January 10, 2009, Pat Zannie

Tips on Creativity and Shortcuts to Composition  

This was the title of Patricia Zannie’s presentation at the January 10^th meeting of the Senior Artists Alliance. This was a hands-on presentation where everyone made one or two collages with bits of paper and string. The presentation began with Ms. Zannie’s statement: “ I believe creativity is a universal, innate ‘human‘ process, and that individuals are unique and precious, having the capacity to develop themselves and express their own experiences of and in this life.” She uses bits of papers from all over the world. She uses glazes, wax, varnish, and found objects to create her collages. She says, “For me, Collage is the Jazz of the visual art forms”.  She shared her passion with us.

Patricia Zannie is a firm believer that creativity is a part of all of us and should be allowed to blossom.

Some of her suggestions for freeing ourselves to be creative are:

•  Don’t force your work. Go for a walk and let the creativity “bubble up”.
• Do something different.
• There is no such thing as perfection, so don’t seek it.
• Be open minded

Patricia Zannie’s suggestions for composition were many that we have heard before:

• Use contrast - light and dark - warm and cool - complements
• Think about boundaries by integrating them shape-to-shape, color-to-color. She showed us a collage where every boundary had been outlined in zigzag dark ink.
• Triangle shapes can become the lines of perspective

Ms. Zannie is an enthusiastic artist who thoroughly enjoys her art. Her collages of thousands of bits and pieces are amazing. The forty or so members present enjoyed her excitement and their own projects.

"Creativity and the philosophy and techniques of Cezanne, Matisse, Gauguin, and other rebel Master Artists who developed the concepts of Modern Art are the cornerstone of my intuitive approach to Art. The Japanese understanding of “Satori” or enlightenment permeates my personal and professional commitment toward Life as the “Greatest Art.” It is within this context that I have chosen to be a collage artist and to share this satisfying experience with my students."

Click for her web site