Current Challenge

Whew!  Where has the time gone?  Our current ALN challenge, Trash into Treasures, limits us to working with materials that have been discarded and salvaged, found on the street or in a junk drawer, for example.  We have been taking our time on our challenges.  Life has a way of interfering sometimes( as you can see by the aged prior post!).  In any case, we will soon post our projects and choose another topic.

At our last ALN meeting we had our collage-making event. We make a collage every year to invite that which we desire for the year to present itself.  We had fun as usual, however this is the first time that I didn’t finish mine!  It still has a few elements that need gluing down.  Oh well….

the ALN Challenge – the last one & our current topic

It's About Time - a collage by Madelin Wolf

Hi!

I’m a bit behind in reporting on the ALN Challenge - sorry! Our last one was “It’s About Time” and shown above is Madelin Wolf’s collage, which turned out great!  Our new challenge is “My Cup of Tea,” which has a deadline of September 30th.

My own “It’s About Time” artwork is a mobile I created with several photos of my mother and her folks (my grandparents) when they were all young. If you’re like to see a photo of that work, go to my blog (listed in the sidebar of the right, just click on it) and scroll down to the post I made about it on August 4. 

FYI, Madelin Wolf now has an Artist Page on our ALN Website – check it out! Any member of ALN can have one of her own; if you’re ready, please contact me by commenting on this post. Then you can send me your words & images, and I will put it together. The ALN website is also listed in the sidebar of the right, which you can just click on. (So is Madelin’s blog – check it out!) 

Make Art! – Anne

our May/June challenge – Circus Act

Circus Act - mixed media on canvas by Madelin C.Wolf

We just finished our May/June challenge last week, inspired by the words, “Circus Act.” A photo of Madelin’s artwork is above, and mine is shown below. Our new challenge is to make art with the phrase “It’s about time” as the jumping-off point; the deadline this time will be July 31.

FYI, if you’d like to know more about our pieces (and our other work), you can check out our blogs: www.madelincwolf.wordpress.com and/or www.annesartstudio.com

Circus Act - mixed media on canvas by Anne Shulenberger

The New ALN Challenge

Our new ALN Challenge is “Come Rain or Come Shine” – good for this time of year. I think! (see the entry from Feb 4, below, for more about the ALN Challenge). The deadline for this one is April 30.

Anne

Here are 2 previous responses to  ALN Challenge topics, both by Madelin Wolf of Berkeley CA:

All the World's a Stage - collage by Madelin C. Wolf

What I Learned From My Mother: Waiting For My Ship to Come In- fabric collage by Madelin C. Wolf

Calling All Creative Women: an April Workshop in northern California

About the workshop on April 10, 2010 in Berkeley, CA (click on image to enlarge!)

We’re going to have an introductory workshop in Berkeley, California, on April 10; I’ll be leading it, and it’s going to be a lot of fun! Below is a version of the flyer as a PDF with sign-up information at the bottom of it – just click on the link to view, and then you can print it out if you wish.

ALNworkshopFlyer3

Also, below this is a link to just the bottom part of the flyer (as a Word document, just in case you prefer to fill it out with your computer);  but either way, if you want to sign up, please be sure to snail-mail us the form along with your check!

ALNworkshopFlyerSignUpOnly

I hope to see you there! – Anne

The ALN Challenge – please join us!

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Bridge Work Ahead - Anne Shulenberger -mixed media, 18" by 18"

Please join us in the ALN Challenge! It has been going on since April, 2009, when it was started by Michelle Ploskonka & me (Anne Shulenberger). The first month it was just the 2 of us and the theme was Bridge Work Ahead, hence the image above. You can also see the writing Michelle did for the challenge at the end of this post; just scroll all the way down to read them.

After the first month, Madelin Wolf  joined the challenge and it’s gotten really interesting and fun with more of us making things & sharing them! I will be posting more of our past creations here soon, so check back – or better yet, subscribe to this blog (there’s a place to do that on the right side of this screen) - then you will receive each new post as an email message.

The way it generally works is that one of us chooses a word or phrase as our inspiration/jumping off place every month or so, and each participating artist then creates something (a poem, a song, a painting – whatever she wants) based upon that. This month we are opening it up to all women artists, including anyone who is currently in an ALN group or has been in one in the past, even back when we were called No Limits! The February theme was chosen by Madelin Wolf - below are her words about it:

February Challenge: Self Portrait

This round of the  quasi-monthly ALN Challenge is a bit different.  We usually have a word or a phrase, like “All the world’s a stage…” or “Bridge Work Ahead.” Instead, this time, we have a specific direction.  Make a self-portrait. You may use any media, including visual, written, performed, etc.  Here are some suggestions to get you going: make a collage, write a poem, sew a doll or make  a paper doll, draw or paint your portrait, create a  mixed media piece, sculpt a bust, write a song, take a photograph, make an art quilt.  The sky’s the limit.  It’s all about me (you)!  The deadline for this challenge will be February 28th.

So if you want to participate, please send your creation as an email attachment to me (annesart@sbcglobal.net) by February 28th. We will post the results of your creativity (along with everyone else’s) on our blog for all to see. Or if you prefer that the general public not have access, we can make a post for members only (one that requires a password for someone to see it); if you’d rather it not be posted at all, that’s all right, too - just let me know your preference.

MAKE ART!!!  Anne

___

BRIDGE WORK AHEAD #3

Bridge work ahead.

Ahead – bridge work.

Work, bridge, ahead.

Ahead, work bridge.

Work ahead, bridge.

Bridge ahead – work!!

______

BRIDGE WORK AHEAD: Click on the link to see all 3 poems & a short essay by Michelle Ploskonka: BW_AHEAD_4piecesMP

Happy New Year!

In my group we decided the last time we met that we will hold an introductory workshop next year. It’ll be for the SF Bay Area; the tentative date is March 28, 2010. I will lead it and it will be held in my studio in Berkeley, California.

Happy New Year! Make lots of art!

Ice Storm photos by Elsa Voelcker

The header of this blog is a detail of a  photo by Elsa Voelcker, one of a series of pictures she took after an ice storm that took place just a year ago in Mass, New Hampshire and Maine. Below is the whole photo, as well as another one from the same series.

Ice Storm 2 - Elsa Voelcker

Ice Storm 1 - Elsa Voelcker

April workshop

Here’s a group photo of those present at the 2009 National Workshop, which was held in New Hampshire last April. It was led by Michelle Ploskonka (of Wisconsin), with Anne Shulenberger (of California) assisting her. Elsa Voelcker organized and hosted the workshop, which was held at her home in Antrim, NH.

We did a lot of good work, ate some excellent food, and had a great time.

MAKE ART!