for the past week i have been trying to "re-invent the wheel" creatively...this never works out.
truth is creativity is what it is, it is what you do, it is the process in which you do it.
sometimes i just need to talk myself off the ledge and just do what feels good...makes me HAPPY.
listening to this brings me back to my happy place again...
goal today, "shake it out"
last week i spent the day "gutting" my studio...after a while i seem to end up with my counter space cluttered with stuff and i really wanted to get it better organized which meant clearing out a lot of drawers and simply re thinking how i am organizing my supplies.
i figure, if i haven't used it in the past 3 years, chances are i am not going to in the next 3. so 1) it doesn't need to occupy prime real estate in my room and 2) it may need to be purged.
not that my room looks much different now, but it is a bit more cleaner.
my favorite redo in the room, my fabric wall! check it out!
just 3 ikea bars, ikea clips and a butt load of fabric!
i am the kind of person that can ride the high of an organized fabric wall for a while...incredible HAPPY PLACE!
today i will be in my off-site studio reorganizing.
right now it is in shambles because i get these twinges to reorganize and i obsess, make an enormous mess tearing it apart and then put it all back together again. if you stop by the studio today you may have to turn a blind eye (and forage for the product you wanted to buy, lol!)
i call this my "ARTIST on the GO" case. essentially it always remains packed and with the exception of swapping a few things in and out of it depending on my mood or what i am working on it essentially is always "READY TO GO!"
it is a small vintage suitcase from the 70's...i love it, it has personality. the uglier the better!
everything in my case is also airport security/flight approved. i have traveled across the globe with these supplies and have yet to have anything confiscated, however, twice i have been asked to "prove" i was an artist going through security having to actually show the journals i work in on the plane. it always ends well and the conversation is fun!
right now inside my ARTIST on the GO bag is the following...
i have been traveling lately with my collage journal. many of you email me to do videos for the collage journal, but the true purpose of the journal for me is to be able to create on the fly with whatever scraps you can find and a glue stick. keeping it simple.
under the journal is where i keep "the color".
you can fit 10-1 oz. golden fluid acrylics in a quart size baggie. when i go through security instead of carrying on shampoo and toothpaste, i check those items and place my baggie of paint in the bin. usually no one even looks twice...at least i haven't noticed.
i always travel with a brush roll filled with pens, water soluble graphite pencils, charcoal pencils, waterbrushes, regular brushes and a scissor. the brush roll serves several purposes.
NOTE: people always ask me how i get scissors on the plane, but the TSA allows up to a 4" sharp on the plane. the cutterbee scissors are the perfect traveling scissor for that!
i always bring my travel palette of winsor & newton watercolors...perfectly sized and easy to paint within a small space.
a black stazon + a few new or favorite stamps at the time...this changes and sometimes i buy a stamp to play with on the road.
masking tapes...I LOVE MASKING TAPE!
i also have in there now some gelatos, because they are super easy to create with on the go,
bubble wrap because it is FUN to brush some paint onto and stamp,
and a glue stick...i try to find a super-sized one for my travel bag because it is always deceiving how little glue is truly in a normal sized glue stick.
in the front zipper pocket i keep any scraps i have cut/collected from magazines, bits of travel maps, brochures, business cards, anything collage worthy really. i also have a few stencils tucked in there as well, they are thin and perfect for travel.
so why the case and not a bag you may ask? great question!
the case is flat so i can open it up on my tray table, access everything without digging around in the bottom of a bag and i can actually close it up and work on top of it on the plane without needing a whole lot of room. sometimes i get lucky and i have an empty seat(s) next to me and i can really spread out!
i will admit i always get weird looks, probing questions and a million compliments when i create on the plane. as an only child i secretly like that attention, kinda reaffirms my joy for creating. often times the flight attendants will even bring me an extra cup of water or napkins if they see me dipping into my water cup while i am painting. it REALLY helps pass the time too. it is like creating your own personal in-flight studio 30,000 feet up in the air!
i know many of you have emailed over the past several months about my travel supplies and i hope that answers all your questions...if not feel free to post some of your questions here.
over the past couple of weeks i have been collecting/searching out similiar style cases and putting together "ARTIST on the GO" cases preassembled. these of course are all one of a kind kits because of the vintage cases and i have already sold the ones i put in the shop the other day, but am continuing to be on the lookout and will be adding more of them to the shop next week and as i find the cool cases.
over the past few days i have been procrastinating playing. finally the adjuster made it here and fingers crossed they start next week. with my home studio in flux i feel a bit creatively crippled.
i have a lot of deadlines looming and really needed a little play time without purpose.
these are a few happy tidbits of that play!
it took me about 4 hours, but finally a place for everything and everything in its place!
now that it is clean i kinda lost the creative urge? apparently chaos is my muse.
gonna see where the day creatively takes me, might just take me out to lunch with my kiddos!
BEFORE
AFTER
that really sums up how i feel right now...
spent most of the morning at the studio, getting ready for inventory, thinking about rearranging the store possibly next week, orders, etc
i came home a couple hours ago and started playing in my PanPastel journal for the upcoming series workshops and am having a creative love fest with myself right now!
i am "feelin' it"!
just had to share cause i know you "get it"...
that universal feeling of creativity, that endorphin pumping high on color and design satisfaction.
inspired by my time spent in alisa burke's class at inspired, i wanted to try my hand at creating my own fabric design. so with nothing but a ball point pen and a slab of canvas i began drawing a loose handed repeat poppy pattern.
i discovered the magic of jacquard's dye-na-flow in her class as well. it is simply the best colorant i have ever used on muslin and canvas. it doesnt bleed on dry fabric, it will only "flow" where you add moisture so painting with an aquabrush is perfect. this is only the turquoise dye-na-flow simply diluted out with water to create the color variance. LOVE!
then i started filling in the background with Scarlet Dye-na-flow
once the color was done i tossed the piece into the dryer to heat set the color (and because i have no patience to wait for it to dry!)
i began cutting up the large piece into smaller pieces for it's next transformation...the reason i started this process.
a pocket (with my special hoarded fabric lining!)
can you see it yet?
so awesome from start to finish...love the creative process. LOVE IT!
if i had put some make up on today i would have left my face in the photo...HA!, but it is a holiday!
happy memorial day!
god bless our troops and all those that have fought for our freedom!
about an hour ago i began working on the make n take project for tonights OPEN STUDIO NIGHT.
i knew i wanted to use this awesome stamp by character constructions (i secretly call her "peep show girl") but then the idea got the better of me and i just started layering and having a blast with her.
i mean quite frankly i can think of several dozen things to put in that peep show window (many of them i tried, laughed and knew my husband would appreciate)
so for right now it is where she keeps her flower...pun intended!
if your local and want a creative night away from home, bring anything you feel like creating with and come hang out at the studio with me and create. we will be there from 6pm-midnight playing.
{supplies: harlequin 6x6 stencil, gesso, large tags, peep show girl, magnolia, glossy accents, enamel accents, watercolor crayons, golden iridescent gold fine, vintage photo distress stamp pad, stazon}
i gotta wear shades (of color!)
so excited to announce that PanPastel has teamed up with me to bring you a new series in video workshops!
i just finished recording PanPastel 101 and will be available June 1st for immediate download.
this wokshop will be an introduction to PanPastels as a medium of color and will walk you through step by step as we explore the following key concepts.
we will be creating in a working journal as we experiment, document and explore this new medium. the journal will then become a resource as well as an integral part of the process as we progress through each workshop in the series.
watch a bit of the intro...
for each video workshop PanPastel is custom packaging palettes of color used in each.
check it out!!!
i am currently working on PanPastel 102, which will be the second of the 2 part intruduction in the series.
PanPastel 102 will go more in depth into building backgrounds, layering techniques, texture building, and mediums.
(should be available online soon after 101)
i have been seriously tearing it up in my home studio for the past 2 days! i have been making stuff, recorded the first of the pan pastel workshops and i am still going. it might look like a mess but it is all strategically placed in my own personal oblivion!
and that's not all!
we got in some awesome new stuff in the shop like these new hero arts stamps
i have already grabbed mine...love flowers! lots and lots of flowers. my mind is reeling!
if you come in the studio on saturday and find an easter egg, open it up to find a percentage off, you will get the percentage off your entire purchase!!!
and for my not so close by friends, we are offering 25% off my entire new home decor line, iphone4 cases and plaques!
use coupon code: decor
happy easter everyone!
