazine Collage
Rice Paper Collage
Nature Collage

See also some of my collages on my web site.

Catching up on watercolor and collage

The Monday watercolor class continues to improve. One student who had been on vacation for several weeks brought in ten pieces she had done while relaxing in Florida. Several are good enough for shows. She's working hard and it shows in her work.

On Tuesday collage artist Jonathan Talbot stopped by for a studio visit and lunch with me and Virginia Lee Williams, my co-author of Creative Collage Techniques . Jonathan has pioneered a method of adhering collages without liquid adhesives, described in his book, Collage: A New Approach. He's very personable and entertaining, not to mention a fantastic collage artist. Jonathan Talbot's web site.

Today the color class learned how compatible triads work. Typically, they were a little confused after the lecture, but once they got into mixing the color wheels, light bulbs began popping on. By the end of class most of them understood what it was all about and were enjoying getting the unique mixtures of the triads. There are still a couple of people resisting the new concepts, saying, "I would rather use my own colors." That isn't very productive. When you have the opportunity to learn something new that might add to your mastery of color, isn't it better to try it while you have the chance? You can always go back to "your" colors, although I've found that most artists make a rather dramatic leap into creative color after this workshop.

Collage workshops amaze me

People get soooo creative in a collage workshop. The four-day workshop I just finished teaching in Dayton had students of all skill levels. Everyone worked very hard at learning new techniques. As a result there were quite a few fine pieces. Yesterday at a meeting of the Tri Art Club, which sponsored the workshop, the chairman showed pieces by several of the participants. It felt very good to get that feedback and know that the class was pleased with their work and willing to share it with artist friends. Techniques ranged from magazine and colored paper collage to rice paper techniques and making monotype papers for collage. I also taught a session on design elements and principles that apply to all art media. Amazing how little of that is taught in workshops these days. Now I must unpack all my collage materials and pack everything I need for my Exploring Color class starting this week at the Fairborn Art Association.