Keep your Eyes on the Stars…or/and Your Feet on the Ground

17 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Art Journal

≈ 8 Comments

Theodor Roosevelt said this…well- without the “or” in between – smart man  ;)

I had some awesome opportunities coming up this year…and sometimes they would just vanish, or they would just be not as awesome at the second glance or they would be just under ridiculous conditions or they would be just not doable. It is always a crashing experience…because from the high feeling of YEAH-double-fist-up-in-the-air comes the bad fall to reality that hurts a lot.

 

But ….I start to realize that it is awesome that the opportunities were even showing up…even if they weren’t really opportunities in retrospective LOL – because you know what? There will be always some opportunities coming and some will be just the right ones for me. Actually an awesome opportunity just showed up and it might be really really cool :)

With each of those shattered opportunities I learned something…I learned something about myself ….I learned what I want and what I don’t want…and that is pretty cool… Without those shattered opportunities I wouldn’t know myself that much and hey….I spent most of my time with me….hahahahah- so better know this person, don’t you think? LOL

I am not reaching for the stars. I am just reaching for mine. There is one personal star out there shining for just for me…and one just for you, and you and you!

Hope you star is shining bright for you today!

huge hugs

Nat

 

Default Earworm or Lost in Translation

16 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Inspirational Video

≈ 11 Comments

A catchy tune in German is called an Earworm - literally translated. Meaning you can’t stop singing the song in your head. I actually like the word – you say Ohrwurm :)

Such an Ohrwurm I shared in my Über*Media Acrylic Paint Online Workshop in the 3rd lesson published monday (you can sign up anytime – but right now you join in real-time over the next weeks).

It is by Django Django and called Default – a song I can’t get out of my head and I love the video!

What’s your Ohrwurm right now?

Have a wonderful catchy tuned day ;)

Nat

 

Second Floor Challenge #4: Circles

15 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in 2nd Floor

≈ 11 Comments

Are you ready to take the second floor this time? If you have no clue what I am talking about- read all about it here :) The Second Floor Challenge

So today is our fourth Second Floor Challenge: Circles

Click here to see what Julie did

Whatever that means to you or however it inspires you.  The prompt is simply meant to get you started.  The level of challenge you aim for is entirely internal and up to you.

Circles…I love circles…Circles are a big part of my creating ….I use them often…hand drawn, cut out of paper, made with markers. Circles are just such an amazing form to tie elements on a layout or project together. And so I decided I would this time just start with circles, instead of adding them later to my work and see where those circles would lead me to.

I started out on some water-color paper, drawing circles and adding some Derwent Inktense Blocks to it. Then I grabbed my Derwent ArtBars and added some more colors to the circles- simply just playing.

I liked the outcome but what to do with it?

So I decided to take those circles to the 2nd Floor. I chose a paper- a Pink Paislee Mistable Paper – which I would usually transform, as this is what they are made for. Those papers are giving you permission to play with water based paint media on top to change the color of the background to your liking and reveal through a resist some nice patterns on the paper. But I decided to let the background be as it is….and added the circles.

I added some marker circles and then I decided to actually go also a different design route. I wanted to place the photo in a for me unusual way – so I placed it in the right corner and I also wanted the circles to be part of the focal point even thought I kind of clustered them. So I formed my visual triangle, that leads the eye including the circles as a part forming the triangle.

(photo credit: helene larsson)

I really love this – although it is a bit different from what I usually do

What I learned from this challenge:

  1. Circles are a great starting point to warm up and then do something new with them.
  2. I like hand cut circles more than perfect cirlces…I think it just fits better with my style
  3. It is fine to leave a paper that is made for changing the color as it is
  4. Breaking habits on where to place stuff is fun – it lead me to something I really like
  5. I like how the Derwent ArtBars and Derwent Inktense Blocks work together
  6. playing with watercolor paper and including that into my projects is a new passion of mine- there is just something about this paper that makes me think “you deserve to be used more often because you are beautiful!”
  7. This challenge also lead me to thinking how much I love what I do – how happy it makes me to teach and see students be inspired and that inspires me….the circle closes…..

If you’d like to show off your response to this Second Floor challenge, leave a link!



have a wonderful day

hugs

Nat

Of Spiders and Exhausted Heroes or How I indulged in a Me-Day

13 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Mixed Media

≈ 12 Comments

A couple of months ago, knowing that this would be a weekend without traveling and actually without my sweet other half (this time he was traveling)…I had signed up for a Collage workshop at the Hamburger Kunsthalle (art museum here in Hamburg). When the day approached I was almost ready to skip it…so much stuff to do – wouldn’t it be rather smart to stay home and just work?

Nope…I decided in the morning, after I had a nice breakfast…NOPE….I will go and enjoy this day!

Now, I can see beauty in this spider (my Australian mates may remember my fear of spiders ;) ) – this Maman by Louise Bourgeois ! What an amazing installation. Gotta go back before that exhibitions ends. Later in the day there was a couple dancing tango under the spider. It was a wonderful sight and very romantic.

Before the workshop started we all went through the museum and looked at the Exhibition which was called Exhausted Heroes. It featured the work of Ferdinand Hostler, Aleksandr Dejneka and Neo Rauch. The painting above- and no those cell phone pictures do no justice to those paintings, you have to see them in real live- is by Neo Rauch – love his work and color combinations.

We mostly looked at Neo Rauch’s Work as it is very figurative and it goes into collage painting. This above painting of him was the last we looked at and really inspired we made our way back to the museum’s workshop rooms.

It was amazing- there was no explanation needed on what to do, we had simply looked at those paintings, were totally inspired, nobody talked and we all just grabbed magazines and paints – and started working. Look at the first row of work….can you see how the last painting inspired most of us in the color choices?

It was fun to be in a total different place with different materials and just use what was there.

It was also very interesting to work on a totally different scale – this is appr. 12 x 17 inches.

We always talked about our work afterwards and it was interesting to see what the others had created and what they thoughts were. It was so inspiring and amazing.

For the last piece I forced myself to choose a different color combination from my usual ones…

And…shocking…hold on to your seats now…I love this one….yes I do …it makes me smile and I enjoyed creating it a lot. I call it “The American Dream” .Your interpretation to think why I chose this title- LOL.

And the moral of this story? Well…sometimes you need a ME-Day, relax, have a scrumptious breakfast, go out into the air, meet new people and do what you love in a different environment. I was in such a friendly happy mood when I came home – ahhhhh!!!! And it made working on sunday so much easier…I got twice as much stuff done then usual…so the “lost day” was actually well invested ;)

Looking forward to the next ME-day I penciled into my calendar.

What would you do if you had a Me-Day?

Nat

Oozing Paint or Why I sent a head to Toronto

12 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in Altered Art

≈ 8 Comments

It was tempting to write just “head” on the customs declaration form for my package to Bizzy B’s in Toronto…but as I was asked to alter a styrofoam head for a good cause – a silent auction at Bizzy B’s – I decided I might better not risk the opening of the package ;)

Working with styrofoam was really interesting…especially since I very much dislike the sound of styrofoam…gives me goosebumps just as getting a wooden spoon with coffee – just the thought of teeth on wood….ahhhrrrggghshahaahah – sorry- I go back to the head now …

With my head I wanted to get the things that are constantly in my head out . I am thinking of words, art and colors all the time. So I had the acrylic paints spilling out of my head and the words covering up all of my face. Kind of like- Inside – OUT.

It was fun playing with it and I hope that it will raise some money for the Western Technical School’s innovative Cyber Arts Program.

It was fun – but I gotta say…LOL- there is definitely a reason why I don’t work with heads ;) This was pretty challenging for me. If you want to see the other heads that were created- check them out here.

Hope you have a gorgeous day- what are you up for?

I am taking a class today – will share soon :)

Nat

 

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iDoodle…or The end of the Bee Gees in my handbag

09 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Altered Art

≈ 10 Comments

There is three things in the world that make me splurge and not even think about if I REALLY need this…

  1. Shoes (yes- I’m one of them, full force “Oh no, those are not new, I have those forEVER, you just didn’t realize, honey!”)
  2. Art Media (it’s like a drug – needs to be tried out, can’t get enough of it, makes me happy, I get totally high on it!)
  3. Cool Bags or Safe Keeping Items (see below)

So a couple days ago I came across a video about those Papernomad bags and I was SOLD – I mean as in …purchased about 2 minutes after watching the video…as in…crazy woman…as in…this is the coolest thing in the world!

Because let’s face it …the Apple cover for the iPad looks great but when you travel it is not the best item to protect and every time I open my hand bag there is a disco light in there and my iPad is going nuts glooming and dancing: “stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive ah ha ha ha stayin’ alive” . I have been looking  for a cover I like – and so far I didn’t find any that would make my heart sing…until…well- I told you already ;)

So four days later I received my bag and started playing…iDoodle

I mean…helloooooo- this is fun!!! Little bit of Derwent Inktense Blocks and some Dylusion Stencils, Markers, and Liquitex Spray Paint….ahhhh

So cool – I so look forward adding to it once in a while- here is the beginning of the back of the sleeve

So this marks the end of the Bee Gees in my handbag…no more disco glooming “stayin’ alive” although I will miss walking through the airport like John Travolta.

I am so tempted to get the laptop sleeve too…more surface…ahhhh…but oh well…it is not in the …boring brown leather pocket that holds my money ;)

(Dear family…if you read this…now is the time to get a notepad out and write this down…you know…my birthday is coming up in two months, and you probably wonder what item would make me happy ;) HINT HINT!!!)

Wishing you all a gorgeous and fun day!

Nat

Hej, Fika and Tack – or 3 good words to know in Swedish

07 Monday May 2012

Posted by in Photos

≈ 17 Comments

hej! (hello!) – back from Sweden- where I had an amazing time teaching at the Scrapbooking med Hjärta Event. This time I promised myself to take more photos – and my new phone helped ;)

The event took place at an AMAZING school in Järfälla near to Stockholm – seriously- I have never seen a more beautiful school – first sight outside are benches with amazing quotes.

And then….See the name of my classroom- ohhhhhhh – loved it so much :)

I had a blast with my students- they were so fun and open to try new things and it was also lovely to meet some old friends I knew for some while in person for the first time and again :) )

“my” Eeva, who lived many years in Hamburg and her sweet sister Eve

Anna Björklund who I know for so many years and finally got to meet- such a Sweetie!!!!

Marja- another Cocoa Daisy Girl- she so rocks!

and here is Ulrika W.

and finally meeting Jenny – yeah!

And here are Jenny and Helene – who I called Twins because they both chose the same colors- LOL – but the canvases look different! (thank you Helene for sending me those pictures)

and this one made me laugh so hard!

We spent our Fika (Coffee break) with the best cake EVER baked by Ulrika B.-  and other breaks in the teacher’s lounge. My attempts to convince everyone that the baking goods were not that yummie, so that I could sneak in leftovers into my suitcase didn’t work….I should have put Ulrika in – for endless yummie baked good supply.

Seriously- have you ever seen a break room for teachers at a school being so wonderful?

Ingvild and I were laughing a lot

and it was so fun to finally meet Christy – she is lovely

Getting a photo of all of us was almost impossible- snigger- we either looked all in different directions….or we just cracked up!

but wait- here we go —almost ;) – Teachers and the amazing organizers from Scrap-Perra, Scrapgalen and Annelies & Mians Scrap & Pyssel

Tack !!! (Thank you!) so much for this amazing event to my students and the organizers- it was awesome!

I definitely have to come back to Sweden!

Huge hugs to you all

Nat

 

Graffiti Bridge – Color Fun

03 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Cocoa Daisy, Liquitex Ink, Scrapbooking Layouts

≈ 10 Comments

This weekend was reveal day at Cocoa Daisy and we adjoined it with a fun crop! The May Kit called Graffiti Bridge has amazing colors- I had a lot of fun playing with it

I found this photo in a thrift store. The Journaling reads:

Grete, Martha and Hermine couldn’t be more different and yet they loved and supported each other all the time. They knew Grete didn’t want to marry Wilhelm and they promised her to support her however her struggles with father would end up! 1913

supplies: Cocoa Daisy May Kit, Maya Mist, Ranger Dabber, Derwent Inktense Blocks, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L MyStik

The next layout was inspired by Anna Björklund (so looking forward seeing thisgirl the coming weekend at the Scrapbooking med Hjärta Event in Sweden), who challenged us to create a layout with a flap…like a picnic basket:

Besides the kit I used: Ranger Dylusions, Liquitex Ink, Eco Green Crafts Glass Glintz, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L MyStik and Crafty Power Tape

I used some Liquitex Ink of the Glass Glintz – easy to heat up because it is recycled glass – so no worries with the heat.

I just had fun using vibrant colors inside

I manipulated the photo by using also Liquitex Ink on top – so love the colors and possibilities of them!

The next layout was inspired by a color challenge by Lisa Saunders- she is amazing !

Just a little not to self…;) I used the Cocoa Daisy Stamps with Liquitex Ink- can you say addicted? LOL

What is your favorite paint medium lately?

Have a gorgeous creative day!

hugs

Nat

Make Your Colors Sing – Dylusions & Derwent ArtBars Tutorial

01 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in Art Journal, Dylusions, Neocolor II/Derwent Artbar, Spraypaint, Tutorial Video

≈ 19 Comments

Give me new paint media and I vanish into my studio going crazy – I just can’t help it!

Recently I purchased some awesome Dylusions Ink Sprays – and somehow some Dylusions Stencils and Stamps also fell into that basket…ooops ;) Love the products! As you know I have been playing with spray paints for many years ….and so getting some new spray paints makes me just giddy with excitement to try them with all kinds of other media and find fun new techniques. Well….so it was only a matter of time, that after I figured out the scoop about those spray inks and how they react, to try them with Derwent ArtBars (if you missed my post about them – here you go)…another awesome new paint media in my possession. OHHHH MMMMYYYY DEAR!!!!

Dylusions Ink Sprays and the Derwent ArtBars are amazing each by themselves but put together….they make the colors SING :)

Here is the finished page

What have you played with (art product)  recently?

Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

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