Tape on the Go

Short on space? Don't want to carry around several rolls of tape in your art bag? If you're using real washi tape, stick some onto waxed paper. Fold it up and stick it in your bag. If you see someone at the airport today peeling pieces of tape off of waxed paper, come on over and say hi! Next stop, Boston!

21 April 2013 Journal Pages

My pages speak volumes for me. They sometimes are simple but they often mean so much.

Tristan and I are trekking back East tomorrow. Bags are packed. Tickets are printed out. I'm teaching this weekend at The Ink Pad in New York City and next weekend at Kept Creations in Whitman, MA. The samples are in both stores as well as online here. I hope to see you there! 

mid April 2013 Journal Pages

I always try to be open and honest on my journal pages as well as on my blog. I'll never forget the time that someone left a comment about how "pretty my pages were but the words I wrote on them were so ugly." As if I was writing in my journal for her. I write for me on my pages (as well as on my blog.) I write what I am compelled to write. I often write as I speak with an open heart and palms facing out. It is what it is and all it should be.

I Wonder

What TSA thinks when they open my bags and see all of my art crap. Packing for Boston and New York City! Looking forward to seeing family and friends! Excited about teaching!!

Man of Steel, Tape and Some More Info on Sharpie Water-based Paint Markers

Tristan at the AMC 16 in Burbank

 I'm a wee bit later than I usually like to be with my blog post but I had good reason. Tristan and I were up at the crack of dawn (for me at least) to see Man of Steel. He loved every minute and walked out with a big smile on his face. Now he's counting down to the announcement of The Justice League Movie. If you look closely at this photo, he's wearing a blue cape and Superman socks (I wore blue tights and a blue dress for the occasion.) I love my boy!

Washimatta Tape Goodness

My Washi Tape Sense started tingling the other day and I was right! A quick search of Washimatta's etsy shop led to the discovery of several NEW rolls of washi tape! Yum! You can see the, um, trouble that I got into in the above photo. I ordered Sunday night and the package was on my door step today! Talk about service! I don't "get" anything from posting about Karen's online stores but I really do love how great her service is and she is my favorite online vendor to order from! I just like to support small businesses as much as possible. Her website is here (and yes, those are slight variations of the original washi tape colors. I had to have them.)

Last but not least, my friend Pam alerted me to the fact that water based Sharpie paint pens are marked clearance at Michaels (from $4 to $.50) I'm not sure 100% what this means but it doesn't sound good for the Sharpie paint pens. Remember a few years ago when they were discontinued and then Michaels suddenly had them as an exclusive test run (to see how well they'd sell?) It doesn't look good for them now. One store employee commented that the individual pens sold well but the ones in sets did not. I find it hard to believe that most of their pens sell very well considering that they're in a locked case that most folks don't even notice. I did find out that it seems to be across the country. I would recommend having your store SCAN the pen if it's marked at full price. 

The good news is that if you love the water based paint pens, you can still find them via other brands like Posca Paint Markers and Molotow One4All. That said, I still love the tips (especially the extra fine tips) of the water based Sharpies but I'll take a pen however I can get it!

And that's the news of the day! Hope that your weekend is a good one. I'm heading off to start packing up my supplies for my NY and MA classes! Leaving on Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet very soon (clearly, I've been spending too much time with my superhero of a boy! NOT!)

On my Mind

20 April 2013 Inside back cover of Little Love Notes: Triptych Book Revised and Revisited

 This is what the book looks like when it's completely open

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look how cute she was!

Not the most flattering picture of me but I love how Daddy is hugging Erin

Thinking of my little sister on her birthday! I still love ya even though I pushed you off the couch the first day you came home. You've been paying me back for it ever since.

Tristan and I leave in less than a week for the East Coast. I spent most of yesterday prepping the supplies for classes at The Ink Pad and Kept Creations. Prepping materials is only part of the behind the scenes efforts it takes to get a class ready to be taught. It will all be worth it when I'm at the venue teaching the class and seeing how folks translate the ideas and make them their own. I'm really looking forward to it. 

I also spent some time late last night making a new journal. I filled up the large one that I've been working on (I'll show you that soon.) I wanted something smaller that would travel well (but not something that was too small.) You can see a photo of it here on Instagram. You can also see a shot of the book I'm reading now as well as pictures of my son in his Superman t-shirt, socks and cape in front of Golden Apple Comics yesterday for their Superman Day event. You know where I'll be taking someone tomorrow!

Random Thoughts on Making Art

"Let me ask you something, what is not art?"  Author Unknown

“The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.”
Edith Södergran

"For me, painting is a way to forget life.  It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh."  Georges Rouault

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for."  Georgia O'Keeffe

"Man will begin to recover the moment he takes art as seriously as physics, chemistry or money."  Ernst Levy

"I want to reach that condensation of sensations that constitutes a picture."  Henri Matisse

Had an interesting discussion in Niles the other day. We were talking about how artists seem to only be valued if they make money from their artwork. That even teachers aren't valued and appreciated as true artists if they don't sell work. 

I have been making art since I was very young. If you make art, you know the feeling that you get when you sit down to create something. It's a unique feeling that comes from deep within. I have always been a big believer that if you create from the heart, you are an artist and what you make has true value. 

You don't ever need to sell anything or make art for anyone but yourself for it to have value and meaning. 

Anyone who tells you otherwise has their head up their ass. Look at the work of outsider artists. They're not making art to sell. They're making art because they're called to create. Look at the work of children. They put pencil, crayon, paint brush, etc... to paper because they can. They don't care what you call it as long as you allow them the time and materials to create (even with that, they will create something from nothing with the simplest of materials.)

Some may look at this post and call me a hypocrite because I profit from my art making (via teaching and selling occasional journals.) That said, I do not and have not ever made an exorbitant amount of money from my art. Most of the time I am scraping by with what I do. I continue to make art because I am called to. To me, it's as necessary as breathing. I teach classes because I love being in the creative environment and watching my students unfold in the class. It's a truly unique experience and one that I am grateful to be a part of. There may come a day when I am forced to stop teaching and look for other work but I will be making art until the day I die.