Thrinley DiMarco's Collage Workshop

 Thrinley DiMarco in her Studio

Design Exercise: We were told to start with black or white paper and cut out shapes in 3 different colors. Then we were told to arrange them on the paper until it "felt right" and then glue the pieces onto the paper. I was surprised how challenging it was. My first try I got to the "feels right" place but when I started gluing I lost track of my composition and had to keep adding more pieces to try to "fix it". I get into places like this when I'm painting, very frustrating. I tried again keeping it simpler with happier results. We had a critique and talked about the strength of our compositions. We looked at other collage artist's work especially Kurt Schwitters. 

Green Tara in the Shrine Room of 

Sakya Kachod Choling Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Center

Lunch: We broke for lunch and went up to the small Buddhist center's kitchen. When we walked through the woods I noticed the pattern of bright wet leaves that the rain had been pasting to the earth. After eating Therese and I took a quiet moment in the shrine room, a turquoise room full of Tibetan deities.

 Therese Scott Finn Creates a Collage

Story Exercise: Back in Thrinley's studio with a huge pile of National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines we got our second assignment. This time, keeping design in mind, we were told to cut out pictures and words and use them to tell a story. With a pile of magazines and a pair of scissors I'm happy as a pig in mud. We left our projects in process to return to them next Sunday.

Artist Interruptus - The History of Women Artists

The summer of 1994 I picked up a University catalog and saw a class I knew I wanted to take, a class that did not exist when I started my bachelor's degree in Fine Art in 1970, The History of Women Artists I & II. I did go back to school and I did take those classes. Besides entertaining stories about renaissance fathers dressing their daughters up like boys in order to sneak them into the males only academies, the particular challenges that women face making careers in art were revealed.

Artist Thinley DiMarco in her New Studio

Women artists deal with interruptions that most men cannot even imagine. My friend Thrinley DiMarco is a sterling example. Raising six children by herself, caring for her elderly mother and managing a Buddhist retreat center are a few of the reasons her art making has had some starts and stops. Now, she has just completed building her new studio and is ready to work again! I will return to Thrinley after she has had a chance to create some new work. Meanwhile... Congratulations!

Thrinley's Studio