More April Art

I have been at the beach for a few days. My lovely niece, who I went to Paris with last year, is moving to the East Coast and I wanted to spend some time with her before she leaves. This is me in the morning before the coffee has had a chance to wake me up. We stopped for a bagel and coffee before walking to two art stores we had heard about. I worked on some journal pages while I was there but don't have any pictures yet. I'll share those later.

I recently took the Gut Art class from Mystele. I decided to use all recycled materials for the art journal I would do the projects in. This was the cover of that journal made from painted chipboard. I would recommend this class because the exercises really help you to discover your artistic preferences and start creating out of your own voice instead of copying others art. It was a turning point for me. I look at everything as art now and what draws me to it and how to incorporate that into my art. It is just a start but I see a difference in my approach already.

We worked on pulled art projects mostly. I am always amazed that there is art just waiting to be discovered in the backgrounds I create. This one reminds me of Avatar.

This piece was created from watching a music video of Tete. It looks nothing like him but was painted from a quick sketch while watching the video. The idea is to just go with quick impressions.

This was another pulled art piece that went with a verse I have been thinking about lately. I like the movement in this piece.

Sometimes when you see an image appear, it doesn't cooperate and sit on the page the way you would like. This one ended up being sideways in the journal but that was OK with me since it was only in my journal. That particular days field trip had me seeing blue, orange and yellow. What ended up being kinda weird is that I saw blue and yellow in almost every thing. I had no idea I liked those colors together so much. When I talked to a friend of mine who had also taken the class, she said she didn't see those colors at all. I guess I always knew that two people looking at the same picture would see something different, I just didn't think it would be so dramatic. I'm still processing that whole idea.

Graffiti Chic - Alisa Burke class

One of the fun things that I did in April was to take a class from Alisa Burke. She has published the book Canvas Remix and you can find her blog here. The class was a lot of fun and it really inspired me. I have been wanting to make some wearable art for some time now and this gave me the push I needed to get going. In class she taught us her techniques and we just played. It was a huge, crazy mess but really fun. Alisa was the sweetest person and I liked her teaching style. She also posted about the class on her site if you want to check it out. We not only got to learn painting techniques but we also got to play with stickyback canvas and cut/burn a couple of stamps out of fun foam. I would definitely take a class from her again. Her book has everything we learned too so I was able to go back and refresh my mind later.

Alisa Burke

I brought a yard of broadcloth to class and tore it up into 6 pieces to work on. This is just one of them. You can see the final pieces below. She recommends drill cloth or canvas but I just brought what I had at home.

This is a journal background page I created later in my studio.

Another journal page.

I cut up one of the pieces of fabric that I painted in class and made it into a cuff. I love how it turned out so much, I wear it all the time.

I loved Alisa's clutch purse so much, I just had to make one for myself.

I think that I will add a handle to mine though.

I wish I could show you the inside because it is as pretty as the outside.

I had a hard time deciding which side would be on the outside.

After the cuff and clutch I got the idea to paint enough fabric to make a skirt out of. I am almost done with the skirt and will post pictures when I'm totally finished. It is turning out fabulous! I thought my husband would really think I had lost my mind but he really likes it. This path I am following of creating messy art is so exhilarating for me. I can't seem to get enough of it.

My next project was to create my 2010 journal cover.

I now have four months of signatures sewn in.

There were only three when I took the picture.

Journal spine

As you can see, there are more holes for the other months

Journal front

The ribbon is wired french silk.

All this yumminess makes we want to go throw some more paint around. It was pretty funny, the day I painted the large piece of fabric the electrician came to hang my chandelier. I forgot he was coming and I had my whole floor covered and paint was flying everywhere. I may have to move to the garage if I get any messier. My new floor already has little black paint drips. I guess there was no way to avoid that.

I forgot to say that my new favorite tool is the Tulip Paint Cannon.

It turns regular acrylic paint into spray paint without all the toxic fumes.

Happy Creating!

My Happy Room

Well, I am going to attempt to make a coherent post. April was an extremely busy month. Most of it fulled with good stuff but too much of a good thing can be overwhelming too. I am glad that I took a break from blogging but now I am realizing what I have done to myself. I want to tell you all about what I have been up to but it is going to have to come in small bits because if I put it all in one post you would be the one overwhelmed and I don't want that

I know the one thing you all really want to know about is my art studio, so that is where I am going to start. I had many people helping me, thank you Jason, Janene and Ryan. I could not have done this by myself, I just have to say that right up front. And, my husband was patient beyond what should have been expected of him and he paid for it all, love you tons hon !!!

The first job was to move all the furniture and stuff out of the room. I bought 18 boxes and still did not have enough. My living room and upstairs hall was completely full of it all. Then we painted the room, ballerina gown pink.

Nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make a girl feel good. It gave just the encouragement to get going on the floor. We tore up the carpet and laid down Allure oak flooring. Easy to install when you don't have some of the situations we came across, like the hatch my son cut in the floor for his precious treasures. He thought it was terribly hilarious. Me? not so much.

Once the walls and floor was done we were ready to bring the boxes of stuff back in and decide how the room would be set up. Very exciting but not much fun to do. Organizing is not my forte so my niece came over and helped me to hang the slatwall and put everything on it.

It is so nice to have everything out and ready to be used. I'm the kind of person that if it is out of site, it is out of mind. This way I see everything and it is right at my fingertips. Oh, and before we move to the next area, I just want to say, I am not the ever going to be featured in the "Where Women create" magazine. I like creating in a messy space. If it starts out clean, I will make it messy so here is my painting table and all I can say is that it is organized chaos.

All my paint, pens, brushes and tools are ready to be used. I don't have to open anything to create, will maybe the paint bottles but nothing else. I love that I just sit and start. I covered the table with a thick clear shower curtain so the table is protected. On the wall is a huge sheet of metal that is my magnet board. I put all the stuff that inspires me on it. Eventually it will be filled up. Behind one of the doors I have a hanging shoe organizer for things I don't use much.

Then I have a bookshelf that holds all my cutting machines, art books and journals. I also have a paper sorter with all my paper in it.

Now I can sit at my desk and then slide across the room to my paint table. It is really fun to do this btw. In the closet is my sewing center with shelves for storage.
Because my sewing machine is set up all the time now, I have done a few projects that required sewing. I will save the projects for another post. The pink curtains I got in an antique store last year and have held onto them knowing I would eventually use them. It is the perfect touch of pink. One of my friends came to see my room and the minute she walked into the room she said it was so happy. It really is a very happy room and I want to be in here all the time. Compared to the dark cluttered one I had before, this room has breathed life into my life and my art.

I have one oversize window in the room. When the weather was warm a couple of weeks ago I opened the window and a gentle breeze blew the curtains just a bit. It was such a sweet and relaxing thing to sit and watch. Here are some random photos of other areas.

Windowsill

On my desk

On top of the bookshelf

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of my creative, happy space.