This week, I decided to share one of the videos I did for my Gelli Plate Junk Journal e-class (which has been going swimmingly!).
Gelli Plate Stamping! (video)
Giant Art Photobomb GO!
Wow! Running an online class seems to grab all my attention; everything has been filmed, though, and last night, after 3.5 hours of working, we headed off for a good dinner of crab legs to celebrate.
I spent the day cleaning my patio, moving furniture, & putting up Halloween decorations. I'm not a huge fan of Halloween-y stuff (I know...surprising, right?), but for some reason, have felt the need to make the world around me festive, fun, & positive. Cleanliness and incense and pretty decorating!
(Keep reading; this is an art journal photobomb post!)
Okay, so I don't have very many decorations, but I did the best with what I have! I love those little pumpkin lights, even though they don't light up.
Now that things are nice and clean and moved, I can sit outside in the cool desert air and play in my journals. This weekend is for relaxation and filling the well; creating stories with drawings and paints and markers, doodling shapes and ships on the sea. Expressing all the uncertainty I feel.
I think, when we come out on the other side of something, a prolonged period of turbulence or illness in our lives, it's natural to question the lesson behind it. I've found myself writing my questions in my art journals, layers of colorful marker-scrawled words hidden under paint and collage.
blick matte acrylics, collage materials, prismacolor markers, gold oil pastel, signo white gel pen
distress stains, signo white gel pen
distress stains, gold acrylic paint, black craft paint, white signo gel pen
The rest of my time has been consumed with Gelli Printing!
For me, whenever I teach a class, I find myself uber-excited to share every little thing I know, & any waining passion is reignited; I have tried so many new things lately, and just adore re-exploring my gelli plate through the eyes of my students.
One of their favorite things is how I clean my plate. I originally learned this from Carla Sonheim and fell in love -- it's perfect for art journalers because the technique creates instant backgrounds to play on, and is so textured and full of color, I just love looking at them! How do you do it? Simply cover your plate with a layer of craft paint, put it down in your journal, and let it dry -- easy peasy! Here are some in my various journals...
Okay, this last one is a combination of techniques and an example from one of the lessons that I'm doodling on with the best pen in the world, the Pilot Permaball. Roben-Marie parted with one from her stash for me to try this discontinued pen. It write over ANYTHING and dries totally permanent. I adore it, but only pull it out when it'd be the best tool since I'll have to order more online when it runs out. Still...so, so nice! You can't get them in stores anymore, but can grab them at the Scarlet Lime shop.
The last thing I'm sharing today in this art photobomb is the junk journal I finished for the Gelli Print Junk Journal class. BTW, we're having SO MUCH FUN....after just a week, the girls are totally blown away and learning new things. I'm going to take my mother's advice and brag about myself for a moment by sharing a few things they've said:
Miriam C:
"I have seen tons of videos but your video from yesterday's class has refreshing new techniques I haven't seen before. I considered myself pretty proficient on the Gelli Plate but yesterday I learn tons of new things. And we are only in our first week of class. I am absolutely loving the class. If you are reading this post I would urge you to sign up for Samie Harding Gelli Plate ecourse."
Vickie P:
"Seriously, you changed my printing style for the better today as I worked. I learned more from you than I realized until I put it into practice! This class ROCKS! Thank you!"
Genevive C:
"I have watched countless Gelli printing YouTube videos, and I've already learned several new things. And I just received my round Gelli plate, so I'm definitely going to play with that."
I have been SO happy and encouraged by all they're saying and creating! I've really learned to hold space and share from my heart; I have learned I have so much to share in this life, and really need to get on doing so!
Phew! That was a lot of pictures! Photobomb DONE!
By the way, did you catch this week's episode of Journal Girl in the Studio? I reviewed Blick Matte Acrylics and played with them in my art journal.
While you go watch that, I'm going to head outside and play! It's beautiful outside and I just found neon Prismacolor markers -- OMG, they're gorgeous! But that's for another day!
gelli prints & self care
I filmed this on Monday, my first day back in the studio in nearly 21 days.
While the cause of this migraine is still a bit of a mystery, I've been slowly getting better over the past few days. I'm not back to full strength yet -- four hours of art and I'm dead on my feet, errands exhaust me, and it's taken me all day to answer a few emails and post -- but I'm slowly getting there, one day at a time. And like always, my fibromyalgia has complicated matters a bit. But it's okay. I'll get through.
Which brings to me to what I said about self-care in the video. I truly think there's a point when our self-care can stop us from progressing forward; the belief that we're not well enough keeping us from living our life. There was a point, last week, when I had to be rushed to the doctor, that I got depressed. Majorly depressed. Prayers turned angry as I felt I was being punished and ignored, I stayed in bed all day in the dark…I felt like I would never feel better, never get back to life, and seriously wondered if there was serious damage being done to my brain.
And yes, you can wallow there for awhile. You can let yourself just be, and stop thinking about answering emails or keeping up social engagements or even eat healthy. Crawl under the covers. But at some point, you need to get pissed.
Yep. Pissed. Angry. You aren't going to let this, whatever it is, keep you from living life and finding joy and spreading whatever inspiration & love you can. And honestly, ever since I started forcing myself to work through things, I've felt better. More positive. Happier.
I've been working on my Gelli Print Junk Journal e-course. I haven't been able to advertise, or share the work, or do a promo, or all of the myriad of things you need to do to run a successful class online these days. I'm trying not to get discouraged by the lack of sign ups or messages asking for assistance (which I understand, but wish someone would acknowledge that my work is worth what I'm charging!). Art Journal Summer Camp was a wild success with over 60 students, and I'd love to get there with the new class. I'm sharing SO MUCH. Spending hours and hours developing, making samples, writing lesson plans, and even found a new binding style that you don't know but that will highlight the prints wonderfully.
This artist's life isn't glamorous or easy -- it can be stressful a lot of the time when you're depending on others to help you pay the rent! -- but it saves my life in a new way every day, and that's worth more than anything else in this world (except good gluten-free pizza…maybe).
Now, I have a lot of work to do, and not too much energy left, so I'd better get to it!
Art Supply Haul (video)
I managed to get out to our former-Utrecht-now-Blick's grand re-opening and score some killer deals!
I thought I'd film a little haul video for you guys since I haven't been able to film a regular video this week. Let me know which new supply you'd like me to play with first for next week!
Washi Tape Brush Jar (Vid & Giveaway!)
Let's just drool at that image of Artsyville washi tape for a moment, shall we?
Back?
I decided to make you a little video showing how I made my sparkly washi tape brush jar! It's super easy and fun, and really makes a difference in the studio...I think I shall be doing this to another jar or maybe a glass votive holder very soon! I just love easy DIY crafts to spruce up the house....
Make sure to grab some rolls of washi tape for yourself either in Artsyville's Etsy Shop or website!
Want to win a set of your own Artsyville washi tape? Then leave a comment below by 9/25/13 @ midnight PST answering the question:
What can you use washi tape on to pretty-fy your world?
And don't forget to check out the other stops on tour!
Monday, September 9 Rachel Awes http://allididwaslisten.blogspot.com
Tuesday, September 10 Joanne Sharpe http://joannezsharpe.blogspot.com
Wednesday, September 11 Jill Berry http://jillberrydesign.com/2013/09/11/birthday-book-with-tape/
Thursday, September 12 Lindsay Hopkins http://www.penandpaintblog.com
Friday, September 13 Traci Bunkers http://www.tracibunkers.com/blog
Monday, September 16 Lori Vliegen http://elviestudio.blogspot.com
Tuesday, September 17 Raine Boyd http://www.limetreefruits.com
Wednesday, September 18 Samie Harding http://www.journalgirl.com
Thursday, September 19 Carolyn Dube http://www.acolorfuljourney.com
Friday, September 20 Tammy Garcia http://daisyyellowart.com
What I did on my summer vacation - ART (vid)
Happy Tuesday!
I'm about to fly back home, but wanted to share the art I did while on vacation. Lots of journal pages, gelli prints, and even some sewing! Check it out in the video below!
(Filmed with my iPhone...how amazing is that!)
Strathmore Art Journal Flip! (video)
I may still be down here in Florida on vacation, but I have a new video to share this week!
My favorite, and I mean favorite new art journal to use, is the Strathmore Mixed-Media journals - the new hardbound kind. I've owned a couple, and they take all media so well, including watercolor, and lay completely flat once you've broken them in. In fact, I bought one of the giant 11"x14" ones to start playing in while on vacation!
I get mine via Jerry's Artarama, which makes them much more affordable.
Enjoy! I should have a recently-finished journal all ready for you (and some vacation art) next Tuesday.
Moleskine Art Journal Flip! (VIDEO)
I may be on vacation, but I planned ahead and have a video for you today!
I realized you haven't seen any of my art journals in awhile, so I recorded a couple of journal flips to share with you while I'm away! Today's is my Moleskine sketchbook that started as an in-purse doodle book and ended as a full-on art journal.
Enjoy!