Deborah Griffing design collage class
Claire Benn surface design classes
Deboarh Griffing collage design painting class

Deborah Griffing

Deborah has two degrees from The Ohio State University: a Bachelor of fine Arts in ceramics and Master of Fine Arts in painting. She has been a visiting lecturer at OSU in the Fine Arts Program and has taught through the Ohio Arts Council Artists in Education Program. As an Artist in Education (AIE) Deborah worked at Passion Works Studio in Athens, Ohio, where she made art dolls in collaboration with artists with disabilities. In 2005 Deborah joined Goodwill as the Art Studio was being launched. Deborah has shown her work in many galleries including The Dairy Barn Arts Center, the Vern Riffe Gallery, the Pearl Conard Art Gallery, and Barth Gallery. Deborah has won various awards for her work including the prestigious Ohio Arts Council Individual Fellowship in 2002 and 2013. When not at Goodwill, she works in her studio at home.

Deborah’s blog
Videos of Deborah working

Deborah’s class

  • • October 21-26, 2018 | Imagery and Abstraction: A Painterly Approach to Collage

    Open or Close
    Imagery and Abstraction: A Painterly Approach to Collage
    • Level: Beginning to advanced
    • Zig zag sewing machine: No
    • Materials fee:     $50
    • Facility usage fee: $30

    Tuition & Meal plan per 5-day class:
    • $945 | Tuition ($695) & Meal plan ($250)
    DESCRIPTION
    We all have within us a library dense with the impressions of life’s experiences. Much of this is inaccessible to us, surfacing for brief moments, giving us a glimpse of a fleeting memory or a shadow of an illusive dream. Creating is a means to delve into the resources of our mind, to extract what’s meaningful, and to sort through the clutter.

    In this 5-day workshop, students will explore a method of creating that is intuitive and interactive constituting a conversation of sorts between the creator and the surface of the work. Students will begin this process with loose sketches and mark making as a means of collecting thoughts and ideas while also developing a skeletal layer of shapes and images upon which to build. For this process, they will be free to use journals, sketchbooks of any size, or single sheets of paper.

    Students will work on Ampersand Claybord, a multimedia panel with a smooth kaolin clay surface, a surface similar to the chalk/gypsum gessoed panels of the Renaissance that were used for egg tempera and oils. There will be demonstrations of various techniques including incorporating collage, painting, printing, stenciling, and distressing the kaolin surface. Students will be asked to focus on process and be willing to experiment with available materials.

    Demonstration videos


    SUPPLIES
    (Please label your own supplies)

    All supplies can be found online at     Blick Art Materials. You may use materials you may already have at home.
    • Variety of colors of watercolor tubes, including: red, yellow, blue, raw umber, and green, or a watercolor set. Any brand will do.
    • White acrylic Holbein Acryla Gouache
    • Oil pastels, a mix of colors, dark values work best. The brand I use is Sennelier, however cheaper brands work well too.
    • Watercolor pencils and color pencils. I use Derwent Inktense Pencils and love the intensity of color.
    • A ball point pen
    • Variety of sizes of paint brushes
    • 9”x12” self healing cutting mat
    • 9”x12” Blick Studio drawing pad, any other brand will also work
    • X-acto knife
    • Scissors 
    • Hand held pencil sharpener
    • Permanent glue stick - UHU Stic Glue Sticks
    • Disposable gloves
    • Container for water
    • Wax Paper
    • Rags
    • Any other drawing or painting material  

    The materials fee covers
    Ampersand Claybord Panels for each student:
    • 1 package of 3: 6”x 8”, 1/8” flat board
    • 2: 9”x12”, 1/8” flat board
    • 1: 16”x 20”, 3/4” cradled board

    Please contact Deborah if you have any queries about the class content or supplies.
  • • 2018 Fall class tuition and Meal plan
    • Tuition & Meal plan per 5-day class with Claire Benn & Jan Myers-Newbury (Gridded Logic: Itajime Shibori, Surface & Stitch) and Deborah Griffing (Imagery & Abstraction):
    • $945 | paid in full as soon as possible | Tuition ($695) & Meal plan ($250)

    • Tuition & Meal plan per limited enrollment 5-day class with Claire Benn (Seeking Change, Taking Risks, Move On! & Intent on Composition) - limited to 14 participants:
    • $1175 | paid in full as soon as possible | Tuition ($925) & Meal plan ($250)

    • Tuition & Meal plan per 2-week classes with Nancy Crow:
    • Both weeks (10-day class) of these special workshops are to be taken back-to-back. No registrations accepted for only one week.
    • $945 x 2 weeks | paid in full as soon as possible | Tuition ($695) & Meal plan ($250) per week

    • Note: Some of the workshops have an additional fee for materials & facility usage. Each class description indicates whether there is an additional fee. Material/facility fees are due with the final payment.

    Meal plan
    During the art retreats, Margaret Wolf, will prepare fabulous gourmet lunches and dinners plus a coffee/snack break daily during each week of class. The meal plan is provided so participants may concentrate fully on their work without being bothered by the interruption and inconvenience of cooking for themselves. The break times present a great opportunity to get to know your fellow students, share ideas, and just relax together in this wonderful environment.

    The meal plan includes an opening night welcome dinner, five lunches, five afternoon coffee/pastry breaks, and four more dinners during the duration of the workshop. Coffee, tea and water will be served during these break times. Participants are responsible for any other beverage choices, such as soda pop, beer, wine, milk or bottled water.

    Please keep in mind that if anyone chooses not to participate in the meal plan, they are solely responsible for all of their meals, snacks, coffee, tea, and other beverages. The kitchen facilities are reserved for the resident chef. There is a microwave and a refrigerator in the wet studio for student use. Most restaurants are at least a 20 minute drive away from the barn.

    Please note: Due to facility limitations, meal plans are available only for workshop participants.
  • • Accommodations
    Recommended accommodations & offering special rates:

    Hampton Inn, Pickerington, Ohio (15-20 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn)
    This clean, comfortable hotel is offering reduced rates. Please ask for "Nancy Crow Workshop" special rate (includes breakfast) using the local phone number 614-864-8383 or book online

    Best Western, Pickerington, Ohio (15-20 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn)
    All suites hotel with separate living area and bedroom. Offers complimentary full hot breakfast, free wifi, heated indoor pool, exercise room, & business center. Call 614-860-9804 to book and ask for “Nancy Crow Workshop” special rate.

    Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Reynoldsburg (15-20 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn)
    Please ask for "Crow Barn Workshop" special rate (includes breakfast) using the local phone number 614-861-8888 or Email the manager

    The Morgan Theater Home, Baltimore, Ohio (5 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn, mention Crow Barn)
    Former silent movie theater converted into a private residence. Three rooms for rent include free cable TV & free high speed internet access. Kitchen/refrigerator/stove & all "kitchen stuff" available. Phone: 740-862-4765 or Email

    Rosabella B & B, Millersport, Ohio (10 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn; mention Crow Barn)
    Beautifully restored 1850s Italianate farmhouse is surrounded by farm fields. Breakfast included. The grounds include a wrap-around porch, hammock, patio, pool, hot tub, and fire pit. Phone: 740-467-3580

    Other accommodations, please negotiate your own weekly rates:

    AirBnB options in the area near the Crow Timber Frame Barn

    City of Lancaster, Ohio (15-20 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn)
    • Hampton Inn, 740-654-2999, clean and quiet
    City of Reynoldsburg, Ohio (15-20 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn)
    • Fairfield Inn, 614-864-4555

    Campgrounds near the Crow Timber Frame Barn
    Rippling Stream Campground, Baltimore, OH, 740-862-6065, (5 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn)
    KOA Campground, Buckeye Lake, OH, 740-928-0706, (15-20 minute drive to the Crow Timber Frame Barn)
  • • Miscellaneous information
    Roommate
    • Please let us know if you would like a roommate. We will try to match you with another participant to share accommodations.

    Travel to and from the Crow Timber Frame Barn
    • The Barn is located near Baltimore, Ohio (southeast of Columbus, Ohio)
    • Please keep in mind that there is not a shuttle service to and from the motels to the farm, therefore please arrange a rental car or carpool with another participant.
    • John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) in Columbus, Ohio, is the major airport serving the area (30 minute drive to the Barn)

    Rental sewing machines, cutting mats & lamps
    • Bernina sewing machines are available for $75 per 5-day class.
    • Cutting mats are available for $15 per 5-day class.
    • Lamps are available for $15 per 5-day class.

    Formal class hours
    • Monday-Friday: 9-12 and 2-5 daily
    (Classrooms are open 7 am-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 7 am-5 pm Friday)

    Professional facilities
    Each student is provided with a large work table, an 8’ x 8’ work wall, and a comfortable chair. Classrooms are well illuminated and are open from early morning until late in the evening, plus the classrooms have air conditioning & heating. The surface design/dye studio at the Crow Timber Frame Barn includes large padded tables, lots of light (natural and color-corrected bulbs), 3 commercial stainless steel sinks, & washer/dryer. All facilities are non-smoking.

    Mailing list
    If you would like to be placed on a mailing list for information about upcoming art retreats, please send your contact info.

    Questions? Email
Images of Deborah Griffing and her work

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