You Know it's all about the Face!

Learning to draw faces. Something I've tried before but failed miserably at each time. Partly because I just didn't know how and partly because I gave up.  Until I found a video by Dina Wakley that showed me step by step what I needed to do. So I set a goal for myself. I wouldn't stop until I had drawn 15 faces and if after 15 faces I still felt I just wasn't very good at this then so be it. One of the dangers of watching artist demo videos is you watch someone do this thing that they have done a lot and you expect yourself to be able to do it the first time out. That's just not how it works. Practice makes progress.

So I started drawing faces. My first couple of faces were kind of scary, I even ripped one up so I wouldn't have nightmares. The other bad ones I kept but I'm pretty sure two of them will be extra's on the season premier of Walking Dead this coming Sunday. But I kept drawing faces and I actually started to like what I saw. I made myself put my faces on the refrigerator in my kitchen to publicly announce my lack of fear at attacking this goal. Okay not that big of a deal cause I only have a few people in the house, but still. Then I posted one as the banner on my Facebook page.Then another as a post on my Facebook page and someone actually asked if it was for sale!!! Talk about encouraging!

Anyhow I'm still working on this. I can only draw them straight on and the shading is sometimes a little off but I feel so good. Like I've achieved another milestone in my journey as an artist. Thank you Dina Wakley for being one of my muses and for teaching me to draw faces!

Here are a few of them, Try to guess which one I call the Zombie, which one I call 5 o'clock shadow and which one I call the Alien.  It's all about the progress people! Don't give up even if the faces you draw scare you!

Too bad I can't blog backwards

So let's catch up instead: Still working on my art and upcycling all kinds of stuff. Currently collecting over 200 wine bottles and taking the labels off. This is a slightly time consuming but free way for me to have something to edge my landscaping with.  I recently bought myself a rock tumbler and I've been tumbling my own glass for window projects. I scored a couple hundred PE LPs from a PE teacher and created a tablet stand and some other items by melting the LPs.  So I've been very busy but no so busy I couldn't have posted on my blog! I'm always so impressed by people who blog regularly.

I was published in the fall in Green Craft magazine! I was SO excited. I still am actually. It's amazing how validated it made me feel. I have always wanted to add a little magazine cover over on the side of my blog...and now I have one! Wooohooo!

Right now I am learning how to draw faces. I watched Dina Wakely's video on how to draw a face and have challenged myself to draw and paint a face each day for 15 days. Each face I make is a little easier and I've even gotten better I think at the painting part which is really hard for me for some reason. I'll start posting pictures on here as well as over on my Facebook page so you can see my progress as well.

I'm also doing Documented Life Project again and Inspiration Wednesdays with Donna Downey.  I have so many art muses and I learn so much from all of them!

Finding a Global Solution

Today I found the solution for a global issue. I'm sure my family will be very relieved! What global issue you ask? Well for the last four weeks my house has been over run with globes. I rescued them from a dumpster destination and brought them home about a month ago. I have plans for them, really I do! In the meantime how the heck do I store them so they aren't in the way. I started by taking the globes off the stands, then Steve helped me get the two pieces of the stand apart so the rings and the footing can be stored flat. But what the heck to do with all those globes? Some have been cut in half as part of the process for what I'll be making. But the others I wanted to leave whole. I've had the idea of hanging them but how and where? Today in a moment of clarity inspiration struck! So here is my solution and if I may say so myself it gives my studio another layer of weirdness which you know I love! A perfect mixture of decor and storage.

Globes on top of the shelves in the living room.

And on these shelves.

And in the hallway and dining room too!

                                     

Take a small binder clip and squeeze the metal loop together so you can remove it from the clip.

You are going to use that part of the clip to make the hanger for the globe.

Squeeze the sides together using a pair of needle nose pliers and insert the metal "feet" into the hole on the top of the globe.

Cut a piece of ribbon to the desired length and insert it into your hanger.

Tie the globes to the curtain rod and viola you are done!

Once I start completing the globe projects I promise to post them. Globes are awesome for craft projects!

A DLP-Stencil Girl Blog Hop

I am loving the Documented Life Project! If you haven't joined in yet I highly recommend you do. They posted the other day that they plan to continue in 2015, which I was very excited to hear. This week one of my favorite stencil sites, Stencil Girl Products and the ladies from DLP have paired up for a blog hop! You can check it out here Art to the 5th and here Stencil Girl Talk. Lots of wicked talked people between those two sites and a sale on stencils! The posts will feature one of the 5 ladies from Art to the 5th showing how they use a stencil from Stencil Girl in their DLP journal. And since I haven't posted recently here are a few photos of my DLP journal.

I'm a Part of The Documented Life Project

 

I can't wait for my Moleskine to get here so I can start!  I am looking forward to not only getting myself more organized but also being able to create on the go. The project is open to anyone interested in making an artsy planner and there are challenges each week. I plan to go back and do the challenges that I missed. Roben Marie Smith has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I've followed her online and watched her videos to learn many of the techniques I use in my mixed media work. The project was created by a friend of hers Lorraine Bell who would carry three different books with her wherever she went and decided to combine the three into one. Brilliant! All the women in the ART5 group are extremely talented. I can't wait to learn from all of them. You really should check out this project AND all the blogs related to it. Good stuff!

 

http://www.arttothe5th.com/the-documented-life-project-details/



A Great Resource for Art and Other Stuff

I discovered this site called American Science and Surplus about 6 months ago. I LOVE this website they have everything from the really strange to the really useful. I can't rave about this place enough. I even got Christmas presents for the kids there. I've bought this and that, but the best part is so many of the things can be used for art supplies. I have to limit myself when I order or I would order one of everything! Check out my video about my last order and how I plan to use what I got. I hope you visit the American Science and Surplus website, I guarantee you will find SOMETHING you absolutely must have right now! Perhaps a box of twenty erasers shaped like UPS trucks?

Bling and String on My Hearts

A couple of weeks ago I pinned this idea for making paper mache hearts. http://www.craftycupid.com/index.php/cc/entry/mache-mixed-media-heart-tutorial/

It looked pretty easy and fun so I decided to give it a try. I found a heart cookie cutter buried in a kitchen drawer. Those who know me know I would never be accused of being a baker, so I was surprised I had one. It was larger than the one in the tutorial but it worked for me. I traced and cut out my hearts. Instead of the glue used in the tutorial I used hot glue, I'm not a patient person. I was able to quickly make my heart paper sandwich. I used the same brown craft paper torn into strips for my paper mache part as well. I had a lot of it because I save everything from packages I get from online orders. That brown paper comes in handy! Instead of making the flour mixture I just mixed some white glue with warm water. Wrapping the paper was probably the hardest part of the project because of the odd shape. Getting around the point and around the curve were a little tricky but I got the hang of it by the third heart.

Remember what I said about not being a patient person, it took two days for them to dry! Argh! I just wanted to get painty and creative and the little suckers wouldn't dry. I used a space heater to speed up the process. I guess they would have taken even more days to dry if I hadn't done that.

So finally I got to paint and embellish. Mine are a bit more simple than the ones in the tutorial but I really love the way they came out.

The blue/green one has a coat of Martha Stewart glitter paint and several buttons attached with jewelry adhesive. You can't see it at all in this picture but it really sparkles.

On the red/purple one I used a red Prismacolor marker to deepen the red in some areas. Then I highlighted the wrinkles made by the paper with a gold metallic crayon. I love the way that came out. The gold with the red and purple is really rich looking. I glued on three heart shaped jewels with jewelry glue.

The orange one I stamped with red Stazon using a Stampendous stamp. Then I wrapped it with cotton thread and three orange beads. This one is going in as part of a contest on the Creative Jumpstart I'm doing this month.

This was a fun project. I would definitely do this again with different shapes. I'm thinking birds and sea stars maybe. I just need to remember to leave enough time for several days of drying!

How to be Creative

This short film by Off Book PBS has some really interesting concepts on what creativity is and how we become creative people. I especially love the concept of the remix. I know many of my ideas come from a combination of things meshed together to make something new. Very interesting stuff.

Stencil Girl Stencils

I have become a stencil addict. This is not a good thing when you are getting ready to have two kids in college! Stencils are so much fun because the possibilities for how you use them in your art are limitless. You can use them for backgrounds, adding texture with modeling paste, use parts of them as other things...okay I'll stop the Bubba Gump stencil list.

Along the way I discovered a great stencil store called Stencil Girl. They have fabulous designs, a nice variety of sized and good prices. But the REALLY cool thing is you can join their club. When you join you get a special set of stencils sent to you each month, not for sale to anyone else. You get access to a special Facebook page and tutorials done by the artist who created the stencil. It's lots of fun and there is a really nice community of artists on the Facebook page. Check them out at http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/ and consider joining the club!

For Creative Jump Start 2014 http://www.nathaliesstudio.com/ I created this journal spread using my December stencil club stencil 4x4 by Mary Beth Shaw to add the breeze blowing by the birds in the background. The bird is a stamp I made and I used the method of stamping on my Gelli Plate from my last post on them. I used something I don't normally use...glitter paint. But it added a nice layer of dimension I think. The paint was from Martha Stewart. I do like her paints and this was an accidental glitter buy, but I've liked using it.

My Gelli Plate Has an Alter Ego

Once again I feel the need to start with the fact that I LOVE my Gelli plate. It is more artsy fun than should be legal and on several occasions has gotten me into commitment trouble. The ones where you show up 20 minutes late for a meeting with a lame excuse because, "I completely lost track of time playing on my Gelli plate:" isn't going to fly in a group of people who don't understand what a Gelli plate is much less the magnetic properties it possesses.

This very thing happened yesterday after work. I got home and wanted to make a quick video on a technique I discovered over Christmas holiday. But instead I played and ended up late for a meeting. But as soon as I got home I was back out in the studio to make the tutorial. A very frustrating attempt at making a tutorial because my camera kept disconnecting. But I was finally able to get it done.

The video includes a foam stamp that I made myself. It's such a simple stamp but I'm silly proud of it. I love paintings and mixed media that feature birds on a wire. I'm not sure why I just do. But for some reason when I try to draw them they never look right. I can't ever get the proportions right. So as one of my goals I want to get better at sketching stuff. I plan to take a few online classes to help with that. I thought for now I'll start simple I will learn to draw birds on a wire. DETERMINATION. So I found this photo online and have been using the birds in it to practice. Practice makes perfect...and I'm not there yet but I am getting better and I think that stamp I made is pretty good.

I hope that you enjoy the technique in the video and give it a try. The possiblities are endless! Have fun getting painty!





Creative Jumpstart 2014

I'm participating in a really fun online learning experience called Creative Jumpstart 2014 (www.nathaliesstudio.com). Different artists contribute video tutorials for different techniques and several big art companies are doing give aways. On top of all that goodness there is a very nice community of artist on the forum. So it's a great opportunity to connect with other people who enjoy the same things I do.

One of the things I like about the contest...besides the obvious FREE STUFF... is that is pushes me to make more art and put it out there. In order to enter you have to post an example containing a product from that company or a household object (this year's theme). So it gives me a reason to get some art done, though I never really need a reason.

So here is my piece for the Luminartes contest. I used Radiant Rain sprays for the background and the heart. The background has Ginger Peach, Fern and Snap Dragon using circles cut from plastic as a mask. The heart was printed on my Gelli Plate with read acrylic paint on deli paper. I cut the heart out and then over sprayed with Ginger Flower Radiant Rain spray.

I'm never sure I'm done with pages and I still feel this one is missing something. But I'm calling it done for now. I do try to learn something from every experience. This time I learned that I should never try to stamp words after 10pm, some of those are really crooked. Since letting go of perfection is another thing I'm trying to work on, I'm posting the pages anyway!

2013: An Artful Summary

I have sadly neglected this blog, but have not been neglecting my art which is a very good thing. I'm going to try to sum up a years worth of art adventures in a short paragraph or two and then I hope to use this blog as part of a new resolution to make art a more important, more in focus part of my life. For so long it has been something I do when I can and when I'm done with the real work of living. I realized recently that just isn't good enough for me. I want art to be a bigger part of my life because it is what I truly love. So here's to taking chances and moving to the edge and being a part of the chaos of invention!

In the last year I've continued to teach and practice Zentangle both at my school and occasionally in the area. I haven't pursued it as heatedly as I have in the past, but this is going to change.

I once again spent the month of July in Manteo. After a year of collecting found objects and creating useful and lovely things I sold them at the market each Saturday. I made over twice as much this year as last! Progress and encouragment go hand in hand. The atmosphere of artful community that surrounds me when I'm there feeds my soul and spurs me on through out the year. I only wish I could find that same feeling here at home. Some new things I had this year were dog beds made from suitcases, tile necklaces, and mason jars with Beach Memories 2013 etched on the glass. Meghan was able to come down with me this year and we had a great time. It's a wonderful balance of beach and art...aahhhh.

Coming home and going back to work was tough but my discovery of the Gelli plate helped a lot. If you haven't heard of this new craze that is sweeping the mixed media nation you must check it out and you must get one! http://www.gelliarts.com/  I saw a video online, fell in love and bought one on the spot. I haven't stopped printing since.

I have also made a new artsy friend, Joan Mills, who owns a scrapbooking store in Hilton. I contacted her out of the blue to see if she would like me to do a Zentangle class and she said sure! Since then I've done demos with my Gelli plate and a class is in the works. She helped me to get a class set of 8 plates so I could start teaching people how to make prints and how to have fun making stuff with the prints. Did I mention I love my Gelli plate?

My fantastic friends at Dutrow let me do a class with them so I could try my teaching skills out, it went well and they really seemed to enjoy printing stuff. It allowed me to learn a few things that I needed to adjust. 

I tried to create something every day. I worked in my art journal or made stand alone pieces on paper. I made a big canvas on the Boston Red Sox for my husband for his birthday. Similar to the notebook collages I do for friends but on a much bigger scale. It challenged me. He really liked it I think.Then as October rolled around I made the huge decision to hand make all the Christmas gifts for all the extended family members. Yikes! It took a lot of work but I will say I truly enjoyed the process. It's what I do...create. The most fun was watching everyone open the gifts. I love that part.

So here I am at the edge of the start of a new year with a resolution in my heart. I feel it's time to start moving my art more into the center of the focus of my life. I can't take a full on do or die kind of step because I will have two kiddos in college next year. So I gotta keep that full time gig going. But in the evenings and on weekends I will work at making money teaching art. I've made a list of how I plan to make it happen. I have goals written out, a list of ideas and a list of contacts. This blog needs a once over, but it will become an important part of the process as well, so you'll see some changes here over the next couple of months...and you'll see more regular posts.

I used to say the worst that could happen is they would turn me down or say no. But really the worst that could happen is that I don't even try.

So here's to 2014! The start of yet another art adventure!

Here are just a few pictures from my art filled 2013:

A card for my wonderful neighbors...

A recently family health emergency landed my husband Steve in the hospital for 4 days and resulted in back surgery.  As you can imagine this type of event can quickly change the dynamics of your household. As usual my next door neighbors stepped right up to help. They took care of my daughter and took care of my yard/house and made sure I didn't have any of those things to worry about. Seriously, I have the best neighbors.  

Tonight I made an original piece of art for them on a card as a thank you for their generousity. The flower in the center I painted on my iPad while I was sitting with Steve in the emergency room.  I used ArtRage and my wonderful Sensu paint brush stylus. Love that brush!  The rest is mixed media with acrylic, Neocolor II, washi tape, Mister Huey and white out pen.

The Haul and a Personal Goal

I love the Re-Store! It's fun to just go in and look around at what's been brought in and to find things you can use to make into something else.  I found some cool stuff the last time I went. I've set a goal to make something with each of the items I bought on my last hall. Some things were for projects I've wanted to work on and some I just knew I could find a purpose for! Here is my haul...

I'll blog about my projects as I do them.  The first thing I've done with my haul is to use the gutter guard as a mask/stencil for some of my mixed media stuff.  I cut off a square and tried it out. Worked so well! Yay!

 

This will be fun to use and cost me next to nothing to make.  I saved the rest of it for a larger mask to use when I paint the linoleum I also bought on this trip to the Re-Store. I have more to share in my next post.  Until then, be creative everyday!



A Quick Project

A recent goal of mine has been to just do the things I keep saying I'll do. So this little ottoman was first on my list and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I grabbed one of the burlap coffee sacks I got at the Front Porch in Manteo, recently used as part of the set for our dinner theater. In thirty minutes with a pair of scissors and a staple gun I have a brand new ottoman for the armchair in my studio/sunroom. I love the way it turned out!

 

 

Robotics=Art

So we recently headed down to Raleigh NC for a First Robotics competition with Team 2363 (Go Triple Helix!) and found a great city full of arty experiences.  One of our stops was the NC Museum of Art.  Wow! Just the outside of the building was amazing. I fell in love with this life size silver tree as soon as I saw it.

The inside structure of the building was just beautiful and the art work amazing.  We took our time browsing. My favorite piece was this Mona Lisa done entirely from spools of thread. It was installed upside down and then you used this sphere to view it right side up. Meghan Garrity took this awesome picture. 

In downtown Raleigh we visited the City Market and hit the jackpot with ArtSpace and Amplified Art. The ArtSpace is a restored building with working artist studios. You can go into the individual studios and speak with the artists as well as view artwork displayed in various places throughout the building.  We really enjoyed Keith Norval's whimsical style and the very interesting paper art by Scott Hazard. Meghan and I each contributed a piece for an exhibit that was being put together out of coaster type cards with art from the visitors to the art studios.  Fun to think we left a little piece of our art in NC.

Amplified Art is an art gallery, concert hall, art poster selling, really cool store! We made friends with this funny store resident who was sound asleep and very comfortable.

We were competing in the Dorton Area located on the NC State Fairgrounds. And it just so happened that Saturday is Flea Market day! Heaven! I picked up a few things, but my favorite is this old wrought iron hand. I think it looks great in my studio/sunroom. I love the rusty patena. 

We had a great time in Raleigh and would definitely go there again if we had the chance.  I just love a city with nice people, beautiful scenery and fun art!

Pinterest---Love ya!

Wow! I think I have found the perfect tool for surfing the web and saving trees (because I will never buy another magazine).  It's name is Pinterest (pinterest.com).  You create boards for different topics of interest.  Just about everyone I know has a food board...funny how we all gravitate towards food.  Anyhow, you create your boards and download the PinMarklet which is a button on your browser bar.  So now as you are surfing the web and find an beautiful photograph or a great recipe you can "pin" it to your board.  What's even more fun?  Looking at other people's boards and pin stuff from those. You can follow people or just certain boards you like. 

It's so much fun to see all the amazing things out there.  The fabulously creative and inspiring people. And when I'm down and feeling blue I go to the humor category and it never fails before long I'm busting out laughing at the ridulous and hilarious things people have posted.  I've noticed many from the Zentangle community are on Pinterest so it's another great way to stay connected to fellow tanglers. 

What's really amazing it that it allows you to connect with people you would never have met in person or may have even met and had no idea you had so much in common.  I have come across people with the exact same sense of humor, it sounds so minor but that feeling of "Hey someone out there really gets me...and they don't even know me!" is pretty amazing.  Especially, when sadly we probably all have people who have been in our lives a very long time that never really get us. 

I will warn you that Pinterest is very addictive and you can possibly lose hours of time to pinning.  So you may want to set limits for yourself! But I can also tell you that you will be inspired by the art you see and the community you will build. And if you're like me you will save a bundle on magazines because it's all out there on the web! When you get on look me up, I'll follow you!

Jumping on and jumping off

I know I need to spend more time with my blog.  But unfortunately life has tripped me up lately.  I have worked on a few things and I'm always tangling.  Here is a journal cover I did for a friend. 

I look with longing at my studio some days, wishing I could while away the hours. I'm working two jobs, looking after a teenager who can't drive yet, and doing stuff with the volunteer organization I belong to...busy life. I have spent time in my studio putting things back where they belong after a water leak and repair.  But that's about it, no paint covered hands or glue on my elbows. Someday soon, I promise myself.