wordless wednesday: barcelona '05

wordless wednesday: guess who?

wordless wednesday: ceilings

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365/3 continues #98-102

I feel like I've been away forever!  But I've been keeping busy with my Jane Davies class work in Dynamic Composition.  This week was all about the cruciform - an exciting style that has intrigued me for a long time......and now I'm forced to get out of my head and actually give it a try.

I started by creating the basic shape in collage using my own gelli prints and a few magazine pages - then painting, obscuring, making some marks, used some bubble wrap or stencils, scribbled with graphite, stamped and whatever else grabbed my attention.  The whole process was quite fun.

I think the one above ended up straying a bit too far from a cruciform shape - the side arms are too far apart which means the central core of a focal area isn't there.  The crimson dribble down the center was the result of a leaky bottle of ink and my attempt to deal with it :)

On a personal note, Dan has a job!  After almost 3 years of unemployment and discouraging job hunting, he is employed as a management consultant here in Seattle.  Woohoo!  It's been a tough few years at a time in our lives when we expected to be almost retired.  With the serious depletion of our savings over the last few years, that won't be possible for a while, BUT hopefully we're back on track.  He's been working for 2 weeks and feels like the job is a good fit for him and his skills.  We're so thankful something has come along that provides us with income again, but just as importantly, is something he'll enjoy doing.

365/3 composition

I'm continuing with lesson 2 of Jane's Dynamic Composition class - this week we're working on abstract landscapes - a combo of collage and paint.

#94 - 97 - I'm sharing my starting point & my finished pieces.  If you'd like some guidance and tips on creating a variety of compositional styles, I'd definitely recommend taking Jane's class - she offers such great feedback.

#1 - start

#1 finished

#2 start:  collage on 9x9 white square

#2 finished:  All that random collage made for some great texture in the lower half of the piece - tried to create more contrast with the addition of the black handmade papers but think it's too harsh.

#3 start:  created my horizon just on a 9x9 white background.

#3 finished:  Added some text collage on top of the original collage to beef up the contrast and created texture by scraping stripes through the wet paint.

#4 start:  A 9x12 collage over painted background.

#4 finished:  Though I like this one and think I've created some interesting textures top and bottom, I'm not sure I created enough drama in the horizon line - this one might need a bit more work.

Thanks for browsing my site - hopefully you're inspired to try your own mixed media abstract landscape! Have a creative week!

365/3 - a new class

I'm starting a new Jane Davies online class - Keys to Dynamic Composition.  Here's my first week:  simplifying compositional elements by limiting the color palette (monochromatic) and then working with collage in a grid format.

#90-93

Started with a painted background and some painted papers as well as a couple scrapbook papers and some paint chip pieces.

I like the addition of the textured dark green.

These were all done on 9x12 papers.  An interesting start for the class......

Hope you have a really creative week!

class wrap up

Finished the 10-wk online art class with Jane Davies: 100 Drawings on Cheap Paper; 10 drawings a week for 10 weeks (drawing being a loose definition). Each week focused on a different technique and element of constructing a regular art practice, of creating works in a series, and of expanding mark-making and shape making art options. Though there were times I was overwhelmed, I learned lots, which is the whole point, right?

 Here's my stack of "finished work" - over 100 9x12 pieces.....

Above is separated into stacks for each of the 10 lessons. What a valuable class.  I highly recommend it - I think she's offering it again in the fall.....  Thanks Jane!