Art Making is Accessible to Everyone
If I may, if like to share a little something with you about art that might make it more accessible to you. Children are able to create art without fear. Put any variety of art supplies in front of the average child and they will have a blast. Put those same supplies in front of the average adult and your likely to hear something like, “No thank you, I don’t draw because I’m not an artist.”
Here’s a few things that might help you warm up to the idea of making art. Continue Readering »
Friday Link Share!
Three Good Things at Little Flower Petals
Journaling Through Your Injuries at Creative Write Now
Where do you get creative? at Lifehacker
List It Tuesday: Been There Done That at Daisy Yellow Blog
Creative Thinking Exercises for the Workplace at Chron
Packing for India at Urban Sketchers
Marker Review…..2nd Edition at Draw Doodle Decorate
Name that Pen at PENS PAPER INKS…WHATEVER!
This Old Notebook at Patrick Rhone
You Can Have my Notebook When You Pry it From My Cold, Dead Fingers at The Digital Reader
The Post Office at Collage Journeys
12 Most Inspired Online Resources for Creative Juice at 12Most
Pen Shows: The 2013 Philadelphia Pen Show Review at Anderson Pens.net
Robin Quivers gives Howard Stern a $1700 pen at Examiner.com
Writing works wonders: Personal growth, creativity among benefits of journaling for children at The Joplin Globe
F. Scott Fitzgerald on the Secret of Great Writing at The Passive Voice
51 Examples Of Matching Ink To Pen To Paper at Inkophile
Lisa Cargile’s Pencil Photography. at Pencil Revolution
Waterman Early Crusader at Fountain Pen Restoration
The Power of Handwritten Notes and Reminders at Journal in a Box
Myths About Our Right and Left Brains at Psychology Today
“Feels so nice, I’m afraid to use it”
It’s not the first time I’ve heard this – and to be truthful, I’ve said it a few times myself. You see, touch, or smell a fine new stationery product and all of a sudden you get this feeling that nothing you could possibly have to say is important enough to mar a single pristine page. But that’s just our inner critic trying to get the best of us.
Having the courage to put pen to paper is to be commended because many people don’t share the belief that everything we could ever wish to write is important. But I believe it is- at the very least, important to us in the moment that we are writing it.
In the art workshops I teach, I tend to focus more on the process of creating than on a finished product- because for many, the need exists to simply express themselves via art, writing, music, dance, without needing to be judged on the quality of their efforts.
Now go ahead and take the plastic off that fancy notebook sitting in your desk drawer and just write. Or doodle, scribble, draw… It’s all good. (Plus, you can always buy more.)
Image via LehtMoJoe on Flickr.
Picasso’s Sketchbook
“In the first weeks of 1907, Picasso took a slim little book – a since-battered leather wallet that was nothing much to begin with – and began to confide, day by day, his ideas about what could be done with the human figure. Sometimes the image was flat, wiry, schematic. Sometimes it had sculptural volumes, with plenty of ins and outs where ins and outs were called for. Only very rarely was a line crossed out, or a second thought as much as hinted at.” from an article in The New York Times
Want to try your hand at keeping a sketchbook? Here are a few articles to get you started:
The1901 Picasso sketch above was previously sold by The Court Gallery
Sandra Strait Reviews the Clairefontaine Graf-It Pads
We recently sent our friend Sandra Strait a Clairefontaine Graf-it pad to try out. She put this paper to the test by drawing in it with a multitude of different products including: pencil, colored pencil, alcohol markers, watercolors, drawing pens and more. Continue Readering »
Sandra Strait, Clairefontaine, and Rubber Stamp Madness!
From our good friend Sandra Strait (aka Molossus) of the blog Life Imitates Doodles.
“This is a picture I did in my Clairefontaine Carnet de Voyage travel album for a Design Team blog hop with Viva Las Vegastamps! They decided to use it as an advertisement for the fall issue of Rubber Stamp Madness! Yay, Clairefontaine! Your excellent paper made it possible!”
Congratulations! Sandra is well known for creating her amazing art with Zentangle inspired designs and patterns. You can actually read about the entire process that Sandra used to create this image in this post.
Sandra’s original review of the Clairefontaine Carnet de Voyage travel album can be found here.
Image above © Sandra Kay Strait.
Take a Community Art Walk
Since participating in the Lehigh Valley Art Wars last year, (a local live art competition) I’ve met and have become inspired by dozens of amazing local artists including Joey Gourniak, shown here in his Easton, PA art studio.
I had the opportunity to visit Joey in studio last weekend when he opened it to the public as part of the 14th annual Easton Open Studio Arts Tour Continue Readering »
Everyone is an Artist
Once I started calling myself as an artist, it’s interesting how many people have shared with me that they have no talent for art.
I beg to differ.
While art to some may be the ability to create 3D renderings of what the eye sees, I believe that art=creativity and that it doesn’t have to come at the end of a paintbrush. It can come in the kitchen when looking in the fridge and cupboards to see what you can “whip up” for dinner. It can come when planting a garden and deciding which plants should go where. Putting together a slide show presentation for the boardroom is most certainly creative as is juggling your schedule to get all of your errands completed this week.
I just wanted to make sure you received the credit you deserved. :o)
New Tools: Koh-i-noor Woodless Colored Pencils
Our friend Gail Young recently sent me an e-mail about these Koh-i-noor woodless pencils which I have yet to try. Her thoughts?
- Soft but not smudgy.
- Blend beautifully. Continue Readering »
Art Journal Inspiration from Daisy Yellow.
Daisy Yellow blog has long been an exciting source of art inspiration for me. Tammy’s art, and the infectious way she shares it via her various projects and creative prompts makes it easy to jump right in and start creating. In the following video, Tammy demonstrates and discusses creating a two-page art journal spread in an Exacompta journal.
Pastel Chaos in the Exacompta from Tammy on Vimeo.
This second video shows Tammy flipping through a half-filled Exacompta sketchbook, and I’m sure you will quickly see one of the main reasons I am drawn to Tammy & her work.
Flip-Thru Exacompta Journal from Tammy on Vimeo.
Not familiar with the Exacompta sketch book? You can read my review on my personal blog.
Friday Link Share
Levenger’s Junior Rhodia Circa Notebook at Pocket Blonde
Top 5 Micro Tip Gel ink Pens at Pen Addict
Today I made an Ink Reservoir! at Drawing with a Squirrel
Fond Memories of Maine at Pentamento
Books and other fetish objects at The New York Times
How to use a semicolon at The Oatmeal
Poll Results: What do you write in your planner? at Plannerisms
Art Journal: Sky Had an Intensity at Daisy Yellow Blog
Doodling: An antidote for digital distraction? at Flip the Media
Dot Webbie at Whatever
Colors to fall in love to at Feed Your Soul Art
Victor Hugo’s Ink at Quo Vadis Blog
Nib Head Skull at Missive Maven
Get Organized with Multiple Subject Notebooks at Writer’s Bloc Blog
Image above by Gentian Osman from Drawing With a Squirrel
Inspiration from You
Once in a while I hear of someone getting stuck- not knowing what to do with those pristine blank pages in a new journal. Last week when I asked people what they would do with a new Webbie if they were a lucky winner in our recent contest, they responded with some truly wonderful ideas. If you didn’t get the chance to read through the comments from that post, I’ve assembled them all here for you – maybe you might want to even print it out and slip it into the back pocket of your notebook for inspiration? Much thanks for everyone who responded.
B Irwin: I was thinking of starting a new manuscript, but practicing calligraphy by writing out verses from my faith is tempting, too.
JustJay74: I will use it at work to jot down all my notes and ideas.
Sam C.: I hope to use it for my architecture drawing class in the coming school year Continue Readering »
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!
Super Fan Elsa covers her iPad in Rhodia!
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 »
