Monthly Archives: July 2009
What is your ‘Safe Harbor’? Do you have a place to go where you can be yourself, your true self, the self the world only gets glimpses at? Melange on Etsy has the weekly word prompt up and it is ‘Harbor’. My first thought was to add the word ‘Safe’ . A port in the storm. My ‘Safe Harbor’ is my journal. It is where I can work things out, experiment, paint right over the top of it if I don’t like it, just as I did on this page. I started it with a sketch in a reddish brown pencil. I didn’t really like it but I moved on. Later I went back and added a few layers of paint right over the top. Then because I could still see the sketch I drew it again right over the paint. working, reworking, layering.
This next set of pages started with a sketch also, then I added some PanPastels for some color. They are really soft and lovely on the Moleskine sketch paper. Then I poured some feelings onto the page. My college bound son wants to get an apartment with his cousin, who is also his best friend. Another empty room in the house? Will I be his
‘Safe Harbor’? This will take some more journaling to work through…
This is a favorite saying, ‘She believed she could, so she did’.
I remind myself of it,
I wear it on a necklace,
I pull it out when I need to hear it again.
This piece was done mostly with PanPastel on museum quality sanded pastel paper.
19 comments | posted in art challenge, art journal, harbor, melange team, mixed media, panpastels, portraits
March ’08
It’s finally here! My first work published in this months Cloth, Paper, Scissors. Laurie Blau-Marshall got to see it first and called me last night. She was a sweetie and scanned it for me and my issue arrived today. What a feeling opening a favorite magazine and seeing your work in there. I hope I will be able to work with them in the future. I love their publication and inspiring articles. Thanks for all of the happy dancing with me, this is a great start to an artistic 2008. Mine are the three collages on the bottom half of the page and the letter next to it.
Joining Seth Apter’s quest for ‘Buried Treasure’ gave me the opportunity to go back to the early posts of my then fledgling blog and recapture some very special moments. The most memorable and what I consider the start of a whole new venue in my art life, was the publication of my first work. Was it only a little over a year ago? It hardly seems so as so much has happened since. With the validation that came with this first little publication, I was encouraged to submit more work and the result is over a dozen articles and publications that have followed. I was even honored with a Guest Artist feature in The Stampers Sampler. And the most amazing thing, each time I find out something is going to be published I do that same little happy dance! Each time it makes me want to do more, to strive harder, to stretch my artists soul to that next level. I did not know I could write articles for magazines, I just knew I wanted to be fearless and try. I set goals for myself and did not let myself off the hook. When one goal was met, I added another. I think when you truly want something you will go after it. You will find your way. You will do things you never thought you could do.
February ’08
I just posted a new slide-show featuring pages from my first artistic journal. I officially finished it this week. No white spots left! It was a wonderful experience for me and I have learned not to be afraid of a blank page! It was intimidating to me at first. But I jumped in and just learned along the way. Now I am so excited to start my second one! This has been an valuable tool in trying out new techniques, documenting happenings in my home life, my artistic life, and just plain fun! I take it with me on airplanes, doctors appointments and school pick ups. It isn’t perfect, but that’s one thing I learned along the way, IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE!!! I kept going back to pages and adding things which was really fun, but I am ready to move on to Book 2.
This first journal taught me so much and now I’m starting journal #13! When I submitted some pictures from the first one to Somerset, they contacted me about doing an article in the inaugural issue of Art Journaling. It was a little scary letting go of my first journal and allowing it to be used without my having control over it, but the end result was one of my favorite features and I am thrilled that they are even using more of that journal and some of a journal I did this year for the latest Art Journaling due out September ’09. Journaling is such a part of my art life, I don’t know what I did before I started. My views have totally changed about it. I am no longer striving to make ‘perfect’ pages, I am just enjoying the process of it and letting the pages unfold before me. I love it so much that I am sharing my passion in two online workshops, and still journal almost daily. If you haven’t added journaling to your art life, I would highly encourage it. I don’t look at it as yet another ‘thing’ to do, this is something I do for me. I share about it because I want people to know how truly do-able it is and how to fit it into your daily routine, making it a habit that has untold benefits.
So what are your buried treasures? Have you looked back from whence you came in awhile? How did you get to here? Art is a journey. It does not stand still, it is continually evolving and taking new directions. It is important to look back to fully appreciate the path we are on.
29 comments | posted in art journal, cloth paper scissors, collage, creative workshops, laurie blau-marshall, mixed media, pam carriker, seth apter, somerset studios, stampington, the stampers sampler
Some days don’t you get a bug to do something different? Last night as I was working in my Moleskine, I realized I only have a few pages left. It is almost full. So I started to look back through it and as always, some pages I love, some are OK, and some I still don’t think are finished. I sat there looking at a couple of pencil sketches and wanted to do something out of the ordinary for me, so I added a little Frida and Zettiology pizazz. It turned the ordinary sketches into something unexpected.
I had so much fun doing something daring, and still keeping my style and even colors. I am going to spend a little while going back through my journal and adding to some of the pages until I am satisfied and they scream ‘no more’! to me. I really love this stage of journaling, adding the final layers. The pages keep evolving, hardly ever finished in one sitting, stages of completion until there is no more.
13 comments | posted in art journal, frida, mixed media, pam carriker, portrait, zettiology
I have so many things to share with you! The Sisterhood of the Traveling Canvas has begun their own Blog!! We will be sharing in a sisterly fashion, all about our art journeys and include information about where we are going, what we are doing, glimpses into our art and personal lives, and lots of artsy goodies along the way. This blog will be all about sharing our love of Art and each other. We hope our little community will inspire you to create your own little communities, to share in the joys and sorrows of an artistic life.
The first order of business over there is to begin spreading the word about our contribution to aid the fight against Breast Cancer. We have joined The Pink Team 
and offered up the lovely canvas AND the journal that are featured in the current Somerset Studio! They will be raffled off in a very cool way. This cause has become near and dear to my heart as my step mom was diagnosed right at printing time of our article. It was our intent to auction the work and journal off for a charity right from the start, but when I shared with my sisters of my step mom’s diagnosis, they stepped right up to the plate and agreed to donate our proceeds to this worthy cause.
We would so love to have you stop by our fledgling blog and follow our journey right from the start. We will be including a post showing the never before seen pictures of the canvas in progress with some thoughts from the
participants.
11 comments | posted in alisa nordholt dean, art, denise hayden, glenda bailey, jodi ohl, kathy maximo, kim geiser, mixed media, nancy lefko, pam carriker, sisterhood, somerset studio, stampington
Ooops, was that a typo? Not really, this lovely medium is called Pan Pastel’s. I just love them so much I call them Pam’s Pastel’s:-) They are lovely, ultra soft, artist pastels that come in little cakes or pans. I often use them with other mediums, for a soft touch to
backgrounds or for quick coloring in my journal.
What I had not done before is to create a portrait using only the pastel’s, no paint. It gives a totally different feel to the work. Very soft looking, slightly out of focus. Lovely. And so fast you won’t believe it! Perfect for journal work.
So this morning I decided to do a little video tutorial for you! It took a total of 23 minutes from start to finish for this portrait, and that includes fiddling with the camera, so you can see it is fast. There is no dry time, no mess, and quick coverage.
This is the portrait at the end of the video
This is the finished portrait. I used a little charcoal and some water soluble crayon on the background, the face is done only with the pastels and graphite pencil.
10 comments | posted in online workshop, pam carriker, pan pastels, portrait, tutorial, video, youtube
What is your ‘Safe Harbor’? Do you have a place to go where you can be yourself, your true self, the self the world only gets glimpses at? Melange on Etsy has the weekly word prompt up and it is ‘Harbor’. My first thought was to add the word ‘Safe’ . A port in the storm. My ‘Safe Harbor’ is my journal. It is where I can work things out, experiment, paint right over the top of it if I don’t like it, just as I did on this page. I started it with a sketch in a reddish brown pencil. I didn’t really like it but I moved on. Later I went back and added a few layers of paint right over the top. Then because I could still see the sketch I drew it again right over the paint. working, reworking, layering. 
This next set of pages started with a sketch also, then I added some PanPastels for some color. They are really soft and lovely on the Moleskine sketch paper. Then I poured some feelings onto the page. My college bound son wants to get an apartment with his cousin, who is also his best friend. Another empty room in the house? Will I be his ‘Safe Harbor’? This will take some more journaling to work through…
