Gelli Plate Party Time!

She heard there was a party at Carolyn Dube's blog on February 1!  So she got out her gelli plate, made some designs using book pages from an old book she was preparing to alter...

and made a collage.  She drew herself a beautiful party dress and added more pieces of her collage paper to make sure her dress could really twirl (just in case there's dancing!).

 

She used fluid acrylics and glazing medium to paint away a lot of the background, to make sure that SHE, and not the beautiful collage papers, would really stand out.  Portfolio watersoluble pastels and gelatos added to the shading and the sparkly stars and rectangles, stamped with gold ink.   A tiara finished off the outfit. 

The party doesn't start 'til tomorrow, but she's stylin' her dress today just cause.  See you at the party!

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment, even if I don't always get to respond directly, and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Linking to the gelli party at A Colorful Journey, Paint Party Friday, Art Journal Every Day, Simon Says Stamp (Anything Goes) and Creative Everyday. 

PS -- the winner of my Flying Tulips stencil from this post is Theresa N:

"I use stencils for scrape booking and card making, but you've got me rethinking the possiblities!" I've emailed Theresa and hope to get her stencil to her soon!

PPS -- the new monthly challenge at Artists in Blogland is "Color This Quote!"  Check it out, and see my entry here.

Related articles

• Tutorial: Gelli Plate Prints

I Heart My Friends

I am moderating a new monthly challenge at Artists in Blogland called:

The quote for the February challenge is:  "good friends are like quilts - they age with you yet never lose their warmth."   For my art journal page, I collaged lots of red, orange and pink papers, many of which I had made with my gelli plate.

I cut a heart shape out of a folded piece of old book paper, smeared gesso on it, and randomly stamped it with a text stamp.

I then adhered it over my collage using matte medium (my favorite is Liquitex), anchored it with Portfolio pastels (one of my favorite art supplies because they are water soluble), and painted a bit with fluid acrylics to add some dots and dashes, as well as the golden border.  I  added the text and "stitching" digitally.

Dedicated to all my dear friends -- old and new -- may we keep sharing our warmth even as we grow older!

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment, even if I don't always get the chance to reply.  I will answer any questions as quickly as I can.   Linking up to Artists in Blogland (color this quote) and Try it on Tuesday (at least one heart). 

This I Believe

I believe ...

that some of our best days...

are yet to come. 

Art Journal page inspired by many of the techniques in Creative JumpStart 2013, with gesso, acrylic paint, gelatos, neocolor crayons, inkbars, pastels, Uniball white and black pens, stamps, archival ink.    (I asked some of my friends to describe my art style -- and they came up with colorful, whimsical, meaningful, and inspirational; I think this page represents that!)

I hope you have an amazing start to your week.  Linking to Create With Joy, Anything But a Card (things with wings), Mandarin Orange Monday, Make it on Monday, Creative Inspiration (Anything Goes), Monday Mantrasv, and Simon Says Stamp and Show (what are you known for).

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Random Squares Stencil Test Drive- And A Giveaway

Welcome to the Random Squares Test Drive & Giveaway, featuring:  Seth Apter, Carolyn Dube, Kristin Dudish, Corinne Gilman, and Diana Trout!    

Random Squares just has "fun" built into it.  Something about it reminds me of the mosaic imagery used by Gustav Klimt in "The Kiss."  

I wanted to try to use the stencil to create mosaic-like squares.

To begin, I used my gelli plate, the Random Squares stencil and fluid acrylics (Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, Magenta, and Iridescent Gold) to make some prints on wax paper.  I then glued the deli paper onto sheets of tin foil to give them strength and malleability. 

Next, I mixed glass bead texture gel with Jaquard Pearl-Ex Pigment in Antique Gold, to make the gel very sparkly.  I placed my stencil back over my Gelli printed papers, and dragged the glass bead gel medium through with a wide painting knife.  It created amazing texture.  (I made sure to vary where I put the stencil, so you could still see the gelli printing underneath.)

Once the bead gel dried, I cut out the raised squares to create mosaic "tiles."  (These are what I used to make the cape in this post!)

 

I had a pasta box in the recycling bin that I thought I could use to make something.  I liked the window.

I painted and glued some gelli imprinted paper into the inside, re-assembled it, turned it upside down, and cut it into the shape of a little house.

I made some more gelli prints using the Random Squares stencil, deli paper and tin foil, but without the raised glass bead gel.  I used this to wrap the outside of my little house (adhering with double stick tape and tacky glue), and then used some of the more textured paper to change the shape of the window to give my structure a Moorish feel.

Now for the faux Mosaic Tiles, some stamping with StazOn Ink and my favorite Michelle Ward stamp called "Graphic Details," some rubbing of black Portfolio water soluble pastels, and some beading to decorate the opening.  

My ziti pasta box was completely transformed!  Samy was sure it was made out of clay! It will soon be the home to one of my many Buddha statues. 

Please be sure to visit Seth Apter, Carolyn Dube, Kristin Dudish, Corinne Gilman, and Diana Trout, to see how they've used the Random Squares stencil.  I am so grateful to these amazing artists for playing along with me!

Linking to Paint Party Friday, Show & Tell Saturday at Artists in Blogland,  Eclectic Paperie (altered boxes), Frilly & Funkie (spruce it up), Collage Obsession (Shrine)  and Happy Daze (recycle).

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Giveaway:  What is your favorite way to use stencils?  Let me know in the comments section by 1/27 for a chance to win my Flying Tulips stencil!  UPDATE:  Congratulations to Theresa N for winning this stencil! 

Sneak Peak

What does this lady's cape have in common with this stencil?

Find out on Thursday when the Random Squares Stencil Test Drive takes off, with artists Seth Apter, Carolyn Dube, Kristin Dudish, Corinne Gilman, and Diana Trout!  There will also be a giveaway!  Just click on the button to find out!

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can!

Live the Life You Imagined

I had lots and lots of beautifully colored pages from playing with my gelli plate and the stencils I designed for Stencil Girl.  Inspired by this tutorial by Felicia Borges,  I cut them into strips and squares and rectangles and started arranging them in ways that pleased me...

I saw an urban skyline with sky scrapers...

Just like the city, it grew bigger and bigger until it was 11 x 14"...

I outlined buildings, adjusted and deepened the colors with a mixture of fluid acrylics and glazing medium, and added gems and glass bead gel to make the city sparkle ...

I hung stars and a moon in the sky with silver threads...

All the while, I thought about how much I love New York City, where I went to high school and college, and where Times Square, the Upper West Side and Greenwich Village were my playgrounds.  I thought about my amazing life: three distinctly different careers as a singer/dancer/actress, then lawyer, then artist/yoga teacher; one difficult marriage and painful divorce, but then a wonderful second marriage and two loving and lovely daughters;  good health and a rich supportive community of neighbors, friends and family.  As a child, did I plan the life I lead now?  No.  But I imagined a life full of creativity and love.  So I wouldn't change a thing.  Each experience, the happy and sad, the joyous and the difficult, was a vital part of the path that led me to the life I have - full of creativity and love -- just like I imagined. 

You don't have to live the life you've planned.  But live the life you've imagined!

How do you live the life you've imagined?

Linking to Make it on Monday, Creative Everyday, Inspire Me Monday,  Monday Mantras, and Mandarin Orange Monday.

PS:  Do you ever get stuck and need some great journaling prompts?  I wish I'd known about this post when I was writing yesterday about what's Rocking My World.  Aimee of Artsyville has made available FOR FREE her 21 prompts from 21 Secrets 2012.  Thank you Aimee!!

PPS:  Maybe feeling happy with life is "going around..."  Check out this post and video from Jennibelle Studios -- complete with cool dance moves!

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Rocking My World

If God is the DJ, then Life is the dance floor; Love is the rhythm, and You are the music.~ Pink 

A little roundup of what's been rocking my world this week...

Teaching:

I love to teach.  I have had so much fun teaching mixed media at my daughter's school.  Here are some pictures from a found poetry project we did based on my sample above.

1.  I gave kids 4 - 5 pages from various old books and told them to cut out words that "called" to them.
2.  I had them paint/stencil on black gesso'd playing cards (pre-pared by me at home) (thank you Seth Apter for this technique!)
3.  While the cards were drying, I asked them to make a poem out of their words.  They didn't have to use all of them. 
4.  They collaged their "found poems" on the cards.
5. They decorated them with washi tape and gel pens.
6.  They sealed them with glazing medium.
 Here are some of their fabulous creations!

One Little Word Journals:

I made a journal for myself using my word for 2013.

Last night, I taught a class at my local craft store, Rock*Paper*Scissors and our project was making a journal like this.  Some of the women picked one word to take them through the year, others had many different words.  One woman just dedicated all the pages to collages about family.

It was really fun.  I'm happy to say that several people immediately signed up for my upcoming class - ABC's of art journaling!

Seems like a lot of people I know are getting into teaching!  Check out what's upcoming from the fabulous Marjie Kemper and Judy Shea - both teaching exciting classes in 2013.

Gelli Plate Art Envelopes:

Carolyn Dube is quickly becoming an expert in all things Gelli Plate related!  Check out this cool post and video tutorial by Carolyn about how to transform your prints (and I know you have lots of them!) into envelopes!

And by the way, Carolyn will be hosting her fabulous Gelli Plate Party on her blog EVERY MONTH starting February 1!


Generous Hearts and Hands:


The generous spirits in the art community rock my world!  Check out this cool art auction that Kristin and Eva at Paint Party Friday are spearheading to benefit the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School. 








Creative Jumpstart:

Speaking of generosity, have you been participating in the Creative Jumpstart hosted by Nathalie Kalbach?  She has put together a stream of technique videos by amazing artists that air every day in January -- and all for free!  All Nat asks for is a donation.  I sent $25 and I hope everyone watching them has donated something.  I can't imagine all the work and time it has taken for Nat to organize this.  And Nathalie still had time to do an amazing piece for Fall Fearless and Fly (you have until 1/28 to link up to it!!)  Nathalie - you rock my world!

What's been rocking your world this week?   Are you teaching anywhere or have you come across a fabulous post?  Share the love! 

Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.