Last Chances

Sad to leave friends Mary Beth Shaw and Joanne Sharpe after Art Unraveled but so glad I’ll be seeing them again soon at Art Is!!!

School is starting and I’m left scratching my head as to where the summer went?! I’m sure a lot of you can totally relate to that feeling.

BFF Nancy Lefko and I met for the first time IRL at Art Is last year after being online buddies for years!

I feel the same way when going to teach at art retreats. There is so much planning (already sending in proposals for next year) and build up before the retreats then you get there and have such an amazing time with art friends that you only once or if you’re lucky a few times a year, and the time is over in a blink.

 

It leaves you looking forward with great eagerness to the next venue when you can see your friends again!

Hamming it up with Kecia Frazee Deveney and Michael DeMeng at Art Is last year

Art Is…You is coming up in October. I’m looking forward to it with both eagerness and a touch of sadness as it’s the last big retreat of 2012 and I know I’m going to have an amazing time there.

On the subject of ‘making’ new friends, I’m really excited to be teaching my Busting Out-Self Portrait Journaling workshop at Art Is. This is the only place I’m offering this fun and personal workshop. Not only will we explore journaling techniques in 3D, we will also learn how to shade portraits in the easiest way possible. All of the face painting techniques can be applied to flat work but working on an actually dimensional face will allow you to see where shadows fall from front, side, and 3/4 views. It’s a great way to learn as we start with some cool long-necked wig forms and build layers similar to that of a journal page and then continue on to paint a portrait with all of the facial features already in place!

There’s still room in this workshop and I hope if you haven’t yet decided which workshop you are going to take, you’ll consider joining me for Busting Out!

 

You’ll also have a travel buddy for the trip home;-)

I’m also teaching Get the Lead Out! with some cool techniques using my Liquid Pencil Sketching Inks. This workshop is loaded with fun products (that you’ll get in your class kits) and fun new techniques to do everything from still life to portraits to journal pages!

 

If you haven’t yet stopped by to leave a comment to win one of my new stamps from my Poetic Portraits line there’s still time! I’m giving away 1 stamp for every 50 comments, giving away 4 so far and I want to give away more so spread the word!

Click HERE to leave a comment

Give It, Spill It, Work It

Wow. I’m just back from Art Is…You Retreat on the East Coast. If you have not ever been to a retreat I highly recommend it! The energy is unbelievable and you come home full of inspiration. The emails and texts have been flying back and forth since I’ve been back and it’s truly amazing to see people gathering courage to go forward with their artistic goals!

Art at the Speed of Life contributors, Seth Apter, Nancy Lefko, and Jodi Ohl

While there I had the pleasure of teaching in the same room as Diana Trout. She is amazing as is her art and she graciously donated a copy of her book Journal Spilling and a packet of special collage materials to give away on my blog!

Diana’s book is full of ways to let yourself go and play in your journal. I love her free approach that allows you to enjoy the process of making art and not worry so much about the process. She shares many ideas and ways to journal fearlessly and I’m excited for one of you to win this giveaway! So just leave a comment and on October 14th I will draw one of your names!

FIVE WORKSHOPS

Beginning October 15th I will be offering the last of my workshops for 2011. You can read about them HERE. I’m clearing my plate after this to concentrate on a couple of big projects so if you are wanting to take a workshop now is the time! They will run from October 15th-November 15th but I’m offering something I’ve not done before and that is video downloads come with the class! So you can keep creating all winter long. This is the last time I will be offering these workshops. To kick things off I’m going to give away your choice of one of the five to another name drawn from this post!

(If you have already signed up for the workshops I will refund the fee for one workshop if your name is drawn)

So, leave a comment and on the 14th journaling inspiration will be given away!

 

Ice Queen

Check out Jen Cushman’s new Ice Queen E-Zine! I’m honored to be the Superstar Saturday feature and couldn’t be more thrilled for the Jen and all of her acomplishments.

Jen is the author of

Click here for more info about her book

Jen is not only a fabulous artist, she is also a very savy business woman, she listens and shares her experiance, and she realizes the importance of family. All of these things are traits I greatly admire. So I hope you will check out ICE Resin’s new home.

I’m busy getting ready for Art Is…East Coast and worked on some sample pages for my Color Book Journal Pages workshop.

I will be bringing all of the materials I used to create these pages with me, so if you don’t have a lot of your own work to start with you can share some of mine and let your imagination take you from there!

It’s so fun to create a color book background first and then go crazy with color.

Who doesn’t love to color? You can completely reinvent your artwork and go wild with it!

If you are going to Art Is…East Coast in October I hope you’ll consider joining me for this fun workshop!

Last Chance

Well almost last chance! My last workshops for 2011 are coming up in October at Art Is East Coast! If you are interested in creating some awesome journal pages like these

Creating Color Book Journal

Reinventing old work to create new pages in your Art Journal

Reusing your own artwork in your journal pages helps you get the most out of the time you put into creating art. By making copies of previous journal pages and other art you’ve created, you continually have a great stash of collage fodder right at your fingertips! You are able to revisit your art in a totally new way and create pages that are uniquely your own. We will use black and white copies of work and other black and white journal fodder to create a color book style page that we will build on with paint, pens and water soluble crayon, completely reinventing the original work.

Class Kit-$10-payable directly to instructor at beginning of class

Includes:
  • Strathmore 140lb Cold Press Visual Journal
  • Copies of some of my own journal pages
  • Special collection of journal fodder you won’t be able to get anywhere else!
  • All paints, mediums and other workshop materials are provided
Students Should Bring:
  • Paint brushes, assorted
  • Water container
  • Palette of some sort (can be a paper plate)
  • Black and white copies of your own artwork
  • Black marker (permanent)
  • Graphite pencil

Register Here

or painting portraits

Behind the Face

We will create a mixed media background using a variety of techniques, developing a perfect 8×10 backdrop to add a mixed media portrait to. I will deconstruct the drawing of a face to make it doable by everyone. Behind the face we will explore ourselves, through journaling. Our ‘thoughts’ will then be covered up by the face we create as we work on a self portrait of sorts that anyone can do. I provide full support for all skill levels in this class, offering a variety of ways to add a face within your comfort zone.

Class Kit-$10-payable to instructor at beginning of class includes:

  • 8×10 hardboard premium artist panel
  • Collage fodder you won’t find anywhere else
  • Charcoal pencil
  • Blending Stump
  • My favorite white gel pen
  • Sequin waste
  • Wooden stick tool

Students Should Bring:

  • Water container
  • Palette
  • 2” chip brush (or other cheap wide brush)
  • Paint Brushes, assorted

All other paints, mediums and materials supplied by the instructor

Register Here

Now is the time to reserve your space at Danbury CT!

I also just learned that Americana Tuscana has extended the early enrollment discount of US$100.00 until September 30, 2011!! So if you want to join me in Italy now is the time to sign up and save some $$$!

Cortona Italy 2012

Cortona Italy

March 31-April 7, 2012

Liquid Sketching with Pam Carriker


 

Derivan Liquid Pencils are a relatively new medium that takes sketching to a whole new place! With different tints in both permanent and rewettable formulas, they offer a wide range of creativity and allow you to ‘sketch’ without picking up a pencil! I’ve been working with the creators of Liquid Pencil and am excited to have a line of new products coming out that make this new medium especially user friendly to Art Journalers. If you love the look of sketching but are unsure of your drawing skills, this class will give you exactly what you need to begin sketching in a journal made with hot press watercolor paper. For the more advanced student the sky’s the limit when you add this to what you already do and I will show you the many different techniques possible with this innovative product! I will be bringing my very own Portrait Sketch Stamps to use in class as well so there is nothing to fear if you don’t have much experience with portraits-you can literally stamp a sketch! As we gather memorabilia from our day trips, we will add them to the covers of our journals to finish off an artistic keepsake that will bring back the once in a lifetime memories of our time in Italy.

Supplies

 

Paint brushes-watercolor type

Watercolor brush with a refillable water reservoir

Small set (field type for outside/travel type use) of watercolor paints

Bone folder tool ( for scoring and burnishing)

All other supplies will be supplied by the instructor

Saturday  – Arrival in Cortona

-7:00p Welcome to Cortona wine and chocolate tasting at La Saletta.

-8:00p Evening dinner in Cortona at La Locanda nel Loggiato

Sunday  – Cortona

-9:00a-12:00p Morning Session

Class kits will be handed out including a signed copy of my book, ‘Art at the Speed of Life’

We will spend the morning session constructing our sketch journals using a binding method from my book, with a twist-we’ll add a pocket or two to the book for the memorabilia we’ll no doubt pick up on our outings. I will introduce my line of Sketch Ink from Derivan Liquid Pencil and we will begin to explore its properties and the tools we will use to apply it. No pencils here! Derivan Liquid Pencil is actual graphite in a paint-like form. My line of Sketch Ink products provides a user-friendly way to apply this medium in a more liquid form. Using both Permanent and re-wettable formulas, we will smudge, erase, lift off, burnish it and more.

-1:00p Lunch

-3:00-6:00p Afternoon Session

Now that everyone has had a chance to play with the Sketch Ink, we will begin our first journal pages, discussing our views on what Art Journaling means to us and how we each find ways or hope to find ways, to incorporate it into our daily lives. This will become the foundation for our pages as we layer various fluid media.

-7:30p Wine tasting

-8:00p Evening dinner

Monday  – Cortona

-9:00-12:00p Morning Session

Time to venture outside for inspiration! Taking our journals, Sketching Ink and Brushes, we will begin quick sketching without pencils as we capture the sights and sounds around us.

-1:00p Lunch

-3:00-6:00p Afternoon Session

The afternoon will be spent in the studio or on the grounds, completing our quick sketches and turning them into journal pages.

-7:30p Wine tasting Il Pozzo

-8:00p Evening dinner

Tuesday  – Florence

-Day trip to Florence with lunch provided

As we journey to Florence, we will gather memorabilia along the way, stowing it into the pockets in our journals. Quick Liquid Sketches will capture the beauty around us.

-7:30p Wine tasting

-8:00p Evening dinner

Wednesday  – Cortona

-9:00-12:00p Morning Session

Time to find a quiet spot to turn yesterdays sketches into journal pages filled with words, color, and texture.

-1:00 Lunch

-3:00-5:30p Afternoon Session

We will now gesso the front and back cover of our journals turning them into leather like covers and then add our  memorabilia in true mixed media collage form to create amazing covers for our journals.

-6:00p Tuscan cooking class & dinner

Thursday  –  Cortona
-Morning visit to outdoor market in Camucia
Fruit, vegetables, people, there will be no end of inspiration and a Quick Liquid Sketch can capture the moment so we can return to it later.

-1:00 Lunch

-3:00-6:00p Afternoon Session

Depending on how many pages you’ve already completed, it may be time to create a second journal. We will stroll outside and find lovely spots to capture the beauty around us and enjoy returning to the moments captured from the mornings outing.

-7:30p Wine Tasting

-8:00p Evening dinner

Friday  – Cortona

-9:00-12:00p Morning Session

Adding portraits to our journals will be the finishing touch. I will provide a number of ways to accomplish this that will suite the varied degrees of experience. Even if you’ve never drawn a face before, I’ll show you how to use my Portrait Sketch Stamps to create a one of a kind face. These were designed to work with the Sketch Ink and you will be amazed at how you can personalize the stamped image to make it truly your own.

-1:00p Lunch TBA

-3:00-6:00p Afternoon Session

Now is the time to share our journals within our small group. We are all friends now, having shared this once in a lifetime experience and as we talk about our art, finish up our pages, exchange email addresses and take pictures, we will know we’ve bonded in a special way through our journals and our art.

-7:30p Farewell Wine Tasting Dinner

Saturday – Departure

-Morning Check-out and departure from Cortona.

 

Register Here

Art Is…more doable!

Happy 4th! I hope you’re all enjoying the celebration of our nations independence!!

In September I’ll be teaching at Art Is and I just received word that for one day only-tomorrow-they will be offering $50 off the full registration! This is for one day only…

ON MONDAY using the coupon code JULY4

Here is a look at the classes I’ll be teaching there

September Art Is…You, Peteluma, CA

Art Is…on the West Coast

Art Is…Petaluma Inaugural West Coast Retreat

The philosophy of “Art Is…You” is to create a moment in time where artists, whether they be faculty or students, can come together to share in their passion for creativity. To create, self nourish, replenish personal creative resources and to nurture not only individual souls but the souls of those around them. Whether creating something is part of your daily routine or indeed the closest to creating has been using a glue stick – there is something for everybody.

In 2011, Art Is…You will celebrate its 5th anniversary

Behind the Face

We will create a mixed media background using a variety of techniques, developing a perfect 8×10 backdrop to add a mixed media portrait to. I will deconstruct the drawing of a face to make it doable by everyone. Behind the face we will explore ourselves, through journaling. Our ‘thoughts’ will then be covered up by the face we create as we work on a self portrait of sorts that anyone can do. I provide full support for all skill levels in this class, offering a variety of ways to add a face within your comfort zone.

Class Kit-$10-payable to instructor at beginning of class includes:

  • 8×10 hardboard premium artist panel
  • Collage fodder you won’t find anywhere else
  • Charcoal pencil
  • Blending Stump
  • My favorite white gel pen
  • Sequin waste
  • Wooden stick tool

Students Should Bring:

  • Water container
  • Palette
  • 2” chip brush (or other cheap wide brush)
  • Paint Brushes, assorted

All other paints, mediums and materials supplied by the instructor

The Art of Pursuing Portraits

Self Portraits Journal Style using Conte Crayon

Creating a self portrait can be intimidating if you’re not accustomed to drawing faces. The KEY is to remember it doesn’t have to be an exact replica of your face. You are creating the ‘essence’ of you, not a mirror image, and this workshop is intended to help you do just that.

You will learn some simple techniques that teach the tonal values of shading and be able to create a self portrait that reflects the inner you by combining journaling and drawing as we practice sketching and creating pages in a Moleskine journal using Conte Crayon, pencil, and a kneaded eraser. When you get comfortable with the technique we will move on to create a final piece on 140lb hotpress watercolor paper that you’ll be proud to frame.

Class Kit-$15-payable directly to instructor at beginning of class

Includes:

  • Moleskine Paper backed Sketch Journal
  • Matchbox set of Conte Crayons
  • Blending stump
  • Kneaded eraser
  • Creating Faces booklet by Pam
  • 9×12 sheet of hot press watercolor paper
  • Students Should Bring:
  • Favorite sketching pencil(s)
  • Photo copy of a picture of them, sized to fit nicely on a 9×12 substrate

Shades of Grey “Colorized”

A unique variation of my ‘Shades of Grey’ online workshop

Creating art within the Shades of Grey provides a wonderful opportunity to explore shading, tonal values and see your art in a new way. We will explore the varying shades of grey using both Faber Castell Brush Tipped Artist Pens and graphite pencil in varying shades, and spending time creating solely in the grey tones, working on shading, values and various was to create ‘texture’ with pens. Then we will go a step further when and begin to add color in the form of paint and water soluble crayon to create journal style artwork that’s only limited by your imagination!

Class Kit-$12.00-payable to instructor at the beginning of class

Includes:
  • Strathmore Bristol Smooth 5.5 x 8 journal
  • 3 pencils, in soft, medium, and hard graphite
  • Blending stump
  • Kneaded eraser
Students Should Bring:

Copies of previous work for inspiration, if desired

One set of Faber Castell Pitt Brush Artist Pens Manga Shades of Grey

Information on this set: Manga, Set of 8 — Faber-Castell Manga markers are recommended by leading Manga artists for their performance and range of colors. Waterproof, smudgeproof, lightfast, archival-quality ink contains a high proportion of pigment. Set of 8 includes five markers in five shades of gray with brush tip, one black brush tip, one black medium brush tip, and one black superfine tip in a durable plastic wallet. A leaflet provides helpful hints and advice on getting started.

Creating Color Book Journal

Reinventing old work to create new pages in your Art Journal

Reusing your own artwork in your journal pages helps you get the most out of the time you put into creating art. By making copies of previous journal pages and other art you’ve created, you continually have a great stash of collage fodder right at your fingertips! You are able to revisit your art in a totally new way and create pages that are uniquely your own. We will use black and white copies of work and other black and white journal fodder to create a color book style page that we will build on with paint, pens and water soluble crayon, completely reinventing the original work.

Class Kit-$10-payable directly to instructor at beginning of class

Includes:
  • Strathmore 140lb Cold Press Visual Journal
  • Copies of some of my own journal pages
  • Special collection of journal fodder you won’t be able to get anywhere else!
  • All paints, mediums and other workshop materials are provided
Students Should Bring:
  • Paint brushes, assorted
  • Water container
  • Palette of some sort (can be a paper plate)
  • Black and white copies of your own artwork
  • Black marker (permanent)
  • Graphite pencil

 

Date: Thursday, September 22, 2011
Location: California
Register Here