Yesterday was a very artistic and creative day at Art 'n Soul. MaryJo McGraw taught 3 classes and, in each class, she taught and inspired us to reach for individual creativity and think outside the box in very simple ways.
Before I get started, I wanted to remind all of you that tomorrow (Monday) is Play Day at Art 'n Soul from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. I'll be there until 1:00 p.m., and then Susie will be at the store for the remainder of the day. What are we doing? Alcohol Inks! Let's get out your alcohol inks, blending solution, blending tool and pads, card stock (coated is preferred), Shimmer Sheetz, wood paper, and anything else you might want to use alcohol inks on. You might want to bring in a couple of embossing folders; we'll have the store's Big Shot to use them in. Bring it all in and let's play. Alejandra, this is a great time to come in and see how we use alcohol inks with the Shimmer Sheetz.
As I show these works of art from our fabulous students, please remember many of them are still 'works in progress' even though you may think they're the finished piece.
The first class yesterday was taking a stamp and zentangling or zendoodling around it. We were introduced to a stamp line that has some wonderful quirky designs that Susie is going to pursue once MaryJo has sent her the information. I digress! But I fell in love with the ape face that you'll see.
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| by Tracy Rush |
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| by Melanie Fagerberg |
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| by Su Tipple |
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| by Kats Morgan |
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by Kats Morgan
this was a second "zen" piece that Kats
had started using the ape face; I love how
she stamped the man into the design. |
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| by Marilyn McAtee |
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| by Debbie Gaetz |
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by Annette Lanker
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| by Sharon Safka |
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| by Lucille Healy |
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| by Karen Lovell |
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| by Susie Tracy |
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| by Sam Lee |
The next class involved making a collage on a small piece of mat board and/or for the front of a small card. We had access to a wonderful suitcase full of old magazines and ephemera that MaryJo provided, as well as anything that we brought in for this particular class. What amazed me is how simple a card can be made from magazine clippings; and these cards are quite in fashion now in boutique stores. I was blown away by the creativity . . . and it's now going to be a part of my card-making repertoire. I think you'll want to make cards like this as well; they're so full of whimsy and imagination.
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by Cindy Kleinfelter
Cindy made this card for a special
little 4-year old starting school next month!
I know he'll like the bright colors and the bird. |
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| by Cindy Kleinfelter |
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| by Cindy Kleinfelter |
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| by Megan Blackett |
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| by Kats Morgan |
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| by Kats Morgan |
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| by Kats Morgan |
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| by Debbie Messer |
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by Debbie Messer
I loved this old car and the watercolor'd trees |
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| by Annette Lanker |
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| by Annette Lanker |
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by Penny Royse
I hope you can see the lace behind on the left |
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| by Penny Royse |
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| by Debbie Gaetz |
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| by Debbie Gaetz |
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| by Sam Lee |
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| by Sam Lee |
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| by Sharon Safka |
by Sharon Safka . . . to show you what the addition of
a word does at MaryJo's suggestion.
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| by Susie Tracy |
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by Susie Tracy
I enlarged the photo so you could see the article headline
in the lower left and the marked words above it. You'll then
see how it all goes with the card she made (below). |
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by Susie Tracy
Susie then stamped the image on a card with some
added twisps of hair, before applying the collage. |
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| by Laurel Martin |
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| by Cindy Sharp |
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| by Cindy Sharp |
In the last class, MaryJo walked us through developing layers of design and color for a background card panel or a journal page. She used Pan Pastels, oil-based pastels, Dylusions color sprays, gelatos, Copic markers, Big Pitt and Pitt pens from Faber Castell, and lots of stencils.
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Sharon Safka (middle) and Penny Royse (right) look on
as MaryJo McGraw (left) works on what was earlier
referred by her as the ugliest page ever in her journal that
she gesso'd over and started to rebuild with layers of stenciled colors. |
We learned that in the Pan Pastel line, if the color has the word "shade" in it, black has been added to the color. If the color has the word "tint" in it, white has been added to the color. What's so great about MaryJo is she tells us what the various mediums are made of, what works and why, and what doesn't work and why. If there is a medium that you like, buy as much as you can afford, i.e, you get what you pay for. A 99-cent piece will not have the color content or life that a $7 piece will have. Words to consider living by!
As you look at these photos, MaryJo showed how you can make a card panel design. She made a template of a 'frame' and showed us how we want to see how the various areas will look isolated from the rest of the sheet. You'll see what I mean in some of the photos of the 'works in progress'!
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| by Cindy Kleinfelter |
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| by Cindy Kleinfelter |
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| by Karen Kincaid |
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| by Karen Kincaid |
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| by Debbie Gaetz |
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by Debbie Gaetz
and this is how MaryJo framed off what she
thought would work best as the focal point |
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| by Kats Morgan |
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| by Kats Morgan |
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| by Kats Morgan |
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| by Susie Tracy |
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| by Susie Tracy |
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by Susie Tracy
when MaryJo looked at this, she saw an
outline of a lady in the red triangular shape, so
Susie took it back and outlined the one with a
black Pitt pen |
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| by Susie Tracy |
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| by Trish Largen |
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| by Trish Largen |
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| by Trish Largen |
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| by Sharon Safka |
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| by Sharon Safka |
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| by Sharon Safka |
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| by Debbie Messer |
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| by Debbie Messer |
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| by Sam Lee |
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| by Sam Lee |
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| by Sam Lee |
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| by Debbie Messer |
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| by Debbie Messer |
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| by Melissa Andrews |
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| by Melissa Andrews |
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| by Melissa Andrews |
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| by Erin Royse |
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| by Erin Royse |
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| by Penny Royse |
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| by Penny Royse |
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| by Karen Block |
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| by Karen Block |
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| by Karen Block |
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| by Cindy Sharp |
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| by Cindy Sharp |
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| by Cindy Sharp |
During the day, Sam shared her latest venture in her Art Journal since I wasn't at Art Journal club last Friday. Our goal is to schedule MaryJo on a same day as a future Journal Club meeting . . . what fun and art will fly that day!
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| by Sam Lee for the Art 'n Soul Journal Club |
Kazuko Kocho has made a special invitation as IMAGINE Crafts continues their series of invitations by the Artists-in-Residence. I absolutely love what Kazuko created . . .
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by Kazuko Kocho
Artist-in-Residence for IMAGINE Crafts |
That's all I have to share tonight. Today was one of those "don't get much done" days other than I did manage to drive into downtown Sumner for their Classic Car Show. There were some real beauties!
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This was my favorite corvette, and one of the best I've seen.
It turns out it was originally owned by one of Tom's childhood
friends who sold it to the current owner a long, long time ago. |
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| Tom's Henry Ford Roadster |
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| This was a beautiful MG Roadster - 1947 |
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