Collaborate - verb - work jointly on an activity, esp. to produce or create something
Origin: late 19th century, from Latin collaborat- 'worked with,' from the verb collaborare, from col-'together' + laborare 'to work.'
The last year or so has been a series of collaborations for me. First and foremost, working with my dear husband Jim on the dolls that he is tirelessly preparing for my upcoming class, "The Imaginarium - Anthology of an Art Doll"....I will often come to him with an idea that I have in mind, never knowing when I present it to him if it's even a viable idea...but an idea nonetheless! I don't know the first thing about woodworking, that is totally his specialty and he sure is great at it! We worked tirelessly on this project, over many months, trying out many prototypes until we came up with designs that we were totally happy with! He is not only very talented, but very patient, too....we were away in Palm Desert, CA for a good part of the winter with our RV....and I dragged cartons and cartons of supplies with us....because I knew I had to get this "just right"....I am happy to report that all the hard work has paid off and we are extremely pleased that the final creations are exactly what I was looking for! So many students had asked me to teach a class in dolls, and I am so thrilled to finally be able to present it.....thank you Jim, for all of the hard work and support you give me....without you none of this would be possible!
Origin: late 19th century, from Latin collaborat- 'worked with,' from the verb collaborare, from col-'together' + laborare 'to work.'
The last year or so has been a series of collaborations for me. First and foremost, working with my dear husband Jim on the dolls that he is tirelessly preparing for my upcoming class, "The Imaginarium - Anthology of an Art Doll"....I will often come to him with an idea that I have in mind, never knowing when I present it to him if it's even a viable idea...but an idea nonetheless! I don't know the first thing about woodworking, that is totally his specialty and he sure is great at it! We worked tirelessly on this project, over many months, trying out many prototypes until we came up with designs that we were totally happy with! He is not only very talented, but very patient, too....we were away in Palm Desert, CA for a good part of the winter with our RV....and I dragged cartons and cartons of supplies with us....because I knew I had to get this "just right"....I am happy to report that all the hard work has paid off and we are extremely pleased that the final creations are exactly what I was looking for! So many students had asked me to teach a class in dolls, and I am so thrilled to finally be able to present it.....thank you Jim, for all of the hard work and support you give me....without you none of this would be possible!
Although I started out with just dolls....it has now expanded into using artist trading blocks, or "chunks" as they are sometime referred to...these are immensely fun, and like artist trading cards often provide not only a fun creative outlet, but will often give an artist an idea for a larger piece! The wood pieces are readily available for your local home centers...most will make the cuts for you if you ask. It was important to me that the class be as diverse as possible....not only utilizing many different techniques, but utilizing different types of substrates, too! These are so much fun to create, just like the dolls!
Another collaboration I had the pleasure of partaking in, was with Sandy Gordon, a fabulous graphic artist whose work I have been using for years. I was hopeful that when I approached her about this project that she would want to participate, and she graciously accepted! The kit she custom designed for this class is beyond spectacular....all of the imagery you see here is from this talented artist...I cannot thank her enough for working with me....tirelessly, over many, many months until we had exactly what we were looking for! You can visit her Etsy shop here and believe me when I tell you that you will enjoy visiting her beautiful graphic work! Thank you so much Sandy for all the work and long hours you put into making the kit as wonderful as it is!
One more person I must thank from the bottom of my heart, is my dear friend, Cristina Zinnia Galliher. Without her, there wouldn't be an Artful Gathering, nor would I have never taken it upon myself to ever think about online teaching online! Her tireless efforts, support, encouragement and advice has been instrumental in me even taking on projects like this. And I am sincerely honored to be a part of such a wonderful online venue....the best one out there in my opinion! Zinnia's vision continues to grow and with that each year, Artful Gathering becomes an event that surpasses itself in every single way possible. Thank you for being you, Zinnia!
I expect to be very busy for awhile now....so with that I wish each and every one of you a wonderful summer, and a wonderfully creative one, too! Hope to see many of you over at Artful Gathering and what a great summer it's going to be for us all!
By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn ~ Socrates