Pointed Brush & Collage (Marilyn Reaves: 2.5 day)

Skill Level: All

Pointed Brush Calligraphy and CollageFollowing a review of (or introduction to) pointed brush writing, participants in this class will create a “palette” of marks, letters, and writing around a theme or text. We will add to this palette painted papers, fabrics, thread, and other materials. Using these fragments along with gesso and acrylic paint we will experiment and explore ideas by making layered collage compositions on paper, canvas, and wood. The original written text may be readable in part or remain hidden or suggestive.

Supply List: #3 or #4 pointed round synthetic watercolor brush; large cheap brush for applying gesso & acrylic; practice paper for pointed brush; several Japanese or Thai papers (scraps OK, texture good); 1 sheet 140# watercolor paper (may cut in quarters); unpatterned fabric scraps; any other printed, written, toned papers (scraps OK); FW black + one color acrylic ink and any other acrylics you have (tube, jar, liquid); pencil; ruler; any flat, small items to collage (metal? plastic?); postage stamps; scissors; hairdryer (if convenient); sponge; plastic water containers; 1-2 waterproof markers (Micron, Copic, Sharpie); any other tools/materials you wish to use for writing, mark making.

Supply fee: $30 materials fee will cover

• Paints: tube acrylics: black, white, burnt sienna, ochre; metallic acrylics: gold, silver, copper; gesso: black, white; acrylic medium
• Substrates: wood panel, stretched canvas
• Pencils: watercolor and other soluble pencils; Prisma colored pencils; grease pencils; crayons
• Miscellaneous: tracing paper, bone folders, linen thread and needles, plastic palettes, sandpaper, etc.

About the instructor: Marilyn Reaves has a passion for brushes—flat, pointed, oval, or quirky—and the freedom and flexibility they offer in making letters, designs, and images. Reaves teaches classes in lettering, design, drawing, and book arts at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where she earned an MFA in Visual Design. She also works in Special Collections in the Knight Library on campus, where manuscripts, rare books, and other treasures are housed. In Special Collections she co-teaches a Freshman Seminar on the history and art of the book: “From Gothic Script to Graphic Novel.”  Reaves has taught brush lettering at many workshops and several calligraphy conferences. In her spare time she works continually at de-cluttering and manages to take birding trips.