I made this page last week not knowing that yet again an horrific shooting took place. I made this page after the Shooting in Buffalo as I use my art journal not only to explore materials and techniques but sometimes also to work through thoughts and things that happen in the world. This was another very sad morning when I created it – the page does not really reflect my anger and helplessness about the horrible things that keep on happening here.
I cannot even imagine the pain the families of all those incidents have to go through. All I know is that this has to stop!
What kind of a society are we where we let this happen over and over again?
Quoting Amanda Gorman “What might be if only we tried. What might we become if only we listen.”
What’s your next Artful Adventures? Maybe we can help you get started…
We’re having a sale right now on all our Artful Adventure Online Workshops – just $39 each! Check them out here. Bundle together a few and enjoy discovering how Gustav Klimt, Joan Miró, Paul Klee, or Andy Warhol can provide you with new artistic inspiration and techniques to get you thinking and creating with new passion in your art journal and beyond. My newest Artful Adventures with Vincent Van Gogh is also included in this sale, so we have a nice variety of options :)
Check out all the Artful Adventures in my Online Shop. And enjoy them for just $39 each (instead of the regular $49) – now through June 1st, 2022 at 11:59pm EDT.
After many months of keeping these fish windsocks in my closet, Kim and I finally got together last week for a playdate. Koinobori are a Japanese tradition – windsocks that are usually flown around the celebration of Children’s Day (read more about this tradition here). We love the shape of these and the possibilities for personalizing them and wanted to put our spin (and stamps LOL) on these festive fliers.
The supplies were easy to gather together: my fan shaped foam stamps (perfect for fish scales!!!), the Koinobori windsocks (link below for those), acrylic paint / acrylic gouache, Posca markers, a brayer, and gelli plate. There are traditional Koinobori colors to symbolize different members of your family, but we decided to go with some of our favorite colors.
We looked at lots of examples online and started with some of the details, using a black posca marker. Eyes, gills, whiskers (these are actually carp, so they have some whiskers)…
…and also the fins. Each set of windsocks came with 3 different sized fish and the larger two have more detail, shape, and fins. We found that the larger bullet nib Poscas worked best on the fabric.
For the smallest fish, my Mini Fan foam stamp set was the way to go – a perfect size and shape to create “scales”.
We rolled paint out on a Gelli plate and then either brayered it on the stamps or used the Gelli plate like a stamp pad.
Then just stamp on the fish. We found that the fabric was sturdy enough that it didn’t bleed through.
Just keep going with the pattern. This is the medium sized fish, so my larger fan stamps like the Fairview Fan set made quick work of the pattern.
On the larger fish you have to work around the fins but you can decide how fussy you’d like to be.
Here’s a little guy all stamped with one of the Mini Fans.
And here’s the medium fish – it comes together pretty fast with the foam stamps!
You can add other colors with Posca markers – trace the stamp shapes to highlight the pattern or to add more detail to the fish.
You can also trace the fan shapes to emphasize those scales.
The smallest fish has such little detail that you kinda have to fake it with fins and such. We also definitely used the small ones to test out what we liked best in terms of design.
And in the end, we created a beautiful school of fish!
Each one an individual and full of personality :)
When they’re all ready, it’s time to let these windsocks fly!
On a windy day this guy will be “swimming” through a local community garden :)
Hope you give this project a try. Here are some of the supplies we used:
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a post from Jordan Hill who is sharing an art journal spread where she pushes her color comfort zone and uses my Triple Play and LOVE foam stamps for our theme: A Tale of Two Colors – Think about two different colors, one you love using and one you find more of a challenge to work with. Use them together in a project and see what happens.
Hello everyone! I’m excited to be back with a brand new project for May! This month’s concept of using a color I tend to avoid really pushed me creatively; there are a few colors I shy away from in my artwork, simply because I find them difficult. Red is one of these colors. For this month’s spread I decided to pair the red with pink, since I use pink a lot more and find it a lot easier to manage.
I started things off by selecting a page that I wanted to work on. This particular page already had quite a lot of pink on it from where I had cleaned off my paintbrush after working on a different page. Next up, I used one of the stamps from Nathalie’s Triple Play Foam Stamp Set with some red acrylic craft paint to create a pattern over the background of the page.
I then wanted to add some texture to the right hand page, so I stamped Nathalie’s CJS22 Limited Edition Foam Stamp onto a piece of white tissue paper. I tore it into a couple of pieces, then used Mod Podge to adhere it to the page. I like how this technique makes it appear as though there are letters on the page, but not necessarily words.
Next, I incorporated a couple of collage pieces. This is where I added the small piece of pattern in the lower right hand corner of the spread, and the face on the left hand side. I also used a pink marker to add a few scattered hearts across both pages; I incorporated these hearts into both halves of the spread in an attempt to make them feel more uniform.
It was then time to add the words. I used a Crayola Fine Line Marker in red to write out my quote, making sure to go across both pages. I then outlined the red with a Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pen in Black in order to make sure it stood out against the background.
To finish off the spread, I loaded some India Ink onto a small paintbrush and flicked it in the direction of my page to create some splatters for bonus texture. With that, I was ready to call this spread done! I hope you enjoyed following along with the process!
Thank you Jordan – love that color combination of pink and red!
Give it a try: you can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and in addition to collage elements, here are some of the supplies Jordan used:
It has been a while since Mana Contemporary in Jersey City had an open house…or let me say…since I felt comfortable attending one :) It is always such a treat to visit this local museum and see exhibitions, open studios and resident artists.
Sculptures by John Chamberlain. They are made of auto parts and they are petty impressive.
One thing that is amazing about Mana is that the space is just huge and seeing a huge white room with just two sculptures is definitely a treat.
Another exhibition is dedicated to Andy Warhol’s original screen prints.
Again the size of the rooms allow to have the artwork grouped next to each other and that is pretty neat.
Lot’s of time to take them all in and check out the differences.
The downside may be that by the time you finished this exhibition your step ticker is way up and as it is on the first floor, you have only glanced the tip of the iceberg of the museum.
My husband pointed out that the Chicken Noodle Soup text is straight and not curved like on the others…mhhh interesting!
This is such an amazing piece!
Next up were Sculptures by Fred Sandback. The sculptures are made with either elastic rods or stretched yarn.
They really mess with you …making you think you look at a mirror or the room is divided. I had also a little “Severance” moment here.
We then made it to the Richard Meier Model Museum…I had seen it before and was reluctant to go in ..but alas the husband hadn’t seen it yet and has a lot of interest for architecture so we stepped in.
It is an impressive collection for sure.
Below Meier’s entry to the World Trade Center Memorial Square Competition.
It is interesting to see it now that the Memorial is built – and as we know someone else won.
Shelves and shelves with models- amazing.
Then we finally made it to the floor I was most interested in …the artists in residence.
Probably not a surprise that I was especially drawn to Fabio Esteban’s work. Fabio was talking to another person – who hopefully bought some of his artwork – and I overheard that this piece with the A-Train was made on an old school desk plate
A lot of the other residents were not in the studio and when I tried to see more of the work I was blocked by one person who just stood in the narrow walkthrough to the studio chewing someone’s ear off …you can tell I was starting to get fatigued. And so…I guess I have to come back :)
There will be another open studio event in July and I hope I can be back then and we can start on the third floor ;) All in all I still enjoyed this a lot – even though I didn’t get to see what I wanted to see.
On a side note- there was a shuttle bus from Manhattan to the open studio- and it was pretty full. I know people from the City are all snobby that they never have to leave the city as they have a lot of amazing art there…but hey …maybe you wanna make it over the river one day – LOL- we got some stuff here ;)
I enjoyed seeing your art stroll and the Andy Warhol items especially.
I’ve never been a big fan of his art, but I have a new appreciation for it after watching Andy Warhol Diaries on Netflix.
Thanks for sharing art that I wouldn’t usually see in NH.
I hope you have a fantastic summer enjoying your new yard.
Last fall, in the craziness of planning CJS22 and moving, I received a commission for a painting from a student who I have known for quite some time. Her niece was marrying and the painting was to be of couple’s lovely home, a wedding gift :) She provided images of the home and it happens to be right here in Jersey City, where I live. It’s a super charming carriage house, tucked behind other buildings, with all the historic details that as you know, are my jam.
I don’t usually do commissions but this was a special case that had enough connections and interest that I agreed. Commissions are tricky and I’ll admit that getting started was a bit harder than usual – I didn’t know the couple (or their style) and you can’t actually see the building from the street so I couldn’t spend time taking it in, in person. Also a wedding gift is important and all that wrapped my head up with some real trepidation.
But, as is my ethos, I knew I just had to jump in, and do my thing. After all, that is why I got the commission in the first place :) So I approached the project from the emotions and happiness that come from starting a new life together, in an adorable old house, an oasis in a busy city, and went with those feelings.
In the end I love the painting and the happy energy that it has, and it was also a good exercise for me to step a wee bit out of my comfort zone.
“No bird soars too high if she soars with her own wings.”
This page started with one of those little calendar pages from the sold out Artists Almanac calendars. The calendar is all gone but the original painting for this page is still available here (or a nice giclee print here) and it always brings me back to when I first moved to Jersey City. Crazy where life can take you :)
I used acrylic paint and acrylic spray paint for my background, in colors to compliment the original painting and build a bigger skyline. The original painting has the Jersey City skyline in the background from back when I first painted it, and it’s definitely gotten much BIGGER since I first moved here. All the tall buildings by the waterfront and beyond.
To add detail and definition to the skyline I used Neocolor II from Caran d’Ache – love how saturated those water soluble sticks are.
I added my journaling with a Signo ball pen. Are you soaring anywhere these days?
How well do you know our Creative Squad? Each week one of our talented design team members shares a project with us and we have come to know and love each of their individual artistic styles. BUT we realized that maybe we could learn a bit more about what makes each of these lovely artists tick. So, we decided to do a quick interview with each. Read on and stay tuned for a new interview each month :)
Welcome Robin Seiz today! Robin has been with the Creative Squad since 2020 and comes to us from the beautiful artist community of New Hope, PA in the US. Robin’s style is influenced by nature, her garden, her materials, and the artists and mixed media creatives she connects with. Let’s learn more!
1. How old were you when you first started making art? What is an early artmaking memory?
I don’t remember making art as a child. I do remember seeing both of my grandmothers sew, but I didn’t learn until I was an adult. As a teenager, I loved everything fashion; my first job was in a clothing store and then I went on to manage a large women’s apparel store during and after college. To this day, I love clothes, I love shopping and my friends and family would say that I always have that little bit of bling. (well at least pre-covid :o) Now we are all in sweats most of the time!
I would say that my mixed media artistic journey started when my children were young. I began scrapbooking as a way to capture the photos and a lasting memory of my children and our family. That led me to jewelry making. I feel like mixed media combines all those earlier experiences, building to this moment in my artistic journey.
2. If you are an art journaler, when did you start your first art journal?
I would say that journaling has been sporadic in my life. Until recently, my journals were only text. While I started art journaling in the last few years, I don’t do it often. I tend to art journal if there is something that I really need to work out in my life or if I want to try a new technique. Here are a few examples of art journal pages I have created. The first was done during the pandemic. I combined text and art journaling to capture my emotional ups and downs during this time.
The second art journal page is something that I created recently for one of Nat’s Creative Squad blogs; I was telling a story about a book I had read.
3. What is one technique you just rediscovered or learned that you are now using all the time again?
I have been really enjoying hand stitch which I see as an extension of mixed media. I started making small pieces during the pandemic when we were in the house so much and I needed a calming influence. Creating these was a way to be be present in the moment; they were truly meditative moments. I just kept creating them; I couldn’t stop! I recently put all the pieces in a fabric book. I love that I have a body of work from the pandemic time. I also created some small collages using hand stitch, paper and tea bags. I matted the collages. I will soon embark on a #100dayproject which will combine hand stitch with dyed fabric, photographs, and found objects. (Stay tuned on instagram for that).
4. Describe your artistic style in 3 words.
My artistic style is free-flowing yet intentional. It is often inspired by nature, both in the color pallet and the one-of a kind unique pieces. I use lots of layers and like balance in my work.
5. What are some of the biggest influences on your art?
Most of my influences are other mixed media artists I see on social media. It’s a wonderful community of people and I love watching their videos and feeds to see what they are creating; not to copy their work, but to get new techniques and incorporate these into my own work.
I am also influenced by nature. Just walking in nature or working in my garden always grounds me and brings me closer to myself. It’s from this place that I am able to create truly unique work.
6. Favorite color 5 years ago? Favorite color now?
I’m honestly not sure what my favorite color was 5 years ago. I rarely have a “favorite” color. I truly love most colors!!! I was very attracted to vintage items so the muted colors of tans, and tea dyes, and rust were appealing to me. I still like muted tones, but am trying to push myself to use bolder colors. I have been using red and teal quite a bit. I love those two colors together.
7. Show us where you create.
I am so grateful to have my own studio in our home where I create. It’s a lovely light space with lots of windows. As big as it is, I have outgrown the space. (creating requires so much stuff!) We are starting a house renovation and as part of the project, I am doubling the size of my studio. How lucky am I… wow!!!! Here is the current studio, stay tuned late summer for pictures of the new studio.
8. What are your 3 favorite Creative Squad projects that you’ve created?
The first project that I really loved was using Nat’s foam stamp from CJS21. I love this stamp! I told a story about my garden by cutting out pieces of the stamped piece. It was the first time that I truly felt that I could tell a story with my art! So exciting.
The second project was a journal cover. I really liked this project because I had an idea, but it was difficult to execute. I needed to keep layering and rethinking the project. It was one of those projects that did not come together easily. I kept adding layers until I liked the end result. I tried new techniques with this project as well. In the end, I was happy with the result, but it took lots of patience and experimentation.
The third project was a project where we created Artist Trading Cards and then swapped them with other Creative Squad members. I love working small, so these cards were a joy to do. I used materials that I had on hand and combined sewing with paper — something I love! I loved swapping them with other artists as well.
9. Describe the perfect artistic day for you.
My perfect artistic day is when I can start my day with tea or coffee and a walk through nature, either my garden or somewhere close to home. After a few hours, I return to my studio inspired by something I thought about or have seen and set out creating without a purpose, just enjoying the process. I may stop for lunch, visit with my spouse, and return to the studio. I keep creating until I look up and it’s dark outside and time for dinner. I rarely return to my studio at night, my creative energy tends to happen during the day. I do hand stitch at night as a quiet meditative process… so I’m really always creating.
“You never win a fight with someone who only lives in his reality.”
This art journal page is using a page from the sold out 2022 Artist Almanac – don’t dismay though, 2023 is in the works ;)
I started by rolling out yellow paint with a brayer to create some texture on the page, and added red acrylic paint onto a palette knife and lightly pressed it onto the yellow background, pulling it down or to the side. After it dried, I used water based spray paints, sprayed through an older Stampendous stencil (not available anymore sorry) – and my What’s The Point stencil (yes that guy is still available).
The only reason I used the old stencil is because I had used it on the background of the calendar page and I wanted to incorporate the form, but you could also make some paint splashes onto a thin piece of cardboard and then cut the form out to make your own stencil. Or if you are brave, make some big paint splashes right on top of the page. Next I adhered the calendar page with double sided adhesive.
The spray paint wasn’t perfectly dried yet and it wound up clogging up my sharpie ball pen which I love to use for journaling – a good reminder to be patient…
L-O-V-E these!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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