Unbelievable!

It is unbelievable and wonderful that Anne Bagby has released another great video,’ PATTERN & FORM: Advanced Collage Techniques’  Even more unbelievable is that I won one and other goodies in the Creative Catalyst Productions® drawing. I rarely win anything, and to win again after recieving a Citra Solv® honorable mention is almost unnerving. Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket. Okay, that would be pushing it and besides I would have to buy the ticket, which would constitute gambling. The most gambling I do is to put my blog and images out ‘there’ hoping that they will resonate with someone.

Anne’s new video is just as enjoyable to watch as her first one. Anne’s work is so intricate and layered with patterns that one would never guess she ever made a mistake, but she lets everything fly and does not mind showing her mishaps. She gives away all of her techniques for creating an amazing collage. Anne’s first video, ’Collage: Paper, Patterns & Glazing’ is also a 'must have' if you love Anne’s work as much as I do.  I am happy that I now own both and I have some new ideas to combine with my Citra Solv® creations.

Journal Extensions

Last week Roz’s assignment in the Strathmore Visual Workshop Course was to add extensions to our pages. I decided to continue with the pear theme. I started with spraying the background with watercolor and using stencils for the circles. I cut the page in half and hinged the loose edge with invisible tape to the page below it. I painted the pear with opaque watercolor and collaged the strips and print. The inside background is a combination of all the techniques mentioned above.

The assignment this week is ‘plein air’. This is not really my cup of tea. I may sketch something sitting on my porch sheltered from the sun and onlookers.

Art Journal Workshop

I am not a journalist so I have been taking the Strathmore Visual Journal Workshop Series. I have many old sketchbooks with notes and ideas, but they were precursors to paintings. The idea of putting so much work in a journal seemed unrealistic, since I needed to put that energy into my paintings. However, since I quit doing shows the art journal has become more appealing. Unfortunately, I discovered I do not have the casual mindset to dive in and start creating in my new journal. It is like a blank canvas that intimidates me. I need to think and plan what is going in it. The first workshop with Pam Carriker was easier for me because I was not involved with another project and was eager to get started. I loved the idea that she used her computer and scanner a lot. She had a definite motif of faces, which gave me a starting point. The second workshop was with Linda Blinn and she taught ideas for enhancing the journal with extension pages, pockets, stenciling and spraying. The current instructor is Roz Stendahl. Roz is a fantastic graphic designer and artist. Her attention to detail and organization is over the top, which awes even a fussy Virgo like me. As a result, she is a wonderful teacher. Right there to answer any question asked, Roz goes beyond what is expected with suggestions and advice.

I recently went to Whole Foods and sampled the most delicious and expensive pear I have ever tasted. I bought one and when I got it home, I could not bring myself to eat it without trying to paint it. I have been struggling with an idea for a subject for my first journal pages. A painting of this pear seemed like the perfect solution.

I created my background with the watercolor spray and stencil techniques we used in Linda’s workshop then painted the pears with opaque watercolor. Roz’s lesson included using collage. So I created my collage pieces on the computer (ala, Pam) and printed them out on clear labels, (I could have used vellum) and pasted them in my journal. Of course, the writing was also computer generated. It is far too intimidating for me to write on a page that I put so much work in.

One of my favorite followers is Robin Samiljan, who recently asked me if I still paint or do I only use my computer now for my art. Her question really made me aware how long it has been, since I have used a real brush to paint. Creating these journal images were a small reminder how much I love to do that. Thanks Robin.

Confused Anxiety

'Back To Square One Again'   4"x 4"                                   Eva Macie©

The weather is great today! I am so grateful for all the good in my life and having a son here to help me, but as the song goes, “every form of refuge has its price”. I should be outside pulling the weeds and pruning back the shrubs and ivy that has vigorously grown in this glorious weather. However, a word that I use much too often, I am glued to the computer that my son just tuned up and upgraded to Windows7. I am back to square one trying to adjust to this new platform. To top it off the Serif desktop publishing program I have been using has gone wacky and will not save all the work I have done this past month! A nice person from Germany, which I met on the Serif forum, has helped me a lot and suggests I upgrade to the newest program. (The devil in me wonders if in the updates includes a bug comes so you have to upgrade??). My son insists that I should switch and buy an upgrade of InDesign. I have a very old 2002 one that I have never used and I do not want to deal with outdated programs again. I downloaded a trial copy and the learning curve is something else! Needless to say, I am tired, confused and full of anxiety!  I believe the digital collage I created from some of my mix media images reflects my state of mine. I think I will turn off this computer, go pull weeds and meditate on it.