Summer Art Classes 2012 in Richmond

I'll be teaching these workshops at the following locations in Richmond, VA. Please register AT LEAST ONE WEEK EARLIER THAN CLASS SESSION in order to guarantee your enrollment in the class.

ADULT CLASSES:

At The Visual Arts Center of Richmond
1812 W. Main St
(804) 353-0094

Paper Bead Jewelry Workshop

 

2 days

Saturday, June 23 12 – 4 pm
Sunday, June 24 1 – 3:30 pm

Bookbinding Intensive

5 days
June 25 - 29th
6:30 - 9 pm daily

Gelatin Printmaking Postcard Workshop

1 Day
Saturday, August 4
1 – 4 pm

Printmaking for Painters: Monotype Intensive

5 days
August 20 – 24
6:30 – 9:00 PM, daily

At The VMFA Studio School

2911-15 Grove Avenue (across from VMFA) at the corner of Sheppard Street

804-367-0816  

Handmade Books

1 day
Sat, 10 am – 4 pm
June 9  

Paper Bead Jewelry

 1 Day
Sat, 10 am – 4 pm
July 7

YOUTH CLASSES

Summer ArtVenture - Youth Art Camp at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond

Click here to view the entire schedule online.

Paper Toys

Ages 6 - 8  

Week 2: June 18 - 22, 12:45 - 3:45 pm

Week 6: July 16 - 20, 12:45 - 3:45 pm 

Week 9: August 6 - 10, 12:45 - 3:45 pm

Fun with Printmaking 

Ages 6 - 8

Week 12: August 27 - 31, 12:45 - 3:45 pm 

Ages 8 - 10 

Week 3: June 25 - 29, 9 am - 12 pm

Week 8: July 30 - Aug 3, 12:45 - 3:45 pm

Handmade Zines

Ages 9 - 12 years 

Week 11: August 20 - 24, 12:45 - 3:45 pm

NON SENSE poetry chapbook

okay, here it is: my first chapbook-length book of poems! 17 of them - about dreams, the frailty and strength of human existence, non-being, mystery, and renewal. it's hard for me to describe. but it means a lot to be able to share something that came from the more raw and tender parts of my heart with friends, family, and the world. I pulled together glimpes of my last few years in words and arranged them in four parts: "Non," "Sense," Promise," and "Return."

Excerpt from the poem "Chrysalis":

wet one finger to the wind &
follow the cold on your skin
your weathered face says much
& little
to one who needs to know
where to begin & end
when to follow & when to sing

This book was lovingly handbound by myself using sturdy yellow thread on an apple green gatefold cover. I typed the poems using a Tower Challenger typewriter, laid out every page by hand using the classic cut-&-paste technique, then photocopied it all onto a very pale chartreuse recycled paper. Each cover is also inset with an original cyanotype image in deep prussian blue and white.

"Non Sense" is printed in an edition of 75 copies. Each is numbered and signed by me. you can buy your own copy in my shop.

here are some photos of the process of making each cyanotype:

 

i arranged string and words i cut out of paper onto a pre-coated cyanotype paper (I used Tedco Sun Art Paper), then exposed the paper to UV light using a UV light unit (if you do this at home, you can just expose the paper to sunlight).

This is how the paper looks after being exposed to light.

then i rinsed the paper in water. you can see how the color reverses once water hits it. i had to repeat the process for each piece of paper, so they are all just a little bit different.

the making of each book is time-consuming, but i feel like it adds to the special handmade character of the chapbook.

Second Friday Sampler

On May 14th, I led a workshop in bookbinding and gel transfer (a process to transfer photocopied images) at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. The event is free as part of their monthly Second Friday Sampler. My friend Ann Merle, who I met at my Art of Sewing class that week, took all these pictures. She also helped me cut down the papers for the books and was very helpful all night. Thanks Ann Merle!

 We made a pamphlet-stitched book and decorated the covers with gel transfers. I had photocopied images to use and prepared them by painting on 3 layers of gel medium and 1 layer of varnish. The process is simple: you wet the back of the paper and rub it off, leaving a thin "skin" of gel with the image embedded into it. Then paint the back with gel medium and press it down onto your surface.

This young lady is holding up her finished book. The image is sort of small, but the image of the dog was photocopied from a book of old woodcuts.