Quite Still...

be quite still and solitary...

I am excited to share that artist and coach Lesley Riley has just released a new book called Quotes Illustrated: 100 Works of Art Inspired by Words.

More than 90 artists were inspired to create a new artwork based on a quote provided by Lesley. The pairing of words and art are lovingly presented on the pages of this book. The contributors are a mix of familiar faces and artists to discover. 

I am happy to say that I am a contributing artist to this book along with many of my friends including Chris Cozen, Lynne Hoppe, Ingrid Dijkers, Marcia Beckett, Darlene Campbell, Patti Edmon, Gina Rossi Armfield, Serena Barton, Patti Monroe-Mohrenweiser, Jill K. Berry, Pam Carriker, Holly Dean, Stacey Merrill, Deborah Guthrie, Theresa Martin, Pat Patingolo, Theresa Wells Stifel, and too many more to name.

My Quote...

Be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Franz Kafka

...inspired my art

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Quotes Illustrated can be purchased from Amazon or directly from CreateSpace where, if you use the code 85AXKF9S before 12/7, you will receive 20% off.

Photo Pockets

I am always looking to take my photos off my iPhone, where they are never seen, and find a unique way to display them so that they can be on display. Today's solution: photo pockets...

I started with sheets of bronze craft foil and black card stock, which I cut to size to match Spellbinders Poetry Texture Plate.

Using the largest of the dies from Spellbinders Media Mixage Circles, I cut out a circle from the center of the foil piece to create a window within a frame. I love the contrast of the circular curves with the squared edges of the foil.

I embossed the foil by running it through the Artisan X-Xplorer with the Texture Plate. I ran a sanding block across the surface which uncovers the silver from the reverse side of the bronze foil. This will be the front of my frame.

I love the deep embossing I get with this technique.

I used the black card stock I had cut earlier to back the frame. Putting a narrow strip of adhesive on three sides, I adhered the card stock to the back of the frame making sure to leave the side without adhesive at the top. This will create the pocket and allow me to slip a photo in and out.

Feeling like the frame looked a bit unfinished, I cut a ring out of red card stock by stacking the same Spellbinders die I had used earlier along with a larger die from Spellbinders Standard Circles Large set.

I adhered the ring to the outer rim of the circular window in the frame.

All that I had left to do was insert my photograph, which in this case was a detail from one of my collages.

I love the fact that I can change the photograph at any time.

This project is so easy and so fun, I couldn't resist creating one more using different colors and a different texture plate!

Given the time of year, it strikes me that this would make a nice, personalized gift tag. And although I am not a card maker, I think this would be the perfect embellishment on the front of a handmade card.

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Supply List

Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:

MMM--001 Spellbinders^TM Grand Caibur® Machine

MT1-001 Spellbinders^TM Media Mixage® Texture Plates Poetry

MT1-004 Spellbinders^TM Media Mixage® Texture Plates Crackle

F-012 Spellbinders^TM  Precious Metals Premium Craft Foils Assortment 

MD1-012 - Spellbinders^TM Media Mixage® Rectangles 

S4-114 Spellbinders^TM Nestabilities® Standard Circles Large

Other: card stock, scissors, sanding block, adhesive, photographs 

Lost & Found: Found

Those of you who have followed my blog for more than a few years know how many collaborative art projects I have been involved with over time. Of late I have been way too busy to be able to partake, but I am happy to say that I have several new ones beginning again in 2014.

In the mean time, I was completely surprised to receive unexpected news via a text from Julie Prichard, she of the Land of Lost Luggage fame, saying that a collaboration that I completed with her and Lynne Hoppe back in 2010 was just published in Artists' Cafe Volume 7. This yearly publication culls articles from Somerset Studio, Sew Somerset, Somerset Apprentice and Art Journaling.

Our collaboration was called Graffiti Wall 2010. We each created our own hand painted papers and mailed them to each other along with assorted ephemera. Using 'Graffiti Wall' as our theme, we each went about creating what we wanted...with no restrictions. We did not share what we made until the projects were complete.

I created a triptych called Lost and Found that was inspired by the layers and layers of graffiti that were so prevalent in NYC in the 1980s. Ironic timing for this publication too, given what just occurred at 5 Pointz in NYC. Lost indeed!

(click on each image to enlarge to better see how these surfaces were created)

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Sending out congratulations to Joni Beckner who won my recent Art Heals giveaway!

Photos on the Pier

I spent the day today at The Pier Antique Show in NYC. 

My goals were to seek visual inspiration and to go on a photo safari. With almost 500 exhibitors, both goals were easily achieved! Locals can still head to the show tomorrow, Sunday 11/24, from 10am-6pm. 

The Pier Show is being held at Pier 94, on the Hudson River on the West Side of NYC. 

I was excited to see the space again as I will be exhibiting there in April as part of Artexpo New York 2014. The Piers, each 1,100 feet long, were completed in 1935. While Pier 94 is exclusively used for exhibition space, the others are used as passenger terminals for cruise ships and as the home of USS Intrepid.

Given that part of the show was vintage clothing, there were a number of very fascinating people milling about. And there were a few "recognizable" people as well. But my inspiration came from the objects... 

Art Heals - Giveaway

When I am creating, I get lost. I enter that zone where I lose track of time, forget that I might be hungry, and can think of nothing else but art. For this, and for so many other reasons...Art Heals.

This piece started much like so many of my other pieces: texture. I took a small piece of watercolor paper and embossed it using one side of Spellbinders, double-sided, So Trendy M-Bossibilities Folder.

I rubbed on some pigment and chalk ink to both add a bit of color and to highlight the deep emboss. I love the names of the Tsukineko ink I used: Niagara Mist, Crimson Copper, and Starlite Black.

Next I went to my acrylic stash and painted the surface randomly using a good deal of misted water to add some drips and splashes to the surface. Once dry, I added a bit more pigment and chalk ink to again highlight the deep emboss.

I decided to create several frames, both to highlight the text I planned to include and as a nod to the frame that is so often used to complete an artwork. I used rich blue and a dark black card stock to add contrast to the vivid surface colors. The frames were cut using two Spellbinders Small Deckled Rectangles dies. I only needed one piece from each cut, so I saved the remainders for another day.

I used Spellbinders Lower Case Font One dies to cut out foil letters to highlight my Art Heals theme.

I also used foil for a number of stars that I made using Spellbinders Charmed I'm Sure die set. That hole in each star called out for some brads.

Gathering all the components, I put together this piece and mounted it on a frayed, vintage book cover. I loved the rich blue of the book cloth.

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In the spirit of art healing, I am gifting this piece to one of my blog readers. It could be you! All you need to do is to leave a comment on this post by end of day Sunday 11/24/13. I will randomly pick a winner and announce it on 11/25. Please make sure I have your email address so I can contact you.

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Supply List

Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:

MMM-001 Spellbinders^TM Artisan X-plorer

MM1-001 Spellbinders^TM Media Mixage Foil Pack One

F-012 Spellbinders^TM Precious Metals Premium Craft Foils

ES-006 Spellbinders^TM M-Bossabilities® So Trendy Folder

S4-201 Spellbinders^TM Nestabilities® Deckled Rectangles Small

S4-399 Spellbinders^TM Shapeabilities® Charmed I'm Sure

S5-199 Spellbinders^TM Shapeabilities® Font One- Lowercase

Preferred Promotional Partners: Tsukineko VersaMagic Chalk Ink,  Tsukineko Brilliance Pigment Ink,  Tsukineko Ink Blushers

Other: watercolor paper, vintage book cover, acrylic paint, adhesive, brads, paint brush, mister

The Splendor of Stencils

One of the biggest stories in mixed media in 2013 is the continued resurgence of stencils. New designs and new approaches set today's stencils apart from yesterday's.

Mary Beth Shaw, the brains behind StencilGirl Products, was ahead of the curve back when she decided to write a book focused on innovative uses of stencils. The result of her creative thinking is the book Stencil Girl: Mixed-Media Techniques for Making and Using Stencils, recently released by North Light Books in October.

Mary Beth uses easy-to-understand step-out projects, complete with step-by-step photos, to introduce both traditional and innovative uses of stencils in mixed media art. Just some of the products she combines with stenciling include clayboard, a wood burning tool, scratch paper, felt and fabric. She shows how to use stencils as rubbing plates, to create resists, with encaustics, for hole punching, and to create batik effects. She details how to best use stencils with acrylics, texture medium, spray paints, and even cake frosting, among other materials. Detailed supply lists, sidebar tips, and artwork from contributing artists all add another level of quality to this hugely helpful resource.

I am thrilled to be one of those artists, contributing my piece Silence to her book. Thanks Mary Beth!