Class with Suzi Blu

Hello lovies... Sorry I have been MIA lately... it's been awhile... Joseph had surgery, and I'm happy to announce he's doing wonderful, despite being bedridden forced to watch horrible daytime TV (he loves it)...

I'm taking a online class by the lovely Suzi Blu, who by the way has found her calling... she is an art teach, and she is doing such a wonderful job... her videos are wonderful and inspiring and I'm having a blast... LOVE HER!!!

The class is all about making "pretty pretty girls" (as Suzi calls them)... it's so much fun!! It's eight weeks of videos, homework assignments, entries in our Healing Art Journal, and tons of inspiration... There are about 350 people taking the class, and each person adds their own love and talent to the class... we get to see other people's work, ask tons of questions, and just enjoy each other... It's incredible...

Lesson One was all about drawing faces... the rules to drawing eyes, old vs. young faces, and adding your own little touch to each piece... here are a few of my sketches...

Lesson Two was on Shading to accentuate the natural contours of the face... Suzi Blu created her pieces on wood and does a little wood burning to add a little somethin' somethin' to her initial sketch... here's my first attempt at painting a "pretty pretty girl" on wood... First I sketched out my girl on a piece of birch plywood and then burned the outline...

Then I did a little shading with watercolor and regular pencils...

I blended a colorless pencil and added some white to the nose and cheek area... a little pink and red to the lips, and another layer of colored pencils for added shading...



Colored her hair, another layer of shading and blended with water and acrylic paint... it's not exactly perfect (one of her eyes is a little bigger than the other, and she looks like she has bags under her eyes... not to mention that her hair doesn't have much dimension), but it's my first one so I'll cut myself some slack... I'm so critical of myself... I need to stop... anyway, here she is... you like?

Things I need to promise myself...

play every day...
do my dishes...
spend less money...
take more creative classes, even if it's only an online tutorial...
commit to Peach Honey products...
study for my RNC...
pay off my credit cards...
lose 3 pounds...
be patient...
finish Joseph and my scrapbook...
love...
sort through my closet and get rid of half my clothes...
start crocheting again...
cook more...
dance...
floss...
take a sewing class...
workout...
start (and finish) my scrapbooks for my Europe trips...
take beautiful pictures...
wash my car...

Mixed Media Page

Go visit my Suzi Blu Mixed Media Page... xoxox

I'm on my way...

Well, it's been a very busy week... lots of stuff to report... let's start at the beginning...

I took a Story Canvas class a couple weeks ago from Chris Cozen at my local stamp store, and OH MY GOD!!!, I can't even explain to you how wonderful it was... She is so talented and her presence alone helped to inspire truly beautiful work from everyone in the class... It's so wonderful to be surrounded by talented people... it helps to spark ideas that may otherwise lay dormant...

I brought a pic of Joseph and I (our favorite picture of the two of us) from our weekend in San Francisco last July... We had only been dating for a month, but I knew then and there I was madly in love... Here's my finished collage... it's my first mixed media piece and I'm so so so happy with it... I love that you can tell a story, real or not, and transform that story into something beautiful...

I have to admit that I was being a total groupie,

hanging off of her every word, but damnit it was worth it... here's a pic of the two of us (after she signed my book, of course)... Another good outcome of the class was that I got to talk to Chris about how she got started creating her own line of rubber stamps... Let's just say that my sketches are on their way to "her lady" and I'm that much closer to launching Peach Honey products... AHHHHHH!!! Yea, just a little excited...

I FINALLY HAVE A WORK TABLE!!! After my custom table dreams fell threw I called my Dad to see if there was any way he could help me make something... He informed me that he had a drafting table that he wasn't using... A FREE TABLE?!? Long story short, I went to Home Depot, got a new table top, and he happily attached it... It's so perfect... it's 3x5 feet with an adjustable height, and I even got a clip on lamp to attach to the side... I couldn't help but play all Monday afternoon and evening.... Here's a couple mixed media pieces I did... you like?

And here's a pic of my new table... yes, it's already covered in projects and I love it!!! I wouldn't have it any other way...

NEW FAV BOOK!!! Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected by Claudine Hellmuth... It took me a week to finish her first book, Collage Discovery Workshop, and this new one was no exception... lovely new techniques to inspire even the newest of artists, and examples of her lovely work... After finishing the book, I took out all my mini canvas boards, and tried them out... here's what I did... whatcha think? (They will be going up on my Etsy site soon, I promise)...

Busy busy busy Jess...

I promise I'm not neglecting my blog page... I have worked the last 11 days and I need time to gather my thoughts...

Peach Honey Products is on the way... it might take a while, but it's on the way...

I'm frantically trying to get my studio together, so my Etsy page and future business will be everything I want and more... thanks to everyone for their support and lovely comments... It's amazing what a little love will do...

more to come... promise!!!

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!!!

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...

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...

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...

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!!!