The Best Pencil Sharpener in the World

Like many other artists, and even children in school, I've been on the search for a pencil sharpener that works both consistently  and well .

Some start out with promise -- the first few pencils you put in sharpen beautifully, but as you go on using it, things start getting...wonky. Sometimes the pencil doesn't glide through as well, and gouges the wood. Or it sharpens unevenly, with one side showing more lead than the other. 

Now, there are a couple of things you can do to make sure you are using the sharpener right. For example, hold it in your dominant hand and the pencil in your non-dominant. This is probably backwards from the way you do it now, but switching hands keeps the pencil steady as you rotate the sharpener  around it. Keeping the pencil steady will cut down on the tips breaking off your pencils. 

The metal gets hot  after sharpening a couple pencils because of the friction, so if you're sharpening a bunch, do about three, then stop for a bit, do one, and repeat. If you do one after another for awhile, the quality of the sharpening will go down . 

Or, you can find one of these: 

This is a Faber-Castell 9000 double sharpener.

I grabbed this on a whim about four months ago, still searching for a sharpener that would easily sharpen my Prismacolor Premiere pencils without the tips coming off all the time. The last one had failed, and another was misplaced, and this one had a bigger hole for jumbo pencils and crayons. Good, right?

Wonderful !

I have been using this baby faithfully for four months, sharping several pencils a day with it as I sketch and play. I've even sharpened my Neocolor II watercolor crayons with it...and it does a beautiful job . As you can see, mine is much loved, and if I misplace it, watch out . I am climbing over things and looking under the couch and cushions...I have to have it ! None other will work for me anymore! 

The only  thing I'd have bad to say about it is that if you let it get really, really full, it doesn't do as sharp a point. But that's partly my fault for not emptying it when I get into the flow  of creating! 

Kinda silly to write a whole post about a sharpener , but hey -- when we find good things, we should share them with everyone! 

So what about you? What supply have you found that works like a dream & is worth mentioning? Tell us in the comments below! 

Exploring the Desert Landscape with Gelli Prints!

A few weeks ago, I pulled out my last sheet of Arches hot press, my gelli plate, and some cardstock with which to make some new-temporary stencils.  

My fundamental way of creating and composing gelli prints has changed; they're no longer layers of full-plate stencils, but pieces of art in and of themselves, another way to paint & and express myself. I was chatting with a friend about this idea, of taking gelli printing to another level, going further with them. Creating fine art, not just fun layers and papers to cut up for collage. It's so enjoyable, so fun to see what you can put together, once you get a composition going! 

Landscapes began to emerge as I worked, layering paint and shape and color. I found myself exploring the desert under the many phases of the moon, the shapes of mountains in the distance, the deep red of sand across miles of open land. I explored shapes being repeated and what they could mean.  

And all those weeks ago, I used vinyl letters to print words on my prints.  

Here are my creations. They're on all different sizes of papers. They have reflections and underground layers and long views and leaves and the moon. Mostly, the moon. I hope they inspire you to begin painting with your gelli plate. I think I'll be taking a couple of these and giving them magical, animal-human beings to live in them. How fun does that sound?  

(This one is from when I cleaned the plate; ghost prints layered over each other, a hazy negative...) 

 (I love the reflection, the purple and yellow-green above, the many layers below...)

 What do you see?

What do you see in these pieces? How can you take your gelli prints further? Let me know below!

Circuit Stencil Blog Hop Fun!

I'm participating in another blog hop this month, this time for my new friend Nathalie Kalbach. I met Nathalie at CHA last January when she shouted out at me when I was walking past a booth that she knew me, and we later were able to chat. She's one of the people I've kept in touch with since then, and will be participating in Art Journal Summer Camp as one of my guest artists!  

When she asked me to help her get out the word about her new stencils through StencilGirl, I jumped at the opportunity to help a friend! Plus, as you know, I do love my stencils! Oddly enough, this spread was completed before last week's hop spread as part of my initiative to plan things out ahead of time! 

Today, myself and my fellow blog hoppers are playing with her Circuit stencil. I love how original her ideas for stencils are, and how HER they are! As a nerd girl and technology-junkie, I HAD to get this one! It got me to journal about my fannish self for the first time, and was a great stencil to play with. Allow me to show you...

I started by randomly spraying through the stencil in my Dylusions art journal with one of her ink sprays and SEI tumble dry. Why 2 different ones? The Dylusions spray will re-activate with water where the SEI spray is permanant!  

I then painted with gesso over random parts of the spread & did the edges with a lovely ginger color of Silks Acrylic Glazes.  

I then stenciled through the stencil I introduced last week with fluorescent red paint. I also put washi tape along the seam to keep anything from leaking through (usually I do this first, but I started this page while working on other things!). 

I'm crazy about silhouette's lately and am glad I have bunches I've made myself. They're really easy to make and can really help when you're blocked or don't know what to do on a page. After I painted around my stencil with a dry brush of mixed paint, I jumped to the facing page while that paint dried and made marks with some Adirondack color wash. 

I then poured out some color wash and let it drip down the page. The circles are bits I made for Art Journal Summer Camp as samples that fit as embellishment. I'm gluing them down with gel medium and using a Catalyst wedge.   

I then focused on her dress. The interior color came from a Portfolio Oil Pastel and is lined with a Stabilo pencil. I then got that fluorescent red paint back out and stenciled part of the circuit pattern inside it to pull it out from the background. While I loved having it in the background, I wanted to highlight the stencil and add more pattern to her dress since I calmed it down with the oil pastel color. 

Next, I did some writing. First, along the drips with a black EF Molotow paint pen, then through the stencil with a pink glitter Sharpie paint pen. Just a little bit of detail-y fun!I  

I grabbed these stickers on clearance at Michaels and just love them! They're not very thick so they don't add too much weight or thickness to a journal page, are tall and thin, and are glossy. I'm thinking I have to go get some more! I've been loving using them to give my pages "titles," that is, words to clarify the main message or idea on the page. Plus, when I looked at this silhouette, all pretty and pink, with computer circuits running through her, I was like, "OMG, me! Nerd girl!" I love being a nerd and am super psyched to have a page for that part of myself in my journal! 

I added some repetitive stamping with a hand carved stamp, rubbed some Letraset letters into the silhouette, and wrote down all the nerdy things I love on the page. I'm sure there are more, but here's the big ones (and I'm actually listening to Star Trek: TNG while I write this post)! 

I was eyeing a sumi-e brush when I sat back, and decided to write with india ink on the right-hand side. Since I hadn't been feeling well, and art is my way of coping and self-care, I decided that it would be the best reflection of the nerd girl page if I acknowledged the self-care ritual of art journaling. In order to calm the background and bit and make the words easier to see, I painted around some of the letters with grey paint. I wanted to paint around all of them, but couldn't be bothered, haha! But I like the effect of only some being painted around, so it worked out! 

And hey, I know some very giving people, because Nat has maybe mentioned that if you leave a comment on her blog, you can win this stencil! And each blog you visit & leave a comment on enters you to win as well! You have time to comment till August 6, 2013 - midnight EST.
 

Don't forget to visit the other blogs on the hop!  

Nathalie Kalbach

Stephanie Schütze

Birgit Koopsen

Marjie Kemper

Samie Harding - you are here!

What parts of you haven't made their way into your art journal? How can you incorporate more YOU in your journal? 

I also wanted to thank all of you for the lovely comments on my last post!  I have been a bit under the weather with my FMS, but have read every single one  and wanted to say thank you ! I'll be replying this week to all your lovely words! 

July Blog Hop - Flutter By, a journal page

For this month's stencil blog hop, we were given Andrew Borloz Crossed Rounds & Squares Stencil.  

One of the things I love about this stencil is that it's like getting 6 smaller stencils all in one! There are circles, squares, little diamond shapes, stars....a lot for you to work with, both as texture or accents on a journal page.  

I thought I'd show you how I created my page this month!  

I'm working in a Strathmore Mixed-Media journal (the hardbound one), and usually put wash tape along the seam to keep media from leaking through to other pages. Let's begin!  

I started with two random scraps on my desk that I glued down to get away from that blank white page! I then sprayed through the stencil with a couple Dylusions inks.  

This is what it looked like after some fun! The big block of pink in the lower left corner is from when I flipped over the stencil after spraying through it.  

Ooops! I forgot my camera wasn't focused for this pic! But I wanted to show that I added some liquid acrylic to the page and selectively spread stuff with a brush.  

Time for a silhouette! I recently got obsessed with them again and have been adding them everywhere! This one is hand-cut and a favorite. I used a dry brush to paint around it. 

I then rubbed through part of the stencil to lift the reddish-pink paint.  

I then stenciled through using a make-up sponge with several shades of teal/turquoise. I love these quartered circles!

In cleaning off my sponge, I discovered how to make awesome wispy wings! I then outlined the girl shape with a black stabilo pencil and circled things in white. 

And here she is, all finished! I added some epoxy stickers and writing in a dying black Sharpie. I also put a white glaze in the middle shape to even out the colors so she's a bit more solid.  

And there you go! I had a blast playing in my journal, and have used this stencil in a variety of projects already, ranging from gel prints to testing new products to other journal pages! It really is versatile and fun to use!

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in this month's giveaway! And go back to the StencilGirl Talk blog to enter again!  

Now head on over to Corrine's blog -- the next stop on our little tour!  

StencilGirl Talk
 Marjie Kemper
 Kirsten Reed
 Leslie Jenison
Samie Harding  - you are here!
 Corrine Gilman
 Janet Joehlin
 Linda Kittmer
 Carolyn Dube
 Paula Phillips
 Mary C. Nasser
 Maria McGuire

 So...how can you use your stencils in new ways? And where are you fluttering to? You have wings...stand tall and strut your stuff!

On Searching Within for What to Paint

Here is a piece of advice I’ve read in two books lately: 

Create what you know.

I’m sure you’ve heard the advice given to writers. Write what you know. But have you applied that to your own art and journals? 

I haven’t. Heck, I haven’t even taken an inventory. What subjects/people/things do I know the most about? What have I studied? What lights up my imagination? What was I drawn to before art became my obsession/passion? 

(And don’t worry about that word obsession. Having a healthy obsession with your work, with your journal, is a good thing.) 

So I sat down to figure it out. 

(This list remains a work in progress.) 

And thus, when asked what I would paint on the little ceramic piece I’d created a background on, I said, 

“A unicorn. I love unicorns, so why the heck aren’t I painting them?” 

And I did. 

What do you love? What are you an authority on? Why aren’t you painting/writing that? 

I am considering making more of these. How cute, right? I want to paint more of the things I loved in childhood, that fly through my dreams, that are full of magic. What are our unicorns these days? What is YOUR unicorn? 

Let your journal wear it for you...

I've had a terrible flare up of my fibromyalgia all day, so decided to take it "off," allow myself to lay in bed and watch Netflix.

I also caught my good friend Dina Wakely's lesson over on Life Book and it seemed simple yet powerful, just what I needed today!

Remember: self-care is the best healing tool no matter what may ail you, and giving yourself permission to do just that is so freeing. If you need it, I give you permission to take it easy and care for yourself!

Creating an Apron of Inspiration

Last weekend, I finally did something I've been meaning to since January or so -- create an artsy apron to wear while working on my art! 

I've been inspired by Ruthie, the queen of beautiful sewing art & a hoot of a woman (she's just awesome and funny in real life!) & the aprons she's been posting on Instagram lately. Each time she posted a new one, I would look at my apron forlornly and wish I had space for my sewing machine that was gathering dust in my closet.  

(It got shelved when I moved all my furniture around, the poor thing.) 

When the weekend rolled around, I felt this push  to pull out the sewing machine, sweep everything else off my table, and sew . 

I combined two aprons into one: a shorter Slice apron I grabbed at a summer CHA show a few years ago that's been my staple apron since then, and a longer, frilly apron I grabbed at Hobby Lobby a little while ago. 

You see, the Slice apron, that I love, is made from really good canvas and has great pockets, but is a bit short, especially when you're sitting down (it stops halfway down my thighs, which means my jeans/legs/shorts get paint on them). The frilly apron was long enough and had a great bottom portion, but was made of thinner fabric and only had a single pocket.  

So i decided to sew the frills from the longer apron to the bottom of the Slice apron in a classic case of Combining These Is Easier Than Making My Own. 

I also added a little name tag made with layers of felt. I didn't know how different colors would show up, so I just layered a bunch and if you're close to it, you can read it. I plan to do more in-person teaching this year, so wanted to have this on my apron -- one of those If You Build It, It Will Come things...if I add a name tag, I'll have reason for it later on.  

I cut up one of my deliciously-layered studio rags to make pleated ruffles....except I had no idea how to make them! I found a video on YouTube that showed a simple way to make 'em, and I was on my way! 

So here's the finished piece! Don't mind the No Make Up Face or Studio Clothes That Are Ratty (just because you have an apron doesn't mean you won't get anything on your clothes!)...I was so excited to share the whole thing, I ran outside and had someone snap a pic for you to seeeeee.  

Now I feel Totally Awesome when I put it on to paint. It's hard NOT to. Look at all that artsy love on there! BAM! Instant Inspiration. 

Here's the quote I machine wrote on the bottom (via Messy Canvas): 

Live [for] yourselves. The signposts have fallen, unblazed trails lie before us. - CG Jung

It seemed fitting. Something big is coming, and I'm going to be ready for it.  

Do you have an apron you wear while creating? What kind of magic does it hold? How can you make it part of your life? 

Summer Camp starts in two weeks! Don't miss out on the fun. Read my Summertime Love Letter to learn more about where I am right now, & where we're getting ready to go, tribe-mates! 

Giveaway Winners & Sneak Peek Pics!

Check out that sunburst! I'm so in love with this new technique, I can't wait to make more backgrounds like this.  

And then teach YOU how to do the same!  

The past week and a half have seen me cluttering my studio space with supplies, scribbled notes, and art journals as I put together Art Journal Summer Camp. I'm approaching the creation of this class unlike anything I've done before, and I'm so excited to see how it all comes together to create a new experience! 

I'm updating older techniques, trying simple ones I've never tried before, & grabbing my favorite supplies. I really wish all of you could be here with me to play! 

But first, winners!  

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway! I loved reading about your favorite memories, or the ones you'd like to create now. I wish I could run a camp in the real world where you could physically come join me...maybe next year! Until then, we'll just have to have fun virtually. Oh...what about a hangout? Yeah, my mind is spinning!  

Congrats to Alexandra and Sue! I'll be replying to your comments to get your info and get you on the camp list!  

And I hope many of you who entered come along for the ride! There are a couple of coupon codes floating around, as well as payment plans to be worked out, so please, don't hesitate...once class starts, you can't sign up, so get in before registration closes!