The power of the flower! Experimentations with botanical collage
Weekend-long practical course
4 November 2017 10.30am - 5.30pm5 November 2017 10.30am - 5.30pm
Learning Studio, Burlington House, Royal Academy
£420. Includes all materials, lunch and wine reception at the end of the second day.
Terms and conditions
Flowers will be the inspiration for creating colourful and innovative artworks using mixed media, découpage and collage in this practical course led by Sadie Hennessy, Screen Print Fellow at the Royal Academy.
Flowers of every variety have featured prominently in Western art history for hundreds of years, partly for their beauty and decorative value, but also for the rich symbolism attached to them. Byzantine, Gothic and Early Renaissance paintings used floral motifs to represent religious narratives to help spiritually educate the masses. Later, flowers came to symbolise philosophical qualities; for example, the lily representing purity, or the orchid, jealousy.
Flowers have also been a great source of inspiration for artists throughout the centuries, from the still lives of the Dutch Masters to Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic flower paintings. From New York photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s sensual black and white flower photography, via the Pre-Raphaelite’s use of the language of flowers, to Monet’s exquisite Water Lilies, floral symbolism has always featured prominently throughout art history, and will feature heavily during this course.
The course will begin with an historical overview of the use of flowers within art, as well as the significance of their symbolism and hidden meanings. Composition, colour and language will also be considered. This overview will provide the inspiration for creating diverse and experimental mixed-media works over the two days, focusing on collage and decoupage. Using vintage horticultural magazines, seed packets, rose catalogues and a plethora of botanical ephemera, participants will create a number of artworks including:
• A collage inspired by Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo's famous portraits, which are made entirely out of flowers, fruit and vegetables
• A design for a greeting card
• A souvenir ceramic created using a simple waterslide transfer technique
About the course
Participants will be working with a variety of mixed media, including acrylic paint, found imagery, plant paraphernalia and printed images to make collages throughout the two days. A number of short exercises and personal projects will be completed during this course. In the afternoon of the second day, participants will photograph their favourite pieces and create transfers, using a simple waterslide transfer technique, that will be applied to ceramics to create a take-home souvenir.
This course is set in the purpose-built Learning Studio at the Royal Academy in Burlington House.
This course is suitable for all levels, preferably with some prior experience of creative practice in general.
This course is for you if:
• You have some prior knowledge of collage and would like to extend your skills in the practice of working with mixed media, illustration and text
• You would like a new perspective in your approach to collage
• You would like to develop your knowledge and skills of working with mixed media and collage
• You would like the opportunity to study items from the history of botanics in art
• You would like the opportunity to develop your skills and ideas in a small group setting and in the Royal Academy's practical Learning Studio
Minimum age 18
The number of participants is strictly limited to enable detailed feedback from the course tutor.
£420
Saturday 4 – Sunday 5 November 2017
10.30am – 5.30pm on both days
Includes:
• An introduction to the Academy with particular reference to relevant works in the Collection
• All specialist practical materials
• Lunch and refreshments served on both days
• A drinks reception at the end of the second day
• A certificate of participation upon course completion
About the tutor – Sadie Hennessy
Sadie Hennessy is a multi-disciplinary artist specialising in collage and printmaking. She also puts on live events, including her famous ‘Never the Bridesmaid’ parades on London’s Southbank.
Her work tends to take a sideways look at society and its mores. She often uses humour in her work, though it usually comes from the blacker end of the comic spectrum.
She has exhibited regularly around the UK (and beyond), with recent solo projects in London, Margate, Coventry & Birmingham. She has an MA in Fine Art from Central St. Martins, where her degree show won her the Jealous Graduate Prize. She then completed a year-long print-making residency at Croydon Art College. Her work is in the UCL collection and in the print collection of the V&A.
Before becoming a full-time artist, she was a TV producer and wrote and produced ‘Monet’s Garden’ for BBC2, a five-part series about contemporary artists inspired by Monet’s garden at Giverny. She was also the producer for the Chelsea Flower Show Live! On Channel 4 in 1999.
She is currently Screen Print Fellow at the Royal Academy.
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