Gala Painting: Day 2

This past Monday the fantastic students at Ecole Pauline Johnston’s gr. 6/7 class and I worked together again on their mixed media collage for the school’s gala fundraiser.

Since I’d left the painting at the school last week, but needed to prepare for this next session, I decided to make a quick mock-up to help guide the process. I started by bringing a photo of the work-in-progress painting into InDesign. Then I tested out colour schemes and layered various elements to give a sense of what the final may look like. By then a strong idea of the final was beginning to form in my mind. On the second photo posted here you can see the mock-up at the bottom of the frame — the paper with the word PLAY printed on it in yellow.

With that printout in front of us as a loose guide, we spent the afternoon adding on a few more magazine clippings (including words such a SPRING, GROW and J’ADORE), splattering and dripping a tinted acrylic glaze and transferring some photocopied images.

One of the boys asked if they could use another word in place of PLAY. This awesome inquiry resulted in a lively brainstorming session followed by casting votes on the proposed options. It was a fun, collective way to conclude our creative time together.

In a couple of weeks, I will return the completed, varnished piece to the class in time for the gala preparations. In the meantime I will put the finishing touches on the painting such as the primary focal images and “the word”. Stay tuned to see how the final piece looks and what word the class voted to include!

Comments

Making Allies

It all started back in the Spring… I was contact by a start-up online option to buying and renting art. No fees up front. Standard commission. I joined. ArtsAlly.com officially launched last month. Today I received a few txts from friends congratulating me on my up & coming "hot, local artist" status. Turns out vancitybuz z featured the site and all its artists…including yours truly (#17)! Needless to say I'M PRETTY PUMPED ABOUT THAT. Please give it a read & pass the sets to your pals. Cheers ArtAlly; I wish you a successful life! OK, I gotta go now and start making more great art. Hopefully I'll move up to #1 ; ) Keep creating! ~ Kathryn

A Picture-perfect Idea

When I last spoke of the Anonymous Art Show that I participated in back in Nov. 2011, I neglected to note a detail that really stood out for me. On the main wall near the entrance, the organizers hung a large canvas wrapped with all the names of the contributing artists. I was proud as punch to see my name included in print among the over 400 other talented souls who participated in the annual event. It's a small thing, one's name typeset amongst so many others, but it spoke in a large way to me. It said that my work is valuable to this organization; it's appreciated, acknowledged, and recognized. And that feels great. So if you find yourself in need of a creative way to express thanks to your contributors at an event, this may just be the final touch you need.

Craftivism??

OH YEAH!! Check out this inspiring book by Betsy Greer that I just purchased. I discovered it in a promo catalogue by local Vancouver publisher Arsenal Pulp Pres s. The write-up describes craftivism as follows: Craftivism is a worldwide movement that operates at the intersection of craft and activism; Craftivism the book is full of inspiration for crafters who want to create works that add to the greater good. To me, creating for the greater good is what creating is all about. I am keen on using many of the ideas in my work with school children. Encouraging them to dream, to express and "craft" their own world is are important human awarenesses. Sometimes those acts get lost in the shuffle of chores and responsibilities. I'll keep you posted on how this book plays out in my life. In the meantime, get the book. You'll love it! Keep creating. Keep craft-ivisming ~ Kathryn

Stickin' Ideas Together

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