Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Watercolor Bliss and the Artspark Winter Tutorial

This is my favorite time of year. It's gloriously colorful here in North Carolina.
I have a little time for being with family and art making.


I took time out this morning to play with paint and color.
Now it's time to get to work. I spent yesterday unpacking from the last teaching trip and cleaning out part of the studio. I've got a tutorial to get ready for you all!


But you don't have to wait for me. One of the reasons I'm beginning to love watercolors along with textiles is the inspiration I get from the fabulous and beautiful, Jane LaFazio. She's got a lovely little tutorial up on her blog for making these unique gift bags.
Go.
Be INSPIRED!

Imaginary Creatures

One of my favorite artists and illustrators is named Omar Rayyan.
Fluffy, by Omar Rayyan
I love his slightly twisted and humorous imagination.

Contessa with Squid, by Omar Rayyan
 I smile whenever I see his work.

Courtship, by Omar Rayyan

 I don't have his prodigious experience and the natural results of his due diligence with pencil and brush. Some day I might, but not yet.


But last night right before bed I was thinking about this month's Sketchbook Challenge theme of imaginary creatures and started scribbling and a few seconds later I had a long necked goat with wings and fangs. No idea at the beginning what it was going to be. But there you go. Fun to be had with pencil in hand. 

Monday, November 7, 2011

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 

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

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 artists
All 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:

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.com
Fiberart For A Cause

Saturday, October 29, 2011

In the Studio... packing for a trip

New Hampshire are you ready?
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.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

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?