Sparks Creative Arts Studio

I have been devoting my time to working with Suzanne McNeill and Rona Davis to spiff up Sparks Creative Art Studio in Arlington, TX. We are working on updating our social media, Rona is so informed on the subject of blogs, Facebook, Google Analytics....all stuff I find hard to keep up with. The most exciting part is scheduling some fabulous artists to teach classes and workshops at the studio. Currently we are working on the calender for January, February and March.

                                                                  'Feed the Birds'

We are offering Zentangle classes, jewelry workshops, watercolor and mixed media of all kinds. Having a local artist community is so important to us. The studio is right down the street from the Arlington Museum of Art and the city is revamping its entire downtown area. Perfect timing for highlighting the art community.

                                                                    'Unplugged'

I am spreading the word... come visit us and spend some time with like-minded friends. learn some new techniques and make a resolution to devote more time to creative pursuits this year. You deserve it, and we would love to see you. You can visit the website, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. Subscribe to the newsletter on the Sparks Creative Arts website and receive new information every time we add a class.

                                                   
                                                                                 'Reindeer'

Merry Christmas everyone, the art pictured today is some of the  Zentangle Inspired Art  I enjoy creating in an old book, using Microns and Inktense pencils for color.

Gelatos on a Paper Bag Journal Page

Rita Barakat is a fabulous Mixed Media artist.....she uses Gelatos by Faber Castell in a lot of her work... I love,love Gelatos. When you subscribe to Rita's newsletter she often includes an art video in which she demonstrates products and comes up with some cool things to do with them.

 This week she was using Gelatos....she made some beautiful cards.  I got out one of my Recycle/Smash Art Journals and turned to a fold out paper bag page to try Rita's technique using gesso, stamps and Gelatos.

 

Scribble Gelatos all over the page, add water and blend with a paint brush.

Rita painted one of her colorful girl characters to put on a card, I decided to paint a funny pocket watch to collage onto my journal page.

I love using cut paper shapes in my journals, this is the finished page...image from a magazine, black paper cut-outs, pocket watch painted on watercolor paper and gel pens.

Quirky Bird

Oh my gosh don't you just love Pinterest. When I need inspiration I love to pour through art and craft books and magazines, I am one of those people who have stacks and stacks of ripped out pages of things that caught my eye and journals full of quickly jotted down ideas. Then along comes Pinterest, I don't have to dig through my closet anymore to find that one page of inspiration or try to find my long lost idea in one of my many journals. I cherish these journals and stacks of stuff and still rely on them.... but really love that quick fix of just looking through my Pinterest boards.

About a year ago I saw some wonderful work on Pinterest using book pages, something I have always loved to do. As a recycle artist I have tons of old and rescued books and love the old pages, even the smell of an old book page puts me in heaven. I combined a little gesso, Zentangle® and Inktense pencils and had a great time drawing quirky little birds. I recently filmed a YouTube for Design Originals demonstrating this fun art project.

I also have a passion for stencils, so many artists are turning their personal styles into really beautiful stencil designs. When I went to the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show earlier this year I finally got to meet one of my favorite artists, Mary Beth Shaw aka Stencil Girl. What I wouldn't give to have every single stencil in her line...but alas I had to choose. I had some fun with them recently, Mary Beth graciously posted my project on her blog today. Take a minute to scoot over there, she has guests artists on her blog all the time...and they come up with some fabulous ways to use stencils. 

Since I am in love with these stencils I decided to combine one of them with my birds and book pages,  this page was created with Shattered, I used gesso on the stencil and then colored it in with Inktense and outlined it all with a Sakura micron pen......fun!!

Mr. Potato Head

 I admit it I love the old toys that remind me of my childhood....which was some time ago. When I was a kid they introduced Mr. Potato Head and for those who don't remember.....it was a bunch of plastic parts like eyes, ears, noses and hats which had a little plastic stake attached to them....you simply got a real potato and stuck them where you wanted them. I came up with some really cool combinations and remember the smell of a rotting potato to this day! You should never leave a dressed up potato under your bed for more than a day or two.....just sayin'.

Decided to pay my respects to Mr. Potato Head the other day in the studio, this was so much fun.

                                       To begin, a little collage and paint on watercolor paper.

                                      Mr. Potato Head image added and beginning to paint....
                                      I like to add lots of colors in small doses to the image.

Here's to you Mr. Potato Head.....hope to do Mrs. Potato Head soon.

Can I do Minimalism?

I admit it, I have a tendency to decorate a canvas....just seems I get carried away with color and marks and stencils and stamps...oh my!!.....and paper.

The other day while looking for watercolor paper in my studio I found a huge sheet of 300lb cold press paper. It always seemed too thick and coarse before but this time it spoke to me. Already full of texture and weight I decided to use a minimal amount of "decoration".

Chicks

While I normally begin everything with gesso I decided to use a stick of charcoal to draw and then to keep it from smearing while I was painting I sealed it with matte medium. Yikes, it really smeared when I started brushing on medium....but I went with it. Sometimes mistakes make the best art. After it dried I used watered down Golden fluid acrylics....about 3 layers of color.

Drifting

I added more black with oil pastels and black ink......I like it. It's a very restful way of working, simple but colorful....and just a little mark making.

Crosswise

I also love experimenting with small, odd-shaped canvas. This one is a 4 x 12.....a little gesso, Golden fluid acrylics and black ink.    

Craft and Hobby Association 2015

Lots of good stuff was happening at the Craft and Hobby Association show this year. I was really excited to be there, it's always fun....but last year my priority was moving my mom and getting her and my little brother settled .....MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!...so back to making more time for art.

The show ran Jan 9th thru 13th. There are lots of new products to see of course but also lots of wonderful classes to take with some really accomplished artists. It's like the who's who in the craft industry.

                                                          Supplies from Pam's class.

My first class was with the fabulous Pam Carriker, I love her art. We made journals using her color palette...which just happens to be my favorite colors too! We played with her new stencils, paints, rub-ons and I finally got to try one of Pam's favorite products...Derivan Liquid Pencil. She showed us how to apply it with a sponge over a stencil....didn't know you could use it so many ways. Once you blend it it has a hazy, halo effect.

                                                 

                                                       Liquid pencil used with stencil.

Another artist I always enjoy taking workshops with is Traci Bautista....I love her recycle ideas for creating art. She generously gave each student a copy of her book 'Printmaking Unleashed'.....it's full of inspiration. Thank you Traci!

I have admired Rebekah Meier's work with fabric for many years, but never taken a class with her. This was my chance. I really enjoyed the class and the new products we used. Rebekah furnished us with some of her cool new stencils, a fabulous tissue paper she had designed and some really nice fabric banners from  Fabric Elements.

 

                             Banner I made in Rebekah's class using her stencils and tissue paper.

Besides classes and workshops I ran around to different booths and sat in on their make and takes. It was such a blast learning how to use new materials. I am formally in love with Gelatos...scrumptious new colors have been added to the line. Talked to Rita Barakat who does some wonderful things with Faber-Castell  products, need to take a workshop with Rita real soon. Luckily for me she lives in Dallas and I live in Fort Worth...can't wait to get together with her.

                                                      Some of the things I loved at CHA.

2015 is going to be a great year, hope you will stop by to visit with Suzanne McNeill, myself and other fabulous artists who are teaching at Sparks Creative Arts Studio in Arlington, Texas. Suzanne was also at CHA...together we picked up some wonderful new products to use in the studio workshops and classes, looking forward to sharing the with you all.

Create a Painting from a Coloring Book Image

     The stacks of background pages in my studio are many. These pages are mostly watercolor paper with acrylic paints, maybe a few zentangle® patterns with markers, collage pieces....possibly the remnants of paint left on a brush before I place it in a water dish, a wonderful piece of image left from a collage or the scrap of a beautiful napkin I decided not to use. My favorite way to play with background pages is to just make random marks, alternating cool colors and warm colors until I have a pleasing combination adding more stuff as I go.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm 

                                         Mixed Media painting on 9 x 12 watercolor paper.
                                                   
     While I was cleaning my mom's house for her recent move I ran across an old coloring book, it was full of simple images. I love, love, love these images. Recently I incorporated them into a class I was teaching at Sparks Creative Arts Studio, "Run with Scissors Play with Paint™".  I went back to the coloring book images the other day while playing with the backgrounds and decided to trace this fun bird with a worm onto tracing paper. I cut it out and used matte medium to glue it down, then added a little gesso and paint to complete the mixed media painting. What a quick way to make a colorful art piece, also works wonders if you find it difficult to draw an image on a busy background.      

                    GO PLAY!!.....and borrow your kids coloring book every once in awhile.

                                                    Bird image from the coloring book.

     If you follow the above link to Sparks Creative Arts Studio in Arlington, Texas you will find some other fantastic classes offered. My next class is "Confetti Glass", we will learn some wire wrapping techniques and fire recycled glass in a kiln.

Painted Eyeglass Case

     Decided to get busy this weekend and begin work on projects for a few Christmas Bazaars I participate in every year. One of my artist friends recently brought some extra eyeglass cases to share with my local Mixed Media group...she had tons of them and wanted ideas for how to use them in art. My plan is to alter them to house wonderful little trinkets and gifts for the holidays. As I began working on one I ended up doodling eyes on the case (this happens to me a lot) I always gravitate to funky eyes of some sort.

      I painted them first with a couple of coats of gesso, added inexpensive acrylic paints and finished off with a couple of coats of gloss medium.....very simple.

      This particular case is going in my purse to hold my sunglasses. Jeepers Peepers...what fun!!

Mail art is fun!!

      Remember when mail had so many possibilities, a handwritten letter from grandma or holiday photos finally developed and mailed from your aunt. If you were a really lucky kid a birthday card with a $10.00 bill!! Not so much anymore, ecards are awaiting you in email, you can check out the family photos on Facebook and god forbid you send money in the mail cause it never seems to reach it's destination.  Why is that anyway?

Front and back of large envelope.

     I really enjoy working in my recycled junk journals so why not treat mail as art. Instead of decorating a page in my journal I decided to work on a few envelopes to have handy for mailing.There is a whole movement devoted to 'mail art'. I must admit I have just gotten on this bandwagon....I chastise myself for not sending more cards to friends and family. Maybe now I will be better about mailing those holiday and birthday cards.

Front of envelope, bird and leaf images are napkins.

     I wanted to share a few of the art mailings I have done over the past week. I always begin by looking for book pages, sheet music, napkins or old wrapping paper to apply as the first layer. An artist friend of mine, Judy Evans, always seems to find the most wonderful napkins and she shares them with our local art group...thank you Judy!!

Napkins, sheet music, pattern paper, ledger paper, tissue paper and an old piece of my art applied to envelopes with matte medium, ready for gesso, paint and stamps.

      Using napkins as a focal point makes it so easy to create a beautiful envelope without a lot of work. Just slop it on with some matte medium, wait for it to dry - add gesso, paint, stencils, and stamps. I usually add a final coat of matte or gloss medium to seal it.  If you have beautiful handwriting or a calligraphy pen add the name and address by hand as well, or simply apply a label with name and address. 

Flower and flapper girl napkin peeking through after gesso, paint and stamps.

       Try it....surprise someone with a special piece of art delivered to their door. Next time you send a real birthday card add some art to the envelope first.
 

Zentangle® Creatures

     Sharing your art with a like-minded group is priceless. I feel very lucky to be able to get together once a month with a local mixed media art group, the 'Articrafters'. I helped to form this group a few years ago. The plan was to share what we know and love - and experiment with all kinds of art and craft.  It is also a great opportunity to be in front of a group of friendly faces and hone your teaching skills.  Almost every member has at one time shared a favorite project, workshop or tip.

  Tangled in a Strathmore mixed media journal, colored with Prismacolor colored pencils.

     Before I began teaching from my 'Stash and Smash' book I practiced on my friends and got some great feedback. It also helps with your timing - class and instruction time can go by so quickly you have to be very aware or you leave students with an unfinished project. Not a good thing.

            Tangled on a Zentangle tile, colored with Derwent Inktense pencils.


     I hope as an artist you have found your own kindred spirits to share your art and your vision with. Articrafters is always welcoming new members, some of them recently requested a Zentangle refresher course. As I was looking through some of my Zentangle drawings I found a few I wanted to share with you. My strings (the starting point for most zentangle drawings) always seem to turn into funky creatures. I love making a few swirly marks and trying to decide what they should become. The creatures don't seem finished unless they have drips, tears or dots!!

                              Tangled with Micron pen on Zentangle tile.