Art Journaling from Dark to Light
Date: Thursday, August 26, 2004
Time: 9am – 4:30pm
Instructor: Aisling D'Art
Cost: $85

Expand your art, journaling and altered books techniques by exploring contrasts in color, texture, and art themes. In this workshop, we'll work with black gesso, gravestone rubbings (Aisling brings castings from ancient New England headstones), gold and metallic leaf, cemetery photos, and antique-to-Gothic imagery, to create hauntingly beautiful art.

We'll begin by preparing our pages with gesso, and you'll learn ways to support even the heaviest embellishments. Then, Aisling will show you ways to do image transfers on black pages that can actually be seen against the dark background.

You'll explore color theory and ways to introduce drama and high contrast to your art, through light & shadow and color saturation techniques.

Aisling will have over a dozen ornate castings of art from New England gravestones, for you to use for rubbings, for your journals and other art. She'll also teach you a clever trick to get better-than-average rubbings from interesting textures and monuments in your own area.

You will complete many pages in your journal, or if you choose to make a shrine in this class instead, you will have time to complete the basic art in it, perhaps finishing it.

For those who want to go further with dark imagery, Aisling will teach the basics of cemetery photography, and "ghost hunting" photos. She'll have many of her own unretouched photos of the paranormal, for you to examine and ask questions about.

And, weather permitting, Aisling will host an informal “ghost hunt” nearby, so bring your camera and take home some wonderfully baffling photos.

Supply list:

a new or ongoing journal, or a book you'd like to alter (or a cigar box or other container to use as a shrine)

black gesso (Golden brand is recommended), and white gesso (any brand) - if a friend is taking this workshop, up to four people can share a small container of gesso

two or three sponge or bristle brushes (cheap, 1" brushes are fine)

one or more gel pens in a light color (Gelly Roll brand is recommended)

at least one very dark, waterproof felt writer, with a medium-to-fine point (fine point Sharpie is good, or a Pigma pen with an 02 or larger point)

your favorite paper adhesive (Golden Soft Gel Medium is recommended, in matte or gloss)

one or two magazines with dark images, to cut up

optional:

alphabet or other rubber stamps, and a white or light-colored stamp pad

embellishments of your choice, preferably some black, some purple, some metallic, and/or some in vivid jewel tones to show up against the black backgrounds. (ideas: beads + needle & thread, rubber stamps and embossing supplies, tags, fabric, fibers, ribbons, paper ephemera, etc.)

poetry, other text, cemetery photos, or Gothic imagery such as pictures of Edgar Allan Poe, illustrations from "dark" graphic novels, etc.

(for evening field trip) any flash camera (disposable is fine) with film speed ISO 200 or 400, or a digital camera, and suitable clothing for an evening hike.

Visit Aisling's website at www.aisling.net.

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