SUMMER IS A GOOD TIME TO PLAY

I'm with my tribe this week. My tribe includes people who love to do calligraphy, and who love to test the boundaries of calligraphic design. Sometimes the results mean that the words aren't legible. Sometimes they are so large they fill the page. Others become patterns instead of text.

I love to take workshops. Not only do I learn new techniques or refine old ones, I get to be with fellow artists, who inspire and recharge me.

Rebecca Wild's workshop participants

Rebecca Wild's class, Art and Text, Nature Inspired, arranged through the Friends of Calligraphy this Spring, gave us new ways to experiment with art media. During a busy weekend, we used stencils, acrylic paints, and pastels to create transparent layers using nature and calligraphy as a theme. We worked up each piece on a 6" X 6" square of watercolor paper.

I come away from workshops in a state of bliss. The workshop might be tiring, challenging, even overwhelming, but I find new skills and test myself not to withdraw from failures and push myself in new directions.

To start these designs, I taped a 6-inch square with Scotch Magic Tape to another piece of paper.
Once the design is finished,  I remove the tape. Look how colorful they are on their own.

I drew an insect on a piece of contact paper. I cut the image out with an Exacto knife. I saved both negative and positive sections of the design. I rubbed the positive design on to the watercolor square.

Now I am ready to work with pastels and/or acrylics. Once one layer of color is complete, I can move the image around or use the negative image on the same square. I continue working with the pastels and layers of colors till I am satisfied. Then I can add words to the image.

If you have a chance to take a workshop, look for one with Rebecca Wild. Check out her website at http://www.rwildart.com/home