Stark Raving Newbie's Adventures in the Art Salon

Oh, Mexico!

2008-08-06T01:29:00.000-07:00

There's that background again! This is the same "failed" alcohol/dye ink experiment that became the moon in my 'Tango' cards. Here, I toned it way down and made it look old fashioned with the editor on Photobucket.

Adding Lucia and a metallic border was almost anti-climactic to me, but I still like it.

Whipped Cream & Other Delights-Herb Alpert & the TJB

2008-08-06T01:21:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite albums and cover art of all time.It seemed perfect on my Ranger Adirondack alcohol ink background.

I'd been holding back from posting this because I have a bunch or these out in a swap, but I'm sure everyone has received them by now. My parents had this record. I always wanted to be that girl!

Still More Tango!

2008-08-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight Sue and I had the ultimate privelege of working together without a time constraint and zero interruptions! Absolutely amazing!

I made a few more Tango cards. Sue challenges me to cut paper images "perfectly". Well, look at the arm on the far right lady: I chiseled the poor dear!! This is gonna take some practice and new spex!

Mistakes - ya gotta love 'em.

2008-08-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

Learning from my mistakes:

*sigh* I loved this background so much. It's absolutely LUSH. And it was the word 'lush' that led me to put Janis Joplin on the card.

Papers: I am just now getting the hang of using the right papers for the job. Look closely at Janis. The adhesive (I don't remember what I used. Probably Uhu stick)created streaks in the image. Live & learn.

Inks: Know what you are working with! The only mistake I made with the gold ink (floral area) was using it without knowing what it was. I won't take all the blame, though. The unopened tube said Tsukineko Dauber Duos, with no mention whatsoever of the medium contained therein. Never again.(Today, through a little Googling, I learned that these are indeed pigment inks. Why not print that info on the little tube rolling around the studio?)

I still love this project idea. Maybe one day I will rework it with the right stuff.

Revisiting "Tonight, We Tango"

2008-08-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've received several requests for more info about the process on this card, so here goes:

It all began with a "failed" experiment when I stamped dye-based ink on top of an alcohol ink background:

I scanned it and uploaded it to my (free!) PhotoBucket account. There, I was able to play with the image a little bit. I put the image into a pre-fab astrounaut helmet, only because I like glass globes and this was as close as I could get to one on PhotoBucket.

From there, I cropped the image, eliminating the astronaut part as much as possible.

And though I did not use this in my ATC, I experimented a further by "bulging" the stamped image a little bit. I think it looks cool.

I then printed the image on Bristol (nothing special about my printer or inks -- remember, I am a Stark Raving Newbie!) and cut it out. I inked the edges PRIOR to adhesion (lesson learned).

Voila! I think I am re-inventing the moon!

Art Salon Blitz!

2008-08-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

There is bliss in losing oneself in art!

Sue's fabulously brilliant hubby Dan (who graciously drilled out the chocolate beads I bought) is off traveling for work this week. That means more Art Salon time for me and Sue! We met yesterday and we plan to do it again on Tuesday night (my day off work, yay). My own fabulously brilliant hubby will be home with our children so that I can be free!

Now I think I understand why so many crafters stick wings and party hats on things!

I have been meaning to share this with you: I joined a swap on the Yahoo Group called artisttradingcards and I wound up receiving a card from Sue Harrison! How funny is that! Here is her entry and I love it!

When I was about four years old, I attached my own personal "message from God" to sightings of a white butterfly. I've told my children about it, and it makes them happy too. Often they come to me excitedly saying, "I saw the White Butterfly!"

Tonight, We Tango!

2008-08-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

Here's one of the many things that came out of the Art Salon today!

Liquid Blue

2008-08-01T03:08:00.001-07:00

My ATC entry in the Arty Girlz Challenge #45 "Blue"

This is an Adirondack alcohol ink background on pearlized glossy card stock.
Printed surfer silhouette - Ranger Glossy Accents
Edited on Photobucket's program

Rock, Paper, Scissors

2008-07-30T01:41:00.001-07:00

Another late night and I spent it gluing origami paper to some pebbles. I like them. I think I'll make a small bowl full of them.

Digital Fun - Warped Warren Wallpaper!

2008-07-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

Sue gave me a fabulously foxy photo of her brother Warren from the 1970's. I could not resist increasing his Groove Factor! I've had the pleasure of meeting Warren once and ladies, he's even better-looking now!

Upstream

2008-07-29T02:48:00.001-07:00

Paper doll mermaid. Do click the photo for a better view.

Mug Shot

2008-07-25T12:41:00.001-07:00

Coffee is a hugely big deal to me. See how perfectly it mixes with art...

Sue and Nancy kept me up til 3am.

2008-07-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

Sue gave me the image of this beautiful child and Nancy showed me an excellent toot on gel/acrylic medium transfers, so here's my entry. I made the heart embellishment with UTEE. The whole shebang is on top of one of my alcohol backgrounds (yes, yes, yes, it's PHOTO PAPER! At least I knew better than to heat it this time! LOL) I used a lot of coppery metallics, but they just don't scan very well. *sigh*

Can I go to bed now???

xx/oo

typoGenerator -- cool toy for free!

2008-07-22T09:38:00.001-07:00

Check it out!!

http://www.typogenerator.net/

Look what my Nancy sent me!!

2008-07-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

"The Music in Me" by Nancy Torsen

I just LOVE this! Thanks, Nance!

UTEE Black & White 1st attempt

2008-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

This was sooooo fun! I can't wait to do more!

If you're a newbie like me, you'll want to know:

I used:

UTEE = Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel in Clear and Black
Embossing Powder in White and Gold Sparkle
Suze Weinberg's Melting Pot, Kool Toolz and Non-stick Craft Mat
Wilton shape cutters

Here's a YouTube Demo with Suze Weinberg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1mrH8_87_M

A page from my art journal...

2008-07-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

PS: The Crafty Chica is Kathy Cano Murillo and here is her website: http://www.craftychica.com/welcome.html

I'm not crying yet...

2008-07-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

...but it is just not my day in the studio. Impatience, ignorance and more impatience added up to wasted time and supplies. Grrr.

I usually post pics of my mistakes, but it's a swap secret thang and ...oh...just GRR!

Beautiful idea...first few successes...this is gonna take a long time! I grew impatient and came up with a time-wasting method, destined to waste good ink, too. Well...before it all smeared, I tried my old stand-by of "just cover the whole thing with UTEE!"

Can you say fire extinguisher? Well, it was close.

So, I moved onto beautiful idea #2 for a different recipient. Different mood...one I know very well and have worked many minor miracles with. And it went so well until we got to the heat booth (okay, it's a cardboard box that keeps my UTEE from flying all over the place when I heat it). My ATC began to crumple like a shrinky dink!!

It took me a moment to realize what I had done: In my grand tradition of "Take what'cha got and make what'cha want", I had used photo paper instead of gloss card stock for the background. Oy.

So, I scanned what could be salvaged and played with it on my lame-o photo editor. What looked ok on-screen did not print so nicely -- even on very nice glossy paper. *sigh*

I know who could help me with this, but he is asleep. I just feel like a real dork and I earnestly desire to have one small success before I call it a night. Wait. That could be a factor...lack of sleep, I mean. I worked until 4am today and here it is 1:20am again (not late for me, but I am getting tired).

I truly love life. I'm sucking really hard, but the marrow is elusive (temporarily!).

Thanks for listening.

xx/oo

Mirrored Card Stock!

2008-07-16T10:25:00.001-07:00

Like many of you, I find it a challenge to find glossy card stock offline. So, I bought a couple sheets of poster board and cut them up. One of them has a glossy pearl finish while the second one is mirrored! Yes, it has a shiny, mirror-like finish! It does not scan well -- everything you see as black in this image is actually shiny mirror! Whee!

I've made some interesting backgounds on the mirrored surface using alcohol inks from Ranger. On top of that, I did an all-over bg stamp of faux crackle, using Staz-On opaque white ink. Exciting stuff!!

I'm just having fun. Hope you are too! Thanks for stopping by!

Glazing Challenge - Experiment #1

2008-07-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yay! I had so much fun with this! What we have here is a large piece of watercolor paper (about 9 x 12") with a good 8 - 12 layers of acrylic glazes in warm colors.

I used images printed on regular printer paper. I am finding that they do not hold up well under glazes. Next time I will print on gloss & see whether I can glaze that with better luck.

Thank you for looking! I really appreciate your comments and constructive criticisms.

Art Salon Sunday July 13th

2008-07-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Somewhere along the line I never really learned how to rubber stamp well. So I worked on just stamping. I stamped up a bunch of ATC backs and that helped me to gain some confidence.

Sue uses a pad of very firm Fun Foam to stamp on and it makes a big difference in the results. Put some muscle into it!

Our challenge for next meeting is an altered book technique (worked up ATC-sized) of layering glazes and ephemera. I am very excited to try this technique!

Background Intrigue - Glossy cs + Sharpies

2008-07-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today's questions from Cassandra Cushman on artisttradingcards prompted me to get out my Sharpies. I thought I could gently blend this into an ultra-hip bg, while carefully retaining the colors.".

I said 'carefully'... but I had a "Juicy Lucy" on my blending tool and the first smear made apparent that my plans had gone awry! Good thing my 6 year old was there to say "Keep going, Mom!" We liked the result and named it "Dark Pearl

BG Challenge

2008-07-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

I am pleased with this one! This is not something I would have done without the challenge from Sue to use her background! (BTW, the lady is Lene Lovich.) I went for big contrast and I think I got it! What do you think?

The other background? Sorry, Sue -- I think I killed it! If you're really curious, it's here: http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b383/hula_skirt/BrennaJunk/ATCSFBusStop.jpg

Sue's Acrylic Antiqued BGs

2008-07-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Oh boy! Sue Harrison gave me these two bg's to work with -- another challenge! The style here is all Sue -- just gorgeous! --but I am supposed to work my own style on top...I'll keep you posted!

During our last Art Salon, Sue made some truly amazing backgrounds using acrylic paints and (I think) a glazing medium to thin out the color. She was using a distressed paper -- if I knew which companies to credit, I would!

Sue promised to write as soon as she can, but she has had her hands rather full in the last two weeks.

Tropical Experiments

2008-07-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

These are alcohol ink backgrounds. I love them so much that I had difficulty about covering them up!

I think the koi pond worked out well enough. I printed images from the internet and slicked them up with some acrylic pearl medium. Voila.

Same thing on the Hawaii card. Acrylic highlights on a printed image.

The Tiki Dude has such great possibilities, but needs to be re-worked. My effort to outline him should have been done prior to adhesion because I made a mess! Again, I love the background so much that I didn't want to cover it (not such a good thing). Take a close look in the lower right for a frightened mermaid figure!

I love the colors~

The good news is that I had nice success with some items I cannot post yet due to swap secrecy!! ~~Stay tuned~~

Sue Harrison

2008-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

I can't adequately convey to you the heart of Sue Harrison. She is an incredibly talented multimedia artist. She's a designer and teacher with a Midas touch! I have asked her to give us a summary of her career...and the minute that's in, it will appear here!

For now, let's talk about her generosity: Our Art Salon meetings take place in her studio, where she shares every tool and supply without hesitation. She says to me "Don't buy anything! I probably have it!" LOL So I call her before I buy supplies for us.

Sadly, we all have to stop working to eat now & then. Sue usually makes us a wonderful lunch to share before we go back to work with "fresh eyes."

And of course, every studio needs a mascot! This little darling is named Calamity.

Kooks and progress

2008-07-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems I am making some progress. The 'oops' experiment from the other night actually dried, so I went ahead and used it as a background for this handsome gent.

I went further to try a set. The results are varied. I used glossy paper to print the image and then Inksentials Glossy Accents to adhere them to the card. I don't have a brayer, so Mr. Kook is a bit lumpy here & there, but I think it adds character. Some of the images covered in ink look pretty good. but the final one seems lost altogether! I poured a LOT of blender on him, but I think he's a goner. LOL

About last night.

2008-07-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I've always said that I needed an ink tutorial. Last night proves it. It was an 'oops' experience.

Not only does nothing stick to a packing tape transfer, but I only had a dye-based ink pad to work with and it refused to dry. I even added some UTEE -- because I don't have any reqular embossing powders -- and that held the ink beneath the UTEE in place, but I know there's a better way. BTW, this is on glossy cardstock.

Another experiment last night may have yielded better results. As Suze Weinberg and Tim Holtz from Ranger teach, you can color clear UTEE with alcohol inks before melting. (Never add alcohol ink to a pot of melted UTEE! You will create fumes instead of art!)

I added Adirondack alcohol ink in metallic copper to a small anout of clear UTEE in a small jar and stirred until it was well mixed and dry. Then, just to experiment, I embossed this image on a cardstock that is more like watercolor paper.

It's a real learning experience! The textured paper is not the best option for a complex stamp. And I think that embossing of any sort would look better on a simple stamp or one could to a UTEE dip (but that's another story).

I can barely see the copper color in the UTEE because of the bold balck inked image.

Hands-on learning is really adding to all the tutorials I have read and videos I have watched. I get really happy when I think to myself, "This isn't working. I need________." It means I am learning.

Alcohol Inks for Newbies

2008-07-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Eager to try alcohol inks, Sue and I have watched online demonstrations by Tim Holtz from Ranger and gave it our best shot. Sue made these before our meeting and she said she was not so sure about it. I find her color combinations quite pretty, but I do think she needs to keep her hand in it until she finds her comfort zone. The quick-drying, clean results seem well-suited to Sue's artistic style.

I rolled up my sleeves. I dabbed. I smooshed. I knew that there would be a breakthrough.

It came -- I remembered seeing Tim squirt inks directly onto the non-stick craft mat and then dragging the paper through it. So I gave it a shot. I was using greeting card glossy stock and found the size too large to work effectively in my small, evaporating puddle!

Sue graciously cut some ATC-sized cards for me and I was back at it. I felt quite pleased with this! I called this set "Fish Tank"

And the card on the left here looks like squooshed rose petals. It's very lush and rich. I called this "Gypsy" and we'll just see whether it ends up bearing Gypsy Rose Lee or some other gypsy imagery!

Style Challenge -- The Swap!

2008-07-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

So much happened at our meeting on the 29th that I am having to break it up into little chunks to post it all!

We finally got to swap our Challenge ATCs! Remember, the challenge was for each of us to prodruce one ATC in the style of the other person. I called it "If I Were You" and Sue called it "Pretending I'm You" either way, the results were...challenging! LOL

Here's what I made for Sue. I tried to be precise and methodical!

I dabbed bleach onto cardstock for the background. I printed the mother/child image on onionskin paper (THAT was a challenge in itself) and layered it over a strip of subtly shimmery gold paper as a mat. The silk bits came from an actual antique sewing kit the size of a matchbook and the sealing wax in the upper right is melted crayon! Hey "Take whatcha got and make whatcha want!"

Now here's Sue's entry: Remember, my own style is very mess-cat. So I told Sue that I still thought this was very tidy LOL She said "Yes, but these are COLORS I would never have used on my own!" LOL I love it!

I asked Sue for permission to publish her emails and artwork. Sue? Could you please describe your work for this ATC?

Challenges are just that: CHALLENGING!! We both agreed that this was hard to do, but we each are hungry for the next challenge!

Art Salon Sunday June 29th

2008-06-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos for now. We had so much fun!

Sue Harrison and Brenda Harkness

Great minds flock together!

Style Challenge

2008-06-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

At our last meeting, Sue and I decided to challenge each other:

Since our styles are so vastly different, we will each try to make an ATC in the style of the other person. Swap deadline is this Sunday, June 29th. We have both completed the challenge and are very eager to see the results (which I will post here, of course).

On my first attempt, something happened. I began working in a very orderly manner, making a bleached cardstock background, trying to "be" Sue Harrison...but as I worked something in me rebelled against Order and uh...well, just take a look!

Art Salon - or How did I ever get so lucky?

2008-06-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia: A salon is a gathering of men and women to participate in formal and informal discussion centered around a specific topic. A salonnière, the woman who ran the salon, decided upon its central preoccupation which may include politics, literature, art, fashion or business. This type of gathering was held in the drawing room (salon in French) of the salonnière's home.[1] The participants sought to increase their knowledge through conversation and readings, often consciously following Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "to please and educate" (aut delectare aut prodesse est). The term salon is commonly associated with French literary and philosophical gatherings of the 17th century and 18th century, though the practice continues today in many cities around the world.

A few years ago, I experienced a synergetic explosion in creativity. I'd found an art friend! We met online at the same time my co-worker was introducing us offline. It was meant to be:

Sue Harrison and I now meet at least once a month for our Art Salon. I hope it never stops!

Sue is incredibly creative and talented in so many realms. Together, we share ideas and work on challenges and swaps or even shop for supplies or take a class together! What I love most about working with Sue is that our styles are entirely opposite: Sue is very orderly, carefully arranging a layout before committing it to glue. And me? I slap it all down and hope for the best. We work well together!!

Here I will share my ideas and processes, as well as notes on activites at the Art Salon. You'll see my work, Sue's influence and swaps from all over! Even though we meet at Sue's house, the Art Salon is a state of mind and you are welcome here!! So, put down your paintbrush and hang out a while!