TL;DR: You and/or a friend should attend my Collage Workshop on Tuesday, November 13th at 6:30 pm, the Makeshift Society in Hayes Valley, SF. It’s $20 and gonna be a real good time, cowboys, I swur it.
Once upon a time…
I followed a painter on Instagram. She shared her pretty life and then also these really dreamy, abstract, fascinating images posted a dozen at a time. The source? A collage class she teaches in a New York artist workspace. These lovely sights passed by and I was continually charmed by her heady, themed classes. I’d sigh and wish that something like this existed in San Francisco. I did some googling around to see if it did, no dice.
Time went on — MONTHS, people. And then! Twitter lit up with news of something interesting. A workspace. Here in San Francisco, specifically for creative-types. Generally a co-working space, it would be available for classes, events — a gathering place.
Curiosity kicked in, I went into info-gathering mode, attended The Art of Fancy which was an evening of quick lessons, hosted by several organizations and this new crew, the Makeshift Society. I had this teeny, tiny little thought, “What if I did a collage thing there?”
“Yes!” I thought, “This could happen.” The idea grew and gained strength. I worked up the nerve to email the artist, email the Makeshift Society and create some sort of a format.
The doubt kicked in. What makes me think I’m qualified to host this? What gives me the right to try something new? How dare I lead anything creative? I told that doubt to shut the hell up.
And well, here we are.
I am so, so, so incredibly pleased to invite you to my Collage Workshop at the Makeshift Society in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. The first one is Tuesday, November 13th at 6:30 pm. It’s only an Andrew Jackson to attend (that’s $20) and you can buy your ticket on my Makeshift Society event page (Do it! Right now!!). If you can’t make this one, there are two more scheduled — Thursday, December 13th and Thursday, January 16.
To elaborate — no, I’m not a teacher so the format won’t be lessons. I am a guide. A host. Mistress of the glue sticks, scissors and paper goods. Your MC, clean-up crew and people-connector. The workshop is about learning from each other, learning from yourself and having some god-damned fun. I’m picking a motif for each session. Every single person will then get their very own prompt related to the motif and a buncha images based off the motif too. That prompt is a muse that you can embrace, ignore, or twist to fit your fancy.
Oh yes, and the paper materials I gathered and continue to gather are just… so special. National Geographic magazines older than the Golden Gate Bridge. The best damn set of 90s car magazines. Horrific/fabulous 80s sewing project instructions. Life Magazines from when JFK and his young family were media mainstays. The material you get to play with is the fun part.
Not convinced? Ok, fine then poopy-pants. Let me entertain you with a taste of the premium, top quality-crazy you can expect.
10 Reasons You Should Attend My Collage Workshop
One: Because the Queen bade you to. And you mustn’t displease the Queen! (srsly, look at that gown. Want!)
Two: It’s the easiest way to jumpstart your life sans sassy silken jumpsuit.
Three: You will be too busy having fun to drive around that ridiculous clown minivan I know you own. (don’t deny)
Four: You are guaranteed a not-shitty time.
Five: You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, or you can pick this workshop.
Six: Meow meow Collage Workshop meow.
Seven: Is that a codpiece in your pantaloons, fake Mark Zuckerberg, or are you just happy to have your ticket already?
Eight: Because America.
Nine: Nothing tastes better than a mouthful of cinnamon buns, rose buds, and the sweet success of creating your own piece of art.
Ten: You want to cut this creepy kid’s head off for no reason but now you can do it and say it is social commentary. Snip, snip!
This is where I desperately hope that I am not the only person on the planet who thinks this whole thing sounds like a good time.
HOWEVER if you had the thought “Hm, this is so not my thing but FriendX would dig it.” DROP EVERYTHING right now and tell that person. Or people. Or tell the internet. You have my permission to use that flyer up at the top to shout from the rooftops. If this is totally your bag, do the same thing! Share it loud and proud, crafters! Please and a mighty big thank you. More importantly, join me, won’t you?
