Friday 16 November 2012

Two Colourful Days at Art Van Go

This week I had two wonderful days with Ruth Issett at Art Van Go in Knebworth.
The workshop was called Pushing the Boundaries of Colour and we certainly did that.

At the end of day one we all had a big pile of papers covered in colour.


My work station is in the front here - I had two spaces to myself and still managed to overflow the area.
Ruth first asked us to choose colours.

We covered paper with paint and dye.


Finally Ruth asked us to cut up the strips and assemble them into new strips or concertina books.

I bought myself a nice new sketchbook to fill with my cut strips.
However once at home I was filled with doubt about my colour choices.



Here are some examples I have made so far.
It was astonishing how many colours could be produced using just three.
I had selected magenta and lemon yellow to start with and then chose turquoise. Seeing other people's choices emphasised the difference just choosing a different blue or red could make.


Ruth opened up her little pot of paste she uses to stick layers of coloured tissue on her strips.  Those of us of a certain age were immediately transported back to our childhoods by its smell - that of almonds.  We all had to buy a pot, it was a good job A.V.G. had a supply in. What a delightful retro tin it is, complete with a little well in the centre which holds a little brush.  It smells nice enough to spread on your macaroons!
I used to use it to stick pictures in my scrap book with it when I was quite small. Mum would cut the nice bits out of birthday cards and I would do the sticking.



Finally this is the strip I created under Ruth's guidance.




This has made a great break from quilting and I have a stash of papers to play with when I want to push my colour sense some more. 
However it is going to be back to the quilting for me over the next few days.

I do hope you have a colourful weekend,
Jill



13 comments:

Carol Rigby said...

Wow! What a great time you must have had. So many lovely colours and patterns.

ju-north said...

Colour overload! It all looks terrific!

Clare Wassermann said...

Wow I have a few friends who have done her courses and they look excellent. Thank you for the pictures to prove it x

Marigold Jam said...

What fun it looks! You could use some of those designs you made such as the first one shown in you book for your patchwork couldn't you? I am of a certain age but I don't remember using that paste at all - I usually did my sticking with flour and water paste instead!

menopausalmusing said...

I'm not eating macaroons at your house! ;O)

Jill, this was a joyous post, truly, wonderfully joyous. This course was made for you. As for that gorgeous little tin........

harmony and rosie said...

What a riot of colour, and wonderful results too. I love, love, love that pot!

LAC EMP 2020 said...

Oh Jill, what glorious 'free' strips of colour you've produced. The collaged pieces in the sketchbook are brilliant. I love them! It sounds like you were in your element here and I know from others that Ruth is a very gifted teacher. All these photos just prove that to be true.They will surely 'feed' your future quilt work or sketchbook studies in some way. Lucky you!

Joanna said...

Wow, what amazing papers you created! I want to sniff that glue!

x

sheila 77 said...

Looks as if you had a good time, thanks for the great pictures of the days. I did a workshop with Ruth at Galashiels, she was magnificent and we learned so much. Your papers look lovely. Good tip about the glue. I must have a look at AVG.

Emma said...

These are wonderful pieces in their own right but will also be fabulous for looking at color later. Ruth's work feels spontaneous but such a wealth of knowledge behind her color choices, just lovely.

Anna said...

What a fabulous course, thankyou for sharing your work with us, lovely colours. That glue - I can smell it now, but I can't picture the container it was in. I love that smell.

Linda Vincent said...

Oh you lucky, lucky girl....we are all envious! Everything looks wonderful - even the glue (I used to buy that in France years ago when we had our caravan. I always did a scrapbook with my daughter and we couldn't wait to buy the French glue 'with the lovely smell' :-)
Your final strip is gorgeous BTW.
xx

JP said...

wow this looks amazing - no wonder her work is so fabulous when you think of all those layers - sounds like a must do when all my chemo is finished - i do so enjoy seeing all your work