Join Me for My Demo at This Friday's Art Walk

If you've been curious about the process I use to create my mosaic collages, you can watch me construct one at 2Rules Fine Art this coming Friday evening, June 5, for the Marietta Square's First Friday Art Walk.

It's one thing to work in the privacy of the studio, and quite another to demo my process in front of an audience. Fact is, I'm feeling just a wee bit apprehensive. The piece I'll be working on is comprised of 285 tiny pieces of paper, each just a fraction larger than one square inch in size. So what could possibly go wrong??? Oh, lots of things...like if somebody sneezes and all the papers blow away, haha. I can just see the gallery being subjected to a blizzard of "confetti." (It would be rather festive...but it's a scenario I'd like to avoid. Maybe I'll just store those papers in plastic bags as a precautionary measure.)

Here I'm working on a painting on canvas. Cropping the photo made my studio look tidier than it actually was.

Anyway, the piece I'll be working on for the Art Walk will be done on a cradled wood panel. I've been using wood panels in my work a lot. They're a joy to work on, particularly for collage pieces, since there's no "bounce" to the surface like there is with a stretched canvas. The unyielding surface makes adhering the papers that much easier. Better yet, wood's durability makes any art created on it less vulnerable to being damaged.

On Friday night I'll be creating an ombre style collage, using five analogous colors to achieve a softly blended, striated effect. My inspiration for this piece came from a small swatch of upholstery fabric. I'll have the fabric swatch on display to show how it's possible to achieve an exciting relationship between a work of art and one's home's decor. If you'd like to have me design a custom piece for your home, I invite you to come by the gallery Friday night and talk to me or to gallery owner Helen Rule. If you can't attend the Art Walk, just give Helen a call at 404-355-6897, or email her at the address below, to discuss your needs:

2Rules Fine Art
85 Church St.
Marietta, GA 30060
404-355-6897
Email: info@2rulesfineart.com

Text and image ©2015 Lynn Edwards

Come Join Us at Marietta's First Friday Art Walk

Come enjoy some awesome art at tomorrow night's First Friday Art Walk on the Square in Marietta! The Square's dynamic art scene now draws people from all over the metro area for these Walks, held from 5 to 9 p.m. If you're among them, be sure to stop by 2 Rules Fine Art. At 2 Rules you can browse paintings, pottery, jewelry, artful decor items and more by 30+ artists, including myself.
 
As a special treat, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 2 Rules, artist Stanford Ashcroft will demonstrate how he creates paintings using razor blades.

This is a demo that's not to be missed. Some of the most interesting works I've ever seen were painted solely with unconventional tools: kitchen implements, hair picks, rubber bands, kid's foam toys, and cotton twine, for example. The results are often unexpected, which is what draws so many of us to this method. It's the unpredictable nature of it that's so irresistible.

There's a certain sense of freedom that comes from applying paint with tools other than a brush. The process is usually looser, more spontaneous and somehow more personal. Actually, it's just downright fun. When I visit galleries I seek out paintings created this way because I find them to be incredibly engaging. And I really enjoy painting in this manner myself. Thorny Issue, shown below, is a piece I did sans brushes. It was painted in acrylic using only my hands. I've never tried painting with razor blades, though, so I'm curious to see how Stanford does it. I'm sure it will be extremely interesting. I hope you'll join us!

2 Rules is located at 85 Church St. in Marietta. For more information call 404-355-6897.

"Thorny Issue," an acrylic painting on paper. The paint was applied using only  my hands.

Text and image ©2014 Lynn Edwards