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Teaching at Artiscape in Dublin, Ohio April 28-30

I am teaching 3 Mixed Media Classes at Artiscape alongside with 21 other instructors April 28-30th in Dublin Ohio. You can choose between 48 different workshops and I hope I will see some of you there. Those events are always some of my favorite to teach at because of the size and the amount of likeminded peers you will meet and be around. There is something truly invigorating and inspiring to have so many creative people gathered in one spot. Here are the classes I am teaching:

April 28 – Fri @ 12:30 pm – 5:30 pm

It starts the moment you sit down, an experience that is distinctly art journaling. A quick exhilaration, a sense of control, the art media’s surprising responsiveness as if they were simply an extension of you. There is a word for this creative experience: Artvergnugen! Artvergnugen is what makes your journal a piece of art. Join me and play with different art media and supplies; discover fun layering techniques with stamps, stencils and acrylic paints. Let’s talk about colors, composition, love-it or list-it to truly reveal your own style, and learn techniques, tips and tricks to take your art journaling further and turn it into Artvergnugen.

This workshop is part of the three day Artiscape event in Dublin, Ohio. Artiscape is an artistic event of more than 50 mixed media workshops presented by a select group of professional instructors. Come for the weekend or the afternoon. The goal is a fun, educational weekend among friends, old and new!

Register Here

 

April 29 – Sat @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Imagine you could take a trip through Europe and at each stop one of the many masters of European art would materialize and invite you to explore their art to implement into your art journal. Let’s take this imaginary trip together and explore different European artists at each station, taking their artwork as an inspiration for mixed media techniques and colors. We will discuss why some things work and why some things don’t work and will solve the little “problems” that sometimes occur while creating art. Work with acrylic paints, acrylic inks, different tools and materials and gain a deeper knowledge about the versatility and possibilities of your art materials. Let the travel itself be part of the journey and take the elements of art in to push your own art journaling style just a notch further.

This workshop is part of the three day Artiscape event in Dublin, Ohio. Artiscape is an artistic event of more than 50 mixed media workshops presented by a select group of professional instructors. Come for the weekend or the afternoon. The goal is a fun, educational weekend among friends, old and new!

Register Here

April 30 – Sun @ 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

There is something so beautiful about a book – the cover, the spine, the paper, the typography and it makes a beautiful companion on a journey. Walk with Me and give an old and maybe discarded book a new colorful life. Learn fun stenciling, stamping and book altering techniques, how to draw when you can’t draw and use the book as a wonderful substrate to create a beautiful keepsake. Use acrylic paints, and inks and fun tools and techniques and be ready for a fun ride.

This workshop is part of the three day Artiscape event in Dublin, Ohio. Artiscape is an artistic event of more than 50 mixed media workshops presented by a select group of professional instructors. Come for the weekend or the afternoon. The goal is a fun, educational weekend among friends, old and new!

Register Here

Cannot come to Artiscape, but want to take a class with me? Check out my In-Person- Classes Page – where I am constantly updating where I will be teaching in the next couple months. For example, I am teaching with my sweet friend Birgit Koopsen in New York City as well as at an event near Syracuse, NY and I am right now finalizing a couple more in the US and outside of the US :) I love teaching in person and I hope to meet you (again!)

Nat

Comments (2)

  • stephanie

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    hi Nat – SSOOOOO excited to have you coming to Cbus! I am signed up and ready to go. Stephanie

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      wohoooo- that is sooo cool! I cannot wait to meet you :)

      Reply

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CREATE – Fabric + Foam Stamps + Embroidery = Bliss

This is another Project I did for the ArtFoamies Creativation booth showing how to use my foam stamps with fabric.

I used a piece of raw canvas and treated it with Fabric Medium and silver acrylic ink to stain it. (if you are interested in the whole range of possibilities of Raw Canvas Staining check out the Download Video at North Light Shop). I let the canvas dry, then used my Batik Stamps 1, 2, 3, 4 with acrylic paint and stamped a pattern on top.

I added some embroidery using the stamp patterns as guidelines. And then mounted the canvas on a piece of black board to which I added a border with the  Manhattan Border foam stamp.

It was fun playing with the stamps and fabric and embroidery and I want to make a bag or similar this way. Or maybe a pillow- what do you think?

Here are the supplies I used – some supply links are affiliate links


Nat

Comments (4)

  • Cheryl

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    I love this. The colours & texture are stunning. Perfect for a pillow.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you so much Cheryl! Yeah -I should def. make a pillow – my sofa could use some new friends :)

      Reply

  • Torsa Saha

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    Your work is magical!!

    Reply

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Let’s Go Somewhere – Tina Walker

 

Hello Everyone! Today my Creative Squad is starting February with a new theme and some great new ideas for you. Tina Walker is sharing a really fun stamped fabric pillow using my Batik Pattern 4 foam stamp, some embroidery stitches, and this month’s theme: Let’s Go Somewhere. We’re in the depths of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere and looking for an escape! This month let’s reminisce about past vacations and plan future adventures to help us get through these gray days.

Hi! Tina Walker here today with my take on this month’s theme, ‘Let’s Go Somewhere’. What a perfect theme for the winter doldrums! During the guts of a cold, dark winter, I often dream of sitting on a warm beach, breathing in the salt air. When dreaming of ocean vacations my thoughts take me to faraway places full of color, vibrancy, and energy. Using these as inspiration for my project this month, I created a hand-made pillow using colors that remind me of beach blankets, fruity drinks, and the bright colors that are everywhere.

The base for my pillow is a rust-dyed piece of muslin. What a perfect way to represent the salt air and how it seems to oxidize everything it touches. The process of rust-dying is simple; place rusty metal pieces on-top of a piece of natural fiber fabric, spray with vinegar water and let the magic happen.

To create the bright, colorful feature of the pillow, stamp (using fabric paint) with your favorite Nathalie Kalbach ArtFoamies stamp. I used Batik Pattern 4, rotating the stamped image each time. Heat set per manufacturers directions.

For added dimension, hand-stitch over the stamped image in coordinating colors of embroidery floss. The more random, the better.

Machine stitch to ‘frame’ the stamped image. This also adds more dimension and a bit of texture.

Continuing the bright and colorful look, I made a ribbon flower for the center of the image. The ribbon flower pulls the four images together and finishes the pillow off.

Now let’s construct the pillow. Cut a piece of coordinating patterned fabric for the back of the pillow and place the front and back together, right sides facing each other. Machine stitch the entire outer edge except for a section on one side. Keep this section unstitched.

Turn the pillow right side out, using the unstitched section to pull the pillow through. Once you have the pillow right side out, iron the edges to create a crisp seam.

Stuff the pillow using your favorite stuffing. Hand stitch the open section using a blind stitch.

What vacation dreams do you have for 2017? Do they include the ocean? the mountains? or everything in between?

Thank you for taking time today to visit us today. See you next month.

Thank you Tina! I love how she combined the stamped images with embroidered touches. I am now officially dreaming of beach life! In addition to muslin fabric, patterned fabric, vintage ribbon, a vintage button, and a sewing machine, Tina used these supplies – some links are affiliate links:



Play along with us! I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Michelle Rydell

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    Tina – this is awesome! Such a creative and beautiful use of the stamps! The embroidery really makes it pop!

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Your Dreams Are Valid – Art Journal

“No matter where you are from, your dreams are valid” Lupita Nyong’o

I created this art journaling spread a couple weeks ago when I was making samples for my new stencil release and as I am writing this blogpost right now the quote resonates with me more than ever.

I used my new Kassel 9 x 12 Stencil with this spread. This stencil was inspired by the modern elements that can be found in Kassel, Germany (where I went to school for a couple years) , home to the Documenta art fair for modern and contemporary art.

I used this magazine image with Lupita and so I think a family member (I don’t remember anymore because I tore the image out of the magazine a while ago to use it later) and painted over it with acrylic paints and markers.

Hope you like the spread and the stencil :)

Here is what I used for it – some links are affiliate links:


Nat

Comments (6)

  • pandygirl12

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    I love this one, Nathalie. Your style really inspires me. I’m a self-taught novice when it comes to all of this. I did my first CJS this year and enjoyed it so much. Do you ever teach classes in the Raleigh, NC area?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Janice, thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed CJS. I would teach in NC if I would get invited. I am always open to travel to teach. Hopefully some day. I always post my classes on my blog or on my Facebook page. HOpefully we will meet each other some day. Have a wonderful rest of the week, nat

      Reply

  • aksusan

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    Nathalie,
    Thanks for sharing this awesome quote and your beautiful page with us!
    s

    Reply

  • Cheryl

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    Oh, this is just wowzers! I love the color pops and dresses. Especially love the scribble details on both dresses. Awesome journal spread!!❤

    Reply

  • Barb Charlotte, NC

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    Just a note to tell you how much I enjoy your work. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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Be the Light – An Art Journal Spread

“Be the light you want to be in this world”

I love this quote – such a beautiful thought and call to action!

For this spread I used my new Beacon 9×12 Stencil . The stencil design itself was inspired by the gorgeous Art Deco era buildings known as The Beacon in Jersey City. It used to be a hospital and some people believe they are haunted. The Beacon towers sit on a hilltop not far from me and I can see them from the deck.

I used different colored spray paint through the stencil. I cleaned the access paint off the stencil by dabbing a deli paper onto it – you can see a torn out piece of the “clean up” deli paper as an collage element revealing the negative image of the stencil.

I added the journaling and some marks with a pencil.

Do you have a building close to where you live, that inspires you?

Here are some of the supplies I used in this spread- some of the links are affiliate links:

 

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Julie

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    I got this stencil but stumped for inspiration so thank you for this post. Love the layers, colors and message. There you go again with the spray paint LOL! I had so much fun playing with them in class. Thank you!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeahhhh- so glad you liked the post and hey there will be more with that stencil to come :) And …do the spray paint —it is so much fun! So glad I was able to show you girls in the San Jose weather :)

      Reply

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Photos of my Workshops at A Work of Heart in San Jose, CA

Last week, after attending the Creativation Show, I flew to San Jose and taught three classes there at  A Work of Heart

I stayed in a lovely little pool house and this was my view out of my room. I wanna come back in the summer :)

My first class was “Walk With Me” an Altered Book class and it was so much fun to see the student’s take on it

HA – I loved how Julie put my business card with me new book cover behind the window of her book cover :) FUN

It was such a sweet and talented group and I was really lucky because I was terribly sick last week. I was helped with medicine, fresh oranges and tea- thank you girls!!

Love the studio space- so much color- so inspiring. Below you see some photos of the “Mixed Media Collage – Play Transform” Class

So much beautiful collage paper was being made – color bliss!

Lots of pattern play too

And then on Wednesday I taught my whole day “Artvergnugen – Art Journal ” Class .

 

Look at the awesome tile pattern – yum

and heaps of layers were added to create beautiful art journal pages.

And since the weather was brightening up we could even experiment with spray paint out side – now that was super fun!

I think they liked it a lot ;)

Time to add some finishing touches to the pages :)

And slowly all came together – Art Vergnugen …the pleasure of playing in your art journal ;)

Thank you all for a wonderful time- you were truly inspiring and amazing!

And here is my wonderful host Andrea – Thank you so much for having me Andrea, I am looking forward coming back  :)

Do you want to take an In-Person-Class with me ?- here is where you can find me in

MARCH: 

Mono Print Painting with Nat Kalbach and Birgit Koopsen at The Ink Pad in NYC

 

Artful Transfers with Nat Kalbach & Birgit Koopsen at The InkPad in NYC

Color Crush – 3Day Art Journaling Class with Nat Kalbach & Birgit Koopsen at OOAK Artisan Showcase in Syracuse, NY

Check out more workshops this year on my In-Person-Class Page

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Jean Goza

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    The workshop was awesome! Learned a lot and had so much fun. Thanks for sharing your photos. So much inspiration and beauty. Looking forward to your next visit to California.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe- thank you so much for coming Jean- it was so awesome to finally meet you after “meeting you online” . Looking forward to come back :)

      Reply

  • jbonomo

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    Thank you, Nathalie, for making two days of arting so much fun filled with color, inspiration, and learning what is possible. You are one fabulous talented teacher and tempting me to fly out for your upcoming classes. HA!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      AWE – thank You Julie! You girls were just so amazing ! I cannot wait to see you again in California or elsewhere :)have a gorgeous weekend!

      Reply

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Breathing Dreams Like Air

Dreams, we all have them, or so I hope ;) I have a couple more dreams, right now a very easy one … SUMMER – LOL. Yeah- that is one dream, but of course I have a couple more.

I used my new Manhattan Stencils on this page with acrylic paint- the 9×12 and the 4×4 – different sizes, same pattern- BLISS.

I also used the Grunge XXX Stamp with acrylic paint, yup, that’s how I roll. Just make sure to clean the stamp right away so that you don’t ruin it. Baby Wipe is your friend!

Hope you like my pattern play and you are breathing dreams like air today.

Here is a short list of supplies- some links are affiliate links:


Nat

Comments (2)

  • jbonomo

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    Love that stencil and the Manhattan stamp too……but seriously, how did i miss the Mark Maker Stamps in class. That’s been on my wish list for awhile….guess I will have to go shopping once again.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Julie – Yeah the Manhattan stencil and stamp are one of my faves – it feels to me super vibrant, just as Manhattan – LOL ! The Mark Maker stamps are out of stock but should be back in stock in a couple days again – I reordered them :)

      Reply

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Photos from Creativation 2017 in Phoenix

Last week I went to the Creativation Show in Phoenix. Creativation is a tradeshow, former called CHA for creative arts products industries. I thought I’d share with you some pix from my time there and what and whom I saw :)

Here I am demoing with my stamps in the ArtFoamies booth. I had such a good time with Emmie and Ian, the owners, and I loved seeing a lot of people coming by to check out the designs and the new Clay and Pottery Versions too.

Here is a short video that Craft Test Dummies recorded of me in the booth …note that I am really sick …to be honest I have no idea how I made it through the show

I also have no idea how my sweet friend Birgit Koopsen made it through sharing a room with me ;) I hope she didn’t get sick when she returned home. But we had an amazing time!!! Here we are at breakfast – with one of my art mugs :)

On the way to Phoenix I met Seth Apter at the gate in Newark, which was so much fun , extra chatty time for us – and here he is demoing with his products at the Spellbinder booth.

Here are two things that I found and have already ordered – cannot wait to get them. These are by Masterson Art Supplies, a company that was in the new exhibitor section , but is actually already around for over 40 years.

On the top you see the Rinse Well which consists of a plastic bottle that holds 28 ounces of fresh water, a durable plastic base with a well in the center for brush cleaning and a reservoir to hold the used water. Simply pressing the button at the front of the Rinse Well drains the used water into the storage base and automatically refills the well with a clean supply of water. I have to try this – hopefully it saves me a couple journey to the sink :)

On the bottom of the photo above you see Masterson’s Sta-Wet Palettes. The palette is supposed to keep acrylics and other water-based paints moist on the open palette for hours. Once the lid is closed, the paints will stay in workable condition for days, even weeks. A unique sponge and special permeable palette paper provide the paint with a constant source of moisture. I cannot wait to try it and will let you know if and how it worked .

I visited the Stampendous booth shortly, they are still carrying some of my stamp lines and it was fun to see Andy Skinner and Tracy Weinzapfel do their shenanigans.

And we ran into the amazing MaryBeth Shaw and had a fun chat and laughed a lot. Thanks MaryBeth and Carol for the trail mix…that saved Birgit and me from starving later ;)

Above is Anna Dabrowska, who showed us her new patina paint set, which was really fun- I liked it a lot!

One of my favorite new supplies is brought to you by the sweet and awesomely talented Dina Wakley! Her new Media Journal has different surfaces inside including burlap, canvas, cotton rag, watercolor paper, and kraft paper. OMG  I so cannot wait to get that puppy art journal into my hand. On the left she is showing some of the amazing pages that Creative Squad team member Cheiron Brandon created in the new album. On the bottom right you see some experimenting by Birgit with Dina’s new Scribble Sticks– they are a lot of fun!

Another booth that made my heart sing, was Aladine. Aladine is a wonderful company from France with different paint products in bright and coordinating colors. From inks, to calligraphy inks, to stamps pads and acrylic paint …they have it all in the yummiest color. But I was especially intrigued by their Textile paint, and paste – which you can see both on the top . I cannot wait to try it out with my stamps and stencils and will let you know how it went soon .

Another highlight was seeing those two beautiful faces!!! Rae Missigman and Mou Saha . I could hang out with them all day. They showed this fun new Tea Stain Dye by Faber-Castell . I loved the muted colors and I already bought some plain sari silk ribbon and cannot wait to play with that a bit.

I know that this seems a bit geeky but I love the new Adhesive Lines by Scrapbook Adhesive- I am a sucker for good adhesive :)

 

As always I visited my friends from the Alumilite booth and I loved their samples with resin and molds – still on my to-do lists- there I shout it out to the universe I will do some stuff this year – hold me accountable ;)

Vicki Boutin came out with a fun Scrapbooking Line with American Crafts in yummie colors and designs. I really liked her new pens in various colors that had a super nice feel to them and seemed to write easily on acrylic paint. I have to play a bit more with those- you can never have enough awesome journaling pens!

 

Bright and happy colors were everywhere this show- as you know that makes me happy.

Here is a photo of Marjie Kemper (Marjie- so sad it was just a short moment I saw you ) and Seth

and here is a little break with Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door and Birgit. Always fun to spent time with Rachel! The three of us might have hashed out some plans for 2018 …psssttt ;)

my girls – it was the best to spent so much time together this show!

and of course a dinner with these sweet friends outside (under a heating lamp- boy it was cold in Phoenix) was the best of this trip!

 

I spent some more time at the ArtFoamies booth …and don’t ask me what Julie is doing there to me…LOL

And here is us together with Emmie and Ian in the ArtFoamies booth – love you guys!

That was it. The show was shorter than usual but I do have to say I really enjoyed it. I saw some interesting things, met a huge amount of people and …the most important thing, spent time with my peers and had awesome conversations. I cannot wait to play with all kinds of different new things and share them with you.

What did you see posted about the show that is new and excites you ?

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Nat

Comments (8)

  • Marjie Kemper

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    Awesome pics! So glad to see you if only for a moment. Congrats on your new releases!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Marjie! Yeah- next time I hope to see you longer. Stay warm today on this snow day :)

      Reply

  • Marie-Anne Raeman

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    Hi, i’m so curieus what you and Birgit been cookin for 2018 ….with Rachel…..new yummie stamps maybe….

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL- not stamps …although that is what all three of us have in common ;)

      Reply

  • Nancy Faulls

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    Nat
    I absolutely LOVE my Rinse Well!

    Can’t wait to hear what you think of Sta-Wet. Been thinking about it for a bit.

    Thanks for sharing all the pics…looks like a blast.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Nancy, that is so cool to hear. I just got it and set it up. Did you use it with acrylic paints yet too? I dabbled in watercolor yesterday and that worked very well :) I will let you know about the Sta-Wet – I got it as well but haven’t been painting yet. Cannot wait though! Have a gorgeous week :)

      Reply

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