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Journal and Sketchbook: Past and Future

Today, Patty and I welcome a group of people to a four day Journal and Sketchbook class at the Interlochen Writer's Retreat, organized by the Interlochen College of Creative Arts in Collaboration with Michigan Writers. As this group of talented and eager adults begins to make work, I will post images on this blog.

Meanwhile, here are some images of the final projects produced by students at Columbia College Chicago, from the J&S class that ended in the middle of May. All of the work related in some way to the 35 pages of their final written piece.

First, Ashley Lyons, who brought in this five feet by six feet canvas. Medium: acrylic, embroidery:


Aviva Einhorn: ink, paint, and collaged text on wood:


Amanda Koester: ink and watercolour on paper:


Jeremy Zitnik: acrylic paint on paper:


Hattie Parmeter: hand-made jewellery, each piece embedded with a word or object relating to a character in her story:

Lauren Niemiec: acrylic. pastel, collage on paper:


More below the fold:

Sophia Burke: acrylic and oil on 5ive feet by four feet canvas. This picture is blurry, but I wanted to include it because it was such a huge break-through for Sophia in the freedom of its gestural art-making:


Egan Click: watercolour, ink, collage on paper:


Lauren Masterson: pastel on paper:


Sam Levinson: letterpress on handmade book:



There are two other great pieces of work, using hand-made books, that I will put into another blog post. As I said to this class of Columbia students, some of whom were graduating days later, this was the best class for Journal and Sketchbook yet, both in the quality of the visual work shown here, and also in their writing. Here's to a successful four-day class at Interlochen.

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