A Long Way to Rhodia
Josh Woolas sent us this Rhodia cover doodle which immediately reminded me of the 1975 song, It’s a Long Way to the Top (If you want to Rock & Roll) by the Australian rock band AC/DC. I’ve added Josh’s image to our Cover Doodles photo page and if you’d like your photo to be added to the gallery, send to: stephanie@rhodiadrive.com.
Link Share Friday!
10 Science Fiction Books that Changed the Course of History at i09
Consolidation at Unposted
dotWebbie Review at A Penchant for Paper
vessels at Le Vie Graphite
Pen Collectors of America at Whatever
Scenes from Tibet at Flickr Blog
Rhodia Bloc No. 120 Rainbow Notepad at Pocket Blonde
The New and Improved Monthly Giveaway at Office Supply Geek
Week in the Life ~ Sunday at Nordljus
Exacompta Sketchbook Review at The Well Appointed Desk
Farewell Exacompts Sketchbook 1 at Ontheroad
Fun Making Pocket Shrines at Art Full Musings
August Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper is Here! At Peaceable Writer
Original Art above “Spin” by Stephanie Smith, your Rhodia Driver. All Rights Reserved.
Ever try watercolor paints? Here’s a few tips to get you started.
When I was first wanting to try watercolors, I somewhat skipped over the student grade paints which are more binder than pigment, and bought the artist grade paints I read would work best in the long run. Since the artist grade paints are higher quality, (more pigment than binder which means better coverage, better mixing) I think they are easier for a beginner to use- but they will cost more. I believe there are quite a few people who have tried then given up on watercolor paints because they didn’t seem to act as expected – and that’s likely due to the paints being used – not due to operator error. Continue Readering »
Share with a friend?
Yesterday I gave a few Exaclair products to a new artist friend whose work I’d been admiring for a while. He ran his fingers over the smooth surface of the Clairefontaine Triomphe paper, and exhibited his appreciation for its quality.When I handed him a large orange Webbie, I asked him if it was something he could use and his eyes lit up as he exclaimed, “Yes! I pay good money for products like that!” For years I have been communicating via the web with people who appreciate the quality of paper they use for writing and art creation, but to see someone in person be as happy over paper as I am? Joy! Sterling Witt is an amazing artist /musician who promised to send me pictures of what he creates using the paper and inks I gave him. In the meantime, check out his website here.
Who will you share some Rhodia with?
Comfortable Shoes reviews the Graf-it
Have you tried the Clairefontaine Graf-it pads yet? Leslie from the art journaling blog Comfortable Shoes did – and she loved the paper! “I have to say that this paper is amazing. Though it’s only 90g (41lb) it’s super sturdy and accepts a lot of media without issues. It takes some serious effort to get stuff to soak through. When I say stuff I mean ALL the stuff I’ve tossed at it.” (See picture above.)
Leslie did not however, love the staple bound pad with it’s perforated pages and even went as far as to suggest that this paper would be warmly welcomed in a bound version – like the Webbie. (Hmmmm, SketchWebbie? I wonder…) You can read Lesli’s full review of the Graf-it pads here.
Send me your Rhodia cover doodles!
I think it’s about that time again for you all to send me pictures of the way you’ve personalized the covers of your Rhodia pads, Webbies, or anything Rhodia. Send them to me at: stephanie at rhodiadrive dot com with “Rhodia Cover Doodle” in the subject line and I’ll put together another photo page to show off everyone’s handiwork.
PS: Thanks Alex for sending me this picture of your tribal Rhodia!
st|ART: Tammy’s new e-zine with a focus on art
I consider myself to be a creative person and often feel if left to my own devices that I’d forget to eat, pay my taxes, and sleep. I mean that when I get in the zone, I get in the zone. I will sit and create for such long stretches that my legs will cramp up and I get dizzy from not eating. I always thought I was alone in this madness until I started reading Tammy’s blog, daisy yellow. I’m not sure how she does it, (though I highly suspect superpowers may be occasionally called into play) but this woman appears to run circles around me when it comes to creativity. Her blog is a plethora of everything I love. Art, art supplies, beautiful photos, tips, and a whole lot of creative encouragement. All in all, Tammy simply rocks! So when she sent me a note telling me about her new e-zine st|ART, I wanted to make sure all of you knew about it as well. If you are wanting to venture into the world of art journaling and need some guidance, Daisy Yellow is the place to be and st|ART will most definitely keep you inspired!
Big thanks to Tammy for showing us how she worked on the name of her zine with Herbin’s Bleu Pervenche in a Webbie!
Friday Link Share
- Entranced with Inks at daisy yellow blog
- Journal Prompts from Philosophy at Writing Forward
- Mind Wisdom (by kimscreations) at Art Journaling
- Good News! at The Pen Addict (Congrats Brad!)
- A little Goulet Christmas Present at Ink Nouveau (Congrats Brian & Rachel!)
- Paper Mate biodegradable test at Dave’s Mechanical Pencils
- Drawing Conclusions: Documenting every building in New York at Web Urbanist
Some of our favorite Facebook Pages
- Rhodia Drive on Facebook
- Office Supply Geek on Facebook
- Goldspot Pens on Facebook
- Strand Book Store on Facebook
- Tom Bihn on Facebook
A few cool Etsy Shops
- AgentObsolete on Etsy (Vintage Cool!)
- Abby Try Again on Etsy (Gorgeous Photographs)
- Jessica Doyle on Etsy (Whimsical Art)
- Fee Bean Art on Etsy (This one’s mine!)
Using PanPastels in your Art Journal
Last summer, Bernadette Ward from PanPastel sent me some of their products to play with. Different than traditional stick type pastels, PanPastels are in cake form and are typically applied to paper through the use of different sized sponge applicators. Continue Readering »
Friday Link Share
Size isn’t everything (Rhodia Inspired?) … at The Well Appointed Desk
Art Journaling Without Rules at daisy yellow
A Tale of Fate at 365 Drawings Project
Rhodia No 38 Dot Pad (AKA The Monolith) at Writing and Scribbling
Inspirational Logs Booklet (by mizjadeadams) at Art Journaling
Collecting Points at La Vie Graphite
42 Fiction Writing Tips for Novelists at Writing Forward
Writing Less, Drawing More? at Strikethru
Journal Pages at Judy Wise
First thing I bought in Amsterdam? Paper! at Missive Maven
The Addiction Explained at Penned House
Journaling Benefits for Cancer Patients at Journaling Saves
Letters, Lists, and Letteras at Little Flower Petals
A Magic Dinosaur at Feed Your Soul Art
Daniel Smith Watercolor Sampler at Spiritual Evolution of the Bean
More Vintage Drafting Leads at Lung Sketching Scrolls
How to Erase Colored Pencils at Art is Fun!
Rhodia No 38 Dot Pad (AKA The Monolith)
Monogamy or Polygamy?
Most of you may know what a “Big Love” I have for paper- though I am not married to a specific brand. To me, there really isn’t a single product which meets all of my art and writing needs. What about you? Continue Readering »
Crayons for Grown-Ups
If you think you might enjoy a fun and simple tool to create art, try the Neocolor crayons made by Caran d’Ache. They come in waterproof (Neocolor I) and water soluble (Neocolor II) versions. Each are highly pigmented and super smooth. They are not at all the waxy bits you remember from your childhood. The Neocolor II’s are way cool because you can use them like watercolor paints! Draw on paper, run a wet brush over the painting and viola! Portable paint! You can also try dipping the crayon into water then drawing with them, or touching a wet brush to the tip of the crayon and then painting with the brush.
I’ve had a set of the Neocolor II’s for a few years and though I’m not using them every day, they have lasted a long time. I especially like using them on darker paper. I am looking to get a set of the I’s, to see what kind of art experiments I can come up with using a waterproof crayon. Maybe use them under acrylic paint? The II’s are easier to find and come in various sized sets. You can typically buy them at specialty art stores. I’ve only been able to find the Neocolor I’s online from a few of the specialty stores. Sooner or later I’m going to just bite the bullet and get a set. A 30 piece set of either will set you back about $48. The Blick near me also carries the II’s as open stock – so you can buy a few in your favorite colors just to try. (About $1.75 each)
Have you ever tried these? Do you think you would want to? You know that blank Webbie is calling you….
Image © Stephanie “Biffybeans” Smith All Rights Reserved.
Orange Train Engine #6272
Back when I was in high school, (1984ish) I watched a program on PBS about graffiti as an art form and I’ve never looked at it the same way since. There are trains that run through my town and if I am in one of the local parks where they happen to pass through, I’ll sit and watch them as they go by just to look at the graffiti. In some ways, it makes me sad because I see such beautiful art and wish the people creating it had access to a legal way to express themselves – though perhaps this is a chosen way of self expression because of it’s ability to be seen far away from where it was originally created.
What are your feelings on graffiti art?
Image courtesy of Flickr member ohkayor
Art Journaling: How to Create an Affirmation Mandala
People often ask me how to create a mandala of their own and one easy way I know to do it is with words. This is a mix of my personal affirmations but you could make one with anything that has meaning to you. A prayer, a famous quote, or simply a single word repeated over and over. (Such as peace, hope, breathe, strength, etc. ) You could try writing it with different colored markers, or change the size of the letters as you write- there is no wrong way to do it so just have fun with it! This one was created in a blank Rhodia Webbie. The page was first painted with black gesso (an acrylic based primer) and then I used a white gel pen to create the mandala.
Image © Stephanie Smith All Rights Reserved
Friday Link Share
I hope you all have a wonderfully inspired weekend. Here are a plethora of links to get your creative juices flowing.
Writing Tips for Crafting Compelling Sentences at Writing Forward
Five Hundred and Fifty Five at Judy Wise
Journaling is fun…right? at Journaling Journeys
Top 10 of 2010 at A Penchant for Paper
Inked Swirls at Daisy Yellow
Catching up with my heartbeat at Original Bliss
Link Love: Creative Blogs (New to me II) at iHanna
Cream of Broccoli Soup with Bacon and Cheddar at A Thousand Soups
Paying Attention at The Happy Painter
Review: Post-It Flag Pen at The Pen Addict
Four pencil and paper-clip ‘bugs’ at What I Made
From the Mailbox: Testing Pencils at Pencil Revolution
Rubber Stamps: Typewriters, Ephemera, Etc. at Strikethru
I can’t stop buying (or mixing) ink! at Paper and Hand
Custom Nibs and Expectations at An Inkophile’s Blog
Beautiful Abandoned NYC Subway Station at Web Urbanist
10 Uses for Spare Notebooks at Notebook Stories
Chop Chop I Have my Own Chop at Whatever
Getting the most ink into your fountain pen at Ink Nouveau
Graffiti Art at mescrap studio
Rhodia Reverse Book at Pocket Blonde
New Pens and Inks at Drawing with a Squirrel
