Friday, April 22, 2011

Collage Mania

I taught in Licking, MO the other day, a class organized by the super-talented Lanie Frick. Her horse paintings are quite special so you might want to take a look at her website. She contacted me out of the blue to arrange this workshop which focused on Mixed Media Collage.

I met fun people, the kind of folks who bring baked goods to share. All the ladies had b-i-g hearts and I adored their astute humor; they were basically my fave kind of people.
Student work, Mixed Media Collage

Student work, Mixed Media Collage

Student work, Mixed Media Collage

They are on the lookout for a barn for me. Ha, ha, you know this ongoing pipe dream of mine to have a huge art barn so I can run away from home to a place where no one could find me. Of course I would bring John and the kitties with me, so I guess it really isn't running away in the usual sense of the phrase. Licking is beautiful country and this time of year it is especially nice with an abundance of blooming dogwoods amidst the rolling hills. I am so drawn to country vistas where you are situated on a high patch of land and the view goes on seemingly forever.


I also managed some studio time this week (hip hip hooray!!) and finished a couple paintings which are shown here. Both were done on claybord with Wood Icing texture, stencils and tar, which is my new love. The birds are tiny vintage paper torn from very old sheet music. I had not intended to use them, but they kept jumping in to the piece and well......you know how that is.

Also completed my 'demo' work during the workshop, two Common Denominator pieces. It always feels good to revisit that series. One of the pieces is actually for me (can you believe it, I made something for myself!) of my maternal grandparents. You may recall several months ago I did a piece of my paternal grandparents as part of a Great Day segment. I wanted a 'matching' piece for the other side of the family. The piece at the bottom is an overdue birthday gift for a friend of mine, I hope she likes it! There is a lot of meaningful symbolism in both these pieces, which is the way I like to collage, where each and every element has been selected for a very specific reason.

Before I go, check out this great tutorial that Judy Shea posted. She has been using Wood Icing and pssst, I think she likes it. Anyway, she is also running a contest so stop by her blog to enter.
And......don't forget the contest over on Laura's BLOG. We are giving away a signed copy of my book, along with the exclusive stencil.


6 comments:

  1. Thanks, Mary Beth for mentioning my blog. I'm having fun with the Wood Icing.

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  2. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and learning from you. I imagine you were quite pooped when you got home. I live about two blocks away from the museum and I was really tired when I got home. The real surprise, however, was the next day when I woke up...I hurt everywhere. Felt as though I'd been through the mill, run the gauntlet, and had a hard day's night all at once. What the?


    I'm very nearly a workshop virgin...does the first time ever really count? Anyway, we had a great time, learned a lot, laughed a great deal, and I hope we will be able to see you again soon. I hope we can figure out a good reason for you to come this way again. I, for one, can say you are my type of gal too!

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  3. Sandy, that is so weird because I felt exactly the same way on Thurs. Almost flu-ish, but not - sort of like I was trying to fight off an illness. I ended up sleeping quite a bit and now I'm fine.
    Yeah, I would definitely come out again, but would prefer to come the night before and stay over, cause that morning drive 'bout killed me.

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  4. Beautiful new pieces Mary Beth....from the sound of it I need to find a workshop near me and take a class with you. And the barn thing is a most splendid idea!

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  5. Fabulous pieces again Mary Beth!!! Love the colours, and I am a big fan of personal little things/symbols in artwork. I do it all the time myself. Nobody else sees/recognize it, but it does make a piece of art very special and thát can be seen by everyone!

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  6. Lanie4:52 PM

    Really had a great time in the workshop and I learned some great cool new things. You're a very good teacher plus a lot of fun to be around. Hope to see you soon.

    Got my feelers out for a get-away barn for you. ;}

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