Sunday, August 23, 2015

September MCS Newsflash

SEPTEMBER RETREAT (There will be no regularly scheduled meeting in September.)
For those attending the retreat - If you would like to participate in the collage exchange please make 25 - 4" square works of art using your favorite quote.

OCTOBER MEETING
Attached are the particulars for our “Mystery Build” Assemblage Challenge scheduled for the October meeting. This handout will also be available at the retreat. Click here for printable sheet 

PLEASE NOTE: DATE CHANGE FOR NOVEMBER MEETING
Our November meeting will take place a week early  Sunday October 25th.  The program will be a field trip to the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in the Pilsen neighborhood, followed by lunch at a local Mexican Restaurant.
We have scheduled a guided tour of the museum and their “Day of the Dead” exhibit at 11:00 am, led by a member of the museum’s Education Department. (Tours are not available on our regular meeting date of Nov 1st, the actual Day of the Dead, due to large attendance expected that day).  Please email Maureen McDonald at mcsox@aol.com if you plan on attending.  Members can coordinate for carpooling and rides will be available

FUTURE MEETINGS
Can anyone suggest an artist interested in doing a workshop next year? Please contact Maureen McDonald  mcsox@yahoo.com


ARTWORK, AWARDS, EXHIBITS, ETC.
Barrie Mason is participating in the following shows in the coming months:
  • VAB Gallery, St Joseph, MO. - The Horse: Shaping our Lives, Our Community, and our View of the World - oil and cold wax, June 4 to Sept 25
  • Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO - Cattail Morning - textile, June to Aug
  • Missouri Fiber Artist Pairings show - St. Louis Art Guild, St. Louis, MO - Cattail Morning and Conspiracy of Two (a joint work with Jan Rowan Miller) - textiles, Sept. 11 - Oct. 24
  • Missouri Fiber Artist Pairings show - Mildred M. Cox Gallery, William Woods College, Fulton , MO - the two textile works from the St. Louis Art Guild move to this space -Nov. 5 to Dec. 12
  • Speaking of Fibers! 2015, Morton J. May Foundation Gallery, Maryville University, St. Louis, MO.  Mutability, Blending into a Changing World - paper sculpture, Nov 12 - Dec. 16.
Laura Lein-Svencner - Classes, demos and exhibits
Creative Art Journaling
Mayslake Peabody Estate
Monday  September 14th, 21st,  No Class Sept 28th

 9:00-11:30
October 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
http://www.mayslakepeabody.com/
Rescuing and recycling a hard cover book, students will utilize its structure; gluing pages together forming a sturdy substrate for self-expression with imagery and written words. This class promises to open doors to creative adventure by manipulating art materials with layering techniques in acrylics, pastels, watercolors, drawing, image transfers and collage. Students will learn how to carve their own stamps to use in their creative art journals ending with a rich platform to journal on.
Materials fee $5.00 collected in first class for extra supplies instructor will bring.


Collage Composed
September 30th-November 7th
Opening Reception October 2nd 7-9pm
Addison Center for the Arts, 213 N. Lombard Road, Addison IL

Demo - The Fine Art of Collage Practice and Process
September 10
Program starts at 7:30-9:00pm
Addison Art Guild, Addison Village Hall, One Friendship Plaza, Addison. Room 1301 A&B
Laura Lein-Svencner's collage work is Crystal Neubauer's New book, The Art of Expression Collage. 

Monday, August 10, 2015

October 4th Program



“Mystery Build” Collage/Assemblage Challenge
Midwest Collage Society Program
October 4, 2015


For this challenge, we will each create a 3-D mixed media collage piece using the materials we receive in a mystery box.Each participant will bring a box containing various items as suggested below. We will then draw numbers to pick a mystery box to work on. At the end of the meeting we will vote on our favorite piece and a prize will be awarded to the winner.

Each Mystery Box must contain:

• One base suitable for collage/assemblage such as:

Cigar box
Shadow box
Old drawer
Small shelf

Small stand or mantelpiece
Triptych
Picture frame with back
Etc. etc. Use your imagination!


         • 12-15 found objects such as:

Metal parts or hardware
Fasteners or hinges
Toy or game pieces
Bottle caps
Old keys
Old jewelry pieces
Letters, typewriter keys etc.


Beads, buttons, bradssequins
Wire, string, yarn, cord or ribbon
Scraps of fabric or trim
Natural items such as twigs, bark, pinecones, stones or shells
Etc. etc. Use your imagination!

• Five (5) collage papers of different types

RULES:

1)
Participants should bring their own paints and adhesives to use and any papers they wish to use in addition to the paper provide in the box.

2)
Participants are required to use a minimum of 10 objects in the box and at least 3 of the 5 collage papers provided in the box.

3)
Participants may also use any additional collage paper of their own.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Recap from August meeting and changes for Novembers meeting.

Thanks Fabra DiPaolo and Elaine Rath for sharing great ideas with us at our work day on Sunday!
Also to Ben Cooley for photographing our artwork.

Attached below are the particulars for our “Mystery Build” Assemblage Challenge scheduled for the October meeting. This handout will also be available at the retreat. 
Mystery Build Project 


* * PLEASE NOTE:  DATE CHANGE FOR NOVEMBER MEETING! * *
November meeting has been rescheduled to October 25 , 2015 due to Field Trip. 

The November program will be a field trip to the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in the Pilsen neighborhood on Sunday, October 25th, followed by lunch at a local Mexican Restaurant.
We have scheduled a guided tour of the museum and their “Day of the Dead” exhibit at 11:00 a.m., led by a member of the museum’s Education Department. (Tours are not available on our regular meeting date of Nov. 1st, the actual Day of the Dead, due to large attendance expected that day).  

Please email Maureen McDonald at mcsox@aol.com if you plan on attending.  Members can coordinate for carpooling and rides will be available.


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Chicago Tribune-Midwest Collage Society, Exhibit-"Reflections Within and Beyond


See Article here or read below

If  the word "collage" evokes images of grade school projects using magazine pictures, you're in for a tremendous surprise when you see the imagination, creativity and artistic talent conveyed in the diverse collages created by 35 participating artists from the Midwest Collage Society. Come see "Reflections Within and Beyond" in the Kavanagh Gallery at Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles, Sept. 2 through Oct. 10. A reception will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 2 to 4 pm.
Reflected images, observations, impressions, feelings and more were all contributing factors in some of the most extraordinary collages you've ever seen. Using a wide range of materials including handmade papers, found objects, twigs, feathers, paint, fabric and more, the works of art in this exhibit illustrate what the artists most yearn to express.
Artist Sally Tibbetts from Mt. Prospect, IL said her work is inspired by almost everything: nature, mood, cloudy day, sunny day, sometimes a poem or music.
"Inspiration comes from everywhere for me. I do a lot of photography and take walks with my camera, finding the 'undiscovered' and merging (the images) into my collages," Tibbetts said. "Usually I start with an acrylic wash and begin to build layers using hand made papers, magazines, stamps, crayons, acrylics, strings -- well, pretty much anything that falls into my path. I love crows and they appear in lots of my pieces."
Each collage artist's works are unique unto themselves, and inspiration comes in many different forms, depending on the artist.
"The natural world is a very holy, mysterious place for me. There are layers and layers of life and energy which surround us with love and support," said artist Rachelle Barmann of Naperville, IL. "I duplicated the trees (in the pieces in this show) intuitively, later discovering that I had created a Tree of Life, an image rich in spiritual symbolism and meaning. I see the tree now as symbolic of grounding, support and strength, of the layers of life and circumstances and yet the constancy of who we are in the world."
Even the process and the materials used may vary greatly, from artist to artist. Barmann actually makes a collage and then transforms it into a uniquely captivating image.
"My process is to scan a completed collage, in this case a collage made with papers, which I made using a variety of techniques, and layer it with a photograph I had taken -- in this case a tree," she said. "I convert the photo to black and white and then experiment with the blending modes until I get an image that speaks to me."
The Midwest Collage Society (MCS), founded in 2003, promotes collage as fine art by providing exhibit opportunities and professional development activities to its members.
There are over sixty members in MCS from the greater Chicago area and northwest Indiana. Fine Line is pleased to host this exhibit of area artists' works.
Two galleries are included on Fine Line's campus. The Dempsey Gallery is located inside the barn and features members' artwork. The spacious Kavanagh Gallery hosts a number of exhibits, featuring local, national and international artists, throughout the year. Fine Line's campus and galleries are open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In addition to Fine Line's exhibits and events, a full slate of art classes for adults are offered throughout the year. Unique workshops taught by guest artists are also offered each session.

Fine Line Creative Arts Center is located at 37W570 Bolcum Rd. in St. Charles Come see all this renowned art center in St. Charles has to offer! For more information, visit: www.fineline.org, or call: 630-584-9443.