Welcome to the Winslow Art Center! ©fancy iPhone photography
What a Wonderful Part of the World
We had a fun filled weekend at the Winslow Art Center on Bainbridge Island, ripping and gluing and painting papers for the Small Apple Exercise. The weather was unseasonably warm here this weekend, but being from Florida I was still wearing my (cotton) sweater. The sun was shining on the island, making views of Seattle crystal clear. Photos never did capture the skyline or the mountain range quite like the eye does. Take my word, it was beautiful.
Meet Martha Jordan, she makes the Art Center a special place for artists to come and be creative. ©St-Hilaire
This is my second time teaching for the Art Center, the first was just last August. Martha Jordan, owner and operator, has already asked me to return again in 2018. If you have never had the amazing experience of visiting the Olympic Peninsula, I urge you to save the date for June of 2018. It’ll be here before you know it.
Sunset with view of the Olympic Mountains from the home of my first host family. ©fancy iPhone photography
Getting here from anywhere involves making your way to Seattle and crossing the Puget Sound via Washington State ferries. It’s a 35 minute ride with a stunning view of Mt. Rainier, the highest point in the state of WA. I couldn’t take my eyes of the Olympic Mountains and Rainier all weekend, covered with snow and so vastly different from the geography of Florida.
Martha’s space is full of natural light and right on the main street of Bainbridge, you can cross the street to the grocery store for a cup of soup and salad for lunch. Two steps to the right is where you can mail a postcard home, or shop for some funky clothing, shoes and jewelry at many of the unique small shops Bainbridge has to offer. Of course no walk down Winslow Way is complete without a visit to Blackbird Bakery for an espresso and a downtowner sweet roll.
And what a great name for a bakery… Sing a Song of Sixpence.
Getting ready to get messy. fancy iPhone photography
Let’s Get Messy!
After the initial classroom lecture, we break for lunch and then prepare to paint collage papers. Painting paper is typically everyone’s favorite part of my Paper Paintings Collage Workshop. Folks dig it because it’s relaxing and allows them to play with color. I try to remind students that they are painting papers to collage their under-painting and that if there’s no hot pink or chartreuse in that apple or its’ background, they need to switch gears! Most everyone gravitates to a palette of color that appeals to them on a personal level in the beginning. I always start with blues and purples myself.
Creatures of habit. Old dogs….. let’s not go there.
Vicki was surprised with a gluten free birthday. ©St-Hilaire
Happy Birthday Vicki
We had a birthday girl in our midst and Martha couldn’t help but to pop down to Blackbird and pickup a flourless chocolate cake for Vicki. Out went the lights and up came our best singing voices. There’s just no escaping Facebook giving away your special day.
Vicki said she couldn’t think of a nicer way to spend her birthday weekend. This made me happy and all gooey inside like a sweet roll. I suggested to Martha that she might ad adult birthday parties to her Winslow Art Center repertoire. Wine, cake, and art supplies, what could be birthday better?
Debra and her finished masterpiece ©St-Hilaire
Ripping and Gluing
After a day of hand-painting colorful collage paper, the students set to work of ripping and gluing. The Small Apple Exercise is given to help artists learn to create volume of a simple shape (the sphere) through directional paper ripping and color shading. For this they need to have a solid grasp of values (lights and darks).
Color values, not family values. That’s another lesson entirely.
A view of Mt. Rainier from Vickie’s place. fancy iPhone photography
All Good Things…
Sunday afternoon brought an end to our class. Two students were locals and repeat offenders, it was so nice to see Patsy and Sandy again. On Sunday night I stayed with Miss Vicki, who offered to host me and take me to the ferry in the morning for my flight out.
Every time I come to this part of the world I feel like I want to stay a while and shop for shoes and art supplies in Seattle… These woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep.
Stay tuned for my next trip, Alpena, MI where I might need to pack more than a cotton sweater for sure.
Thank You
for being a part of my
Art Journey,
Elizabeth
Me and my favorite co-pilot. ©selfie
Connect with Me
For a complete listing of Paper Paintings WORKSHOPS
To take my Collage Workshop ONLINE
To Join me for an ITALY WORKSHOP this June
To Purchase Collage BOOKS and DVDs
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