A Basket of Tchotchkes: Art Treasure Trove of Inspiration with Gloria Chapa

This workshop is about the art of assemblage. We will give order to our collections of treasured ephemera and find use for the little bits of our lives that catch our eye and we can’t seem to dispose of. Joseph Cornell is a master of this art form which is very reflective of the present day up-cycling, repurposing movement. A brief overview of Cornell’s “boxes” will serve as inspiration for this workshop. Form, Texture, and Color will be explored as a way to provide cohesiveness for an arrangement of personal keepsakes, trinkets, and tchotchkes. This will result in an engaging art vignette box of each person’s existence in this tumultuous era.

SUPPLY LIST

Basket of Tchotchkes (All those small squirreled away unused items that fascinate you and you can’t bring yourself to give away.)

• Organic items: bones, stones, flowers/leaves, skins (animal/vegetable, insects, onion, avocado), egg shells, fruit pits, etc.
• Man-made: glass, trinkets, mechanical parts, plastic discards, bits of costume jewelry, printed matter (text/images)

Base surface - canvas (max. approximately 12 x 12 in.). Choose one:

• Picture frame with backing (Recycle an old frame, no need to purchase a new one)
• Shallow Cigar box Cardboard box (For example a greeting card box)

Glues:

• Elmer’s Glue
• Hot glue gun or Gorilla Glue (clear), Titebond (clear), E6000

Pigments and Auxiliary materials:

• Paint (house, art studio acrylics, staining liquid-coffee/tea, metallic paints)
• Paper towels/toilet paper
• Tissue paper (white and color)
• Q-Tips
• A few brushes of different sizes
• Scissors and Exacto knife

Otis Street Arts Project is an independently run art center. It encompasses open door studios, maker space, and a gallery that hosts rotating regional exhibitions. There is a flexible event space for lectures, performance art, small theater, and community gatherings. It is home to professional artists of diverse disciplines dedicated to supportive collaboration and discourse.