The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell
The podcast at the intersection of art, travel, business, philosophy, and life in general.
We found 8 episodes of The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell with the tag “materials”.
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Episode 245: Art and Technology
March 18th, 2023 | 41 mins 39 secs
art, communicating, creativity, history, marketing, materials, rebecca crowell, technology
As artists, many of us honor the age-old tradition of creating our work with nothing more than our hands, a few tools, and materials that have stood the test of time. Yet we also live in a high-tech world, and that impacts all of us. How artists view technology ranges from a necessary evil to a full embrace of its creative possibilities. But we should all understand that technology itself is not a new factor in making art. Today we’ll look at some of the ways technology has been used over time in art and ways to think about it in our current world.
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Episode 244: Abstract Painting: Exploring Media
March 14th, 2023 | 41 mins 28 secs
abstraction, acrylic, art, creativity, experimentation, materials, mixed media, oil paint, rebecca crowell, water color
Each type of painting media that an abstract artist uses has specific qualities that make it suitable for certain approaches-- and less so for others. As part of your studio practice, it’s important to understand and work with the qualities of different media rather than trying to push against their nature. And it is also exciting to explore outside your typical media to see what each has to offer. Today we’ll look at several media used for abstract painting—oil, acrylic, encaustic, watercolor, and mixed media approaches and touch on the benefits and challenges of each.
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Episode 227: The Gift of Days: An Artist Residency
October 29th, 2022 | 41 mins 19 secs
abstraction, art, artist residency, creativity, influences, lisbon, materials, place, portugal, rebecca crowell, travel
In today’s episode, Rebecca reflects on her recent 3 weeks of residency at the Obras Foundation in Portugal, and the challenges and rewards of this experience.
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Episode 220: The Blank Canvas
September 10th, 2022 | 38 mins 58 secs
art, blank canvas, creativity, getting started, materials, practice, rebecca crowell, time
Beginning a work of art is a leap into the unknown. Facing a blank canvas or panel or sheet of drawing paper, a lump of clay, a block of wood, a freshly prepared litho stone, or the untouched material of any art form is exhilarating but also a bit intimidating. How do you approach starting new work? Do you feel the energy of a fresh start, or is there some worry about how things will go? How do you overcome resistance to starting something new? Today we will talk about the ups and downs in launching into new work.
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Episode 149: Nature's Art Supplies
October 31st, 2020 | 32 mins 9 secs
art, creativity, fundamentals, materials, nature, rebecca crowell
A trip to the art supply store or website is something most of us enjoy. We’re not just stocking up, but entertaining possibilities, wondering what a new color of paint or kind of brush or sculptural tool could bring to our work. Exploring new materials is part of what we do as artists. But there’s also a world of art materials and processes available at no cost, outside in nature. What can be done with sticks, dirt, rocks, feathers, bones, and other bits of nature? Today we’ll toss around some ideas for using natural objects as art materials and tools, and forces of nature as part of the art process.
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Episode 144: Cooking Up Something Good
September 26th, 2020 | 48 mins 31 secs
art, collage, creativity, materials, rebecca crowell
In our almost three years of recording podcasts, we have often found ourselves comparing cooking and art in terms of process and outcome. Since our podcast description includes “life in general” we thought it would be fun to move away from the messy studio and into the messy kitchen for an episode that explores the ways that cooking and creating art share aspects of creativity.
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Episode 143: Quirky Mashups: Mixed Media Ideas
September 19th, 2020 | 37 mins 44 secs
art, creativity, fundamentals, materials, mixed media, rebecca crowell
Working in mixed media, also called combined media, expands creative possibilities, and intrigues many artists. What materials can be used together in interesting and non-traditional ways? How can you approach the overwhelming number of potential combinations? Mixed media involves the joy of experimentation, the satisfaction of discovering new approaches, and new ways of creating meaning and personal voice in your work. In today’s episode, we will sum up some of the comments made on a recent Facebook post about the topic, and talk about the reasons many artists love to work in mixed media.
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Episode 142: Material World
September 12th, 2020 | 34 mins 10 secs
art, creativity, fundamentals, materials, rebecca crowell
The materials an artist uses are one of the first things we notice when looking at art—we may see paint, clay, wood, paper, pencil, or intriguing combinations of many materials and processes. Beyond their visual impact alone, materials can also evoke feelings and ideas that add to the meaning of the work. Today we’re going to talk about materiality in art—its impact and the decisions involved in choosing art materials.