a whole journal...

Finished.  Done.  No more pages to fill, ready for it's permanent place in history!  

Today i wanted to post a bunch of art.  My schedule has been so crazy, you are probably wondering where my art has been??!!  I absolutely, create every day, mostly in my drawing journals.  Here's half a book, enjoy!

I completely filled my little my little green Handbook journal this weekend.  The book has 128 toothy pages which means that i illustrated 256  pages!  Here are about 70 of those pages.  Can you imagine this blog post if i had ALL 256 pages posted!  That's a lot of cawfee sipping as you scroll through the pages!

Many of the pages are my brainstorms and ideas for projects, classes and workshops.  

Lots of watercolor in this journal.  This particular brand of journal, Handbook loves paint and marker!  

It's my favorite for bright, vibrant color.

Love the little pocket in the back that you can store your treasures.

The elastic band is great for wrapping it all up!  And so, it's a wrap!

…it's on to the next one, "My Little Red Journal".  So many fresh blank pages awaiting my artful wisdom...

Mingle winner!!!

THE WINNER OF MY MINGLE MAGAZINE GIVEAWAY IS:


Heidi Mireles said…

I would love to win a copy of MINGLE. As far as a themed party I hosted a Backwards Inside-out 16th birthday party for my daughter. 16 year old girls have scary creative minds. They were funny and well behaved.

October 19, 2011 9:02 PM 

Heidi, email me your address (jzsharpe@yahoo.com) so i can mail the issue out to you.

Good heavens the theme party comments were GREAT!!  Glad it was a random drawing, because i could NEVER have picked my favorite, or the "best"!!  Thank you all for sharing such fun.  Isn't it great to "Mingle"??

a mingling giveaway!…...

 Have you seen this?  The new magazine from Stampington called Mingle???  It's fantastic!  With a group of other Stampington artists, i was honored to be one of the first to preview this publication….  AND I'M SO EXCITED THEY SENT ME  A COPY TO GIVE AWAY TO MY FABULOUS BLOG FRIENDS!!  You'll devour the pages.  It's a decadent magazine chuck full of ideas for living, celebrating, entertaining and just being fabulous!

 There are so many ultra creative, unique yet beautifully simple ideas in this premier issue.  It's 145 pages filled with sophisticated, whimsical ideas that make those "take your breath away moments" celebrating life.  I want to say this is Martha Stewart meets the Art Girls!!!  Mingle has such an rich, sweet ambience that the editor and writers, the  "Stampington Art Girls" do so well.  You won't want to put it down!

 My favorite photo.  I want red shoes!  Who isn't sassy in red shoes???

 You really have to "experience" Mingle…..it's is filled with everything we love……cupcakes, paint, art girls, lace, glitter, ruffles, sweets, kissing, party dresses, cookies, candy, crowns, cotton candy, Barbie, black and white stripes, girlfriends, retreats, junk shops, vintage goodness, playful parties, fun, frolic, style, spunk and simple extravagance and so much more!!!

Win a premier copy of Mingle !  Leave a short comment on the topic below by midnite Friday, October 21: 

WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE THEME PARTY YOU EVER HOSTED OR ATTENDED? 

***I'll post the winner Saturday, October 22nd, 12noon EST.***  

So go!  Leave a comment and go Mingle! 

peek inside the pages and my studio...

It has been such a thrill to be published in my favorite art publications.   Recently, my work and studio art life was featured in Stampington's SOMERSET APPRENTICE magazine and the Cloth Paper Scissors STUDIOS publication.  What fun it is to go to the store with your work on the shelves.  It never gets old!

 The Apprentice magazine is a fully illustrated technique book!  This has always been one of my "go to" resources for exploring new techniques and finding inspiration from articles with so many new ideas.

They featured my "faux epoxy" technique in my art journal.  It's a great way to bling up the pages.

 My heart went pitter patter when, on the same rack,  i saw the Art Journaling magazine that also features my work.

Cloth Paper Scissors STUDIOS magazine is a delight!  Oodles of wonderful ideas for making your perfect creative space.

Here's my article in the "studio vignettes" section.  Look at my perfect studio!!  Didn't i have an insane cleaning marathon to get it looking all pretty for publication??  You betcha.  Now i can barely find anything!!

  My son Kevin is the photographer and took these great pictures for the article.  He just graduated from college with a degree in Art Education.  We are so proud to see his first published byline!

The article was great, i was so pleased!

The "art up that studio" column is such fun!

Nothing out of place…...

…when in actuality, the real studio always entertains a pet of some kind.   Teddie, My one year old golden retriever, is very comfy on my wicker couch!

 This was my daughter Meghan's room when she lived at home.  When she moved out into her own apartment a few years ago, we had the place emptied and repainted in 4 days!  Poor Meghan.  It was always a dream to have a nice art studio in my house.

 The best part is having a place to work at all hours, leave everything where it is and close the door.  It's a dream come true after spending so many years creating on the dining room table then having to pick everything up for family meals!

I'm always tucking fun things in the window panes.  This view is usually of 9 ft of snow in the 6 months of winter bizzards we have here in Rochester!

 Okay, i admit.  Pen hoarder?  Absolutely!

 I love my art room.

Hope you had a nice visit in my creative space in and out of the magazine.  I am treasuring these pics right now, as you can imagine what my art working, "lived in" studio really looks like!  Here's a hint…."Hurricane Jo" with paper, pens and paint!

catching up!!

Where, i ask, did September go!!!!!  I was in a whirlwind and have 20 blog posts ready for this month to catch you up, all fun artsy goodness.  After finishing the Create retreat in Chicago, i returned home to get caught up on some artwork, magazine articles and class proposals.  In the midst, i prepared for two trips to both coasts!  Many airplane rides in the past few months.

Back tracking, here are some more photos for Create in Chicago 30 days ago.  It always seems that i should have taken more pics at these events, but it seems that i am always in the moment savoring the experience.  I'll have to get better about that.

How do you like my original Vintage Glitter Bottle Mushroom Head Man??  My art friend Kim Geiser created him, and i just about fell over from laughing so hard when she gifted it to me, hysterical!  He's my Create Chicago mascot and i love him.

Just sent in proposals for the 2012 Create retreat in Irvine, CA!  Mark your calendars to attend May 30-June 3, 2012.  The site still shows the 2011 event, and the staff is still choosing workshops and planning schedules, so stay tuned!

But here are the Chicago girls, totally full from the Color Blast Buffet!  The nicest women ever.  Good thing we took TWO pictures, as everyone was paying attention in THIS photo!

Messy fingers, painted hands, proof of an good ol' inky artsy fun time!!

After our teaching at Create we ventured out into the next town over, Napierville, IL.  A quaint place, buzzing with people and fun shops.  We had a blast.  I hadn't laughed as hard as we did, in a long time with my art friends Sue Pelletier, Kim Geiser and Mel Kolstad.  

This is my soul sister Sue.  She's a famous Cloth Paper Scissors super talented painter/ mixed media artist, and one of the funniest people i know.  She had to pose and rest on this artsy mosaic fainting couch in the middle of the sidewalk! 

 Some folks were painting this mural in a busy alley way.  Unbelievably breathtaking!  Amazing talent.

Create Chicago was a fabulous adventure……the people, the places, the art and friendship.  It doesn't get any better than this!