Sunday, March 20, 2011

Waxing Poetic


I'm not quite finished with my Keys4Art posting, but had to pause to share some photos from the wonderful class I took on Saturday with Claudine Hellmuth.  Claudine called it Waxing Poetic, and we learned many techniques for creating collages using only beeswax as our "adhesive."

The class was sponsored by The Ink Pad, and held in the community room of Westbeth, which aside from being an affordable residence for artists (high ceilinged loft style apartments), it also contains many such spaces for classes, exhibits, performances and the like.  A very nice place to come and make art.  We arrived early and hung out in the courtyard.




Claudine began the class with a long demo, in which she showed us the many ways to use beeswax in collage making, as well as the tools and supplies.  We'd all brought copies of photos and collage elements, and there was a large pile of various papers and fabrics on the share table.


Before long, our work table looked like this:




After the demo, Claudine circulated around the room offering help where needed.  Below, Teri and I using the quilter's irons to apply wax to our surfaces.  Teri is working on a box, covering it with wonderful photos she took of horses on a trip to Wyoming.     I am working on a 6x12 stretched canvas that will include an old photo of my grandfather Abraham.




Towards the end of the class (we worked from 10am to 5pm) we put our pieces on the floor so we could ooh and aah over each other's art.












Pat is understandably pleased with her whimsical piece.


Corris did a wonderful series of tiles, applying her images right over the existing ones, repurposing tiles she might have otherwise discarded.  I think these will look fantastic hung together on a wall.





My completed (maybe) canvas:


The great thing about a beeswax collage is you can always remove unwanted elements by reheating them, or add new ones, so who knows if this is actually finished.  And as Claudine pointed out, a workshop is for experimenting and learning, not creating masterpieces.  Having said that, I think everyone did a fantastic job.

After lunch, I worked on a second piece, an 11x14 canvas board.  I used lots of tissue paper, patterned napkins, old text and music sheets as my background.  I added some bird clipart and in the center, a combination of dark paper and fabric, over which I placed some old family photos.



 Claudine poses with my friends; a great ending for a great day.

                    Back row:  Michelle, me, Claudine, Pat, Teri      Front row:  Heidi and Corris


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eileen,
What fun! Looks like an awesome class. So happy you have had such an amazing time these last couple of weeks and with friends too. Doesn't get any better than that.
Gail in Oklahoma

Vic said...

What great art you all made!

Diann said...

Wonderful ART, wonderful fun with your friends too....and just an all round good time! Diann

Dorothy said...

oks like a great art day!!

Elaine Akers said...

What a great art day you shared with friends. Everyone did a fantastic job. Love your pieces.
Elaine

Sherry Goodloe said...

You have been having the BEST time the past couple of weeks! I have enjoyed living through your fun times through your blog posts :) Like I always kiddingly tell my best friend who is an I.T. geek . . . "I think this internet stuff is gonna catch on" *smiles*

I'm headed to Carson for the Rubber Stamp Convention today. I went to Glitterfest yesterday, came home and slept from around 7pm until 3 this morning! Yes, I think I may have overdone it yesterday (my last surgery was on the 9th)

Photos maybe later this evening

Anonymous said...

Oh I think they did TOO!!!!! They are all so beautiful!!!!! I LOVE beeswax just don't use it often!!!

SusanK said...

Outstanding! It's always fun looking about new techniques and products. Sharing them with friends is fab!

Nancy Lynn said...

Well, I can't say enough good things about Claudine and her classes. I love her and her work. I remember the days so well when she taught at the art retreats in the Northwest.

I love all the artwork you and your friends did. Just beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful experience and your creative play day.

Wow, you have attended some great art events lately and I have enjoyed hearing about them a lot.

Alicia B said...

Oh Eileen, I have never heard of this before but all the pieces turned out beautiful!!! It looks like you had a blast as well and that makes it twice the fun! *Hugs* and TFS!!!

goodling4 said...

Okay, Eileen you are having WAY too much fun! I need to dig out all my wax stuff and fall in love again with bees wax! The pictures speak so many words of life, love and whimsy!
thanks for sharing!
Gina G

Elaine A said...

Hi Eileen -

Loved all the photos. What really great looking projects. I can also tell that everyone had a fabulous time, including Claudine - LOL! I love beeswax, it is just so much fun to play with.

Elaine Allen

Kathy Eddy said...

What a fantatic class and with Claudene! You lucky gals! I love the work you gals did here. i love playing with beeswax anyway and you made some great pieces here.

Angela said...

Would love to take a class with Claudine in person...and encaustic art...beautiful! Thanks for sharing all the photos!

craftyM said...

Eileen... your class looks like so much fun... Am still wanting to try bees wax myself.... someday!
Marita

Lori said...

Looks absolutely wonderful! I just love everyone's collages, such gorgeous work!