A Holiday Break For Collage: Black Friday Starts Now

Collage Seminar is a designed to give the participant a hands on comprehensive overview of the collage process, from learning how to get started, how to recognize and push past your blocks in the studio, how to layout and create a more intentional design, to what it looks like to create in a series. You'll gain confidence in your abilities and have fun in the process.

For the artist who is already familiar with the art of collage, this class will help you to feel more connected to the work you create, identify areas that are preventing your work from flowing, and enable you to take it to the next level. 

Oh, and did I mention, it is just plain fun?

Taught live online in a private classroom group on Facebook, participants are able to post images of their work and receive answers to their questions in real time. 

Short on supplies? Short on time? Short on the budget? Full of holiday stress? This class has got you covered - the supply list is low, the commitment is minimal, the process is guaranteed to help you forget that stress, and the cost is budget friendly. PLUS I'll have a present waiting for you when the class is over-- your choice of one of my three downloadable video workshops: Discovering Your Intuitive Voice, Collage and The Intuitive Story, or Collage Encaustic Combinations. 

***Regular price on the downloadable workshops is more then the cost of this class alone!

One afternoon, four hours long, a break from the hustle and bustle of the holidays, a connection to like-minded creatives during the strange reality of social distancing, an oasis in the midst of it all - the virtual studio. Ready to have some fun? Read on below for the details:

Date: Monday December 14th, 2020

Time: 1:00pm - 5:00pm CST

Cost: $45.00

Very little is needed to participate in this class. You need something to glue, something to glue on, and something to glue with.  

Something to glue- that is the fun stuff. The fodder. The collected papers and ephemera we all like to gather. You can even use all of that junk mail that clogs the mailbox this time of year. 

Something to glue on- I typically use 140# watercolor paper for my substrate. You'll need 4-6 pieces cut to 4" squares and the rest is up to you. You can precut substrates in similar standard sizes to what I plan to use- 8" squares, 5"x7", and 9"x12" rectangles. Or whatever size and shape you feel comfortable with. 

Something to glue with- Adhesive of your choice and an applicator. 

It also helps to have an old magazine or junk mail catalog, a pair of scissors, a ruler, rinse water, a damp rag or baby wipes, waxed paper, and a pile of heavy books.

Now for the really important info to access the classroom:

The classroom will open to participants to enter a week prior to the scheduled class. There will be some information available to review, a video demo of me mixing my favorite glue blend, and information on navigating the group space. 

You will gain access through a Facebook invitation at that time, which will either come in your Facebook notifications or to the email address you used to register for the class with. If you do not receive an invite, please double check your spam folder and your group notifications on Facebook. If you are still unable to locate it, email me at: artist.crystalneubauer@gmail.com.

The classroom will remain open for one week after the seminar. At the end of the lesson, you will be given information on how to access the free downloadable class of your choice. You will also be able to download this lesson to keep for a lifetime of review!

 

November 1st

Artwork/photography by Crystal Marie - in workshop taught by artist Melissa Hall

You participated in your own burning.

Tied yourself to the stake and laid yourself on the alter.

Lit the match and set yourself on fire.

Burned that thing down.

Until nothing was left but the foundation.

Now a pile of rocks laying there at your feet.

You no longer recognize yourself.

The house you thought you were is gone.

Walk away, something inside you stirs, walk away.

But how do you walk away

from yourself?

You’ve been doing it your whole life.

So this time you know you must turn

Back

Back to that pile of rubble, your life you helped to destroy so others would not feel uncomfortable here.

And suddenly you know. It had to be this way.

Over here, this was the rock that you thought would save you.

This was the one that helped you fit in.

This was the rock you ran to when they came and laid claim to your life.

And this was the one you held on to when they took him from your arms-

so little, smelled so sweet, nothing left now but his fragrance in your nose, his tiny foot on the deed,

the essence of one they said you weren’t worthy to keep.

Fingers crushed in the judges chambers. “Is anyone forcing you?”

A warning squeeze.

“No your honor”

you choke on your own lie, you open your mouth and drink your own poison.

They give you a pen, it’s shaped like a rock.

You bleed your name onto the page and lay that babe back on the alter with all the other parts of you.

Once you give away your own flesh in agreement that you are not worthy, it pretty much seals your fate.

You will give away your own self piece by miserable piece in exchange for another rock.

And another rock

And another rock

Until they are stacked here in front of you like a tomb.

You’ve built your life on these rocks.

You gave your life for these rocks.

You worried over these rocks, filled your bags full of these rocks, they demanded to be carried because they were only rocks.

But you built

an alter.

As you stand in front, the invitation to lay yourself down and light that match one more time.

Here is a match.

Here, some tender kindling.

Here, lay here.

You built this. It is yours.

You stare at that pile - your life.

It is nothing now but a pile of rocks.

And then one by one they dissolve.

Rock into feather

Lighter than air they float

Away

Each one. Swirling above you, you reach for them

Up up up

Until nothing but a heap of compost remains.

And then you see it. A tender shoot

Digs it’s way, not from the ground, but into the soil made rich by the fire and all that remains.

Roots.

branches.

Thaw. Spring. New.

Leaves. Feathers.

You are rising. You are no longer the root, the soil, the rock, the tree.

You are the feathers, sewn together with sinew, muscle, bone.

You are the canary.

You are rising.

Canary Rising.

Tell the truth now.

Go

 

Annual Small Works: Original "Postcard" Sized Art Sale!

 

What It Is: The Annual limited edition small works postcard sized art sale is back! These special edition works are each one of a kind, signed, original works of art done in the same abstract style, with the same care and selection of materials I use with my large works. Suitable for framing, collecting, and gift giving.

Size/Details of work: Each work of art measures 4" x 6", created on sturdy paper, unmounted, signed, and original. No reproductions. Images shown are works created for this sale. You may receive one of these or one not pictured, but all were done with the same care and selection of materials. 

How It Works: The regular price listed is already a substantial savings over what my works of this size normally retail for. In the annual small works sale, you save even more. To allow me to make such a special offer to you, I get to surprise you with the design; grab bag style. For allowing me this element of surprise, you are saving me the time involved in photographing each work and listing them individually, thus the additional savings.

What to do with it: Display your small work on an easel, hang it with a photo clip, or have your framer attach it to a mat and choose a frame that fits your decor. You may even choose to mail them as true postcard art to a special friend or loved one.

The annual small works, postcard sized, art sale runs through the end of day November 8th, 2020. After that time, any remaining postcards will be photographed and listed individually at full price. However, this is a limited time, limited quantity, opportunity that typically sells out each year. Be sure to get one while they last!

This Sale Is Now Closed. Visit my shop at this link for other available original art options-including small works.

Sacred Objects: Handmade Brushes and Incantation Bowls - an online live workshop experience

Sacred Objects: Handmade Brushes and Incantation Bowls 

an online live workshop experience

What: Sacred Objects: Handmade Brushes and Incantation Bowls

When: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1pm CST; November 10th, 12th, 17th and 19th

Where: The privacy of your own home or studio via an exclusive Facebook Group for this workshop 

Cost: $100 per participant - register below

In Sacred Objects, we will approach the art of creating handmade bowls and brushes with reverence to the connection between all that the artist contains within them and how the work of their hands becomes a sacred offering - a sublime experience of making. 

In the course of this workshop, we will create two styles of handmade brushes, one using the participants own hair or that of a loved one, and the other from natural and found materials. While the focus of the workshop is not about the art of mark-making, several exercises will be included to help orient the participant to approaching that art form. As one becomes more connected to the writing instrument they've created with their own hands, the instrument becomes an extension of one's own soul. 

In addition to the brushes we will be creating, we will be making our very own Incantation Bowls. You may also refer to them as Meditation Bowls. Inspired by Sue Monk Kidds latest novel, The Book Of Longings, where a key component of the story was the gift of an incantation bowl to the main character in which she inscribed the words of a prayer for what she most longed for inside. As a meditation practice, those words would be sung or chanted as the fingers traced the words inside the bowl. A way of setting intentions, containing longings too big to be spoken to another, or simply holding the gratitude one wants to remember to hold onto in difficult times. 

As an art form, Sacred Objects will equip you to approach your work with a 3D sculptural sensibility and with a reverence for the simple object to become a spiritual symbol or meditational tool. 

Each bowl and brush crafted during the course of this workshop will be an expression of the artist, not a mere copy of the teacher. 

The technical information covered will include: 

• crafting brushes in a sturdy manner 
• creating bowls and adorning them 
• with materials such as: 
• plaster cloth
• paper clay
• natural and found materials
• ephemera 
• fabric 
• paint
• ink 
• Encaustic Wax

The beauty of the online live format versus the on location in person workshops I teach is in the ability to slow down and give each demo the time and attention it deserves between lessons. The private group for participants becomes a meeting place to connect and share ideas, thoughts, images, and questions with each other and myself. Having these conversations between lessons in that group format serves to further ignite and inspire the participants imagination. 

The private group is where I will present each lesson live. Each one will be approximately 2.5 hours long and will include discussion as well as extensive demonstrations, plus ideas and alternatives to approach ones own work. These live lessons will be recorded and remain available for review as often as desired. The group will remain open for one month after the last lesson. At that time, the participants will be given a link and a password to download each of the four videos, plus one pre-recorded bonus video, to save to their own computers for a lifetime of continued review. 

Supplies for this workshop:

Bowl:

1-2 rolls of plaster cloth

1 package of air dry paper clay

Oblong container for water, such as a shoe storage container

Balloons to use as form - in size and shape of your choice

rolling pin or pasta machine

For the brushes:

Standard bamboo garden stake from garden center 

driftwood, dry branch, or similar size found object for brush handle

lock of hair approximately the width of a large finger at least 2" long

dry grasses, leaves, interesting plant materials 

and/or: old broom, paintbrush, or other sources of bristles to repurpose

hemp cord

variety of fibers, yarns, string, floss, etc for alternative brush tips and/or adorning brush

Waterproof Clear Silicone Adhesive

Scotch tape

Black India ink

Black fine point permanent marker - can be a sharpie or any other brand you prefer to write with

Scissors

Needle nose pliers

ruler

Drill with standard bits

Sandpaper-several pieces in fine to course grits

Optional- these items will be used or discussed in the demos. You may choose to have them available or wait to view the class to determine what you'd like to gather: 

small handsaw or hacksaw

decorative molds, embossing stamps, rubber stamps, etc

stencils

scraps of fabric

feathers

rubber bands

beads, embellishments, found objects, etc.

Paper/ephemera 

color ink and/or watercolor paints

encaustic wax

electric fryer or crockpot for melting wax

Encaustic grade (natural bristles) paint brush 1.5" - 2" 

R&F Pigment sticks

Heat gun or torch

alternative to an encaustic finish: liquid varnish from the hardware store

 

Out of the Darkness: Resolved

 

God, today I'm pondering it all. Little waves of apprehension or anxiety flare up like small fires igniting on the floor of the freshly burned out forest, disappearing just as fast. Have I finally gotten to the place where my mind knows its resistance is futile? That all of my worst case imaginings could never have prepared me for any of this anyway?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing could not have come at a worse time. Politically it would seem, if trump is able to push through another candidate and seat the next Supreme Court Justice, this country is screwed. America's short run with democracy, a failed experiment. Your children are too easily divided and manipulated. Your word used as a weapon to subjugate and oppress people groups once again successful. 

I felt it when I heard the news. Every bit of it as shock ran throughout my body and uncontrollable sobs escaped my lips. I cried fat salty tears right there in Shake Shack's parking lot. All mixed in with the pumpkin taste of the seasonal flavor found in my shake. In hindsight, I should have sat right there in my car and ate my burger while it was still hot. The pleasure of it was ruined by grief and the cold by the time I arrived home. 

All of my messages are pointing me towards resolve these past few days. A different feeling than the anxious overdrive, worrying, handwringing, fear for my future that I'm used to when life piles it on. And not the usual numbed detachment used for coping. At least I don't think so at this point. 

Strange to be feeling this way after a night of Masto disaster flare. Barely making it to the bathroom before my body expels its fury is a humbling experience. Rinse. Rest. Repeat. Skidding across the floor, losing my balance landing on my wrist on the bathroom floor just as my butt hits the seat- well that's just downright misery. And yet, here I sit today, recovering from the trauma of it all with burning crawly skin and irritated tummy from the histamine storm, still in this state of being okay. I am okay. 

I will be okay. WE will be okay. 

Where did that come from?

Not the same feeling as avoidance or denial. It is eyes wide open to the storm that is brewing on the horizon knowing it may very well blow the house down resolved. It is understanding of the very solid real actions that will need to be taken resolved. The strength I seem to lack, but know I must draw upon to survive this thing, comes from outside of me and is growing within at the very same time. It is innate. 

It is rising up my spine with a tingling sensation, this resolve I feel. Like an injection of cortisol, suddenly I can stand up straight and look that old constant companion fear right in the eye and thank it for its service in all of its failed attempts to keep me safe over the years. 

Misguided as it was, it wrapped me in the safety of its cocoon. Always watching out for the shoe that would drop. The repercussion for my imperfection to come. Always mindful of the curve in the road just ahead, lest I miss it in my carelessness and go careening over the side of the canyon. It locked me in and threw away the key knowing, like the silkworm, that I did not have what it takes to break myself free. 

But what it did not know about the silkworm and me, is that the darkness was not a place of hiding, it was a place of transformation. It was a place where very real and necessary changes were occurring away from the scrutiny of the ever present "They". As in "What would They think?" A place that silkworm, and my own being, were forming wings at the very same time that our insides were learning the truth that created the opening through which we would emerge. 

It's funny what can be accomplished in the dark. Where fear and awful lies sought to bury me, the truth was doing its work to set me free. I didn't need to run myself ragged trying to find it. It was always there. 

Always had been a part of me. 

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time." ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Paper Packs and Video Downloads and On Sale Now - Oh My!

 

It is that time of year again! 

The annual Collage and Paper Pack Early Bird Sale is now underway, but this time there is a bit of a twist- an option for Bundle pricing with Downloadable Videos recorded from my online workshop "Collage And The Intuitive Story"!

Collage and The Intuitive Story online was a live workshop that I taught back in April, modeled after the live in-person version from my last on site workshop before the Pandemic. To say this class was life changing for myself as a teacher, and for so many of the students who took the class would be an understatement. 

Have a look at the video promo with testimonials from the students who took this class on site in California: 

Here's what you get with the bundle...

That's 100+ pieces of authentic ephemera, culled from my own studio - all original and all unique, ready for you to glue - and NINE videos to download and keep for forever viewing, working at your own pace in the comfort of your own home or studio! 

$70 for the bundle pricing is a heckofa deal! Interested? 

Go here for details and to purchase the bundle. (sorry shipping of collage packs to US addresses only at this time)

Not interested in purchasing the videos? No worries, I've got Paper Packs for you!

Check out the listing for the collage pack only at this link. (sorry shipping of collage packs to US addresses only at this time)

Just want the videos without the paper? 

I've got you covered on that too! Go to the workshop page to see the details and to purchase at this link.

Podcast Artistic Accomplices with Eric Scott

Artist Eric Scott invited me to sit down at the virtual table last week for a conversation about art, life, the pandemic, racial tensions, and the journey of being an artist, writer, and instructor for his podcast series Artistic Accomplices. 

Usually I feel awkward doing these things, but Eric's style was so calming and inviting that the time flew by. 

Have a listen at this link

Let Your Heart Speak with Crystal Marie

Let Your Heart Speak with Crystal Marie
An Online Video Workshop hosted by Ivy Newport

Classroom opens August 4th
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I am so excited to share with you all that registration for my newest workshop is now open. This time around, the class won't be live but is video driven, and being hosted by the uber talented and super amazing artist Ivy Newport. 

This class has a been a labor of love. Aptly named, Let Your Heart Speak, it covers three very distinct techniques - monoprinting from magazine images on a gel plate, collage, and encaustic. Each lesson gives you the skills needed to produce beautiful works of art from that one technique alone, but the class is designed to work in succession to create a project that combines them all. 

Of course my approach is intuitive, as it is with all of my classes. In this way, your heart begins to tell its own story without the need to be overt or overly concerned if the viewer experiences the final work through the lens of their own life experiences. 

There is a classroom for support included with this class. I absolutely cannot wait to meet you there! If you hop on over and register soon for early bird pricing!

For more information and to register visit Ivy's website at this link. 

Discovering Your Intuitive Voice with Crystal Marie - An Online Collage Discovery Workshop

Discovering Your Intuitive Voice with Crystal Marie

An online video workshop

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This is the class that started it all - the online teaching all that is. Way back in March with feet barely back on the ground in Chicago, after my last in person workshop in San Diego, I jumped on Facebook Live to talk about the impact knowing I was heading home to self-quarantine, which turned into a mandatory stay-at-home order in the state I live in. From this time, tucked inside my home studio, life changed rapidly, and this class became the silver lining of it all. 

With over 500 participants jumping in to participate in the live sessions - I learned the ins and outs of teaching online and discovered my own voice when it comes to teaching on this format. The class was a phenomenal experience for teacher and participant! 

Here's what some of the students had to say....

"it's like you were talking right to me" ~Kathy E

"You are one of the most amazing generous humans in the art world!" ~Dale B.

"Your positive messages are just as important to me as your generous teaching. Thank you Crystal" ~ Kris Z.

"This workshop is such a gift artistically and emotionally, deep nourishment for the heart and soul. So grateful. Thank you!" Lis S.

"Every time you speak-teach, the message that comes through to me is 'Permission Granted'. And I NEED that so much. It is SO validating to my own intuitive voice. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I feel brave again!" ~Darcey S

"love your talks as much as your demos. Wish I could keep them, they are so inspirational!" ~Veronika D.

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April Showers   by Crystal Marie (Neubauer)

What's it all about?

In this class, utilizing the art of collage, we learn to identify the messages that follow us into our creative spaces that either help us create or block us from trying. I call these messages my Intuitive Voice and my Art Critic. 

If you've not so much as taken a single art lesson, your messages may tell you that you aren't qualified to be an artist. If you have an art degree, your messages might be bent toward the rules you learned in school and can prevent you from breaking away from a "right way" and a "wrong way" to make art. 

Either way, it all boils down to control and trust. Learning to let go of the one, and lean into the other, and in the process creating art that is beyond what you were capable by skills and technique alone. Art that is deeply satisfying on a personal level and worthy to be shown.

There are seven videos total in this workshop - a prequel on gathering supplies when supplies might not be readily available, 5 lessons + a wrap party. Each video ranges from one hour long to an hour and forty minutes, for a total of nearly 10 hours of creative inspiration!

     Registration $50

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Belonging  by Crystal Marie (Neubauer)

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It's Not All Black and White Series  by Crystal Marie (Neubauer)

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Buy Now - $50 for all!

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Wallflower  by Crystal Marie (Neubauer)

Supply List
Supplies are relatively simple and few in this workshop. These are my preferred supplies, but I highly encourage you to use whatever version you already have on hand or prefer working with. The most important thing is that you give yourself permission to create!

Ephemera, found papers, collected papers for collage
9" x 12" or larger spiral bound pad Strathmore cold press watercolor paper
Stiff bristle brush for gluing
Yes Stickflat adhesive - or adhesive of your choice
Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid - Satin or Matte - only needed if using Yes Adhesive
Junk mail catalog or old magazine - not for collage
Baby wipes
Paper towels
Scissors
Ruler
Minute timer (can be app on your phone)

Somewhere Between

I Am Eve     12" x 12" Collage Encaustic     by Crystal Marie

Somewhere Between

Some days 

it is hard not to lose hope

hope that this country will find its way

back from the great divide

hope that civility will be restored

hope that a cure will ever be found

for COVID 

or systems built on white supremacy –

the virus called racism

hope that truth will hold as effectively

as a politics lies

hope that justice will ever be served

hope that equality will finally be won

hope that reparations will ever be paid

by the government for their crimes against

the brown who’s land we invade

and the black who built it with

blood on their backs

by the church for its complicity 

and extolling of shame 

for its twisting of the word 

and the use of God’s name

enabling a man’s life 

to be valued less than a mule 

and an ox could repay

even less for a woman with no babe to be laid

But hope is a thin slip of a broth

to offer the poor

along with a bone called blessed

for kids who live in a cage

to cut their first teeth

without compassion or touch 

or a parent to praise 

no mask 

nor blanket made of cotton or wool

not even a toothbrush 

or lawyer or school

hope is a luxury only the rich can afford

it placates the giver 

but seldom the worn

Yet to not-hope is a non-remedy

to not-hope is to stay hidden 

to let the fire grow cold 

and the water stay stagnant 

to not-hope is a disease 

of the spirit that feeds 

on the lost cause 

a black hole 

no light can extinguish

to not-hope is to stand 

outside the arena 

while the church bells name 

the latest loss of a man 

who had no choice in the game

and the voices cry out 

for the lives of the slain

Somewhere between hope

and the not-hope

tubers sprout and reach 

up the wall of the kitchen

as if the purpose of this five-dollar bag

was not in the way it would nourish

the body

but in the way it would flourish 

the mind to imagine

with its red arms that climbed

up the back of the cabinet

and pressed with its might

through caulk somehow holding

a synthesis of memory 

of ancestors 

working the ground

riding the waves

chained to the walls 

left in the shade

like that five-dollar bag 

of vegetable root

not to be nourished 

but held down with a boot

The same ancestors once danced

to a rhythm they knew

from the knowledge of freedom

not learned from a song

but endowed by Creator

whose laughter was worn

with colorful pride

a garment of praise

a tent that stretched wide

freedom which fear

could never contain

before bended knee

or knee-on-neck became 

heritage 

in a land drunk with disdain

These ancestors told tales of

the great day of rapture

when working in fields

one had been taken 

and one still remained

not a thing to look forward

but a curse from their past

wake oh ye sleeper

and gather your light

we search for the valley 

of Somewhere Between

where words become actions

and actions are seeds

from the fruit of that freedom

the ancestors sing

To hope without ploughing 

is to not-hope

to pray without reaching

is to not-pray

to love without freeing

is to not-love

and the lifeblood of the rhythm 

of freedom

cannot be found 

in the feasting on stories 

of the very fine people 

on both sides

and the passing of laws 

to eliminate evil

in the land where evil 

has been given a throne

and a scepter of lies

meant to divide 

mother from son

In the valley of Somewhere Between 

there is a tree where the ancestors sing