VIRTUAL WORKSHOP Reinventing the Still Life in Painting, Printmaking & Collage

This course introduces students to the joy and versatility of gel plate monotype, a low-tech, inventive, forgiving printing method that offers portability as well as kitchen-table convenience. Students make finished prints and experiment with imagery and motifs for other artistic practices such as ceramics and painting. The course also explores an invisible collage technique to combine works on paper into a larger format. Simple tools like brayers, rubber-tipped clay shapers, brushes and cut-paper stencils provide sophisticated results, build up layers and add complexity. Slow-drying paints produce vibrant color, texture and transparency with easy clean-up.

Automatic drawing is a process whereby one enters into an altered state of consciousness to explore the worldview of an artist through the medium of the hands. Gesture drawing is one example. Using automatic drawing, an individual can connect with and channel the sensibilities of artists such as Picasso or Cézanne. Each class begins with a lecture and demo on artists and techniques to be explored. Students learn the automatic drawing process and how to merge it with a multitude of media and mixed media.

This mixed-media workshop, open to students of all levels, experiments with works on paper, develops perceptive drawing skills and explores various media combinations. This workshop also introduces students to safe, non-toxic methods in printmaking to combine with drawing that don’t require a press and that can be applied outside of the studio. Participants use familiar materials in unconventional ways to find unexpected results and foster new ideas.