greenpepperpressblog

Tag: cool stuff

all the circles

My suitcases are packed. One will be marked HEAVY…it's filled with paper, paint, stamps, and lots of punches. Circle punches. I'm really looking forward to this last workshop at Valley Ridge. I know these girls will rock the circles with suns, moons, and their own personal flair to make a unique visual journal. The results will be celebrated, but it is just a small part of what we get from participating in an event like this one. Of course I hope that the 'process' will expand the vision and perspective of each artist as to how to approach art-making in journals, and in general. And I hope that they leave with enthusiasm to keep the momentum going. I do know this: it's impossible to leave unaffected by the experience. That's not a reflection of me…I'm simply the ambassador for creativity on this particular weekend, at this location. When eager creatives gather, and open their hearts and heads to embrace What's Possible, magic happens. We all learn from each other. Discoveries are made and shared and the energy in the studio multiplies. Confidence grows. Efforts validated. Authenticity recognized. Art celebrated. The circles of Friendship widen.

In July 2003 I prepared a handful of projects for With one Palette, found in Somerset Studio Jan/Feb 2004. I look at this album and cannot believe it's been nine years…tucked inside the front cover is a Sun-themed soundtrack, which started me off as I collected tracks for the Synchroncity workshop playlist. Thanks to my media device I am able to present over 50 songs and I'm not limited to what will squeeze onto a cd. So that has changed, but my use of favorite images and default colors has not evolved much. I'm fine with that – I think it's not a bad thing to have go-to crutches in our process – not to rehash but to stretch how we use them.

A new Sun song on the list, reminds me of this past summer. Energizing and fun….

And an old favorite. It actually will be a New Moon on Monday.

See you next week. *waves*

October 11, 2012
remember this?

It must have been like 2nd grade that I first was exposed to sunprints, also known as cyanotypes. Do you remember doing these? Lay a handful of objects on the magic paper, leave in sunlight a few minutes, then rinse? The shadows appear in negative for a really cool print. Fallon is currently in a photogrpahy class and they are making photograms, a similar process, and it reminded me that I had a pack of the paper from SunArt. Notice the 6+ in the corner. Ha!

I've been gathering supplies for the upcoming Synchronicity workshop next month, so this was a perfect opportunity to make some fun papers to share. Some of my stamp designs were converted into borders and printed onto transparency then placed over the specially treated paper. You can see I tried both positive and negative versions. The mostly dark blue strips were made from the film on the left, and the lighter blue ones were generated under the one on the right. Love the blueprint effect, don't you? The process is so old school….as in, I did this about 40 years ago in elementary school!

SunArt paper should be available at your local craft store. Try the kid section, and the printmaking section. You can also score some at Amazon, HERE. The days are getting shorter….make use of that solar energy when you can! It only takes a few minutes.

Wait! You can also make cyanotype prints on get sun-sensitive fabric! If I didn't dislike blue so much I might be tempted to try making a silk scarf or something. Google "cyanotype fabric" if you're interested.

September 24, 2012
remember this?

It must have been like 2nd grade that I first was exposed to sunprints, also known as cyanotypes. Do you remember doing these? Lay a handful of objects on the magic paper, leave in sunlight a few minutes, then rinse? The shadows appear in negative for a really cool print. Fallon is currently in a photogrpahy class and they are making photograms, a similar process, and it reminded me that I had a pack of the paper from SunArt. Notice the 6+ in the corner. Ha!

I've been gathering supplies for the upcoming Synchronicity workshop next month, so this was a perfect opportunity to make some fun papers to share. Some of my stamp designs were converted into borders and printed onto transparency then placed over the specially treated paper. You can see I tried both positive and negative versions. The mostly dark blue strips were made from the film on the left, and the lighter blue ones were generated under the one on the right. Love the blueprint effect, don't you? The process is so old school….as in, I did this about 40 years ago in elementary school!

SunArt paper should be available at your local craft store. Try the kid section, and the printmaking section. You can also score some at Amazon, HERE. The days are getting shorter….make use of that solar energy when you can! It only takes a few minutes.

Wait! You can also make cyanotype prints on get sun-sensitive fabric! If I didn't dislike blue so much I might be tempted to try making a silk scarf or something. Google "cyanotype fabric" if you're interested.

September 24, 2012
planning, prepping, packing

I love September! Even though I miss having the kids around and would like the summer to be a little longer, I love that 3/4 of the way through the year we have an opportunity to start over. Just like the students who are breaking in new books and adjusting to a change in routine, we can reinvent our habits, start new practices, and move forward with a revised vision for the rest of the year. And as a bonus, the evenings and mornings are cooler…and that energizes me!

I have been enjoying the new spray paints I told you about and I will show you some of that soon. I did learn that Liquitex headquarters is in my town. Really? Right here? How's that for being a small world? I wish they had a storefront…I'd be showing up often for refills. So I had to set aside spraying for a bit because I wanted to get a jumpstart on prepping for my next event, Synchronicity. I loved making the handout – I tried a new format and it was a blast! In fact, I want to drop everything and make handouts for my 2013 workshops! In less than a month I will be at Valley Ridge. I will dearly miss my annual visits where I had amazing experiences, met treasured friends, and witnessed rampant creativity. I'm grateful to be part of the final cast, especially on the final weekend. I'm already blinking away tears.

In addition to taking care of business and trying to stay on top of assignments and deadlines, I'm happily planning for a very big trip. I am going to England and Italy in November! Can you stand it??

It was five years ago this weekend that I posted the photos below for Crusade No. 12 – Crush On You. I confessed to crushing on gothic architecture. And because of that crush I've fallen in love with buildings, and with cities. For many years It's been a dream of mine to get to Venice. And now I'm going!! VENICE!! I am thrilled to be going back to England, where Fallon and I will visit family, and see London…then we are off to Venice and Verona. I'm reading and researching and taking notes and getting thoroughly giddy. A dream come true. Pinch me!

I'm booking the hotel this week. I think I am settled on which one….if you have any recommendations based on your own experience for places to visit in Venice I am all ears.

September 17, 2012
planning, prepping, packing

I love September! Even though I miss having the kids around and would like the summer to be a little longer, I love that 3/4 of the way through the year we have an opportunity to start over. Just like the students who are breaking in new books and adjusting to a change in routine, we can reinvent our habits, start new practices, and move forward with a revised vision for the rest of the year. And as a bonus, the evenings and mornings are cooler…and that energizes me!

I have been enjoying the new spray paints I told you about and I will show you some of that soon. I did learn that Liquitex headquarters is in my town. Really? Right here? How's that for being a small world? I wish they had a storefront…I'd be showing up often for refills. So I had to set aside spraying for a bit because I wanted to get a jumpstart on prepping for my next event, Synchronicity. I loved making the handout – I tried a new format and it was a blast! In fact, I want to drop everything and make handouts for my 2013 workshops! In less than a month I will be at Valley Ridge. I will dearly miss my annual visits where I had amazing experiences, met treasured friends, and witnessed rampant creativity. I'm grateful to be part of the final cast, especially on the final weekend. I'm already blinking away tears.

In addition to taking care of business and trying to stay on top of assignments and deadlines, I'm happily planning for a very big trip. I am going to England and Italy in November! Can you stand it??

It was five years ago this weekend that I posted the photos below for Crusade No. 12 – Crush On You. I confessed to crushing on gothic architecture. And because of that crush I've fallen in love with buildings, and with cities. For many years It's been a dream of mine to get to Venice. And now I'm going!! VENICE!! I am thrilled to be going back to England, where Fallon and I will visit family, and see London…then we are off to Venice and Verona. I'm reading and researching and taking notes and getting thoroughly giddy. A dream come true. Pinch me!

I'm booking the hotel this week. I think I am settled on which one….if you have any recommendations based on your own experience for places to visit in Venice I am all ears.

September 17, 2012
When is canning season?

Ha! Canning season, I wouldn't know. I don't can. I don't garden….except for roses. But I have been collecting cans for other purposes. See below….Liquitex has a new spray paint. I read about it today and just had to go get some and try it out (because I'm impulsive, and I was lonely at home without kids). A fine array of colors. A very nice matte finish. Low odor. Nice nozzle and round spray radius. Clever packaging with color indicator dome. Super easy clean-up because it's WATER BASED. They claim you can paint acrylic right over it. I will try that tomorrow. Might have to go back for more colors. Michael's has a special: buy two get one free. They are pricey so it's a nice deal. Consider me the lab monkey. I approve.

LINKS: Spray paint, available at Michaels, by Liquitex. Stencils, available at GreenPepperPress.com or StencilGirlProducts.com

On the subject of cans…..these new Warhol commemoratives, found (by accident) at Target! Had to get one of each. Tore off the label (actually, surgically removed with great care) and will put in my journal. I think my pages may curl up from fright, having never hosted so much color. I will be sporting my soup shoes later this month at the Met for a new show: Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years.

Note: the shoes are by Icon and are no longer in their collection. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a pair on ebay like I did. Bag and figures were gifts, no resource available.

September 5, 2012
When is canning season?

Ha! Canning season, I wouldn't know. I don't can. I don't garden….except for roses. But I have been collecting cans for other purposes. See below….Liquitex has a new spray paint. I read about it today and just had to go get some and try it out (because I'm impulsive, and I was lonely at home without kids). A fine array of colors. A very nice matte finish. Low odor. Nice nozzle and round spray radius. Clever packaging with color indicator dome. Super easy clean-up because it's WATER BASED. They claim you can paint acrylic right over it. I will try that tomorrow. Might have to go back for more colors. Michael's has a special: buy two get one free. They are pricey so it's a nice deal. Consider me the lab monkey. I approve.

LINKS: Spray paint, available at Michaels, by Liquitex. Stencils, available at GreenPepperPress.com or StencilGirlProducts.com

On the subject of cans…..these new Warhol commemoratives, found (by accident) at Target! Had to get one of each. Tore off the label (actually, surgically removed with great care) and will put in my journal. I think my pages may curl up from fright, having never hosted so much color. I will be sporting my soup shoes later this month at the Met for a new show: Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years.

Note: the shoes are by Icon and are no longer in their collection. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a pair on ebay like I did. Bag and figures were gifts, no resource available.

September 5, 2012
The Raven with a Tell-Tale Heart

A few months ago a showed you my plaster covered hands. I was involved in a MakeItYourOwn project. You can read about it in the Sept/Oct Somerset Studio. I loved trying to figure out how to make a raven from a few simple supplies. I admit in the article that I would do a few things differently, like cutting smaller feathers. My guy seems to look more like a Goth Bald Eagle than a sinister Raven….or maybe he even looks like a penguin recovering from an oil spill. When I put him in context with my other Halloween decorations, which includes lots of black birds and Poe figures, I think he will pass as a raven.

I didn't include stepped out directions in the article because that would have meant stopping to take great pictures, or sending along several versions of the raven-in-process. Sometimes you just gotta stay in the groove and keep working, right? I did manage a few quickie shots – not good enough for publication but they serve as a record for myself, and maybe they'll be useful should you take it on yourself. With my own visuals I can clarify a few things….like what is that white unidentified object in the photo above? It's the balloon body, covered in plaster strips….scroll down, you'll see.

First, the journal pages. I started by attaching some of my sketches as I was formulating ideas. One page actually has all the samplings of materials, evidence right from the table, including the plaster dripped scrap paper that protected my work surface.

August 27, 2012
The Raven with a Tell-Tale Heart

A few months ago a showed you my plaster covered hands. I was involved in a MakeItYourOwn project. You can read about it in the Sept/Oct Somerset Studio. I loved trying to figure out how to make a raven from a few simple supplies. I admit in the article that I would do a few things differently, like cutting smaller feathers. My guy seems to look more like a Goth Bald Eagle than a sinister Raven….or maybe he even looks like a penguin recovering from an oil spill. When I put him in context with my other Halloween decorations, which includes lots of black birds and Poe figures, I think he will pass as a raven.

I didn't include stepped out directions in the article because that would have meant stopping to take great pictures, or sending along several versions of the raven-in-process. Sometimes you just gotta stay in the groove and keep working, right? I did manage a few quickie shots – not good enough for publication but they serve as a record for myself, and maybe they'll be useful should you take it on yourself. With my own visuals I can clarify a few things….like what is that white unidentified object in the photo above? It's the balloon body, covered in plaster strips….scroll down, you'll see.

First, the journal pages. I started by attaching some of my sketches as I was formulating ideas. One page actually has all the samplings of materials, evidence right from the table, including the plaster dripped scrap paper that protected my work surface.

August 27, 2012
M.W.

Aha! Look, same initials as me! My go-to dictionary online or in real life is Merriam Webster. Their website is fun to visit for lots of reasons. Recently they posted some of the new official word entries….did you see? They have a section on the site, the Open Dictionary, to submit words you think you should be added…. one was fangirl, but as a verb. I can see that, but shouldn't it also be a noun?

EDIT: oops, forgot to include this……

August 25, 2012