Creative Squad

Farewell, Creative Squad!

With heavy hearts we are saying farewell to our our design team the Creative Squad, while we take a break for some much needed art time.

We have had so much talent over the years (from March 2016 onward!) highlighting my designs. It has been a pleasure working with all of the artists who were members and seeing new projects each week. I never expected that running a design team would bring so much joy to my life, but almost as soon as we got rolling, it was apparent that it was going to be an amazing time. Thank you to all those who made it possible!!!

As you know, the current Squad was Maura Hibbitts, Jordan Hill, Riikka Kovasin, and Judi Kauffman. I wanted to just highlight some of their work and then go through the list of Squad members through the years.

Maura Hibbitts – always brightening us up with color.

Jordan Hill – inspiring us with collage and sketching.

Riikka Kovasin – a master of composition and storytelling.

Judi Kauffman – expect the unexpected… and gorgeous texture!

And now a look back through the years of past Creative Squad members. Be sure to check out the archive for alllll those amazing projects.

Robin Seiz – thoughtful projects with a delicate touch.

Emilie Murphy – all those beautiful layers!

Jennifer Gallagher – cool and clean vibes all the time :)

Nicole Watson – master of layering and texture.

Linda Edkins Wyatt – quirky creativity to expand our minds.

Marsha Valk – experimenter extraordinaire with an eye for design.

Tania Ahmed – positive energy and refreshing style.

Josefine Fouarge – color maven :)

Shilpa Nagaonkar – brilliant colors and patterns galore.

Cheiron Brandon – the card maker we all aspire to be :)

Michelle Rydell – bold positivity!

Tina Walker – mixing vintage with a meaningful message.

Gwen Lafleur – fearless with texture and rich color.

Holy moly what a lineup! As you can see, through the years I’ve worked with so many different artists, who brought their individual voices and artistic styles to the Squad. It has been one of the highlights of running this business and an incredible source of inspiration for me and I’m sure you too.

We also had a different theme every single month from March 2016 on, for the Creative Squad to build off of when they were creating. Here are a few favorites and the projects that came out of them:

Mail Art – During the times of social distancing, old fashioned mail is a fun way to keep in touch and lift someone’s spirits. Create some mail art, and then actually send it off! Address it, put a stamp on it, and put it in the mailbox. You will make someone’s day :)

Little Wonder – We’re thinking small this month and focusing in on a tiny scale, exploring the delicate details, and creating something that is petite and precious.

Free for ALL – It’s time for summer vacation and relaxing so around here the Creative Squad is taking a break from themes this month. They’re just going with the flow and making a project of their choosing. It’s a Free for All!

I hope you take the time to go back through some of these posts and enjoy all of the ideas and techniques that the Creative Squad has shared. It’s been a fun ride and I am so happy to have been a part of it :)

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Such a wonderful group of talented artists!
    Thank you all for your inspiration and thanks to you Nat for assembling them.

    Reply

  • Robin Seiz

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    It was such a pleasure to be part of the Creative squad and a privilege to be part of that incredible line up of artists. I hope the extra time brings you closer to your goal of creating. Best to you!

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Videos from the Creative Squad – Part 1

My Creative Squad has made some really cool videos for their projects through the years – what a talented bunch :)

I thought I’d do a little 4 part series where I share some with you and then also encourage you to check out the Creative Squad archive of projects for some serious inspiration.

Let’s get started!

First up is Riikka Kovasin and her art journal spread using my Row Houses foam stamp and Art Deco Empire stencil in response to our theme: Good Morning Good Evening – Are you a Morning Person or a Night Owl? Or maybe neither? Create a project inspired by your preferred time of day – when you are in good spirits, doing what you love, and enjoying life.

Here is the link to her original post and here is the video she shared of her process:

I love watching Riikka build up that night sky with paint splatters, drips, and the moon and stars.

Next we have Creative Squad alum Tania Ahmed playing along with my Foam Stamplifier Challenge using my Foam Stamps along with her gelli plate for monoprinting and then she shows a great next step for that monoprint :)

Here is the link to her original post and here is the video she shared of her process:

I love her relaxed pace and seeing how she embraces the white space on the page.

If you had fun watching these videos, be sure to tune in next time for a couple more from the archive.

Here are some of the supplies used in these projects:

Nat

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Triple Play Stamps – Some Love

The Triple Play foam stamp set was designed by myself, Marsha Valk and Birgit Koopsen – three artists coming together to make a 7 piece stamp set. Yup – 7 different stamps make up this nifty set. Originally we designed it to go with our Beyond the Paper online workshop (all about working on mixed media surfaces other than paper) but it turns out this set looks pretty fab on paper too.

We each designed two of the six different triangle stamps and then included the hex stamp too. I bet you can pick out my two designs but I’ll let you guess on the others ;)

As someone who loves playing with patterns, I reach for this set all the time. The triangles work together in so many ways and whether you stick with just one design or begin combining several, it’s a great way to build a background.

They almost make a kaleidoscope like effect and when you start stamping and rotating and stamping some more, cool things begin to happen with those shapes.

The triangle shape can disappear and the pattern becomes whole in the background, something new.

The geometry of Triple Play creates the versatility. And we kinda knew that going into the creation of it.

We also knew that we wanted a very adaptable and useful set. Each of us was to use it in our lessons in the Beyond the Paper workshop, so it had to be interesting enough to show it in action in a lot of different ways.

Once we started playing, it totally exceeded our expectation though – when you start playing with those patterns it is almost addicting LOL

We realized that the Triple Play set could be very bold or also used in very sensitive and beautiful ways.

It all depends on what mood you are going for in your piece. But in the end, you will have a lot of fun creating with them no matter what you do. Here is a link to learn more. Enjoy!

Nat

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Creative Squad: I am a Collage – Jordan Hill

Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a post from Jordan Hill who is sharing an art journal page with a special self portrait technique to take on our theme this month: I am a Collage – We are all complex beings with many different facets. Create a “self portrait” piece using collage to represent parts of yourself, either literally or in an abstract way.

Jordan is using my Empire Triangle Stamp and my Arts and Crafts Motif Stamp.

Happy October, everyone! I’m really happy to be here and sharing this project with all of you! When I was presented with this month’s theme of “I Am A Collage”, I immediately had an idea for a technique that I wanted to experiment with, which is quite different from things I’ve done in the past. I hope you enjoy following along with me!

I started this page with a self portrait I had already drawn and a piece of tracing paper. You could just as easily use a photograph to achieve a similar result, but I really liked this drawing and wanted to work with it. I then placed the tracing paper over top of the self portrait and drew the portrait in chunks. I did one chunk for the face and neck, one for the shirt, one for the glasses and two separate pieces for the hair (the left and right sides). I don’t end up using the glasses.

Next, I cut out the individual pieces of tracing paper to create patterns. I then selected some scraps of paper, traced my patterns onto the back of them, and cut them out with scissors. For more intricate pieces, you might consider using an X-Acto knife.

Once my pieces were cut out, I added a few more details onto the pieces using a black ink pen. This allowed me to add in the facial features and some folds and wrinkles to the sweatshirt without as much trouble as a lot of fiddly paper bits would have given me.

I then selected a page in my journal to work on. I ended up going with this one because of the quote along the left hand side of the page. I actually used this same quote on the Creative Squad project I did back in April; it is from a show/manga called Haikyuu!! I figured that it would be fitting to use something that is that important to me as part of this month’s theme.

Next, using two of Nathalie’s rubber stamps (the Empire Triangle Stamp and the Arts and Crafts Motif Stamp), I added some texture and interest to the background. I used the Arts and Crafts Motif in the lower left hand corner, and used the Empire Triangle Stamp to create a pattern across the background.

It was then time to add the focal point. Using the different pre-cut scraps of paper, I glued them to my background in layers, overlapping where necessary. I used a glue stick to adhere my pieces.

After my collage pieces were adhered to the page, I added more details to the pieces. I outlined some areas in solid black in order to help them stand out against the page and used a few Crayola markers to add color to the face. I also gave myself a nice Halloween-esque skull choker, which was part of the original self-portrait.

Finally, to finish the page off, I added a thought bubble shape using black acrylic paint and outlined it several times with a white gel pen. I haven’t added anything inside this thought bubble yet, but I think it will be a great place to add some journaling in the future.
I hope you enjoyed following along with the process of this page and that you consider trying this technique for yourself in the future!

Thank you so much Jordan! I love how you created the self portrait and how you added different elements with various amount of details – it is a perfect example on how complex we are as human beings – we do have many facets.

Give it a try: you can find all my Rubber Stamps in my Online Shop ; here are some of the supplies Jordan used:

Looking for more projects? Follow the Creative Squad on Instagram here.

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Layers, cool hoodie pattern, designs…love it Jordan!

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Some Love for the Fans – Part 1

Guess what? When you post your artwork made with my stamps and stencils it really makes my day! It’s like an artistic collaboration that I never dreamed of, but that was totally meant to be. And I want to send out some love to all you fans out there who make awesome stuff with my stuff. BIG virtual hug to YOU!

And if you are making art with my stamps and stencils, please be sure to tag me when you post it – I would love to see!!!

Wanna see some that caught my eyes?

Here is Nanci Hendrickson using my New Orleans stencil for this lovely little collage.

And @wildbirdcreativeart using my Central Ave foam stamps and my Running rubber stamp.

Some LOVE to @artsmartnynj who is rocking my LOVE foam stamp!

And @pinkknitter who is doing some very cool and colorful things with my Grove Street foam stamps.

Here is Maggie K Hanus collaging things up with my Fan-tastic Small rubber stamps.

And finally Bev Gwinn Jones creating a seasonal scene with my Gnarly Foam Stamp.

Thank you again to all the fans out there! Keep creating, posting, and sharing your artistic magic with the world. And don’t forget to tag me lol.

Nat

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Ready, set, refresh

This is the text of my newsletter for October 2022 and I thought in case you have missed it or not signed up for it -I should post this important information regarding Creative JumpStart and more :)

Onward and Upward

Happy October! I hope you’re having a wonderful start to the month. September was good for me. I launched my new workshop, Artful Adventures with Henri Matisse, and I made a big decision, one that was very tough but definitely necessary.

With a very, very heavy heart, I have decided to go on a CJS hiatus for the time being. As you may know, every year since 2011, I am joined by some of my highly talented artist friends, and together we present a month-long workshop aimed at helping our attendees build a daily habit of doing something creative. 

I have so much love for CJS and have worked super hard to give it life all these years. But right now, I feel as though I don’t have the capacity to commit 100% to CJS, as you deserve and as I have in past years. So I think it’s time to step back, rebuild my habit of creating daily 😉, and think about how I can re-engineer the CJS experience.
 

It all started with an idea.


Eleven years ago, when I quit my job as a paralegal to become a full-time artist, I had no idea what a ride this would be. All I knew was that I wanted to make it work. Everything was fun. It was exciting, and I had a lot of ideas, one of which was Creative JumpStart. 

I combined what I’m passionate about – collaboration, bringing people together to create something special – with what I wanted to make – an inspired and lively community of artists and students – and CJS was born. 

I’d taught on other people’s online platforms and (naively) thought, “I have a bit of know-how; why not just host it on my little blog and see how it goes? Can’t be too hard, can it?”

I hosted the first Creative Jumpstart with 30 artists. There were thousands of sign-ups, and the whole thing was terrific, but it was a nightmare! I woke up to hundreds (and hundreds) of emails asking for a password. My blog couldn’t handle the traffic. And all of this was happening while I was at a Convention!

You can ask my wonderful friend Birgit Koopsen, with whom I roomed in California, how it felt to share a space with someone wide awake at 4 am, responding to emails, hitting the show floor to work after that, and then networking until later in the evening. LOL! Thanks, Birgit, for being such a support all those years!

As the years went on, I felt that to run CJS the way I envisioned, I would do some things differently. First, I wanted to make the experience less cumbersome for students, which meant building a classroom platform from scratch (there were no Teachables or Kajabis out then!). Second, I wanted to ensure enough value for the artists to participate (I.E., cold hard cash in addition to the visibility and relationship-building 😉), so I decided to charge for classes moving forward. 

I invested in making CJS better each year after, and I loved it. Aside from part-time help from my excellent assistant Kim and my web designer, I did everything myself – content creation, marketing, website/classroom maintenance, community building, registration, and administrative duties – the list goes on! But collaborating with so many artists (many of whom were able to use CJS as a launchpad to host future workshops) and interacting with the students every day (and seeing their creations) made it all worthwhile. 

And then came the pandemic. Given that so many of us artists had lost income from being unable to teach in-person workshops, I wanted to make sure that CJS remained a significant income booster for each of us and worked super hard to make it happen. And on a personal level, preparing for and managing CJS kept me sane during that tough time. Like all the years before, CJS21 was the highlight of my year. 
 

Onward and upward.


But as life goes forward, seasons change, and I can say that this theme has definitely played out in my work and personal life this year. 

While running CJS22 in January, we moved to our new home and began renovating. We also helped sick inlaws move into assisted living. On the work side, I implemented a new forum for CJS22 (which didn’t turn out as functional as planned), but I still had the best time checking in with everyone and viewing their unique creations. 

I also took some time to create solo online workshops and to paint, which I realized I hadn’t painted regularly for the past two years (or even did much of my art journaling). I noticed how hard it’s been to carve out time away from the computer to do activities outside of the administrative computer things I’ve been doing for so long. 

During these computer breaks, I had space to think about CJS and how it’s been functioning lately. Unfortunately, the truth is the cost of keeping CJS afloat has become more prohibitive. And it’s a bit of a catch-22 because to get more students and optimize the workshop experience, I have to invest more money and, in turn, charge more for the workshop. Then, of course, charging more for CJS means losing people we’ve had a long time who simply cannot pay more than its current price.  

On top of the financial piece, running CJS as a primarily one-woman show for the past 11 years has had its trying moments, and honestly, I’m feeling burned out. I quit my paralegal job to become a full-time artist, and I’m craving the time to focus on that. 

I don’t know how long this hiatus will be, but what I do know is that I am SO thankful for your tremendous support throughout our many Creative JumpStarts together. I’m grateful for your inspiration, spirit, and commitment to CJS, and I will always carry that with me! 

Thank you for letting me share CJS with you all these years and for (hopefully) giving you a jumpstart in your creative journey!

Happy Arting!

Nat

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Jenny Sawyer

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    Dear Natalie,
    I’ve done 4 Creative JumpStarts and have loved every minute of it. Thank-you for curating this wonderful start to the year and a big thanks to all of the contributing artists. I m sorry to lose this this creative start to my year and the really great community who take part.
    It has been a joy, and I wish you well in all of your endeavours.

    Reply

  • Kristen Powers

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    Dear Natalie,
    I admired you from afar for years before being asked to teach for CJS. Which was a dream for me. I was and am honored to be a small part of your journey. I thank you so much for all you have done for me and for the online creative community! I can’t wait to see your next chapter ❤️

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Stop Shrinking – Art Journal

For my background I used an old credit card to spread Golden fluid paint and then a Catalyst tool to spread Liquitex soft bodied acrylic paint onto the page.

The small hexagon shapes were stamped with my Hex Set Small rubber stamp set and Moonlight Duos on watercolor paper, then cut out and glued down. I added my journaling with Posca markers.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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Creative Squad – October Vibes

The air is crisping up and the leaves are changing. I’m beginning to think about Halloween. I’m feeling the October Vibes and loving it. How about you? Do you love the colors and sights of this time of year? How about a little roundup of Creative Squad projects to get you also in the seasonal mood.

Over the years my Creative Squad has produced so many amazing projects that it’s fun to go back and look through for inspiration. (You can see the archive of all this awesomeness here on the blog.) This time Halloween and Autumn were on my mind and I wanted to share some projects that the Squad has created that are so fun and so now.

Let’s take a look!

First up is Judi Kauffman and a suite of masks using rich metallic gold paint and my stencils over black for a bit of style and drama. Check out the post here for her how to.

Even if you’re staying in these days, you can still get into the spirit through your artmaking. Making a seasonal inspired canvas is one idea. In this project our Squad alum Josefine Fouarge created a layered piece using my Art Deco, Art Tag, Chain Link, and Cross Circle rubber stamps. How does your neighborhood look this time of year?

Card making is another way to express the colors and vibe of the season. Maura Hibbitts used my Van Vorst Fan Positive Negative foam stamps and my Art Deco Wallpaper stencil to create these richly hued cards in this post.

Squad alum Josefine created this cool card using embossing powder, Distress inks, and my Manhattan stencil. Love the result and you can see how she does it here.

With just a few simple supplies like acrylic paint, cardstock, and a stencil (like Toledo), Squad alum Cheiron Brandon shows us another inspiring card idea here. It’s all about those autumnal colors and that bold pattern.

Now you’re going to need some envelopes right? Judi has us covered with this post using my Mini Fan Foam Stamp Set and inks in the colors of the season.

Let’s finish up with a classic for this time of year – a Halloween card idea from Cheiron from this post. She combined collage papers, orange acrylic, and my Buenos Aires stencil for big impact.

I hope you feel inspired to create a few things with an autumn or Halloween vibe to them and have some fun celebrating.

Here are some of the supplies used in these posts:

Nat

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Newsflash: 50% Off Sale!

I’m running a big blowout sale on some of my products and you can save 50% off! Starting today, just use the coupon code nowsave50 at checkout to save on my CJS22 Limited Edition LOVE Foam Stamp and all of my Mini Cardboard Model kits. This offer will be good as long as supplies last :)

Here is what’s on sale:

The cardboard kits are a blast to make and paint on a rainy day. We did have the Creative Squad play with those one month and look at some of the results:

They would also be a great gift idea for a young or young at heart creative in your life ;)

And then the iconic LOVE stamp. Don’t we all need some more of this in the world?

Hurry in while they last and have fun creating!

Nat

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