Parts of Art

    This month I was invited to teach a workshop on Mixed Media Collage. It was an all-day event, held at the Gaslight Art Colony, which was the gallery in Marshall Illinois where I had my solo exhibition in February.       I brought one of the large mixed media pieces from my series, entitled Understory. The term understory refers to the ground level growth, the flora and fauna on the forest floor. It's the opposite of the overstory, which is the layer of foliage in a forest canopy. Overstory is also the name of a great book by Richard Powers, which I would highly recommend.  So even though the subject of this painting is a tree, it's really the growth on the forest floor that brings interest to the piece.      In the morning we got to work, making the "parts" for the collage. The parts were pieces of card stock that we painted, textured, and imprinted with all different tools and resources. Some of the resources and tools were bubble wrap, a nylon scrubbie, a kid

I  am happy to announce that I now have hand painted linocut printed art cards in the shop.   I start with beautiful handmade paper from Etsy seller White Dragon Paper. Using acrylic paint in thin washes, I paint the entire front of the card. Next I print with a hand cut linocut  stamp on white acrylic. The stamps are inspired from the pages of my illustrated art journals. Once the image is printed, I fill in the rest of the space with white.  Here's what the process looks like:  The cards are blank inside, ready for you to add your own heartfelt message. Some  of the cards have a smooth liner paper inside, tied together with harmonious yarn.The cards are one of a kind and made with heart in my studio.  To see more, visit my shop  here