Have you ever wanted to work abstractly but couldn’t work out how to get there? This workshop is your GPS. Abstract art-making can feel intimidating when you don’t know where to begin. The easiest way is to start with what you can see and recognize. In Abstracting from the Physical Realm, we will learn simple methods to help us deconstruct aspects of the world around us, so we can interpret and ‘re-present’ their essential nature through abstract art. By deconstructing common objects into basic geometric forms, then spatially reorganizing them, Pablo Picasso reinvented the still life in Cubism. Abstracting from the Physical Realm is a week-long creative journey, beginning with Day 1 of the workshop at ArtSpring and ending with Day 2 at the Lion’s Hall, where we will learn and create together each day. Day 1 (morning) we will –
Embark on an artistic exploration of our environment using all 5 senses. In addition to recording what we see, we will experience and document the sensations and temperature of tactile surfaces, the frequency and rhythm of sounds, the effects and sensations of internal and external movement, as well as the senses of taste and smell. Day 1 (afternoon) we will –
– Simplify familiar objects by identifying and recording their distinct properties. – Create a series of increasingly abstract ‘re-presentions’ of one or more objects by gradually removing all their non-essential details. In the week between Day 1 and Day 2 you will –
– Take a trip to one (or more) of your favourite places. Your mission? To document your chosen site(s) and your experience of them, using the ‘5 senses’ exercises undertaken on Day 1. On Day 2 of our Journey we will –
– Review our documentary ‘records’, share our ‘travel experiences’, then ‘re-present’ them as abstract works of art, executed in drawing and/or water-based paints. Materials list Day 1 
– ‘5 senses’ exercises. Please bring a variety of drawing media if you have it*; paper or pads (at least 8 1/2 x 11in) for dry and for wet media; paper for capturing texture (ie cooking parchment paper, light tracing paper, thin cotton cloth); 2 bulldog clips and a small drawing board; a notebook and pen or pencil; a camera or device for taking photographs (you may also wish to record sounds). Please bring an edible object (e.g., dried or fresh fruit, nuts, cheese) (you will be eating it as part of your exploration). – Afternoon session. You may bring water-based paints for the series of abstractions if you choose; paint brushes; water containers; rags. You may also bring your own objects to ‘simplify’.
*Graphite, charcoal, compressed charcoal, conté, pastels and water-soluble drawing media are all suitable. Gillian will bring a variety of drawing media for participants to try out and extra drawing boards. Materials list for Trip to your favourite place(s)
– Whatever materials you may need (based on your Day 1 experience) to capture and record your selected place(s) (photography, drawing, painting, note-taking, audio recording etc). Consider portability and a bag to bring any found objects back. Materials list Day 2 –
– All your documentation from your trip to your favourite place; all drawing and/or painting materials you would like to use to create one or more abstract art works; choose quality substrate(s) for finished works (eg cradled panel, canvas, heavy water colour paper etc.) suitable to handle your materials. Instructor –
Gillian McConnell holds a BFA (Hons) with a major in Printmaking and a minor in Art History, from Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario (1980). Gillian creates representational, abstract and symbolic works in mixed media. She has curated and participated in many exhibitions on Salt Spring Island and in Southeast Queensland since 1998. Gillian has been facilitating art classes for the Painters Guild, Workshops on the Rock, Artist in the Class and independently, since 2004.