Exquisite Enigmas

Sunday 9:00 - 4:30 $145  
  Andrea Matus    


Student Level: All
Type of Workshop: Process and Project

 

 

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth” –Oscar Wilde

Maybe it’s because of the fairytales we all heard when we were kids – you know the ones with the grand masquerade balls…the fancy masks and ornate headdresses. Or perhaps it’s just because I like the idea of the alter ego….but whatever the reason, you have to admit that wearing a mask somehow makes you feel different, doesn’t it?  A simple bit of costuming over your face and inwardly you feel a transformation…not just visually, but psychically. With this in mind I thought it might be fun to spend a bit of time transforming the ordinary lives of old photographs into their enigmatic alter egos. In this class we will take portraits of everyday people and using paint, clay, collage, and found objects we’ll create masks, helmets, cowls and headdresses. You will be transforming the mundane into something elegant, opulent and mysterious.

Some of the specific skills we’ll be tackling in this workshop include:

-how to use tools for taking found objects apart and what to do to reassemble them into elaborate masks and headdresses.

-paint techniques, choosing colors, mixing colors, and combining paint with collage and objects.

-collage techniques, including collaging over found objects.

Kit Fee of $5 payable to Instructor at class time includes:

  • 2 different sized wooden substrates
  • Collage sheet
  • Small bag of ephemera
  • Nails, screws, wire

Instructor will provide for use in class:

  • Paper towel
  • Tools for assembling our project
  • Metallic paint
  • Portfolio Brand Pastels
  • Other mark making tools
  • Aves Epoxy Clay

Students should bring :

  • Photos from magazines, vintage photos, family portraits (we’ll be working on substrates between 3”x4” and 4”x6”, so nothing too large (faces should be about the size of a quarter, up to a silver dollar) – please make sure they are photocopies (not inkjet printouts) and try to have them copied onto photo paper if possible.
  • Paper, ephemera and collage items
  • Paint: Golden Acrylics fluid or heavy body (white, black, any blue, red, and yellow, plus a couple more of your favorites)
  • Paint Palette (a paper plate will suffice)
  • Paintbrushes: bring just a few in different sizes, and one detail brush
  • Water Container
  • Golden Matte Medium (small bottle)
  • Golden Gloss Medium (small bottle)
  • Scissors
  • E6000 Adhesive
  • An assortment of found objects: brass filigrees, old jewelry pieces, buckles, lenses, wings, typewriter keys, little plastic animals… just about anything, bits of ribbon, sequins

Optional :

  • Heat gun
  • Aves Epoxy Clay (I’ll have some to share, but this stuff is so amazing, you are probably going to want your own eventually)

Questions? Email Andrea at
Website: paradoxicalgypsy.blogspot.com