Lo-Tech Printing Online Class
Sunday, November 9, 1-4pm MT
Instructor: Janet Strickler
Limit: 15 students. Includes class kit + shipping
To receive your kit in time for the class, register by November 2. All participants must be 15 years or older.

Class Details

How great it is to come across a technique that uses inexpensive materials, is easily scalable, and is also simple and fun! Janet Strickler’s introductory class on lo-tech printing checks all the boxes. She’s a mixed media artist known for recycling discarded and overlooked items to make her art, and she enjoys sharing her techniques with others.

The key material in Janet’s lo-tech printing class is humble craft foam. She “draws” on it with a hard, pen-shaped tool to create grooves in the foam, thus depressing the design below the surface. The altered foam can then be used like a rubber stamp to print on tags, cards, gift bags, wrapping paper, stationery, place cards – you get the idea. The two big advantages of this lo-tech printing technique? First, it can be done spur-of-the-moment. Second, drawing a design directly on the foam is easier than carving out a design on a rubber stamp.

Janet demonstrates several easy ways to generate designs. One effective technique is to create repeat patterns with simple shapes. Another is to trace and transfer an existing image or picture onto the craft foam. This technique also lends itself to incorporating words, including your own hand-writing. We particularly like Janet’s demonstrations on how to create a “magic window” view finder and how to extract shapes from a favorite image. Simple, yet so effective. With these techniques, you can easily personalize tags, cards, wrapping paper, and the like quickly and for any occasion.

Join Janet to enjoy the quick and easy fun of going lo-tech!

Note: There is some optional pre-work If you want to trace an image in order to create your design on the craft foam. Simply collect printed images that are 4"x6" or smaller. The class moves quickly and there’s no extra time to go collect something.

This online class will be recorded and made available to class participants for 14 days after the class.

Class Materials

Please bring the following materials:

A dull pencil or an out-of-ink ballpoint pen for embossing (or pressing into) the foam. Actually anything that creates grooves in the craft foam as you “draw” your design will work. If you’d like, invest in a stylus or simple embossing tool
Scissors
Ordinary pencil (#2 is best, as you want it to make a nice dark line)
Paper to use for practice and experimenting. Ordinary copy paper or paper scraps work
Glue stick (office-supply or school-supply grade is fine)
Scratch paper from your recycle bin to use when gluing
Clear or metal ruler (a quilting ruler works well if you have one)
Optional: if you want to trace an image for your design, collect images that are 4x6" or smaller
Optional: X-Acto or utility knife with sharp blades and a cutting mat
Optional: items to stamp on, such as tags, cards, gift bags, wrapping paper, stationary, place cards (a sampling is included in your kit)
Optional: a colored stamp pad or two (a black one is supplied in your kit) All purpose or dye pads work best
Optional: thin colored marker pens, permanent
Optional: paper towels and/or wipes
Optional: apron

Class Kit Includes:

Several sheets of craft foam
Black stamp pad
Tracing paper and sample images to trace
permanent black pen
foam core backing board
Assorted items to stamp on such as cards, tags, envelopes, etc

Zoom Info

An email will be sent to participants the Monday before the class. Classes with homework may receive pre-class info earlier. The email includes class date/time, materials list, pre-class prep, and Zoom link/info. No email? Double check the email address you entered when you registered and your SPAM folder. Due to SPAM filters and inbox settings, we cannot guarantee you will see, read, or open these emails. Two Hands Paperie assumes no responsibility for non-attendance of a class. Contact twohandsclasses@gmail.com with any questions and see our Class Policies page for more information.

Class Refund/Cancellation Policy - Online Class with Kit

For cancellation made 3 weeks before class we can either issue a refund or apply the funds to another class. We deduct the price of the class kit plus shipping if we’ve already shipped the kit, and we retain a $10 processing fee for EACH class cancelled. If you cancel fewer than 3 weeks before the class there is no refund or credit. If Two Hands Paperie cancels a class, we’ll contact you by email and refund the FULL class fee

Class Refund /Cancellation Policy

Cancellations made up to 14 days prior to the first class meeting will be refunded or, at the participant's option, used to pay for another class. Two Hands Paperie will retain a $10 processing fee for EACH class cancelled by a participant. After 14 days, there is no refund or credit. In addition, the fee for a class cancelled within this 14-day timeframe by a participant cannot be transferred to pay for another class. These policies are to ensure that teachers are compensated for their investment in materials and in time spent preparing for the class. We reserve the right to cancel a class if fewer than 3 students enroll 48 hours prior to the scheduled class time. If for any reason Two Hands Paperie cancels a class, students will be called at the phone number on file and refunded the FULL class fee.

Instructor Bio

Janet Strickler, a mixed media artist living and working in Colorado, calls her work Art of the Ordinary. In truth, there’s nothing ordinary about what she creates. What is ordinary is what she uses: recycled and reclaimed objects, construction leftovers, discarded magazines, candle stubs, coffee grounds, natural materials, and even old paper clips. She loves to explore different media and will attempt to make art out of nearly anything. You can often find her in the Art Parts Creative Reuse store in Boulder, softly exclaiming to herself, “I could make art out of that!”. She enjoys the challenge of turning ordinary materials and cast-off items into objects of beauty.

Much of Janet’s work involves a spiritual element. It’s no surprise, given that the goal of her own art making is to create a beautiful, harmonious, and peaceful environment. Woven throughout her work is a deep love for geometry and pattern. She’s made a lifetime study of art history around the world and has been influenced by works as diverse as ancient manuscripts, medieval architecture, American quilts, Australian aboriginal paintings, Byzantine mosaics, and the decorative traditions of India and the Middle East. Their patterns are a starting point and don’t necessarily result in a predetermined layout. For her, art making is about beginning and then finding out where the piece leads.

True to her personal approach to art, Janet’s classes are fundamentally about exploring and experimenting. Rather than teaching students how to make a particular piece of art, she likes to demonstrate what can be done with a set of materials and then turn students loose to play with them. It’s both astonishing and instructive to see how different the results can be. Classes with her are delightful adventures in discovering the unexpected! Learn more on her website: artoftheordinary.net

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Lo-Tech Printing Online Class Nov 9