We’re on Day 13 and Day 14 of Nat and Sarah’s April ArtFoamies Challenge today! You can follow along on my Instagram feed daily with videos and photos, and I will post updates here on the blog too from time to time throughout the month.
Day 13 – Fun – I decided to go to town, well literally LOL, using my Midtown and Midtown Mini foam stamp sets and just layering those babies up. I miss going to the city – it is only a 15 min subway ride for me to Manhattan – and after over a year of not really going there I could use some fun in the city. Soon – I am hopeful – and meanwhile… I am having fun in my ledger.
Here is a look at Day 13:
And the April 14 – Wow – As in “wow” lady you cannot stamp straight LOL- but oh well – that is what you get when you do not want to stick your grey hair under the camera …On another note it really wows me how repetition in color and stamps works …all the time – I like this pattern and on the ledger a lot. I used my Triple Play set and Santa Fe foam stamps.
Here is a look at Day 14:
Follow along with the challenge on instagram and post your artwork too with the hashtag #artcollabChallengeAccepted
Everyone approaches Challenges differently. This ArtFoamies Challenge that Sarah Matthews and I came up with has had me thinking about how I want to approach it. In the past my Foam Stamplifier Challenge #foamstamplifierchallenge I used all kinds of different media, so I didn’t want to repeat myself. I also thought about how Sarah usually uses ArtFoamies with ink pads, while I use acrylic paints and the first parameter became clear: I will only use ink pads for the challenge. The other challenge is that I purchased an old ledger journal and I want to turn it into a pattern book. I usually make my own pattern books by binding loose printed papers into a book. This method has the advantage that if a print doesn’t turn out too great it can be discarded. By printing directly into this 125 year old ledger I have no out. So using my foam stamp designs to create patterns into a ledger book with ink pads is my challenge for this month.
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have the debut of new Squad member Riikka Kovasin – a video showing how she creates some super cool whimsical characters created using my new Triple Play foam stamps and our theme: Another Door Opens – There is this saying, “when one door closes, another door opens” that basically is an optimistic way of looking at change in your life. Create an art journal page with this in mind, however you’d like to express it, however the idea inspires you to create!
Hi there! It’s Riikka here today with my very first Creative Squad post! The theme of the month was “Another Door Opens” and I was feeling outwordly as my first idea was to turn the patterns of the great “Triple Play” foam stamp set into whimsical characters.
I interpret the theme like children’s peek-a-book – what might be behind the door? At first, I was thinking of doing the cards or an art journal page as a peek-a-book, first showing just the door and then you could open it to reveal the character. In the end I then chose to add the character on top of the door so that it had already come through it. I saw the heart-styled shape as a face immediately but when I used a peachy tone to stamp it, I realized it was ET! So, even if I had been thinking about whimsical character all along, now I would have a more precise theme. I paired the characters with greetings (hopefully) fitting to the stargazing theme.
As you see from the video a bit further below, I started by making patterned papers using acrylic paints and a gelatin printing plate. I made two sheets using similar color scheme and then one with a contrasting one. The first two I then cut to make the door (actual door and panels on it) and the third one became the robes of the character. The contrast between the two elements ensures that the character just pops out of the background.
Like I said earlier, I also used the patterns of the “Triple Play” foam stamp set to make the face and a headdress of sorts for the characters. I hope this inspires you to see the stamps from another angel. You don’t always have to use the whole stamped piece or build a bigger pattern. Collaging different little elements might just be the thing the doctor ordered!
Now, if you want to see how I made the cards, please see the video below. It shows me making the ET one, but I made the other one with similar steps. The only thing that differs is the stamps I used and I changed the color scheme a little, too. But the steps are the same!
Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired by the characters to see the stamps in another way!
Thank you Riikka – these are such intriguing characters and I just love how you used all those Triple Play patterns in there!
Give it a try: you can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and here are some of the supplies Riikka used:
Don’t forget to check out Nat’s Creative Squad on Instagram too: Each week we post projects, ideas, and inspiration for mixed media art.
We’re on Day 12 of Nat and Sarah’s April ArtFoamies Challenge today! You can follow along on my Instagram feed daily with videos and photos, and I will post updates here on the blog too from time to time throughout the month.
Day 12 and our prompt is Brilliant – Sparkly sparkly- well one of the stamps from this Mini Hex Set is called Diamond Hex – can you guess which one? Again it was a bit of a toughy to use the inks on those totally acrylic paint caked up foam stamps. I can’t stress enough how important it is to clean your foam stamps. Mine are used for years in classes so they show you exactly why if you want to use them with other paint media as well, you should really clean them after use. I could have cheated and opened a new package… but I am a frugal person… and I am not that brilliant ;)
Here is a look at that page too:
Follow along with the challenge on instagram and post your artwork too with the hashtag #artcollabChallengeAccepted
We’re recapping Day 10 and Day 11 of Nat and Sarah’s April ArtFoamies Challenge today! You can follow along on my Instagram daily with videos and photos, and I will post updates here on the blog too from time to time throughout the month.
April 10: Postcard – My Signals stamp reminds me of a morse code like pattern, and just screamed to be used for this prompt – I mean after all a postcard is a signal …of love, of hey I am here. And it made me also think that at the time of the ledger so many postcards were sent out. I love old postcards. Anyway I used three different colors to layer up the stamp to make a nice textured pattern background and I really like it. This one def wants to be used in an art journal and then used with something else. That is why I also love making pattern books: they are a great way to have a reference if you want a jumping off point for an art journal spread or design.
Here is a look at the April 10 page:
And then April 11: Lovely – I thought a kind of abstract Batik xoxo pattern would be great for this theme. So I used my Batik 1 in large and my Batik 2 in small for this pattern, layering up the Batik 1 on top of 2 – I mean you cannot have enough hugs and kisses, no? So here is my lovely pattern for you my friends- hugs and kisses!
Here is a look at the April 11 page:
Follow along with the challenge on instagram and post your artwork too with the hashtag #artcollabChallengeAccepted
Everyone approaches Challenges differently. This ArtFoamies Challenge that Sarah Matthews and I came up with has had me thinking about how I want to approach it. In the past my Foam Stamplifier Challenge #foamstamplifierchallenge I used all kinds of different media, so I didn’t want to repeat myself. I also thought about how Sarah usually uses ArtFoamies with ink pads, while I use acrylic paints and the first parameter became clear: I will only use ink pads for the challenge. The other challenge is that I purchased an old ledger journal and I want to turn it into a pattern book. I usually make my own pattern books by binding loose printed papers into a book. This method has the advantage that if a print doesn’t turn out too great it can be discarded. By printing directly into this 125 year old ledger I have no out. So using my foam stamp designs to create patterns into a ledger book with ink pads is my challenge for this month.
We’re recapping Day 08 and Day 09 of Nat and Sarah’s April ArtFoamies Challenge today! You can follow along on my Instagram daily with videos and photos, and I will post updates here on the blog too from time to time throughout the month.
April 8: Antique – Having two foam stamps that are already called Antique- the big one Antique Tile and the small one as a part of the Mini Tile stamp set I knew I had to use those and layer them up. I also sneaked a rubber stamp in again – from my Fan-fare set – because the design made sense here and I used a pinkish red that went with the red print from the Ledger already. A pretty modern antique print, no?
Here is a look at the April 08 page:
And then April 09: Bubble – The Van Vorst Fan positive and negative stamps kind of remind me of little bubbles when stamped in a pattern like this. I should have poked my head under the camera so that I actually evenly spaced my stamping – but there is a lot of vanity right now not to put my roots under the camera LOL. It still turned out well and I dig the teal with the brown ink. The empty space with the ledger background makes up it’s own element – definitely a plus.
Here is a look at the April 09 page:
Follow along with the challenge on instagram and post your artwork too with the hashtag #artcollabChallengeAccepted
Everyone approaches Challenges differently. This ArtFoamies Challenge that Sarah Matthews and I came up with has had me thinking about how I want to approach it. In the past my Foam Stamplifier Challenge #foamstamplifierchallenge I used all kinds of different media, so I didn’t want to repeat myself. I also thought about how Sarah usually uses ArtFoamies with ink pads, while I use acrylic paints and the first parameter became clear: I will only use ink pads for the challenge. The other challenge is that I purchased an old ledger journal and I want to turn it into a pattern book. I usually make my own pattern books by binding loose printed papers into a book. This method has the advantage that if a print doesn’t turn out too great it can be discarded. By printing directly into this 125 year old ledger I have no out. So using my foam stamp designs to create patterns into a ledger book with ink pads is my challenge for this month.
Hosting my live webinar series Spill your heART each month has been a blast so far and I love seeing so many of you tuning in too! There is more to come, read on to register for the next one and for info on watching archived episodes.
Did you catch the latest episode with life coach and dear friend of mine Karen Auld? If not, be sure to watch the recording below. And you can always find those recordings and info about upcoming Spill your heART webinars here in the Community section of my website.
Check out Spill your heART #2 on the topic of Beginner’s Mind:
Recording of Episode 2: Beginner’s Mind – (Friday, March 26, 2021) – Nat Kalbach and Success Coach Karen Auld discuss a concept from Zen Buddhism, Shoshin, the Beginner’s Mind. Learn how to adopt a beginner’s mindset to unleash more creativity and fun in your art journey. Whether you make art for a living or just for fun, come explore how your thinking might be affecting your art.
Episode 3 is on Friday April 30th at 12noon EDT (NYC time)!!!
Social Media – Taming the Beast: Join artists Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, Iris Fritschi-Cussens, Jimmy Leslie and me as we discuss the ups and downs, ins and outs, and the good, bad, and ugly of using social media as artists. We’ll talk about balancing privacy and sharing, potential benefits and downsides, and how participating can change your practice. Metrics, negative comments, and thoughts on how to get started will also be touched on. Let’s hear some professional perspective on taming the social media beast!
We’re recapping Day 05, 06, and 07 of Nat and Sarah’s April ArtFoamies Challenge today! You can follow along on my Instagram daily with videos and photos, and I will post updates here on the blog too from time to time throughout the month.
Let’s get started!
April 5: Peace – Flowers always give me peace and this stamp with its tulips is called Amsterdam – very fitting no? This stamp called to be inked up with two different colors alternating and while it was a fast and quick spread, it was fun and a good reminder to do this more often, the ink pads give a good chance to do a multicolor print quick.
Here is a look at the April 05 page:
April 06: Hydrate – I used my Weave stamp because the pattern looks a bit like waves and as Sarah and I are meeting today to talk about Challenges and also about this Challenge I thought I should rock it out and do it like Sarah the Queen of Layers does. Oh boy …it worked well until I added the third color, crooked, not inked up well. What was I thinking? But then I kept going and I like part of it. I learned my lesson and I apologized to my ledger. So I am keeping up, the ledger is 125 years old, no way I am stopping now in this book.
Here is a look at the April 06 page:
April 07: Repeat – Definitely repeating what I know with my Versailles positive and negative stamp. I love the faint stamping on the ledger as it lets the ledger peek out more but to be honest it is a good reminder for everyone that you should absolutely clean your foam stamps – especially when you use them with acrylic paint. If you do not they harden up with a thin layer of plastic – acrylic paint is essentially plastic – on top and it makes it hard with a non absorbent slick surface to use other paint media for example ink pads. So while in my workshops it is sometimes just not possible to have every student scrub their foam stamps, I really urge you to do this with the ones you purchase …unless you want to repeat your purchase with me ;) which I wouldn’t mind but I’d rather have you happy :)
Here is a look at the April 07 page:
Follow along with the challenge on instagram and post your artwork too with the hashtag #artcollabChallengeAccepted
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have an art journal page from Maura Hibbitts that presents a really cool way to look at life’s challenges and changing circumstances. She’s using my new Triple Play foam stamp set and this month’s theme: Another Door Opens – There is this saying, “when one door closes, another door opens” that basically is an optimistic way of looking at change in your life. Create an art journal page with this in mind, however you’d like to express it, however the idea inspires you to create!
I have always been a firm believer in the adage “When one door closes, another door opens.” Maybe it is a part of my optimism, and maybe I have been lucky in this life, but even in the times I have struggled the most, whether physically, emotionally, or financially, new opportunities arose that led me forward. During my teaching career, I worked at opening doors for my students, so they could follow the path they chose. It has always been a joy to hear how they are doing, and which doors they have opened. Keep yourself open to the possibility of doors!
I started in my large art journal, layering paints. I started with my darkest green and blue, Prussian Blue Hue and Phthalo Green Yellow, and scraped the paint across in broad swathes with a silicon brush. I painted only on the right page, then closed the pages to spread to the other side. I repeated this step with Green Gold and Primary Cyan, then another layer with Turquoise Hue and Quinacridone Magenta. Final layer was more Magenta along with Titanium White and Gold.
After I heat set the painted layers, it was time to stamp with the oh, so awesome, Triple Play Art Foamies stamp set. I like to use my gel plate and a brayer when I am using foam stamps, it acts like a giant ink pad, and gives a nice layer of paint on the stamps. On the right side, I repeated the stamped pattern several times.
On the left side, I stamped the hexagon and the triangles on the outside this time. I first did it in black paint, but it didn’t show up well, so I went over it with white paint. Again, I added paint to the gel plate and smoothed it out with the brayer, then stamped into it, to transfer a nice image to the paper.
To create more of a focal point on the left side, I added some water to the white paint left on the gel plate, mixed it to create a whitewash, and brushed it around the design. Now it stands out more.
I also whitewashed around the design on the right, dried it completely, then added doodles and details with Posca paint pens. I also doodled a door, and added the words around the image on the right – “When one door closes, another door opens.” I also smudged Prussian Blue with fingers and a baby wipe around the edges of both pages to tie them together. I thought I was done.
I slept on it, and decided to make a different door for the left page, so I pulled out some leftover paper from last month’s project, and stamped the entire Triple Play with Moonlight Duo ink. I cut it out, cut it in half, drew on a door handle, and inked the edges with black ink. My original idea was to have the door open, but with the hexagon shape and the orientation I had, I decided against it and adhered it with adhesive tape.
All of those background colors pop through the designs, even in the whitewashed areas. I think sometimes toning down areas makes the rest of the page pop.
I realized at the end what I had been working toward on my pages…pulling out memories of beautiful and colorful doors I had seen in India. I remember ones with colorful columns of tiles, like the right page, and others with intricate mosaic-like designs, like the left page. Isn’t it interesting when you are creating that your muse knows where to take you, even when your brain does not? This year, I also feel that we think very differently about doors opening…waiting for the reopening of our special places once again. Be safe, stay healthy and open the doors!
– Maura
Thank you Maura – loved learning your process and how you came back to the page to add that amazing door. Beautiful spread and beautiful ideas to keep in mind :)
Give it a try: you can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and here are some of the supplies Maura used:
Don’t forget to check out Nat’s Creative Squad on Instagram too: Each week we post projects, ideas, and inspiration for mixed media art.
We’re thinking about surfaces and substrates in a new way in our Beyond the Paper workshop. Birgit Koopsen and Marsha Valk and I are at it again, teaching together and bringing you 3 different perspectives and styles. And guess what? Class is now in session!
I hope you are joining us in the classroom and if you haven’t signed up just yet, there is still time to get in with the Early Bird price (sale ends today, April 5 at 11:59pm EDT) – Sign up here: http://bit.ly/Beyondthepaper21
You can learn more about how the workshop works and what supplies we will be working with in the Beyond the Paper Live webinar that we recorded last week and posted HERE on the workshop page. Check it out and hope to see you soon in the classroom!
Very cool!
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