My Bricolage Workshop and Show at R&F Paints

Last year Laura Moriarty, Director of Exhibitions and Workshops at R&F Handmade Paints, invited me to be a Visiting Artist during 2012. R&F's Visiting Artist Series "is designed to celebrate the work of teaching artists" and entails teaching a three-day workshop with a concurrent solo show. Of course I was thrilled to say yes and have been so looking forward to the opportunity to teach Bricolage: Making Fine Art with Found or Invented Materials and Encaustic.

The workshop at R&F Handmade Paints

The dates of the workshop are August 1 through 3, Wednesday through Friday. Here is the link directly to the workshop on the R&F website. There is still room in the class to sign up and you will find all the details by clicking the link.

A paint liquid paint pour at R&F

The incomparable R&F paintsticks

Taking a workshop at R&F is a wonderful experience because you get to work with state-of-the-art equipment, all those fabulous paints and the terrific R&F staff - all so friendly and welcoming. This place is like Mecca for artists who work in encaustic and a definite destination for your life list.

Natale: Shifting - Blue, 2012, painted cardboard and paper, book parts, record album
pieces, rubber, tarpaper, treated metal, tacks and encaustic on birch panel, 24" x 24"

The workshop link will give you details on what will be covered over the three days, but briefly, the workshop will be an expanded version of  my one-day workshop at the Encaustic Conference. In learning to use objects and mixed media with encaustic, my emphasis will be on composing works that integrate intention and materials. Critical thinking, observation and analysis will be an important part of this workshop and the three-day span will give students the opportunity to really push themselves and build on what they learn about their own work and mode of expression. My blog Art of Bricolage will show you some examples of student work from the Conference sessions, but this workshop will allow the opportunity to experiment and develop a small body of work along with a process to be used for making future works.

The gallery at R&F

My solo show at R&F will open on Saturday, August 4th, and run through September 22nd. I will be showing new work in bricolage (that I am constructing right now). Workshops students will be able to view the exhibition with me and I will give a  talk on the work for them, addressing examples of what has been discussed in the workshop.

If you are interested in using mixed media in your work and/or if you want to understand a more effective way to develop your studio practice, I hope you will sign up for this workshop. Although we will be making serious art, we will have plenty of fun doing it and it will be three days well spent.