2022 06 Laura Lein-Svencner at Shake Rag Alley

Vertical Storytelling in Collage with Laura Lein-Svencner

Shake Rag Alley, Mineral Point, WI

June 16-19, 2022

This week's workshop at Shake Rag Alley finds the challenge of a long tall board for those who want to collage. Laura Lein-Svencner's class description was the following: "Telling a visual story in a vertical format is a tall tale to carry out. The collage artwork created in this workshop leans on layers much like a landscape with interest and details. Students will work with magazines and glue sticks as a form of collage sketching to begin the process of design. The next step is to create a collage palette in reference to collage sketches. The fusion technique with a tack iron allows for the adherent of the collage papers on a long vertical wood panel. Storytelling with images, symbols, and design elements allow for unique creative segments to emerge."

Thursday, June 16, 2022

Normally for a workshop I like to arrive the day before but Denice and I wanted to see one of my favorites, Jackson Browne, in Milwaukee on Wednesday so I arrived to the Lind Pavilion on the Shake Rag campus at 8:00 AM. 

Laura's workshop ran 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The first day was spent creating papers and exploring our ideas and preparing the substrates we will be working on.

Laura's class samples

The Lind Pavilion

Laura Lein-Svencner

Laura likes to begin each day with a circle to share things

Today one of the exercises was to create a journal sample for a tall collage

By the end of Thursday, I had made these papers for collage

Friday, June 17, 2022

Here is the little sample we made to practice using Laura's attaching techniques

I did manage to start what we will call the Second one (this work in progress you will see at a later date when it is completed)

By the end of Friday, I had these papers ready for the collage experience

Laura was very kind to promote my exhibition, But I Know That, at the Green Lantern Studios on High Street in Mineral Point. Because sales have been good at the gallery and some pieces have left the building, I brought four more pieces to add to the exhibition.

Pretty much the whole class made an expedition to the gallery on Friday night and it was fun to speak about my art. I even sold Tulip Furca Vos to my fellow student Joan. 

Saturday, June 18, 2022

This is day three progress on my main piece

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Photo by Ryan from Shake Rag

As always, by Sunday, there is both a sense of exhaustion and accomplishment. I want to thank Laura for a great class plus a family-like atmosphere in the workshop. 

Our projects did have purpose behind them that included a story we wanted to tell. My story is how Denice and I went to Africa with our relatives in 2019 to take two safari. On one of our last nights we were drinking wine and watching the sun set when a giraffe walked across our view. It was a magical moment we really cherished.

Thus we have The Knight Without Fear and Without Reproach. It is a collage on a 36"H X 12"W X 1.5"D cradled board.