Off the Wall

Annie Lockhart

In this workshop, we will be creating a wall hanging that will be a visual memory. Using relics of nature along with the hoarded bits and pieces of junk that lurk in our studios…scattered upon our tables, and hidden in the nooks and crannies of our creative corners. We will be exposing these items as a metaphor…ones that will represent a specific memory or story through the simple juxtaposition of these discarded inanimate "words".

Through inquiry and reflection, the students will take this vision to a level that will have significance for their life, possibly a memory that is for the "eye of their heart" only. A visual journaling of sorts, this 3-D finished project will incorporate techniques that most will be somewhat familiar with already, along with some that I have found to be quick and easy shortcuts to keep the creative juices flowing. I will show the class how to "wire" elements, create age, visualizing the discarded as their new adjectives, along with incorporating basic design elements…such as color, repetition, scale, and texture.

Keeping the mindless chatter at bay…this class will also touch upon quieting the harsh critic within, allowing us to move more freely through expression, with much less self-doubt and judgment. This all too familiar thief is something that keeps creativity stuck in our souls. I will move the class way beyond these fears helping them to find their own unique voice…creating a piece that will flow and resonate within.

Supply List:

• these are just some ideas to get you thinking in the right direction…not at all required…if you have anything that you’ve been holding onto and haven’t been sure just how to work it into your art…this may be the class to bring it to. Just be sure to bring your own elements with you…this will be the basis of your piece.
  
  
• An old frame…not too big…we have to get these home!
• An old wooden or wire clothes hanger…child size
• Vintage books or ledger
• Junque jewelry…beads, charms
• Chains…brass, copper, silver-ish., gold-ish…but, not too Saturday night fever-ish!
• Hardware…think hooks, upholstery tacks, metal bed springs…lamp frame skeletons…etc.
• Trims…carved wooden…or velvets, hem tapes…etc.
• Vintage mercury ornaments…even if they are broken!
• Millinery items
• Skelton keys
• Vintage buttons
• Old saltshakers…tiny silver ones…or cut crystal ones!
• Hand mirror…or mirror shards!
• Small glass bottles (think mini perfume) or flask
• Ephemera…don’t forget the new "old" papers out there…maps, photos, letters…etc.
• An old leather hand tooled belt…or change purse…shoe, or boot….dad’s old aluminum hardhat!
• Shells, rocks, nests, sticks, the bark off a tree! etc…
  
  
• Anything goes…if it speaks to you…bring it on! The more it bubbles up stuff for you…the better. The items that you bring don’t have to make sense to anyone else. Remember that this is going to be a piece that is going to have significant meaning to you.
  
  
• Basics to bring:
• Matte gel medium, brushes, liquid nails, scissors, small hammer, eyelets, acrylic paints, sandpaper, modeling paste…masking tape, etc.
  
  
• I will have an assortment of wire, some of the basics listed above to share. I will have a box of odd items that you will be more than welcome to use. If you have some "stuff" that you’d like to throw in the mix…please feel free to add to the heap. This is a great way to receive as well as to give.