Friday, March 15, 2013

Need to Tell


This past weekend I had the pleasure to co-teach a workshop with Roxanne Evans Stout and Elizabeth Wix at Little Bird Creations Studio in NYC. 


The class was called "The Need to Tell Stories" and focused on the intersection of book making, art, and story telling. It was a two-day workshop with ten students and it was a very special experience.

We started off the weekend with clean tables and organized supplies...

But quickly created creative chaos as people began to make their own handmade books...

Here is Karen, ready to start work on putting her book together ...

Cecelia was deep in thought and bathed in sunlight as she pondered the theme of her written story...

Roxanne had everybody work on art exercises that became part of the art on the book pages...


Each person in the workshop took their plain white pages and made them come alive with backgrounds in their own personal palette...



And even the actual palettes were a vision to behold...



Rivers of color filled the workshop...


An assortment of mixed media supplies filled the tables and made artful vignettes...



Magic began to happen when beautiful artwork was then layered onto the pages...




Some pages were were light and breezy, like the wings of a butterfly...



And some pages were dark and earthy...


The book covers were layered with each artists' creations...



When silence filled the air, I knew that people were focused on their creative process...


And in the end, every person left with their bound stories...

To Roxanne and Elizabeth: thanks for holding this workshop with me and doing it so creatively. To Michele, who runs Little Bird: thanks for being such a stellar host. And to all the artists who took this workshop and put your faith in the three of us: thank you for being the perfect students! Your books are all creative treasures!

For more thoughts and images, you can read Roxanne's post about the workshop here and Elizabeth's post here...

24 comments:

Sue Seibert said...

Looks like loads of fun. Wish I could have been there. Especially like the uses of paint!! Wow!

Jo Crawford said...

The workshop looks wonderful - love the theme of speaking/painting/stitching your narrative into the pages.

Brian Kasstle said...

Wow, Seth It looked like a really wonderful class. Congrats!

Sharon W. said...

It all looks sooooo relaxed, but hahaha we know better: you always manage to push participants to a level of completion that doesn't always happen in other workshops. Wish you were doing this one at Art is You. How about a DVD workshop for those of us who can't get to the real thing? (Can you get the sound of a cracking whip on a dvd????0

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Seth, it was thrilling to see the creativity in all the pics here as well at Roxannes, of the workshop.. what fun.

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

GREAT PHOTOS!
I love seeing other teacher and their students.
Thanks for sharing your Class with us out here!

Leslie said...

It was a great workshop, and it was so nice to see you!

Kathryn Dyche said...

Loved seeing the range of creations, especially the dark earthy one! Everyone looks like they had fun.

Elizabeth said...

Dear Seth,
You have captured so very well all the busy creativity and fun and joy we all shared.
Truly a perfect meld of art and community and spirit.
I'm still glowing.....
and need ing to finish my book!
Dare I suggest a repeat performance.....?
(when we have recovered a bit that is....)

Anonymous said...

A wonderfully perfect time at Little Bird. I learned so much from the three of you and love my book. I continue to learn through you all how you story tell your workshops through photos. I NEED to do that in the future. Thank you for everything Seth. It was grand!

Carol said...

Lucky students!

Caterina Giglio said...

wonderful work and what a great idea to co-teach... bet you all had a great time...

rivergardenstudio said...

Seth, it was so wonderful to teach with you and Elizabeth. This is one of your most beautiful posts yet, your thoughts and your magnificent photographs have brought back so many lovely memories. What an enriching weekend for us as well as our students!
roxanne

Jo Murray said...

Beautiful results! What a successful collaboration.

ArtPropelled said...

I love that moment when a room full of artists falls silent with concentration. It looks like a great workshop!

~*~Patty S said...

Your photos and narrative were especially wonderful Seth...next best thing to being there

the room falling silent in the midst of creativity brings to mind when a group gathers for a good meal...there are those moments of silence when everyone is savoring each morsel

very inspiring!
oxo

donna joy said...

the range of photo's made us feel like we were there-thanks for sharing!

Kim Mailhot said...

Wow ! This gathering looked fantastic ! Such wonderful creations. Rich and varied, an unique to each participant. Love that !
I love that moment of silence...
Happy Weekend !

jacki long said...

Great Seth! I always enjoy seeing what you are doing. You are so giving and kind. I also appreciate that you share lots of photos, it gives a real feeling of the the time. Thanks again

IrelandBrady said...

I thoroughly enjoyed this post! I can just feel the creativity and imagination that must have almost been bouncing off the walls!

What an exciting day that must have been!

Robert said...

Amazing images, rich with color and texture! It looks like this was an incredible experience for everyone involved. Thanks for including the rest of us with all these great pictures, Seth!

Unknown said...

that looks like an amazing experience. Such beautiful photos that really capture the essence of the workshop. Congratulations!

Parabolic Muse said...

Oh wow. What a great post! Seth the photos are wonderful thanks for showing so much! It's obvious the students were in the element. I'm sorry I'm so late visiting.

improv cloth said...

Love the photos!