Eccentric Spirit

For those who haven’t heard, November is Art Every Day Month – you can follow along over at Creative Every Day. I’m afraid it’s a fairly hectic day for me, so unfortunately it’s going to have to be a post-and-run kind of day. In fact, I’m actually posting yesterday’s art, I haven’t made art today – yet! I will do my best to catch up on posting the art when I can, but mainly focus on MAKING the art.

Anyhow, yesterday’s art was (unsurprisingly, if you’re a regular reader of my blog) an art journal spread. Since I recently wrote an article on brayer techniques I decided to grab my brayer and my camera and film a quick video of my background brayering.

Yikes, it’s been a week since my last post, where does the time go?! I guess it’s just that busy-busy time of year. I’ve got lots going on – how about you? Let’s see, what have I been up to? I made a new art journaling video, Insomnia Art Journal Spread – late night art journaling process. The size is a bit small here – if you view it on YouTube you should be able to see some notes I added throughout about my process. I’m still trying to work up my nerve to do spoken audio!

This is the first time I’ve tried out my new MacGyvered photography set up I mentioned last time. Here’s a photo of it in case you couldn’t picture it from the description last time.

The lighting isn’t the best, but hopefully you get the idea. As I said in the last post, the basic idea came from wondering how to film my work table while I create, so I can share it on YouTube. My tripod will not point the camera straight down without having the legs either in my way or in the video. So I got to thinking, “what else do I have that’s even remotely like a tripod?” At first, I considered using a fancy desk-clamping work light that we don’t use because the bulb burns out way too fast, but I realized we don’t know where the clamp got too. As I was stowing it back in the closet (why do we still have it?? why am I not just giving it to Goodwill??) I had an a-ha moment – my easel! I actually bought it not for painting but for displaying earrings, way back in the day when I was in the jewelry making biz. It occurred to me that it’s exactly what I was looking for – a tripod, but with an attached “arm” of sorts, which I can swing down to be level with the work surface, but a few feet above. The only try then was attaching my camera – I dug out an itty bitty four inch tripod that I never got much use out of, duct-taped it the the “arm” of the easel, and away I went! Huzzah!

In other arty news, I’ve been having a blast finding fun ways to share my antique magazine scans. I put up a new batch of free collage sheets, this time they are catalog pages – still with lots of great vintage ads, but also lots of amazing illustrations of Victorian/Edwardian era clothing. I also created an article on Steampunk Hair Style Tips and Ideas using, among other things, some great scans from a 1908 magazine. It’s funny to see how little these things change – over 100 years ago they were writing articles not too different from ones you might see now, all about how to get your hair looking just right for the style of the time. As you may have noticed, the vintage ads sport a lot of the same things you might see advertised in today’s magazines – beauty creams, weight loss pills, and work at home programs. Some things don’t change, I guess!

After seeing how easy it was to put together a little slideshow for my free collage sheets, I decided to try a quick video of a look through my art journal. I was surprised by how easy it was – I heart my new camera! Check it out in all is vid-alicious glory!

After having such a nice experience sharing this with the world (or YouTube, anyhow) I decided I want to start making some how-to type videos, something I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time. After a few hours of MacGyvering, I came up with a good set up to do so. It’s amazing how tricky it is to get a camera set up to film a work surface! My solution involves a 4″ mini-tripod that I never use, my easel, and some duct tape. :)

Any requests on what to film first? Anything you’ve seen in my journals that you’ve been hankering for a good how-to? My camera battery needs a charge, and I’m busy tomorrow, so it’ll be Saturday at the earliest, so suggest away!

I’ve been up to my eyeballs in photo editing software for the past several days, slowing sorting through the 600 dpi scans of my vintage women’s magazines. Maybe vintage isn’t quite right; I suppose I should say antique – these puppies are dated 1898, 1903, 1908, and so on! They’re in remarkably good condition overall and I’ve been meaning to make collage sheets from them for YEARS. But right about the time I got the idea in my head to do so, so did a ton of other people and Etsy pretty much exploded with people selling digital collage sheets, and it took the wind out of my sails. I figured, it’s going to be a big hassle to be at my computer regularly enough to email the sheets whenever people purchase them, so I gave up.

Recently though, I’ve been revisiting a site called Squidoo, where you can write web pages (called lenses) about any topic you like. I’ve been going nuts writing them lately, everything from an article about No Mess Glues and Adhesives to a shopping guide for Geeky Christmas Tree Ornaments. You can find all my artsy ones listed in the sidebar at the right. A few days ago, I had the brilliant idea to start putting those collage sheets together, at long last, and sharing them on Squidoo. I earn a small income for my share of ad revenue, and I don’t have to babysit it! Works for me. :)

So, long story short, check out my new page with Free Vintage Advertising Collage Sheets. If it’s successful, I plan to try and put up a new page of free digital collage sheets every week or two. It’s gonna be great! Tell your friends!

Long time no see! Been simply AGES I know. It’s been a chaotic summer and now that Autumn is officially upon us I’m hoping to get back to blogging with at least some amount of regularity. More on what I’ve been up to over the next few posts, but in the mean time, I discovered I had a draft post half-written already, so I’m just finishing that up and sharing it with you.

Today I want to share with you a bit about my process.. it’s sort of hard to show without doing video, which I’ve yet to really figure out. But in the mean time, my idea is this: I’ll show you a journal spread at two stages of completion and tell you how I got to each one. The first picture is this one:

As I recall, the things I’d done at this point include: gessoed the book pages, glued in a note about a goal, wrote more thoughts about that goal in ballpoint pen, and experimented with my new Caran D’Ache Neocolor II Watersoluble Crayons.Not sure if you can tell from this photo, but the combo of gesso and Neocolors gave it a really nice soft, almost fabric-like look and feel. Really nice, but not done yet..

Here it is in it’s current, finished state. For reference, these two pictures were taken not only on different days, but with entirely different cameras, which is probably 90% of why the colors look different. Some of it may be changes due to age though, as it’s been several months since I finished this spread and I couldn’t find my original “after” photo, so this one is one I took just now.

What I added: Lots of deco tape, from probably about a dozen different rolls. Rubber stamping with my Staz-On: the jar of art supplies, the red dotty lines, the blocks of letters (which is one of those $1 alphabet sets from Michael’s that I rubber-banded together and printed as one stamp), and the housewife looming over the cityscape. Also used my Sharpie poster paint markers to doodle in green curtains and a blue pennant around the “Get the studio clean” note.

So that’s a peek at my process, or at least, at the stuff I like to use. I work pretty organically, just grabbing what feels right. I dig out certain things when I have an a-ha moment like thinking “Ooh, I bet that housewife stamp I have would look awesome over this cityscape – like Godzilla!” but I also just grab whatever is within arm’s reach that feels right.

I hope you enjoy this post; I for one love posts sharing an artist’s process; it almost always sparks new ideas. Please let me know if you’d like to see more like this, so I can try to take some before/during photos when I finally get back to art journaling more often. Alas, this journal spread didn’t really help me to get the studio clean, and that’s been one of the things keeping me from my journal for the past several months. I bet you can guess what’s on my to-do list this week! :)

Ok, you know you’re a bit obsessed when you make a journal page about a journaling supply. But I couldn’t help myself. I got a nice juicy order from the oh-so-amazing Angoo-Mart today, and I simply couldn’t contain my excitement. If you aren’t familiar with deco tape (aka “decorative tape” or “kawaii tape” among many other names) then I suggest you start with Kelly Kilmer’s post about deco tape. You’ve probably heard me talk about deco tape before – I’ve certainly talked about Kelly before, and she is very much the source of this new infatuation. I’d been wanting to try it out for a while and when she was at Ink About It in December one of her classes was focusing specifically on deco tapes, so I jumped at the chance to try it out and play with Kelly’s massive collection of tapes. Let me tell you, I was SOLD. This stuff is enormous fun! Let me explain by quoting my own journal page: “DECO TAPE! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! (Ok, the reasons WHY!) ~~~ You can cover a mistake. ~~~ You are oh-so-easy to use. ~~~ Your transparent qualities are marvelous for layering with. ~~~ You take paint but only kinda. Which is just even more awesome for layering! ~~~ You are oh-so-affordable, especially now that I found Angoo. I ♥ Angoo. ~~~ Just a tiny snippet can say so much, even literally! ~~~ You are sticky and awesome! wait that came out wrong…” Okay, rereading this I realize that my journal page reads like a gushy teenage love letter, only written to an inanimate object. What can I say? I’m an artist, I’m SUPPOSED to be a bit crazy. :)

In case you’re wondering, Angoo-Mart is a China-based supplier that added me as a contact on Flickr a few weeks ago when I tagged some pages with “deco tape”. Clever social media marketing, eh? Since it was actually on target, I clicked over to their page, and oh man… I lost HOURS drooling over their selection. I kid you not! Hours! After much deliberation, I settled on the 40-ish rolls I couldn’t live without. (Yes, I AM a shopaholic.) Shipping came to about as much as the cost of the items themselves, but it was still a bargain compared to what I’ve seen on Etsy, and some of my favorites were ones I’d never even seen on Etsy. With shipping it came to something like $2.25 (American) each. I’ve rarely seen that kind of price BEFORE shipping. Seriously, I don’t mean to gush so much, but I’m totally knocked out by their prices. (No, I’m not being paid to say this – though they DO have a referral system of sorts, email me at bgoutal AT gmail DOT com if you’re interested in listing me as your referrer on a purchase, and I’ll look into the details.)

All in all, I am amazed by Angoo. They win big points for finding me in the first place, for their awesome prices and shipping speed, for their staggering selection of tapes, and for the free adorable plush monkey they included in my order. :) My only complaints would be that their site is fairly difficult to navigate, and they only have the shiny “packing tape” sort of deco tapes, not the “masking tape” kind. And if I were to really quibble, the tapes were a tiny bit dusty (presumably from warehouse storage) – but they were all individually wrapped so it’s really only a TINY quibble.

Feeling blocked, grumpy, frustrated, jaded, or generally “not into it”? Me too! I can get that way pretty often, so I’ve learned some good strategies for beating it. Some are artistically-oriented, good for loosening you up and getting you creating, others have nothing to do with making art. (Well, not directly; I think most artists will agree that almost everything has something to do with creating, any little thing can spark an idea, a possibility.) Any of these unsticking tricks can be employed to get you out of your funk and moving again; and not just on your creative projects. I find they often help to lift a bad or stuck mood no matter what it is I’m trying to accomplish.

1. Doodle. Doodling is a fantastic way to “warm up” creatively, a time-honored artistic version of jogging in place. Do it over a page in progress, do it on a blank page, do it on a piece of scratch paper and recycle it when you’re done. You can even use it as a way to test a pile of pens and markers to see if they still write, or how they will write on an unfamiliar type of paper. Don’t know what to doodle? Flip through an old clothing catalog or fashion magazine; look at textures and lines, look for patterns to repeat. Try making those patterns large and then small, orderly and then organic and messy. Fill a page!
2. Do some contour drawings. Another classic, contour drawing is a great way to improve your drawing skills AND to get out of your own way. Contour drawing is essentially exactly what it sounds like, drawing just the contours (or the lines) of an object, no worrying about colors, shading, etc. If you’re unfamiliar with this exercise, YouTube has some great videos tutorials on contour drawing. (I’m especially fond of blind contour drawings, where you keep your eye on the subject and off the page while you draw – the results are very interesting and often rather hilarious!)
3. Splash on some color. Sometimes it’s just the “blank page” effect that can get you stuck. That vast expanse of white can be intimidating. Pick a color, ANY color, and start laying it down. Quickly, don’t think about it too much; use the biggest brush you have – or try a brayer, a large sponge, or just a clean rag. Just bathe that scary page in something – anything. If you decide you don’t like it, you can just paint over it again!
4. Fingerpaint. On that note, I find a really good way to relax and stop worrying about Making Art is to go back to childhood roots and just dive in – literally. Just feel the paint, let the colors go where they want and let them speak to you – let your Muse speak to the paint. I find that getting visceral and tactile with art helps to open up some great lines of inner communication. (If you usually work with artist quality paints, you may want to spend a couple bucks on cheap non-toxic temperas.)
5. Consult an expert. Having trouble getting in touch with your inner kid for some fearless creating? Learn from the masters – actual kids! Go color or paint with your kids. If you’re childless, offer to babysit for some one, or volunteer at an after school program. Watch how they just instinctively grab a crayon and GO, not worrying if purple is the “right” color for a tree. They know.
6. Empty your head. Call it automatic writing or call it a brain-dump, a great cure for a head full of too many thoughts, ideas, and emotions is to just write it all out. Grab a pen, marker, pencil – whatever – and start writing. Whatever is in your head, pour it onto the paper, stream-of-consciousness. Fill an entire page with words; big and swooping, or tight and crammed together – whatever comes naturally. If you run out of space, rotate 90 degrees and write the other way. Keep going til your head feels nice and empty! The art will then flow into your head and onto the page. You can throw away your writing (or burn or shred it as a nice healing ritual) or use it as an element in your page.
7. Artistic crosstraining. If your usual medium is watercolors, try ripping up an old magazine and making a collage. If you normally do collages, grab a pencil and do some sketching. Like sports crosstraining helps build your muscles by working them in new and different ways, trying new media can help you to grow as an artist. And when you are feeling stuck it can be a great way to build some momentum, since you’re out of your element and more likely to cut yourself slack if it doesn’t some out that well.
8. Go for a walk. Another tried and true approach, this one is another “oldie but a goodie”. If you’re getting stuck on something, get up. Walk around, stretch your legs. If the weather is good, go for a quick trip around the block for a little fresh air and sunshine. Our bodies are made to move, they crave it, and your brain will thank you. (Personally, I’m a huge fan of Leslie Sansone’s Walk At Home workout videos – not just for weightloss, as they are intended, but for a pick-me-up. She has “one mile” walks you can do in 20 minutes in front of your TV or computer.)
9. Hydrate. Along with light or moderate exercise, drinking plenty of water is critical for getting plenty of oxygen circulating throughout your body – including the brain. Maybe it’s a bit of a placebo effect, but I always feel better after a nice cold glass of water. If you find the recommended 64 oz a day tough to manage, try getting a filter system like a Brita pitcher. I’ve found that filtered, chilled water makes all the difference in my ability to get plenty of good ole H2O.
10. Blast some tunes. Get some auditory funk-breaking stimulus. Tunes to your favorites radio station, pop in your favorite CD, or pick your favorite mood-boosting tune and have iTunes create a Genius Playlist. (Don’t have iTunes? Pandora.com will do something similar and create a radio station based on songs you tell it to use.) I like to keep a specific playlist in iTunes just for this purpose. I look for empowering lyrics and upbeat tempos, but you might prefer something more melodic and soothing, depending on what mood you’re trying to create.

I hope some of these suggestions help you out, artistic blocks are so frustrating – and always come at the most inopportune times! Do you have any other ways you break out of a blocked state, awaken your muse, or get the creative juices flowing? Please leave a comment – I’d love for this to turn into a big collection of block-busting ideas! :)

…try saying THAT three times fast! :) Today I want to share with you an interesting art journaling experience I had on Saturday. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in Kelly Kilmer’s online journal class, A Life Made by Hand. I’ve been using a lot of painted backgrounds, but have noticed a lot of folks in the group are limiting themselves more than that. When the subject came up on the discussion board Kelly pointed out “If ya’ll want to paint, stamp, -WHATEVER on the pages, PLEASE do it!!!! These are only techniques meant to GUIDE you. Nothing NOTHING is ever set in stone for an artist and for an artist’s creativity. If something tells you to smear paint on it, do it. If something says add a sticker or tape or whatever, do it!!” so I’m not fussing too much about marching (or painting) to the beat of my own drummer, but the other night I decided I wanted to give it a try, working “without wetworks,” as it were. So I set myself a guideline of only paper, stickers, tape, and pens (well, and gluestick of course!) and set to work. I had hoped to crank out tons of pages, as I set aside the whole day for this project, but found the limitation challenging enough that I only ended up doing four pages. It was surprisingly challenging, I had no idea how attached to my paints  – and to a lesser extent, my rubberstamps – I’ve become.

Today, I encourage you to set yourself a challenge, even a seemingly small one. Pick one color, and work only in shades of it. Journal only using cursive (or pint, if you usually write in cursive). Pick a magazine or catalog and make a journal page using only elements from that – including words. Raid your kids stuff and make a page using only their art supplies, nothing fancy. Have fun with it, and see how fun it can be to stretch your creativity in ways you’re unaccustomed to!

Just a quick and happy post to announce the winner of my giveaway! Using random.org, the winner is determined to be…. Barbara aka @penguintrax. Congrats, Barbara! Please contact me at b-goutal @ gmail . com (NO SPACES) with your contact info and I’ll get a Serendipity Pack out to you ASAP! (Sorry, I didn’t think through ending a giveaway the Saturday before a postal holiday, whoops!)

Click the image to view the full spread on Flickr. WARNING: Mom, Sis, and other close friends – please read this post before clicking through to the full journal page, so you’re aware of the content.

It’s been an interesting day. Last night, I only got about five or six hours of sleep, thanks to the wonders of modern technology (mainly in the form of  Twitter and Peggle on my iPhone). The day has largely flown past me in a sleep dep’ed timewarp of poking the internet and groggily eating my cereal. I did find a little time to do some art; finishing a journal spread I painted last week and added backgroundy bits to last night. It was hands-down the strangest journaling experience I’ve had to date.

You see, last night I dreamed about my father. He passed away on 11/25/09, after a couple of very unexpected weeks in the hospital. Two months later, and I am still in shock. I haven’t been able to journal about it until now, but I’ve known it was coming. Today, with shreds of my dream clinging to my psyche like cobwebs, the need to journal about it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d read about healing through art journals before, and have certainly been doing so on subtler levels for months now, but never before have I experienced the radical and raw feeling of switching back and forth from grief-stricken tears to the joy of an “Aha Moment”. Over and over, I sobbed, wiped my tears away, added a bit more, and then knew the additions I’d made were perfect because they set me to crying again. Agonizing and joyous at the same time.

I was hesitant to even share all of this, as it is so raw and personal. But art is meant to be shared, especially when it teaches. And I wanted – no, needed – to share with the world my experience of how ART HEALS. It’s a truth many artists have found, but it’s one that finds us over and over again. In the past few weeks, I’ve been reading Elkemay’s blog with interest and admiration. She recently lost her own father, and her bravery to create art about her loss and share it with the world has been an inspiration and a comfort to me. More so than I can truly express. It is my sincere hope that I can share a fraction of that with others by sharing my own experience and artwork.

Peace be with you today. ♥