New Halloween Classes

Want to do something creative? Are you bored with store-bought decorations? Come and join me at The Workshop, where I'll be teaching some Halloween themed classes this month.
Just visit The Workshop website to sign up.

Wickedly Whimsical Witches

with Elisabeth Alexander

This Halloween themed class is perfect for trying your

hand at collage with different papers, images and

stamps. Using your own face (or that of a family

member or friend*) you'll create some whimsical

witches. The paper doll is actually a card that can

be given to somebody or just placed on your mantel

as a Halloween decoration.

*We'll also have a selection of vintage faces to choose from

Sunday, October 19 1:00 - 4:00

$50/class fee + $10/materials fee

Stamp Art Series

with Elisabeth Alexander

Carve your own rubber stamps and print personalized edition note cards and other
stationery items. Learn tips and tricks to easily use and convert found images or draw your own.
We’ll also cover embellishments with different inks, glitter and embossing powders.

Sunday October 26 1:00 - 4:00 Halloween & Day of the Dead
Monday, November 3 6:00 - 9:00 Fall Table Settings
Tuesday, December 9 6:00 - 9:00 New Years Cards

$50/class (or $150/for all four classes) + $10/materials fee

Printing on fabric

Class samples
My student Cleo's work place
First stamps were carved out of buttery soft rubber
The stamps were used to print on fabric:

and on card stock:

I am still catching up and try to post all the groovy things that happend in the last several months while I wasn't blogging (due to elbow issues). I taught a wonderful and fun class for The Workshop a while back. It was part of my stamp making series, but this time we stamped also on fabric. More stamp classes are actually coming up in October, November and December. Check out The Workshop website and see all the classes I and other teachers teach for them.

A lovely stamp-making afternoon

Not only for cards, but use the hand made stamps on gift bags, wrapping paper or boxes!


I took Ellen's Marbleizing Paper class and made beautiful paper, that I later used as a background under my Valentine's stamp. I love it, when you can combine different classes.


Here are some of my carved rubber stamps.


Everybody was busy, working away.

I spent a perfect afternoon at the Workshop's sun-filled studio teaching how to carve rubber stamps and use them to make Valentine cards. It was a delightful group and each student brought her own individual creativity to the process. I love the different designs that were created. It is always inspirational when the students don't follow the teacher's examples, but create their own version. Thanks to everybody, who came and took my class. I hope we can play again! Thanks to the workshop for inviting me to share my passion and specially to Ellie, who was a wonderful co-teacher.

And here is some of the student's work:

Carved Rubber Stamp Valentine Cards

I have been carving rubber stamps for years to print greeting cards. My friends from
the workshop, invited me to share this passion in a class at their new, cool store.

Make your own personalized edition of Valentine's cards

In this class you will learn how to transfer and carve a design onto a butter soft rubber block. Then you'll print multiple cards using colorful stamp pads. You'll also learn how to give your personalized cards some added dimension and tips for extra embellishment, using embossing powder, glitter and more. You'll leave the class with several cards ready to be sent out and a reusable rubber stamp, with which you can print up more cards at home.
All tools and materials will be provided.

Class taught by Elisabeth Alexander
Thursday, Feb. 7th from 6-9pm
or
Sunday, Feb. 10th from 1-4pm

cost $ 45.00 plus $ 10.00 material costs
Call to sign up: 510 / 517-3674

Window Stars

2 weeks ago I visited Ms. Searle's 7th grade class and brought in an art project that was connected to their learning about historical Islamic culture. We made paper stained glass stars, trying to replicate the beautiful and intricate geometrical patterns found in the mosaics of Islamic architecture. We talked about how their very advanced creation of patterns and arabesques was connected to their religion and the flourishing of science, particularly mathematics. This is another example that proves how close art and science are.Often people don't put the two together and actually think of art and science opposed to each other.
I also liked this project, because it is perfect for the holiday season without being traditional or leaning towards any religious holiday symbols. Its just festive and can be used by anybody.

Shrinky Dinks Art Project

I had the good fortune to teach some art lessons in my daughter's 6th grade class. I started off the series of lessons with a talk entitled "Warning! You may have art in your home that you are not aware of". I tried to communicate that art and design are all around us and that we often don't realize how much of our world is art and design - from the chair we sit on to the clothes we wear and the magazines we read. Middle school kids often connect with the term art only the "boring" paintings in museums or consider making art a "childish" past time that they did when they were little. To get them interested again in making art I brought in different "art" objects: a photograph, an iPod, a skate board with graffiti, a tie-dye rock t-shirt and more. we talked about how all these objects have a deliberate visual language applied to them. in the following two lessons we practiced drawing perspective. The last lesson we made our own key ring charms by drawing on Shrinky Dinks plasic material which shrinks when baked. Here are some samples that my daughter and I had prepared for the lesson.