I’m teaching a class in Greymouth in early December about working in series, for abstracts and/or landscape abstracts. The class packs have been put together, and the classnotes printed out. The class is on Thursday 5 December, 7-9.30pm at CoRe. Book by emailing leftbankwestcoast@gmail.com or phoning 03 768 0038.
Here’s a sneak peek of the process we’ll be following!
A bit of Meatloaf for a change from my usual P!nk, HIM etc. This is more the music of my teens, and I still love it today.
Dylusions – large journal. Sprays: Dirty Martini, Vibrant turquoise, Calypso Teal, After Midnight & White Linen. Paints: Fresh lime & Calypso teal. Stencils: Circles, Spring flowers, Teardrops & Diamond in the rough. Stamps: Dy’s alphabet.
Other: Distress collage medium, Archival Ink, Distress Ink, Pitt big brush pen – walnut, white gel pen, Tombow marker – pink.
I love teaching art, but it requires a lot of preparation if you want people to get the most out of it. Over the last week or so I’ve been working on samples for the advanced gelli print class I’m teaching in Greymouth in early December. You can book though Left Bank Art Gallery or message me. Each person who attends gets a class kit with instructions, sample photos, mixed media paper and so on – that’s why booking is essential.
Here’s a sneak preview of the process, and how the prints progress from initial layers to a (possibly) finished print or two.
Tonight I’ve added more layers to last night’s gelli prints. I added some strong darks, lighter green and pinks, then finally a brightish yellow and medium creamy brown. Some of the time I used hand cut stencils, focussing on the shapes that appear throughout my artwork. That way, the final prints will show my hand in them.
These will get final marks in the next few nights. I’ll spend time looking at each one, thinking about what I like, what’s not quite right, and so on. Not all of them will end up as completed works, and that’s ok.
The photos are quite bright night time ones taking with my phone, so a bit of flash glare etc.
If you’re coming to the class in Greymouth, please book at Left Bank Art Gallery – I need to know numbers so I can make up the class packs … thank you!
This evening I’ve started to put together some samples for the gelli print landscape class I’m teaching in Greymouth in early December. This is only the first layers, they have a long way to go yet.
I’m using the traditional colour set in the Golden Open paints. I also added some Titan Pale Green, which is one of my ‘go to’ colours. Open are lovely to use, give more working time, and react well when sprayed with water for a different effect. They’re also a lot dearer than the normal Golden paints unfortunately.
The class is being held at CoRe, through Left Bank Art Gallery … contact them if you’d like to book a place. Bookings are essential because I’ll be preparing class packs for everyone, and numbers are limited so I can give people enough time and attention.
I am ambivalent about Christmas for all sorts of reasons. It’s a stark reminder of all the babies who couldn’t stay with me, and that my family all lives in other places. It makes me sad that so many people will be lonely. And I know domestic violence increases because of stress and financial pressure. Please be careful you don’t add pressure to people who are already feeling the strain…
But, oh, how I love making Christmas cards. So far this year I’ve made just over 50, and there’s more to come. Paper, scissors, glitter, glue, embossing; I love it all 😉
I make a card for each of my staff and peers, then write a short note about why I appreciate them and their particular skills. It’s a nice opportunity to think about each person as I sit, pen in hand, in front of the tv with Tony on the evenings.
Here’s a sample of the kinds of cards I’ve done so far:
Cath Sheard 