Thursday, December 31, 2009

Dare 2 Reach



It isn't where you come from, it's where you're going that counts. Ella Fitzgerald



The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do. Sarah Ban Breathnach

Featured on The Creative Jar. Thank you Jodi!

Ingredients: watercolor paper, book board, altered paper, acrylic paint, metallic acrylic paint, silver leaf, calligraphy ink, gel pen, leafing pen, dry transfer, rubon letters. Reach approximately 4 5/8" x 3 1/2". Dare approximately 4 5/8" x 3 3/4". click to enlarge.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.

Both sold. Thank you!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Chance



Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down. Ray Bradbury


Ingredients: watercolor paper, book board, altered paper, acrylic paint, metallic acrylic paint, silver leaf, calligraphy ink, gel pen, leafing pen, dry transfer, rubon letters. approximately 4 3/8" x 3 1/2". click to enlarge.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.

Sold. Thank you!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Imagine


Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

John Lennon


Ingredients: watercolor paper, book board, acrylic paint, metallic acrylic paint, calligraphy ink, gel pen, leafing pen, dry transfer, rubon letters. approximately 4 5/8" x 3 5/8". click to enlarge.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.

Sold. Thank you!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Secret Sunday 6

Do you want to know a secret?


Welcome to the fourth edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals.


Over 150 (!) artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented as a series of online and print projects. And the first continues right now!

Join the The Altered Page every Sunday for "Secret Sunday." Here the secrets of all your favorite artists will be revealed. It could be a technique, a product, a secret source, a little-known website, a hidden shop, an inspiration, just about anything! If you missed any, no worries. You can find links to all the secrets on the sidebar of my blog.

Today's secret.......Techniques Too!
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Vivian Bonder
Blog: Desert Bloom

A while ago I played with glue image transfers and they worked really well. There is a link to my blog post right here.


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Roxanne Stout
Blog: River Garden Studio

This is not really a secret... just something I love to do... When I am doing a landscape and I want to put some buildings in it, I like to draw and paint them on watercolor paper first... I tear the bottom off in the shape of the shrubbery or the hillside, and then cut out the structure. Then I glue it on with matt medium and add several layers of mediums and paint right out of the tubes. This building is part of a house in Issigeac, France... a view from my brothers house...


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Olivia King
Blog: 4 Rooms and the Moon

I love drawing on brown paper. When I was a kid I could hardly wait for lunch so I could tear open the brown paper bag lunch came in and start drawing. So I suppose it isn’t surprising that one of my favorite purchased journals is a recycled brown paper sketch book by “earthbound” Cachet Products. The covers are brown paper too, and great to work with paint and collage.



This is my secret for building up surfaces, I coat the pages with Liquitex Gesso surface prep. (I find Golden Gesso has a more plastic surface film and I like the “tooth” I get from Liquitex.) The gesso coated brown paper holds up very well to all water media, and can take many layers of paint or collage without wrinkling or warping (be sure and coat both sides or the page will curl). The soft velvety texture the gesso gives the surface is a pleasure to sketch on with graphite. I have recently found you can buy these brown paper journals at Wal-Mart! And about half the price I’ve been paying!
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Linda Germain
Blog: Printmaking without a Press
Blog: Art by Linda Germain
You Tube: Linda Germain
Website: Linda Germain

Well I guess it would be a surprise to see the wonderful textured results that you can get by printing with moldy gelatin. As the gelatin ages it cracks, and gets holey and creates unpredictable textures. You can use newsprint to absorb the excess water and then print with water based inks and a thin strong paper. I have a slidshow video showing examples of prints made with old gelatin here.


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Martha Marshall
Blog: An Artist's Journal
Website: Martha Marshall Fine Art

My recently-developed intuitive collage process, whereby I create one huge seemingly-chaotic collage and then use a view finder to create compositions within the matrix of the image. It's been an endless source of fun for me lately.



I wrote about it in my blog here.
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Lisa Wright
Blog: The Wright Stuff
Etsy: The Wright Stuff

I’m still learning – aren’t we all! However, one of the best lessons I’ve taught myself is a little secret I would be willing to share. Painting faces has always been something of a trial. There’s so much to contend with – from getting the shape to the shading right… and let’s not talk about hair. So, I discovered an excellent way to practice which reignites all that childhood pleasure gleaned from colouring in books. Yes, that’s it. You colour in! Just select a striking pose from a magazine, paint over lightly with gesso so you can still just about see the original picture beneath. Then, grab your paints, pastels and crayons and get colouring. It’s more fun to use un-natural shades of blue, green, orange to resculpt the face and hair.



The other method is to transfer the image using gel medium. This is a bit more hit and miss as you never quite know how well the print will stick to your surface but it creates some unexpected surprises too. As long as most of the image comes over you can paint back in the rest. You don’t get so much paper wrinkling with this method and it seems to work best on canvas. I like to paint the canvas a bold colour beforehand so it reflects back through your image.
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Steph Brouwers
Blog: vLaDtHeBaT’s aTTiC

I am crazy about beads and I want to share a technique. If you want to make faux dark amber beads (like Tibetan amber), use translucent polymer clay with a hint of orange and leave it longer in the oven (same t° even a bit lower ).
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Lisa Sarsfield
Blog: Lucky Dip

Now and then I find myself stumped with a collage. I often only have 1 main piece plus 3 or 4 smaller elements but that still equals many possible combinations! Sometimes I also have extra pieces that I'd like to use but I am not sure if they 'belong' there. I usually get stuck when I can least afford to- either when pushing time or when using the last of something I really like! It can be very frustrating and I am sure I am not alone in that!

One technique I've found to really help is to assemble the collage (or altered book spread) in all of it's possible combinations (without actually gluing or stitching it in place) and to then photograph each one individually. That way I can take it apart to try another idea with out actually loosing the first one and I can use the photos as a reference for re-assembling the collage once I have decided which one I like the most. I'm sure most of us have tried a layout and then decided the 'other one' was better but can't quite replicate it the exact way it had been done earlier!

There's two more advantages I feel you get when you photograph your work like this. One being the ability to flick through the images as often as you like and in your own time (with a coffee, on a walk, when waiting in the car...). The second being the ability to compare them directly. Sometimes you just know when you've got a winner and other times it takes a little more searching and it helps to have something to compare your designs with.



One collage I needed to employ this technique for is this one I made for the International Collage Exchange and the process can be found in this blog post. The photographing process really helped with the decision making and the final piece above was my end choice, and one I am very happy with! At the end of the day being happy in your creating and with your art is what matters the most!
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Mary Layman
Blog: Joyful Ploys

I discovered this quite by accident---I was using acrylic paints plus Caran d'ache crayons in a floral composition. I used black India ink to accent some of the lines in the piece and decided they were too bold so I then used Caran d'ache crayons to go over the lines to soften the ink. Here is one of my pieces using this technique:


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Theresa Martin
Website: theresa mARTin
Blog: theresa mARTin
Etsy: Eve Crowe Studios
Cafe Press: Theresa Martin

Here's a Photoshop tip:

If you want to turn an image into a sepia tone, or any monochromatic color here's a good way to do it while preserving the color of your original image. With your image open in PS select Layer, New Fill Layer, Solid Color. Select the color you want. You can change your choice later. After, go to the layers menu and select the Solid Color Layer and choose Color from the blending mode menu. It provides a nice color overlay giving your piece any monochromatic color you wish. You can select the color in the layers menu and change it to any other color or level of transparency. This way you have preserved the color of the original image and given yourself many options for a color overlay.

Before:



After:


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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Contain Me

I continue to work on "Self Contained" - my collaboration with Viv and Step. Each of us have created our own art structure that all three of us work in three different times. It is all about what lies within. Things that may be unspoken and things that are often hidden. Raw, grungy, rough, messy, and all our selves. One very special and unique aspect to this project is that we all create on and over each other's artwork. A true collaborative effort!

A few glimpses of my most recent work in Viv's piece. Click to enlarge.























Monday, December 21, 2009

Solstice Moments



silver stars shimmer
lighting the crowning glory
enveloped in peace



the ease of the trees
holding the weight of the world
balanced with beauty



a sense of wonder
blankets the surface of all
look toward the new day

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Secret Sunday 5

Do you want to know a secret?


Welcome to the fourth edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals.


Over 150 (!) artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented as a series of online and print projects. And the first continues right now!

Join the The Altered Page every Sunday for "Secret Sunday." Here the secrets of all your favorite artists will be revealed. It could be a technique, a product, a secret source, a little-known website, a hidden shop, an inspiration, just about anything! If you missed any, no worries. You can find links to all the secrets on the sidebar of my blog.

Today's secret.......Book Ends!
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Gwen Buchanan
Blog: DESIDERATUM

Ornament...from the Industrial Revolution to Today by Stuart Durant, Overlook Press, pub. 1986 ISBN: 0879512199, hardcover

... sourcebook of decoration and design elements... beautifully produced with an exceptional amount of illustration, color and black and white... this is my most reached for book... I believe it is out of print... worthy of a search... I have seen it in second hand online book shops...


...isn't the cover beautiful!!
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Maj Hoenborg
Blog: Second Nature

Books are my addiction and here are two sources of inspiration:

F.S.Meyer, Handbook der Ornamentik

An out of print series of books with wonderful illustrations and wood prints of animals and beasts from 1670 by Conrad Gesner (mine are reprints from 1981)
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Joanne Archer
Blog: The Crow Road

I don't think I have a technique that is new to anyone reading this. I get a lot of inspiration from literature; I have a degree in Literature and Art History and that is my first love. My house is filled with books and my guilty pleasure is rummaging through charity shops for old ones to add to my collection. Sometimes it's the content that attracts me, sometimes the cover, or the foxed pages. One of the reasons I love Judy Wilkenfeld's work so much is that she creates the most beautiful, altered books that also tell a profound story. Sorry, it's not a secret, but it'll have to do!


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Mary S Hunt
Blog: Working Projects
Etsy: Mary Hunt Studio

1. If you can't get to his camp for one on one...get his 3 books for working with warm glass...Boyce Lundstrom...the glass master!

Kiln Firing Glass: Glass Fusing Book One

Advanced Fusing Techniques

Fusing, Fusing, Fusing

2. Might be out of print...The Art of Painting on Glass by Albinas Elskus...is the ONLY source to use when mastering staining and enameling with glass.

3. Arteffects is my favorite painting techniques source book.
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Sally Turlington
Blog: Imagine This

My best secret for motivation & idea generation is my collection of Graphic Design Annuals.


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Tracie Lyn Huskamp
Blog: The Red Door Studio

I LOVE the book Beautiful Gems of Thought and Sentiment by Northrop.
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Pam McKnight
Blog: Every Little Thing
Flickr: Pam McKnight

Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing: Meditation in Action by Fredrick Franck...this is a great book to read when you are feeling "uncreative" and stuck and need a boost. I have read it 3 times and I don't usually read a book more than once.
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Judith Stadler
Blog: ARTISTICANEUM

For resources to make art: You can find really great, interesting old used books for altering or collage papers in some local libraries in Manhattan. They often cost less than $1 each.



The book in Hebrew is A Little Town in Germany, by Le Carre. The Macbeth was published in 1889 and is also notable for the title on the spine being upside down. The Fearful Passage (the book to the left of Macbeth) was published the year of my birth.
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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Foundtography


Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean

The first North American museum exhibition of the photography of Miroslav Tichý will be held at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in NYC beginning January 29 and running through May 9.


Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean

Tichý is a Czech photographer and artist with a fascinating history. Born in 1926, Tichý is often described as mysterious and eccentric and is known as much for his cameras as for his distorted photography.


Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean

Tichý studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague but left the Academy following the adoption of communism in Czechoslovakia in 1948. After that, he led a reclusive and nonconformist lifestyle.

In the years between the 1960s and the 1980s, Tichý took thousands of photographs, primarily of women. Many of his photographs were taken without his subject's knowledge. Tichý images were often distorted, blurred, ripped, and scratched. Furthermore, he often hand altered the surface of his photographs with pen or pencil.

His style was quite unique but what has fascinated me the most about his story is the fact that his cameras were all hand constructed....


Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean

...out of found objects such as tin cans, shoe boxes, toilet paper rolls, clothing elastic, and cigarette boxes! His lenses were Plexiglas and polished with toothpaste, ashes, sandpaper, and the like.


Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean


Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean


Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean

The ICP exhibit will not only feature Tichý's photographs, but will also include several of his cameras as well. Definitely a must see for me!



Courtesy of Foundation Tichy Ocean

For examples of his work and more information, please visit Tichy Ocean.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Secret Sunday 4

Do you want to know a secret?


Welcome to the fourth edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals.


Over 150 (!) artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented as a series of online and print projects. And the first continues right now!

Join the The Altered Page every Sunday for "Secret Sunday." Here the secrets of all your favorite artists will be revealed. It could be a technique, a product, a secret source, a little-known website, a hidden shop, an inspiration, just about anything! If you missed any, no worries. You can find links to all the secrets on the sidebar of my blog.

Today's secret.......From the Inside!
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&rew Borloz
Blog: &rew's Wanderlusts & Explorations
Blog: &rew's Creative Life
Blog: &rew's Urban Paper Arts

Do the opposite of what others would "normally" do or think. Go in the opposite direction of where others would go. Always carry a camera with you wherever you go as you might unexpectedly find something interesting.


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Barbara Kleinhans
Website: Barbara Kleinhans
Flickr: Barbara Kleinhans

I enjoy being an artist much more after I let go of it being my primary income source. Instead of concentrating on how many sales I needed to make or what to paint that would sell, I feel gratitude at the connection others have with my artwork, relish the process of painting (even when it doesn't turn out quite right), and am happy when a painting goes off to a new home.


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Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
Blog: Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

My art secret is not exactly a technique or process but more of an attitude. I live with a chronic debilitating progress disease and have tried to seek a harmonious balance in my spiritual and physical worlds. Daily I strive to find calm quiet movements, quiet calm moments and recognize my body is my temple. Given a correct balance I am privileged to be able to keep making my sacred marks. The medium seems to be evolving and that is a gift in so many ways. On days when I am out of remission I allow my body to listen with my heart and try a new avenue for sharing my stories and legacy. I do not dwell on the financial rewards even though when this is available I feel a sense of relief to be able to give back to my family, my community and my global world. Being an artist is a privilege that comes with the responsibility to make the world a better more equal community where diversity is not only allowed but totally desired.
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Brian Kasstle
Blog: A Man Who Crafts

Keep learning, take classes, seminars, stretch your boundaries and comfort zone. You never know where it will take you.


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Cyn Richardson
Blog: Two Blue Crows

My only secret to share is the ability to "let go" to "play" and let the art come from the inner source found in everyone if they can just let it out.


"Sunrise Through the Storm" Acrylics, 5" x 7"
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grrl & dog
Blog: grrl & dog

There will be a thread to your work. It could be a persistent thought or line that surfaces again and again, it may manifest in a color or a certain fabric or way of doing something that for you is so natural, so completely unconscious, you don’t even know you’re doing it.

That is your style...that is what will grow up to be your style if you allow it to rise and say hello to you. It won’t be a major thing, it will be just a little something; others will spot it before you do. When they do, you will be slightly puzzled, and say “oh..that...”.

But that is your style. Once you get to know each other, to trust each other, wonderful things will happen.
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Fran Meneley
Blog: Fran Meneley

Ok, here’s my big secret – PAY ATTENTION. No, really. It’s the biggest addition to your mixed media arsenal. How much goes by us unnoticed? The smallest thing can make the biggest difference. Paying attention involves slowing down and tuning in. Breathe. Look around. Really look and see. All kinds of things come into focus; there is so much inspiration around us. I think as artists we are always looking, always on the lookout. But there’s no big secret, it’s just about paying attention. What we notice and what comes to us and how we interpret the world is what makes each of us unique – and it’s what makes our art interesting and engaging and compelling.

This was brought home to me in a very big way, in a way that I somehow finally got "it", in Oaxaca, Mexico a couple of years ago. I was sitting in the courtyard of a potter’s studio. We’d seen a wonderful demonstration, it was toward the end of the day. My day had been filled with so many wondrous things, I was kind of on overload. A couple of us sat on a bench in front of a table. It had a group of “random” fruits and vegetables and flowers – at first glance.


But one of the women said, “oh look what a beautiful still life.” And when I took the time to really look, to tune in, what I beheld was indeed a beautiful still life.


This idea of tuning in and Paying Attention, really crystallized for me in that moment. So my big art secret is PAY ATTENTION – it’s all there, all the time, it’s all happening, just pay attention.

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Julie Prichard
Blog & Website: The Land of Lost Luggage

I have learned to let go and be myself; to ignore my inner critic.


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Michelle Smith
Blog: My Green Gravity
Mixed media challenge blog: Reality Scraps

I have found art mistakes are some of the best ways to achieve a delightful and surprising end result.
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Patricia Anders
Blog: Patricia Anders
Website: Art Propensity
Etsy: Triciajoy
Flickr: Tricia Anders

I look for opportunities to surprise people with small artworks or prints by leaving things on the street for free. Like easter eggs with mini art inside or treasure boxes or small prints.


Here is an image of "thought bubbles" that are like mini pinatas with a message or thought inside and a mini piece of art, they can be opened by pulling the string. I will randomly drop this here and there for passer bys to find.
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