Anne Bagby Class Day 1

Just the day prior to the class our weather had been the best of the year - but with the beginning of the class the weather turned to our more typical grey, sodden skies - all of which made the colors around me 'pop'! This is one of my favorite "fall trees' in town. I look forward to it's blazing color every year.

I'm still somewhat reeling from all of the wonderful information that those four days in class provided my with. I think it's slowly seeping into my brain - transformed by the ways I'm comfortable working. What an amazing four days that was! I have come to one realization and that is that I work so much better at home - where all of the things I usually use are available. Typically, I bring all of things on the supplies list and then I realize that "Oh! I could have used this or that" or "if only I had thought to bring...". It means tat I generally don't finish much in a class - but take the beginnings home to work on in my own environment. I've always wished that I was a fast worked - someone who could produce in class - but I have to admit, after years of all kins of classes , that I have to internalize the information before I can really use it. Any one else feel like that?

Wonderful team leader and owner of Wild At Heart Heart Studios, Jan Murphy, on the left and teacher extraordinare, Anne Bagby, on the right

Using an image of your choice and making into something that is, uniquely, yours. We used images from magazines, the web (toner copies) - practically anywhere you find them. They can be used for the face - or for the shape - the form of human figure - or both as many did. Not being much of a clown person I chose to interpret the idea as a 'masked' person. This photo is NOT my work, but is that of a talented class mate.

We covered SO much in the first day that my mind couldn't absorb it all. An extra added, optional, bonus was carving a large stamp (12" X12") the Anne Bagby way. I love carving stamps but I discovered a lot of new, very valuable, information form Anne about how to carve smarter and better. Below you can see the inspiration for a stamp in the background and the carved stamp, a la Anne, in the foreground

I admit to not really having my 'listening ears' on. Anne's directions were to draw some faces and I somehow got it into my head that she meant sort of caricature faces - not realistic faces. Being new to concept of collage and assemblage I had to swift paddle to keep up at all. Agin, the images below are NOT my work - but another class mate's. There were several amazing artist's in the group who had taken classes with Anne and Lynn before and they, naturally, "got" it well and got it right!

Photos below: Anne keeps an envelope filled with myriad faces that she says she draws before bed every night. These are some of her faces - the envelope provides her with so many perfect option - so that as she works on a piece she can 'audition' what sort of face will work.

 Faces, Faces and more faces

We were told to bring four 5"X7" inch substrates. Two black, one collaged with lights and one collages with darks. I found that I was unable to do anything with the dark because I wanted to take it home and texture it the way I wanted to before I could "waste" it and slap something onto the clean black surface. I think I must have to work on my 'spontaneity' factor huh?!

Below is the lovely and talented Dawn of Mother Rubber. She had everything a person could want  and then some - and she was very generous in lending supplies! She's a really lovely human being and if you check out her website you are sure to find some unique goodies - she also makes custom rubber stamps - that's a resource I was thrilled to discover!

This was the piece that I completed from day one. You can see this as it was, unfinished, in class on the second photo below.  Once again, I just HAD to take it home to finish it and once I had done that I was much  happier. Had I not mis-heard the simple instruction this 'cool kat' would have had a more realistic face, but since my 'listening ears' had been turned off and I 'heard' "quickly drawn facial elements" this is what I drew in class that day.  I left the face intact rather than replacing it as a reminder to myself to listen more closely!

 Such amazing, wonderful, work from all f these talented artists! What a feast it was !

 More from these workshops to come!