Monday, July 21, 2008

Holy Productive Weekend, Batman!!!!

Oh my freakin goodness!!! I got so much done this weekend... I spent all of Friday sitting on the floor of my office organizing my multitude of crap (after a hefty helping of Starbucks... gotta love that caffeine buzz)... Every thing is where it should be and now I just have some minor organizing of pictures and patterned paper to do and then I'm FINISHED!!! It feels so good, I can't even explain it... I can't stop walking in the room and admiring my work...

Here are some of the final pics...

If you can't remember what my "creative space" used to look like... take a look... it was ridiculous...

Oh, I forgot to mention, I opened an ETSY site!!!... I'm gonna post my first two pieces in a couple days, so stay tuned... (TELL YOUR FRIENDS I DO COMMISSIONS!!), and I hope to post some stamps I've been designing... I'm so excited!!!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Let the craziness begin...

My life has become one big whirl of STUFF!!!...Color Theory class with my Mati... I have only done one lesson, and since I haven't finished the first assignment, yet, I haven't scheduled the second lesson (I'm such a bad student)... I'm also doing an online Business class through Learning Exchange... I really really really want to launch Peach Honey Products, so this is the first step to it's success...

I'm still organizing my multitude of crap!!! This project has been going on for awhile, but I'm really serious about finishing it soon (stop rolling your eyes, Joseph)... I'm doing a commission for Joseph's parent's... my first one, and I'm oh so nervous... I hope they love it...

I'm still doing classes here and there from local art stores... I've done a couple from David Lobenberg, which I loved and I plan to sign up for more in the future... I signed up for a class with Chris Cozen, author of Altered Surfaces, and a local stamp art store... I'm so excited to work on my mixed media pieces...

And yes, I'm still working full-time as a nurse, and thank God because it's the only way I can finance all my artistic passions... Damn inspiration!!!... it gets me into so much trouble...

Monday, July 14, 2008

Happy 25th to Me!!!

I have wonderful friends... My 25th birthday was Sunday the 13th (it was also my mom's birthday... but a lady never reveals her age, although, I can tell you she in NO WAY looks her age... hope some of those good genes pass down to me)... My wonderful work buddies arranged a wonderful Pink Princess themed potluck complete with banners and pick princess plates... It was so cute, and I was extremely happy!!! Not only that, but they all chipped in to get a very generous gift card to my fav scrapbook store Green Tangerines... I already have a list of things I want to buy...
A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PITCHED IN!!! LOVE YOU!! And to my Sho who stopped by, on her day off, with her hubby, Gary, to bring me flowers... love love love you!!! Another big special thank you to miss Angela, who organized the whole thing... thanks for every sweetheart... it meant so much...

I then got a special welcome from my love, Joseph, who placed beautiful flowers all over the apartment... how could a girl not swoon... I love him so much!!!! I spent the rest of the night in his nook (after my hour massage... like I said, I'm a lucky girl)... it was wonderful...

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Abstract Acrylic Class

I took another one of David Lobenberg's acrylic classes... and this one was all about abstracts... I love abstracts mainly because it gives me the right to PLAY!!!... Throw down some paint... and more... and more... and the best part is that if you don't like it you can wait until it dries and paint right over it... no waiting hours for the paint to dry...

We did a couple pieces, one of which I'm completely in love with (and the other I don't like at all, and because of the beauty of acrylics I will paint right over it and start again... and all I'm left with is the wonderful bumps left over from the paining underneath... yummy!!!)... I did a journal entry of a silhouette modeled after this advertisement for house paint I found in a magazine... here is the ad...


...and here is the journal entry using oil pastels... I wanted to keep it simple because I knew I would eventually turn it into a bigger piece... and I did...


For the bigger piece I put down a background of a tinted Yellow Ochre, and highlighted with a little gold metallic paint (love the metallic... it gives a little something in the right light)... David had a lot of circle's in his piece, and I loved it, so I took the plunger he brought to class, and per his instructions, dipped it in paint and started stamping...

One of the other reasons I love the class atmosphere is the plethora of products other students bring (especially to an abstract class)... Everyone feels like a kid in a candy story picking through an endless supply of play things... I borrowed another students Color Wash by Ranger and spritzed here and there...

After the entire background dried (only 15 minutes or so... love that!!) I used blue painters tape to mask off the area outside my silhouette painted the silhouette that lovely khaki green color, stamped the circle in the wet paint, and highlighted with some more gold and pearl paints... after that layer dried, peel off and reveal!!! Here's the semi-finished product... I still have some "texturing" to do (it's a little to flat to me)... I love the depth that peaks and valleys give to a piece... more to come... I promise to post the finished piece...

Friday, July 11, 2008

Peach Honey Product dreams

Miss Suzi Blu has inspired me once again... She has started a new venture with painting kits and online classes and I couldn't be happier for her... Her success has pushed me to seek out some dreams of my own... I have started the beginnings of what I hope to become Peach Honey Products... I think I'll start with stamps and expand from there... I emailed Tim Holtz to see how he got started with his AMAZING line and he gave me a few ideas and told me to follow my dreams... love him!!!
More to come... have a wonderful weekend...

PS... It's my birthday on Sunday!!! Oh, and more importantly, its also my mom's birthday on Sunday!!... Happy Birthday Momma!!!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Art Journal Inspiration


I know I have mentioned art journaling before, but I received a new book from Amazon.com today and Sharon Soneff, author of Art Journals & Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression, made everything so clear... she described this process so perfectly and I wanted to share it with all of you...

"This is not the time for making masterpieces. All creative expression is safe and beautiful in the space of a healing journal, in which imperfection is desirable. Imperfections add character and tend to be more hones in their impulsivity. Quick work is telling work. Dare to be urgent in your execution, so that you can be revealing and compelling in the process.
Your journaling need not be coherent or complete; it need only be honest. These pieces are not created for an audience, your journal is a haven for partial thoughts, and even single words that resound with you.
For this to be effective you must make yourself vulnerable. Remove all judgement-making when expression and articulating on paper. Ungard your heart. "

Monday, July 7, 2008

New Feature...

Just to let you know I have added a little item to the left side of my page... if you click on the slideshow it will send you to my web-based album of my journal entries... (or you can click here) just a little somethin' somethin' for all you folks... I will update frequently so check back often... enjoy!!!

Three Things to Love... about Thrift Stores

My first installment of something I hope to continue throughout my blogging years... (something I completely stole from Ali Edwards... love her...)
Three Things to Love...

...About Thrift Stores
I stopped by the thrift store by my parents house in Cameron Park this weekend, and reaffirmed my belief that thrift stores are the perfect place to buy things you need... These are my lovely finds... for cheap...

1. Mason jars and glass bottles... to store paint brushes, pens, and all those other things you have no place for... each glass jar or bottle was only 30 cents...


2. Old books... I use them for not only decoration, but also use in my mixed media/collage pieces... This five book set is a collection of old books including The Aeneid... Each book was only $2...


3. Old clothing patterns... to also use in my mixed media/collage pieces... when layered with beeswax and other mediums they produce this wonderful transparent look that lets me reveal little tidbits of items hiding below... love it!!!... each pattern envelope was 30 cents...

Go check out some of your local thrift stores... you are sure to find little treasures for mere pennies... Happy Hunting!!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Color Theory: Lesson 1

Lesson #1: Tint & Shade charts for every color of acrylic paint you have...
(Please note that I'm giving you a snippet of the notes I got from my Mati, and notes I jotted down during the day)

This first assignment is meant to aid in learning about color and painting in general. I was informed that the whole class is based on warms and cools so let's begin... Cool colors recede while warm colors come forward (warm colors are the ones you see first when looking at a piece of art)... the exception is lemon yellow because although it is considered a cool color it's brightness tends to dominate the page...

Tint = Color + White
Shade = Color + Black
Tinted Shade = Tint + Shade (Black)

This first assignment involves making value charts for each of the paint colors you have (see mine below as an example)... Making these different scales of gray will range from 1 to 9, where 1 will be black and 9 will be white... Then you will continue by making Otswald's hue diagram that consists of the color plus five tints make by mixing varying amount of while, five shades made by mixing in varying amounts of black, and five tinted shades of each color make by mixing varying amounts of gray...

The colors you should at least have is... (I use both Liquitex and Golden heavy body acrylics, but please note that you MUST make a value chart for each paint even if you have the same color in two different brands)

Cadmium Red Medium or pyrole red
Alizirin Crimson
Cadmium Yellow medium or Hansa Yellow Medium
Lemon Yellow
Ultramarine Blue
Prussian Blue


Here's an example of my value chart for Cad Red Medium and Alizirin Crimson... Make sure to label your color with the brand and color number shown on the tube of paint... The first column indicates your tints (color+white... the first circle should only have a very tiny amount of white), the second column your shades (tint+black... the first having a very small amount of black), the third your tinted shades (color+black... the last circle having only a small amount of color), and the very top bar should be the plain paint color with neither black, nor white added...

Yes, I know, it takes a little time, but my Mati assured me that it will help immensely throughout your entire painting career... enjoy and have fun...

Oh Happy Day!!!

I walked into work today, we were 3 people overstaffed, so I went home... oh happy day!!!... I spent all morning cleaning my office, and because the stupid carpet cleaner missed my apartment for the second day in a row, it felt good to come home and finish the job, and guess what?... I reclaimed my kitchen table!!! Thank God!!! and I spent all afternoon sitting on my office floor organizing (still not done, but getting closer), and now one of the last things to do is take another lovely trip to IKEA and get more bins to hold all my crap... and yes, that crap pile has grown since I went to the art store yesterday after being inspired by my Mati's studio...

Oh... I forgot... I had my first color theory lesson with my Mati yesterday (I always call her "my Mati"... and she always calls me "my Jess"... it just works... love her)... As soon as I walked through the door her husband gave me the grand tour of their property... OH SO BEAUTIFUL!!! lots of land for their garden, and did I mention they have a creek in their back yard? The owners before them converted their patio, that wrapped around the house, into another "sub-room" by enclosing it... it's has perfect natural light and is the perfect studio for Mati... I was so jealous. After Mati gave me an intro into Color Theory we sat down to paint, and Mati's husband started playing the guitar and singing in the next room... it was the perfect inspirational environment... no wonder Mati's work is so beautiful and full of life... It was such a wonderful day...

OMG!!! I forgot the most exciting part of my day... Mati had this sculpture she made sitting next to her work table that I could stop staring at... I mentioned how much I loved it and she said she was thinking about getting rid of it... WHAT?!? I couldn't, in good conscience, let anyone else have it... so I took him home, his name is Steve, and I love him... (Joseph thinks he's creepy)... for now he's sitting on the corner of my IKEA cube system, but I think I'll put him on the corner of my craft table when it's finished... I love him!!! He is sure to inspire some interesting work...

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