nathalie-kalbach

CHA Show – Work Hard – Play Hard

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As posted a couple days before I just came back from six days at the CHA Show in Anaheim, California. CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and holds a big Trade Show for the latest and greatest regarding Craft and Hobby every January. This year my second round of stamps were released with Stampendous at CHA and so one of the reasons to go there was, of course to promote them. Weeks ahead of the Show there is sample work involved- which is always a headache for everyone because the show is right after the holiday season. Besides demoing I also did some filming at the Show, visited some very good business seminars and attended some meetings. Many years I didn’t even had time to walk the floor but this year was all under the motto : Work Hard – Play Hard and I had a lot of fun meeting friends in between. Most of these photos are intended to make my friend and annual room mate Birgit aware of how much fun she missed and come next year again (girl, I missed you soooooo much this year !) – Here are some photos :)

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getting sandwiched by my sweet friends Cat and Anna!

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being super stoked and showing my tonsils because Helen bought my Flat Iron Print and is bringing it to her home all the way in Australia

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checking out the gorgeous work by the Stampendous Design Team and spying my Stamps and Stencils in their work!

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once in while visiting my bestie Julie and have her show me the Scan N Cut which I got for Christmas and make her show HER tonsils ;)

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Filming a 2 minute tip of the day for Scrapbook Expo without flinging paint over the very clean filmset (yes I managed …barely but I managed ;) )

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Talking to Tenia who just got published using my stamps (woot woot talented girl!) and being photobombed by JumpStarter John (Tenia’s Face- price less)

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Running into Suzanne, Suze and Anna – love! And …photo stolen from Suze  (confessing!)

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Seeing my gorgeous Finnish friends again …next time in Finland? ;)

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My friends Barbara from Italy and Jing from Dubai – too short …so sad – another year till I see you again!

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Getting a hug by Denny ….I must be on a stool or something or he is kneeling down- because he is really way taller than me – LOL

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Filming with ScrapTime and talking about the new Stamps. Fun!

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Having a good talk with Seth sitting outside in the sun before the show starts on the last day

And that was it – I met many more friends in between- but you know …you cannot be attached to your camera ALL the time (well you can…but – LOL) . It was a great show – I had a really good time and I am looking forward to next year …even though for two days after coming home,  I was pretty much exhausted and did not want to talk much (I think that is how we all end up after the show – it is pretty intense to be on all time).

And now it is back to the studio and do some creative work :)

 

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Maura

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    Looks like you had a blast!!

    Reply

  • catherinescanlon

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    It was so nice to spend time with you, hopefully we’ll get some creative time somtime!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Looks like a fun and exhausting time to spend with customers and crafty friends. Thanks for sharing those pics Nat.

    Reply

  • paula

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    Nat, It was nice to see you, even if it was for only a moment. You look so happy (not just in the photos) so I’m glad things are going well for you. xx

    Reply

  • laurajo

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    Oh Nat, what a wonderful community of friends. You can never have enough support. Love seeing all the pics and other artist’ work with your stamps. It really shows how your stamps are so versatile! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  • jackiepn

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    oh Nat! Thanks for sharing those photos! The looks of fun and happiness radiate from your smiles- even the tonsil showing one! teehee Hugs

    Reply

  • yankeegirl

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    What FUN it must be to see all the new goodies and techniques, and to meet up with so many friends! But I can see how it could be exhausting, too! Waiting for the third of your new stamp sets to arrive in my mailbox….can’t wait!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah thank you for getting my stamps- that is so cool!!!!

      Reply

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Create Memories – Canvas

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I haven’t done canvases with photos in a long time and I really had a lot of fun to create this super easy canvas for the Stampendous CHA booth for my new Stamp Set section :) The stamps are trickling now into the first shops- the are just starting to ship out. I will post a list of stores soon! Using the Kaffee Klatsch Stamp Set which also includes a free stencil, I took the stencil, laid it down onto the canvas and using a nice Painter’s Knife I spread some Heavy Gesso over the Stencil.

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After the stenciled images dried, I used some Liquitex Acrylic inks and added them to the canvas using a water spray to mix them at areas, take off some ink, make the ink run and drip and drop . Super fun!

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When the ink was dry I just stamped with the Kaffee Klatsch Stamps and Archival ink on top of the canvas. I splattered some Soft Body Paints on top of an old and dried up brush (yup- if you forgot to clean it and ruined it- you might as well just incorporate it into your art work or craft projects, right? ) . I applied the photo with double sided tape and the heavy brush with Heavy Gel Medium.

 

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I used some old black chipboard letters and to unify them more with my background design, I stamped with one of the round Kaffee Klatsch stamps using  Liquitex Unbleached Titanium White on top. Since most self adhesive letters won’t hold forever on canvas, I applied the letter also with a thin coating of Gel Medium.

Here is a list of all the supplies I used

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Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

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Comments (20)

  • Seth

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    Loving the new stamp sets Nat. Congratulations on a great release!!

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  • mapperlmutter

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    Looking forward to using your stamps. I am now sold on the Liquitex acrylic inks. These past few weeks have really “Jump Started ” my creative side. Thank you.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I am so glad you like them and also feel jumpStarted- yeahh! Thank you for being part of it!

      Reply

  • nathalie-kalbach

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    Danke schön :) Die Stempel gibt es auch bald in Deutschland- ich weiß von mindestens zwei deutschen Shops, die sie bestellt haben – ich halte Dich auf dem Laufenden :)

    Reply

  • colourfly

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    Stunning piece! Love all about it.
    Und die Stempel hätte ich auch gerne. Mal schauen, wo ich die finde….

    Reply

  • smokeysmom

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    Nat, I love, love, LOVE this canvas!! Great picture of you, too. You’re so cute:) I, too, cannot wait to buy the stamps you used in this project! Attaching the old brush to this painting is genIous!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much for your sweet words! I knew this brush would come handy some times – LOL

      Reply

  • Denise Spillane

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    Oh Nat, I so love this. The texture, the look do doilies, the great picture of you! The color! Wonderful.

    Reply

  • Barb

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    I Love this idea!!! Can’t wait to try it–an extra jumpstart!!! Thank You so much. I am so enjoying CJS–only wish I had known about it from the beginning. But I know now, so hope it remains an annual thing. : )

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I am so glad you enjoy it Barb ! You never know ;) I hope I will do it again but every year in January I need a break- LOL

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I continue to love this pic of you in your element Nat and the canvas came out great. Liquid inks I now must try.

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    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Sue- I know you will love those inks and they are super versatile!

      Reply

  • Cynthia

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    Love this canvas, especially the way you added the decorated brush and that fabulous photo of your beautiful, smiling self!!

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  • nurse-ratchet

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    This piece is so cheerful and happy which reflects the fab pic of you! I cannot wat to get my hands on these new stamps! See you in March, my LGL!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you Nurse Ratchet! Cannot wait to see you in March- we will have loads of fun at the workshops !!!

      Reply

  • yankeegirl

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    Awesome canvas, Nat! I really like the look of the liquid inks. You have inspired me to get out my stuff and get messy today! And you are looking fabulous—- love that photo of you!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe- thank you so much! Yes I do love those Liquitex Inks a lot too :)

      Reply

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Have You Seen Anything Exciting at CHA? or … What about Surfaces/Substrates?

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I just came back from six days at the CHA Show in Anaheim, California. CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and holds a big Trade Show for the latest and greatest regarding Craft and Hobby every January.

The most asked question between Designers, Artists, Crafters and Educators this year was “Have you seen anything exciting at CHA where you think I should head right over to?” This wasn’t an easy question to answer. My friend Seth Apter did a great job listing the Trends to Watch and some thoughts on his blog – and I agree with everything fully .

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I personally was on the hunt for Surfaces/Substrates at CHA whenever I had a bit time between meetings, and demoing (I will post some photos of that later ;) ). As most of you know I am working with my dream paint company right now and I am always on the look out for some wonderful surfaces that I can incorporate in my artwork or in my Mixed Media Workshops.

Mixed Media is still a hot and climbing trend in the Craft and Hobby Sector and it was EVERYWHERE but it was really hard to find something that made me excited to work on regarding as a surface. Most paper crafting manufacturers seem to venture into producing paints and media that already exist. I was a bit surprised by that. Wouldn’t it would be so much more innovative and successful to come up with something unique that works with the products a paper craft company already manufactures but also supports other media? Oh well….

Here are my top 5 surface products I found by Craft Manufacturers:

Relics and Artifacts by Susan Evertson for Prima Marketing

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These resins excited me! They were unique and not main stream- they can be used in Mixed Media – Assemblages, Canvases but also for Scrapbooking and Card Project. For me a great idea and I love the unique designs !

Mixed Media Albums by Graphic 45

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Nice and sturdy cardboard albums, in different color schemes, with nice and thick paper inserts – different designs as with pockets and tabs. Graphic45 came out with some great paper lines and embellishments to go with those books to make them into calendars or recipe books- but they also can be altered and used with paints – I cannot wait to play with one and make an Mixed Media-photo-album out of one of those.

Mixed Media Boxes by Graphic 45

 

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I know… Boxes – but- I liked those- nice quality boxes – with so many possibilities. Alter them with Scrapbooking Paper, make recipe boxes, make shadowboxes, home decor items- with photos – use them for a Mixed Media project …you see –  endless possibilities and a good fit with their already existing paper products!

Just Add Watercolors by Cosmo Cricket

 

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Cosmo Cricket did it for me this year in coming up with great surface ideas for the craft and hobby industry!! I love their Watercolor paper, cards, tags and blocks printed with gold and clear foil resist. You can not only add watercolor, but also acrylic inks and make some easy yet artsy looking cards etc. I think this is a great gateway into experimenting with Mixed Media for people that want to get a tiny bit messy but are still clean paper crafters !

Gallery Blocks by Cosmo Cricket

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This one was my favorite! These are  canvases with a wooden back. You can use them either kind of like a shadowbox or paint on the wooden surface- which is fun too – as you will have a frame then already. BUT even cooler, if you want to wrap it in fabric, they added super strong adhesive on the edges and every block comes with thumb tacks for reinforcing the corners. this means you can add any painted fabric – duck canvas, stained and painted canvas or fabric on top of  it- in an easy peasy way. GREAT idea!!!

That was the result of my Surface and Substrate hunt . Oh wait, speaking of Mixed Media Surfaces ….looksie what I found in the Ice Resin Booth ;) That is the suitcase that Jen Cushman made for her Creative JumpStart Video- if you are signed up – you will recognize it :)

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If you were at CHA- let me know your thoughts- and if you weren’t let me know your thoughts about surfaces or substrates you personally would love to see !

 

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Sandra Evertson

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    Thank you so much for including my RELICS & ARTIFACTS resin craft blanks by Sandra Evertson/Prima Marketing Inc. in your top five picks for CHA 2015!! I’d like to invite you to the Prima Marketing Inc booth this Winter 2016 CHA, we are going to introduce an even more fabulous companion line to mix and match!! Thanks again! And hope to see you there!
    Sandra Evertson

    Reply

  • Seth

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    Hey Nat. Great seeing you at the show. Thanks so much for including my link in the post. And for sharing these product favorites. Somehow I missed a few of them at the show.

    Reply

  • Zandra Cudney

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    It was so nice to see you and Suze in front of the Prima Finnabair demo. Missed you at Art Venture this year.

    Reply

  • ljfsyd

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    Wasn’t there but so glad you shared …. Love the canvases w
    Itch wood back. Also would like to see uses with all the wood embellishments I saw here and in retail and some ideas.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I am very interested in the mixed media albums. I tend to love Graphic 45 products. Resin relics…yeah.

    Reply

  • Kim reed

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    I wasn’t at CHA, but watched quite a bit of the action on YouTube. I about pooped my pants when I saw Sandra Evertson’s new line with Prima because I am already a big fan of her stamp line. However, I had no clue about that Cosmo Cricket line, so the gallery blocks are going right to my wish list. I’m looking forward to your new stamp release as well! And I totally agree with you about the paper companies invading the paint territory, they just need to get off that bandwagon already. Thanks for sharing this info!!

    Reply

  • Ursula

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    Hallo Nat – mein Neid ist mit dir ;)) Ich denke, ich werde mir all die neuen Dinge mal die nächsten Tage am Compi anschauen – aber das GraphicAlbum sieht schon mal seeeeeeeeehr vielversprechend aus – auch wenn ich ja nicht so der “Matscher” bin ;)) LG Ursula

    Reply

  • Laura S.

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    Love all your choices. The Prima Relics are too cool. Need to play with them for sure!

    Reply

  • Francine G

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    Hi Nathalie

    Like you I love those resin artifacts…. I just hope that I will find some? Also the Graphic 45 albums are awesome… And the canvas with wooden back what a cool idea with so many possibilities…
    I was not at CHA but I was able to follow with all the posts of the différent company…
    I appreciate your overview you’re the expert!

    Hugs

    Reply

  • jackiepn

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    I’m digging the relics and the gallery blocks you’ve posted! and no I was not at CHA , but home viewing from my computer “( waaahh
    I do however ADORE that luggage that Jen painted on CJS!!! And I have a huge supply of vintage ones- just asking for paint!!
    I think you need to design a cool substrate Nat!! hint hint!
    thanks for your insight! hugs xo

    Reply

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Mark Maker

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This Canvas was created for the CHA Show (Craft and Hobby Association – which has a yearly trade show in Anaheim) and where my new Stamps with Stampendous are released at the moment…I am waving from there right now.

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I used the Mark Maker Stamp Set with it- that also includes a stencil

The stamps will be available soon. I used them with acrylic paint on top of the canvas – my favorite way to use stamps.

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For texture I added Frantage Aged Embossing Powders and smoothed and mixed some acrylic paint over the heat embossed areas with my finger. The washers and metal pins are also heat embossed with Frantage Embossing Powder.

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Here is a list of all the supplies I used

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Hope you like it – have a great day!

 

Nat

Comments (31)

  • susan salyer

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    wow wonderful canvas love the layers and the wonderful goodies you used to make this happen

    Reply

  • Liz Lumsden

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    Wonderful fabric stamping!

    Reply

  • Autumn

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    What an amazing mixed media project – oh makes me want to get into some paint! ;0

    Reply

  • D.Ann C

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    LOVE the look and ingenuity of embossing the washers!! Warm hugs from Florida

    Reply

  • Linda on the Prairie

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    Nathalie, you make everything fun! These sets are so versatile.

    Reply

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Stay Out Of The Drama or … In My Art Journal Today

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Some great words to live by.

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This art journal spread is one of my faves I did the past couple months – and funny enough it was one of those pages where I was just trying out my new stamps and stencils some other new stuff , and I was using up left over paints and boom – as I was layering and layering I started to really love the grunge and then I dived full force into it and embraced it.

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I used some left over Liquitex Super Heavy Gesso from a different project and spread it over the  Stencil in my Kaffee Klatsch Stamp Set to tie the background together.

Here are the supplies I used

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Have a beautiful day :) 

Nat

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99 Cent Dream

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I finished my painting “99 Cent Dream” for the upcoming gentrification: The Changing Landscape of Jersey City Exhibition.

Opening is on January 10th, 2015 – 5pm-9pm at 313 Gallery, 313 Third Street, Jersey City

Based on recorded interviews about their thoughts regarding Jersey City/Gentrification with Jersey City people on the street, 12 artists including me, created new pieces of artwork. During the exhibition you can listen to the interviews while looking at the artwork. The Jersey Journal published an interesting article about the exhibition – you can read it here.

99 Cent Dream depicts different viewpoints of gentrification. It portraits the disconnection of neighborhoods, geographies and people in Jersey City. Using acrylic mediums, the painting embodies the many layers and dimensions of gentrification deep beneath the surface.

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I cannot wait to see the other artwork by the other artists. I really enjoyed working on this project. Let’s face it, I am part of the problem of gentrification here in Jersey City and yet at the same time I come from an area in my own home city in Hamburg, Germany where I have seen the stages of gentrification over many years in my neighborhood. I can see where Jersey City is heading to and I can relate to the feelings and thoughts of people effected by gentrification. Soon, I won’t be able to live here anymore either – the prizes are climbing up as J.C. is a geographically so close to Manhattan.
The interviews were thought provoking and triggered a lot of emotions and creative input, and the concept of this exhibition is great and already leads to a lot of discussions. If you are in the area- I hope you will come to see and hear the exhibition :)
Size: 46 in x 60 in – For my Europeans: that is 116 cm x 152 cm.
Medium: Liquitex Acrylic Paint HB+SB, Spray Paint, Ink, Marker, Gesso, Pouring Medium, Gel Medium; Paper on Canvas
Nat

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Light or… In my Art Journal Today (or yesterday ;) )

Instead of a New Year’s Resolution I, amongst many others, pick a word that I try to live by in the new year. Last year it was BOLD …this year it is LIGHT …next year it might be ITALIC… just kidding ;)

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Light is indeed my word for this year. It is a good word for many different kinds of lights that I would like in my life. I want to take thinks more lightly, travel light, be light and not overthink everything too much, eat light, and …see the light at the end of the tunnel :) Let’s see where this goes!

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Light is also the page spread in my art journal itself and the time I spent on it. I created it very quick on December 31, 2014 – after contemplating with myself, that I a) have no time because I had to work on last minute stuff for Creative JumpStart  and b) that I have no time because I should really make myself representable for a little party I was going to. Well…Light helped- little bit of acrylic inks with a brush – little bit playing, little bit of acrylic paint on a stamp …and voila- done. And aren’t I glad I did it…it is in there…in the journal- as a good reminder until I fill the book- LOL.

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What is your word if you have one?

 

Nat

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Happy New Year 2015!

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to all of you out there! May 2015 be filled with happiness, fun, health and loads of creativity for you!

See you in 2015 !

Nat

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Are You Ready For Creative JumpStart 2015? – Infos etc.

Have you signed up yet for Creative JumpStart 2015?

If not- don’t miss it – it is going to be awesome and lots of Mixed Media Creative Fun! And did you know that if you signed up for Creative JumpStart 2015 that you can access the welcome page and explore a bit more about it? Here are some helpful videos for either of you

Want to hear a little bit more about Creative Jumpstart ?

JumpStarter Joe Rotella and I are are chatting about CJS: What it is, The theme 2015, How Joe feels about Creative Jumpstart, Why I ask artists AND crafters …and some more

 

Signed up and need help to navigate and access to Creative JumpStart?

It is easy to navigate Creative JumpStart – and you can already access the Welcome Page once you signed up (if you are unsure if you signed up already because you didn’t get the Order Confirmation (check your spam folder) – this is a great way to find out !)

Want to know how to sign up for CJS and how it works?

A little helper- as I know sometimes signing up for stuff online is a bit new to some of you

 

Need Help? FAQs – videos, log in etc.

If you have a question on how to log in, or about the videos etc. your best bet is to check the Need-Help Page first! Most of your questions will be probably answered there already!

So….are you ready? Or what are you waiting for? Starting January 1st  – we Jump :) 

Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

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