new journal page

Gotta make this quick, but I wanted to post a picture of a recent journal page. Been doing lots of "fine art" (painting instead of all collage) but I'm sure I'll be over it in a week or so, I usually am.

Art journaling, and a bit of an update.

I finally did a bit of real artwork in my journal last weekend. I realized that I've been mostly making simple backgrounds with the intention of cutting them up for my jewelry, or simply writing everything down to relieve rapidly building pressure. All of this is absolutely fine, but I missed the "art" part of art-journaling.


I'm posting the "steps" I take in making journal spreads, since I'm always curious how other artists layer materials. This process has come about as a result of trying techniques described in magazines (ie., Somerset Studios and Cloth Paper Scissors) and reading others' blogs and websites (Anahata Katkin, Teesha Moore, Sabrina Ward Harrison.)

1. Gesso - I coat both pages of the journal spread with white (or sometimes brown or black, but mostly white). This keeps the paper from buckling or wrinkling when glue or water hits it.
2. Paint - I usually use cheap acrylics for this, and usually don't bother waiting for the gesso to dry completely. This works out because it keeps the colors light, and I can darken them as I go along if I want.


3. Paper - I add random bits of printed text or scrapbook paper, paint over it a little, leave some unpainted, whatever.
4. Charcoal and/or chalk pastels - I trace around/shade the papers I've glued on with complementary colors of chalk pastels and charcoal, smudging them with my fingers. Be sure to have some fixative spray around for when you're finished with this step.
5. Stamps, doodles, precise images - this is when I add some rubber stamping and doodling for texture, and adhere any main focal images I want to have on the spread.
6. Write - of course, you don't HAVE to write. A lot of the time, I'll make spreads and wait until I feel like writing to use them - and some don't ever get written on. It's all up to you. :)

Amazing new book

I just received this awesome book from my mom for Christmas, called Altered Curiosities by Jane Ann Wynn.

There are some amazing projects in it, as well as being great eye candy. I think I want to try to do more assemblage and found object jewelery this year, I seem to slip into an artistic rut this time of year and maybe building things would allow me some creativity.

I also received the latest issue of Somerset Studio on Saturday, and am loving the article on Sally Jean Alexander. I've been waiting for her to be published in there for quite awhile, so seeing her awesome work was really exciting.

As for me, I've been teeter-tottering between metal work and jewelry and art journaling these past few weeks. I'll post more about that (with pics!) next time.

Yes, it still exists!

Just haven't been in blogging mode lately, I guess...but I wanted to get some photos up of what I've been working on the past three months and, you know, reconnect a bit. These two pairs of earrings are on sale in my Etsy shop, and can certainly be altered to better suit individual tastes;If you have any ideas that you'd like me to play around with,I 'm always happy to.

Creative Cycles

It seems like I am never tied down to one artistic technique. You know how lots of artists have that signature "style" or craft that they just do beautifully? It seems like I haven't found that for myself yet. Not to say that my work hasn't evolved since I began collage work four years ago, or that I haven't found any one thing that I really connect with (like art journaling), but my creative process always seems to go from paper art to jewelry to card making to scrapbooking to...well, whatever else it goes to. Like the past few days, I've been finding myself wanting to make jewelry, which I haven't done much of in the past nine months or so. But hey, if that's where I feel inspired, that's what I'll do. I still have a ton of my little glass pendants, so maybe I'll work on making complete necklaces/bracelets out of them.

And on a side note, I've been trying to keep up with Stampington & Co.'s nine billion publications, all of which are fabulous. The one I bought most recently is Somerset Home, which details a bunch of home crafty projects that are just superb.

The other one that I've been reading is Artful Blogging, which is a new publication that features artists' blogs, tips, techniques and hints for how to keep an art blog.

This magazine has articles by "emerging" artists (ie., people I don't see regularly in Somerset Studio magazine) Patty Van Dorin, Michelle Ensminger, Tracie Lyn Huskamp, Andrea Singarella and many, many others. I highly recommend grabbing a copy.

Go out and make stuff! I'm off to bed.

As promised....

So here are some photos of what I've been working on lately. Lots of gesso, printed papers, and markers. I feel like I've somehow gotten a little better at composition--it used to be really hard for me to work around one or two elements without drawing away from them. I don't really know how I've been able to improve on that; I haven't taken a class in god-knows-how-long, other than "color," maybe it's just been looking at the work of so many others all the time. I don't know. Anyhow, enjoy the new pics, there are a bunch more on my flickr page.

Artists

I've been looking at the Marie Antoinette project, a collaboration by Lisa Kaus, Pam Garrison, Anahata Katkin, Lynne Perrella, Teesha Moore and many others, and wondering, how does one "get in"? I've been following Lynne Perrella and Teesha Moore's work for years, how would I get to collaborate with them? Hmmm...I get the feeling that I would have to get my stuff published, or attend ArtFest for a couple of years to be able to do that. I'm trying to put myself and my art out into the world and see how its received, but it's tough when no one in my immediate proximity (that I know of, anyway) is experienced in this sort of work.

I think I'm drawn to artists like these because their art isn't "elitist"--it's not meant to be confusing or only to be understood by a select few people who have studied art history extensively. I have an instructor who tells our class that she uses "relational" media, yet never offered to explain that to us. She's been our instructor since January and I still have no idea what kind of art she does, even though she refers to "her work" all the time. It seems very "holier than thou" to me, but maybe that is just my own perception. I understand wanting to use the creative process as emotional one, but I also want to include the general public in art that I share with others--I want people to "get it", and I try to make sure I can speak to my observers.

And, on that note, here are some flickr favorites of mine!

Creative risks

At this particular moment, I should really be working on one of my various essays or papers for school, reading some school-assigned book, or trying to find three photographs which I feel represent my "self." But I thought I'd write a bit here first, since it's been a little while since I've posted an update.

I downloaded a bunch of podcasts on art and other crafts, and listened to a couple today. WOW!! I loved Alan Lastufka's words of wisdom on creating your own media, and of course Kathy Cano Murillo's CraftyChica podcast. The episode I listened to today was interview with Jennifer Perkins of NaughtySecretary.com, DIY Network's Craft Lab and Stylelicious. I'm really starting to realize how important it is to just get my stuff out there, in whatever way I can. I know that not too many people read this blog, but I know that if I stop writing it, no one is going to read it! Plus, it's kind of fun to track my progress and experiments in art. And if nothing else, I hope that I can help support other artists by providing links and referrals to other sites.

But the other thing I was thinking about was really trying to put together a zine. I've toyed with the idea for a couple of years now; even collected some submissions for a "how-to" zine, just never, er, put it together. I don't really want it to just be mine, I would want it to be a collaboration between artists. I have an "art-ish" project due for school at the end of summer, I was thinking of asking people in my class to each contribute, and then I'd make copies of the whole booklet for everyone. But we have so much work already, I would feel bad asking them all to produce yet another piece just for me. Eh. Maybe I'll throw it out there and see what happens.

On what I've been up to

It seems that when I start to sell art, I start to create based on what will sell, not what I consider to be my artistic truth. Then I realize what I'm doing and feel awful, and start expressing myself "naturally" again, therefore stopping any "production for sale" process. UGH! So many other artists seem to have found a very comfortable balance between personal and business art, and I'm having a tough time of it. I guess the solution would be to just keep on working on what I've started, and be patient. I don't want to make things that look machine-made or mass-produced, but I'd also like to get my stuff out there. I need to keep taking creative risks, and use what "works" in what I sell, right?

Other than that, I'm loving my brand new copy of Somerset Life, which, ironically enough, features an article on creative blogging, interviewing Corey Amaro, Michelle Ward, and Hanne Matthiesen. Also, Amanda Belle Nolan has written a fabulous article on paper cone gift wrapping and display--have I mentioned that I have 3 or 4 of those lying around? Anyway. Check it out, I picked up a copy at Barnes and Noble.

New stuff is UP!!

New MOO cards!!!
Originally uploaded by alexn614.

Well, some divine power must have been reading my post yesterday, because guess what came in the mail? Yes, my new glass! So definately check out the new pendants in my store (you can click on the "etsy" icon to the right), and keep checking, I'm putting new ones up every day!

And if you order a pendant from me, you get one of my new Moo cards!

New stuff in my Etsy shop

Go to my Etsy shop for a couple new pendants. I'm waiting for new glass to arrive in the mail so that I can make some more, but until then, I'm working with the little that I have.

My friend Mike taught me how to cut (score) and break glass at school on Saturday, so I'm also awaiting a brand new glass cutter!! I can finally just do it myself! Buying the individual little pieces gets so expensive. Plus, sometimes I'd like to make an odd-shaped piece, like 1/2" by 1" and you can't find pre-cut pieces like that. Anyhow, it should be fun, and I'll have a lot of new pieces for you by next week.

On challenges and creating

I'm having so much fun making little altered shipping tags, finishing atc's, and impatiently anticipating the arrival of more glass to make more pendants.

But I have trouble creating actual art "pieces." It's not so much of a problem in my journals, maybe because I don't put so much expectation into it. I look at these gorgeous works of art by Pam Garrison or the amazing work of Anahata Katkin and they inspire me so much, I run to the studio and sit down and start pawing frantically through paper and fabric and photos and then, nothing. Or I feel like I don't have the right paper in the right pattern, or I need to stock up on costume jewelry, and really, that's just limiting me. I don't want to copy the work of other people; when I worked at Scrapbooks in Bloom, customers would come in and literally, piece by piece, copy the sample pages, and just use their own photos instead of the ones in the demo. I like to be inspired, but what's the point of duplication?

Back to my original point- I am working on three different canvas (actually gesso-board) pieces and am "stuck" on all of them. Two are in their final stages (I think) and one is just beginning. I don't know. I think I've mentioned it in a previous post, but I was just reading through Anahata's Creative Process and this describes my current place of stuck-ness perfectly:

Stage Two RESISTANCE:
Then suddenly I hit a place where I have maximized that stage and I hit that RESISTANCE.
Remember resistance will occur naturally in the first third of the project. Learn to expect it.
Do not be surprised when you suddenly hit the edge of your process. It is Real for every-
one. The voice of reason is loud, convincing and intense. It can show up in the form of
boredom, disinterest, frustration, tiredness comparing & exaggerated mental chatter
about your artwork. Now I have recognized the value and realize that I have to work in
spite of that voice. It is crucial during the resistance phase that you keep on working!
The more you pause and stop working the more power and habit you provide to the
resistance. Most people stop right here and don’t usually push further. This defines an
artist from another person. Artist will work through this piece. At this point try your best
to observe the critic without reacting to it. Your critic will have some good ideas if you
ask yourself questions like: How can I solve this visual question? What is it I don’t like and
what flashes into my mind as solutions? That should be the extent of the power you offer
your resistance. The resistance only signals that you have hit the edge of your creative
breath. And when this happens it simply shows you that it is time for a new strategy or
another creative inhalation.

Well, I guess that means it's time to head back to the studio, ask some visual questions, and listen to what that inner critic might be suggesting. I'll let you all know what happens.

Suddenly busy

Whew! I'm so excited-- my art is going to be sold in a FABULOUS store called Thistle in Palo Alto. Apparently the store owner met my mom last weekend at the Gamble Gardens show, and wanted me to bring in some more pendants, cards, tags, trinkets, etc. I went in yesterday and WOW! They have incredible stuff. Very cottage/shabby chic, kitschy, vintage, and a huge selection. I saw notebooks and candles from Anna Corba, great stationary, pretty aprons, even 5-inch glitter letters, sold individually. I'm so thrilled that they actually like my artwork!

And of course, I've been making stuff. Tags, mostly, while I'm waiting for a new shipment of glass pieces to make pendants out of.

Hooray!

On Thursday night, my mom told me that she had a booth at the Gamble Gardens California Creative event, which would be held Friday and Saturday. She was selling her fantastic California landscape oil paintings, and offered to take some of my glass pendants as well. I had school all weekend, but said "Sure!"

I really didn't expect to sell much, but apparently, I did pretty well! I sold11 of them! This is one of the first times I have tried to sell to the general public, and I am very happily surprised to have done so well. I was completely unprepared, didn't have any business cards, no artist bio, etc. So, I decided to give Mom what was left of my MOO cards and a bunch of my ATC's--hey, at least they have my contact info on the back! According to Mom, people loved the artist trading cards.

1001 Journals

Have you ever heard of 1001 Journals? I've never participated in any of the traveling journals on that site, but I've done many similar ones with other members of Nervousness.org. Anyway, the 1001 Journals site has a call for submissions, which will be published in a collaborative book. How cool would that be to get some of my stuff published? I need to take some better pictures of some of the pages. I wish I had one of those really nice cameras so I could take more "pro" pictures, but my little Canon Powershot works fine. One Nervousness member had a call for journal pics a couple of years ago, she was going to publish them all in a journalling zine. I sent a bunch in, but never heard anything about the final result. Bummer. I thought that was a cool idea.

Anyway, I'll post here with my submissions. Cross your fingers!

So many projects...

I seem to get stuck in my projects...I look at gallery upon gallery of handmade things that I love, and I feel so inspired by them. But then I sit down to make something and...nothing. Even when I look around my workspace and see supplies I can't wait to use, I can't get it together. Or I'll grit my teeth and try to work through it and sometimes it works, other times I just make a big mess and nothing comes out of it. I was looking on Anhata Katkin's website, and found her very helpful page on Creative Resistance and how to work through it. Definately worth a try. I'll let you know how it goes.

I have been making art, though. Yesterday I went to Joann's and bought just a 1/2 yard of these fabrics:
Aren't they pretty? No real idea what I plan to do with them, but they're still cool. :) Other than that, I'm working slooooowly on a flag banner, which is currently unassembled. I'm making on triangle at a time, trying not to worry too much about colors matching and whatnot.

Flickr Faves of the Week

1. Whimsy Birdhouse, 2. Beautiful vintage finds........., 3. I am dreaming of a Shabby chic Christmas..........., 4. Closer view of the "Our Home" book........, 5. Entry into Dariannes baby book........., 6. Acrylic Paint caddy......, 7. My finds this weekend........., 8. Fairy Dress Form assemblage......, 9. basket of vintage goodness..., 10. Share your own spark#98, 11. molto affettuoso, 12. Nature's pink, 13. LOOK CLOSELY necklaces, 14. L- garland mama made me, 15. sea nymph, 16. My mom made this!!, 17. altered photo/painting/collage for a special lil girl!, 18. Front Cover~ Grandma Brag Book I made for my mom today, 19. Untitled, 20. Paperback Book Cover, 21. 3rd month collage, 22. My latest shabby chic commission, 23. Judys Shabby Rose Garden, 24. Ancient, 25. Linda I's deck

Journal Cover for Mom

For once, I actually thought ahead to Mother's Day, and made something early! It's a cover for one of those little Molskine notebooks, which are 3.5" x 5.5", and you can buy them in 3-packs from Barnes and Noble. I'm going to give her a set with the cover. I had so much fun making it--it's the whole "Mom will love it because I made it" thing that I can always fall back on if the final product comes out less than perfect. But I'm pretty proud of this one!

As promised...more ATC's!

Here are three more...and I'm still working on them!

I'm also doing a lot with paint, gesso, matte medium, tissue paper, print, and modeling paste. It's the ongoing Box project for school, which I will post pics of as it comes along.

What I've been up to

I've been doing a lot of work in my Dream Home journal, which basically involves cut-and-pasting pictures from magazines. I try to use lots of different sources so that I can really piece it all together. I try to avoid making everything look uniform, you know? Anyway, I need to take more pictures of it, I've been working on all the pages at a time. It's easier for me to do that rather than to finish one spread completely, then start on the next.
I've also been working on my lexicon and box for school, which is due on Saturday, and a journal cover for my mom for Mother's Day.

Other than that, I've been spending way too much time on Flickr looking at pretty pictures. Here are some of my (many) recent favorites:


1. "Swan", 2. ATC - This Sky, This Night, 3. walk_on_water_ACEO, 4. Valentie ATC's, 5. Soldered Art-front, 6. miss, 7. 'Bella Rose' Vintage Wedding Cuff Bracelet, 8. miracle detail, 9. ArtFest Journal, 10. Untitled, 11. in progess, 12. very merrily collage, 13. 3rd month collage - detail, 14. star booklet (front), 15. altered library card- Dedication to Sojourner Truth, 16. its a vicious cycle, 17. dream, 18. Love Song, 19. honeycomb book detail, 20. Intime221L:R#130, 21. Intime221L:R#002, 22. day 9: "play" collage, 23. Grow, 24. Nesting, 25. Journal page front, 26. Lt. Blue, 27. Pink ATC, 28. ladies art group, 29. little mollie and czerny, 30. A little package going out today...., 31. Envelope for Carries Book, 32. Shabby bench on my back porch, 33. Its all in the details........, 34. OOOH la la Paris!, 35. cover of my altered vintage book....., 36. Love's little instruction book........