The Sketchbook Challenge Book

As many of you know, I've been participating in a blog called The Sketchbook Challenge, organized by Sue Bleiweiss.  On the blog we offer tutorials, themes, and inspiration to help readers work in their sketchbooks.  Sue has written a book based on many of the ideas generated on the blog, "The Sketchbook Challenge: Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Achieving Your Creative Goals".

 

 I am delighted to be included in the book.  Each chapter is based on a theme, and my theme was "Patterns and Grids".  Here are a few photos of my sketchbook on that theme:

 

  

And a couple of finished pieces based on my sketchbook explorations.  These are each 11"x15":

 

This blog hop is sponsored by lots of generous manufacturers of art supplies.  When you comment on this post, you have a chance to win an 8"x10" gel plate from GelliArts.  Go here for my little video demonstration on using the gel plate.  I will choose a winner at random on July 7.

Additional sponsors include:
Mistyfuse, Art Plantae Today, Joggles, Sue Pelland Designs, The Thread Studio, Blue Twig Studio, The Artist Cellar, and ProChemical and Dye.

For the complete blog hop schedule go here.  Hope you enjoy it!

2012 Sketchbook Challenge

I'm sure that many of you are aware of The Sketchbook Challenge, a blog that I co-host with a fabulous group of artists, and the brain child of Sue Bleiweiss. Well, we're in for another year of monthly themes, tutorials, artist profiles, and creative inspiration.

We've heard from a few of our 2011 readers that they have compiled their sketches from the challenge. Take a look at Alarmcat Studio, who spread out all her work from the Sketchbook Challenge 2011 themes:


And Linda Kittmer's Sketchbook Challenge Journal:

We have two new hosts for The Sketchbook Challenge this year: Pam Carriker and Susan Brubaker Knapp. I look forward to seeing more of their work!

January's Sketchbook Challenge theme is Doodling, by Diana Trout. What a fun way to ease into your 2012 sketchbook practice!

We also have an updated Tutorials page with loads of free instructions on drawing, textile arts, book arts, and way way more.

So check it out, and participate if you like, or just ogle the eye candy on our flickr site.

Happy new year!

Sketch-In and Sketchbook Practices

Since The Sketchbook Challenge began last January I've been thinking about how I use and don't use a sketchbook. What is a sketchbook? How do artists use them? How is it different from an "art journal"? These are questions I've pondered over the year without forcing any answers.

To express your thoughts on the topic, click here to take a brief survey.

At Ink About It over the weekend, Sue Bleiweiss and I conducted a Sketch-In. We did lots of drawing exercises:

Then worked with watercolor, experimenting with materials:


And working from still life:
On the second day we painted papers:

Using various brands and types of acrylic paint:
Look at us all having FUN!
Here I am demonstrating something brilliant, I'm sure:

And this is Sue Bleiweiss with Lori, one of the owners of Ink About It.
Then Sue gave us a great little tutorial on making a quick and easy hard-cover book. She brought book kits for everybody, and people used their painted papers for covers and end-papers. What a creative and productive weekend! Check out Sue's free projects to find this book tutorial and many others.

Your Dream Studio

I just got Cloth Paper Scissors e-newsletter offering a new publication called "Inside the Creative Studio: Inspiration and Ideas for Your Art and Craft Space". The e-newsletter asks: What makes a Dream Studio? My answer: Make it work for YOU!

I have seen some artists' studios that look just like any dream studio in a magazine, artists who are both organized AND productive and creative, and sometimes I long to be one of those artists. HOWEVER, I am not one of those. And for those of you who are a little more like me (not totally disorganized, but definitely not a neatnik) I am writing this post to suggest that you do not need your "Dream Studio" to make art. You can get some very useful ideas from CPS's fabulous publications on studios, and Inside the Creative Studio sounds like a great resource (see Sue Bleiweiss's book review). I have gotten great tips myself. But don't let gorgeous photos of beautiful studios discourage you from making art on your kitchen table, your corner of the bedroom, your studio with stuff all over the place (that's me), your dingy basement, or the living room floor. You are who you are. Organize to suit your own style of working, your own level of sustainable organization.

As good as it gets for me (photo-shoot ready):

What it usually looks like:

The other worktable:

My Own Dream Studio

Thanks for taking a look. Embrace who you are and what you have, and accept whatever workspace you have as your dream studio!

Texture on Deli Paper

I am done with Friday Drawing Practice for a while, but I thought I would continue to offer little tutorials on Fridays. It's fun, and it keeps me in practice.

Here is a technique for adding texture to paper. I use it in my Scribble Collage workshops, but just recently tried it on deli paper ("dry waxed paper"). Sue Bleiweiss does wonders on deli paper, which she demonstrated at our Sketch-In at Ink About It a few weeks ago. She gets hers at BJ's Wholesale Club for a lot cheaper than elsewhere, but they don't sell it online, so I did not include a link.



Here are a couple of samples of the deli paper with texture. The nice thing about this paper is that is is stronger than tissue paper, but it's almost as transparent.




Then I ripped them up and made a collage in my sketchbook:

Thanks for visiting. Have fun!

Book Release!

Today is the official release date of my new book, Adventures in Mixed Media. Thanks to all of you who have pre-ordered it from Amazon, or otherwise bought a copy. I invite comments, questions, feedback of any sort via e-mail, Amazon (or other book seller) reviews, or comments on my blog.


Adventures in Mixed Media is a book of projects and techniques, with lots of side bars on creative process Here is a little teaser video on my "fusion fabric process, described in Chapter Four of Adventures.



I am grateful to the many artists who contributed their work to this book, including Sue Bleiweiss of Sketchbook Challenge fame, Elissa Campbell, Ingrid Dijkers, Pamela Hastings, Autumn Hathaway, Sherrill Kahn, Carol Owen, and Dawne Polis.

Enjoy the video, check out the contributors' web sites, and, as always, THANKS FOR VISITING!

Friday Drawing Practice

I am going to postpone the Drawing With Values exercise because I want to share an easy and fun doodle exercise that Sue Bleiweiss and I did in our Sketch-In at Ink About It. It begins with Diana Trout's Doodle Game, which is on the Sketchbook Challenge Tutorials page. I urge you to watch her video and try it! I took it in a slightly new direction in honor of this month's Sketchbook Challenge theme: Branching Out / Out On A Limb.



To see my results, click here.

I hope you have fun with this. Thanks for visiting! Take my survey about your art practices and preferences. THANKS! It will help me with my Friday Practice series.

Advance Copy

I finally got my advance copy of Adventures in Mixed Media, and I am happy to report that it looks terrific. Nice color reproduction; the book design is awesome; I'm always impressed with the work of my photographers, John Polak and George Bouret. The official release date is April 26, but you can pre-order the book from Amazon if you like. I will bring copies to Art Unraveled in August, and Art and Soul in September to make them available as well. Here are a few sneak previews.

Making a simple pamphlet-stitch book:
Remember these paper bags?
I did a chapter that includes making these shrines from foam core. The gorgeous one on the right is Carol Owen's; she is the inspiration for this project.
This chapter on Fusion, Fabric, and Fiber opens with a photo of Sue Bleiweiss's fabulous tea pot:
A couple of my own fusion fabric pieces:
There is a chapter on Mixed Media Dolls. The doll in the upper right of the left page is by Ingrid Dijkers.
And here is some eye candy from the chapter on books and boxes: paper mosaic with paper gems and glue gems. All the sparkle and glitz you could stand.
Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to check out the Sketchbook Challenge blog.

Workshop at Ink About It

I was so excited to meet, finally in person, Sue Bleiweiss, who came to my Dream House workshop at Ink About It on Saturday. Several people in the workshop had already seen the Sketchbook Challenge blog and were excited to start sketching. Here is a photo of me and Sue, in person, together, showing off our sketchbooks.
Sue had made her spiral bound sketchbook using the Zutter Bind-It-All; I was inspired to buy one at Ink About It along with some of the spiral wires. Can't wait to make some spiral bound books! But I digress... Here are a few more pix from the workshop:

Pat's Dream House:

Lori's Dream House:
Leslie's Dream House:
Karen, with Sue in the background:
Besides having a great time with the gang at Ink About It and meeting Sue in person, I was totally blown away by a book that Sue made for me. Take a peek:

Here's the cover. It's Ultrasuede with an antique glitter key!
The book is made with three signatures; at the beginning of each signature there is a quote about creativity and a little charm. The charms read: "vision", "journey", and "imagine".
In the middle of each signature is a pair of quotes along the bottom of the facing pages, and the last page of each signature has a pocket with a little tag in it where I can write myself a note.Included in the pages are some very enticing hand-painted papers, the beginnings of collaborative pieces!
This is definitely a case of the book being too-precious to use, and it will take a good deal of will to just get started. Sue said I HAVE to sketch in it, so I think I'll start in the middle on one of the painted pages, and will post the result soon . I promise!