A Big fat Merry Christmas

Well this was the scene out at Maverick's Beach this morning.  Glorious isn't it?

I want to take this opportunity to give thanks for every person that has taken my classes, everyone that has purchased my art and everyone that reads this blog.  Without you I would not be living my dream.  So Thank you for my dream.

I also want to say a great big fat non politically correct Merry Christmas!  And as Mister Dickens so aptly put it " God bless us everyone".

Results for Texture in a Big Way

Greetings Everyone!

My last class for the year was this past weekend and I am on cloud nine.  It was my first weekend workshop called Texture in a Big Way .  It was a small class but a mighty one.  The pieces created were so beautiful that I had to blog about them.  You can see one of the finished pieces above.  It was created using the artists own photo from Paris and several different texture mediums. This artist usually creates in vivid colors so using such a sedate palette was a definite departure from her norm.  But I am sure that you will all agree that the results are stunning. You can see a 3 step process below by the same artist.

The finished Product

And here is second series of in progress pics by another artist in the class :

Please note that this piece is still in progress and I will try to post the finished product at a later date.

Both of these students had expressed to me at the beginning of the weekend that they didn't feel like real artists. That they had never created any work that felt truly original. If this was true I do not believe it is true now.  I think that the works above are stunning and very original to the individual artists. From the rough ancient winged Nike at the top of the page to the more graphic Toulouse Latrec poster feel to the serene nature inspired Tree of Ages piece at the bottom. These "students" did not merely follow my instruction. They have reached much deeper inside their hearts, minds and souls. This was my real purpose in designing this class.  I read emotion in each of these pieces like I am reading a book. Yet each artist has still allowed me to interpret each piece in my own fashion and draw my own conclusion as to their meanings.  Isn't this the very essence of what an artist does?
What should these "students" call themselves but Artists?

I want to thank these artists for taking my workshop and allowing me to be part of their artistic achievement. 

Art Sale at the Wind Warrior studio!

Greetings everyone!

Ok how many of you are still looking for Christmas gifts?  For all of you coastside people,  do you really want to brave the traffic and go to a crowded mall?  Well I have found another chance for you to find that perfect item and still stay on the coast!   Some of my fellow artists from the Colony of Coastside Artists group will be at the Wind Warrior Energy Center in Moss Beach on Saturday from 10am to 4:00pm.  Here's another chance to find that unique hand made item at excellent prices and support some excellent local artists in the process.
The Wind Warrior Energy center is located of California and Highway One in Moss Beach.  The center is right next to Harmony Road Music. 
So go on down and take a look!

Texture in a Big Way

Greetings Everyone!

With a successful Open Studio and participation in a very wonderful Farallone View Holiday Bazaar behind me, I can now focus on my very first weekend workshop: Texture in a Big Way. 

The students in this class are going to work on three goals
To create a much larger piece of art than they might normally create. The piece must be 11 x 14 or larger.
To combine two or more textures with a collage image.
To practice using texture and color to imbue emotion and a sense of the artist's personal history with the image selected.

I love to work with texture. But it can be tricky combining more than one especially when you add a collage image as well.  In the piece above you can find crackle paste, coarse pumice and fine pumice gels surrounding the collage image.  I use texture as an alternative to adding alot of layers or found objects to collage. However just because I have added complicated texture doesn't mean that I can't add found objects as well. In fact found objects are a very tactile way to impart emotion and experience into your collage and luckily many of the modern texture mediums are sturdy enough to embed your found objects directly into the texture.  Again if you click on the picture above and magnify it you may see that I've added a few rusty items from the place that I originally took this picture.  Below you can see another large collage in my tree series.

If you are interested in this class I still have a couple of spots left.  Here are the particulars about this class:

Saturday December 10th and Sunday December 11th ++++++Weekend Workshop+++++

Instructor: Connie Andrews
Class: Texture in a Big Way
Description: In this advanced class we will have two objectives:
To combine at least two textures.
To combine texture and collage on a surface no smaller than 11 x 14.
Note this is a 2 day workshop. If you choose to combine more than two textures or to use crackle paste a third day may be needed. This can be scheduled separately at a time of your choosing provided that the studio is available.
This workshop is only for advanced collage artists that have had experience using texture mediums. Class size will be kept to a minimum so that we can work through any problems or questions on a one in one basis.
Items to bring: Please bring a stretched canvas, canvas board or other rigid substrate that is 11 x 14 or larger, scissors, paintbrushes and a large image of your choice. I will bring all other supplies. Please note that if you intend to use crackle paste you must bring either canvas board or another rigid surface a stretched canvas will not do. You may also bring a second large surface if you would like to start another collage while the texture mediums are drying.
Time: 10:00 to 4:00pm both days: there will be a one hour lunch break at 12:30 both days. Please bring a lunch.
Fee: $100.00 for two or three sessions.
Class size: 4 people max.
To sign up for this class please email me at connie@isbjorn.com


My studio is located at 103-1 Harvard in Princeton by the Sea.