Portland Art and Soul Workshops

Online ordering for the Portland retreat is now closed.  If you are interested in taking/adding a class, please visit us at the Embassy Suites Portland Airport to inquire about availability. The Art & Soul office hours are 8am-6:30pm Wed-Mon.  Thank you!

Juliana Coles 9-4 Saturday	943 - Expressive Drawing for Visual Journalists	[back to quicklinks] $ 130
**Important:  For class locations, please refer to the 'Activities & Information' page.
We can all draw, though it may not be how we expect it or how we think it should look.  So we are convinced we can't do it.  We"re not good at it. We don't know how.  We can"t draw a stick figure.  We can't draw even a straight line. It"s time I show you otherwise, because drawing a straight line has nothing to do with  expression.   The Visual Journalist uses drawing in order to document the world around her--not to be great or render a perfect image.  There's little life in that.  Drawing is just note taking.  Drawing is research.  Drawing is learning to see and to make comparisons between this and that. A scratch here, a line there, that we carve through our years and smear across the pages of our Visual Journal.  This is not drawing 101. We will not be learning to draw crumpled bags, still lifes,  shading a box, or any other boring mechanical drawing exercise taught in art school.  I am going to challenge you to redefine what drawing is and how it should look while you  learn to make marks in your own unique style, in your own strange and beautiful hand through my pioneering methods of Expressive Drawing.  Your drawings will not look like mine: they will look like your own.  (Official Warning:  This workshop can be emotionally intense and psychologically challenging for some.  Please read the following description carefully.  These courses are life altering and not recommended for those not interested in doing deep inner work.)   Supply List: Your Visual Journal.  ( A blank book, sketchbook, altered book, or  any  book or journal you are currently working on.  Size and paper stock is up to you.  Working in a book is all important to the Visual Journaling process so please do not show up with random pieces of paper to bind later.)   Materials:  You will need your favorite supplies or your traveling mixed media tool kit.  You will definitely need the following:  your favorite glue - I love big UHU gluesticks, scissors, various brushes for your paints, a 1/4 inch brush, a rag or two, and a jar for water.  All Visual Journalist"s  should have a set of rubber stamp letters and numbers.   And I highly recommend Staz On stamp pads because we work so quickly.   You will need acrylic paint- any brand, any color in at least two colors, one light one & one dark.  (cheapy craft paints like Anita's brand are fine).  You will need at least two brush markers in different colors--black would be good.   A graphite pencil--regular old number two is fine, but I highly recommend you can get to an art store get an ebony pencil, or a 6B, or a graphite stick (not charcoal)- just make sure that you have some wet items and some dry items. A writing pen--whatever kind is your favorite.  An Eraser. If you have one on the bottom of your pencil that will work, or you can just get one of those pink pearls (my favorite).  A magazine to cut up.  China Markers, water color crayons ( no oil sticks or water based oil sticks like portfolio- it needs to make a clear hard line- not smudgy) in at least three different colors.  Some random collage items.  (copies of things that are precious.)   Each student will be required to bring a "Mystery Bag.”  A plastic grocery bag will do.  Some suggestions are collage items, an old paintbrush that is all glued together, that orange paint you hate, stickers from when you were 14,  Artist tools and supplies you no longer use or never liked, torn up pieces of your artwork that didn"t work out (no recognizable artwork, please) books to cut up, magazines, sticks, markers, 2 inch pencils, you get the picture-sort of a grab bag.  We will be using these mystery bags as part of our mixed media explorations.  What, and how much to bring, is up to you.  Don't worry about trying to include nice things--we"re looking more for garbage items.  We all ready have our own nice supplies--we want your cast-offs to really make us think! CLOSED - CLASS FULL

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