michelle ward

i love art: architecture books

I went to school to be an architect and ended up with a degree in interior architecture.  One of my positions was a dream job of planning hotels around the world.  I got to design furniture, light fixtures, ballroom carpet, fabric, and some very cool architectural details in lobbies, restaurants, and guest room suites in far away places like Marrakech and Bangkok, and closer to home in Boston and New York.  I love studying architecture and get great enjoyment just paging through the collection of books I have on the subject, or even better, visiting glorious places.  Architecture definitely influences me and finds its way into my work.  My favorite style is Gothic Revival, and my favorite guy is Pugin.  But I also love Mackintosh, and Starck.  I didn't take the time to photograph my shelves, but thought I'd share some recent acquisitions.  The tall book is 26" high, and opens to scaled drawings of all the bell towers in Venice.  Equally cool is the panoramic views from both sides of the Grand Canal - over 42 feet long accordion folded, printed on both sides.  The day before I left on my trip the Venice Sketchbook arrived.  I love this series!  Makes me want to draw more.  Scroll down for workshops samples that are full-on evidence of what I love.

 

i love art: paper

I'm a fire hazard.  I have hoards of paper.  I love to use paper in my work.  I love to visit specialty paper shops - nothing was quite as special as carefully selecting from the spoils offered in Venice!  I have this trick - if I do what I call "me first journaling", then I free myself to be able to use the paper in a project.  How often do you collect cool papers but never use them?  Do you wonder if you should save it in case a better use for it comes along?  Don't be silly, use it!  Then you can shop for more!  Take a little clipping and attach in your journal.  Let the piece flap up or pivot on a brad so you can write underneath it where you got it, when you got it, and maybe a note about why.  Then use it!!  Here are some of the treats I brought home in a waterproof tube so they wouldn't get damaged during the Aqua Alta of Venice last year.

 

 

i love art: matchboxes

Continuing my declarations of art love for the month of February....the new Somerset Studio arrived yesterday so I thought I would talk about matchboxes, the subject of my Make It Your Own column.  I started using matchboxes a few years back when I was interested in making mini shrines.  I love that they are on standby, ready to assist me in projects, in a bin on my studio table.  And when they are pre-painted it's even better.  Recently I started embedding them into canvas surfaces.  I had so much fun doing it - the possibilites are endless with what you can put in them, how to compose your piece, and I thought it would make a great class so I'm teaching RECESS at Art Is You, Stamford, CT in October.  Get it?  The boxes are recessed, plus taking a workshop is like getting to play at recess.  I crack myself up!  So here are some of the pieces that appear in the article.

 

I love art: rubbings

I started doing gravestone cakewax rubbings when I lived in Boston.  There are so many beautiful old headstones in the cemeteries and some of the engravings are spectacular, especially for rubbing.  A few years ago I was really into taking crayon rubbings of textures - mostly stamps and stencils.  If you use the side of the crayon, and a heavy hand, you can get really nice wax coverage to reveal the pattern, then overpaint with acrylic for a cool resist.  You can even iron off the original wax for another effect.  Why rub?  It's just a way of making your own collage elements.  The additional bonus is that once you start doing it you will start seeing interesting patterns and textures everywhere.  Don't you love that?  A simple case of heightened awareness and suddenly you see your surroundings differently.  In these samples I show both current and archived rubbings, some with painted layers to demonstrate the resist.  I also include some journal pages that show how you might incorporate a rubbing.

 

i love art: teaching

I'm behind!  I've had intermittent internet the last few days but I think I'm back in good shape...will have a few posts today.  First up, teaching.  I'm not a good public speaker and get really nervous if I have to be in front of a group.  I even dashed off the stage one time during a piano recital - so I probably would never had made it as a rock star (but wouldn't it have been fun??!!)  I started teaching in 2002 in my home studio, at local stores, and then at New Jersey events, so I could build up some experience before proposing to teach at Artfest (which I finally got to in 2004).  I've been teaching ever since and I love it.  I remember being nervous before my first big gig - 32 students in a huge ballroom.  I remember being nervous to teach my first workshop and a fellow artist reminded me that the students were willing participants and they wanted me to succeed as much as they wanted to succeed themselves.  It was exactly what I needed to hear, realizing we all come to the table with both a desire for growth, but also a bit of performance anxiety.  If we just recognize that, then we can all shake off the nerves, and have fun learning together.

There is something really special about being in a workshop with eager students.  We all learn from each other because we are plugged in and doing it.  Seeing how each artist interprets the material is so inspiring.  The best feedback I've gotten from a post-class review is that the artist left with the enthusiasm to go home and make more stuff.  That's music to my ears.  As a teacher I consider myself an ambassador for creativity.  I'm not particularly interested in that your take-away is technique A, B, or C, I want you to leave with the confidence that you can do anything, and the desire to do it as much as you can.

I'm really lucky to have been able to teach at some really cool events, and to have met so many new friends these last ten years.  It's been such an honor to stand at the front, and enourage others in this way. 

I'm thrilled to be collaborating with my friend Lynne Perrella for two workshops this May, and to be returning as an instructor at CREATE in New Jersey in July, and then teach for the first time at Art Is You in Connecticut in October.  You can see my workshop links at left sidebar, or click HERE.  

day 17: transfers

I'm not going to try to convince you to try doing transfers, nor am I going to teach you how to do them.  I'm just going to say that I love them.  Why?  They are an easy way to get an image on your painted surface.  I find it much more interesting than gluing down the perfect print-out or copy.  You never know how it will turn out, and that's the beauty of it.  In addition to images, I love to transfer text.  I can set the type in my word program, selecting the scale and font, then flip it before printing.  You need the print in reverse so it will transfer tp be legible.  The cool thing about making toner transfers (in color or black and white) is not only the partial image result, but the original copies (now remnants) become imperfect and can be additional collage elements.  If your page is still damp it's likely the remnant will pick up some of the paint and then you have an even cooler additional element.  My preference for toner release is goof-off as it has xylene in it.  There are less toxic agents that work just as well - google it.  See some works with toner transfers below.  I didn't include any injet transfers today but I like doing those too!

 

day sixteen: spray paint

It's no big secret....I love spray paint.  I learned how messy it can be when I had the job of repainting our lawn chairs as a teenager.  Until 2006, I considered spray paint to be for refinishing furniture or red wagons.  Then one weekend when I was away with friends for a self-imposed art retreat, my friend Lisa Hoffman pulled out a few cans for a project.  I had to go outside, in the rain, under a tent, and try the paint with my stencils in a journal.  I was hooked!  I loved the randomness that spray offers, and the quick drying so you can move stencils around swiftly - placing, spraying, repeating.  Once the paint gets too built up on the stencil I figured out you could monoprint it off.  Flip and rub.  For me, and the way I work, its hard to separate spray paint from stencils, but for today I'm just nodding to one of my favorite supplies:  spray paint.  Stencils will be presented later.  I recently learned that Liquitex (who have some really nice new acrylic based spray paints) is based right here where I live...same town!  Wouldn't it be fun to get on their payroll somehow? 

 

 

 

 

 

day fifteen: gesso

Don't ask me about the scientific properties of gesso.  All I know is:  it works for me.  I lay gesso down on nearly everything as a first layer.  I love it's quality of resisting acrylic.  A nice dry gessoed surface can be painted with acrylic and sprayed with water and completely lifted off, or let it set a few seconds and wipe off for little specks, leave longer for more pronounced specks.  Apply gesso through a stencil and after you've heat dried it or let it set overnight you can add a wash of color and lift off for a really nice effect.  I love when my paper plate palette gets so messy with color, and brushes are no longer recognizable as the black paint, or the ochre paint, and gesso gets mixed in....some cool stuff happens.  If your painting feels like it's getting too dark or muddy, brush on a little gesso, then add a layer of color.  The new layer will pop with a brightness that color alone can't offer you.  Here are some works that show how gesso is always the common demoninator. 

Thank you for all your heartfelt and kind words about Winston yesterday.  It will be a Valentine's Day to treasure.

 

 

i love LOVE

A departure from talking about loving art, to talking about the art of loving.  On this calendar day when we honor and celebrate those we choose to love, I want to share our sweet boy, who gave us so much joy.  It is a sorrowful time for us and I don't mean to bring down the day by sharing this, but want to ackowledge him, and that he matters.  Blowing kisses to all of you, especially those who have embraced me at this time to share my grief in an attempt to divide it.  Thank you.  Loss is painful, but I loved loving him, and always will.  I read a quote by Hilary Stantin Zunin, "The risk of love is loss, and the price for loss is grief, but the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love."  Here's to us risk-takers, who love loving both people and the creatures who enrich our lives.  Happy Valentine's Day.

 

 

 

xoxo

 

day thirteen: needle felting

Three years ago I went crazy for needle felting.  I saw a 3 minute video on youtube and it looked so easy.  I collected the materials required - inexpensive and easy to get online.  I was hooked on making felted treats for gifts - hearts, shamrocks, and eggs....then I started making acorns and fit them into the real caps.  It's a great project to do with the kids but be sure to get the tool thing that shields the needles because those things really hurt!  I loved working on felting around the dining table in the winter months when my studio was too cold.  There are artists who are very prolific in either wet felting or needle felting - very cool stuff out there, give it a google.  I was happy to just try it out....and maybe I'll pick it up again as we have snow falling as I type.

 

 

i love art: playing with blocks

I was a lego and block girl.  I still am.  I can never resist stopping in the wood items aisle at the craft store to see if there are any new styles of finials.  A few years ago a scored a Michael Graves set of building blocks at Target.  Swoon! 

I think working on blocks is a great way to forge through creative block if you are experiencing one or need to have an aimless project to keep busy.  There is something non-committal about it.  It's not a 'real' canvas, it's not attached to your journal.  Just a humble loose supply that can be sanded, painted, stamped, wrapped, collaged, brushed with wax....and then make another, and another....then stack them.  Move them around.  Build compositions.  Learn from it or just enjoy it.  And before you know it you have an emerald city, or an urban landscape.  

Speaking of 'creative block', I covered a host of blocks with some of my Stampers Anonymous images as an entry to an art contest for Art Continuum (an art retreat hosted by the Creative Block store, and won a prize!).  I've used blocks as a class format on several occasions, and have enjoyed the process with groups of friends - first Lisa, Anne, and Lynne in Montreal was back in 2002, and with Betsy, Sande, Laura, and Anne when I first was entertaining holding workshops in my home studio.  I love that each artist completed them in their own way, their personal styles evident. 

The first piece I show below "Perpetual", is one that evolved from an a-ha moment...taking some of the blocks and stacking them on dowels so they spin, revealing all the sides.  It's an interactive art piece - as seen in Somerset Studio, July/August 2005.  Each time I pass it on the wall I move a few blocks.  The following picture is a sampling of blocks that are stacked around the studio - you can see how I started with paint and stamps and moved into spray paint.  A great time-capsule of how my style has changed. 

In a creative rut?  Pick up a few blocks and start making some of your own.  It's been a rough few days here - more about that later....I think it's time for ME to get out some blanks as a therapeutic distraction.

 

EDIT:  In February 2017 I revisited blocks for an article for May/June Somerset Studio.  The surfaces were treated with a wood burning tool with a method called pyrography.  See the blog post HERE. 

 

i love art: stamp carving

I'm guessing you may have lino-cut an image for a print-making assignment 'round about junior high?  If that was the last time you used a 'v' cutter than you are missing out!  Carving stamps is easy, addictive, and an inexpensive way to customize art-making tools.  It's a great way to embrace "make it your own", one of my favorite mantras.  Designing and cutting your own images leads to art that is clever, authentic and personal.  I always have slabs or scraps of safety-cut material on my studio table to help me out in a pinch.  You can spend hours on a large and/or intricate piece like the first one I show, or whip out a few quickies like in the last sample.  Here's the thing - I've only the used the time-consuming one a few times, but the little trees have been used over and over.  Haven't tried your hand at carving yet?  I have a tutorial you can visit - maybe you'll take the plunge.

 

Visit the stamp carving tutorial by clicking on the TUTORIAL button in right sidebar, or click HERE.

i love art: making theaters

Oooh, I love architectural scale models!  Even better, when they are toy theaters!  I first started assembling theaters from kits.  I have a few Benjamin Pollocks and used to love browsing through their site at all the offerings.  They have shelves of goodies.  The first theater type assemblage I made was for an article my friend Lynne Perrella wrote for Somerset Studio (Sept/Oct 2001).  Later I would make a much larger  theater with drop-in scenery, props, and characters for Lynne's book Beyond Paper Dolls (2006).  All the extras were stashed in a pull-out drawer which included a paper doll of Ville Valo.  Stampington surprised me by including him on The Raven stage with Poe for an article in Somerset Studio (Sept/Oct 2007).  It was a huge thrill to visit (was it 2004?) Joseph Musil's Salon of Theaters with Lynne and our True Colors friends at the Santora Arts Building in Santa Ana, CA.  Joe treated us to a presentation and shared his passion for the theater, the models, and the great architectural history of real theaters.  There are societies all over the world dedicated to making and displaying toy theaters.  I can see why - it's an addictive project.

It would be a fun workshop wouldn't it?  It would have to be at least two or three days long, and you'd have to expect some issues getting it home.  Maybe it could be my first online class?  Ooh, I'm not quite ready to be on camera yet.  I'll leave it to the pros.

 

i love art: digital graphics

I'm a self-taught photoshop artist.  I love manipulating graphics.  I have several ongoing assignments to maintain websites, design logos and print ads, and from time to time just give myself a project to do so I keep my skills up and try to discover new ways to use the platform.  I love making brushes and figuring out how to adjust layers - can you believe it took me several years before I even knew how to use layers?  Working in a digital format is a practice that also informs some of my non-digital art.  I have a few versions of PS but always end up defaulting to 5.5.  I know, I'm a dinosaur.  But it works for me, and I love it!  Here are some of my pieces....

 

day seven: cardboard

Dang!  I forgot to move this post from draft to publish.  So here is day seven of I Love Art.  You're probably tired of seeing me post about cardboard but it's the thing I'm heavily into right now.  I've had some fun reformatting the binding for the upcoming workshops, Debris Journal, and I've been trying out some new techniques on this wonderful surface too. 

I can't stop making these journals, and filling them up with the stuff that floats around the perimeter of this place.  Here's how it started:  I always use cardboard on my work table or under my spray painted projects out on the grass.  Typically the scraps gets slathered in run-off paint - either acrylic as I paint substrates, or spray paint when I'm f;ailing stencils around.  I could never part with the pieces because they just looked so cool so I began vutting them down and binding them together as a book.  Each page had interesting marks and provided a wonderful start for additional paint or collage. 

Everytime a break down a box to go into the recycling bin I end up hijacking some of it for the studio stash.  Can't beat easy access to art-making supplies.  These are fun to make and so addictive!  I feel like I'm ready to take my cardboard to a new level, especially after seeing some of the cool dimensional or sculptural art made with corrugated cardboard.

 

day six: altering furniture

I've had several furniture projects over the years.  I've reupholstered chairs, painted dressers, tables, and cribs, but this has to be my favorite - our coffee table.  It had these recessed lines that bugged me - always gettings filled with debris and trying to clean them meant the paint was wearing off.  At I first thought a glass top might solve the problem, anf that led to another idea - why not spray paint with some cool graphics if I'm going to be protecting it with glass anyway?  So I sanded it a little to remove the finish, then I taped off the sides and legs and began spraying.  Love it!   Later, while teaching at Valley Ridge, we were outside with spray paint and I looked over at the picnic table - it was painted black, but was a little worn and chipped, so I hijacked it and spray painted the top!  I love that each year I visit VR the paint has worn off a little more, but there are additions to it - evidence of artists working.

 

day five: polymer clay

I first started working with polymer clay back in the nineties.  A friend of mine, artist Julie Pearson, was making incredible jewelry with it (scroll down to see).  I instantly fell in love with the possibilities it affords, especially when combined with stamping.  Julie is much more than a clay artist, but taught me the magical things that can be done with the inexpensive and easily manipulated medium.  I have used clay in some of my work, and also employ it for making molds for paper casting (which I will show you soon).  Later I discovered Laurie Mika and her amazing Icons built with gorgeous patterns and rampant colors.  I resonated to Laurie's work immediately, and upon further inspection was thrilled to discover she was using some of my stamps in the clay!  How cool is that?  We collaborated on an Exemplar for Somerset Studio (Nov/Dec 2005) and eventually sold the piece in an auction to raise money for Katrina Relief.

 

 

Julie Pearson does not have a website but you can find her current work of mixed media assemblage at Gallery 50 in Traverse City, Michigan, click HERE. 

Laurie Mika's website is HERE.  She teaches workshops around the globe, visit her site for details, and take a look at her really cool book, Mixed Media Mosaics, click HERE.  And good news!  She just launched (finally!) a blog, HERE.

day four: messy hands

When I'm in the midst of a project I take over every flat surface within a 20 foot radius.  The floor is cluttered with debris, piles of materials are stacked everywhere, and my hands are filthy.  I have been seen at the local pizza place, picking up dinner with paint covered fingers.  There is paint on my shoes, the phone, the carpet.  Evidence that I'm a slob....but I'm working.  Nothing beats digging in and doing it. 

i love art: assemblage

Remember back in grade school when you had to make a diorama?  Mine was a science project built in a shoebox.  Later in high school I fabricated scale models of houses that I designed in my architectural drawing classes.  One even won the first place blue ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair!  I love constructing and assembling art in boxes as it provides the perfect platform for collecting and presenting interesting items - some found, some altered, some invented. 

i love art: visual journals

 

I love my journals.  They chronicle my art journey.  Sometimes I use them to work out ideas, with sketches and notes, and trials of techniques and a playground of discovery.  Sometimes I use them to collect evidence of a work-in-progess with paint strokes of color, collage clippings, and remnants of materials or supplies used.  There are also times I just want to focus on a theme and make a self-contained journal with a recurring motif.  I have big ones, little ones, some finished, some incomplete.  I believe keeping a visual journal is a vital part of my artistic process.

art love

As soon as the calendar page turns to February I get all excited about red, of course, but I also reflect on the people and things I love.  Valentine's Day isn't until mid-month but I feel my heart open....having survived the holidays and the lull that January can bring, this month gets me motivated about the things ahead in the coming year, and the promise of Spring.  I look around this messy studio and want to break out with new work and maybe cross some things off my to-do list of making stuff I've been wanting to make.  I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such cool supplies, I want to be using them all the time.  With the new year I tend to do some clean-up on my computer and review the completed projects from the past year.  I loved seeing the archives of all the work I've done.  It is clear that I love art and I love being an artist.  I decided to take this month and make a daily declaration about it. I will show both old and new work....to celebrate where I've been and where I'm going.

 

REMINDERS:  Today the registration begins for Art Is You in Stamford, CT.  Hope to see you there! 

Just a few spots left in the Far Away Places workshop I am co-hosting with my friend Lynne Perrella - a three day event May 10-12, click HERE for info.  It's going to be amazing!!