Hannah Hoch and Mixed Media May Art Journal Page

This book has a surprise on pretty much every page it seems and when I turned to the pages showcasing Hausmann and Hannah Hoch it did not disappoint. Although the bio was a bit short on both, it gave me enough intrigue to seek out her history and I came to realize that she and Hausmann were both some of the beginning pioneers in the art of photomontage, which is a type of collage that I adore. 

Their history wasn't the impetus for this page, the gathering of strong women was. This morning, our bible study group had its year end luncheon and as I sat there looking at all the women, listening to their stories of grace, of survival, of faith, and of connection, I realized rather quickly how blessed I was to be connected with such a strong, loving group of women....and I couldn't wait to sketch the moment as to hold it in my memory with much regard. 

Graphite Sketch

As I sketched, I read the paragraph about Hannah that explained how she lived in an enchanted cottage, surrounded by vegetation, fruit trees, periodicals from the 20''s, and various and many types of ephemera, almost as a record keeper of sorts, and I felt an instant connection with her. She was much more than that, was a woman who had strong convictions in the feminist movement and disregarded societies concept of beauty a great deal. It was those traits that I found the sisterhood with her, her strength, her boldness of creativity, her determination to not follow the status quo, and her love of collage.

Black lined it with marker

As my own art journal page progressed I gave a lot of thought to the connection we women have and found that it is probably one of the most important things we share with one another. My heart also goes out to those women who aren't blessed with a group of at least one or two really deep friends, or who were not raised by strong, loving women. This makes life a much more lonely walk, not impossible, but one where the lack of support is noticed at times.

Added a wash and collage element

 I enjoyed this page, learning about these two Dadaist's and most of all, making a visual record of a connection and memory that is sacred to me. Art journaling is far more than drawing and painting, it is visual form of record keeping that moves the reader, or creator, past the point of ordinary into extraordinary living. I am blessed to know it.

Added watercolors, acrylics, ink, collage, tape transfer, and neon paint pens.

YOU CAN VIEW MY ENTIRE ALBUM OF ART JOURNAL PAGES ON MY FB PAGE

As excited as I am about this page, I am over the moon, glowing with pride, and pleased as punch to let you know I was showcased on the Mixed Media May website today! For the month of May a different mixed media artist is showcased and I was interviewed. It felt great seeing my words, ideas, and way of life on a page with so many accomplished artists and I am grateful for the opportunity to share my process with you all. It's a great place to find new artists to follow as well, check it out! 

MIXED MEDIA MAY WEBSITE

Art Journal Page - Testing Tools

Juliana Coles, art journal and teacher extraordinaire, teaches an online class called "Field Notes" and I am loving it!One of our exercises was to test out our sketch/journaling tools that we would carry around with us and use, so I dove right in making marks, making notes, and trying out some new combinations. 

Because I am using my newest altered book as one of my journals for this class, I opted for two pages that had pretty basic images of African masks, and then coated both with white and phtalo blue Golden fluid acrylics. I wanted a base of acrylic because I knew I would primarily be writing, drawing, painting over acrylic on most pages. 

After all was said and done, I learned a bit of unexpected insight in to the materials I thought I would love the most, but didn't. My Copics, Micron, and Uniball Vision Needle were great, waterproof, smooth lines, just loved them for pens. My Molotow white paint pen worked the best, but I was also surprised to find the Elmer's Painters Pens (found at Walmart no less) way better than I expected, for half the price and tons of colors. Graphite was a huge disappointment for me, but most likely due to the acrylic paint. I HATE F and H graphite, they are just too hard for me, but I love the B's, especially the 6B and 8B. What that tells me is that I am drawn to dark lines and really love lines that will blend at times. 

I also just got three water soluble graphite sticks in 2,4, and 6B, and when wet the create a wonderful flow of black pigment....totally yummy. My Pentel Gold and Silver pens wrote smoothly, and even a Bic pen didn't disappoint either. My Neocolor II sticks were the best 'crayon' like product, went on creamy, but when wet they took a while to dry and were very runny, so I know they will be better suited for paper, but as a crayon, they were great. Derwent Inktense were about the same, loved the crayon like feel when dry, but when wet they were almost too runny and require a matte medium to coat them or they will lift easily. 

I glued a flap onto the left of this page so that I could write my impression of each tool. 

The most unexpected product I loved was my Crayola marker (to the right of the larger figures face three orange horizontal lines). Went on smoothly, totally transparent, and next to my ChartPak markers which were way more expensive, they worked just as well. Glad to make that comparison. Overall, I know I will use most of these tools in my sketchbook, but I wont be using my F or H pencils anytime soon. 

Tomorrow I shall try a few products on a dry page, no acrylic, and compare and contrast the difference. If you are looking for an online art journal class that pushes you toward creating edgy, messy, fantastic life sketches I strongly recommend her classes. I am just in week two and have about 10 videos left to watch, amazing PDF's, and the fact that she, as the instructor is so involved in our class makes thrilled. I have taken many online classes, some really expensive ones from well known instructors, only to be really disappointed at the 'lack' of personal presence from them. Juliana makes herself part of the class, and I value that in a teacher. 

Looking forward to what the next lessons bring.....on to make marks. 

In Love With Color Lovin!

There are so many online art classes these days, wooohooo! Color Love 101, by artist Joanne Sharpe, is one I am taking for the next five weeks, and you are thinking....Ardith....with more color? Yep, I am in HOG FREAKIN HEAVEN with this group because it is simply a perfect way for me to play and dabble with a few new techniques while meeting some totally over the moon type of friends! 


Here is Joanne's painting, full of life, color, and love! My kind of painting gal! You can find out about COLOR LOVIN 101 HERE! and did I mention this 5 week course is only $35?
Some of you come join me, we will have more fun than we should, but it will be grand!

Joanne has been featured in umpteen mixed media magazines and here is a snippet of bio from here blog! Although, I have just met her, by the quality of videos and classes she offers and the great feedback she gives, she is by far a "Don't Wanna Miss Her Class" kind of artist. 

“Whimsical art maker” Joanne Sharpe is a colorful mixed media artist and enthusiastic teacher with a passion for art journaling, lettering, doodling and illustration. Joanne’s playful art has been featured in the popular publications Cloth Paper Scissors, Studios, Somerset Studio, Somerset Art Journaling and Somerset Apprentice magazines.

If you are at home and are thinking of taking an online art class I wholeheartedly suggest to start here. This fall I will be teaching two online classes that I am really excited about, "Write, Pray, Praint" and "Mixed Media Basics." Stay tuned for details this coming week if you are even the slightest bit interested! 


Here are two pieces I have done for the class so far, can you tell we are focusing in on color? Oh, the eye candy....Hope your day is filled with beauty as well friends! 

Negative Acrylic Painting

Hey Ya'll! Lately, it seems on Pinterest I am seeing a ton, and I mean a ton, of negative acrylic paintings floating by in my stream and I decided I would try my hand out at it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this type of technique, you basically pull an object or image out from the background by covering the background colors to 'reveal' the image in the foreground. Lots of mixed media pieces are using this technique on canvas and in art journals too! 


Because time was an issue with me, isn't it always?, I decided to give myself two parameters before trying this out. 1. I chose to paint small....really small, 4" by 4" on canvas board. 2. I only allowed myself 20 minutes from start to finish (after the background was dry.)

With that in mind I went at it, slinging paint on my little canvas in hues that appealed to me being careful not to 'mix' the paint but rather fill in with it. Once I was happy, which was didn't take long, I let the background dry. Once it was dry, I set the timer and began covering the background with layers to reveal the vase and table. I did use a Derwent Watercolor Pencil just to add some contrast but I simply painted quickly and loose. Once the dinger went off I stopped. 


                                 (second painting)

This process was a ton of fun. I could see working like this in large format with reckless abandon! After my little 'mini-shot' was done, I went ahead and did some research about negative acrylic painting and found several videos by Robert Burridge using this technique. Below is one showing his method of making a vase with flowers. He paints much bigger and looser than I do, but viewing the video showed me how I could change my approach, especially when I move up to a larger paper. I am really intrigued by him, his teaching style, and plan to spend some time tinkering with some ideas he shares. 

I do hope you consider trying out negative acrylic painting for yourself! Of all the processes I have learned to date, it is was one of the most fun and rewarding! I also am planning on sharing this in a Google+ hangout soon! 

Art Journal Love from Donna Downey

I happened to be surfing the net the other day for mixed media artists and women bloggers and came across the website of Donna Downey. Art journals, mixed media techniques, tips and tricks, along with product trials are what she is a master at and I especially love her Inspiration Wednesday video tutorials about how she completes art journal pages. Her personality and style if refreshing, she is down to earth, which I love, and her images are easy to see and learn from. If you are an art journal fan and haven't heard of her, you have now. I am off to view more videos, then to sling some paint or glue. Peace!

inspiration wednesday 9.21.11 from donna downey on Vimeo.

The Birth of Art(ology)

Art(ology) Gallery and Gifts 306 Dauphin Street

I often find it amazing how opportunity comes knocking at the door when it's least expected. Many times this has happened in my life, but because my health has been fragile, I had to watch those opportunities come and go. This past month was no different, except the winds of opportunity blew in and I was able to take them for a magical carpet ride you could say.....with the birth of Art(ology) Inc. William Chesser, who I never had the privileged to meet, but know he was so loved, created the Chesser Gallery at 306 Dauphin that seemed to have a unique spirit about it. Though the space went through a few transitions over the years, and after the Paper Wasp closed, I just felt in my bones it needed to stay a gallery, and be true to the spirit that William placed there. 

Now, starting a gallery had been a concept I had thought about a lot, but I knew there was no way physically I could pull that off. I knew that because of my spine and joint problems, I could not open and run a gallery by myself, it just wasn't possible. So, I started considering other options.  I had always hoped there would be a gallery in town that had a funky, eclectic vibe to it, and that it would be a co-op. The beauty of a co-op is that several artists with common goals join forces and help one another. It's in the bond of friendship and common goals that co-ops exist and are successful.  I had been part of the Cathedral Square Gallery co-op for many years, and as much as I loved it, I just knew a lot of my art didn't quite fit there.  So, I started putting the word out to find a small group of artists that wanted to take a risk and start one. I also put a ton of prayer into the idea, trusting that God would open the doors and bring together the right group of people. He did, and the birth of this little gallery on the square is cause for celebration.

Art(ology) Inc. has a unique feel to it. It's not a traditional gallery with only paintings by certain artists in specific places. Rather, the decision was made to approach this as more of a gallery/gift shop, because we felt strongly about several things. One, our downtown area has a lack of nice gift shops available for tourists and those who work downtown. Inside Up is a little gem on Beinville Square, and there are many galleries, but it just seemed that there was a lack of fine craft and gift shops available for the tourist/general market. Two, we felt that an emphasis on smaller, more affordable art was important, especially due to our economy and tourist needs. And three, we knew that a funky, eclectic type of spot would be a nice addition to Cathedral Square. 

This Friday night, the 12th, is Art(ology)'s grand opening during LODA Artwalk. It's an opportunity to celebrate with the artists, their friends and families, and welcome this new gallery to the heart of the downtown art market. I invite you to come out and share this opening with us. For me, it's because of a love for art, but mostly community, that gives me great motivation to paint through my pain on a daily basis. I relish in the thought of celebrating that accomplishment with many of you who have been so supportive of my efforts, and those I am passionate about. And, I want to make sure and thank the other artists, Gail Rancier Wilson, Marsha Sutton, Claire Noojin, Terri Keller, and Michelle Foreman Leech for working so hard to get us open. What beautiful teamwork we all have. Thanks, as well, to my wonderful son and and husband who made this possible for us....for you both I am forever grateful.

 

www.artologyinc.com and we are also on Facebook - Art(ology) Inc. 

21 Secrets - Best Art Journal Workshop EVER!

Every now and then an opportunity comes along that can't be missed, not for all the candy corn in October! 21 Secrets - An Art Journal Playground is being offered by Dirty Footprint Studios, which is home to one of my all time favorite inspirational artists.





If you are an art journal artist, one who MUST, I mean MUST, express yourself artistically through an art journal and are looking for new ideas and inspirations then this workshop is the pot of  gold at the end of your rainbow friend.  21 cutting edge artists, many of whom have been showcased in Somerset Studio, which I believe is like the holy grail for artists like us, will be teaching a workshop. That means, you get 21 different workshops, how cool is that? Three of my favorites, which honestly, they are all pretty great, are Connie Hozvicka, Hanna Andersson, and Lis Hoffman.

Now, you know how much I love mail art don't you? Lis Hoffman, author of the blog, Dandelion Seeds and Dreams,  will be teaching about altering postcards as part of your journal entries. Her blog is lovely, and I could spend many moments reading and daydreaming there.

Can't tell you how many friends have sent me the link to Hanna Andersson, author of iHanna's blog She is by far the queen of all things mixed media I believe. Got tissue paper, don't we all? She will teach techniques about how to use tissue paper as textures, layers, and basically everything in between, so looking forward to that one!

And....the host of 21 Secrets, Connie Hozvicka, artist extraordinaire at Dirty Footprint Studios, is here to teach how to get those elusive ideas that swim around in our heads at night onto paper, you know the ones.....that drive us crazy because we are afraid to go there. Yep, she teaches how to be Fearless, that in a nutshell is enough to sign me up...period.


Those are just three of my favorites, but there are 18 more, holy cow moly! You can read about all 21 HERE and get the juicy details about this workshop. Sign up begins tomorrow, the 20th. And why am I shamelessly promoting a workshop I am not teaching? Oh that's easy, because I believe this one is the "#1 Workshop NOT to miss!" out of all of them. And, on a more exciting note, this blog enters me into the drawing to get this workshop for free, along with one of you, so I am all in for sharing the love friends, cross your fingers!

Swapping My Art Story For A Cake - Brilliant!

Facebook can open doors unexpectedly, I am slowly figuring out, some worth walking through, and some worth running away from like your life depended on it. Thankfully, the door which led to the cake was well worth stepping through. You see, a few weeks ago a friend and fellow artist/teacher, Mary Elizabeth Kimbrough put out a call on FB for an artist to come speak to her art students at Bishop State and the payoff was a cake. I jumped toward the cake with pure excitement!

What I didn't realize, of course, was that she needed someone to give a 50 minute talk, so this would be no ordinary show up and answer a few art questions/mingle thing. I actually had to share a picture of my art journey as a presentation and that at first gave me great pause, cake or not.  The teacher in me had no problem talking to groups, in fact, I missed that experience quite a bit, but that was sharing information about academic topics, not about me, my art, my beliefs, my story, and the personal nature of this was daunting.....at first.

As I began to ponder what I would talk about, what these students needed to hear, and what part of my journey I would NOT talk about I realized I needed to know where it got started, my art path that is, and built it from there. Luckily, being the collector and pack rat that I am, I was able to dig up some art samples as far back as third grade, and proceeded to create a movie about how my art developed from childhood and eventually led to a full time art career. The walk down memory lane was beautiful and priceless, and I quickly learned that this experience was as much for my benefit as it was for those students or MEK, and I was grateful. 

Now, if you have ever been asked to give a presentation then you know things don't always go as planned, and this day was no different. There was a hibernation issue with the computer, a once in a blue moon fire alarm, and a rather warm upstairs. But, we just rolled with the punches and despite the interruptions, I felt it went pretty well. 

The students at Bishop reminded me so much of some of the students I had taught at younger ages. They were from all walks of life, some challenging more than others, but they seemed attentive and engaged in what I had to share. I chose to present my journey as one from a person who, despite life throwing me medical and emotional curves, made the best of what I was given. I knew I was an imaginative, creative child, but I was no art prodigy. I simply took the gift of creativity, and after going on disability, used it well, and am proud of that. 

After the presentation I went to lunch with MEK and we were able to get to know each other a bit better, which was another high lite of my day. Mary is studying for her PhD and by the way her students responded to her, I believe she is already a master educator, let alone artist. Her collages are bright, beautifully colored, but layered with meaning and background around a theme she is studying. It was her artwork that drew me to her on FB, and I am thankful that her artwork has now led to a friendship. I am surrounded by wonderful artists in my life and feel that is one way God shows me favor. They are some of the most intelligent, creative, and loving beings I know, and I am honored to know so many. After sharing with MEK's class, I said a little thank you prayer to the big guy upstairs. 

To me, art inspires all of us one way or the other, and I was able to inspire a few new folks with my simple story of being a creative, passionate person. I felt right at home that day, surrounded by students, by a fellow artist, by crazy interruptions, but most of all, by a common belief that art and life are beautiful and meant to be shared. That to me is the icing on top of the cake~!

MEK writes a blog where she shares her vast knowledge of art history, love of family, and beautiful artwork with the world. I encourage you to stop by and check it out. 
http://mekonline.blogspot.com/2010/04/thank-you.html

Here is one of her latest pieces of artwork as well:

And, here is the link to the movie I created and shared with her students. It's 18 minutes long, filled with relaxing, peaceful music and some interesting art, so I hope some of you will spend some time checking it out and let me know what you think. 
Peace Friends, Ardith
http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow?fl=3186943&alb=0