In this workshop we’ll explore the idea of personal identity through mixed media. Learn how to do packing tape image transfers, create your own collage papers, and then make a grungy mixed media piece of artwork.

Angie Ebba is a queer disabled writer, artist, educator, activist, and performer. She is a published poet and essayist, who teaches and performs across the US. She believes strongly in the power of words and art to help better understand ourselves, build connections and community, and make personal and social change. 

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January 28th – Not-Knowing: Experiments in Writing with Quinn Gancedo and Katie Savastano
10AM-2PM
$65

We often think of the poem, essay, or story as a device that delivers great knowledge, wisdom, or emotional insight, and the writer as an expert craftsman, who, with great skill and complete intention, willfully inscribes those messages onto the page. In contrast, the late (great) author Donald Barthelme defines the writer as “one who, embarking on a task, does not know what to do”.  This workshop takes Barthelme’s definition as its starting point, and is designed to give students hands-on experience in writing without any predetermined outcome in mind–in writing with an eye towards uncertainty, chance, experiment, play, and discovery.  This will be a playful, exercise based workshop and seasoned writers as well as students with little to no experience are equally welcome to participate.

Quinn Gancedo is a writer and educator based in Portland, Oregon.  He is the author of The Nouns (The Cupboard Pamphlet, 2022) and his work has appeared or is forthcoming in Fence, Diagram, Tammy, New Delta Review, and elsewhere.  He has taught creative writing, literature, and DIY bookmaking at the California Institute of the Arts and in various community and youth education settings.  He is a co-founder of Elbow Room, a non-profit arts organization focused on providing material support, mentorship, representation, and space to work, collaborate, and experiment for artists experiencing intellectual and developmental disabilities in Portland.  

Katie Savastano is an artist, educator, and designer out of Portland, Oregon.  From 2011 to 2015 she booked and promoted countless DIY shows in Portland and Eugene under the moniker Small Howl.  Since then she has done design work making merch, album art, and promotional materials for Rock and Roll Camp for Girls, Mississippi Studios, Revolution Hall, Antiquated Future, Black Belt Eagle Scout, and others.  In 2020, she co-founded Elbow Room, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to providing material resources, mentorship, representation, and space to work, collaborate, and experiment for artists experiencing intellectual and developmental disabilities in Portland.

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February 25th – The Magic of Moku Hanga/Japanese Woodblock with Charles Spitzack
10AM-2PM
$80

Ever wondered about the beautiful Japanese prints you find all over the world?  This course is designed to show you the basics of Moku Hanga (Japanese woodblock). Though a more complicated printing technique, this class will take you through a quick crash course covering all the major points, and allow you to pull a few prints yourself.

Charles Spitzack (American, Pacific Northwest) was born in 1987 in Minnesota and raised in the Twin Cities. He received a BFA with a focus in Print Arts and Drawing from Cornish College of the Arts and has participated in residencies at Rockland Woods and Mokuhanga Project space. As a Pacific Northwest-based artist, he teaches woodblock printmaking at  Pratt Fine Arts Center and also works as a carpenter, a process that reflects his interest in the physicality of woodblock prints and his ability to find inspiration anywhere. His work has been shown extensively in the Pacific Northwest and internationally. Spitzack is known for his bold, energetic, Mokuhanga-inspired woodblock prints of the human figure, animals, landscapes, urban scenes, and more. His work commonly addresses the plight of the working class, hopelessness in the face of destruction, and humanistic experiences. 

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March 4th – Concrete Jewelry Making with Arielle Brackett
10AM-2PM
$75

Learn about how to use a mixture of concrete to make lightweight and durable jewelry. Students will learn how to make a one part mold and pour the concrete as a casting technique. Afterwards students will sand their concrete and seal them. Students will leave with one finished piece of jewelry!

Arielle Brackett is a metalsmith and educator based in Portland, Oregon. She received her BFA in metals at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2017. She has shown nationally and internationally, including Canada, Romania and Russia. Brackett was awarded best in metals at the Colorado Gallery of the Arts and the Art Center of Estes Park and Juror’s Choice Award in Jewelry from CraftForms 2021. She received two scholarships to paint in Le Barroux, France and Grand Junction, Colorado. In May 2016, Brackett was granted a full ride scholarship to attend a two-week glass workshop at the Penland School of Craft. Brackett is published in Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), Jams 2018 and How Art Heals, by Andra Stanton. In 2019, she had a piece in a runway show, Shift in Portland, Oregon. Brackett showed work in SNAG’s Exhibition in Motion in 2019 and 2021. 

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March 25th – Activist Printmaking with Karim Shuquem (Cancelled)
10AM-2PM
$83

Workshop includes relief printmaking demo (linocut), time for sketching and discussion during interactive presentation that situates us on the timeline of activist printmaking from Martin Luther 16th Century to Mexico 20th century to the present.

Building upon a 30 year history as stage performer and rock singer, Karim Shuquem creates installations, sculptures, and prints that have relationship with staging, temporality, and process. Shuquem has recently completed the Otis College MFA program and works as an art teacher.

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April 1st – Block Printing on Fabric with Ashley Quick (FULL)
10AM-2PM
$70

Participants will learn the basics of block printing on fabric including designing, carving, and printing. You will troubleshoot common problems in relief printmaking, learn about brands and tools, and leave with finished prints on fabric. Please bring your own fabric item which can include yardage, tshirts, scarves, or anything else that is relatively smooth. Avoid fabrics such as burlap.

Ashley Quick is a visual artist based in the mountain west. Her graphic and often illustrative work represents personal experience and place-based reflections on nature in mediums such as printmaking, illustration, and more recently mural. She shows regularly in Wyoming and Colorado, and has been featured in shows across the country.

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Youth Workshops

Sou’wester Arts is partnering with the Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center to bring Sou’wester Artist-in-Residence Instructors to their After-School Program. To learn more about this opportunity or to sign up for the After-School Program visit djhcc.org. These classes are for students enrolled in the Ocean Beach School District.