Artspark Winter Tutorial Bloghop

Are you ready!!!!??? The fabulous ladies at Artspark begin our winter round of free tutorials for you to follow. You don't want to miss this!

November 9:^: Jane LaFazio Sketch & Stitch Gift Bags   

November 10: Lyric Kinard Glitter, Glisten, Glimmer: Beaded Snowflake Ornament

November 11: Tracie Lyn Huskamp

November 12: Melanie Testa

November 13: Traci Bunkers Moldable Foam Stamps 

November 14: Diana Trout Japanese-Style Fabric Wrap(Furoshiko)

November 15: Judy Coates Perez Folk Art Inspired Ornament 

November 16: Kelli Nina Perkins Whimsical Spool Garland  

November. 17: Lisa Engelbrecht Experimental Lettering

November 18: Jill Berry Geo Papers and Projects  

November 19: Gloria Hansen Resizing an Image the Easy Way 

While waiting in an airport

Foto/Fiber 2012 and ACS fundraiser

Once again Virginia Spiegel is working her magic. 

She makes the world a better place. I'm so honored to be part of her project to raise funds for the American Cancer Sociery.

How Does Foto/Fiber 2012 Work? 90 Photos AND 90 BONUS Fiber Surprises Beauty and Mystery Unite to Fight Cancer 1. Ninety beautiful and inspiring photos by Virginia A. Spiegel Hope is the winged bird(with apologies to Emily Dickinson) All photos are 7x5" and mounted to archival acid-free 1/8" foam board. Each is matted with an archival mat to 10x8." Each photo is titled/signed by me and packaged in a clear envelope. Only three of each photo will be available. I do not plan to offer my photos for sale online so this is a one-off opportunity. All photos will be available for preview no later than February 14, but I will be featuring photos on my blog and here periodically. 2. Ninety BONUS Fiber Surprises from an amazing team of fiber artistsAll BONUS Fiber Surprises will be mailed directly to you by their creators in a Size 0 (6x9") bubble envelope mailer. This is the size in which a CD fits nicely. Each artist will be donating from one to three BONUS Fiber Surprises. I asked the donors to make the BONUSES wonderfully wonderful, creative, and unique. You might receive a small work of art, handpainted or dyed fabric, screen printed Lutradur, vintage kimono scraps, a small original screen for printing, dyed embroidery thread, a small bundle of "magical" raw materials, etc., etc. Check out the list of generous artists (links are to their websites/blogs); you know your BONUS will be just that: Natalya Aikens Frances Holliday Alford Pamela Allen Sue Bleiweiss Nancy G. Cook Jane Davila Vivika DeNegre Diane Rusin Doran Jane Dunnewold Jamie Fingal Leonie Hartley Hoover Leslie Tucker Jenison Lyric Kinard Susan Brubaker Knapp Lynn Krawzcyk Jane LaFazio Susan Lenz Jeanelle McCall Linda Teddlie Minton Karen Musgrave Gail Myrhorodsky Karen Stiehl Osborn BJ Parady Cate Coulacos Prato Yvonne Porcella  Wen Redmond Sue Reno Susan SchrottCynthia St. Charles Lura Schwarz Smith Sarah Ann Smith Terri Stegmiller Mary Ann Van Soest 3. Drawings for Fiber Art All patrons of Foto/Fiber 2012 will also have the opportunity throughout Foto/Fiber to win fiber art generously donated by: Leonie Hartley HooverLyric Kinard Lynn Krawczyk and Yvonne Porcella: Teal Flower for OV, 6x9" mini-quilt . The drawing for this artwork will be from the 90 patrons of Foto/Fiber 2012 whose lives or the lives of ones they love have been affected by cancer. (I'm thinking it will be all 90, no?) and Mary Ann Van Soest: Yellow Barns II, 18x24" quilt The drawing for this artwork will be from all 90 patrons of Foto/Fiber 2012 once we meet our goal of $7000 raised for the ACS. Gold Donor Day: Wednesday, February 15 10 a.m. Central - 3:00 p.m. Central Make a minimum donation of $100, choose a photo and choose a BONUS Fiber Surprise by a specific artist from the list above. Thursday, February 16 10 a.m. Central - 3:00 Central (or until SOLD OUT)Make a minumum donation of $50 and choose a photo; your BONUS Fiber Surprise will be chosen for you at random. More specifics on how to donate directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause will be available no later than Monday, February 12. Help us spread the word about Foto/Fiber 2012 Questions? E-mail me at Virginia(at)VirginiaSpiegel.comFiberart For A Cause

In the Studio... packing for a trip

New Hampshire are you ready?

A QUILTER'S GATHERING

Here I come!

Things get kind of crazy when I'm getting ready to teach. For every class there is a day (at least) of ordering, shipping, gathering, and packing supplies, printing hand-outs, figuring out inventory, and hoping against all hope that even though I've checked my lists ten times I'm not forgetting anything.

Something New - watercolor

Sometimes you need a change of scenery.  You need time away from "the usual" in order to refresh and reset. That's what vacations are all about right?

Sometimes I get so bogged down with deadlines that my usual art loses its joy. When everything I'm making seems to be class samples and things that other people want I feel that wonderful creative edge slipping away.

Time for something new - at least new to me. I'm taking a watercolor class through our town. Low key, I already have the materials. I admire the other artists here who do such interesting things with the medium and I've wanted to try it out for a while.

learning about washes

I'm pretty confident when it comes to playing around with new techniques. But sometimes I need the extra push of a class to force me to take the time to sit down and give it a try.

Learning how to paint a tree

My dad is a watercolor artist - so it's both fun and a little scary to pick up the medium he's so accomplished with. My long term goals don't involve becoming an accomplished watercolor artist, I still am in love with textiles and can't see that changing any time soon. But this is refreshing.

Trunk - by Lyric Kinard

I firmly believe we should all try something new once in a while. Play. Put unexpected things together. Let them foment and mash and mix up together and see what new thing emerges from that growing artists' brain of yours.

What things do you do when you are in the slump?

What kind of things are a refresher for your artists' soul?

The Long View: Making Bad Art and Becoming a Good Artist

DREAM by Lyric Kinard

There are some things I'm good at, and some things I'm not.

I've always loved music and trained on French Horn with the intention to play professionally at some point. Eventually I chose to stay home with my children instead. I didn't come to art until after my children were born. My formal training in the visual arts is limited although in my chosen medium (textiles) I've done fairly well.

Thing is, I can work a textile piece from concept to finish without ever picking up a pencil. Drawing was always something my siblings did and I quietly envied.

I think it's taken a while, but I've finally grown up enough to realize that the things I'm not good at are simply the things I've put no effort into learning and practicing. I'm sure my horn playing in 6th grade was not a pleasure to listen to. It took lots of practice. Lot's of scales and arpeggios before I could belt out a Beethoven Sonata.

Each card with a face - each face a step on the road

Looking back over this year it's easy to understand that progress only comes when you are placing one foot in front of the other on the path you want to travel. You can stand by the side of the road and whine about how hard it is and how nobody ever offered you a ride or how tender your poor feet are. And you'll still be in the same spot you where when you started.

You toughen up your feet by walking my friend. Sure - it hurts and you get tired. But at least you're moving towards your destination.

bad art

As an artist - are you moving towards your destination or are you standing by the side of the road whining? I've been slowly walking down the path, one faltering step at a time. Perhaps a truck came barreling by and knocked me off the road for a bit and I needed a minute to catch my breath. 

getting better

An amazing thing happened when I turned around and looked down the path. That long view back over my shoulder surprised me. I've come a lot further than I expected.

We all have fear. The road to becoming an artist isn't easy and you don't get there in one giant leap. You plod along one step at a time. I'm an artist who wants to be able to draw. I've been taking one step at a time. I've made hundreds of little sketches of faces now - most are unrecognizable as the person I was drawing. But it's amazing, comparing my beginning sketches to what I'm doing now, at the progress. I'm nowhere near the destination - but I've come a long way.

Are you so afraid of making bad art that you haven't stepped onto the path? Realize that every ugly thing you make is taking you one step closer to your masterpiece. 

My article in the Sketchbook Challenge Ezine is about just this. You've got to make bad art in order to become a GOOD ARTIST!

It has a few short and simple exercises that will help you take a few steps along the road to becoming the artist you envision yourself to be. Take a look. It's crammed full of all kinds of fantastic articles and tutorials that will help you along this road.

For Your Inspiration: Sailing

 

Last Saturday I got to do something I've wanted to do for ages - go sailing.

What I didn't know ahead of time was that it wasn't any old day on the lake - it was RACE DAY!

Here is Mr. Almost Perfect and Boy Child while we're tacking at the line up.

Early on we were in second place - until the jib sail ripped. Oops. 

(and apologies if I got the terminology all wrong)

I wish I could have gotten some sort of picture that captured the feeling of ripping around from one direction to the other, heeling (or is it keeling) all the way over as the spray flies alongside. One minute your seat is level several feet above the water, the next you're either almost sitting down in the water or way up in the air. I did a little rope work - and would love to learn more. Love the adrenaline rush. Love the wind and the waves and the water.