When Inspiration Doesn't Strike

What do you do when you're a full-time working artist with a bit of "painter's block"?  

Go to your stash of art books (I know you have them) and pick one.  

Today, when I was blocked about what to do, I closed my eyes and picked one of the many books on my shelf- and it happened to be Mary Beth Shaw's fabulous book, Stencil Girl!

This was pretty serendipitous; recently, Stencil Girl hosted a blog hop and members of the creative team did projects inspired by Mary Beth's book.  There's some amazing inspiration in that hop, so if you didn't check it out, I highly recommend it.

I closed my eyes again, and opened the book to this spread:  Unmask That Paper Doll

I had this photograph on my work table, which popped to my attention, and led me to create a chain of paper houses, instead of paper dolls.  But other than that, I started off following Mary Beth's instructions by creating a collage and covering it with gesso.

I added color with my Medallions and Flowers, Hearts and More stencils, and then placed my paper house chain and glazed color around it.

I decided to create another row of smaller houses behind the first row using the same process.

Here's how it looks with shadowing and glazing.  I also used created a stencil from some of the paper remnants, so I could add some houses behind.

Then my muse took over, and the canvas took on a life of its own, and my own hand became more apparent.

Once it said "done," I added some text and the photograph.

Thank you Mary Beth for writing such a terrific book with such wonderful inspiration!

"Home is Where Love Lives" is available as a print on paper or on canvas at Society 6.  I hope you'll think of me if you need a house blessing for yourself or as a gift.

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Art Journaling with Dina Wakley

Before getting to my post, I want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year! May your year ahead be filled with sweetness and many blessings.

Recently, I attended a wonderful class at The Ink Pad given by Dina Wakley.

Do you know Dina?  She is an artist, author, and designer of stencils, paints, brushes and more for Ranger.  She is also a wonderful teacher - puts you at ease immediately with her encouraging delivery.  Her default response to any question is "the answer is yes!"

I was lucky to share this class with Marjie Kemper, who recently blogged about her experience in class here.









The class was called "Beyond the Ink Pad" and was about using your stamps as first layers, so that they come through your background and become part of the story that your focal images are telling.  I often use stamps in my work, but after this class, I will definitely be using them more.  As always, it was amazing to see how different all of our pages came out, though we all followed Dina's instructions and techniques.

Of course, I couldn't resist adding my Stencil Girl stencils to the mix... above you can see my Medieval Leaves stencil interacting with Pam Carriker's beautiful Ophelia face stamp.  

In the background, you can see the top of Ganesha's head from the Ganesh Deity Stencil.

And in the foreground are elements from the Squares and Circles Stencil interacting with the Dress Form stamp from Tim Holtz.  

I love being a student!  I always learn precious nuggets to take away and incorporate into my art.

And now to announce the winner of my calendar giveaway!!

For those who wish to purchase a copy, it's available on Amazon with free shipping! 

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

Two Birds of a Feather

For my calendar giveaway, please click here!

I know I've told you many times about my friend Judy Shea, who I met two years ago at Art is You because we accidentally roomed together.  Since then, we have roomed together two more times, and Judy has inspired me to create new stencils (See my posts about the Judy's Trees and Teapot and Teacups stencils!). This is one of the wonderful things about going on art retreats - you never know if your next lifelong friend will be there!

I wanted to make Judy something special for her birthday.  I remembered that when she first moved into her new home, she posted a photo on Facebook of a Snowy Owl she had spotted.  So I decided to make her an owl themed gift.  I also know that teal is Judy's favorite color - so I started my canvas with a teal wash.  Then I scraped Wendy Vecchi's Gold Embossing paste through the Three Owls on a Branch Stencil from Stencil Girl Products.

I used Cecilia Swatton's Feathers 6 Stencil to add more foliage around the owls and added the sentiment in my own handwriting.  The gears are from my stash.

Happy Birthday Judy Shea!








Here's a video of me creating an art journal page with the owl stencils.  You can also watch Owl Art Journal Page on YouTube here.  

Have a wonderful week, and let your good friends know that you appreciate them!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

Jessica Sporn Designs Licensing News

Read to the end... there's a giveaway!

I received Aviv Judaica's 2014 catalogue today and was just overjoyed to see some of my new designs on the cover!  The inside pages made me even happier!

Need Hanukkah or bar/batmizvah or Jewish themed wedding gifts?  Aviv Judaica has what you need!     I have been working with this company for over 10 years, and they couldn't be nicer.

And if you are an Amazon Prime member, click here to see most of my Judaica products.







I also am extremely proud of the calendar I designed for Leap Year and published by Avalon. It is called "Woman Inspired," and has woman-positive designs and affirmations for every month of the year.  A percentage of the wholesale price benefits the United Way too.  Get yours today because quantities are limited!

Finally, this week I had the experience of straddeling the Judeo-Christian divide, licensing designs for Easter as well as Bar and Bat Mizvah!

You can see more of my greeting card designs at Legacy Publishing, Leanin' Tree, and The Greeting Card Collection, among others.  Without question, I have the best job in the world!

And NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY - I will giveaway a calendar to one random commenter on this post!  Let me know you have liked my Facebook page and commented on the thread on that page for an extra chance to win!  Leave your email address in your comment so I know you're interested.  I will pick someone by Wednesday, 9/24 so check back here to see if it's you!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

Studio Reveal with The Altered Page

The wonderful Seth Apter has a great blog hop going today called "Studio Reveal."  Lots of artists have linked up with photos of their studios - messy, tidy, you name it!  Here are pics of my MESSY space -- it's how I'm most comfortable working!

What's on my work table today... a small canvas, charms for Art is You, and an art journal page all at the same time!

Expanded view - supplies and an almost finished iced coffee! 

Here's what's behind my chair -- need all my paints, markers, pencils, crayons and gelatos within reach...

Also behind me, often used mediums, stamps, modeling cremes and embossing powders...

My beloved stencils....

Teaching supplies on the shelves and in the big cabinet...

To see other studios, hop on over to The Altered Page.  

For the Hamsa Giveaway post (there's still time...), click here. 

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

Home is Where the Hamsa Is

I was so excited to teach my first Meetup class in my new studio.  I wasn't sure how the space would work out, but it was splendid!  The subject of the class was home blessings using the Hamsa Stencil from Stencil Girl.

You can read all about the symbolism of the Hamsa here, and see step out photos for how I created these Hamsa Canvases on the Stencil Girl Talk blog here.  

Here are my fantastic students playing with the Hamsa Stencil and other stencils from Stencil Girl.  Each of their canvases came out so beautifully!

A big thank you to ace photographer Samy Cordero for capturing all the smiles and mark making!

Giveaway:  Do you want to play with the Five Hamsas Stencil?  If so, please leave a comment below with your email address as I am giving one away!  

Congratulations to Rebecca Tilinski who is the winner of the charm giveaway from this post. 

I have classes scheduled through my Meetup Group once a month through December.  And next up, I'll be teaching at the fabulous Art is You Mixed Media Retreat in Stamford, CT, in just a few weeks. I hope to see you soon!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.