Class Description

My grandmother, who until the day she died, held firm to the belief that the Egyptians were not of this world.  They were in fact extraterrestrials that traveled here to guide the brutish cavepeople of earth out of there ignorant ways. Her evidence for this was the Great Pyramids, the Moso-American pyramids, the stone effigies of Easter Island and Stonehenge.  As for my opinion, let me quote the X-Files, “I want to believe”.  Admittedly it would be pretty darn cool if my grandmother’s theories were true…but, for the time being, I skeptically await more evidence.

With all this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to explore these alleged interstellar visitors using art.  What if astro-explorer Zeeb of the Andromeda system came for a little visit during the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, and was depicted and immortalized as a saint, or religious icon.  What would such a shrine look like? Using found objects, and a variety of out of this world paint techniques we are going to explore this very concept. 

According to David Bowie “there’s a Starman waiting in the sky, and he’d like to come and meet us but he thinks he’d blow our mind.”  Let’s have some fun and blow some minds.   

Supply List

1. Frame, box or interesting found object you wand to use as the base. You can work any size but I’ll be working on items about 8”x10” or smaller. The base/frames should be interesting or ornate and could be any shape.  IF YOU’RE USING A FRAME MAKE SURE IT HAS A BACKING!  This is what we will build up onto.  

2. Toys and figures that can be modified. Also look for eyes. If a doll is cheap enough…it might be worth getting just for the eyes!

3. Variety of found objects that might be interesting additions Items like, watch parts, gears, typewriter parts, milagros, bolts, pieces of old metal, straps of leather, dried out spaghetti…anything.

4. Aves Apoxy Clay

5. Paint Brushes (a couple small detail brushes, and some cheap brushes (1/2 inch to 1 inch in size)

6. Gesso - any color

7. Acrylic Paint – any fine art brand will work but Kroma Acrylic paint offers a 10% discount to students. https://kromaacrylics.com/

   1. Transparent Red Oxide

   2. Black (Carbon)

   3. Titanium White

   4. Pthalo Blue

   5. Quinacridone Red

   6. Dioxazine Purple

   7. Nickel Azo Yellow

   8. Kroma Crackle

   9. Iridescent Gold

   10. Pearlescent White

8. Optional Paints (Kroma)

   1. Cobalt Teal

   2. Cadmium Chartreuse

   3. Cadmium Lemon Yellow (Kroma)

   4. Cadmium Orange

9. Optional Glowing Paints

   1. Phosphorescent Paint (no blacklight needed): SpaceBeams Aurora Glow (green). This company also makes Aquaris (blue) and Nebula (pink)

   2. Fluorescent Paint (black light needed) - Acyrlic, any colors you like. I’ve been using Deco Arts which has been fine. Golden Paints and Liquitex also make fluorescent paint.

      1. if you’re using the fluorescent paints you’ll want a decent blacklight. I found the bulbs are less effective than the LED devices designed for Halloween parties. I picked up a nice 4”x5” device for 25 bucks on Amazon.

10. Adhesives

    1. Dap Kwik Seal for kitchen and bath -White. Should say paintable or water base acrylic or latex.

    2. E6000

    3. Wood Glue

11. Optional Clay - CosClay - comes in medium/firm or soft. I’d recommend soft…this is nice clay if you want you creatures to have some mobility. Any color is fine.

12. Tools that would make your life easier

    1. Heat gun

    2. Dremel

    3. Drill

FaceBook Live Q and A

• In this workshop I will have four FaceBook Live Q and A sessions. You can join in and type your questions. I’ll be doing demos if needed, if any of the material needs clarification. Dates for the FB Q & A are May 27th, June 3rd, June 10th, June 15th, and June 24th

ZOOM Final CRITIQUE

• On July 2nd. I will be hosting a Zoom Critique. Here we will chat about your creations and talk about methods you used.

Kroma Acrylic Paint Discounts

Students who enroll in this workshop get a 10% discount at Kroma Acrylics website. Once you enroll you’ll receive a discount code.

You can check out their website here: https://kromaacrylics.com/

Other Questions You Might Have:

• How much does it cost? $129.99 ($109.99 earlybird discount until April 28th)

• What will happen after I sign up? Initially, I will send out a link to the Spaced Invaders Facebook Group. On May 26th I will send out the secret codes and links to get you rolling.

• What is the FaceBook Group? You can asks questions, share images and share ideas.

• How long can I access the videos? Forever and ever. You will have to ability to download the videos right to your computer.

• How does it differ from a live class? There isn't the one-on-one component and the possibility for immediate feedback that you have in a live class, but you have the advantage of being able to get into much more in-depth explanations of technique. Also, the advantage of being to replay any section that you need a refresher on.

• Will there be video? Yes. There will be roughly about 180 minutes of protected video that only students will be able to access.

• How many videos will there be? I'm expecting there to be 19 chapters.

• Is the class segmented or do I get everything at once? I have designed the class so you will have access the information at once and can play with it as you like, at your own speed.

• Is there anyway to connect and share with other students enrolled? Yes. A Facebook Group will be set up specifically for this workshop. Students will be able to share experiments, projects and ask questions for the Q and A videos.

• What kind of site is being used to host this class? I am using a protected website as well as a protected video host.

• How will I access the website? When class begins I will send out passwords to all the students.

• Is this for Beginners or Advanced students? It's for everyone. I've made it so it is information that can be used by all levels.

• Will it be entertaining? Geez, I hope so. I have done my best to make it very un-dry and fun.

• What will I need to be able to watch the videos? If you can read this the information on this website and have the ability to watch videos on vimeo.com then you've got everything you need to be able to watch the videos.