Class Work Gallery: Paper Clay Workshop at Emerald Art Center 2014

Below you will find a wonderful display of the works done by students in my 2 day Paper Clay Workshop: Friends of a Feather. 

The first day we sculpted clay, the second day, we painted it. As you will see, these students are making some wonderful art. They are all at different skill levels, and this was new to all of them. Most of the work is still in progress, but check it out...they look really great! I am so impressed. 

I am always grateful for spending time making art with others who really want to do it. What fun. They are always the most creative, fun-loving, interesting, and passionate people.

I'm blessed.




Clay work, day one. Bas relief sculpture.


Notice how different everyone's style is.

This owl is a wonderful loose style.

And others went more stylized and modern.


The sculpting is very meditative. The room becomes quiet.

Except for someone cracking jokes occasionally.








On the second day, we paint the dried clay, beginning with contrasting colors.

Designs take form.

Darks and lights are established.

Texture appears.

Mood is created.

Style is developed.
Delicate with pale charcoal.




Whimsy and movement defined.

Blue hues create gentle quiet.

Design rules.

And then we add color...and the whimsical magic begins.

Fresh and glowing in the morning sun.

Soft, textural simplicity at the beach.

Happy, sunny spring with fresh, fragrent blossoms.
Compelling, textural drama. Wow.


Move over Picasso and Matisse. I want this on a bag!
Luminous with moonlight and color dancing.

Feel the delight in this calm summer breeze.

Elegant stillness and solitude. Peace.

Dynamic, organic and just plain cool. Even unfinished.

Lightness and light. A magic combination.

Peaceful, warm and cozy. Let's rest.
And so these are the perpetrators. Tables full of diligent art makers.
...and a lot of really fun people.

Show at Jacobs Gallery, Eugene

I will be having a show at Jacob's Gallery in Eugene with Mike Walsh, an amazing installation artist with a social conscience who uses mixed media and a lot of symbolic imagery to make his point. They put us together thinking our work had a common thread. 

This show will have a variety of works from my ongoing series, Out of My Mind, as well as from my series of Everyday Saints and Urban Jungle. The opening is January 24, 5:30-8pm at the Jacobs Gallery in the Hult Center. 

Yikes! There will be an "Artists' Talk" at 6pm.

Free Demonstration at Emerald Art Center

Nesting    Mixed Media/Paperclay on board  8x8 
Join me as I demonstrate the work we will be doing at my upcoming workshop at the end of January. I'll be at Emerald Art Center for the Springfield Artwalk this Friday evening from 5-8pm. See two  great shows and visit their Holiday Gift Shop at 500 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon.

Paper Clay Workshop at Emeral Art Center, Springfield




Join me for a 2 day Paper Clay/Mixed Media workshop:

Friends of a Feather: Paper Clay Workshop
at Emerald Art Center, Springfield, OR
Thursday and Friday, January 30 and 31, 2014
10 am - 4:30 with 1/2 hour break each day (12 hours of instruction)
150.00 members, 165.00 non-members

Create a bah-relief of a feathered friend. Learn new methods of self-expression in this fun 2-day workshop with my inventive paper clay techniques. Using Creative Paperclay®, participants will sculpt relief forms onto boards on the first day. The second day will be devoted to carving and sanding the air-dried pieces, then finishing them with gesso, acrylic paint and medium. The result is a rich, textural, wood-carved effect that leaves people wondering how it was made. This class is ideal for all levels of skill from beginner to advanced. This flexible and forgiving medium will stir your creativity. Birds make a great and simple form to work from for learning this technique. Choices of bird images will be provided. If you bring your own, please size it to fit your panel (see materials list).

Questions about workshop: mail@rogenemanas.com


Supply List (please bring exactly these items):
--Acrylic paints-- Bring what you have. If you do not already own them, you need to minimally buy a set that includes ivory black, titanium white, a cool red like Magenta, a cool yellow like Azo, and cool blue like Cyan. Or you could get a prepackaged starter set of small tubes. Do not buy student grade paints...they have weak pigments and you will not like the results (like Basic by Liquitex)
--Acrylic Matte Medium or Semigloss Medium in liquid or gel form (small container is fine)
--Paint brushes--bring brushes to use with Acrylic Paint, one small size for detail plus at least one medium size. Flats or filberts work best. We paint our entire piece with gesso and medium so you will also want a larger soft brush for that.
--1 small Wooden Cradled Panel (8x8 or 8x10)--available at Oregon Art Supply, UO Booksore. The same size canvas would also work.
--Xacto knife
--Pencil, eraser, and ball point pen
--A plastic container for water
--A palette for acrylic paint (I use an 8x10 piece of glass)
--Rolling pin or something that will work as a roller
--Tape, masking or whatever
--4 oz Creative Paper Clay (no other brand)
--Small wash cloth
--Small amount of Gesso
--Sculpting tools if you have them (I use a particular wooden tool which I will loan you)

Optional:
--letter stamps, other things to stamp into the clay (I will bring my collection of tools)
--hair dryer to speed drying times

These shared materials will be provided by the instructor:
--Carbon paper for image transfer
--Tracing Paper for sketching designs
--Plastic sheeting for clay work
--Rubbing alcohol
--Bird images
--Sandpaper
--The loan of a clay tool


Visit My New Etsy Store!


https://www.etsy.com/shop/RogeneManas

Well, at long last I have an Etsy shop. I have planned to do this for a couple of years and finally did it! You can see and purchase all of the work that will be hanging at the Lovejoy Bakers in Portland. This group of work is from my ongoing series: Inside We're All The Same. I will be hanging everything on November 1, so stop by to see my work and have some AMAZING baked goods.

Lovejoy Bakers in the Pearl District: 939 NW 10th Ave  Portland, OR 97209

Being Ok with Just Being    18x36   Mixed Media

Show at Lovejoy Bakers Opens Nov. 1

Beginning on November 1, I will have a show of work at Lovejoy Bakers in Portland, Oregon. November 1-30, 2013. It is located at 939 NW 10th, corner of 10th and Lovejoy in the Pearl District. The work in this show is part of my ongoing series called "Inside We're All The Same."  Most pieces are mixed media like the one below.

Hiding From Myself   12 x 24  Mixed Media on canvas








Day 2, Paper Clay Workshop at Collage

After sculpting the images with paper clay, we painted them on day 2.  Though nobody finished painting their pieces, take a look at how beautifully they were coming along. Check back to see finished images if they share them. What a great bunch of artists. Thank you all for your hard work!
















Today's Paper Clay Workshop At Collage

Oh my gosh! Check out these wonderful paper clay works by today's Friends of a Feather Paper Clay Workshop! I am so inspired by my students. Each one has a different way of working. But all are headed to some wonderful pieces. Tune in tomorrow after Day 2 of the workshop when I post the final pieces. Can't wait!









Everyday Saints Class Work

Karen finished hers! Wow!
Wow! Debbi finished hers and started another!
This is "Sally Kahlo", completed by Vicki. So charming!
Valerie's Frida looks like she is glowing from within!

What a class full of talented women I had yesterday! They were so into making their artful icons. They created images that represent their feelings and aspirations with bits of paper on small canvases. It was a very inspirational day at Collage in Portland, thanks to a bunch of fun loving art makers. The best thing about teaching a class is hanging out with really fun people who just want to make art! I am so lucky.


Check out their unfinished work...even unfinished you can see they are on their way to being some mighty fine pieces. I hope they finish and share their images so I can post them here. Stay tuned.











Day of the Dead Show

These are some of the pieces I am taking to Guardino Gallery in Portland for their annual Day of the Dead Show. They are all made from paper clay plus other mixed media. The show opens on Halloween Night and runs through the month of November.

  Frida le los Muertos     Paper Clay/Mixed Media   11x14

I'll Be Seeing You    Paper Clay/Mixed Media   18 x 24  

There's No Such Thing     Paper Clay/Mixed Media  12 x 7

Let's Make Art Together!

Click here for more information about my two workshops coming up in Portland on October 10, 11 and 12! We will be making mixed media pieces using torn paper collage and paper clay.

The workshops will be held at Collage on Alberta Street in Portland...my FAVORITE mixed media store on the planet. It is a wonderful classroom space with everything you could ever want for making art... right next door.

Join us for some fun, fast and forgiving art making using my twisted techniques. There are a few spaces left.

Sample for "Everyday Saints" Workshop   "Our Lady of Careful Consideration"

Sample for "Friends of a Feather" Workshop   "Bird in Hand"



Feral: Paper clay cat sneaks into the juried "Mayor's Art Show"

Feral   Mixed Media/Paper Clay  26x20 Framed  850.00

This feral cat used to come through my yard and sit near my bird bath. If I opened the door to my studio, he would run away. So we never made friends. He has since disappeared. But I am glad I captured this image of him, hiding, or so he thought, among the budding hydrangea branches. 

This piece was recently accepted into the Mayor's Art Show and will be on display at the Jacob's Gallery beginning August 22 at the opening, throughout the weekend at the Eugene Celebration, and during the usual gallery hours.

New Work at Guardino Gallery

I just delivered 8 pieces to Guardino Gallery in Portland. All are from my latest black and white works. Most are animals and birds from my Urban Jungle series...honoring some of the "exotic" animals of Oregon. All pieces are available for purchase at Guardino Gallery, 2939 NE Alberta St.,  Portland, OR 97211 (503) 281-9048.

Donna Guardino, the owner, has a great eye and shows an amazing collection of art that is anything but ordinary. You really need to check it out if you have never been there.


Birdseed Thief         Paper Clay/Mixed Media        9x12      SOLD

Cattail Bird    Mixed Media/Paper Clay   8x10       $125.00

Hiding Out    Mixed Media/Paper Clay on wood panel     16 x 20     $550.00
 
Evening Bird    Mixed Media/Paper Clay   6x6     $95.00
Morning Bird   Mixed Media/Paper Clay  6x6   $95.00
Fir Cone   Mixed Media/Paper Clay  5x7  $75.00

Magnolia Pod  Mixed Media/Paper Clay   5x5   $65.00


Night Raider    Mixed Media/Paper Clay  12 x 24  $500.00

Bird in Hand

I was asked by a writer of a blog, Michael Taylor, to use my image with his latest posting...an essay on how treacherous Hollywood can be when trying to work your way up the ladder to having a real job in "the industry." I so appreciated being asked to use my image. I said yes, of course.

Then I googled the title to see if it showed up in Google Images. Sure enough, someone else had used it in their blog...and never asked permission. Not fair! But you know, if you post your work on the internet, off it goes. It's hard to monitor, police and control. The good thing about sites like Pinterest is that the image always links back to the original post. You just have to take the bad with the good...and there is a lot of good out there. Thank you Michael.

Michael Taylor's blog: http://hollywoodjuicer.blogspot.com/2013/06/cautionary-tales.html

Bird in Hand          Mixed Media/Paper Clay      8x10  Sold

Bohemian Baby Boy

I was commissioned by my old friend, Sher, to do this painting for her daughter. More than 30 years ago, I did a similar painting for the same friend when she had her new baby boy. Now that her daughter had a baby boy, she wanted to celebrate them with this gift. 

Taking an image they had, I used their faces and pose, but added my own clothing, patterns and jewelry for the bohemian look they requested. What a beautiful girl and an adorable baby. What a wonderful gift from her mother. What a lucky artist I am to have been a part of it all.

A Painting for Briney      16 x 20       Acrylic on Canvas

Workshops at Collage in Portland

I am so excited to be teaching once again at Collage in Portland on NE Alberta Street. Not only is this one of my favorite shops in all of Portland, it has the most delightful classroom...and all the materials you could ever want!

I will be teaching 2 classes:

Everyday Saints: Torn Paper Collage Workshop
on Thursday, October 10, 10-3

Our Lady of the Struggle
 --and--

Friends of a Feather: Paper Clay Workshop
on Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12 from 10-2 each day

Winter Wonder

Both classes are fast paced and packed with techniques...so be ready to rumble!

For more information about both classes check this link to Collage:

http://collagepdx.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-workshops-taught-by-national.html

The Opportunist (paper clay)

I let things dry and keep adding branches. Wet clay easily adheres to dry clay.



Now adding leaf buds one by one.

Finished with the paper clay part.

The I painted it black and removed the black paint from the surface. I am glad to see my idea of scribing extra lines in areas that are supposed to be dark worked like adding extra lines to an ink drawing. And so now I will add a couple layers of a paste wax and buff it to a nice warm glow. Then I can add it to my collection of animals from my urban jungle.


The Opportunist     Paper Clay on Board     24"x12"

The Opportunist: a paper clay process

I am not an animal artist. But lately I find myself wanting to create art using animal imagery. I went to Costa Rica this year and saw lots of their animals. I made me think of our own Oregon animals and how I take them for granted. So I am honoring them, one by one as they cross my path.

Today I struggle to capture this raccoon (The Opportunist) in paper clay. Stay tuned to see if it all works out...and wish me luck. I won't really know what I have until I paint it.

First I always sculpt the main image and let it dry.
Then I add the surroundings.



Always Busy (paper clay)

Everyday I can hardly wait to get going on the day. Sun up is a green light to me. I am excited to make the most of every day. Does that make me neurotic? I do yoga to pull in the reins a little. But the truth is, I like to be busy. I work hard at whatever I am working on. Work is play to me. So I am not sure what it means but I'm always busy 
and I like that.


Always Busy           9x12         Paper clay on board

The Cat in the Yard (paper clay)

There has been a cat in my yard for weeks. He passes through, checking my ground bird feeder. He stares at me through the bushes, into my studio window. It worried me that he might kill the birds that feed...so I stopped putting food out for a few days. He disappeared.  Now the birds are staring at me.
The Cat in the Yard   (detail) 18x24  Paper Clay on Board