Saturday, May 12, 2012

…come CREATE with me!


 Nothing screams "CREATE" better than a group shot of happy, painty, inky artsy hands!  Are you looking to travel, get artsy, laugh and learn with the most amazing people you ever will meet?  Kindred art souls gather at CREATE retreats sponsored by Cloth Paper Scissors magazine!  I will be teaching at all three events this year: Irvine, CA in June, Somerset, NJ in July and Chicago in August.  So if you're in the neighborhood, or in a convenient flight pattern, come join the creative fun.

I have a brand new class this year called  "ARTFUL LETTERING FROM A-Z".  Look at this canvas sampler you'll make in a three hour class, i'm not kidding!!  We even added a SECOND session to the schedule in Irvine, Saturday, June 2nd from 9-12 noon.  The first class sold out, and the second one is filling fast!
 ...and how about ALSO  lettering this little watercolor sampler…….creating while learning!
Another brand new class is my "MAGICAL MARKER MYSTERY TOUR"!  I promise it will change your MARKER life when you know how SIX brands of popular markers are so completely different.  Look at all the markers you get to try and learn, as my markerful blissed out students show you from last year's Copic class…...



I have ALL new classes debuting at CREATE this year!!  

 ….i'll be bringing a hoard of materials, as i love sorting supplies in the my hotel room art studio...
…the kindred art souls you'll meet will become your cherished forever art friends, i mean it!
Check out my wonderful "art friends" who will be joining me at CREATE this year!  Really, really, really hope to see you in Irvine, CA i June, Someret, NJ in July and Chicago in August.  We can't wait!



The Create Mixed Media Retreat’s Meet the Instructors Blog Celebration Weekend:
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Thursday, May 10, 2012

…it's a HOP!!

You're at the HOP!!  It's my pleasure today to share a fun stencil from The Crafter's Workshop, designed by Julie Balzer.  The "Peek A Boo" stencil, is a composition of repeating "half moon" shapes in a block pattern.  The arrangement of the patterns on the 12" x 12" template was begging me to make an art journal!  The four groups of circles is a perfect canvas for a decorative background for lettering and journaling.  In the midst of my hosting my online lettering classes, this was a perfect opportunity to create another small lettering journal, i'm calling my "Vision Book".
I started with 2 sheets of 12"x12" watercolor cut to size.  Both sides were spritzed with the new spray inks, Dylusions from Ranger.  Of course the bold, vibrant palette just sings to me!

After the inks were dry, i painted to a thin coat of gesso to unify the page, soften the colors and create a smooth surface for writing.

When the gesso dried, i cut out around the "half moon" shapes around the borders on all four sides.  When i first saw this stencil i envisioned whimsical scallops as edges of pages in a handmade journal!
 …Using a metal t-square for leverage, i tore the pages down the center creating 4 pages of design to be folded in half to make 8 book pages.  (this is actually a 6 page book with a half sheet for the inclusion, and the other half for the cover decoration)
I used 3 pages to make the book and bound the pages with bookbinding thread.  I then tore the 4th piece in half to make and inclusion page, and a decorative ruffle for the front.  The scallops were screaming "paper ruffle" to me!  I cut two strips for the ruffle from one leftover square from the stenciled pattern.  The scallops were created by rolling the cutout "moons" with a thin paintbrush handle to create dimension, then glued to the journal cover.

Bling girl that i am, i then coated the cover with the new Silks, the delicious acrylic glaze paints, which glided on like shiny buttah!  Be still my blinging heart!
My favorite part comes last, filling the book with lettering samplers, writing words and quotes with my black markers and sparkly Sakura Galaxy pens.  I love how the stencil design elements became the dimension for the edges of each page.


This was such a great challenge, to take a stencil and do something completely out of the ordinary with it.  That's what i love about my life as art, being constantly inspired to make something simple, or wonderful in every creation.



Join the fun and HOP on these links to see what my friends created with this stencil.  
Creativity is a magical thing!

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Friday, May 4, 2012

…to DO and DUE list….

Do you have a giant "TO DO" list???  Mine is huge right now.  All of a sudden May is here and  everything comes at once, all the deadlines are right now, the events are weeks away………….thus the GIGANTIC to do list.  So here's why i don't get to blog as much as my heart desires:

TO DO AND DUE: I'm not complaining one bit, it's all good...
1) Prepare my posts as Guest Curator on Jenny Doh's Crescendoh site this month.
2) Make stencil art for Julie Balzer's stencil hop.
3) Sign contract and plan daily schedule for an overseas adventure in September 2013.
4) Send additional lettering samples  for a "vision board dream" project submission.
5) Send artwork to an author who invited my work to appear in her book.
6) Gather all my teaching supplies, handouts and goodie bags for Create event in Irvine, CA, where we just added a SECOND lettering class as the first one sold out.
7) Mail magazine submissions by printed deadlines.
8) Vacuum the tumbling tumbleweeds on the first floor of my home.
9) Launch promo video for my next online class: "Color Love 101: Whimsical Journaling". 
10) Film my first tutorials for my new weekly video blog: "Studio Stash Book".
11) Finish "Artful Alphabets" class alphas 21-25.
12) Put away my winter clothes.
13) Book airfare for Art Unraveled in Phoenix in July.
14) Post art on my Whimspirations Facebook page.
15) Count my blessings, breathe.

There.  It's out in the universe.  So i better go finish all this and cross it off my list.  But of course, while this list is staring me in the face every day, i doodle, i draw, i paint, i letter.  In the overwhelming bursts of stress, i turn to my art stuff on my journal pages, add to art already in progress, i breathe, create.  Art saves for real!!  Here's the art that serves as my comfort and distraction this week...

...art muscles??
...adding to already painted pages...
..."letter-storming"...
...Doodle paint….

…for my Create class...
Really thankful to be so busy in my creative journey.  
What do you do when your TO DO list is overwhelming??  
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for dropping in!
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Monday, April 23, 2012

…"fountain pentivity journals"

I really, really, really love pens.  All kinds of pens.  I don't know where this obsession came from, but i have it.  One kind of pen that i love in particular is a fountain pen.  Because i letter, write and draw so much, i am served best by the kind of pen that is refillable. I call my daily pen writing "pentivity journals"…creative efforts with assorted pens and journals.
Here's a peek into one of my lettering, writing, doodling journals.   Mine is a Rhodia journal with pages filled with a varitey of ink colors and musings.  Try this in your own "pentivity journal" using whatever favorite pens or markers you have.  Any journal will do, just have someplace to write and practice every day.
Let's take a tour of my Rhodia book…in my journals i write with all different colors of ink.  Oh, and that's another tiny obsession, trying and using various colors and brands of fountain pen inks. (see the Goulet Pen Company for products)  On these pages, I'll write about the different colors, as a sampler for my own color reference.
 My favorite online store for shopping and learning all things fountain pens is  the Goulet Pen Company.  They are most knowledgeable, with outstanding customer service and have everything you can imagine for "pen people".  They even offer a discount to students in my online lettering classes, are true blue "penablers" and i love them!!  Brian Goulet, the owner also has excellent teaching videos and pen and ink resources in a feature called the "Fountain of Knowledge".  It's brilliant.


 …drawing and doodling with ink, knowing that my favorite pens, the Noodler's Flex pen used here,  are completely refillable with whatever color i want to use!!
 …sometimes i will write my favorite quotes or daydreams in this pentivity journal, trying new letterforms and writing styles.


 …this journal is freeing, and useful for asking questions of myself, reflecting on my artful life journey….

 …i really, really, really like getting lost in my "pentivity journals". You will too!  Join the fun, grab a journal and your favorite pens, whatever they may be, and illustrate your everyday musings.  Write words, thoughts, experiment with your different handwriting, letters, doodles…….get in a pen trance…….stretch your pentivity!
 Thanks for visiting!  What's your most favorite pen in the whole wide world??


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Friday, April 20, 2012

Doodle 365: DAY 111


Did you know that today is the 111th day of the year??  
That means i should have 111 doodle artworks posted right???  
Well i do!!!  Hooray!  I am all caught up on posting my 365 Doodles in the tab at the top of this blog.  I made a promise to complete 365 doodles (art, journal pages, illustrations) this year and post them here on my blog.  I am a huge fan of "catch up", so click on this link and see what i've added:
The 65 new pieces that i just posted to the page are from all the journals and pages that i have been "doodling" every day, so far this year.  It's now a ritual, to create every day, some days more challenging than others, but i always will pick up a brush, pen or marker and make something.  I'm very happy with the production and progress, just to gather this large collection of artwork has been a great accomplishment for me.  Enjoy these 111 doodles!

Oh, and stay tuned to the blog for the next few days, i have a bunch of very exciting announcements to share with you!  So many artfully good things coming this way.  See you back here soon and thanks for dropping in...
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