Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Summer Creativity Workshops

Summer is a great time to expand your creative potential! 



Here are three new workshops to enjoy. 
Collage works well for those of you who haven't drawn or painted, but want to dip your fingers into the image-creation arena. And it's fun. This is where I go when I'm stuck, creatively speaking.  
I have discovered a hidden gem of a location for a one-day Plein Air workshop just an hour and a half south of Denver, guaranteed to inspire.
And excited by the Denver Art Museum's "Modern Masters" exhibition of paintings and sculpture from the Albright Knox Gallery, I'm offering a one day class titled,"Abstraction For (Mostly) Realists", a bit of history, discussion, and painting. 
There are still a few remaining spots left in my North Fork Valley Plein Air workshop, September 18 to 23, 2014. We will visit numerous locations in which any Plein Air painter should want to paint, including the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. 
And don't forget that I do private critique and artistic coaching sessions by appointment.
Collage Workshop 
Wednesday, June 11, 2014, 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM
In Sandra's studio


We will discuss the history of collage, explore some techniques, and consider how a collage becomes a complete artistic statement.

Most of our materials will be pictures from old magazines, photos, packing materials, and any other 2-D images you can find. We will use stencils, acrylic transfers, positive and negative forms, and many other methods to create our personal statements.
  
Location: Directions will be sent when you register.

Tuition: $75.  This class is limited to only 10 participants. Your place will be held only after your tuition is received.

Registration: Please contact Sandra at: sandrakaplanart@gmail.com

Plein Air Workshop
Wednesday, June 4, 2014, 9 AM to 3:30 PM
Paint Mines Interpretive Park, Calhan, Colorado
 Spend the day exploring this visually exciting area about a 40 minute drive east of Colorado Springs, (or a 1 1/2 hour drive from Denver), and be astounded by it's amazing, other-worldly rock formations.


  Develop a personal style to express the landscape in your own unique way. Work in the medium of your choice, but plan to do a bit of walking, so make your supplies as light and portable as possible.


 We will discuss different methods for approaching the landscape in the limited time available. Each student will receive ample individual attention, and we will have a group critique at the end of our painting day.

Please bring a sack lunch, and plenty of drinking water. Either drive down in the morning, or plan to enjoy the previous night in one of Colorado Springs' B & Bs.

Location: Directions will be sent when you register

Tuition: $95. This class is limited to only 10 participants. Your place in the workshop will be held only after your tuition is received.


Registration: Please contact Sandra at: sandrakaplanart@gmail.com

Abstraction For (Mostly) Realists
Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Sandra's Studio

What exactly does "abstraction" mean in an artistic context? Is there any reason for realists to care? Why did so many artists begin to paint this way, and during what time period? Who are the important abstractionists? Is it true that "Any child could do that"?

These are a few of the questions we will discuss in this workshop. We will see examples of important paintings in the abstract tradition, then do some exercises, using both cut paper and paint, to help understand how we might incorporate these ideas into our work.
Location: Directions will be sent when you register

Tuition: $75. This class is limited to only 10 participants. Your place in the workshop will be held only after your tuition is received.


Registration: Please contact Sandra at: sandrakaplanart@gmail.com

Friday, April 11, 2014

Bluebird Bird Mansion




A number of years ago, I met Toni Saiber, the now director of The Eating Disorder Foundation (EDF). She had recently been through a life and death struggle with her eating disorer, and  on her road to recovery, had enrolled in a class I taught at the Art Students League of Denver. 

 We became friends, and I have been a supporter of the foundation she started (with several others). I have remained committed to helping the Foundation in its efforts to educate the public about the ravages of eating disorders and the many pathways to recovery.




As a symbol of EDF's mission to become a stop on each individual's journey of recovery, EDF members and volunteers paint birdhouses to be given in exchange for specified contributions. The birdhouses are  small replicas of the EDF center.

This year, a larger version of the birdhouse was built by architect Jonathan Saiber, and I was asked to paint it. It was then auctioned at the foundation's fund-raising Gala.

Above is my finished, multi media  piece.

Below, I am pictured with the birdhouse, mid way to completion.