Clarissa Callesen Creator of Strange and Wonderful Things: Art and Soul

Showing posts with label Art and Soul. Show all posts

Monday, May 12, 2014

Art and Soul Student Work

I had the best students at Art and Soul Portland 2014! So much fun, laughs, and really good work done. I love my Art and Soul family! Classes are up for Art and Soul Portland 2015 with early registration discounts!

Bricologe Class

Wish Keeper Class

Thursday, January 30, 2014

The Dollmaker

Last spring I was approached by some wonderful people, Lisa Cooper and Dan McComb of Visual Contact to see if I would be interested in being a part of their Maker series of videos. I get a lot of emails from people wanting me to participate in this or do that, and a lot of them never amount to anything. So before proceeding I went to check out Lisa and Dan's work and was totally blow away by the quality of their work. So I said YES sign me up... “sure I will somehow fit that in between this show and that conference.” Just earlier this month that seed that was planted and diligently nurtured by Lisa and Dan bloomed into an this amazing video. The Dollmaker is visually delightful and also speaks to poignantly to "why" I make the art I do. Thank you Lisa and Dan for the huge amount of work it took to make this video come into being.

It was nerve wracking to be filmed while working and seeing yourself on video not so much fun…. I was in total denial about the size of my double chin. LOL

But the visual they captured of my studio are creepy and beautiful. I do have to admit that my favorite part of the video if I had to pick one is the narrative. We sat down and did an interview for 45 mins while filming and then they edited it down to the parts that would work with the video. The words that were chosen are PERFECT. They really speak to why I make the art I make and what it means to me. I want to share some of my favorite lines with you…

“The doll is an icon of our humanness and we have idealized it but the reality is we are not ideal.

I want to give them the nitty gritty rough tough life they deserve

It has the energy of the people that have used it held it and those pieces speak to me

I was actually raised to more like the pristine pretty doll that sits on the cupboard and is revered and that doll is kind of…. boring

I want to be the doll that lives a life that isn’t afraid, that makes mistakes. That makes choices that aren’t the right choices.

It is the idea that sacred is also sexual, the pristine is also dirty.

That living life and having the scars of life is valuable.

We are afraid of death and darkness and dirty and shadow, we want to pretend that doesn’t exist we don’t want to talk about it we don’t want to look at it, we want to put it in the back closet and the reality is it here it’s with us all the time.

I want to take that darkness and shadow and that dirt and make it beautiful, because it is ….beautiful.”

If you or someone you know need high quality video word done I highly recommend Lisa and Dan.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Art and Soul Blogroll!

So this is my first blogroll. Hope I do it “right”. We are all teachers teaching at this falls Art and Soul in Portland, OR Sept 30th- Oct 6th. Visit each persons blog for more info, fun inspiration, and chances to win prizes.

August 19 Serena Barton http://serenabartonsblog.blogspot.com.

August 20 Clarissa Callesen http://Clarissacallesen.blogspot.com

August 21 Liz Kettle http://www.textileevolution.com

August 22 Jen Crossley http://amarkintime.blogspot.com/

Worth Rainey http://fireflypress.blogspot.com/

August 23 Jill Berry Blog: http://jillberrydesign.com/blog/

Make sure to visit Jill’s blog and signup for her giveaway!

Speaking of RIGHT, one of my philosophy in making and teaching art is that there is NO ONE RIGHT WAY. There are an infinite number of paths to creating. Sometimes the path that seems like a train wreck is the path that creates a new amazing technique. My class motto is cherish the mistakes and embrace the grunge!
One of my most popular classes at Art and Soul in Virginia Beach was DELIGHTFUL DISTRESSING. Many of the techniques in this class came from accidents and whimsical explorations. I provide all the materials to learn how to change new and shiny boring objects into old and cool vintage looking treasure. This is a fast paced class that you will leave with a ton of techniques from.

Students working hard distressing everything from cloth and paper to plastic and wood.

I am also teaching a very different class called Gut Instincts. This is a perfect class for the student that feels like they have seen and done it all. I will be teaching you how to make strong translucent panels out of sausage casings, that can be sewn, painted, and stamped. We also will be working with the translucent nature of the material by embedding found objects, transparencies, string, wire, and fabric. I created mine as a hanging but the panels could just as easily become a book.

The heart is such a universal and significant symbol in our lives. I have been draw to the image of the sacred heart in all its forms and incarnations for years. I invite you to come and explore what your Sacred Heart might look like? This is an assemblage class where we explore different ways to alter and attach objects together to make a unified piece of art.

Students working away making Sacred Heart at my home studio

Altered Art Dolls are one of my biggest passions and a retreat would not be complete without teaching “a crazy doll class”. We are going to be exploring our bohemian nature in creating this lovely bohemian Gypsy Doll. A ton of fun and a ton of techniques…

Students from past “Crazy Doll Classes”

Hope to see you in October at Art and Soul Portland!!!