Ask an Artist: Stella Kaser, Photography and Collage.

Ever wonder how an artist becomes an artist?  Why they make art? Where they get their inspiration and what you’ll see when you visit their studio? 

Here’s your chance to get find out.

Why are you an artist?

“I enjoy using the photographs that I've taken over a lifetime and repurposing them into modern images for cards and collages. One of my greatest inspirations is my daughter, a professional artist who expresses her creativity in wonderful ways.”

What weird and different material or technique do you use?

“I use traditional quilting patterns and techniques as well as my own abstract versions to collage pieces of my past photographs together.”

What inspires you and how does that come through your art?

“The same love for achieving interesting composition in my original photographs inspires me to achieve the same effect in my art, while creating something new.”

When people come to your studio, what will they see you doing …what part of your process?

“I have just completed a new collaged holiday greeting card. Guests will be able to see examples of my process towards making this card as well as the finished product, from its initial layout.”

What’s your favorite part of your process?

“Combining parts of entire photographs of mine to produce unique designs is my favorite part of my artistic process.”  

You can see more of Stella’s work and visit her studio during Washington County Open Studios tour October 18-19^th from 11am to 5pm. 

See Art in the Making in Tigard Next Weekend. Free.

 

“I’ll be making masks, doing under glazing or stamping into clay with tools you find around the house like a fork, pattern marker and citrus reamer,” says Susan Gallacher-Turner, Ceramic Artist.

“When people come to my studio, “ says Virginia Parks, encaustic artist, ”they'll get to see almost the entire process, from prepping the wood panels before I start painting, to the process of building up layers, incorporating other media, and using tools and techniques to develop the painting. I'll demonstrate various techniques and explain the process I use for making the medium. I'm always happy to talk about the process, so visitors are welcome to ask me anything!”

Stella Kaser, photo collage artist describes,  “I have just completed a new collaged holiday greeting card. Guests will be able to see examples of my process towards making this card as well as the finished product, from its initial layout.

Get a free tour map at www.washcoart.org and spend this Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm visiting art studios during Washington County Open Studios.  Forty artists will be demonstrating their techniques for you and some are right in your own Tigard neighborhood. 

Karen French, Potter, says, “I’ll be throwing different clay forms.  They can ask me to make something in particular.  I’ll also be trimming pots and getting them ready for the bisque fire.”

“People can watch me use a torch to move around the encaustic paint (beeswax, resin & pigment), and see it swirl and blend together creating some incredible designs/patterns,” explains encaustic artist, Pam Nichols.

Laurie Svec adds, “Art studio visitors will likely see me working on Japanese paper wrapped egg shells. I hope to have some eggs at different stages of the process available to see. I will try to have an evaporative ink painting in progress too - under a gooseneck lamp to warm the ink and water. The Brownian Movement helps to evaporate the color onto the paper in unusual ways.”

You can see art in the making October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm in the suburbs and country during Washington County Open Studios. 

Get a tour map and directions FREE at www.washcoart.org 

What weird techniques do artists use in Tigard?

Susan Gallacher-Turner's sgraffito bowl

“Dental tools, citrus reamers, homemade stamps, forks, wire are just some of the things I use to make marks in my clay.  I also sculpt window screening to add to my clay sculptures and masks,” says Susan Gallacher-Turner, ceramic artist.

Virginia Parks with her encaustic work

Virginia Parks, encaustic artist explains, “Sometimes, people will say the entire medium of encaustic painting is weird and different, using melted beeswax mixed with tree resin and pigment and painting. While it's melted, how weird is that! But it's an an ancient art form with a newfound following, so it's not all that unfamiliar a technique anymore. Personally I like to play around with building up texture on the surface of my paintings, creating air pockets and divots that others often try hard to smooth away with the torch. Then I fill those holes with oil pigment sticks to add visual depth to both the subject and background of my painting.”

Laurie Svec's eggshell mosiacs

 “I have been working with egg shells for over 40 years. Painting and decorating egg shells, and cut out shadow box style Christmas ornaments. I have used ostrich, rhea, emu, goose, duck, turkey, chicken, pigeon, dove, quail, cockateel, and finch eggs,” adds Laurie Svec, multi-media artist.

Wonder what other weird techniques you’ll get to see during Washington County Artists Open Studios? October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm, 40 artists will be demonstrating their techniques for you. 

Karen French with her raku kiln

“I do horsehair raku. This is the process of using horse tail and mane hairs as the reduction medium,”says Karen French, potter.

Stella Kaser's photo collage

Stella Kaser, photo collage artist says, “I use traditional quilting patterns and techniques as well as my own abstract versions to collage pieces of my past photographs together.”

Pam Nichols in her studio

“I use dried coffee grounds, glass frit, shaved metal, spice cloves, dried passion tea leaves, metal objects and my most favorite thing ferric oxide (rust)!,” encaustic painter, Pam Nichols explains, “I transfer rust from metal objects to paper which I incorporate into my painting or I will rust right to my encaustic paint,” Pam Nichols, encaustic artist adds,  

You can see art in the making October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm in the suburbs and country during Washington County Open Studios.  Get a tour map and directions FREE at www.washcoart.org