Travel Journaling: Forage + Collage + Artist Books
Saturday 5 - Sunday 6 October 2019

Make your own travel journal and collection of travel inspired artworks 
with Rhi Johnson + Catherine Parker
PD Professional Development for Art Educators available

Option to do a 1 day workshop on the Saturday or both days
Cost of workshop: 
$150 for 1 day or
$200 for both days

Participants to bring own materials - a list will be sent out upon signing up
Approx cost of materials: approx $70 depending on what you already have

Venue:
First Coat Studio
6 Laurel St,
Toowoomba
QLD

• Scroll to bottom for programme on both days
  
  Road tripping with your journal is one of the greatest pleasures. Nothing fancy…whether it be national, international, urban or in nature or simply ambling to work, learn how to heighten your perceptions and senses. ‘Seeing’ is a skill that gets honed once we become more attuned to our environment. 
  
   In this workshop, we will make our own travel journals: from simple concertinas to sewn journals utilising our favourite papers and materials. Mixed media, watercolour, mark making and transfer techniques will all be explored to make your travel journal a treasure house of stored memories; a visceral account of your travels.
   
   There are always hidden gems if we choose to ‘look’: discarded bus tickets, shopping lists, lolly wrappers, bubble wrap, napkins, drink coasters, just to name a few become source material along with photos, postcards, old book pages and collage. 
  
  Rhi Johnson, my co-collaborator is an expert in the field of Artist Books – Rhi will teach you how to sew pockets for your bower bird tendencies to store your foraged materials and how to make your artist book a unique ‘object.’ Together we will guide you in the art of collage, mark making and transfer techniques.  
  A major component of travel journaling is the art of improvisation. Catherine will inspire you to ‘see’ exploring the myriad possibilities in utilising found objects, mark making and incorporating these into ‘on the road’ works. 
  Once you start travel journaling your world becomes infinitely more exciting as you start to value the little things that lead to the big things and all the gifts in between
   
  A little bit about Catherine and Rhi…
  Catherine and Rhi have a long and joyful teaching history working together and collaborating with teaching workshops specialising in works on paper and artist books, combining formal with informal processes…
   
  Catherine Parker is a practising artist and avid traveller. Sketchbook in hand she criss-crosses the Indian sub-sontinent every year for inspiration, but is equally happy with local travel, spending long stretches on Magnetic Island, nth Qld where she gathers her ideas and inspiration. ‘On the road’ works as well as focussed stretches of art making in makeshift studios, Catherine values the art of travel journalling and the joys of improvisation that she believes often lead to the most inspired outcomes. Catherine leads yearly sketchbook travels to India and is passionate about teaching. A highly intuitive and conceptual artist and educator she loves to steer her students to the depths of their own creative awareness.
   
  Dr. Rhi Johnsonis a Toowoomba based artist and educator who works primarily in the Fields of printmaking, Artist’s Books and mixed Media Art.
  Rhi investigates the formation of everyday narratives, and how these can be disrupted or subverted visually. She explores visual cues that can punctuate an environment, object or space of perceived meaning, and in doing so, may allude to subconscious methods of processing information. 
  Rhi is particularly interested in the book object as inherently narrative, ordered by chronology or category.  With this in mind, she investigates ways in which alternate forms of meaning and engagement can be brought about by alternate physical form, unconventional binding, movable and interactive elements and unexpected content.
  
  Schedule:

Saturday - AM
1: Discussion on the art of improvisation; and the philosophy of ‘on the road’ art making - learn to improvise and balance the less precious, works in progress with more finalised works; working on a number of pieces at once
2. Treasure hunt on site for inspiration with your ‘finds’ becoming your starting point for your artworks or one of many - you may choose to start with your own methods
3. Making an Concertina Artist Book with Rhi - with pockets to store your goodies
4. Collage, transfer techniques, mixed media and working on different surfaces

Sunday
1. Continuation of Saturdays workshop
2. Discussion of different methods and utilisation of all your found objects
3. Begin new artist book with sewn pages and added extras to personalise your book
4. Independent making
5. Final discussion and sharing