I’ll be teaching a class in Mixed Media/Collage Techniques that you may be interested in taking, or you may have some friends who are interested. If so, please pass this message along. I would really appreciate it.
We have room for 4-5 more students in this upcoming class that will be held Thursdays from 4:30 – 7 pm on April 8 through May 13. The classes will be held in the upstairs classroom at Accent Arts in Palo Alto (392 California Avenue) for a reasonable introductory fee of $160, which includes the tuition and core materials for six projects ($125+35).
Tired of the Whole Affair
Laura McHugh
Monotype/Mixed Media Collage 2007
22 x 30 in
Information on how to enroll is here.
COURSE: MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE – APRIL 8 INSTRUCTOR: LAURA MCHUGH
Mixed media collage has gained popularity in the past several years. There are people doing altered books, artist trading cards, and unique single pieces of art using mixed media techniques. The pieces are often ethereal and complicated looking. This class will help you break it down into simple steps so that you too can create interesting art pieces. For those of you out there who do scrap booking, you may also be interested in this class as the techniques are amenable to making really interesting scrap book pages.
Enticing Course Description
The story begins with the invention of paper in China around 200 B.C., but the earliest examples of paper collage are the work of twelfth-century Japanese calligraphers, who prepared surfaces for their poems by gluing bits of paper and fabric to create a background for brushstrokes. Later, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the Near East, craftsmen cut and pasted intricate designs and used marbled papers as part of the art of bookbinding. Today’s collage artists invent exciting variations of these ancient collage techniques.
Collage has a long and distinguished history. No matter what you may do in collage, chances are it has been done before, but certainly not like you will do it. You can study early collages of the Japanese or Dutch, for example, and then revive an old idea with a new twist, giving a contemporary look and feel to an ancient technique. We will use found materials (yours plus instructor’s large supply) to create 2D and 3D mixed media / collage pieces.
We will emphasize color harmonization, use of textures and composition and will incorporate the use of acrylic paints as a cohesive element to the pieces. We will also study different ways to transfer images, methods for creating interesting surfaces and textures, and finishing techniques such as acrylic varnish and beeswax. We plan to have fun, be wildly creative, listen to some nice music while we work, and learn a lot from one another, though the course will be built around a specific project each week to focus our attention on different techniques and skill-building. You will walk away from this class with at least six pieces of mixed media art.
Instructor Laura McHugh is a mixed media artist from Half Moon Bay California. She has been working in mixed media for about five years, building on a foundation of painting, printmaking and a desire to do collaborative art. Laura is drawn to mixed media/collage because it allows her to incorporate images and found materials. Laura is a collaborative instructor – she loves to work with people who want to share ideas, materials and questions.
You can see some of Laura’s art at: www.lauramchugh.com
