description
In class we will learn to work with wire forms to use as the base for the animal. We will then work with the cotton in its many different applications. Glue, spray starch and acrylic paint hold the cotton in place. Next we will attach it to a wooden base and that's where the fun begins! We will discuss different ideas of making the different papers unique that we will use to adorn our cotton figures. Each student will have a wide open palette to work with. I will show how to use paper to make beads, flowers stems leaves vines and anything else we need. The students will have a fun collection of papers to start with and what they do to them will make the project their own.
I was born in eastern Washington where the art world felt nonexistent for a creative boy. My best friend and I would spend our allowance each week at the only craft store in town, so I have had my hands in many expressions of art throughout my life. I have made my living for the last 32 years in the "perishable arts" as a florist. Currently I manage Maxine's Floral and Gift in Seattle. I have always had additional creative endeavors on the side. For many years I made wedding and specialty gowns. Now I love to sew animals out of handmade felt and mohair. My favorite things to receive as a gift are still pens, paints and a fat tablet of stiff white paper. I have been working with crafting paper all my life and in the last 10 years have enjoyed the German Scrap and the glass glitter as well. Fairly new to me is the spun cotton work and I love it! I am still exploring it and making it up as I go. I taught floral design for six years at Career Floral Design Institute. I love interacting with people and am really at my best in front of a group who want to share creative knowledge and have fun!
