24 - 25 February 2024, Sacred Kingfisher on Scratchboard with Joan McKay

Bring a Kingfisher to life! Use tools to learn scratchboard techniques and create a realistic image of a kingfisher.  This beautiful medium uses drawing skills as its basis, applied to an ink-covered clay board surface. 

• Date/Time : 24 - 25 February 2024, Saturday and Sunday, 9.30am - 4.30pm AEST
• Location: NatureArt Lab Studio, M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith, Canberra

About the workshop:
Become familiar with using tools such as craft blades and tattoo needles to scrape away the black Indian ink on Ampersand scratchboards to expose the white clay layer beneath and the greys in between. Become confident in rendering objects with a range of mark making techniques.

This is a studio course and a kit can be purchased from Joan for $30.00 which includes the scratchboards, tools and reference photos, and a short materials list to complete the project. 

By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

- Use scratchboard tools, a craft knife, tattoo needles and other tools, to demonstrate techniques including creating textures, form and contrasts on Ampersand Scratchboards.

- Render small objects using these techniques.

- Be familiar with the anatomy of a kingfisher and analyse the design and techniques used to create exemplary scratchboard examples of kingfishers and other animals.

- Create a Kingfisher on a 5“ x 7” Ampersand scratchboard from a photo image by tracing it and working in layers of scratching.

- Develop the image further using ink and highlighting, considering the form and composition.

- Understand how to select and process an image ready to use on a scratchboard and to complete a scratchboard with spraying and framing.

Level of experience: Suitable for students from beginners through to intermediate who wish to develop their scratchboard skills. Intermediate students will have the opportunity to add colour to their work.

About the tutor:
Joan McKay is a Canberra-based award-winning artist and wildlife carer. When Joan saw how images could be realistically represented on a scratchboard, she enthusiastically attended workshops by Rikki Fisher to learn scratchboard techniques and since then has been honing her skills. She has found scratchboard to be a fantastic medium for realistically portraying macropods and birds she has cared for. Joan is a Signature member of The International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA). She is represented by Traffic Jam Galleries, was a finalist in 2021 National Capital Art Prize, was awarded first prize in the Strathnairn Arts Squares 2019 competition and has been exhibiting in several exhibitions, including Tucson, Arizona. Joan holds science, education and library studies degrees and has studied and practised art throughout her life, including drawing (Vanderbilt University) and watercolour media (ANU). Many of her scratchboards are displayed on her website and Instagram accounts: https://joanmck.weebly.com and @joanmck31 

NatureArt Lab Awards:

• 2022, Telstra Best of Business Award Winner for Promoting Sustainability, ACT
• 2024, Telstra Best of Business Award Winner for Building Communities, ACT