Amy Peacock's ArtFest 2002 Project
Artfest is a gathering of artists (students and teachers). It is held in Washington state and this year will be held in Port Townsend in April. Pictured below is my project, which will be taught on Thursday (6 hour class). All supplies are provided, but students are welcome to bring their own 'stuff' to play with as well.
This class will likely be very small due to the vast number of teachers this year at ArtFest. I have given this some thought and have decided that since there will be so few of us, I want to really go all out on our projects. I live in Washington and I plan to bring oodles of fun stuff for everyone to play with. I want very much for this be not so much a technique class or a project class, but somewhere in between. As an artist I find that I often struggle with just letting loose - being totally free with my art. I hope to provide an atmosphere where we can all be wild and do something that perhaps we might not normally do. I also hope to have additional samples up before AF, just for fun.
UPDATE: ArtFest is over now...what a great time I had! To see pictures of my students' work...
I'm already working on a project for next year and I will likely teach this class again. For more information, email me.
The short version:
This class will be part collage, part assemblage, part poetry, with a few beads and dolls thrown in for good measure. We will take an existing monkey pod wood bowl and alter it using text from old books and magazines. You will create or alter a doll that will ‘live’ in or on your bowl. Selected words can then be outlined or highlighted using various methods to create an abstract poem or story about your doll(s). Beads and information about beading supplies will be discussed and you will have a Dremel tool at your disposal so that you can drill holes in your bowl from which to hang beads and other stuff.
I am a self taught artist. I have been doing beadwork for 14 years now, and have run my beadwork business, Joya, since 1995. I bought my first stamp 11 years ago and have been stamping ever since. I have branched out into painting, altered books, assemblage, book binding, artistamps, and continue to explore art journaling. I am a featured artist on the Rubberstampmadness website.
The Long Version:
Title: Afternoon Monkey Pod Bowl Delight
I will provide the essential supplies for the class but encourage people to bring their own stuff.
Supplies: (provided by me, the instructor)
Monkey Pod Bowls
Text papers to collage as well as other collage material
Matte medium and other glues
Pens, highlighters and paints
Dolls and the stuff to make them
Stringing materials
Beads
Stamps and inks
The Challenge:The idea for this class happened while I was at ArtFest 2001. I was inspired to pick up a wooden nut bowl out of the vast pile of stuff in the Art Asylum room. Someone said it was called a "monkey bowl" and my mom confirmed this later when I asked her about them. The challenge was to make something so ugly into a piece of art.
The Project: So, Saturday night I spent my time pasting bits of text from an old book onto the bowl. I would encourage people to use text for this part rather than ‘picture’ material. As I worked, I began to notice all of the cool phrases and words – made cool because they were out of context and fragmented. However, using pictures is also an option.
After I finished collaging the nut bowl, I highlighted these words and phrases. You could even choose words and phrases that told a story or that went with your theme or made a poem. Highlighting could be done several ways: with a pen, with an actual highlighter, with paints, etc. You could even ‘black out’ the extraneous words so that just the words chosen were showing. The student might chose to seal the bowl with a glossier medium that what is used to paste the paper down. If you choose to collage with pictures you might consider suing paints or inks to highlight or black out images or portions of images.
After highlighting your words, you would then 'fill 'or otherwise decorate/embellish your nut bowl. I might provide bowls that are drilled along the edges so that beads and things can be added. I will provide some tips and tricks for what kind of beading thread to use, where to get cool beads, even some stitches if people are interested. I will bring my Dremel tool so that people can drill holes where they want them.
Next, we will make a resident odd/curious person for one of the wells in the nut bowl. This would be a very simply constructed doll, perhaps a mummy-type doll, a doll made of beads, a stuffed doll, even a personal memento could be used. Mine uses those tiny little babies that you buy at the party store (usually used at baby showers). They are painted black. There they are, staring up at you with those creepy little inquisitive eyes!
Students have the option of making these vessels as artsy, funky, creepy, romantic, odd, pretty, personal, etc. as they wanted. I believe this project lends it self to limitless possible interpretations.
JOYA Personal Résumé Links Journal Poetry Pavonine Studios Paintings Art Gallery