Enrollment is open for the Fall 2 Session of classes at the Oak Park Art League, and I am offering two mixed media classes back to back on Mondays, starting October 19 and running for four weeks. I am excited to introduce new projects in which we will emphasize one element of mixed media each week – direct combinations of drawing with pastels, pencils, pens, ink and oil pastels, and painting with acrylic ink and paints; creating collage papers and then cutting them to make patterned and meditative collages; creating a narrative piece of art using all kinds of sources for inspiration and collage, then adding drawing, painting and image transfer as needed; and building a piece of artwork based on a collage foundation with the principle of “start like a bricklayer, finish like a jeweler.”
These classes are best for people with some experience in drawing and painting but are open to everyone who wants to experiment and play with combining different art media and techniques. It is the sort of class that meets you where you are, in that if you are new to art making you will likely create more simple projects while you get the gist of each technique, and if you are advanced in skill then learning how to combine various media will lead to new studio practices and inspiration for fresh artwork.
Register here. Classes will be on Mondays from 10:00-12:00 and 1:00-3:00, from October 19 – November 9. Keep an eye out for the Fall 3 session, which will begin November 15.
This is a painting I recently created combining gel plate printing, drawing, and painting with acrylic ink and paint. I wanted to capture the ends of our summer garden as the season started to change to fall. I put a bunch of clippings into a bowl and arranged them so I could see everything. The smell of geraniums and basil and lemon verbena also contributed to a lovely end-of-summer sensory experience. Some of the herbs and flowers are prints made from life, and most are drawn and painted. See my recent artwork page to view more samples of mixed media pieces.
Tomorrow is the opening for Barely There: Micro Art Showcase, a group show of miniature galleries within the Carriage House Gallery, and miniature collections of multimedia artwork including textiles, paintings, sculptures, drawings, mixed media pieces, and a collection of art made in sardine tins. I was setting my work up on Monday afternoon and so I got a glimpse of other peoples’ work, and there is such a wide variety of how people work within the parameters of creating on a 1:12 scale. For each individual artist gallery of miniatures there is an accompanying full size piece that will be hanging above. I am excited to see how it all comes together at the opening tomorrow from 1:00-3:00. The reception is open to the public and all are welcome!
My full size piece, “Late Summer Meadow,” is 12×12 (16×16 framed), and was completed in August. It is a gel plate print with oil pastel and acrylic paint.
My micro gallery on installation day. It is actually my own gallery that I built last year that I decided to fill with miniatures salon style. These are all pieces created this year, some in February and some in September. All are for sale.
Happy Fall!
