Sisters

 

Sisters, acrylic and collage on w/c paper, 10 X 10"

 
Imagine With Art Newsletter

Issue No.26

 
January, 2012   
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707-824-8163   

Table of Contents:
  Art Play
  Word Play
  On the Web
  Workshops
  Student Gallery  
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2550 Lewis Dr.

Sebastopol, California 95472

 

707-824-8163

 

The new Tuesday Muse Group just started yesterday, with seven enthusiastic creators.  The air was charged with that energy that comes with the wildness of being allowed to be yourself with paint, breaking rules and reaping the rewards of playful abandon.

The trick is that once that door to the creator's infinite sandbox is opened even a crack, there are just so many images and ideas and words and music, not to mention questions and the most unexpected answers that come rushing out, sometimes all at once. And we have to find a way to capture them!  Picture a mad dash with the butterfly net. In the Muse groups we capture some of them on paper, but the drama continues outside the studio.

Eric Maisel in his book Fearless Creating writes about the importance of "holding" these new ideas.
"You "hold" precious both the feeling of working and these nascent ideas.  Suddenly the world becomes a more interesting place.  The outer world feeds your inner world and you're sent in one direction or another, to the library to look something up, to Bora Bora to learn about blue.  Work is happening underneath, in this place of inner quiet (which is also a wild place), but work is not happening independently of you.  You are holding it: giving it space, giving it a container, offering it life."

And so, in an attempt to use this newsletter as my butterfly net, I have captured a small portion of the delicacies I have come across in my wild wanderings this month.

Cheers,

Susan  

Art Play:  Find the Word  
arpeggio    
 

  

Last month I suggested a way to start a piece with words written loosely across the paper with diluted ink as a way to embed meaning and word symbols before painting.  But why not also make the word(s) the last thing you paint on, after you have gone through the process of allowing the piece to speak to you. As you know, paintings do talk to us in thin whispers and gut sensations and occasionally in our native language (English for me!)

Sometimes I'll go racing to the Thesaurus or a word will jump out at me as I'm reading. Or an impression will stick with me like an irritating itch until I find the right word.  In this painting it was all the stairs, up and down, and it had to be a musical word, and I just couldn't think of the one. . .so I googled music terms, and there it was! Arpeggio.

And here's where one of those marvelous scrapbooking, arts and crafts tools comes in so handy in mixed media painting- Stencils!  Once you've found the word you don't have to rely on your calligraphy skills, or in my case lack of.  You can sponge the ink through one of the many alphabet stencils available for purchase in places like our Michael's here in Santa Rosa.

We'll be playing with these and other ways to incorporate words into mixed media paintings in the February 25th, Paint + Collage + Word workshop. 
Word Play 

The word illusio comes of course from the Latin for illusion, but the concept is a sociological one which refers to the investment people make in the activities that give meaning to their lives - from rock climbing to stamp collecting to growing orchids. It's my new favorite word.

 

We need our illusio to thrive. All the articles on living a long life say so. We're constantly encouraged to find our true purpose in life and wondering if we've found the "right one" yet, our true illusio (if you want to use the word).  

 

The paradox is that as we get caught up in our illusio, we forget that it is transitory, illusory. So is it possible to live with passion while simultaneously being OK with the knowledge that your enjoyment is transitory? Hmmm.  Well, it's worth a try! 


 
Find it on the Web

For a look at one of the most enchanting short videos of an artist at work channeling divine energy watch Sand Dancer!

If you like your meditations to be guided, you can participate for free in The Winter Feast for the Soul and download meditation instructions given by spiritual teachers from a variety of traditions.

Have you ever noticed that highly creative people often seem weirder than other people?  An article in Scientific American titled "The Unleashed mind:  Why Creative People Are Eccentric" explains what the connection is. One thing is for sure, that your own creative gifts are nurtured by your eccentricity.


Scrapbook Territory on 4th St. in Berkeley, CA is just the place for a mixed media artist to pick up whatever stamp or ink or tool or paper you don't particularly need but know you can't do without.  Last month I picked up the coolest little finger sponger thing to put ink onto a stencil. 

   

Come paint with me!

Whether you're a beginner or advanced painter, Imagine With Art workshops inspire and connect you with your playful expressive art self.  

     

Mellow out     

  

Paint + Collage + Word  

 

Learn to animate your paintings and add visual interest, intrigue and personal meaning by incorporating words and collage.  Unpack the metaphors embedded in language and image by playfully combining them in this mixed media approach using inks, acrylic paints, collaged papers and a variety of application methods.

When: Feb 25, 2012
Time: 10am-4:30pm
Cost: $80


Image Transfer with Nature's Patterns

 

Incorporate the exquisite patterns of nature in your mixed media paintings with digital image and copy transfers. Learn how to capture nature patterns to use in transfers and practice two methods of transfer:  using an ink jet print on transparency film and a laser/toner print on paper.  And all this in playful interaction with paint and collage!  

 

When:  March 17, 2012

Time:  10am-4:30pm

Cost:  $80

 

onceupon a time 

 

Art Journaling in the Muse Groups

 

Learn to paint intuitively, capturing thoughts, feelings and intuitions in the playful format of art journaling.  Each session features a differnet mixed media painting technique which you can add to your repertoire - from textured collage to painting techniques with inks and acrylics.  Meditation and writing are added to the mix to evoke that powerful Muse energy!

  

New Saturday and Sunday Muse Groups start in April: 
 
Saturday Muse Group (meets monthly for 6 months) 
When: April 14, May 19, June 9, July 14, Aug 4, Sept 8, 2012 
Time:  10am-2:30pm 
Cost:  $240 for 6 months, $45 for drop in session if space allows 
 
Sunday Muse Group (meets monthly for 6 months) 
When: April 15, May 20, June 10, July 15, Aug 5, Sept 9, 2012 
Time:  10am-2:30pm 
Cost:  $240 for 6 months, $45 for drop in session if space allows 

Note!  If you have to miss a session you may make it up at a different date.  
    

Location for the workshops:  The Studio in the Orchard, North Sebastopol

To register for the above workshops contact Susan.   

 

 

Free Demo!

Painting with Inks and Gesso

RileyStreet Art Supply, San Rafael   

 

Sat, Feb 11, 2012

11am-1pm

Free but reservations are required due to limited space.

To save your spot, contact Rileystreet or call (415)457-2787

 

 

  

Student Gallery
Art Journaling: Image Plus Word
Art Journaling: Image Plus Word
 
I've started snapping pictures of the art journal pieces the Muse students do in class, as much for my own inspiration as to keep a record of the lessons and share the visual poetry created with others. This slide show incorporates much of the work (although we prefer to use the word "play") done in lessons focusing on incorporating words/text into the painted/collaged imagery, and in subsequent lessons making and using acrylic "skins" or poured acrylic patterns.  Enjoy! I hope you'll also enjoy the music of my recent most favorite song, "20 Years" by the Civil Wars.    
Thanks to those of you who share insights, resources and more with me so that I can pass them on here!

Many of you are friends of mine on Facebook!  If you haven't already, please join me on my Imagine With Art Facebook page which is where I post all my latest paintings, videos, workshops, shows, blog postings, discounts on art supplies, and other news of relevance to art lovers. Help me get the word out by signing in to "Like" me on my Imagine With Art Facebook page Find us on Facebook.

  

Cheers,

-Susan Cornelis

 

 

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