Michelle Belto - Found Objects: Creating a Cabinet of Curiosities - 2 DAY WORKSHOP, Monday April 11 & Tuesday, April 12, 2022

THIS IS A 2 DAY WORKSHOP: Monday, April 11 & Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Venue: Veteran’s Memorial Building, 595 Harbor St, Morro Bay, CA 93442 Found Objects: Creating A Cabinet of Curiosities As artists we are natural collectors of all that we find interesting or inspiring. If you look through your stash, you will most likely find bits of bone or shell, drift wood and seed pods along with rusted, distressed fragments of our everyday life that we call found objects. These treasures provide inspiration for our work, or they become a part of it. What we collect tells a particular story about the world and how we see it making our collections as personal to us as the materials we use. In this two-day workshop, Michelle will guide you in building a unique Cabinet of Curiosities for your finds. We start the class sharing our objects and stories. Much of the first day is dedicated to building foam-based paper constructions and curating our collection for assemblage possibilities. Cold connections for securing objects and approaches to pre-wax work including collage, water media and mark making are addressed. The class includes wax and mixed media processes to enhance and seal the surface of our personal display cabinets. Students will need to bring: Gallon zip lock bag with: • collage papers from vintage books, maps, correspondence, etc. for personalization • mark making waterproof ink, pencils, water color and 1” flat watercolor brush • found objects – all small – no larger than 3”-4”. Multiples work well, (Small bones, rusty bits, drift wood, etc. Teacher & Retreat will provide: • Cutting mats & box cutters • Heavy gel medium (spreaders, etc.) • Encaustic gesso • Titanium white paint • Student kit: includes 2 pre-cut 10”x10” and 11”x14” stretched canvas, ½” foam board, 3/16” foam board, and 28”x45” mulberry paper sheet • Paper glue, brushes, wire, linen thread, etc. for constructions michelle@michellebelto.com