Description
Friday, August 7
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Meet at the Monhegan Museum of Art & History
Cost: $25 per person
Space is limited to 10 participants; if you need to cancel, please email museum@monheganmuseum.org so that your spot can be given to another person.
Monhegan’s tranquility belies the many changes that have occurred on this dynamic island. This workshop focuses on the high contrast medium of scratchboard as a new way to think about observation. Following a guided walk on the trails recording notes in words, sketchpad, and camera, we will head back to the Museum and transfer our work. Scratchboard is a layered surface consisting of chalk on Masonite, covered with a fine layer of black India ink. It offers the artist a unique approach to drawing: shaped tools scratch the black ink to reveal white, unlike traditional drawing in which marks of black are drawn on white paper. This simple “reverse” helps us to see detail, texture, and light with fresh eyes, exploring the medium’s signature characteristics of high contrast and endless grays.
Participants should bring the following materials:
- Pencils/pens
- Eraser
- Small moleskin book or other means of drawing or sketching and writing
- Your cell phone /camera, maybe even a macro lens if you have one
We will provide scratchboards and tools, and an atmosphere where everyone will learn something new. Cost is $25 per person. Payment can be made by cash or check on the day of the workshop, or in advance by following the link in the popup after you complete this registration form.
No prior experience required, all levels welcome.
Space is limited. If you need to cancel, please reach out to info@monheganassociates.org so that your spot can be given to another person.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Using woodcut, cyanotype, and hand-dyed fabric, Barbara Putnam’s work joins the beauty of carefully observed natural forms with urgency for environmental responsibility. Barbara is collaborating with scientists in Italy, Spain, and the US on projects that present science and art in balance, creating space for people to engage with pressing conservation issues on their own terms, building support through knowledge. Exploring white spruce tree disease on Monhegan Island, microplastics in the Mediterranean, and three critically endangered seal species, Barbara’s prints and fiber pieces are in public collections, including the Chicago Art Institute, Denver Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, Harvard and Yale Museums of Art, as well as museums in Finland, Vietnam, and Portugal.
Generously supported by The Monhegan House.
