nathalie-kalbach

Winding Down: My Top Ten Art Journal Pages of 2014

It has become a tradition of mine and other blogger friends to wind down the year with some  Top “insert number”- Lists of work , posts and photos, before the year ends. It makes me go back and look at what I have done and accomplished and it also makes me dwell in memories. Too often we forget about the things we did and accomplished throughout the year- often just bashing ourselves for not fulfilling all the wonderful new year’s resolutions from last year.  Maybe this makes you wanna do it too – if so – share :)

I did a huge amount of Art Journaling Pages this year. –

In no particular order here my personal faves.

1. Snake Bite

I played more or less with my Stampendous stamp sets and stencils on this page but I do like color combination and how the journaling is part of the background design.

2. The Picture in Our Head

I love the quote and it actually states quite well the process I was going through while I was creating the page. I played a bit with acrylic paint skins here- and I love the out come.

3. Without Art..

I love the texture I created on this page with gesso and paint  – some parts and areas are definitely something I want to embrace a bit more on canvas. I also like the bits of pink in the sea of green – not something I had in mind as a color combo- but it speaks to me with the yellow-  needs to be more explored :)

4. Melvin was Outraged

I just had fun playing with this vintage photo and making up a story – it is quite dark and actually not much going on texture wise- but still there are a lot of layers – I like it.

5. She became dangerous

I played with brush strokes and colors – very loosely and besides a tiny bit of stamping that is all that there is in the background- I was surprised how much I like it and how freeing this felt. Another way of creating a background I would like to explore a bit more on a bigger substrate.

6. If Not Now

Here I played with dry and wet brush strokes and also texture- and I love the quote. I like simplicity of it …I mean…in the process- hahahaha ;)

7. When the Why is Clear

Another page where I played with brush strokes and acrylic skins. I love the black acrylic paint dots – they tie everything together.

8. Intelligence

this one is a another sample of trying out a color combination which I would have not thought would really work and I totally dig it :) I like this page also because of the texture, the transfer techniques I explored and the materials I used. Again something I would like to explore more on a bigger substrate- but actually this makes me think of a shadowbox.

9. No ONE Way to Art

and yet another page with an unusual color combination for me – I also like how I used the brush to create textured elements- another element I would like to explore a bit more.

10. Not a Battle

I do like the texture and the depth I created in this page playing with the translucency of different acrylic colors – again something that I will explore more in the future.

—-

What I learned:

I really embraced art journaling as a way of creating something that doesn’t require an awful lot of time, a creative push in the morning, and trying out techniques, materials and color combinations. I used it a lot to explore things that I have seen in paintings at MoMA or other museum and that interested me. I also learned a lot about brush strokes,  and exploring different opacity/translucencies of acrylic paints.

 

My goal for 2015:

I want to take out some of the things I learned and explore them more on different substrates. I need to take the time to embrace the things more. I also want to play more with unusual color combinations – it felt good to step away from my usual color culprits ;)

Hope you enjoyed this little art journal journey – and …just a little heads up :) If you want to learn how I do the magazine and photo images, and also see more about how I build up Art Journal Pages– you can see and learn that in Creative JumpStart 2015 – so sign up , if you haven’t yet!

 

have a gorgeous day

 

Nat

Comments (5)

  • maura

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    Love the variety of pages, colors, images…I agree, art journals are great for playing with ideas! Fun to see your creative resolutions!

    Reply

  • Marianne Johansson

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    Love all your journals, in different ways!
    Wishing you a fabolous creative New Year!
    Hugs!

    Reply

  • Susan Schultheis

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    Love your fave art journal creations. Did you hand draw all the girls on these pages? If not, where do you find these girls. They do not seem to be the usual ones you find in mags? It wouldn’t surprise me if you drew them yourself because you are such a great artist, but just in case I could use your inspiration, I could not hand draw much of anything.
    Thanks for your response. Sue

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    No ONE Way to Art just grabs me!

    Reply

  • Seth

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    Wonderful grouping of journal spreads Natalie. A varied selection that all have your signature style.

    Reply

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Winding Down: My Top Ten Moments of 2014 in Photos

It has become a tradition of mine and other blogger friends to wind down the year with some  Top “insert number”- Lists of work , posts and photos, before the year ends. It makes me go back and look at what I have done and accomplished and it also makes me dwell in memories. Too often we forget about the things we did and accomplished throughout the year- often just bashing ourselves for not fulfilling all the wonderful new year’s resolutions from last year.  Maybe this makes you wanna do it too – if so – share :)

 

2014 was a year I traveled a lot for workshops, I had a couple amazing dear friends over from Europe and I had some really wonderful moments. In no particular order:

1. SNOW

 

NatKalbach_StrollM01

The first 3 times we had snow in 2014 I was totally excited…like a little kid. I know everyone thinks as I am from Germany , that I am used to loads of snow, but I lived in the north of Germany in Hamburg, which rather as the climate of Seattle and not a lot of snow. I do admit though  that by the 4th time as a pedestrian in a city I got a bit fed up with snow – LOL- isn’t the grass always greener on the other side ? ;)

2. Strolls through the hood with friends

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HA – another snow pictures – lol. But actually it stands for the wonderful moments I had with my friends that came over from Europe and were excited to stroll through my new neighborhood even though the City of Cities was so close by. I loved every minute with them- living in a different country makes you miss your friends a lot – I am very thankful for being able to stay in touch with my friends and see them, because I know that this is not the norm for many people that move to a new country.

3. Hikes and Walks 

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I took this photo on a hike in Hong Kong. It was a wonderful little hike I took with my husband and we stumbled across these mating butterflies. We both worked a lot this year and had many projects that kept us more busy than usual – I am happy about the moments we had just to ourselves enjoying the beauty of nature – and I hope we will be able to create some more moments in 2015 :)

4. Temple Hong Kong, China

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In the middle of a bustling city was this old temple – and oasis of calmness and beauty. It felt like being away from everything and I loved taking it in for a moment.

5. Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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This was just an breathtaking sight – several Indian Temples in a cave which you get to by walking past this huge statue, up a lot of stairs …touched by cute looking but nasty monkeys.

6. Meeting Penny and Val and their Mom

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When I was invited by Val and Penny to teach in Malaysia, a lot of people were concerned that I would travel there, especially as just a couple days before the flight, the first Malaysian Airline airplane vanished. The news as always had a very special way in portraying country and people and had many people prejudiced. I am so glad I went. Penny, Val and their Mom hosted me and my husband in the most amazing way ever. I learned so much about this country, I ate the best food of my life at places I would have probably not have set my foot in if by myself (tehehehe) and I was reminded once again, that you need to open your heart and mind in order to get back a million more times. I hope some day I can have Penny and Val come and visit us and I hope they will enjoy the same hospitality in the country I live as I did in their country.

7. Studio and Outside Time

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2014 I spent a lot of time in my studio and also some time outside on the deck in between. I do love the ability to get out on our deck from my studio and I love to step out and just sit there for a couple minutes, to take a break from working on my desk or on a painting.

 

8. Laughing like crazy

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This photo , which is also going into  my “worst photos ever” category, stands for the awesome times I had with my friends where I almost peed my pants because I was laughing so hard. This Photos was a meager attempt of taking a selfie of Jenn, Julie, Birgit, me and the Statue of Liberty …as you can see…it was just an attempt …what a great carefree fun time we had.

9. At ease with myself

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This photo taken by the amazing Sara Stadtmiller, is one of the few photos of myself that I really like. I often doubt myself and the day when Liquitex was so awesome to send a video crew and Sara to photograph I unfortunately felt very uneasy and very aware of myself. Sara had a wonderful way to make me feel calm and enjoy this day and when I look at this photo, I am reminded that at the moments I am creating, I am happy and I just don’t care about anything else around me.

10. Relax

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Throughout this year I forgot how to relax …the more I enjoyed the past couple weeks several evenings with my loved ones in front of the fireplace -just watching the fire, reading, talking, watching schtuff, wrapping gifts and having a nice relaxed time.

—-

2014 was pretty amazing, but balancing every aspect of my life has been hard at times. Every time something works well in one place I feel I fail in many other places. For 2015 I wish for more relaxing time, more time with family and friends, and that I take some things lighter or more lightly.

What do you wish for for 2015 for yourself?

 

 

 

Nat

Comments (3)

  • Rebecca Buchanan

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    Nathalie, this post really touched me. I am much older than you, but you inspire me very much. Here you share your memories with us in such an open and honest way. I love your imperfect selfie–the laughter and love shine through anyway. Your story about Val, Penny, their mother and their hospitality is heartwarming. Thank you for sharing about self-doubt–that certainly resonates with so many of us. Yes, I could count on one hand the number of photos of myself that I actually like. And yet you are courageous enough to ‘keep on keeping on’ and we are all the better for it. The word courage comes from the latin word for ‘heart’. You certainly have a lot of heart. Thank you for sharing–Cheers to 2015!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    The photos are wonderful and what a year you’ve had. Lots of travel and creativity Nat. I wish for a paying job now that my son is 12 years old and settled in middle school. I also hope to create on a more regular basis as it centers me. The mating butterflies is such a unique photo. Happy New Year!

    Reply

  • Seth

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    What wonderful memories Natalie of the past year. Thanks for sharing this and allowing us to join you for such special experiences.

    Reply

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Winding Down: My Top Five Mixed Media Paintings of 2014

It has become a tradition of mine and other blogger friends to wind down the year with some  Top “insert number”- Lists of work , posts and photos, before the year ends. It makes me go back and look at what I have done and accomplished and it also makes me dwell in memories. Too often we forget about the things we did and accomplished throughout the year- often just bashing ourselves for not fulfilling all the wonderful new year’s resolutions from last year.  Maybe this makes you wanna do it too – if so – share :)

2014 was definitely a year I did more work on canvas than any other years before – here are my personal top five canvases:

1. On The Flip Side

This one might be my absolute favorite of the year – it has a lot of personal meaning for me and that might be actually the only reason why it is a favorite- LOL- the personal meaning – although- I do like that I for a change was also working in a bit different color rage than usual.

2. The Powerhouse

I like this one because of the colors and …because I stopped- LOL. I wasn’t sure in the beginning if that was done and then I decided to let it go and I am so happy I did. This canvas taught me that it is ok to have long breaks in between and come back after a while, just to decide to call it finished.

3. Standing Strong

This canvas does not have as much texture as usual- but I did like creating it a lot. I started mixing very intrigue parts of buildings with undefined parts and it gave me a push from there on to explore this a bit more.

4. Everything is Gentrified

This painting gave me a lot of headaches- meanwhile and after – I do love it -but I learned a lot about light sources. How important it is in which light you work and in which light you then maybe hang it. It is a painting that needs a well lit area and it changes it’s looks during the day from vibrant and uplifting to dark and oppressing. For sure interesting for me and while not perfect- it goes with the topic and title.

5. In the Same Boat?

This one was also a canvas of headaches – LOL. I had a finished picture in my head when I started it- which was a huge mistake and then I also started mixing some colors which at first I totally did not like. It took me forever to finish this work up- the canvas was sitting on the easel and I would look at it contemplating for weeks if I should just paint over it. And then I didn’t …and it grew on me – and now I really like it -I do like the colors I mixed …another canvas that taught me to be patient.

 

What I learned:

2014 marks definitely a year where I feel I have learned to be patient with me, my skills and my work. I also learned that I shouldn’t give up too early on something.

 

My goal for 2015:

All of those canvases are a smaller scale (12×24 is I think the biggest one- still not having the U.S. sizes in my head- LOL) – so my goal for next year is to go bigger – so we will see :) . I started a bigger canvas a couple weeks ago- I will show you the process in a couple days. It feels pretty daring to me but is a lot of fun :)

Hope you enjoyed this little journey – next up will be photos and art journal pages!

have a gorgeous day

 

Nat

Comments (9)

  • marsha.

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    I love them all, but you don’t have to guess which one I love most ;-). You’ve taken leaps of progress as an artist this year. It’s so wonderful to watch and I’m so proud of you!

    Reply

  • Nancy Sapp

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    Just now getting a chance to look at all my e-mails & blogs! I LOVE your canvas “In the Same Boat.” The water & sky are just beautiful hues of blues & pinks.

    Reply

  • Maura

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    Thanks for sharing these beauties. Love your use of color in them! Can’t wait to see your larger canvas works! To a great new year!

    Reply

  • Marjie Kemper

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    Beautiful canvases, Nat. I especially love #4, even if it did give you a lot of headaches. Hope you have wonderful holidays and a very happy new year!

    Reply

  • Deborah A. Pierro

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    Hi Nat–I absolutely love all of the paintings you’ve shown here. You definitely have a recognizable style that is all yours, and that’s a very good thing! Happy New Year!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I am so impressed with the canvas painting that you’ve done this year. Your art just keeps growing and reaching new heights.
    I can’t wait to CJS 2015 to see what the new year challenges me to do!

    Reply

  • Angie

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    Love love love each of your top picks! You are truly an inspiration to me! Thanks for sharing your art and comments… Makes me have a little more self confidence knowing that you question your work sometimes- thanks! (What a great year- I got to meet you!!!

    Reply

  • Madeline Rains

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    I love your cityscapes too. Especially the first one and the fourth one. I like that the mood of that one changes throughout the day depending on the light. So cool. I am really drawn to pieces that emphasize just a few strong sources of light like that. And it reminds me of living in NYC and in Boston.

    Reply

  • Nurse Ratchet

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    I absolutely adore you’re cityscape series…the colour,texture and composition really inspires me! Who knows maybe 2015 will find me creating some scenes of my town!!

    Reply

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Happy Holidays!

HappyHolidays

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays to all of you! Have a wonderful and special time!

Love

 

Nat

Comments (3)

  • Denise Spillane

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    Merry Christms Nat. Much Joy for the New Year.

    Reply

  • Lizzie

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    Hope you have a lovely, relaxing time. Best wishes for 2015-really looking forward to CJS.

    Reply

  • Laura Strack

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    Merry Christmas, Nathalie! Hope yours is full of love and sweet new happy memories!!

    Reply

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Bloopers or … Working hard on CJS15!

Have you signed up yet for Creative JumpStart 2015? Don’t miss out on it!

CJS15

We are working really hard on it ….how about some bloopers ;)

Bloopers CJS 2015 from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

No worries my friends…. we made it :) All videos are in and awesome!

So what are you waiting for – sign up!

For only $25 you’ll get:

  • A series of 25 technique based videos from 23artists from around the world.
  • 7 chances to win amazing prizes from Liquitex on days that a video is not posted.
  • Unlimited Access to all 25 videos until November 2015.
  • Information about new creative and innovative products you might not have used before.

Wishing you an creative day!

hugs

 

Nat

Comments (4)

  • annrea1

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    Signed up again! Love to start my year off with you!

    Reply

  • JoAnn

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    Loved your bloopers – can’t wait for it to start!!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Cant’ wait for the new creative year!

    Reply

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No Kidding or … In my Art Journal Today

HA- you thought I do nothing else than working for Creative JumpStart and CHA at the moment, right? Well…yes …you are right, but hey- look I had time for a tiny bit of art journaling – it is a good outlet :)

 

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Journaling: Even the nicest people have their limits! #nokidding

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Playing with Liquitex acrylic paints, spray paints and markers. The background was already kind of done as a demo page during a workshop- I added a couple of my new stamp images- can you spy them and spray painted over my Batik Stencil.

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Here is a list of the supplies I used:

nSupplies



Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

Nat

Comments (1)

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New n*Studio Mixed Media Stamp Sets with Stampendous

Yeah  I can finally share with you that I have licensed 3 new Mixed Media Rubber Stamp Sets, Stencils and Masks with Stampendous. So excited :)

I had some different inspirations for those designs which you can use with inks but also with acrylic paints.

The first set is called Fiesta with 5 different stamp designs and two masks and a stencil. I was inspired by some travels to Spain in the past years.

FiestaCatalogue

The second set is called Kaffee Klatsch – this is a sheet out of the new catalogue. Kaffee Klatsch comes with 4 stamps and a stencil. It has some grungy doily patterns and while I was creating it, I had coffee talk on SNL (anyone remembers that?) on my mind – so that is where the name inspiration came from – LOL

 

Kaffee-Klatsch

And the last set is called Mark Maker including 5 stamps and a stencil. It is inspired by exactly what I want this to be intended for :) Making Marks …easy peasy ;)

 

Mark-Maker

 

I cannot wait to share some fun projects with the new stamps in the next couple weeks! They are ready to be ordered by Retailers now and will be ready to be shipped out from December 22 on!

I really hope you like them :)

have a wonderful day

Nat

Comments (13)

  • Syd

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    Really like your new stavmps

    Reply

  • Nancy

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    I have the first set of stamps on the way. Just got an e-mail from Amazon saying that it shipped.. Can’t wait. I love the dollies and now I need that too to complete my sets.
    Keep up with all your wonderful art and thanks for being so gracious to share with your fans.

    Reply

  • urrn4u

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    Where can you buy these? I can’t seem to find the XXXX stamp on STampendous?

    Reply

  • Dara Lynn

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    I can’t decide which set I love more! Congratulations Nathalie! Several years have passed and watching you grow not only as an artist but seeing the journey unfold….bravo and continued success !! Your friend in Moore OK

    Reply

  • rizamerk

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    Congrats. Looking forward to getting my hands on them.

    Reply

  • Anna-Karin

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    They are gorgeous!! So versatile and so much fun. Looking forward to inking them up. :)

    Reply

  • Kat

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    Beautiful designs! I can’t wait to order them!!! Congrats and much luck!

    Reply

  • upstatelisa

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    congrats! can hardly wait to get my hands on some of these goodies! and yes, I loved Cawfee Tawk! lol

    Reply

  • Nurse Ratchet

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    LOVE LOVE LOVE…..ordering them ALLLLLL!!!!!!

    Reply

  • Joan von Metzinger

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    Congrats on your fantastic stamp collection… I so love this collection….. Your work has and always will be such an inspiration to me…. Thank you!

    Reply

  • Jen Johnson

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    Love these, especially mark maker. Can’t wait to get my grubby hands on them!

    Reply

  • Laura Strack

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    Love watching old SNL skits. I always end up laughing till it hurts. Congrats on the new additions to your stamp line. Love them all! I can see some wonderful texture and layers, already!!

    Reply

  • Jackie P Neal

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    WOO HOO Nat!!
    Congrats on your new line! Really fab new stamps!! Trying to pick a fav- but I think I’ll pick them all!!
    Merry Christmas to you and your hon! xoxo

    Reply

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In My Own World – Liquitex Video

A couple weeks ago Liquitex sent in a little video crew to film me in my studio – and here is the final Brand Ambassador video in my own world :)

It was a lot of fun and I am so fortunate to work with a company like Liquitex that supports me in so many ways! Thank you so much Adam, Sara and Jenna for making me look kind of ok and for editing my accent out ( just kidding ;) )

I am so happy I quit my paralegal job and became a full time artist!

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It has been a bumpy road at times but there was never a time I regret my decision!

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Self doubts and fears come up all the time- but it is nothing that cannot be healed with a good old painting session in the studio.

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Thank you for your support all these years from the bottom of my heart! Your comments and emails encouraged me over the years to go this road! I am a very happy camper today :)

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With Love!

 

 

Nat

Comments (24)

  • jackiepn

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    Loved your video Nat!! So glad that you followed your true calling- it is best to ignore those critics!
    Your studio photos are so full of inspiration and the picture of you is awesome! Merry Christmas to you! xo

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you so much Jackie! Merry Christmas to you too!

      Reply

  • Deborah A. Pierro

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    Hi Nat. Wonderful video and great art studio. I love your honesty and humility. I’m so happy that you are following your artful bliss!

    Reply

  • Chris

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    How awesome that you found art as a passion and as a career! I believe everyone has a creative part of them and you just have to find it and nurture it. You go girl!

    Reply

  • Gayle Kush

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    Wonderful video. Congratulations on following your dreams and making them come true.

    Reply

  • Rebecca Buchanan

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    Bravo Nathalie! You are an inspiration.

    Reply

  • JoAnn

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    Wonderful video – very inspirational.

    Reply

  • cindykl2006

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    This is so awesome Nathalie! I am so happy for you!

    Reply

  • julie m

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    So happy for you.

    Reply

  • Kathryn

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    Nat;
    I am also soooooo glad that you have become a full time artist! I find your message to be so inspirational and totally agree that any bad day can be improved with a little time creating.
    Thank you
    Kathryn

    Reply

  • Brenda

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    Love how you have displayed your lovely artwork around your studio. Beautiful view to be inspired by.

    Reply

  • Kathy Gledsdale

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    A great film and what a fantastic light room you have to paint in. Your work really rocks.

    Reply

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Make a Difference with CJS15 and Charity Wings

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Donate $5 to Charity Wings Art & Craft Center and receive a coupon code of 5USD off of Creative JumpStart 2015! You also have the chance to win a free spot for CJS2015! Read more about this on the Charity Wings Art & Craft Center Website!

The mission of the Charity Wings Art & Craft Center is to be an inspiring place for people of all ages to Gather, Give Back and Create; as well as to partner with other charities to give free classes to those who can benefit from the Hope, Happiness, and Healing that art can provide! Your donation gives the gift of Art to those who can benefit from creative ways of self expression or healing.

 

Thank you!!!

Nat

Comments (3)

  • elena lai etcheverry

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    all the coupon codes have been sent out to date. Thank you so much for your generous support! I hope we raise lots for our programs! Thank you Nathalie! You are so awesome!!

    Reply

  • Madeline Rains

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    I think this is a great idea and signed up at their site but after paying, yesterday, have never received a discount code. I did check my spam folder.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Madeline, I sent you an email just now too:) I think Elena from Charity Wings has to send out the coupon codes by hand – so I would give it a bit longer :) I wrote her though and I will get back to you – no worries – you will def. get you code :) Thank you so much for donating and being part of CJS too! Talk to you soon! Nat

      Reply

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