In November I signed up to take Jane Davies online workshop called "Monoprint Collage" with two of my students. We decided it would be fun to take the class together and have weekly joint painting sessions in order to spur each other on to greatness finishing well. I thought I would share some of the paintings I made over the 6 week class and some observations I made during the process.
The class began with 2 lessons on making collage papers with the Gelli Plate. We learned all kinds of techniques to use with the Gelli plate including using stencils, rainbow rolls, manipulating paint, using resists such as string, and multiple layerings. Here are just a few of the papers I made, out of the nearly one hundred we made. You will have to click on the link to see the papers at a larger size. All papers were made on 80# Sulphite Drawing Paper.
In lesson 3 , we made paintings with our collage papers, cut into squares or rectangles. The challenge was to balance the positive and negative spaces, and to use the pattern in a way that would encourage the viewers eye to roam all over the page. Here is an example of 3 of my finished collages.
In lesson 4 we used 'orb' shapes out of our collage papers and the challenge was to paint an interesting background behind them, and add elements (scribble or more collage) to make a finished piece. Here is my favourited of the bunch I made -all 8x8":
In lesson 5, we began by printing directly from the Gelli plate onto our substrate. either before or after adding collage, and playing with opaque and transparent paint layers. So it was print, mask, print, glaze with opaque or transparent paint and then do whatever it took to make a finished work. These are 3 of the ones I did, all 8x10":
In the last lesson, we began by printing and then adding collage, stenciling, glazing and opaque layering as well as adding linear elements and whatever else we felt led to do. Here are process shots of 4 of the 7 paintings I made.
A goal I had at the start of the workshop was to get more minimalistic in my approach, which you can see I failed miserably at. This goes to support my mantra that my body of work is called "Products Of A Busy Mind"!! Jane did a wonderful job of presenting the class, with a PDF of instructions along with 1-2 videos per lesson. The class had a private blog page so that we could post our work, which multiplied the learning seeing what other people did. It was fun to comment and receive comments on each others work, as well as Jane commenting on each of our posts. I learnt so much in the class, and I now know my Gelli plate will not be relegated to making papers for collage only. If you have an opportunity to take an online (or live) class from Jane, I highly recommend it. You can view Jane's great website which contains her wonderful artwork, an amazing blog and tons of free tutorials on her methods.
Enjoy!
Share |
The class began with 2 lessons on making collage papers with the Gelli Plate. We learned all kinds of techniques to use with the Gelli plate including using stencils, rainbow rolls, manipulating paint, using resists such as string, and multiple layerings. Here are just a few of the papers I made, out of the nearly one hundred we made. You will have to click on the link to see the papers at a larger size. All papers were made on 80# Sulphite Drawing Paper.
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| I was pleased to be able to make a successful composition with only 4 collage pieces! |
In lesson 4 we used 'orb' shapes out of our collage papers and the challenge was to paint an interesting background behind them, and add elements (scribble or more collage) to make a finished piece. Here is my favourited of the bunch I made -all 8x8":
In lesson 5, we began by printing directly from the Gelli plate onto our substrate. either before or after adding collage, and playing with opaque and transparent paint layers. So it was print, mask, print, glaze with opaque or transparent paint and then do whatever it took to make a finished work. These are 3 of the ones I did, all 8x10":
In the last lesson, we began by printing and then adding collage, stenciling, glazing and opaque layering as well as adding linear elements and whatever else we felt led to do. Here are process shots of 4 of the 7 paintings I made.
A goal I had at the start of the workshop was to get more minimalistic in my approach, which you can see I failed miserably at. This goes to support my mantra that my body of work is called "Products Of A Busy Mind"!! Jane did a wonderful job of presenting the class, with a PDF of instructions along with 1-2 videos per lesson. The class had a private blog page so that we could post our work, which multiplied the learning seeing what other people did. It was fun to comment and receive comments on each others work, as well as Jane commenting on each of our posts. I learnt so much in the class, and I now know my Gelli plate will not be relegated to making papers for collage only. If you have an opportunity to take an online (or live) class from Jane, I highly recommend it. You can view Jane's great website which contains her wonderful artwork, an amazing blog and tons of free tutorials on her methods.
Enjoy!
Share |
Excellent post Sharon. I love how you are always seeking out new ways to learn. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteA timely post! I've been sampling mono-printing on fabric for a piece I have to do; this month "Mono-print" is the theme for the group to which I belong. I'm working only with black and deep purple fabric paint (mixed)...and have to work quickly as it dries quite fast (though not as fast as acrylic paint!). An interesting experience!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. I really enjoy learning all things creative. I can't wait to seem some of your results Margaret!
ReplyDeleteWow, I found this fascinating Sharon. I especially loved how you shared 3 photos of your painting in process.I enjoyed looking for all the differences. Your (painting) tool box must be really heavy now! Thanks for all your sharing and descriptions! Love your work.
ReplyDeleteGosh Karen, thank you SO much! I am glad you enjoyed the process. There was 6 weeks of a lot of work, but I learned a ton!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post, Sharon. You are always growing and learning as an artist. I find that inspiring. Your work is beautiful - the shapes and colors and spatial qualities are very pleasing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Diane for your love and encouragement!
ReplyDeleteHappy NewYear! These are wonderful. I hope you enjoyed your time with Dale Roberts. Looking forward to meeting you at the International Encaustic Conference. Your fluid acrylic class looks great.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vicki! I hope you will find me and introduce yourself. We will have a Canadian table one day at lunch so we can all meet each other!
ReplyDelete