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Unfinished Thoughts – Art Journal

I am a mess of unfinished thoughts -oh so true ;)

The back girl is sketched out on deli paper and painted with acrylic paint, while the front one is cut out from a magazine and I just painted with Neopastels on top of it.

I used my Kassel stencil directly on the background but also used some deli paper where the stencil appeared after I had used it with my gel plate to do monoprints.

To tie the deli paper a bit more together with the background I painted partly over it and the background and then scratched some marks into the wet paint. I like the grungy feel of this.

Here are some of the supplies that I used besides various acrylic paints and inks:


Nat

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What a Year – 2017 at the n*Studio

What a year this has been! Besides 2017 being a bit of a rollercoaster ride with some health issues with my shoulder and neck and some other world issues, it was a year of mile stones for me for sure.

Becoming an American Citizen after living for four years here and publishing my first book Artful Adventures in Mixed Media were major and weird and awesome and fun! I will never forget the experiences and feelings tied to these two events.

2017 was also a wonderful year because I had my godson visiting me– which was a cool and bonding experience as well, I am sure neither he nor I will forget this.

An epic road trip reminding me to appreciate our world we live in, to respect nature and history and how fortunate I am to have such an awesome husband who shares the same ideas, values and interests with me. We called it the Tour of the American Ancients  

And also last but not least a highlight was meeting the many wonderful students and workshop organizers this year at A Work of Heart in San Jose, CA, The InkPad in NYC, OOAK in Salem, NY, Artiscape in Dublin Ohio, My Heart’s Fancy in Oklahoma, Scrapbooking Forever in CA, Everything Scrapbook and Stamps in FL, Art Workshops in the U.K, in Nathalie’s Studio, NJ, Queen’s Ink in MD and  Runaway Art & Craft in Salem, Oregon, thank you all for coming and inspiring me right back! I cannot wait to come back to many of those places in 2018!

Thank you to all of you who joined me on this Artful Adventure in 2017 – you are amazing! I wish you a wonderful, healthy, creative and peaceful year 2018!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • sandeenc

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    Wow, you have had an awesome year! Here’s to 2018 and all that it brings us!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    What a year is right…and thanks for all your inspiration, photos, neighborhood walks and sharing your art/like adventures with your loyal fans Nat! Wishing you the best for 2018 as well.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Happy New Year Sue, wishing you a wonderful year 2018 as well. Thank you for all your visits- I cherish every one of them!!!

      Reply

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2018 Workshop Schedule

I hope to see you at one of my In Person Workshops happening all over the world! Whether you are looking for classes on art journaling, gelli printing, mixed media techniques, inspiration for your artwork, or you are just looking for an awesome and fun creative day, there is something for everyone. Be sure to check out my classes and sign up early – It will be a busy year for me and in fact I have already organized all of the workshops that I will be teaching in 2018. Here is the big list:

April in Oklahoma – Details Coming Soon!

April 7th and 8th at My Heart’s Fancy – I’m returning to teach more workshops and will have more details very soon :)

 

May in Kentucky – Mono Print Painting and Artful Adventures in Art Journaling

May 18th – Mono Print Painting at Ephemera Paducah – Let’s take our gelli plate printing to a whole new level and discover the mono printing technique of H.N.Werkman. We’ll create complex, layered mono prints as elements of our mixed media work and as stand alone artwork. Sign up here!

May 19th – 20th – Artful Adventures in Art Journaling 20th at Ephemera Paducah – This 2 day workshop will take you on a journey built to inspire your art journaling. We’ll learn some fundamentals about color, composition, and the principles of art, we’ll explore the work of famous artists, and then we’ll see how to apply that knowledge and inspiration through the use of transfer techniques, layering, and collage. Sign up here!

June in the UK – Stroll Around the Block with Nathalie Kalbach and Birgit Koopsen

June 22nd – 24th in Coventry – We’re returning to Coventry to teach a brand new workshop! We’ll take you on a creative scavenger hunt, make inspiration maps, play with Birgit and Nat’s favorite tools, and we’ll translate everything into unique, personal art journal pages. Learn to see your environment in a new way and to use it to inspire awesome artwork!

Sign up details coming soon!

 

July in San Jose – Uber Gelli Plate Printing and Art Rules

July 29th and 30th at A Work of Heart.

Uber Gelli Plate Printing – Join me for a day long class, diving into the basics and beyond of gelli plate printing. We’ll play with pattern making and we’ll discuss color theory and design. I will introduce you to the Mono Print Painting technique inspired by H.N. Werkman and we’ll learn different ways to create elaborate and layered mono printed paintings. Using self made tools, stamps and stencils, we’ll take your gelli plate printing to a whole new level. This is the ultimate in uber fun and easy printing techniques.

Art Rules – Art in Translation Art Journaling – We’ll look to the style and technique of master artists for inspiration for our own art journaling. We’ll learn about opacity and layering, colors, troubleshooting, mixing materials, making your own tools, creating backgrounds and patterns. We will work with acrylic paints, inks, markers, wax bars and other paint media to create dimension and texture.

More information coming soon!

September in Germany – OstseeScrap 2018

September 21st, 22nd, and 23rd at Tolles Ding – 8 Kurse + 4 Workshopleiter + leckeres Essen + 50 Meter zum Strand = OstseeScrap 2018!

October in Oregon – Details Coming Soon!

October 13th and 14th at Runaway Art & Craft in Salem, Oregon – so excited to come back – detail son the workshops coming soon!

 

November in the UK – Mixed Media Circus: Whimsical Collage with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Nathalie Kalbach

November 2nd – 4th in Coventry – A thrilling three-day art adventure awaits you! Join Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Nathalie Kalbach for an intensive art-making weekend packed with tips, techniques, ideas, laughter, and excellent instruction. Over the three days we will create our own unique papers, build complex backgrounds, layer collage and paint and collage again, use stamps, use stencils, draw, splatter, scrape, and learn varied art concepts from color mixing to design principles. You will leave the workshop with TWELVE completed mixed media collages and an arsenal of art techniques and ideas that can be used in your art journal, on canvas, and while papercrafting. You do not want to miss out on this opportunity to expand your repertoire of techniques! Please join us for Mixed Media Circus: Whimsical Collage.

Details coming in Mid January!!!

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Hope to see you in the New Year at a few of my workshops!SaveSave

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Nat

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Nat’s Artsy Stuffing Holiday Wishlist

With the holidays coming up I thought I would gather some artsy stuffing ideas for you based on my own wishes, stuff I totally crushed on in 2017 and hey…some very biased recommendations as well ;)

Let’s start with

Neopastels

OH MY Gosh – I bought the set above and I want the full set- which is a bit too pricey (hint hint husband ….ahem) – but believe me the colors and the creaminess of those is just so wonderful. Start with this set if you want to try them. You can blend those with your fingers and get the most beautiful colorful spreads or paintings together. They are made from permanent pigments that are equally suited to intense coloring, delicate shading, and subtle transition of hue. I love to use them to paint over magazine images, or do shading around stamping and I cannot stop using them.

Moonlight Duo Ink Pads

Designed with the hue on one side and an opaque white on the other, allows you to create wonderful gradients and tints all with a few swipes of the pad! The ink is hybrid ink which is quick drying like a dye but with the permanence of a pigment.All acid free, archival and waterproof. Seriously – you should watch Kae Peas demonstration with those ink pads on the RubberMoon Facebook Page -for me this is one of the most creative and nifty ideas regarding ink pads in a long long long time!

I preordered all of the colors and I cannot wait for them to arrive :)

Daniel Smith – Iridescent Gold Gesso

Oh my oh my- this stuff made me so happy this year. So rich, highly pigmented- and just amazingly beautiful! I love it and I cannot get enough of it!

General Pencil The Masters Brush Cleaner

Can you fall in love with a brush cleaner…well…yeahhhha …especially when this stuff is your life saver and …or maybe actually your brushes life saver and on top of that made in your hood …in Jersey City.

Artful Adventures in Mixed Media

Shamelessly plugging my own book- because you know …I think there is a lot of valuable information in this book and some pretty fun idea for some techniques and projects :)

Leonardo da Vinci – by Walter Isaacson

I just finished this book and it was such a fascinating biography of an amazing and creative mind. If you are interested in the life of Leonardo and can deal with some non-fiction- I highly recommend this book!

And last but not least

CREATIVE JUMPSTART 2018

Join the 31 artists we call “JumpStarters” as they reveal their art recipes. They’ll be bringing their unique style and favorite media and techniques to the kitchen (AKA the studio) to share.

For only $45 Dollars right now – you’ll get:

  • A series of 31 technique- and project-based videos from 31 artists from around the world.
  • Each video is 10-15 minutes long for a total total of over 6 hours of video content
  • Downloadable videos – download before November 2018 to enjoy them forever.
  • Information about new creative and innovative products and techniques you might not have used before.
  • Inspiration to jumpstart your own artwork
  • Methods to translate artwork by others into your own style.

Sign up here: Creative JumpStart 2018

I hope there were some good ideas for you in this list- but in any event – may your holiday filled with lots of wonderful artsy fun!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Maura Hibbitts

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    Definitely some fun ones here! Gold gesso? I definitely have to check that one out! I already have a few stuffed away already :) Merry Christmas!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      The gold gesso is divine- and just so richly pigmented! Merry Christmas to you too!

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My new RubberMoon Stamp Sets are out!

So stoked for my new RubberMoon Cling Rubber Stamp sets – I just have so much fun with those stamps:

Here is the first one –Stroll Around The Block:

The Stroll Around the Block stamps are inspired by iconic American architectural styles that I saw during my travels around the US. This set includes 5 cling rubber stamps. These original hand sketched stamp designs may remind you of your childhood home, Grandma’s place, or even the house you live in today.

And the second set is called My Home Is MY Castle:

The My Home is My Castle stamps are inspired by the iconic details of American neighborhoods in the US. This set includes 8 cling rubber stamps. It is amazing how some things just never change. Do you remember what street you grew up on? What about the excitement when the mailman came? Or gazing out the window to see who might be at the front door?

Here are some sample cards that I made with both stamp sets- I will show more projects using them,  in the next couple weeks :)

A row of the Queen Anne, Craftsman and the Mid Century. I stamped with some black archival ink and then colored the stamped images in with watercolor. I just loved doing that.

Here is the Midcentury Modern from the Stroll Around the Block Set paired with the Street Sign from the My Home is My Castle set . I also added my Star Tag stamp. I left the street sign empty on purpose so that it can be filled with whatever words or names you would like to use in it.

So much fun with the little door and windows of the My Home is My Castle Set

And another one using the stamps from the My Home is My Castle Set

The Craftsman – I think I will fill the street sign in with Happy Holidays and and send it out as a Holiday Card.

You can get them now in my n*Studio Store here.

I so hope you like the sets! Which of the stamps in the set is your favorite?

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Stroll Around The Block!!!
    The craftsman is a great style.
    This set is on my wish list for sure.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      YEahh- so glad you like it Sue! I would move into the Craftsman if I could right away- LOL

      Reply

  • Sherry Canino

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    They are all soo gorgeous!!❤️❤️❤️

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Creative JumpStart 2018 AND CYBER MONDAY SALE

 

I’m excited to announce Creative JumpStart (CJS) 2018! If you’re not familiar with CJS, it’s a one-of-a-kind online event, now in it’s 7th edition, to kick your creativity into high gear in January 2018.

The Theme this year is “Now We’re Cooking: Mixed Media Art Recipes”. We’re heading into the kitchen of creativity for this one: the Mixed Media studio! Join our crew of Mixed Media Artists and Crafters as they grab their aprons, favorite tools of the trade, and share with us their own recipes for a mixed media masterpiece. They’ll share with us their favorite art ingredients and show us how to put them together to create original projects. These are mixed media art recipes for art journal pages, canvases, assemblage and more!

Learn techniques, discover new materials, and connect with other artists and crafters.

Throughout January participants get access to 31 downloadable videos from 31 featured artists. Over 6 hours of video content will be available to you!

I’m proud to be the founder of Creative JumpStart and one of those artists, called “JumpStarters.” See for yourself:

Announcing Creative JumpStart 2018 – CJS18 from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

Sign up here and find out more details:

n*Studio CJS2018 – Let’s Jump!

And the best? It’s CYBER MONDAY!!!!!

You get 31 videos – over 6 hours worth of video content –  for just $40 (USD) if you sign up by November 29 11:59 pm EST, 2017. Afterwards it will be 45USD until December 31st, 2017 before it goes to its normal sale price of 50USD.

So what are you waiting for? SIGN UP HERE

So can this Cyber Monday get any better????

YESSSS- it can ….how about 25% off stamps, stencils, books, and DVDs in the online shop. Sale runs until Monday, November 27th at 11:59pm EST. Shop and save big. Just enter the coupon code SMALLSAT25 when you check out.

Support small businesses this holiday season!

Happy Monday!

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Nat

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Small Business Saturday (through Cyber Monday) Sale!

Small Business Saturday at Nathalie’s Studio!

It’s that time of the year :) We’re celebrating the start of holiday shopping madness with a little bit of madness of our own: 25% off stamps, stencils, books, and DVDs in the online shop. Sale runs from Saturday, November 25th at 8am EST to Monday, November 27th at 11:59pm EST. Shop and save big. Just enter the coupon code SMALLSAT25 when you check out.

Support small businesses this holiday season!

Nat

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To all of you!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Jill

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    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Nat!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Happy Thanksgiving to you as well Nat!
    Thank you for another year of creativity and inspiration.

    Reply

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