He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. ~ Lua Tzu
The savage mirror sees all and will reflect all you wish to reveal or keep hidden. That little wrinkle, aurgh, why do I have a wrinkle there!?! The sweet little wrinkle has a story, as an art journalist isn’t it time to give it a voice and share it’s story, even if it is just between the two of you. Perhaps you have a story that has been kept in your heart that is ready to find a voice, it is part of you and gives you strength. Or perhaps you have a dream that needs to be brought forth, it is there in the mirror, don’t you see it?
Lets spend a day getting to know ourselves, seeing ourselves for who we truly are or where we really want to be. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of having to draw a portrait, we will get around that!! I promise. We come to the mirror to express what is in our hearts, through the use of guided exercises, collage, expressive drawing, painting, and writing. The savage mirror reflects those traits and dreams that the human eye cannot see but are nonetheless obvious when revealed.
Supply List:
- Your journal book - preferably with good thick pages that will withstand paint, collage and drawing
- Acrylic paints - variety of light and dark colors, inexpensive craft bottles are fine
- Brushes - various sizes
- Black sharpie
- China Marker - grease pencil
- Brush markers - any color, one or two in colors of your choice
- Sharpie paint markers – White and any other color you choose
- Any other tool you like that will make a mark over the top of your collages (I have known some who use nail polish markers!! They work great too.)
- Watercolor crayons - If you already have these fantastic. If not, just a few colors will do nicely. Or perhaps you would rather use your favorite color Daniel Smith watercolor stick
- 2B & 6B Pencil and large eraser
- Masking tape
- A small mirror (compact size is fine)
- Glue sticks and/or Gel medium (for collages)
- Scissors
- Collage items: images of yourself (Large and small, close-ups and distance) if possible have them printed out on a laser printer or color-copied; transparency of an image of your self (for a small fee Kinkos will photocopy the image onto transparencies); copies of old letters; maybe letters to yourself; maybe write down a dream that you had recently or perhaps one that you can’t get out of your head; bits and pieces of items you like to collage with; old magazines, old book pages…
Teacher will provide:
- Supplies for some image transfers: student must have toner-based images or text to use, inkjet prints won’t work for these transfers. If you don’t have a laser printer, take the images to a copy center and have them make a color copy. Heavy saturated images work best, don’t let the copy center try and lighten the image to save on toner, we want the toner!
A Little About ME
I embrace that which I love most: creating in multiple mediums. I adore the feel of pencil and ink moving across a page; the smell of oil paint and fresh ink; the velvety texture of cotton paper; the satisfaction of learning a new book binding technique; the sound of the letterpress as it imbeds an image onto high-quality paper; and creating engaging designs with the aid of my Mac. Five years ago I started a new sketchbook that incidentally turned into my first visual journal. My journals provide a safe space to play, find my voice, practice techniques, and document various aspects of my life. These journals have become some of my most prized possessions.
