Capturing Texture - A Simple Technique NEW! Online Class Apr 19

Capturing Texture - A Simple Technique NEW! Online Class
Sunday, April 19, 1-3pm MT
Instructor: Janet Strickler
Limit: 25 students. All participants must be 15 years or older.
*This type of class focuses on techniques instead of a finished project. Class materials not included  - see the class materials list below for what to have on hand.

Class Details

Mixed media artist Janet Strickler swears that this simple technique is “one of the absolutely most fun art techniques I know”. She’s talking about the art of creating texture by taking a rubbing – that is, placing blank paper over a raised or indented surface and rubbing it gently with a marking agent such as charcoal or chalk. Before you start thinking of kindergarten, know that rubbing is an honest-to-goodness art technique. The fancy French name for it is frottage, and it was used most famously by surrealist painter Max Ernst. 

There are two styles of rubbings. One is done over “found” texture and the other is done over “created” texture. After describing both, Janet starts the class out working with found textures. Think kitchen strainers, a woven basket, a carved panel, the grain on a piece of wood, and embossed leather book covers. Anything with a hard surface will do. The process couldn’t be simpler or, as Janet points out, more fun. Once you start looking for textures, you’ll start seeing them in unexpected places! “Created” rubbings are made from a simple textured plate, either bought or handmade. Janet makes her own plates from junk mail, postcards, and the cardboard from a cereal or cracker box. So easy! She teaches you how to make your own. 

Once you’re familiar with both found and created rubbings, start experimenting. Janet shows examples of her own during class to give you ideas. For an absolutely fun time, come join her and play for a bit!

This online class will be recorded and made available to class participants for 14 days after the class.

Class Materials

Please bring the following materials:

• Gather a few items that have a textured, hard surface. Examples: kitchen strainers, a woven basket, a carved panel, a piece of wood with a raised grain, and embossed leather book covers.
• Paper, preferably blank and lightweight, but be creative. Use “this page intentionally left blank” from a printout or even a brown paper lunch sack.
  
• Pencils and/or crayons. A softer pencil lead (B or 2B) gives a darker impression than HB, but they all work. Chunky kid crayons can be fun, and colored pencils work nicely.  Anything you use should be sharp so that you have a large flat surface along the side of the point. Note that mechanical pencils won’t work.
  
• Sharpeners for pencils/crayons so that you can maintain a nice point.
  
• Glue stick
  
• Scissors
  
• Lightweight card-stock. Junk mail postcards are perfect, and the cardboard from a cereal or cracker box makes a great backing.

Zoom Info

An email will be sent to participants the Monday before the class. Classes with homework may receive pre-class info earlier.  The email includes class date/time, materials list, pre-class prep, and Zoom link/info. No email? Double check the email address you entered when you registered and your SPAM folder. Due to SPAM filters and inbox settings, we cannot guarantee you will see, read, or open these emails. Two Hands Paperie assumes no responsibility for non-attendance of a class. Contact twohandsclasses@gmail.com with any questions and see our Class Policies page for more information. 

Class Refund/Cancellation Policy - Online Class Without Kit

For cancellation made 14 days before class we can either issue a refund or apply the funds to another class. We retain a $10 processing fee for EACH class cancelled. If you cancel fewer than 14 days before the class there is no refund or credit. If Two Hands Paperie cancels a class, we’ll contact you by email and refund the FULL class fee.

Instructor Bio

Janet Strickler, a mixed media artist living and working in Colorado, calls her work Art of the Ordinary. In truth, there’s nothing ordinary about what she creates. What is ordinary is what she uses: recycled and reclaimed objects, construction leftovers, discarded magazines, candle stubs, coffee grounds, natural materials, and even old paper clips. She loves to explore different media and will attempt to make art out of nearly anything. You can often find her in the Art Parts Creative Reuse store in Boulder, softly exclaiming to herself, “I could make art out of that!”. She enjoys the challenge of turning ordinary materials and cast-off items into objects of beauty.

Much of Janet’s work involves a spiritual element. It’s no surprise, given that the goal of her own art making is to create a beautiful, harmonious, and peaceful environment. Woven throughout her work is a deep love for geometry and pattern. She’s made a lifetime study of art history around the world and has been influenced by works as diverse as ancient manuscripts, medieval architecture, American quilts, Australian aboriginal paintings, Byzantine mosaics, and the decorative traditions of India and the Middle East. Their patterns are a starting point and don’t necessarily result in a predetermined layout. For her, art making is about beginning and then finding out where the piece leads.

True to her personal approach to art, Janet’s classes are fundamentally about exploring and experimenting. Rather than teaching students how to make a particular piece of art, she likes to demonstrate what can be done with a set of materials and then turn students loose to play with them. It’s both astonishing and instructive to see how different the results can be. Classes with her are delightful adventures in discovering the unexpected!

Visit her website: artoftheordinary.net