Category Archives: Printmaking

5 Ways to Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing

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By VisArts’ Volunteer Reggie Trimiew

1.  Get an Outside Opinion
I do a number of things whenever I have no clue where to find inspiration for my next project or how to finish up a current project. One thing I do is reach out to somebody who is not a graphic design or photographer. This might sound illogical, but from experience this has proven to be surprisingly insightful. The person you ask may share an idea that consequently takes your project to the next level. Or better yet, is the final piece to your creative puzzle. Overall, you benefit when you obtain as many perspectives as possible, it ultimately makes yours work more informed.

2. Listen to Alpha Wave Binaural Beats
If you aren’t already familiar, binaural beats are sounds that were created to match and induce your 4 common brain wave frequencies.  In particular, alpha binaural beats induce a heightened level of creativity and relaxation.  Which makes listening to alpha wave binaural sounds another remedy for your lack-o-creativity. Take a moment to reflect about the countless times a brilliant idea seemed drop from the sky into your head while you were in the shower or driving down the street.  At those very moments you brain was in “alpha state.”

3. Let it Flow
As a creative, you go through the cycles when your creative juices are overflowing and times when you’re in a dry spell.  An unorthodox remedy for the shortage of creativity can come from plain ol’ patience. You may have the tendency to press and force ideas past your creative block, but each push seems to be met with just as much resistance. So, be patient and let it flow. Just know that your next surge of creativity will find its way back into your mind.

4. Find What Works for You and Stick with It
As I mentioned in the previous tip, you have to trust that your creativity will find its way back into your mind. With that being said, if you already have a creative process that has led you to creative gold, then don’t change it just because a new idea doesn’t show up as soon as you would like.  The old adage of, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” rings true. If you haven’t tailored creative process yet, then take the time to experiment, by subtracting and adding steps that help channel your best work.

5.  Study the Greats
There is a reason why there are people who are simply great or extraordinary at their profession. Research the artists and musicians who inspire you, like Michael Jackson or Kaws. This strategy can be added to your process regardless if it’s painting, graphic design, photography, etc.   I’m a graphic artist and I applied this strategy to my process. My way of studying the great ones has been a combination of watching interviews and documentaries. These two mediums have provided me with invaluable insight into the nuances and intricacies of these people.

How do you get your creative juices flowing?  Do you have a special place?  A routine?  A person?  Go-to music or authors?  We’d love to hear from you!

Check out VisArts’ summer classes on creativity & personal development.  Study the Art of Italy, Art of Paris,  Learn to Follow Your Bliss or get your Creative Spark fired up!

Reggie Trimiew is a graphic artist from Richmond. He graduated from North Carolina A&T State University in 2011, and is currently the creative director for the nonprofit organization, Cnote Style. He volunteers each week in VisArts’ Marketing and Public Relations Department.

 

 


 

5 Reasons to Volunteer at VisArts

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with Emily Fox, VCU class of 2013

Over the last few months I have been volunteering some of my time to help around at VisArts.  Like all new experiences, volunteering here has taught me a few things about The Visual Arts Center of Richmond and volunteering.

Here are five things you might get out of volunteering at VisArts:

 1. Meet new people

At school or at work you’re generally surrounded by people like you, who have similar interests and similar motivators.  Volunteering at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond you get a chance to meet a diverse group of people who have had different experiences than you. Volunteering here has given me the chance to get to know people who I would not normally cross paths with. At Craft +Design Show I worked with a woman who was much older than I and had some stories to tell.  It was refreshing to talk to her and get a different perspective on daily observations.  Volunteering gave me the opportunity to learn something new from her and the other volunteers who, although being very different from each other, have all been driven to creativity and the want to help others be creative.

2. Help the Community

Volunteering at VisArts is a great reminder that it is a non-profit and a lot of things cannot be done without the help of volunteers.  For the most part all the work that I have done at VisArts has been in the background, in the office, but even though I am not directly working with the children in the outreach programs, I can see how my work is making a difference. It might just be office work but I can see how even a volunteer at VisArts becomes a part of the team working toward the end goal of giving children a safe place to express themselves.

3. Get to know VisArts

Volunteering at VisArts has given me a chance to really get to know the place and the people here and learn more about the good work they do for others in our community.  While volunteering at the Craft + Design Show, I was able to walk through the exhibits of artists from around the country and from right here in Richmond. I was able to see some of the amazing work from the VisArts’ instructors; a sampling of what they teach in their classes, and I was really inspired by their work.  Getting a taste of VisArts by volunteering at an event showed me what can be created here and has inspired me to take a class.

 4. Stay Busy

Every now and then I have some free time to spare, when relaxing I often feel that I could probably be doing something better with this free time.  Volunteering at VisArts is a great way for me to feel productive when I have some down time.  It keeps me busy but without all the stress that can come from school or work. It gives me a chance to think about something else other than school and a time to get to know new people; it’s a chance for me to feel productive where I know the help is needed.

5. Gain Experience

As a soon-to-be college graduate, I am often told that having ‘previous experience’ will really help out when entering the job market. Volunteering with VisArts to work on event flyers, the website and social media has given me the experience I need when applying to jobs in the future.

I recommend volunteering at VisArts to anyone wanting a fun, stress-free way to support your community and the arts while enjoying the company of a diverse group of people in a vibrant environment.

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Emily Fox is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University studying Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. She has been volunteering and interning at VisArts since September.

 

 

 

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Classes that Landed on Emily’s Bucket List

1. Introduction to black & white darkroom photography

2. Introduction to letterpress printing

3. Adobe photoshop, illustrator, and indesign- creative combination

5 Books to Motivate Artists

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Jordan Roeder

by Jordan Roeder

I have a problem with buying and collecting books. Even if I only read them once or just like to look through them for ideas or if I use them for collages…I can’t get rid of them.  These are a few of my absolute favorites. Some get me inspired while some just get me feeling more motivated and ready to keep working.

 

 

 

 

1. Magical Secrets about Thinking Creatively by Kathan Brown

This amazing book released by Crown Pointe Press is great for printmakers but is surprisingly inspiring for artists working in any medium. Each chapter is devoted to a different idea to apply to your work and have titles like “Know What You Don’t Want” or “Use Every Tool”.  Every chapter presents an idea like this and ties it to a contemporary printmaker who used it in their work at Crown Point. I’ve read this book cover to cover at least 10 times.

 2. Modern Artists on Art: A collection of essays edited by Robert L. Herbert.

This is one of those classic books that some teachers make you read in college but it is really a fantastic book.  Each essay is written by an artist who was a major figure of their movement like Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. Though it focuses solely on modern art, the ways in which each artist thinks about their craft and process is inspiring to me and gives me insight on my own work.

 

 

 

3. The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa by Michael Kimmelman

This was an unexpected find. I found this book by chance at one of those discount book fairs and I can’t tell you how many times I have read it.  The book presents different non-fiction stories in each chapter about a non-traditional artist and their “work”.  These have fantastic titles like “The Art of Making Art Without Lifting a Finger” or “The Art of Collecting Light Bulbs”.  Some chapters tell stories about famous artists like Pierre Bonnard and the relationships with is wife Marthe who was also his muse for the duration of his career. Other chapters tell us stories of artists who would never label themselves as such: like the Antarctic explorer who photographed one of the most horrific of the early voyages to the South Pole. Each chapter leaves you feeling inspired to not just approach your work with new thoughtfulness but to attempt to do as these artists did and live your life as if it were your art.

4. ART/WORK: Everything You Need to Know (And Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career by Heather Darcy Bhandari & Jonathan Melber

I was given this book during college. I expected this to be either redundant or simply not useful but it was actually very helpful. It describes the various ways to connect yourself to your Art Community and how to present yourself professionally. Chapters cover everything from setting up a website to resumes to legal agreements.  Throughout the book art professionals and artists give bits of wisdom. A great book for somebody just starting out or in art school.

 5. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

This is an oldie but a goodie. I was actually given this in high school by an amazing teacher who really pushed me as a student and artist. The letters within it are wonderfully articulate and personal and describe an unexpected (and very real) correspondence between Rilke and the “young poet”.  The relationship grows throughout the book and the discussions they have are a continuous inspiration to me. Even Rilke has admitted that this series of letters was one of his masterpieces.

 

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About the Artist

Originally from Minnesota, Jordan attended VCU where she received her B.F.A in painting and printmaking. Though her emphasis in college was in painting, her true love is printmaking, and her preferred medium is etching.

She continues to create work here in Richmond and has exhibited in local shows.  Most recently her work was a part of the Center for Contemporary Printmaking’s Miniature Print Biennial.

Currently Jordan is taking a VisArts letterpress class and setting up her studio at her new home in the museum district.  Jordan has been with the Visual Arts Center of Richmond since spring of this year.  You can find her at the front desk most afternoons registering students for classes and cheerfully assisting VisArts’ guests.     http://www.jordanroederart.com/

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VisArts Classes

Letterpress Greeting Cards

Students will explore letterpress and relief printing to develop their own greeting cards or stationery. Come to class with an idea of what text you would like to include in your card or stationery and we will explore layout, type setting and printing in this workshop.

2 Saturdays
October 27 & November 3
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM, each day

Learn more.

Letterpress Stationery and Salutations

Learn how to hand-set type and print on our Challenge Proofing Press. Combine text and image to design and create your customized stationery – cards, letterhead and more! You’ll learn the basics of letterpress printing including a tutorial of setting type, the general mechanics of the press, inking and printing on the press.

6 Thursdays
November 1 – December 13 (No class November 22)
6:30 – 9:00 PM

Learn more.

Member Duo Praise VisArts Experience

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VisArts member Nancy Alpine submitted this post about the joy she and daughter Allie Stough have found through their classes:

“When my daughter was in high school I talked her into taking a class with me at the Visual Arts Center. Little did I know how that would lead her to major in art and allow us to spend many fun hours learning art together.

“I had always wanted to know how to make rag rugs – the kind I remember my grandmother having in her home. When I saw a class for Rug Hooking taught by Mary Henke I thought I had found the place to learn how to make them. Reluctantly, Allie agreed to take the class. However, these were traditional hooked wool rugs, not rag rugs. We both began work on a sampler rug. Her reluctance turned into utter enthusiasm finishing her sampler and mine as well! She has been creating rugs ever since. She joined the Shockoe Slip Rug Hookers Guild, attending many workshops and hook-ins.  Two of her rugs have been published in Rug Hooking Magazine and the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists Newsletter. Who knew?

“But that was just the beginning of many classes and hours of fun at the Visual Arts Center. Once Allie decided to major in art, her professor Michelle Delano at Richard Bland College advised her to take classes and expose herself to many different media. What better place than where it all began? Together we have explored a variety of classes and workshops. It has turned into the most rewarding and bonding mother/daughter experience for me as well as a wonderful learning experience for us both. I can hardly wait for the class list to be published each season so I can see the new offerings. In October we decided to try the Masks and Margaritas workshop. What a fun evening – layering our faces with petroleum jelly and casting plaster to create our own images! An adventurous evening for this Mom!

“Over the past few years we have tried pottery – Allie getting into throwing on the wheel and me the hand building, printmaking and silk screening – making framed prints and stationery as well as screening tote bags and napkins. Making hand-made books has been a favorite – Allie incorporating her hooking into covers for her books. We have dabbled in weaving, jewelry, sculpture, dyeing scarves, illustrating children’s books and drawing. One of our favorite activities is to attend Art and Coffee when time allows. The topics are so enriching. At one of the sessions we listened to Nancy Ross Hugo and Dr. Jeffrey Kirwan discuss their book Remarkable Trees of Virginia. We bought the book and have taken many short trips to visit some of the trees in person.

“Allie is now a senior at Christopher Newport University majoring in art education. The Visual Arts Center has been influential in her decision to teach art. For me it is a place where I can explore my creative side and enjoy some relaxation and family time. The Visual Arts Center has so much to offer and Richmond is so lucky to have this gem.”

 

C+D Artist – Mixed Media: Michael Merriman

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Full of passion and an insatiable desire to create, Colorado artist Michael Merriman throws himself into every project he undertakes. After exploring in multiple media such as photography, wood and metal, he currently is experiencing another avenue of his talents: bookbinding. He beautifully binds leather and handmade paper together using traditional methods as well as inventive techniques of his own. Michael cuts and works several different tans of leather, creates and prepares distinctive, decorative, archival, handmade papers, and binds the two together with six-ply parachute tack cord to craft durable and everlasting books for everyone to enjoy. The handmade paper is acid-free and archival to protect the life of everything put on and in between them. During the Craft + Design Show on Nov. 20-21, Mike will be located at Booth 14.