The Annapolis Arts Alliance is excited to feature Kathy Dennin-Meagher as this June’s Featured Artist of the Month!
Bio: I went to school and received my BFA, but it wasn’t until April of 2016 that I could go back to creating art. I too took a path that paid the bills, often in the art industry, but not necessarily creating what I knew I should and could be doing. Over my thirty years in the graphic art industry I have been a spy for product development at gift and stationery trade shows, created gift and stationery products, worked in the print industry, publishing, designed advertising, created and built up brand imagery for many companies. It was time to do it for myself.
Raye of Light Studio: Yes, my name is Kathy, not Raye, believe it or not people still ask! I live in Bowie, Maryland but originated from Cincinnati, Ohio. I have five grown children and not one in the arts, much to my disappointment. I am a chronic believer in summer. I think it should be warm and sunny year-round. I love the beaches…all of them! I love working with creative souls and helping them find their creative side. Many of these people are in technical and stressful jobs and find art therapeutic. I must confess: the kids are my favorite. They can rally with a little enthusiasm and try all art fearlessly. It makes me smile mentally when I think about how their “light” goes on when they finally get it!
Are you looking for the perfect gift for the experience seeker? This past year we have had many people enjoying and purchasing gift cards for art classes and workshops. Many gift cards are given as retirement gifts, but just as many are given as birthday gifts. We all seek out new and unique experiences to give as a perfect gift. Men, women and kids enjoy Raye of Light gift certificates because of the opportunity to create. They can try any class, from painting, to drawing or even pop art!
However, we do get a lot of questions about the gift cards and thought with the holiday season quickly approaching, we would attempt to make things easier and answer a few.
Gift cards come in denominations as small as $25 and as large as $100.
Your gift is not a card, but rather a personal customized gift certificate in .pdf file format. The certificate is personalized with the name and occasion of the recipient. We’ll email the file to you and you can easily download and print the certificate in the comfort of your own home or office.
Gift cards expire at the end of every calendar year.
The recipient of the gift card must contact us to set up their date and time to visit the art studio.
Finally, you do not have to be an artist or creative person to enjoy the gift! Every person, no matter what their age or ability level, is taught how to create something special in the class of their choice.
We would love to once again help you give the perfect experience this Holiday season. Art classes in a small setting are comfortable, personable and enjoyable. You can even give a studio experience to your family or co-workers – up to 6 people. With a little imagination the possibilities are endless!
In a recent meeting with a group of very creative people, someone made the comment, “Color is scary for some people.” That statement really threw me off guard. I don’t understand how color can be scary. It’s just an odd concept to me, since I feel that color is life itself. Color is associated with so many things in our day to day lives, like moods, the seasons, appetite, gender, light, sports, identity and so much more. In fact, there is even a color of the year chosen yearly and psychology of color too. So, how can color be something to be afraid of when it’s all around us?
Photo source: graphicdesignjunction.com
If you are afraid of color, it may because you don’t understand color and how colors work together. A good, simple, old school approach to becoming comfortable with using color is to use the color wheel. The color wheel is a circular chart for color reference. Every color can be made by using the primary colors, which are red, yellow, and blue, and adding the neutrals of black and white. When you mix yellow and blue you get green. Mix red and blue and you will get purple, and if you mix yellow and red, orange is the result. Orange, green and purple are called secondary colors because they are derived from the primary colors. Finally, there are tertiary colors, which are a third set of colors that are made using primary and secondary colors. For example, when you mix purple with blue the result is blue violet. If you mix purple with red, you’ll get magenta. The placement of the colors on the color wheel show you how colors will work together in your art.
Photo source: www.slideshare.net/Presentitude
When you begin working with color, keep it simple by selecting no more than three colors to use in your art. This simplicity will help you develop an eye for color. Then once your eye is trained, you can ask yourself what your art needs. Color can make your world a happy place or a place of solace. It’s all around you and the non-verbal messages are sent daily into your world. Don’t be afraid of it – come and explore it in a class. On April 10th and May 9th you can come paint with colorful alcohol inks.
When given the choice of watercolor vs. acrylic painting, everyone chooses to learn watercolor. In fact, I have to give the acrylic painting pep talk when I get inquiries about learning to paint. The truth is most people feel comfortable with watercolor because it is used everywhere. We are drawn to it’s pigments because they are happy and bright. We see watercolor images in card stores, on labels, illustrations, in animations and the list goes on forever.
However, when we think of acrylic painting, our thought process changes. We think, “Oh, I am not an artist” or “That looks hard. I could never do that.” Want to know a secret? It’s actually just the opposite! Acrylic paint is very forgiving and perfect for learning. Therefore, it is a great medium to use when you begin painting. Acrylic dries fast and covers well because it is opaque. You work the paint from dark to light colors. When applying color over the top of any dry area of your painting, the true color will show on top of even the darkest color. If working while wet, the paint blends beautifully and mixes on canvas, without pre-mixing on your palette.
Watercolor can be more challenging. With watercolor you can build up layers of colors while painting, but you work in a different order than you do with acrylic paint. Watercolor is translucent and unlike acrylic, you can not cover up your mistakes. If you want to preserve areas of light color, then you must plan ahead in your painting. In class, I teach little tricks of the trade on how you can preserve the white space on your paper and how you can delicately “fix” some overly saturated areas of color. Watercolor is a patient process. It is a dance of learning the right amount of water to pigment and applying it on a absorbent paper. The key is timing, and it’s comes with experience and a lot of painting. You can work with watercolors as wet on wet or wet on dry. Once you learn the balance of how much water to use, it will completely take your painting to a higher level, and allow you to establish real color.
I recommend learning acrylic painting first and discovering some of the principles in painting that will help you in learning watercolor. Watercolor is the older wiser sister to acrylic when it comes to painting. I definitely like to see people take a few acrylic painting classes, and then move into a comfortable relationship with watercolor.
With the Spring and Summer months approaching, you may want to take your painting outdoors. If that is the case, then watercolor is definitely the perfect medium. Watercolor is the minimalist medium, because you just need your travel set of colors, one full brush that comes to a very narrow point, a great 140lb bond watercolor paper, and a spray bottle of water. If you are painting with watercolors outside and your paint dries, you can just dip your sable brush into the water and rewet the paint or paper. You can even revive dried watercolor paint by adding water, depending on what pigments you use. Acrylic painting outdoors can be more challenging. Acrylic paint is actually a type of plastic and the sun and temperatures tend to make it dry faster. Paint can even dry on your brush before you ever reach the canvas. And, unlike watercolor, adding water does not make more acrylic paint.
April and May bring beautiful flowers and it’s a great time to learn how to paint those pretty blooms. If you are ready, you can take a class anytime! Just schedule day and time, or check out the April calendar and join us in a small group setting.
Have you ever heard of the game Two Truths and One Lie? It’s a little trivia game where you tell three things about yourself — but one of them is a lie. I thought it would be fun to get to know each other a little bit and play to see how much you know about Raye of Light Studio.
Here are my two truths and one lie — can you figure out the lie?
1)Raye is my first name.
2)Raye of Light Studio is hard for Google to find.
3) Ray of Light Studio does yoga on the West Coast.
…. scroll down for the answer ….
If you guessed that #1 is a lie, then you are correct! Raye is not my name, although you get extra points if you can figure it out by the end of this blog post. Not everyone knows this though, because the number one thing that people say when we meet in the studio is, “Nice to meet you, Raye.”
Raye of Light Studio was actually named as a concept, an image, something you can visually see in your mind. I wanted you to see the light — no pun intended.
When an idea or creative thought pops into your head, you typically think of the image of a light bulb over your head. With the Raye of Light name, I want you to think of the studio as a place where you go to develop your own creative thoughts and ideas. Being creative starts with an idea. Many of us have ideas but we dismiss them. At Raye of Light, I want to create an environment where you can bring those creative ideas into the light.
Many people don’t know my first name and I am ok with that. I am thrilled that you have heard of Raye of Light Studio. I want to invite you to come take a class now that you realize it’s a fun opportunity to develop your creative side. This is a private studio in which you can feel comfortable to come alone or bring a friend or two. We keep it small, personal and creative! Many people have gone from treating themselves to classes to actually feeling nurtured and continuing to create at home. We say bravo to that and applaud that you “shine” on! You don’t have to be an artist to create art, you just have to be open to a new experience.
So what is a Pour painting? “Pours” seem to be trending in the art world today. If you remember doing Spin Art at a carnival or at school, then the pour painting artwork is going to be a bit of a throw back for you. The best part is that this art form is all based on the luck of the draw and is stress-free! Each piece is created by the ebb and flow of weights of paint, medium and silicone. The outcome of your art will be a fun surprise and a new discovery each time. Pour painting is a great place for novice artists to start because it is so non-threatening and inviting.
Breaking the pour painting process down is very easy. All you need are are cups, any acrylic paint (Folk Art to Goldens will work here), mediums, silicone, and distilled water. The tricky part is controlling the mess because everything shifts like oil and water. There are many recipes out there for this painting process and they can range in price, so choose what works best for you.
If you want to try it without the price rage of expensive name brand mediums and the messiness of silicone, you can use Elmers Glue All (not school glue) and acrylic paints . It is important that you use liquid body acrylics for they lend themselves to be poured.
Here is our recipe for those who have secured a flat surface space where they can leave their creation for 24 to 48 hours while drying.
Mix one part acrylic paint and two parts Elmers glue all together completely.
Then add a half part distilled water.
Mix all together until you get the consistency of pancake batter.
Tip: 1oz shot glasses are great for measuring, but you can also pour all into a cup sitting on a kitchen scale to measure that way.
Repeat this process for each color you would like to use.
Once you have all three colors prepared, you mix them together in one cup and pour them onto your canvas by turning your cup completely over and lifting up swiftly and completely. Or, you can pour each color on individually and watch them combine.
Three colors will produce the best color combinations. Remember starting with primary colors will result in beautiful secondary colors! It is also fun to do something in the same color family like a series of blues and add white, or a series of reds and add a yellow.
There are endless ways to create your pours and those that are adventurous will experiment with the process trying many different approaches from the dirty cup to a direct pout of each color. How you pour it on is up to you. The key to success is the drying process. You should make sure that you do not move your pour art until it is fully dry — at least 24 hours. The glue recipe does dry faster than if you were using a medium and the silicone. That is why we encourage you to try this at home.
If you want to create a “wow” piece you can always take a Pour it On art class at our studio. We use the silicone and medium together along with the water and paint, which allows the paint to rise to the surface and pop through creating little “cells” of color. Many of these paintings look like geodes because of the cell formation. Click here to learn more!
I used to day dream about having an art studio at home. I always put off creating one because I thought I needed a certain space, the perfect design and money to build it. You might be dreaming about a studio of your own — especially if you see blog posts by other creatives that feature their home studios. Well, I am here with a little wake up call! Or, in the words Nike borrowed from Andy Warhol…just do it! Actually I think the words he used were “don’t think about making art, just get it done”. Either version applies here, though!
There are many glamorous images in peoples minds as to what makes a great studio space. We have all seen beautiful spaces transformed into a creative studio space with dazzling white walls, industrial floors, and lots of natural light. In these photos, everything seems to have a place and everything is in it’s place. In fact, there are many HGTV shows that focus on just this topic. I let not having the ideal space at home keep me from creating art for many years before I had that “ah ha moment”.
Accessibility
Really the main ingredient for a studio space, no matter how large or small, is accessibility. For many years I pushed back the tablecloth and worked at my kitchen table. The main reason I did this was because I had easy and quick accessibility with, of course, great lighting! Whether you stand or sit in your space is really not important. Whether its new or old, clean or cluttered, doesn’t matter. The determining factor for you should be accessibility! If it’s not convenient, you will never take the time to do your project or create when inspiration hits.
Close the Door
You also want to be able to close a door and walk away. Working in this manner whether it be at sewing, writing or painting, will allow you to pick up where you left off. I have toured many friend’s home studios locally and found them to be everything from a small table in the attic by a window in an empty bedroom, or just a clean spot at the end of the kitchen table. We all imagine the perfect setting and think it will produce better work, but honestly it just doesn’t always exist for the talented artists that I know.
If you want to start to create, find a small pocket of space and start! Don’t make excuses or hold your self back — and don’t wait for someone to go off to college either. I’m baring a little bit of my soul here, but here is my space. No judgments. Just use this post to add fuel for your fire!
If your haven’t found your creative corner in your home yet, don’t worry, I have the perfect spot for you to create. Come join us at any of our workshops this February. Use this link to see all of the classes that are available. I’m happy to share my creative space with you!
Some of you many remember block printing from your middle school or high school art class — and not in a fond way. I still hear horror stories from clients that remember trying to carve into hard, brittle linoleum blocks and trying not to stab themselves, all while trying to make something artistic in the process.
Well, my friends, those days are gone! Speedball and companies like Moo Carve have created the “soft block”. This new material is thicker, softer and allows for intricate and detailed carving all while saving your poor fingers from injury. The soft block allows you to carve with ease and focus on your design instead of fearing it.
February is a great time to reignite your love for block printing, by making you Valentine’s cards! The block printing process allows for the printing of multiple copies of the exact image which makes it a great choice for your Valentine’s cards. You can even print the same image and embellish it with markers making slight variations to the same design. You can even get your little ones in on the fun, by having them help with the printing process or by having them embellish the prints. Each card can be different and as special as the person it’s intended for.
If you decide to do tackle block printing at home you will need the following supplies that can be found at art supply stores like Art Things in West Annapolis or online here:
an ebony pencil (for sketching and making a transfer backing)
your carving tool
a soft pink or blue speedball linoleum block
a soft roller for inking
smooth non textured paper
water soluble ink in the color of your choice
After drawing the image onto paper, simply rub the ebony pencil on the back of your design, making a carbon or graphite back. It can easily be transferred to the block by drawing over the design again. Carve out your design and then you are ready to apply the ink to the carved design. The process is trail and error until you get the feel for the brayer and ink. Then carefully turn over the inked block and press firmly and/or massage the block to transfer the ink to the cardstock.
If you have a change of heart and would like to take a class on block printing first, please come see me on Saturday, February 10th. Use this link to learn more about the class and to sign up yourself or with your family. Once you learn this skill/art form you will want to personalize every paper surface and tee shirt you own!
