THE MEDIUM IS THE METAPHOR is a monthly class with Shelley Horton-Trippe in which we will experiment, off the cuff, with a toolbox of watercolor, pastel, charcoal, collage, oil stick and more — inviting students to pursue their own personal visual language.
Olive Rush spent a lifetime experimenting with different media to develop her unique and recognized style.
"Rush dabbled so broadly in different styles and mediums — and so excelled in seemingly every one she tried — that it can be tough to pinpoint a signature mode in reviewing her body of work. But her most identifiable hallmarks emerged after she moved to Santa Fe, when her works began to be characterized by soft figuration, gently sloping forms, and a spare, increasingly modernist sensibility." - Molly Boyle for the Santa Fe New Mexican
We will gather at 11 AM on the fourth Saturday of each month, April through August, outdoors in Olive Rush's legendary Canyon Road garden. If it's raining we will meet inside the house.
Students are encouraged to bring works that are incomplete, or begin new works in class. Shelley will read poetry to inspire your heart and mind as you work. This class is about personal discovery and finding your own meaning in your work.
PARTICIPATION: Each class stands alone so you can join for one or more sessions — however Shelley's instruction builds on itself, so you may also choose to sign up for all 5 sessions in the series.
REGISTRATION: Pre-registration for each class is required. Registrations are non-transferrable to another date, but may be transferred to another person (contact lizzie@oliverush.org, and provide the new student's contact information). No refunds are provided within five days of class date.
COST: $90.00 per session with a $20.00 materials fee to be collected at the start of class.
MATERIALS: Students will bring their own 11 x 14 sketchpad. Mixed media supplies will be provided with materials fee, and students may bring their own additional supplies if they wish.
TEACHER: After graduate school, Shelley Horten-Trippe moved to Paris to study video with Nam June Paik, and exhibited in the first International Women in the Arts exhibition at UNESCO. Then, in 1978, she settled in Northern New Mexico to continue her interdisciplinary practice. Horton-Trippe has exhibited in the Salon D'Autumn-Paris, The Edinburgh Festival, The Site Santa fe Biennial and many other national and international exhibitions. She has had residencies at John Ruskin’s home, Brantwood Northern England, in Malta, France, Scotland and the Harwood Museum in Taos. She has been awarded 5 National Endowment for the Arts Grants, 4 New Mexico Arts grants, a NM Women's grant, 2 Witter Bynner Grants in Poetry, and a Gottlieb and Rauschenberg grant. She has also taught for over 40 years. She began the Children's Art Studio School in Santa Fe in 1981, and went on to teach at the College of Santa Fe, UNM and The Institute of American Indian Art. The art of Shelley Horton-Trippe, whether it be paintings, drawings, prints or installation, is most allied with the interdisciplinary workings of the Feminist movement of the 1970’s, and her work is often reexamining history to expose inconsistencies. Questioning the dominant motive is the root of the inquiry and exploring the innate duality of existence — rich/poor, dark/light, Woman/Man — remains at the core. Locally, her work can be seen in the New Mexico State Art Collection-State Capital Roundhouse, or through the galleries, LewAllen, G2 Gallery, and PHIL Space in Santa Fe.