Balzer Designs Handmade Art

Adventures in Arting Podcast: Katerina Lanfranco

2013-06-19T04:42:00-04:00

I'm delighted to bring you another episode of the Adventures in Arting Podcast!

If you do not see the podcast player above, please click on this link. You can listen to a podcast anywhere and at any time. It is a recording that is available to you whenever you'd like to listen. If you'd like to download it to your iTunes library, click here. You can also pause and rewind or fast forward as you desire. I like to listen to podcasts while I'm making art. It's a little like hanging out with friends while you art.

Today we're talking to mixed media fine artist, Katerina Lanfranco.

Katerina is a New York City-based visual artist making paintings, drawings, sculptures, and mixed media installations. She explores the themes of nature and fantasy. Her artwork references cultural modes of representing nature to engage in a dialogue between nature and culture, through the medium of visual art.

“I make art as a way to think about and understand the world that I live in. Questions that I frequently ask are: How do I make the invisible visible? At what point, does fantasy become reality? And how do we construct our concept of nature?”

“Collecting, organizing and fragmenting images and objects from encounters with nature and everyday life are combined with my own vocabulary of visual elements forming the fundamental activity of my art practice. The three main conceptual strains that I explore are: metaphors of nature in relation to culture, cultural forms of framing and displaying nature, and how our concept of nature informs our construction of identity. Through my work, I reference cultural modes of representing nature such as botanical illustrations, flora fabric patterns, curiosity cabinets, scientific field notes, as well as natural history styled dioramas and panoramas."

She studied art at the University of California, Santa Cruz where she received her Bachelor of Art (B.A.) with honors in Visual Art and in an independent major entitled “Visual Theory and Museum Studies,” and did a semester at the Sierra Institute studying Nature Philosophies and Religions while camping in the California wilderness. She received her Master of Fine Art (M.F.A) with honors at Hunter College in Studio Art, with an emphasis in painting.

Her work is represented by the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in NYC, and is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) in Berlin, Germany, and the Corning Museum of Glass.

You can read more about Katerina on her website, her blog, her wikipedia page, and her solo exhibit opens at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in NYC on Thursday and runs through August 2, 2013. I know that I'm planning to check it out. I hope you are too!

On the podcast we discuss Katerina's career path, her upcoming exhibit, her life in Germany, what it's like to be an artist in New York City, and so much more!

Be sure to leave us your comments and questions. I always like to know what's on your mind. Thanks for stopping by!

All podcasts are archived here. Find the show on iTunes here.

Come and CREATE with Me!

2013-06-18T05:08:00-04:00

I am teaching FIVE classes in New Jersey next month at the Cloth Paper Scissors CREATE Mixed Media Retreat.

Painted & Printed Papers
Thursday, July 18 • 9am - 4pm

There are so many ways to create your own artful papers. We will make our own stamps and stencils, explore several methods of monoprinting, and create lots of hand painted patterns. You will go home with an arsenal of printing techniques and a fat stack of your own painted and printed papers.

Stamp Carving 101
Thursday, July 18 • 6 - 9pm

Whether you’ve never carved a stamp before, or simply want to improve your skills, this class is for you! I’ll show you just how easy it is to carve exactly what you want, with great results, in no time at all. You will leave class with a collection of totally unique stamps carved by you!

Stamped & Stenciled Journal With Pockets
Friday, July 19 • 9am - 4pm

In this class I will show you how to make your own gorgeous "papers with personality" using stamps and stencils. I will also share how to make your own totally fabulous handmade tape. We will use that tape to bind a hand-bound-no-sew-pocket-filled journal! That's right! You can make this gorgeous book with absolutely no sewing! There are six front facing pockets that hold long cards for journaling and one side facing memorabilia pocket in the front cover. And this book even opens up to allow for a row of photos or memorabilia to be pasted onto the backs of the pocket pages.

Explore Faces
Saturday, July 20 • 9am - 4pm

If you’ve ever been intimidated by drawing faces, come and play during this face workshop! We’ll create pleasing faces, quirky faces, funny faces, collage faces, and sketchy faces. I ll break everything down into step-by-step bites that are easy to digest. This is not a fine art class striving for realism.

Lovely Lettering
Sunday, July 21 • 9am - noon

With just a few basic supplies we’ll transform your ordinary handwriting into beautiful artistic letters, with your own unique flair. Whether you’re a born calligrapher or a total newbie to lettering, come and learn the tips and tricks for dressing up your “abc’s,” easy illustrating, and fantastic doodles, all to create a beautiful collection of unique letters. I will also share tips on using your watercolors and color mixing.

I hope that you'll join me for one or more of these fun classes! I'm really looking forward to it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Scrapbook Soup TV: A Few Layouts

2013-06-17T05:45:00-04:00

Today I thought I'd share a few of the scrapbook layouts I made for this season of Scrapbook Soup TV!

I've got a ton more to share, plus lots of off-the-page projects. Step-by-step instructions for each of these projects can be found on the upcoming season of Scrapbook Soup TV, as well as online (once the show airs this fall).

I was aiming to create simple, graphic layouts that were quick to put together. They're a bit different from my "normal" style, but I think they still feel like me. What do you think? Do you have a favorite?

Thanks for stopping by!

Balzer Designs Handmade Art

Adventures in Arting Podcast: Katerina Lanfranco

Related Stories

Come and CREATE with Me!

Related Stories

Scrapbook Soup TV: A Few Layouts

Related Stories