Kitty Love

That silly kitty, from this post and this one, has cemented his place around here.

Like the couch...

And my computer chair...

You know how those kitties are - they need lots of beauty sleep!

Rust Love

My husband and I rust fabric and different fibers that I use in my artwork.
This is the front cover of a sketchbook that I made using it.

I also sell packs of "Rust Media" in my Etsy Shop (among other things).

Check it out!

New Tool!

I love new tools, don't you?
I've been using a Dremel tool to aid in book making.
But you can't fly too easily with a Dremel too, can you?
I was trying to figure out how to finagle a couple to teach in Colorado next month.

Enter Rebecca Peck of the Fiskateers.
Goddess of Fiskars tools...
She turned me onto a handheld drill that is AWESOME!!
It works beautifully to drill holes in all kinds of things (including my studio table!) (and it's one of those heavy work table).

Love it, love it.
Just be careful when you change the drill bits, it can come unscrewed and then require the engineer husband to put it back together...um, just saying.
Otherwise it is fantastic if you don't have or don't want to mess with a power tool.

Thank you Rebecca!

Acrylic Medium

I often spend days in my studio playing around with (or experimenting with) different acrylic mediums to see what I can do with them.
I can tell you this - the applications are innumerable!

Take this for example -

The (highly) textured orangie colored section is a piece of canvas to which I applied Golden's Soft Gel.
I used some implement that was on my studio table (or maybe the implement was my finger) to create the texture.
I allowed this to dry completely.
Then I created a wash of a couple of fluid acrylics (looks like Quin/Nickel Azo Gold was part of it) and brushed this over the entire piece.
What you see is a small section of the piece of canvas. I have been cutting up my samples and using them in different projects.

What do you do with your samples?

Still working

What about you?

On My Table

What's on your work table?

Spine Design

I've been making (more) books for "Art Camp For Women" and playing with spine design.

While I adore the open spine where you can see the stitching, I also love the opportunity to add more interest to the outside of the book.
I'm working on a couple (or four) ways of adding the spine decoration after the covers have been stitched on.
Here's a peek at one.

I am also playing around with scraps from a leather jacket that a friend gave me (thank you Mary!).
The leather is so soft and supple, it drapes beautifully and gently hugs the curves of the spine. I'd love to make a pair of shoes with it!
You can see in the photo how it shows the contour of the thread that I used when stitching in the signatures-

Beautiful, just beautiful.

There are still a few spots left in the book making class in Colorado. If you can't go for the entire week, treat yourself to the three day class! It's a brand new class, created just for the Art Camp ladies.

A Different Kind of Class

I love Charleston.
Especially before it gets all hot and horribly muggy (even though it's still beautiful to me then).
This past weekend, my husband and I went there (part business and part pleasure).

I taught a class at my friend Cathy Buck's shop "Fashion Fabrics" in Mt. Pleasant.

What a great class!

It was a class in embellishing an  infant onesie or a kids tee shirt.
It's an idea that I got after reading Natalie Chanin's first book.
Here's a sample of one of the class projects -

Or this one.
The model (my nieces son Caden) is so cute!

This is another cute model, Kennedy (another nieces baby). I love the way that her mom coordinated her accessories!

Here's a shot of  some of the class hard at work.

The class was three hours long and everyone did a great job.
We did some screen printing, painting on fabric and reverse applique.
We also recycled some tee shirts and talked about sustainable clothing.
It's a great way to learn a little hand stitching too.

I love the way that this class allows women to gather and spend time doing what women do...talking, sharing information & ideas, creating beautiful things for our loved ones and honoring our creativity.
We are doers, makers.

If you're in the Charleston area, stop by Cathy's shop.
It's called "Fashion Fabrics".
She carries Bernina's, quilt fabric, apparel fabric, notions, ribbons and all sorts of goodies.
She also offers a wide array of classes, a few clubs and sewing machine work as well.
I think it's about the only place in the Charleston area that you can find quality fabrics. Oh, you can find the cheaper fabric but not the good stuff.
The address is 320 W. Coleman Blvd, Mt. Pleasant SC 29464.
Shop number is (843)884-5266.

Tell her that I sent you.

Now get out there and Do Something.
Create.
Make.

Helping Others Reach Their Goals

Or -
Honoring your own creativity by helping others.

This is what my friend Jess is doing. She is willing to walk the walk not just talk the talk.

I first met Jess when I stumbled upon the "Seek Your Course" website.
This is a site that she created to harness the many creative offerings across the world into one easy to navigate place.
(check it out, it's fantastic!)
I signed up as an instructor right away because I was so impressed with the spirit behind what Jess was doing.
It's so hard to find someone, especially a young woman, that is willing to do what Jess was trying to do out of the goodness of her heart.
This young woman has a huge heart people!
She isn't making loads of money doing what she's doing...she is putting all her goods in the karma bank.

She has created a Jumpstart Creativity Tour across the US and part of Canada that we can help her with.

Go here, to her Jumpstart page, and donate as much as you possibly can to help her inject a little creativity into an adults life.
Here's a video for you to watch -






I am pleased to tell you that Jess will be visiting Greenville SC and Asheville NC on the tour!
Those are the closest destinations to my home.
Check out all of the other locations that she has planned.

Way to go Jess!

Book Covers

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I posted!
What have I been doing?

Welll...my friend Sarah and I participated in the World Wide Sketch Crawl here in Greenville SC.
We made a day of it, along with a nice sit down lunch (with wine) (bourbon for me). I have several sketches to show for it, just need to add some color to them.

And maybe I'll just post them without color. I love to add the color while I'm sitting there sketching.
It's hard for me to go back with a photo and add color...
I love the spontaneity of drawing and painting RIGHT there.

I really am loving it more and more- the urban sketching.
I am looking for just the right ones to make thermofax screens out of. I think that street scenes of Greenville would be great on tee shirts.

I've been having a blast in my studio, making more class samples for the Art Camp For Women workshop coming up soon.
Here's a peek at a couple of different covers I will be demonstrating -

I love the book itself - the pages, the painting, the sketching, the opportunity to fill it with much goodness- but I think I love making the cover most of all (today anyway!).
All the opportunity to create layer after layer of amazing texture.
Yep - layers of texture on the outside that nestle all of the layers of art on the inside.

I am going to try and set up a local book making class after June 15th.
If you're not on my newsletter list, email me here for details when I get it sorted out.
Looking forward to teaching close to home!