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CLASS DESCRIPTION
Come and join us in the creation of a series of artwork based on the four elements – earth, fire, water and air. This can range from realistic to abstract, depending on your intention. Each day will offer an unveiling of a new element, with different moods and a unique color palette, in a supportive and beautiful environment. This workshop is for everyone – beginner or experienced artist.
We will explore different tribal cultures and how they work closely with the elements, including places such as Africa, Australia, and Bali, and use the surrounding beauty of the outdoors to inspire us. You also are invited to monoprinting with watercolor, using Styrofoam and acrylic plates.
The medium is watercolor, multimedia, or the medium of your choice. The teacher will bring some earth-based ochres that come directly from an Ochre mine in France, and we will mix them together in class!
Day One: We will begin inside by exploring African art through images and slides, and create an earth-based palette to inspire our sense of color. Weather permitting, we will also go outdoors to collect subject matter as well letting ourselves be inspired by the earth around us.
Day Two: Light, warm tones, rich reds, oranges and yellows and, if possible, creating our own charcoal with a fire on the beach. Looking at Australian aboriginal art as inspiration.
Day Three: Water. Using watercolor and watercolor prints we will explore the movement of water, its ubiquitous properties, and the depth of the blues and greens at cool end of the color spectrum. Seated by the natural setting of the ocean we use it as inspiration and as a medium. Painting and printing with watercolor, with the choice of other mediums on top.
Day Four: Air. Clouds and sky, galaxies, Hubble space photos. The movement of wind, and the ethereal nature of existence. The idea of creating images that have vast spaciousness, using a variety of formats, such as a very long landscape format.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
HELGA SCHLEEH is a practicing multimedia artist working with numerous local and international exhibitions to her credit, including exhibits in Beijing, New York, Montreal, Miami, Washington, DC, and Toronto. She has received many grants, including the Canada Council, Unesco, the Chalker’s Foundation, the Charles Bronfman Foundation, Engrenage Noir, ArtSmarts, and others. She graduated from Concordia University in Fine arts with a minor in Music. Helga was the representative for Canada for the first worldwide exhibition of art online and worked with the United Nations – both in New York and in Montreal, using art for peace and for the environment. Her video on the beauty of the creation of the planet (sponsored by Unesco and the Canada Council) was featured at the 2005 Conference for the United Nations on Climate Change. Helga gives workshops all over the world including Bahamas, Spain, Italy, Vietnam and Cambodia, New York and all over the United States and Canada.
