Stamps, stencils & collage papers. Oh my!

We had a lot of fun in the studio on August 3rd and 4th in the Creating Stamps, Stencils and Collage Papers workshop. It was a small group, but creativity filled the air!

Summer time is quite busy for most people, so I will be offering this workshop again in the fall by popular demand. Keep an eye on hollydean.com for the dates and details.

Congratulations to Katharine, Spike and Janice - you created beautiful work!

An intimate group of three :)

Katharine chooses an image to carve in Softoleum

Carving a stamp out of craft foam mounted on Coroplast

A couple of Katharine's collage papers

Another of Katharine's collage papers

Spike carves a stamp out of Softoleum

Making collage papers with paint and hand-cut stamps

One of Spike's collage papers

Another of Spike's collage papers

Janice works on her collage paper

Simplifying a photo to turn into a stamp

One of Janice's collage papers

Another of Janice's collage papers

Beautiful hand, Spike!

Thank you to all the Fabulous Participants who have been so lovely to create with and I look forward to seeing you here in the studio again! I am SO enjoying teaching these Fabulous Workshops :)

Three more studio workshops are now open for registration:

Creating Mixed Media Muse Journals

*NEW* Extreme Texture Mixed Media Paintings

Creating Stamps, Stencils & Collage Papers 

Tweet

Collage Creativity.

It was another wonderful day in the studio yesterday as four keen, creative people gathered to take part in the Creating Mixed Media Collage workshop.

We worked on 18" x 14" gallery canvases, beginning by laying down a layer of collage elements to create a background.

Next? A layer of paint, blending and scrubbing with brushes... dark and light areas for contrast.

I am constantly amazed and excited to see how every person expresses themselves in such different ways. Everyone created a unique piece while using the same techniques.

Cheryl

Linda

Nora

Spike

 It was a day full of play, creative energy and exploration. Well done, everyone!

THERE ARE STILL SPOTS LEFT FOR NEXT WEEKEND'S WORKSHOP.  JOIN US!

The next Fabulous Workshop happens on Aug 3 & 4 - Creating Stamps, Stencils & Collage Papers.
Do you love painted and patterned collage papers? Do you want to create original papers with your own hand-cut stamps, stencils and everyday objects? Join mixed me for this two day workshop - absolutely no experience required!

You will: transfer patterns onto softoleum; hand cut your own stamps; hand cut stencils from plastic stencil blanks; explore the use of everyday objects for pattern-making; use your newly made stamps and stencils to print fabulous collage papers with acrylic paint; discover imagery resources; play with brayer printing techniques.

Tweet

Beautiful Art Indeed.

The Creating Mixed Media Layers workshop here at the studio yesterday was fantastic! Everyone was on fire and they made beautiful art.

 
The workshop started at 10 am, with information and demonstrations on acrylic paints and mediums. Lots to take in and lots of great questions! Before lunch, everyone went to work on laying down some collage elements from the provided ephemera and their own stash. A layer of gel medium was also laid down for texture. Then it was time for lunch to give the paintings some drying time and all of us a chance to get to know each other better.

After lunch there were more demonstrations. Everyone chose their paint palette and got down to some serious paint "scrubbing". It was a lovely sound as they blended their paint over the canvas, obscuring some of their collage elements and leaving some more visible. The layering continued throughout the afternoon, with more collage, paint, stamps and stencils.

The most challenging part of painting is finding a way to "bring it all together" - I like to think of it as alchemy :) Everyone took a step back to look at their piece from a different perspective. Areas were made stronger or pushed back and glazes were applied to unify the overall look. The results were wonderful.

I am always inspired by the thoughtful way everyone interacts with each other and their enthusiasm to learn, explore and share ideas. Thank you Lin, Judy, Christine, Geneviève, Marion, Beryl, Joyce and Heather for such an exhilarating day. You made beautiful art!

Beryl

Christine

Geneviève

Marion

Lin

Heather

Joyce

Judy

So now you have some insight into what goes on in a Holly Dean workshop. There are still some spots left for "Creating Mixed Media Paintings", July 6 & 7. We will be creating two paintings, learning even more about acrylic paints and mediums, preparing a painting surface with gesso and getting more deeply into texture. I hope you can join us :)

See the Mixed Media Paintings video here.
Sign up for Mixed Media Paintings workshop here.

As always, there will be demonstrations, one-on-one guidance, sheets of very cool collage ephemera to use and keep AND full-colour, multi-page handouts crammed with information and pictures!

Tweet

Creating Layers. Back-to-Back.

Well, the Five Fabulous Workshops here at my Merrickville Studio are over for now. Look for them again in 2013 along with some new offerings that I'm working on. I have enjoyed this round of workshops so much and feel so thankful to work (play really) with so many creative spirits! Sharing knowledge, techniques, experience and my studio space has brought me such pleasure and, as always, everyone has given so much back.

Here are some wonderful works of art from the two groups in the back-to-back Creating Layers workshops on November 24th and 25th. I am always blown away by how different everyone's pieces are. We truly possess unique creative souls :)

Thank you to all the Fabulous Workshop Participants!!!

If you want to keep up with workshop updates and other artsy news from my Studio, sign up for my art emails below :)

If you have ideas for workshops you would like me to teach, please send me an email here.

Tweet