This collage is made with techniques from the Puttin on the Glitz class. It was featured in Somerset Studio back in May of 2004, It is Aluminum Foil and Molding paste and other things, I don;t quite remember!

My class, “Puttin” on the Glitz” is near and dear to my heart. It is the class that got me started teaching at Art Retreats. It is the class that was written up in Somerset Studio Magazine in 2004.  It is my favorite class to teach! And I will be teaching it this month in Colorado at The Artist’s Nook! http://www.theartistsnook.net This is the class that has most of the techniques that are shown on my DVD. But we won’t be working on a painting like I did on the DVD. We’ll be working on small pieces of paper, learning all sorts of textural techniques. Then we’ll paint these papers and build a small collage from them – mounted on a textured canvas background!  Students make a BUNCH of beautiful papers in this class that will give them lots of great collage elements for future use. Plus, they’ll learn a lot about acrylic textural stuff. It will be my favorite kind of day, messing with paints and shiny foils!!! The techniques that I teach in this class, I use on almost every piece of artwork that I do in some way.  There are still a few opening s in the class if you want to come and join us!!! There are reasonable hotels in the area! Hope to see you there!!!!

This painting is on a stretched canvas. But, as you can see, I have added a bit of textured metallica to it as well. This type of thing will be very possible for you to do if you have taken the class!

This is a Gesso Technique on Muslin with Thread Calligraphy added. Artist: Nancy Kazlauckas

I taught last summer at Calligraphy Connection International Calligraphy Conference at St. John’s College in Minnesota. One of my students, Nancy Kazlauckas is a fabric artist. She does “Thread Calligraphy”. lettering with her Bernina sewing machine. She took the techniques from my “Glorious Papers” class and used them on canvas and muslin. Then she took them home and did her magic with “Thread Calligraphy”. Here is a photo of one of the pages of a book that she made. To see more go to: http://www.berninausablog.com/insp. Scroll to the December 30 entry by Nancy Kaziauckas – “Thread Callligraphy”. Thanks, Nancy for posting this!!!

When I got to Wendy’s sign shop, she scanned the word into her computer and sent it to the “printer” that cut out the masking film. Then I applied the film to the vase and masked out the rest of the vase with other film. We put it in the booth of the sandblaster and blasted away.  Wendy cut two masks out so I was able to do both sides! I was surprised at how well it turned out!

I was pleased to win an award for it in the November exhibit for Michigan Association of Calligraphers!  It was great fun to do and I am looking forward to the next time Wnedy asks us back. I am planning a calligraphic fixture for over my dining room table!!!

I recently wrote out some of my favorite ways Yahoo Group for Calligraphers. I thought that since I had taken the time to write it out, I might as well take advantage and post it here.

My design quotes for students.

When explaining to people about how to choose colors to START painting with, I tell them: “If you wouldn’t put it on your body together, don’t put it on your canvas together”.

Also,
“START painting with somewhat analogous colors. Try to stay with colors that are within one quadrant of the color wheel. DO NOT cross
the color wheel until you are ready to define a focal point”.

When building a collage: Start with your 3 main pieces. small medium
and large. Get them placed and then build around them.

I define “Ephemera, strings, beads, metal pieces, even small gilded
areas as jewelry”. When outfitting ourselves for a special occasion,
the jewelry is usually the last thing we buy. So, I tell students, get
the dress first , the dress being the largest piece of the collage.
Then add the shoes, scarf, etc. The jewelry is the last thing we do.
Add the Ephemera (jewelry) last, and keep it small and focused.

How to decide if something belongs on a collage or not: Put it where
you think you want it. Study it for a moment. Take it away and study
the piece without it. IF you feel a “sense of loss” when the piece is not there, it should be there”. If you don’t “feel” like something is missing, it should not have been there to begin with.”

These thoughts may not apply in all aspects of art, but I find them
helpful to speak to students in trying to teach design. People are often
more visual than they often realize and these phrases, I hope, help
people to “tap into” their own visual sense. When I start talking
about principles and elements of design, people start yawning, so I
try to tell them in a way that is, perhaps a bit more humorous but
helps people realize that they are designing everyday in many ways.

My other phrase, when talking about “direction” which I feel is VERY
important in calligraphic works is “Draw a roadmap for the eye of the
viewer”, send them where you want them to go (focal point, next page
in a book, etc.) Lines of written words, flourishes, ascenders,
descenders, etc, are all very directional. When you are making
decisions about extending ascenders, descenders,etc. or making a
flourish at the end of a paragraph, etc, they can become arrows for
your viewer and it is important to be aware of how they are placed in
a work.

So, those are my favorite design “Quotes”, hopefully they will help others to make good design decisions.

As I was working and having such a great time, I was wondering, why on earth am I not doing this more often? It took me most of the day to decide what I was going to do and to get myself actually into the studio! Why am I so resistant to getting started?

While cleaning up I found these words, I think that I need them emblazoned on my brain somehow – or maybe I can project them very large somewhere where I can see them constantly!

How You Can Cultivate Creativity

by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Try to be inspired by something every day.

Try to inspire at least one person every day.

Write down each day what surprised you and how you surprised others.

When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it.

Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to.

If you do anything well, it becomes enjoyable.

To keep enjoying something, you need to increase its complexity.

Take charge of your schedule.

Make time for reflection and relaxation.

Shape your space.

Find out what you like and what you hate about life.

Start doing more of what you love, less of what you hate.

Develop what you lack.

Shift often from openness to closure.

Find a way to express what moves you.

Look at problems from as many viewpoints as possible.

Figure out the implications of the problem.

Implement the solution.

Produce as many ideas as possible.

Try to produce unlikely ideas.

This is the type of papers I was creating. I worked on sheets that are 40″ long. The plan is to make it into an accordion book.

They used a Video camera plugged into a digital projector. The camera took the picture and the projector projected it. Everyone in the room (approx. 40 people) could follow along with what I was doing at my table! It was pretty amazing as well as exciting for us as an organization. This means that we can have more lettering demos at meetings, because now everyone in the room can see what the person upfront is doing! I was “wowed” by the whole idea! Here is a pic of me lettering with Diane looking over my shoulder – making sure that I kept everything in “view” of the camera!

I will be teaching this same class in March at The Artist’s Nook in Northern Colorado. Hope to see you there!