The workshop schedule/format at my studio has changed for a number of reasons – smaller space, my increased responsibility as president of the San Antonio Art League, and just general life changes – but I’m always happy to accommodate special groups like yesterday’s art teachers from North East ISD.
They had requested an all-day session that would give them six hours of CEU credit and jump start their school year with some new ideas for themselves and their students. We decided on a workshop that was similar to the one I taught in Provincetown. It has a little bit of everything – composition, storytelling, photo manipulation, mark-making, encaustic and collage.
We worked hard from 10-4 in the studio, and each participant created a beautiful portfolio of four five mixed media works, one of which was chosen to be matted. Want to see photos from the day’s workshop? Start scrollin’ down and see it step-by-step!
Mixed media stash ready!
We prepare the substrate by taping the edges with blue painters’ tape for a clean border
Once the composition is in place, we veil with white paint
. . .and then use an old credit card to scrape off and reveal chosen sections
Notice how the placement of the objects makes a unified composition
Some quiet work time —
First works are pinned up to the wall for discussion – lookin’ good!
Suggestions are marked up on one of the example handouts
Melissa adds her work to the critique wall
There’s a lot of good image alteration in this one
One of my favorites – subtle and painterly
Although these pieces are studies rather than finished works, they are quite lovely
After lunch, we start working with beeswax, incorporating some simple encaustic techniques
Book foil is a bright addition to the wax layer
Remember this piece from the morning session? It’s layered with beeswax.
This mixed-media collage uses family photos and letters enhanced by beeswax
You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, and you can make art without messing up a studio!
Each person chose one piece to may and display at the end-of-class critique
This is Melissa’s strong work that you saw earlier, this time with beeswax added – notice the vertical blue line and the fantastic marks
Grizelda pulled together a lovely collage of vintage family photos and memories
S’lena’s work is perfectly balanced between image and pattern – the faint writing in the background is a secret layer of history that only she knows
Susan’s work evokes Renaissance themes . . . it’s horizontal rather than vertical
This piece is mine, and is the demo piece I did as I worked along with the others
Happy art teachers, beautiful work, and proud teacher –
I think this workshop format is perfect, at least it was for us. It worked because:
- We had all day to really explore and immerse ourselves – we even ate lunch at the work table and discussed the process
- Four to five people is the right number for this space – good dynamics, intimate atmosphere
- The workshop topic had lots of structure, but also lots of room for exploration with many techniques that could be extended into individual work
This may be the new workshop model at Lyn Belisle Studio. Let me know if you have a small group who might like to spend a day with me making art.
In the meantime, I’ll be teaching a “Postcards to Myself” workshop at the San Antonio Art League on Sunday, August 29th as a fundraiser and introduction to the Art League. I’ll put the details up this weekend and post it on Monday.
Special thanks to all of the teachers who worked with me yesterday – art education is in good hands with you to guide and mentor creative kids!