Channeling Joseph Cornell

 For our play date yesterday we had great plans.  We were to meet at SCRAP in San Francisco to purchase items to create a Joseph Cornell inspired assemblage piece.  Unfortunatley, SCRAP isn't open on Sundays.  so we had to improvise.  D. , K. and I all "shopped" in my craft room stead for chunky found items to be used inside a cigar box, or some other vessel.  For my piece above, i decided to make use of my fair sized collection of vintage office supplies.  I used a fairly shallow hinged cigar box lined with typewriter ads from an old magazine, circa 1930's.  I added some children's blocks to say TYPE whereas writer was done with some store bought letters in a cool font.  Pretty much everything else was old - the lids from round packets of brads and tacks, the red boxes are pencil leads, some old folding rulers border some vintage stamps, rows of trading stamps create some separation.  Hard to tell in this photo - but the three office machines are on raised block adding some depth to the right side.

 Here is D's box - which she actually started last month at a workshop she took at SCRAP.  This was the incentive for us to all go to the store.  If you have never been, please check out their blog.  It is a wonderful place to find stuff to use in art projects.  Originally founded for school teachers to get cheap art supplies - it is now a mecca for all types of collage and assemblage artists.  Just about everything in her box, an old slide sorter, was found in the store.  That's Amelia Earhart behind a row of test tubes.  assorted plugs and outlets give it that cool mysterious crazy scientist look.

 Here is Z's box -  a work in progress.  Originally a slatted wood tray,  after some struggles with adhesives she covered the back with a vinyl map - cut from a purse!  Hey - no household item is safe in the world of assemblage, people!!  She is staying true to the Cornell aesthetic, with a series of boxes and circular shapes.  Note the repetition of the objects. I can't wait to see how this turns out!

Here is K's box - a hinged box from the craft store i think she white washed.  going with a "kids" theme - she used a large auto bingo card on the right and let colours play off of that.  that red car was shiny and new, but after some serious sanding - made it look apropriately vintage.  She's not quite done - plans to add red hots candies to those test tubes for a flash of more red and also more playfullness. Also note the repetition of cirular shapes, so prevalent in Cornell's work. The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round...

One of our play date buddies could not make it due to horrible sunday traffic, and another is driving across the country to spend the summer back east.  Did they ever miss a fun and challenging and rewarding play date!  Next month - canvases with plaster....

If you are not familiar with Joseph Cornell's masterful works - please go right away to google images and check them out!.  Better yet - if there is ever an exhibit in your area - you must go.

Craft-a-pallooza...!

They came, we shopped, we ate, and we created. All in all, a terrific long weekend with my mom, my sister and my niece. It was their first visit to beautiful sunny Pasadena, and a welcome change from the encroaching Canadian winter.

Our first project was deli paper painting. We created dozens on 12" square sheets in random colour combinations using the technique i wrote about HERE. Each sheet has three colours of cheap acrylic paint applied/blended with an old credit card. Then they are glazed with a bit of metallic shimmer. And optionally some were rubber stamped.
Here are three sheets on a pink/orange/mauve colour palette.
Here are some pink and teal with stars and dragon fly stamps.
Here is a cigar box i covered with some of the deli paper. Deli paper glues beautifully just with a glue stick. My niece did one too - but i neglected get a picture.
Here is the inside of the cigar box. I left the gold/green/red label exposed because it coordinated beautifully (quite by accident) with the deli paper. Even the taped borders on the original box looked cool - so i left them uncovered as well.
Our next project was these glitter bird cards from a Martha Stewart craft kit i picked up at Big Lots for two bucks! Not sure why it was there in a bargain pile - they were one of the best designed and fool proof kits i have ever used. Each kit comes with 8 blank cards and 8 bird stickers, and 5 vials of glitter. Erica and i each made three birds - so easy, you just peel off a section of the bird - sprinkle on the glitter, and rub off the excess with your finger. Put the un-stuck glitter back in the vial. Peel another section, apply a new colour of glitter, etc etc.

Then you peel of the backing of the bird and stick it on the card. There is even a narrow border of sticker on the card to apply glitter for a border.
Our next project was to use all those beautiful deli papers as background for a Papaya-style collage. I did a workshop a few months ago with my altered book group using this same technique - you can read about it and see some great pics HERE and HERE. The funny thing was - i could not find my samples to show my sister and niece. So they created these amazing collages completely randomly. Well, with my guidance of course - but they just went for it.

This one is mine - i used a deli paper background, an image cut out of Vogue magazine, and applied stickers using the recipe i developed: radiating stripes from the head, flowers and butterflies, and hoopy earrings drawn on with a sharpie.
Here is Donna's. She was really nervous about placement - qranted her "head" was more challenging because of the hair. But she created a lovely collage with a floral headband, and floral necklace punctuated with butterflies. She added the word BEAUTY using a stencil i created. Her deli paper is so pretty - looks like water, almost like her image is a mermaid floating out of a serene lagoon. Definitely a Tahitian vibe.
And finally here is Erica's - WOW. Did i mention she is 13? She had the most stunning collage of the three of us. First her deli paper and a nice contrast of green to blue. Then she chose a striking face and off set it on the page. Then her choice of large pink flowers and bright blue butterflies created a fantastic headdress for this gal. And she did some nice hoop-y earrings and swirls. I hope they display their Papaya style collage proudly back home in Calgary, and think fondly of their crafting vacation in sunny California all cold winter long.

Cigar Box Assemblage Workshop

I'll be teaching this Sunday, December 7th at Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley, CA. We'll be doing my Cigar Box Assemblage workshop. This is a jam packed, "let your hair down and play" kind of class. We start by prepping a cigar box to be covered with papers. Then you need some focal point images to center your theme. Next you get to play in Diane's stash of found object goodies. Porcelain doll parts, bits of jewelery, rusty metal findings, birds and butterflies - all can be combined together to create a magical box of treasures to keep for yourself or to share as a thoughtful gift.

All materials are supplied of course, but you can bring your own ephemera or photographs to add to the box. Please contact Scrapbook Territory to sign up for the workshop.

Here are some pictures of my student's work.