MARCH SHOW AND CLASSES
More new works by Patty Hancock, featuring her beautiful prints—many new ones this month—that originate from her natural oxide paintings on clay. For March, she has brought the ceramic plates themselves from which several of the large prints were made. It is utterly fascinating to compare the two and see how the images translate from one medium to another in such a dramatic way. The images evoke cosmic worlds, geographic forms, mysterious environments, or microscopic organisms.
Patty says of her work:
"Natural oxides--red oxide, rutile, yellow ochre, to name a
few--provide the basis of my natural oxide paintings on hand-formed clay. I feel like a magician when I draw and paint with oxides. Transformations happen during and after the repeated kiln firings. High resolution close-ups sanction the final image."
The Lulu & Chaiden Show includes the impressive and delightful work of Lulu and Chaiden Miller, ages 10 and 7. Their art pieces include watercolor, pencil, pastel, and mixed media work and show a wonderful grasp of design, composition, color, and the possibilities of various media, plus an originality unique to each of them, loaded with personality.
Genevra Daley Bell has made some new animal portraits in her inimitable Beatrix Potter-like style. Also now available are postcard sets of her artist animal series—nine cards featuring Andy Warthog, Labrador Dali, Vincent van Gopher and all the rest. She has also made a birthday card involving bears and offbeat humor. Be sure to check that out.
CLASS SCHEDULE FOR MARCH 2013
These are adult classes (ages 17 and up). All classes are suitable for both beginners and those with art experience. Materials are provided. No preregistration necessary for any of the scheduled classes.
SATURDAY MORNINGS 10:30 - 12:00
Saturday Creativity Session - $10 (only $5 for Flying Leap Art Club members)
This class will be varied and will often be based on requests from students. Here are the projects for this month:
March 2 - Buildings and Streetscapes - In this class, we will look at the many fascinating ways artists have depicted buildings of all sorts and the groups of buildings making up a city, town or village. We’ll discover differences in perspective, the addition or elimination of detail, the use of color and tone, and more. Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, and Kandinsky are among the artists who have portrayed buildings in wonderful, original ways.
March 9 - The Use of Templates and Stencils - Continuing our once-a-month “How To” Saturday, we will focus this week on different ways to use templates or stencils within a work of art. These methods can be useful in creating repetitive motifs or in exploring variations on one theme. We will use existing templates and also learn how to create our own, which we will use with a variety of media.
March 16 - Works of Art Involving a Grid - In this class, we will look at many possible ways a grid format can be used in a work of art. Paul Klee’s marvelous irregular grids are beautiful explorations of color relationships; Kandinsky’s grids are displays of incredibly inventive calligraphic forms laid out like a chart; and many other artists have used grids in equally creative ways. We’ll experiment with our own take on grids in the class today.
March 23 - Creating a Narrative Scene in Mixed Media - This class will look at contemporary illustrators and their inventive use of mixed media to create works that tell a story. By tweaking size relationships, combining unlikely styles and images, and by weaving realism and abstraction, wonderful effects result. Narratives become less literal and more fluid, open, and mysterious.
March 30 - Lettering - In this class we will play with a variety of ways to add our own handwritten text to a work of art, using paint, ink, pencil, cut paper, and any other media. We’ll look at different kinds of alphabets and writing styles, options of size, boldness or subtlety, ways to place text within a work, the proportion and relationship of text to images, and so on.
SATURDAY AFTERNOONS 1:30 - 3:00
Self Discovery Collage Workshop $10 ($8 for Flying Leap Art Club members)
Aimed at self-exploration. Anyone can do it. Each class has a theme and the abundant collage materials are used to work in an art journal, poster board, or any other format. There is a wonderful feeling in the room and great fascination at the end to see the incredible variety in the results. This is a very popular class.
SATURDAY AFTERNOONS 3:15 - 5:00
Working with the Masters $18 individually or $60 for a 4-class punch card ($12 a class for Flying Leap Art Club members)
A painting class based on observation and knowledge of the works of great master artists. Suitable for both beginners and experienced artists. Students create their own works, based on inspiration from the artist studied. Gouache and watercolor are primarily used, but pastels, acrylic, and other media come into play if appropriate, This class is full of wonderful discoveries, as well as naturally developing technique.
Each month or two a particular master artist is the focus:
March & April - Matisse in Nice - For these two months we will focus on the beautiful work Matisse produced during his years in Nice, in the south of France, where he fell in love with the light. Many of his painting were done in the same room, depicting the same window and view, but the variety is incredible. This exploration will reveal the subtle choices an artist can make at every stage, each choice creating a different feeling or vantage point on a subject. We will especially notice choices of color, composition, and pattern.
TUESDAY CLASS 1:30 - 3:00
Basic Drawing & Painting $18 individually or $60 for a 4-class punch card ($12 a class for Flying Leap Art Club members)
Formerly called "The Timid Artist," this class is for beginners or those who want to refresh the basic skills of drawing and painting. Each student gets individual attention and a curriculum based on interest and natural pace. Included are figure drawing, forms in nature, buildings and landscapes, composition, color palettes, and exploration of various drawing and painting media.
WEDNESDAY CLASS 1:30 - 3:00
Self Discovery Collage Class $10 ($8 for Flying Leap Art Club members)
A repeat of the Saturday 1:30 class.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON:
Thursday afternoon is designated as Studio Day for members of the Flying Leap Art Club or Art Collective, with the classroom available for those who want to work of any project of their own or get together for collaborative work.
FRIDAY CLASS 1:30 - 3:00 (every Friday except Art Walk week, the first Friday of every month)
The Joy of Writing - $10 ($8 for Flying Leap Art Club members)
Words are a wonderful art form, and one of the very best ways to become a good writer is to read great writing. In this class, each session begins with readings from exceptional writing of a particular author, genre, culture or era of literature and then focusing on what makes it great. There will then be an opportunity to do writing exercises to practice those elements. Members of the class will also be able to read to the group from their own writings if they desire. This is an ongoing class that you can join at any time.
All classes are taught by Donna Colby, owner and director of Flying Leap Art Space. She studied drawing with Robert Vickers at Ohio Wesleyan University (1964-66), attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City (1966-67), and majored in painting and Illustration at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design - 1967-69). She has worked as a free lance illustrator in New York, Boulder, Colorado, Portland, Oregon, and in Fairfield, and has worked as an art teacher, and a writer for many years. She started Flying Leap Art Space in January 2010 after giving numerous presentations about art at ICON Gallery.
