Extreme Journalism 101: Exploits in Composition
$145
Juliana Coles
(The desire to access inner information for self _expression, healing and transformation required)
Student Level: For all levels/ no prior art or writing experience necessary
Repetition is necessary to the creative development of the Visual Journalist because it assists us with composition and can help us decide “where to next?” It can allow us to create and develop a series and greatly aids our experimentation process,which is the basis for all art making. This workshop will concentrate on setting up repeating black and white images for high impact and to learn how to work back into these images for interesting affects that can be used with any other art form. This Black and White repetition is a creative device we will use to set up and develop the pages of our visual journal, in other words, develop composition, by utilizing some very easy and fun tools. We can start with one image, repeat it like a quilt, or shrink it down, make more copies, and create a border. Or blow it up and expand on one single or central idea. From one idea, from one possibility, we get many. Exploits in composition is like a birthing ground or a playing field and is soothing or Zen like in that we don’t have to think about, or brainstorm what comes next, we just continue with our series and allow the potential to flow. This gives our mind freedom to come up with new ways of picture making and story telling. It’s in these compositional repetitive experiences that we have our aha! or eureka, I’ve found it! moments.
Supply List:
A book for your Visual Journal 8”x10” or larger, or one you are currently working on.
Glue - I love big UHU glue sticks
Scissors
Brushes for your paints
A rag or two
Ajar for water
All Visual Journalists should have a set of rubber stamp letters
I highly recommend Staz On stamp pads because we work so quickly
The rest is up to you. Just bring your favorite supplies ( paints, rubber stamps, inks, crayons- whatever) in some of your favorite colors- - you don’t need a whole set of anything- or bring some new supplies you’ve been meaning to try and we’ll work with them.
Collage:
Bring some collage items that appeal to you (bring copies of things that are precious to you.)
Repetition: get to know your local copy center. Bring a bunch of interesting images- photos, patterns, even some of your own artwork- or small sections of your artwork to your favorite copy center and play around with the self service machines. Get to know them. See what they can do. Test out the different functions. You may need a little help at first, and most copy stores are very happy to help answer all your copying questions. Change the settings: there are settings for just text, for just photo, and something in between. Some settings will give your images shadings or tones of grey- we don’t want that- we want the real black and white graphic images. Take your images and blow them up. Shrink them down. Cut them up and blow them back up again. I love doing this and always have a good time seeing what happens. Photos work really well. Make a series of repeating images- they can all be the same image- or images that look similar. We’ll need at least four batches of different repeating images. You’ll need at least 10 of each- some repeating the same size and some in in different sizes. You may want to make some as big as the size of your journal book page! Bring these stacks of images to class and be ready to cut, paste, and go crazy with layering materials!
Questions? Email Juliana at meandpete@msn.com
Web site: www.meandpete.com
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