Happy Harpies at Art and Soul

I will be teaching HAPPY HARPIES in just a few weeks at Art and Soul in Virginia Beach and there is still spots left in the class!!  Come play and make your own Harpy or maybe we should start calling them BIRD GODDESSES.

I seem to be kind of obsessed with the image of a woman’s face on a bird body or a harpy.  But Mythologically speaking or  in modern slag the Harpy’s reputation is not a pretty one.
HARPY
–noun, plural -pies.
1.Classical Mythology . a ravenous, filthy monster having a woman's head and a bird's body.
2.( lowercase ) a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman;shrew.
3.( lowercase ) a greedy, predatory person.

However in earlier Greek mythology, Harpies were described as beautiful, winged  maidens.   So what happened?   I have some feminist theories about what happen, but alas this blog is actually about art.   I have been making lots of Harpies lately and it has been an image that has been in my sketch books for years.

 Mixed Media painting done a few years ago

Assemblage Harpy made with a porcelain doll head

on a fake crow body made this spring for Artfest

Class sample from Happy Harpies at Artfest 2011 

made of a vintage compostite doll head with eyes

that blink on a tacky Christmas bird decoration.

My circus Harpy painting

Collage and Acrylics on Canvas 2009

A bit scarier Harpy made of a  composite Virgin Mary head with wings made out of gut stretched over wire

 

Geisha Harpy made this spring from a doll head I had in my childhood  

New Studio Grand Opening

I have a new LARGE studio in Ferndale, WA at 1920 main st #8. It is super exciting.
I have space to have a small gallery space to display my work and then room to have a section for all the different work I do.  A sewing station, a jewelry  bench, tons of tables and space for classes, a storage area, and lots of space for STUFF. 
It is a perfect location less than a mile from home.  I could walk if I was motivated..  ;)  Close to hardware store, grocery store, and a coffee shop.

Here it is before the transformation!

You have to stop by my open house to

see the AFTER.

I am also teaching a FREE mini class on Sat 12th at 1pm

Cool old fire door next to my jewelry bench.

Class Pictures ARTFEST 2012 Steampunk Sally

Mixed Media Art Doll Class of Magnitude!
Wow! Steampunk Sally was one of the biggest classes I have taught with 28 students and the work they did was incredible! I never cease to be amazed by how you can take the same basic objects and techniques and come up with such an array of work. I would love to credit everyone’s work but alas can’t keep track in the creative bedlam that is a full class. But I would love to identify the artists and link to people’s blogs. So add a comment and I will edit and add links… Thanks so much Clarissa

Dolls in progress

Deborah Olsen

Check out all those yummy textures and colors.

Dolls finished or mostly finished

Cindy Blood

                                  Judy Kline

 

Marie Kennedy

A couple of in class Instagram photo edits

Sheri Debow

Next Wild Things Class and Show and Tell….

Artsy Photos Artfest 2012

Pictures from the best art retreat ever ArtFest 2012 and some artistic use of Photoshop and Instagram.

I have enjoyed taking most of the last week off and catching up with all the people I have neglected while getting ready for Artfest. But I have lots of fun Artfest pictures to share. I am starting with the artsy ones. Some from Instagram and then some that have been altered in Photoshop. I also am going to attempt to explain a bit of what I did in Photoshop.

First Instagram, Have I mentioned how much I love my Iphone. I am not really a technology junkie and was guilty of using a flip phone for way way longer than they were “cool”. But the ability to have so many of my computers functions and a good camera in my purse at all times. AAAMmazing. Ok a bit sidetracked…

On with the photos

The tress at Ft Worden are so photogenic

Tin tile ceiling at the pub in Pt. Townsend. Later on in the blog I use this picture as a texture in my Photoshop playing.

Magical beach view

Highly nutritious late night snacking

Apple Pie Liquor and cookie dough

Layla and I on the beach in the bright sun

on the last day

All these photos were taken with Iphone and edited with Instagram on the fly.

Photo Shop Playing

I have a bit of an obsession with Photoshop. I am self taught so my skills are not all that, but I sure do enjoy it.

The “finished” product made up of a base photo with three textures layered over the top.

Original photo of Pt. Townsend from the hill above

a beautiful photo all on its own

a photo of drift wood taken at the beach

layered over the top just barely there using the settings soft light at 14%

another beach shot layered on top with the setting

luminosity at 65% and then any distracting elements erased

I wanted the shapes of the clouds to mingle with the shapes of the rocks. This is my favorite part of the photo.

The last layer is a stock texture from the internet added for the shadows around the edges and to unify the photo. I used multiply at 58% and erased most of the center.

Whew! That is a bit of work to explain…

The finished piece of a slightly blurry photo of the lamplights outside the officers houses.

This is just two images combined the lamplight picture and the tin ceiling from earlier in the post.

base photo

texture added over the top

settings lighten at 33% and most of

the upper part of the photo erased.

Ok one more

Those photogenic trees at Ft. Worden

with one stock texture layered over the top

Original photo taken at dusk

first cropped just a bit.

This is one of my favorite stock textures

Layered over the top with the settings of

Overlay 100%. That is it.

Super easy and beautiful results.

Steampunk Art Doll Class

All the way back in Jan… Dang I don’t know where the time goes… I shared my studio with 8 amazing women and shared with them my techniques for “Steampunk Sally”

The original Steampunk Sally by Clarissa Callesen

We started with cloth and porcelain dolls from 2nd hand stores and through painting, torching, sewing, and lots of embellishing these fabulous dolls were created.

Student work by Aritas

Student work by Kim

Student work by Jennifer

Student work by Dani

Student work by Lynne

Student work by Nancy

Student work by Jenn

The dolls were well on there way to being done but many of them still had finishing touches to be added.

(would love finished photos if any of you have them)

I will be teaching this class again at

Class full

Spaces available

Spaces available

I will be teaching and vending at Art Unraveled

in Phoenix, AZ

July 30 - August 7
Embassy Suites, Phoenix-Scottsdale location

And Sally’s sister class

Doll Transformed

Portland, OR Oct 1-7 Red Lion on the River