nathalie-kalbach

Lift Others – Art Journal Spread

Lots of things are going through my mind lately and this quote in my art journal truly resonates with me.

I just received my new Dina Wakley Art Journal yeahh. I was so impatient to finally hold it in my hands ever since I saw it at the AFCI (former CHA) show in January. If you haven’t seen the journal yet, it has different surfaces including burlap, canvas, cotton rag, watercolor paper, and kraft paper. It won’t be my everyday journal, as I love to work in double spreads, but it is a great journal for forcing me out of my box with its fun opportunities and possibilities of paint applications. I am so stoked about it.

This spread was created on a watercolor spread in the book- I love the texture . I also played with some of Dina’s paints. I layered my hood stamps and colored them in.

For the stars in the sky I used my Star Fish stamp with some white ink and finished the spread with the quote written with a white sharpie.

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread:



I wish you are wonderful day <3

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Torsa Saha

    |

    Beautiful page !! ??

    Reply

Leave a comment

Artful Adventures – Interview with Natalya Aikens

Natalya Aikens is part of my book Artful Adventures in Mixed Media and I thought it would be interesting to hear more about her and some of her thoughts. Grab a seat and a cuppa and listen to this interesting conversation which I think you will enjoy. We are talking about things like

  • Combining Architecture with Fashion with Art
  • Gathering Inspiration
  • Tactile Art
  • Natalya’s Artwork in my book
  • How life experience changes your appreciation for different art styles
  • Art History and Docent Tours
  • Stitching the ancient architecture of Greece

Artful Adventures in Mixed Media Interview with Natalya Aikens from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed the interview- let us know what you think about some of the topics.

You can Pre-Order Artful Adventures in Mixed Media now

Nat

Leave a comment

DIY – Stamped Easter Eggs

For the upcoming Easter Holiday I decided to dye some eggs. I bought some wooden eggs, blew out some brown eggs and cooked some white eggs to have a variety to play with.

I dyed the cooked white eggs with some natural dyes (Yellow/Orange (Annatto extract), Purple (Radish), Blue (Cabbage) – see picture on top of the collage. For the blown out brown eggs and the wooden eggs I wanted to try the new Tea Stain Dyes by Faber Castell, which are not suitable for food. They are meant to dye fabric and paper but I thought it should work with wood and egg shells too. I loved how the colors came out with these dyes, especially on the wooden eggs, the brown eggs were a bit tricky with the light green, but it was all good. Both dyes resulted in colors that I was super happy with.

I stamped the eggs with a white pigment dye stamp pad – using my inked cling rubber stamps by wrapping those carefully around the egg, and using some of my foam stamps by rolling the egg over the inked stamp.

On the top row you see the eggs stamped with my ArtFoamies foam stamps – I love how they turned out- the impression is bold.

On the bottom I used my Cardboard Cling Rubber Stamp Set. I loved especially how the Tread stamp gave a look of rubber bands but I do love ever single one. The yellow of course was a bit tough with white ink …so I used an archival ink on top which made it a bit smudge. Oh well.

Next I tried my Embroidery Cling Stamp Set – ohhhhh- i so loved the look of this. The different stitches came out really well on the eggs.

On the bottom you see eggs used with the Stroll through the Hood Cling Stamp Sets -see the Hydrant pattern – I was geeking out- LOL- I know it is random but I love it.

Here you have a couple of the eggs as decoration on my table. The cooked eggs are in the fridge waiting to be consumed in the next couple days ;) That was super fun to make, so easy ! I hope you like them and give these a try :) Here is the supply list of what I used besides some brown and white organic eggs:


Nat

Comments (4)

  • stephanie

    |

    great eggs!

    Reply

  • Joi@RR

    |

    Heheheh – love your EASTER PARADE of EGGS Nat! They are GORGEOUS. Your stamps are perfect on them. Xj.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      thank you Joi, I am so glad you like them :) Have a wonderful start into the week! <3

      Reply

Leave a comment

A Tourist in NYC

Having my friend Birgit Koopsen visit me a couple weeks ago brought the opportunity to play tourist in NYC. Living so close to Manhattan (a 10 minute path ride) makes you often just go in for your goals and chores and forget to explore it the way you would if you wouldn’t live to so close. Since Birgit was already here a couple years ago – I was able to show her some different things. Here are some fun highlights :)

Last time Birgit was here the WTC station wasn’t yet finished …I always rush through it …On the first day we went to the Russian Vodka Room for dinner  (it is a fun place – piano player, good food and drinks included- a great place when you are around the Broadway for a show) before

going to a MoMA Party with my friend Kim and we had the galleries almost to ourselves – so cool. It was great to go to the Picabia show for a third time :) I still saw new things and it is always awesome to talk with artsy friends about art.

The party was ok – young rich NYC kids – meh … but you know – look at the gallery above – ALL OURS

On another day we explored the East Village a bit (ok ok …I got lost …but hey…it is the best way to get to know a hood- LOL)

and went to Russ & Daughters – ohhhh yummie. The store exists for over 100 years – the Cafe offering their yummie delicatessen was opened a couple years ago.

We couldn’t stop eating (as we both love pickled fish and fish and pickles and potatoes latkes and dessert)  and we bought loads of their fish in store too which we indulged throughout the week at home …heaven :)

We went to Kremer’s Pigment– oh still my heart. A gem open since 1977 in the middle of a buzzing city- a candy store for artists

you can buy pigments there and they make their own watercolors. But they also offer workshops on how to make your own watercolors and gesso. I heard those classes are fantastic.

We went one day downtown

saw the Fearless Girl facing the Wall Street Bull (tons of people there- CRAZY!- that was the moment I turned back into a Jersey/NY girl and had to contain myself from just pushing through the crowd to be able to walk)

We took a Staten Island Ferry Ride- free and with the best picture opportunities of Manhattan, Jersey City, The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

And just enjoyed the sun and glorious day

Another day we meet a friend of mine in Brooklyn – Bushwick

strolled around

and had Pizza at the Roberta’s – sitting outside in the garden – yummie!

And then went to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to visit my friend and artist Adam in his studio to see some of his amazing artwork .

and then walked through Vinegar Hill to the Brooklyn Bridge which we crossed at the perfect time of the day with beautiful light

And who says New Yorkers have now humor ;)

We also did a Cheese Tasting in our local cheese store- all cheeses made by female cheese makers in the U.S. and spent some time in my hood. I really enjoyed having Birgit here and I miss her already :)

Hope you enjoyed the little sightseeing tour, I know we did !

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Torsa Saha

    |

    Love the small sightseeing through NYC !! Love you both !! Hugs !!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thanks for joining Torsa! Huge hugs back to you and a wonderful start into the week!

      Reply

  • susan debourguignon

    |

    oh, thanks so much for my armchair visit! i will get there someday. we will definitely visit Kremer Pigments and then have a lovely meal at Russ & Daughters. i don’t eat fish (just don’t care for it) but i will still have to make tough choices for lunch or dinner. and what a treasure of a trip to MoMA! Nathalie, thanks again for all that you share with us … we appreciate your nourishing art information!!!
    s

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you for coming with us Susan :) There are loads of yummie things on the menu at Russ&Daughters – their Potato Latkes- yumm and …hey…their sweets ….delicious :) Have a wonderful rest of your week!

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

    |

    Love Fearless Girl and looks like you had a great visit with Birgit. I can’t believe that you are that close to NYC.
    Thanks so much for sharing our pics Nat.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you Sue – yeah it was a fantastic time with her. It pays off to live so close (15min with public transportation) – as I always say ” it is awesome to be quick in and awesome to be quick out” ;)

      Reply

  • Cindy Langston

    |

    Ohhh…thank you so much for this post Nat! My husband and I will be making our annual trip to NYC in a couple of weeks and we are always on the look out for new things to see. You have definitely added to our list with your post. Would love more off the beaten path ideas if you want to share!

    Thanks…Cindy

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      thank you Cindy, I am glad you enjoyed the post and wish you and your husband an amazing time in NYC!

      Reply

  • Joi@RR

    |

    Loved every INCH of this post Nat. The art, the food, the sights and best of all… the story of your time together. Never having been to that part of the country – it’s all just AMAZING. Thanks so much for sharing. Xj.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      thank you Joi – it was a super fun time! NYC is a great place to visit :)

      Reply

Leave a comment

Find Out Fridays or …A Challenge is a Challenge

A couple months ago Donna Downey sent me an email and asked if I was up for a challenge. She would send me 4 supplies one month for her Find Out Fridays Challenge and I would have to record the unpacking and creating with those supplies. I was allowed to add whatever I wanted from my own stash. Now …I thought why not and said yes :) And then the package came …and I realized …a challenge is a challenge. LOL. It was pretty pretty hard to be honest and I didn’t want to add gazillion of things from my own stash as that felt like cheating for me …but see yourself ;)

Here are some photos:

It was actually fun and super out of my box- thank you Donna for making me get out of my comfort zone- We all need that once in a while :)

In addition to the Find out Fridays kit, I used the following supplies, some affiliate links:


What would you have created with the supplies?

Have a wonderful day

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Laura Weed

    |

    Wow, Nathalie!! What a cool project. I think you did an amazing job with a surprise package! Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you Laura :) Thanks for coming by and have a gorgeous weekend!

      Reply

  • Jean Goza

    |

    Very cool project! The gold gesso is now on my “want” list. Love the effect.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you Jean! The gold gesso definitely is yummie :) I like it a lot!

      Reply

Leave a comment

Coming back to Maryland to The Queen’s Ink to teach!!!

I am so stoked to come back to The Queen’s Ink in Maryland in June to teach a couple fun workshops- I cannot wait . Here are the classes:

June 24, 2017 – 10:30 am – 5:30 pm

Let’s explore several master artists and get inspired by their artwork and techniques to create wonderful and unique art journal pages. Whether it be the Impressionist’s amazing color combinations or some of the Surrealist’s fun collage techniques, there are many different Master Artists whose skills can serve as a starting point for your own artwork. Find out what you like and what works for you. Learn about opacity and layering, colors, troubleshooting, mixing materials, making your own tools, creating backgrounds and patterns. We will work with acrylic paints, inks, markers, wax bars and other paint media to create dimension and texture. We will make the most of stencils, stamps, mono printing plates and generic tools to make our own mark. Get ready to Rule Your Art Journal!

Register here

June 25, 2017 – 10:30 am – 5:30 pm

Join me for a day long class in Mono Print Painting. We will dive into the basics of mixed media mono printing first and I will introduce you to the Mono Print Painting technique inspired by H.N. Werkman. I will show you different ways on how to create elaborate and layered mono printed paintings using self made tools as well as stamps and stencils. I will share with you my thinking process on developing the technique and how we you can put your own personal spin on it, so that you can take your art to a whole different level.

Register Here

I had such a fun time at The Queen’s Ink last year- it is such a wonderful place to teach at – check out last year’s photos of my classes there.

Nat

Leave a comment

Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – Interview with Rae Missigman

Rae Missigman is part of my book Artful Adventures in Mixed Media and I thought it would be interesting to hear more about her and some of her thoughts. Grab a seat and a cuppa and listen to this interesting conversation which I think you will enjoy. We are talking about things like

  • Mark Making
  • Free Motion Stitching
  • Signing your work
  • Zoning in
  • Rae’s Artwork in the Book
  • Nonsense and Dr. Seuss
  • Elves :)

Artful Adventures in Mixed Media Interview with Rae Missigman from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed the interview- let us know what you think about some of the topics.

You can Pre-Order Artful Adventures in Mixed Media now

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Rae Missigman

    |

    this made me laugh. again. such a dork on camera I am – oh well it was fun none the less! Keep up all the amazing work you do Nat – you are an inspiration to us all! xo Rae

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      you are the cutest- you made me laugh so hard …well…it is cut out ;) Thank you for your time – love ya!!!! Nat

      Reply

Leave a comment