Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts

Monday, July 2, 2012

Book Review (and giveaway!): The Sketchbook Challenge


I'd like to introduce you to a wonderful new book
The Sketchbook Challenge
Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Achieving Your Creative Goals
If you've been following along here for a while you know I've had the joy of participating in the Sketchbook Challenge blog.  Our fearless leader, the talented, organized, and ever full of initiative Sue Bleiweiss has authored a book that pulls together the various artists (plus some) involved in the project. 

Each of us chose to work a sketchbook with one of the themes and create a work of art inspired by our work in that sketchbook. Sue then pulled a technique or two from each artist to highlight. 

This means that whether you like books for pure visual inspiration or to learn techniques there is something in it for you. Might I also say that there is something very pleasing to me in the books slightly smaller than standard size and rounded corners. No idea why but I simply love to hold it in my hands. I immediately chose the theme of "Circles." I love that shape - no idea why. It shows up in my work over and over.

It was wonderful fun to work with a theme over and over through the pages of a sketchbook. For this one I seemed to be attracted to pen and ink with only a little color thrown in here and there. Even when the lines ore doodled instead of tightly controlled it looks clean and crisp. I keep trying to look loose and free and wonderfully textured like so many of the artists I greatly admire but I always end up back here. It's not a bad thing.

The technique that Sue chose to pull from my finished artwork was screen printing. It's one of the most direct ways that work from my sketchbook shows up in my textile work. Ink doodles are made directly into thermofax screens and discharged or printed onto my hand dyed cloth and made into artwork. 


In this case circle scribbles and dot doodles were made into screens and both discharged, painted, and foiled onto the cloth. An amazingly lovely collection of shibori scraps (wish I could remember the artist's name) became even more circles in this piece. I have to say it was a lovely few days of playing with this design. 

I know you will love this book!
You can buy it at any of the following suppliers

And I have  question for you.
Do you use a sketchbook to work out designs for your artwork?
How?
In celebration of the book's release the following prizes will go to two lucky commenters!
 From Mistyfuse (www.mistyfuse.com)  A 10yd combination package of Mistyfuse that includes 6 yards of White and 2 yards each of Black and Ultraviolet and a Goddess Sheet.
Total retail value: $48!
and
 A $25 gift certificate to ProChemical and Dye
From ProChemical and Dye http://prochemicalanddye.com/home.php

comments close three days from now at the end of the day on July 5th

And if you missed it - go see the other reviews that have been posted and leave comments there and keep an eye out for the upcoming reviews as well. There are prizes at every stop!
June 26:
Jill Berry  http://jillberrydesign.com/blog/
Sue Bleiweiss http://www.suebleiweiss.com/blog
June 27:
Violette   http://www.violette.ca/
Kathyanne White http://kathyanneart.blogspot.com/
July 5:
Carla Sonheim  www.carlasonheim.wordpress.com/
Carol Sloan  www.carolbsloan.blogspot.com/
July 6:
Susan Brubaker Knapp  http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/
Diana Trout dianatrout.typepad.com
July 9:
Tracie Lyn Huskamp  www.thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com/
Judi Hurwitt  www.approachable-art.blogspot.com
July 10:
Jane LaFazio http://janeville.blogspot.com/
Kelli Nina Perkins: http://ephemeralalchemy.blogspot.com/
Posted by 158 comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, June 29, 2012

Jane Sassaman Book Review Tour

July is going to be a very fun month here at Lyric Art! It's going to be full of Artist Spotlights and Book Reviews and lots of fun giveaways. And it's not just me, there are wonderful blog tours and giveaways going on all over the place! The first tour, introducing Jane Sassaman's fabulous new book starts tomorrow over at Laura Wasilowski's blog. Stop by there then follow the new links each day. 




2
Laura Wasilowski



3
Jessica Sloan



4





5
Judy CoatesPerez



6
Jane Sassaman



7
Linda Teufel



8
Gloria Hansen



9
Melissa Peda



10
Susan B Knapp



11
Jacquie Gering



12
Weeks Ringle



13
SewCalGal



14
Jessic Kovach



15
Pam Matthews



16
Frieda Anderson



17
Pat Sloan



18
Jan Krentz



19
Anita Grossman Solomon



20
Lyric Kinard



21
The Quilt Show



22
Jane La Fazio



23
Free Spirit



http://www.freespiritfabric.blogspot.com/
24
Nancy Zieman





Posted by No comments:
Labels: , ,

Monday, June 25, 2012

The Sketchbook Challenge - Book Tour!!!


If you've been with me a while you know that I've been working with

We are a varied group of artists challenging our readers to get out their sketchbooks and draw. Skill level and confidence have nothing to do with it - the joy of putting pencil to paper is something I highly encourage everyone to experience.
Our fearless leader is Sue Bleiweiss and she's taken us one step further and has written a book titled (what else!?)
 The Sketchbook Challenge
Each of the guests involved in this project are going to tell you a little about their part in the book. I think you're going to love it! So stop by each blog on it's given day to read about all the fun stuff you'll find in this book and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win. Yup.  PRIZES!
June 27:
Violette   http://www.violette.ca/
Kathyanne White http://kathyanneart.blogspot.com/
July 5:
Carla Sonheim  www.carlasonheim.wordpress.com/
Carol Sloan  www.carolbsloan.blogspot.com/
July 6:
Susan Brubaker Knapp  http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/
Diana Trout dianatrout.typepad.com
July 9:
Tracie Lyn Huskamp  www.thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com/
Judi Hurwitt  www.approachable-art.blogspot.com
July 10:
Jane LaFazio http://janeville.blogspot.com/
Kelli Nina Perkins: http://ephemeralalchemy.blogspot.com/
Posted by 1 comment:
Labels: , ,

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Work In Progress: a really big canvas

A couple of weeks ago I had the extra leaf in my dining room table (it's a huge table - I love it!) and I had my padded print surface covering it - all ready to teach a thermofax screen printing class. Later in the day, before I put everything away I pulled out this gargantuan canvas and started playing with it.
It's been taking up room in my studio for months. I bought it on a whim - thinking it would be fun to just play with something so big. I love the freedom and the instant gratification I feel when I'm painting a canvas. As much as I love textiles - they can be time consuming. The plan for this canvas is to hang it on my bedroom wall - eventually.
Rain by Constance Pappalardo
I have a little painting I bought from Constance Pappalardo that I adore. Mine painting begins with the same geometry and colors but I think this first iteration is just a base layer. There is more to come. Eventually.

Don't forget to check out Artspark's next artist in the blog tour
Traci Bunker's
gelatin plate printing tutorial over at
Posted by 1 comment:
Labels: , , , ,

Monday, April 30, 2012

Artspark's MAY DAY tutorial blog tour

Welcome to Artspark's 2012 May Day tutorial blog tour!
Each of the artists has put together a wonderful little sets of instructions for you to follow.
Spark your creativity!


April 30 - Tracie Lynn Huskamp

May 1 - Traci Bunkers
Gelatin Plate Printing on Fabric


May 2 - Lisa Engelbrecht


May 4 - Melanie Testa
A Thimble Purse Pattern

May 5 - Lyric Kinard

May 6 - Jill Berry
The Layers of my Heart
Posted by No comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, January 27, 2012

Tutorial: Lovin' my Thermofax Screens

It’s my turn!
Artspark’s heARTfest tutorial blog hop

Let's make a sweet little valentine postcard
Valentine by Lyric Kinard
I’d like to show you how my little love affair with my Thermofax screens can be put to good use. 

I've had these collage backgrounds ready to go for a while. They are old watercolor studies (and I do mean old - like from 20 years ago!) that I've collaged with some worn out sheet music. I stuck them on with gel medium and then painted over them with some watered down acrylic paint. Gesso would have worked just as well. I just wanted to knock back the colors and the strong printing just a bit.


 Next I took my favorite black pens and doodled random hearts on paper, scanned it and printed it out in three different sizes. I was thinking of creating an overall background texture with this doodle. Nothing too regular or controlled or overpowering.

I send each print of the doodle through my wonderful Thermofax machine along with that green mesh fabric. The heat rollers burn the carbon in the toner through the emulsion coating on the screen.

It's almost magic how that happens. It's a little addicting.

I usually tape my larger screens to a frame to make them easier to deal with. When I'm printing yardage I like to be able to lift the screen with one had while it still has big glops of paint on it and move it to the next paint location.

Smaller screens are simply "bound" with duct tape to keep them from curling. 

I mixed up some pink acrylic paint - ProChem's ProFab textile paint, since it was within easy reach. I pulled out some cloth to play with while I was at it and printed away. I ended up only using the medium and the large screens for the collage. I got a little lazy and let the screens smudge on some of the prints. No worries.



Next comes some focal point imagery. I doodled some more hearts and then got sidetracked for MUCH too long - playing with funky new fonts (dafont.com) and words. I don't always have a plan in mind before I begin a project. 



Time for some more thermofax screens. I cut out words and arranged them on a piece of paper in order to maximize my screen material. The stuff isn't cheap so I hate to waste it. I made sure to leave enough space around each word or doodle so that I could cut out and tape them.

By the way - if you find yourself needing these screens, I've added them to my thermofax shop.


This time I chose a medium contrasting color instead of a lighter color. Purple just happens to be one of my favorites so purple hearts it is! When a screen is taped instead of framed. I like to use a foam brush and just mush the paint through the screen like a stencil.

Lynn Krawczyk has some fantastic video tutorials for how to do this - and she sells some pretty awesome screens!

Last step? Choose which fun message you want to share with our valentine. These are cut into 5x7 cards. I can write on the back, stick on a stamp and drop them right in the mail. 

Super SWEET eh?
Valentine by Lyric Kinard
And yes, dear readers, I do.
Valentines, Lyric Kinard
I love you!
Life is too short not to just say it out loud.




If you are in love with any of these screens you can purchase them here.

Hope you've enjoyed this fun little project.
Keep your eye out for

1/29/2012 Judy Coates Perez 
Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes
(my mouth is watering already)


1/30/2012 Kelli Nina Perkins
Felted Heart Soaps
(Is it just me or are they too gorgeous to actually USE?)
Posted by 4 comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)