Published!

I am so happy with the spread of my art journal and article  published in Art Journaling Magazine Winter 2014.  Its on the stands now.



Art Journaling is not my primary medium as you know I am primarily a 3D sculpture and assemblage artist. However, art journaling was instrumental in my introduction to the Mixed Media world.  I remember finding Dan Eldon’s The Journey is the Destination and Sabrina Ward Harrison’s Spilling Open and feeling like I was coming home. It was art that was messy and raw about feelings and life. It was art that I could identify.  I first started art journaling in 1998, which is so long ago now its hard to believe.  I started journaling to cope with the residue of a traumatic relationship that had left my sense of self as a person and as an artist shattered. That first journal is ugly and real and filled with tears of self healing. I have only shared it with my closest loves.

         

Early journal pages

Over the years my journals have provided me with a safe place to play with art. As a self employed artist, it is pretty easy for art to become work. Work that is serious and has deadlines and pressure.  Which is not always great for the sweet sense of play.  So having a place with no rules, no guidelines, and no deadlines has been great for me.  Although I still struggle with making time for it.

Take a peak at some of my favorite spreads that were published in Art Journaling Magazine current issue

You can take a look at the whole journal and some older journals as well in my

Art Journaling Gallery 

Winter Classes at Strange and Wonderful Studio

You know how to beat the cold dreary wish it was spring feeling? Come make art and learn new crazy fun techniques with me, Clarissa Callesen

The New Year class schedule for 2014

All classes held at my studio at 1920 Main st. Suite #8 Ferndale, WA. A lunch break of 30mins is included in the schedule. A sack lunch is recommended but there are fast food options located close. Full payment is required to register. 48hr cancellation policy for full refund. Some supplies provide. Call 360-305-9058

Art Journaling Weekend Jan 25 and 26th

Immerse yourself in the fun and gratifying world of Art Journaling. Take both classes for $120

Sat Jan 25, Chaos Journaling 10am- 4:30pm $70

Working quickly, using unusual materials, and nontraditional techniques we will breakthrough into the raw, beautiful world of chaos journaling and art making. It is so easy to get trapped in the art world of pretty, tidy, and nice. We will be shattering that mold with tearing, squishing, scribbling, dripping, sanding, and so much more. We will honor and celebrating mistakes as a foundation for original expression.

Sun Jan 26, Painted Images in Art Journaling 10am- 4:30pm $70

Take your Art journaling to a new level by adding original painted images. Painting can be very intimidating! But come and let me guide you gently through the process of creating your own original images to add to your Art Journal or other art.

Sat Feb 8, Junk Birds 10am-4:30pm $70

        

Join me in turning a tacky decorative bird into a wacky original work of art. We will be engaging in some deconstruction and transformation of a mass produced object by combining it with fabric scraps, string, wire, and other treasures we will create a whimsical sculpture. You can either do two smaller birds or 1  larger crow 

Sat and Sun Feb 15 and 16, Gutsy Doll 10am-4:30 pm $160

Come and explore a completely unique and versatile art medium! It is flexible yet strong. . It is an ancient medium with a rich history It can be translucent or opaque. It can be used as a primary sculptural material or as a textural accent.. It can be dyed or painted. Can you guess? Give up? Sausage casings or Gut as an art supply. We will be creating a one of a kind Art Doll utilizing this most unusual medium.

Sat March 1, Bricologe (Abstract Assemblage) 10am- 4:30pm $80

      

Bricologe : construction (as of a sculpture or a structure of ideas) achieved by using whatever comes to hand.

What do artists have at hand usually in excess on or around our work tables?

Fabulous scraps and bits of amazing stuff!

This class will take those bits and pieces and turn them into a rich textural Bricologe. Through loose paint and collage exercises we will create a palette of objects rich in texture and color. Then using those pieces as color and shape elements we will delve into composition. I like to look at this technique as creating a three dimensional abstract painting.

The Finished Pieces: Survivor

 

Continuing on with sharing the finished pieces from my “Odd Birds” show in May.  Survivor was the largest piece in the show. She is a moth/ bird/ goddess creature.  She is surreal and otherworldly. Survivor  was an intense piece to make both from the physical construction aspects to the artistic and emotional choices. 

Moths have been the creature I have been fascinated with this year.  They have subtle beauty compared to the showy colors of the Butterfly. They are often overlooked and some people find them “creepy”.   They are creatures of the night that are hypnotically drawn to the light.

 

My moth “Survivor” is constructed with a cloth body that has been  embellished with patchwork textiles and soft sculpting. She wears a piece of vintage sari as her elegant collar.   Her face is constructed on top of a art deco mask found at Goodwill.  Her round big eyes are tinker toys.  Her forehead is a large textured shell found while beach combing.  The shapes that make her antennae are some of my favorites although I don’t know exactly what they are, probably dried kelp or weathered pieces of wood.

A theme evident in much of my work is the beauty that can be found in things broken, weather, and repaired.  In “Survivor” I wanted to physically represent the hardships and strain that make us who we are. The scars and bumps we acquire as we go through life need not distract from our beauty but be celebrated as our beauty.

I wanted her wings to feel like a rich tapestry of texture and time. There are bundles of rusted fabric, small animal bones, feathers that once flew, and soft sculpted shapes.   The soft sculpted shape have been affectionately referred to as  polyps which they resemble in shape, but that word is very limiting and has a negative association. The shapes are soft, round and sensual. But they feel like something from another world.  Or enlarged versions of microscopic cells or organisms.  How do you see them?   Sometime the symbols in my work are very obvious to me and then other times I just know they belong in the art but I don’t comprehend there full message.

The curled translucent shapes that create the structure of the wings are heavy steel wire covered with sausage casings and then dried. Gut is a perfect medium to capture the strong translucent nature of insect wings.  The wings also bare the evidence of time and many flights with splits and holes to add to their texture.

Survivor is still available for info on purchasing email me at

clarissacallesen@gmail.com

Now a behind the scenes look at the making of….