Online Workshop Showcase

In January, my online Klimt and Matisse class adult art students completed a workshop, making a modern wood, gourd or other type of craft.  Their work amazed me in its originality and diversity.

I want to spotlight their outstanding contributions and share with you the winners of my workshop prizes below.

Rebecca V.
focused on Klimt's swirly lines and dimensionality. I always love her colors and imaginative designs.
  

After some sketching, she created a wooden whale reminiscent of days of play and splashing in the sea.



Christine B.
channeled the sparking metallic glamour of Klimt's work into some lovely little birdhouses.


The metallic accents, earth tones and organic designs dance in a welcoming rhythm for little feathered friends.

For Christine's contribution to the class, she won a handmade bottlecap necklace.  (Christine chose the flower.)

Sonya O.
created a fun pen holder for her metallic Sharpie pens, by translating the plant-like patterns of Matisse on to papier-mache.

Ann S.
blew me away with her many projects.  She created a wooden arrow in the style of Klimt,


gourds painted in the style of Matisse,

and so many other projects that I will have to update you on them in a future blog post.  

Ann proves my point that you learn by doing, and doing, and doing.  Quantity may not seem the quickest way to quality, but it absolutely is!

For Ann's outstanding and numerous contributions to the workshop, she won the Picasso "In His Own Words" print by Winston-Salem, NC-based artist, Dennis Wells. Way to go, Ann!

Anna D., 

who resides in Australia, was inspired by Matisse's work from his travels to the South Pacific and Tahiti in 1930.  She incorporated his seaweed-like forms into designs for cuttlebones from cuttlefish.

Just what is a cuttlefish?  I had to look it up and was delighted to learn about this animal.

A cuttlefish is a squid-like, very intelligent aquatic invertebrate with eight arms, two tentacles and w-shaped pupils.  They are also masters of camouflage.  (Here's a video to help you see the predators in action.)

Cuttlebones hold the buoyancy organ of these strange creatures and wash up on Australian shores after the death of the organism.  Anna collects these bones and decided to paint an organic shape on organic material.

I was glad to witness Anna's lovely paintings and to learn about this unusual creature.  I think Anna honored the spirit of Matisse, who communicated an appreciation for the beauty of nature in his work.

For her contributions to the workshop, Anna won Ohio-based artist Erik Davis' set of hand-painted watercolor postcards, which celebrate the natural world around us.

Thank you
I want thank each of these students for applying themselves and sharing their joyous work with the class.  Each contribution adds to the richness of our artistic experiences and development.

I really appreciate these outstanding artists!