Ink Blots & Collage: An Online Class with Karen Stanton by Carla Sonheim

Welcome!

Carla_Sonheim — 2025-07-11 20:06:52 UTC

Hello! Thank you for joining this class. You can upload your class assignments by clicking on the black/circle/plus button in the lower right corner of your screen. Welcome!

2025-07-14 20:33:32 UTC

Cant wait to get started!

Lesson One - Gathering & Making Collage Materials

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-16 19:33:03 UTC

I have so many materials to use for backgrounds - all that were mentioned in your video and more. I'm an art hoarder & have been saving found objects, collage, and interesting looking papers for many years. After 26 years of marriage; I've taught my husband to "save things" he finds or might throw away. He thinks I'm a "little off when it comes to art" - but he always understands when I show him one of my art creations. Loved your first video Karen!

Lesson Two - Begin Some Smaller Collages

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-16 19:39:02 UTC

What a BLAST!!!! Once I started making teacups & trees - then I had to make some vases. Creating with collage materials is so much fun. I'm addicted! Plus, like you Karen, I always use odd numbers and my favorite numbers have always been 3, 5, and 7.

BTW, I read Carla's "HOW TO SUBMIT MORE THAN ONE PHOTO" but can't figure it out, so I'm going to post one more.

Lesson Two - One More Photo

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-16 19:40:37 UTC

I wanted to make some 'collage vases' and they were so small, I glued them onto one of my small concertinas.

Lesson 2 Smaller Collages

mstarr1212 — 2025-07-18 12:39:32 UTC

Hi all! Painting the papers so very freeing! I tend to go neutral but expanded my range here. Truthfully, I am not into fashion, but it was so much FUN to imagine and create these shapes

Lesson 3

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-19 16:25:25 UTC

I had so much fun carving stamps and using them to embellish both my trees and teacups. I'd forgotten how messy the AKUA oil Intaglio paints were but managed. I made a 'heart' stamp, 'leaf/leaves', 'bird', 'round flower', circle & some 'line' stamps. At the bottom right hand corner of my 'blue & magenta teapot' I used one of Henrik Drescher's ideas - "a kid's SQUIGGLY pen." I bought 3 of those and use them in different art projects. For other embellishments, I used Posca pens to make both lines and dots. I love making dot circles. Oh what fun I'm having!

Andy Warhol's Blotted Line Art

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-19 19:30:01 UTC

After listening to you discuss Andy Warhol's Line Art - I found a 4 minute video online and gave it a try. It took me a while to figure out how to tape the tracing paper onto the Bristol paper & flip it over but I finally figured it out.

The 'Clematis flower' is growing in my front yard, and I found the 'bird image' online. I used my watercolor inks.

Lesson 3 stamps details etc

mstarr1212 — 2025-07-21 19:19:17 UTC

More fun! Karen S, like you, I ended up painting new papers for this lesson as my original collages seemed busy and finished enough. Haven't carved a stamp in....decades...so thanks for that prompt.

I decided to forego the blot option for this collage, but I did experiment and loved the wonky sometimes textured results

Lesson 3 ink blot experiment

mstarr1212 — 2025-07-21 19:24:58 UTC

Lesson 4

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-23 11:43:31 UTC

This morning I'm having eye surgery - 65 miles from our house - so unfortunately I won't be able to finish Lesson 4 for a couple of weeks. I'm bummed out because this class is so much fun.

stadlerin20 — 2025-07-24 12:46:34 UTC

This is my little owl. She is a Lady 😍

Last Lesson - First Ink Blot

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-28 15:53:22 UTC

This is a deer I named "Popsicle" because he would come to our back door (all glass) & lick it - probably for an apple because I threw one out each day for him & her mom. He was born in our backyard and stayed for almost one year.

I made a 'peace sign' stamp - mostly because I LOVE all

animals. I've made a total of three in blots - with two more to go - but I had to take a break.

My eye surgery went well & I can see a lot better!

Last Lesson - 2nd Ink Blot

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-28 15:57:38 UTC

This is my darling Chinese Shar-pei, Gunnar. The top photo is an acrylic painting I made of him last year. For this one I made a 'feather stamp' a 'bird stamp' & a 'heart stamp. The 'letter stamp' was one I had.

I put a 'gold crown' on Gunnar because he's such a regal Shar-pei...and he might think he's the 'King of the House.'

Last Lesson - 3rd Ink Blot

karlakayhull777 — 2025-07-28 16:02:03 UTC

The top photo is one of our Chinese Shar-pei puppy, Oscar Moxie. We got him after our first Shar-pei, Jack, passed away. He was such an adorable puppy. When he grew up - he jumped onto the roof through our upstairs bedroom window (just like Jack.) He loved running back & forth watching the people and cars. He lived for eleven years.

I waited 5 years to find another Shar-pei & we rescued two of them from Tennessee in 2018 - Gunnar & Hugo. I'm planning on making two more ink blots - both of Hugo.

I punched out some collage circles to add to the back of

Oscar.

Lesson 5 Finishing Larger Pieces

mstarr1212 — 2025-07-29 19:03:34 UTC

The inkblot transfer process is, for me anyway, both fun and a bit crazy-making too (had to re-do the collage background in this guy's face due to huge blot smear). Karen I appreciated the tip to mask/protect areas when stamping the background!

Lesson 5, another piece

mstarr1212 — 2025-07-29 19:12:17 UTC

The papers I used for collage background responded to ink and paint in different ways. The result was blotchy, but I kind of like the texture. Additional stamping seemed unnecessary.

Karen I like your suggestion to work on 2 pieces at once. It does help bypass getting too attached to the results!

Lesson 5 - Last Two Ink Blots

karlakayhull777 — 2025-08-02 15:51:34 UTC

This is "Hugo Bear" - a brother (from another mother) of Gunnar. We rescued them both from an abusive place in Tennessee. Hugo was over one year old, and Gunnar was just 6 months - so he wasn't affected by abuse as much as Hugo. It took 6 years before Hugo would let me pet him, but he fell in love with my husband almost instantly.

We think a woman abused Hugo because whenever I put on an apron & have a wooden spoon in my hand for cooking - in the kitchen - he growls at me. When my husband, Jonathan, puts on the same apron in the kitchen & holds a spoon - Hugo doesn't react at all. Hugo just turned 7 - my lucky number, and all is well.

I made a 'bleeding heart' stamp for his background.

Lesson 5 - Last Two Ink Blots

karlakayhull777 — 2025-08-02 15:59:15 UTC

This is "Jack" - and he was our first rescued Chinese Shar-pei. My husband drove 25 miles to a 'kill shelter' in the middle of a snow blizzard to save Jack. Jonathan (hubby) got him home, bathed him, wrapped him in a towel & they fell asleep on the bed together. He and Jack were inseparable for the rest of his long life. This is the only photo I have of him & it was taken in 1999. We think he was about eleven years old when he died.

Jack was the reason we fell in love with the Shar-pei breed. With both Gunnar & Hugo now - we've had Shar-pei for 27 years.

I glued one flower, a few leaves from a vine and a row of

'bleeding hearts' = appropriate for a dog that gave us so much love.