Assisting Deborah Lawrence pt.2

Mid April 2016 – May 2016

A snapshot of one of Deborah’s collage templates

 

 

My name is Chris Mercurio, I am a Digital Design Student at Seattle University, and Deborah Lawrence is the artist I am assisting. In the last blog, I introduced you to Deborah Lawrence and shared with you images of her home studio, and video clips from the last collage workshop I assisted her with. Over the next couple of weeks, I assisted her at another workshop in Seattle and we have also made progress in arranging her home studio.

The next workshop in Seattle was interesting since her students that day were a generation or two older than myself and they lived together in a retirement home. We arrived with a plethora of magazines for the students to cut from and we also designed a collage template for her students to use. In fact, the template was modeled after the Monopoly game board entitled “Journey.” Deborah wanted her students to produce collages representing their personal experiences. As a result, I assisted in designing the template in Adobe Illustrator. I also assisted in setting up the classroom environment and in setting down. I also had an opportunity to create a collage of my own.

After the workshop was over, I was fascinated by the collages that were put together by her students. I found it similar to the last workshop in that the art of collage was providing a medium for individuals to communicate subject matters of the heart, mind, and soul.

In the following weeks, I continued to assist Deborah art her home studio. In fact, I helped construct storing spaces for her works. What is interesting is that her studio is filled with tons of books, and magazines! It was like being inside of an artists’ mind while being able to walk around and interact with that environment. As a result, she showed me current projects, previous collages, and more works from her students. She directs me as to how she wants her studio arranged as we also share thoughts and talk about art and society. We have definitely made progress in opening up her workspace as you can see from the photos!

The next project is assisting her at the Four Fauvinistas exhibition at the Phinney Center Gallery. I will also  do my best to continue to help her arrange her home studio.

 

 

Assisting Deborah Lawrence pt.1

March 2016 – Mid April 2016

A snap shot of Deborah’s tutorial

My name is Chris Mercurio, I am a Digital Design Student at Seattle University and Deborah Lawrence is the artist I am assisting. Before being accepted into the assistantship program, I was actually denied at first and I didn’t see all of the value in this program. I was accepted later on but I could not have done it without the help of my professors here at Seattle University. I am grateful for this opportunity to experience this and also share this with you.

I met Deborah Lawrence in March of 2016 and I knew right away we be developing a great artistic and professional relationship. Deborah is a Master in Fine Arts and is an accomplished collage artist and writer. She has a wealth of professional experience and she has attended multiple solo and group exhibitions. She is also the recipient of numerous awards and commissions and currently produces art in her studio at home. You may have seen some of her work at the Seattle Justice Center ( just to name one).

You could consider Deborah as an artist who produces art to enhance a picture’s original meaning and then uses that to report on social, emotional, historic and current events. What’s interesting is how her motivations are parallel to the vision of the McMillen foundation. Deborah’s motivations include elevating the status of our artists and eliminating the idea of the starving artist. This requires us to explore social, emotional and historic events.

The first professional meeting we had was in Tacoma, Washington where I was to assist her in teaching a collage art workshop. What’s interesting is that the students were all women and a generation older than myself. In fact, they shared with me stories about their husbands, late husbands, war stories, and artistic dreams and also about how their ordinary lives have changed overtime. I was quite nervous at first, however it was amazing to be involved in an artistic teaching process. Despite being nervous, it blew my mind to witness how their stories were translated into collage art. In addition to all of this, the drive to Tacoma was beautiful and Deborah and I were off to a great start!

Our next project is arranging her studio. She would like for us to provide a more open work space, while being able to access and store her work quicker than before.

PossibilitIes in Art Education

Over the past few weeks I have been working exclusively with the Deborah Lawrence in her Path with Art collage class. There is only one more class left in the program, so it has been really nice to see all of the work the students have produced so far. In the class today, the students placed all of their finished work along the wall. My first thought was how amazing it was that all of the students were pulling from the same source materials (the magazines available) yet each collage was incredibly unique and personal.

I have also been enjoying hearing the students’ stories behind each element of the collages. I think that one of the most interesting things about collage is that it lends itself to this kind of story telling so well.

It has been really interesting talking with Deborah about future possibilities in art education. Because she has so many diverse experiences in education, I am very fortunate to be able to speak to her during this time, as I am finishing up my degree.

~Sarah McLaughlin

Varnishing in Deborah Lawrence’s Studio

This week in Deborah Lawrence’s studio I varnished several of her collage pieces in preparation for her upcoming show. This was something I had never done before so it was an interesting learning experience. I am fortunate that I often have the opportunity to try new things during my time in Deborah’s studio. This hand’s on experience is valuable to me as it will help in my own artistic practice and expand upon the techniques I can pull from.

I also am helping Deborah go through her some of her old work in preparation for another exhibition of her work. This involves lots of work in Photoshop. It has been interesting for me to see how Photoshop can be applied to other ways of making and cataloguing art, beyond that of photography.

I was also grateful this week to have the chance to interview Deborah for an assignment for my Senior Synthesis class. I asked her questions about her career as an artist, her artistic practice, and any advice she has for graduating art students. It was incredibly generous of her to allow me to interview her. The responses she gave were insightful and helpful. I am happy I have had the chance to work so closely with a professional artist who is so willing to answer any questions I have.

~Sarah McLaughlin

Varnishing Deborah Lawrence’s collage

The collage pieces drying in the sun

Working in Deborah’s studio

Path with Art Class and Deborah Lawrence

I was out of town for most of this week so I only worked with Deborah during her collage class with Path with Art at the Recovery Café. Assisting in her classroom involves setting up the space before class, cleaning up when class is over, and assisting students with assignments. It has been really valuable to see the process of preparing a classroom and for a project. This has allowed me a kind of ‘behind the scenes’ look at the running of an art class.

I am very excited about the work the students are completing. Over the past couple of weeks, they have been working on creating a personal mandala through collage. I really enjoy seeing their work take move from beginning stages to taking its final shape. Every piece has been visually intriguing.  It has been really fun to talk with the students about their mandalas as well.

I am excited about assisting in Deborah’s class because as someone who would like to teach art, it has allowed me to see what that might be like. I also feel like the time in the classroom has improved my skills working with students and talking with them about their art. It has also been very informative to see the problem solving that goes into managing an art class. In this way, my assistantship has been incredibly valuable.

~Sarah McLaughlin

Week Two in Deborah Lawrence’s Studio

This week with Deborah Lawrence, I helped prepare materials for her collage class with Path with Art. This involved cutting mat board, painting gesso on vinyl records, organizing supplies and cutting out various shapes. I really enjoy the hands on processes of my assistantship. I am fortunate that I have both the opportunity to observe Deborah teaching and working and the chance to engage directly in the activities required to sustain her practice.

Deborah is involved in an art exhibition next month, so I have also been helping her prepare pieces for that. This week, I sanded and cleaned a tray she will be using in one of her pieces. I also painted gesso on other components of the piece to prepare them for her collage. Further, I measured an area of the piece to prepare it for drilling. It is exciting to see Deborah’s piece come into being and the thought process she engages in as she creates her work.

I also assisted in her Path with Art collage class at the Recovery Café. Because this is my second week in the classroom, I feel that I am starting to get to know the students, which has been fun. In class this week Deborah gave a presentation of an overview of her work. It was interesting to hear her talk about her work and it gave me a better understanding of her artistic practice. I enjoyed hearing the students’ responses to her work and the ways they were similar to and different from my own. My favorite part of helping in the classroom is seeing the students’ finished work – they create complex and intriguing pieces.

~Sarah McLaughlin, ’15

Week One – Deborah Lawrence’s Studio

During my first few weeks working with Deborah Lawrence, I found that I really enjoyed experiencing her studio space. It is located in the basement of her home, spacious and filled with beautiful light. I especially enjoyed the sense of discovery I felt – everywhere I looked I saw something new and visually pleasing. I have also had the opportunity to work with tools I had never worked with before.

In helping Deborah prepare her pieces, I have used a saw, drill, and installed grommets. This has been a great learning experience and these skills will definitely transfer to my own pieces as my plans for them become more complex. Further, Deborah is great to work with. She expects a lot but is very open and willing to teach me what I do not know. Deborah is also very friendly and fun to work with. During one of my days with Deborah, I help her teach a class with Path with Art at the Recovery Café. I am interested in teaching so this has been a very valuable experience.In the past I have only worked with young students, so observing a class of adult learners has proved to be very different. I am enjoying seeing the difference and working with this very specific community.

So far, the most valuable experience in my assistantship with Deborah has been seeing how a professional artist lives and makes a living. This has solidified my desire to pursue art as a career now that I can witness first hand that it can be done.

~Sarah McLaughlin, ’15