My workspace during class time at the Smithsonian
This year has turned into one with a variety of unexpected creative adventures. I have been exploring collage and mixed media art in more depth. I am working on an online course, “30 Days of Collage” by Stephanie Levy. The course is filled with guest artist interviews and exercises to explore new techniques. Luckily, it is a self-paced course as it is looking like my 30 days is turning into what might be 300 days. The course officially ended in May, but I’m only about halfway through the material, fitting it in as I can. I really enjoy carving out whatever time I can to immerse myself completely making a mess while thoroughly enjoying the process.
Here are a few samples of my completed assignments:
Pieces completed as exercises in the 30 Days of Collage course
I had been enjoying my online class so much, I started looking for a classroom experience. I found the 6-week "Collage and Mixed Media" class taught by Marcie Wolf-Hubbard offered at The Smithsonian Associates. I had no idea that the Smithsonian had so many classes from cooking to art to science. It’s very inspiring to enter the museum education center deep under the museum buildings and peek into the open doorways to see everyone working at easels and tables concentrating on learning their craft. My class is made up of about a dozen students from novice to professional studio artists. It is so exciting to watch our different interpretations and applications of the lessons we learn. So far, I only have a few projects completed with lots of others in various stages of completion as I'm finding this more an exercises in learning technique than making completed pieces. Here is a sampling from my class work:
Smithsonian mixed media class work
And finally, my 2015 mixed media sketchbook from The Sketchbook Project that will reside in the Brooklyn Art Library has been digitized and can be viewed here. The sketchbook is currently on a mobile national tour and will be back in Brooklyn, NY in the fall. If you ever end up in New York City, you can take a subway ride over to Brooklyn and check out the sketchbooks in person. In the meantime, you can see them all online.
2015 Sketchbook cover
I have always had a passion for creating things by hand, and I’m really been enjoying this journey into mixed media. I can’t wait to see where it leads.
Thanks for reading!
