michelle ward

Playing with Fire

The new Somerset Studio just arrived.  Here is a sneak peek of my article.  You know you're onto something good when you can't stop. At some point you have to put down the tool, quiet the inner voice that keeps coming up with additional ways to push the technique, then document the body of work with the camera, and start writing about the experience.  When you're in the groove you fear that hitting pause may become a permanent hold.  However, as I showed you last weekend with the tattooed eggs, it was not hard to get back my mojo a few weeks after the premier voyage into pryography.  I think this one will keep my attention for some time.

 

 

How cool is this?  Two weeks ago the new Uppercase magazine arrived.  A writer named Brendan Harrison wrote an article about pyrography too, also called Playing with Fire.  I loved hearing his take on it.  

 

Thanks to all my friends who have stepped up swiftly and lovingly to support another friend.  And to those of you I've never met, how cool that you joined in too and have trusted me to pass along your positive messages of healing and cheer.  I know it's going to be powerful as I can feel the spirited energy within each piece.

silver linings seeker

On the newsstands now or very soon, the Jan/Feb Somerset Studio - with my article: Silver Linings.  Made with gelli prints that were painted back in October 2013, I decided to finally USE THEM as they were in peril of being pitched.  Pages are stitched together - a tip I got from my friend Julie Prichard in one of her online classes.  I'm a Silver Lining seeker - trying to see the good in every situation, no matter how difficult.  Quotes of affirmation, collected over time, now reside in this new journal.  See the article for more about the process.

 

 

 

Don't miss out on the early registration discount for CreativeJumpStart2017.  Offer good through the ball drop on Saturday night.  Join in for a full month of creativity videos and giveaways - from 27 artists.  Last year was so much fun - my first time as a presenter. Happy to be back again.  Come along!!

draw the line

Just in - newest Somerset Studio.  My Make It Your Own column for this issue is Draw The Line - got the title from a sign that hangs over my desk.  We get so jazzed about stencils with paint, ink, gelli plates, spray paint....we often forget to just use with pencil or pen. Into the coloring book trend?  Make some pages of your own with the assistance of stencils, and some freehand mark-making.  Love the stencils you already have?  Pump up the contrast by adding outlines - draw the line!  Magazine hits the stands this week.

 

 

 

 

sacred earth

The current issue of Somerset Studio has arrived.  If you've been following me for a long time you'll be familiar with the subject of my article - collecting dirt, which evolved from collecting sand.  See the magazine for the full story.  They left out the final photo of a tip I offer of how to secure a cork on a bottle to keep the contents safe, so I've included it here.  Thank you to everyone who wrote me about the previous article highlighting Sam's new venture.  I really appreciate hearing from you and that you took the time to reach out and share your enthusiasm. We've had a lot of orders recently so I'm going to be refilling the shop this weekend. 

 

Mom! I'm published!

Last week the new Somerset Studio arrived.  My column in this issue features our son Sam and his new venture:  Painting with Purpose. Look at this face - it says it all.  He was so excited to see his work on the pages of the magazine that regularly arrives here. Our thanks to Stampington who recognized it was a worthwhile story - art making a difference. 

 

 

We've already gotten some lovely emails about the article, and a handful of orders from new customers!  We are adding more selections this week.  

Thanks for sharing your kind words and enthusiasm for our story and our project to create purpose for our special guy.

Link to our store: ETSY: ForYourSpecialNeeds

If you missed the post about our shop, see HERE.

 

giveaway

Stampington is offering a copy of the May/June Somerset Studio, and I am combining that with supplies I used for my article in the issue. You can win both the magazine and the fabric journal + embellishments.  Leave a comment below to be eligible, drawing will be noon on Friday (EDT - east coast time).  NOW CLOSED - We have a winner!  Scroll to bottom.  

In the latest issue of Somerset Studio: explore the Artist Portfolio of Jeanne Oliver, art inspired by the movie “Amelie,” and quirky vintage photos adorned with colorful handmade hats. Find tutorials for altered birdhouses that are perfect for spring, experimenting with encaustics, and weathered collages by Amy Wilcutt, see some fun washi tape ideas with Mary Beth Shaw, learn how Lynne Perrella interprets the Ballet Russe with alphabet letters, and my own article - Simple Stitch + Stash (using studio scraps, in peril of being discarded, to build collages on canvas pages).  

Sneak preview of my article in previous blog post HERE.

 

With scraps of lace, miniature starfish, and bits of mica, I began using my stash on the pages of a pre-made fabric journal.  I had so much fun stitching that I carried on playing with thread in different ways.  I found the practice to be very relaxing and addictive and before I knew it I was moving on to a second book.  I have quite a stash of these - maybe we could meet somewhere and have a class? Would be fun!  

 

Enter a comment just below to be entered for the drawing.  Good luck!

We have a winner!  Ozge Basagac!!  

Thanks to all who came over here to enter.  I appreciate all your kind words.  

Hope you'll stop by again!  I also hope if you take up simple stitching you will

share your work - would love to see.

new article

The May/June Somerset Studio has arrived!  If you subscribe you may have it by now - hits the shelves around May 1st.  My column is about using up items from my stash, and venturing into stitching.  I really loved working on this fabric book and have finished additional pages which I will show you sometime soon.  You'll recognize that my topographical interest made its way onto a spread, of course! My friends Lynne and Mary Beth have colorful fun articles for their columns - be sure to get a copy.

 

 

new article "inside out"

The March/April issue of Somerset Studio just arrived.  I am thrilled for my friend Anna who is on the cover and inside with the Artist Profile - her signature work is lovely and unique.  Since the theme is Mail Art my column features art made with security envelopes, and then I segued into using postage stamps.  If you've been following my blog you know I love these security paper patterns, found on the inside of the dreaded bills.  I've been collecting and cataloging for years - now I can't stop making stuff with them.

See my other posts using security envelopes last year.

http://michelleward.typepad.com/michelleward/2015/07/painting-on-a-grid.html

http://michelleward.typepad.com/michelleward/2015/07/have-a-happy-4th-of-july.html

http://michelleward.typepad.com/michelleward/2015/07/more-envelope-cutting.html

http://michelleward.typepad.com/michelleward/2015/06/someone-call-security.html

Recently scored from Etsy - an origami ball geniusly folded by FANSHEFOLDS  

There are patterns here I don't have!!  Maybe it would be fun to show you my collection and if you have a pattern I don't have we could trade!!

updates - new article and workshop schedule

The January/February issue of Somerset Studio has arrived.  If you've taken the Compose Yourself workshop with me then you've tried the exercise I illustrate and describe in my column.  I first learned of it back in grade school - didn't know the term for it until a few years ago.  Notan - the Japanese word for dark/light harmony.  (I could insert a HIM reference here, as they have an album called Dark Light, but I will refrain.)  You can see I used my chess stencil again.  The full set of stencils/masks will be released in January. 

 

Compose Yourself is on my schedule in 2016.  It will be offered through Pratt School of Continuing and Professional Studies on February 13.  Registration is open. CALL 855.551.7727  or follow link to register:  HERE  (type in Michelle Ward, using caps as shown)  

 

Here is a sampling of my Pratt workshops this Spring.  Visit my WORKSHOPS page for full descriptions and schedule.

 

 

And don't forget - if you plan on joining Creative JumpStart the $45 fee is good through 12/31.  It will be $50 after that.  Visit Nathalie's site HERE for all the details.  My first video will be included!!  HCIT?

cut it out!

This just in, November/December issue of Somerset Studio.  My article "Creating Opportunities" is about making the commitment to dimensional elements on your page before you start adding your layers of paint and collage.  One of my favorite mantras, as a teacher, is to tell you to "Commit".  Just start with one thing, then each decision you make is informed by the previous commitment.  That's easy to say when you are working on a painted or collaged foundation.  But once you have invested time in making a background it may be a little stressful to cut into it.  I've observed this in workshops - we start with paint, then I hope to encourage some slight-of-hand tricks with cutting and folding, but there is a reluctance.  So I changed my method of teaching, and we begin with the deliberate cuts and folds, then add the paint, collage, and stencils. The commitment to adding cut-out shapes, and the placement of where they are positioned, is not influenced by anything since the canvas is blank.  With dimensional features established, you've created opportunities for how to proceed.  See the magazine for more details, and many other terrific articles.

 

 

sticking with white on black

I had so much fun using the white pen (Uniball Signo UM-153) on black that I wanted to keep going.  Like, I wanted it to go on and on.  So it made sense to move on from flat panels to an accordion.  I could loosely plan an overall concept for the evolution of the design, but then work page by page.  To me, the format meant it should read well as a whole when unfolded, and that was exciting to me...each portion or panel segueing forward.  

What prompted an accordion?  Back in April 2014 I shared how I had an epiphany and turned my favorite Escher poster(s) into a folded book.  See HERE.  Since I did not have a place to hang the four long horizontal posters, they sat gathering dust (for several years) and were in danger of getting damaged or worse, discarded.  Now I can hold his masterpiece in my hands and page through blissfully.  Escher definitely influenced my desire to work in a connected series of drawings and patterns.  I love his panoramic morphing and transitioning of imagery.  Genius.

 

 

 

Being in a mindset of two camps, linear and organic, I took two different paths - starting one with a grid, and one totally free-form.  You can read about these projects in the July/August Somerset Studio.  My copy arrived Friday so if you subscribe yours will arrive any day.  If you don't, the magazine should be on the shelves of your favorite supplier very soon.  The theme for this issue is Black and White, and it is fabulous!!

 

 

I'm not done yet....more to come.

 

song books

May is nearly here so that means the rose buds are starting to form, and the new Somerset Studio is showing up on shelves and in mailboxes.  My column is about making your own songbooks, celebrating favorite lyrics to beloved tunes.  I will be teaching Bohemian Rhapsody at The Ink Pad in NYC on Saturday, June 20th.  To learn more see HERE, and to reserve a spot, call 212·463·9876  I'll provide the music, the lyrics, and the accordion book.  Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Consider making a song book as a gift - this one was made for Graham.

 

 

 

Don't you love that reading the lyrics makes the tune pop in your head?  What song will you illustrate?

The Gates - 10th Anniversary, day eleven

 

I dedicated my column in Somerset Studio (March/April 2015) to the anniversary of The Gates.  My issue just arrived!  If you subscribe yours should be there soon.  Official newsstand date is March 1st but I've heard they have been spotted on shelves already.  Lots of beautiful articles, check it out!

 

Annual Collaborative

I just received the lastest Somerset Studio!  Inside you'll find a collaborative article by me and my friend Lynne Perrella.  It's the third year of working in tandem, exploring a theme with our individual interpretations.  It's also a sneak peek behind the scenes for some of the material we will cover during our workshop in May.  For the pieces you'll see in the January/February issue we focused on the ever classic phrenology head diagram.  The workshop will encompass much more - but we can't give it all away in an article ;)

 

 

I had a blast reinventing the image, and altering into a movable-parts object...think of the things you could have swirling behind within the mind!

 

When we were brainstorming about plans for the upcoming workshop, we easily reigned in the ideas about a concept but were struggling with a title.  Lynne proposed that we consider incorporating two phrenology heads as graphic elements for the announcement.  It was a perfect suggestion since we have a running dialogue each December about a pair of ceramic phren heads that appear together each year in the Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows in New York City.  The talented designers adorn the twins in a festive manner and place them in the elaborately decorated vignettes.  Every year it’s a hunt to find them among the countless extraordinary visual delights behind the glass.  Lynne had another epiphany: to borrow the name Curiouser & Curiouser* for the three-day class - an ideal choice to accompany the double-head logo we devised, for a workshop offered by two teachers who love to encourage curiosity, especially when it comes to creativity.  Here are some of the appearances in past years:

 

*Curiouser & Curiouser was the theme of the 2009 BG Windows, inspired by the works of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.  Our workshop will not be related to Alice, we will certainly be advocating for all participants to adopt her sense of adventure. 

We hope you'll join us in May!  Three whole days with two teachers in an amazing studio space at a lovely location with other eager and enthusiastic artists!  For details visit Workshops here, or on Lynne's site www.LKPerrella.com 

no-bake gingerbread house....yep, cardboard!

For several years I've been infatuated with cardboard.  The truth about any supply or substrate: the more you use it, the more you learn.  Since cardboard is a plentiful supply, it is always within reach, and you can try all kinds of things with it.  There's nothing precious about it....trial and error is a good thing.  The only thing you need is a fresh set of blades and some imagination.  After writing articles about using cardboard, including matchboxes and small kraft boxes, for more than a year in my column for Somerset Studio, I thought the year end finale would be the perfect place to show off my Gingerbread House.  

I've been wanting to make one like this for a while, and finally got around to it.  As I say in the article, it doesn't take any less time to make versus bake, but it will last alot longer.  I planned ahead, and have hinged openings in the back, with little shelves behind each window, to accommodate a battery operated votive.  HCIT!

 

 

My scallop and stone stencils were the perfect tool to create shingles and a brick fireplace.  I have to admit I kinda knew that when I was designing them.  I know, it's early for thinking about Christmas decorations....I'm just putting out Halloween stuff....but it's the time of year when days fly by.  Let me know if you make one of your own!

 

 

 

just arrived

Last week I received the new book by Joan Bess:  Gelli Plate Printing:  Mixed-Media Monoprinting Without a Press.  It is fabulous, with easy-to-follow processes - I already have some new ideas for making textures on the gelli plate.  As I wrote to Joan, I applaud the force she has become by infusing creative energy into this community with her genius invention, and the classy and stylish manner in which she presents many ideas on the blog, with the photos and video tutorials, and now this book!  I recently scored the new small size gelli and can't wait to break it in - Joan makes it look so effortless, and it really is!  Visit GelliArts.com and GelliArts.blogspot.com, and pick up the book at your local store or an Amazon.  In addition to many techniques you'll want to try, the book has a guest gallery that displays how other artists are using the addictive printing process.  

 

 

 

Also, just arrived is the newest issue of Somerset Studio.  In my column, Make It Your Own, I write about taking some travel souvenirs and moving them from the keepsake box to the wall, so that they may be enjoyed every day.  Are there any treasures you have tucked away that should move to your wall!  What are you waiting for?

 

 

 

I'm prepping and packing to teach in San Diego next weekend.  It's been ten years since I've visited California - looking forward to it!!

serendipity boxes

Still defaulting to cardboard......I've been collecting anything and everything with brown paper packing.  These little craft boxes are a terrific addition to my cardboard sculptures, and they were the perfect fit inside an assemblage frame.  See the July/August Somerset Studio for the complete article. 

more B&K

More pages from my Black&Kraft journal.  I've prepared a tutorial on Constructing and DeConstructing cardboard as a journal for Stampington's blog.  See that HERE.  It's a companion to my column in the recent Somerset Studio.  In the right sidebar albums you can see more of my cardboard journal pages.  (If you're reading through a feed, click HERE for the album).  I need to get it updated, but there is alot to see there.  Sneak peek below of some stencils that will debut soon ;)

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!  I had a terrific week of celebrating - a good start to a year of being 50!  And the roses are now in full bloom - hundreds of them came out this week.  I'm a lucky girl. 

Only six weeks until CREATE NJ kicks off!  I'm preparing lots of stuff for the workshops and vendor night.  Hope to see you there!!

 

 

new article - old favorite

As you know, I've been playing with cardboard for quite a while.  If you're a regular here you've seen my cardboard journals (right sidebar photo album has some archived pages).  I think it's such a fabulous material to work with and I continually find new ways to push it's usefulness.  My May/June Somerset Studio column is about the journals, in particular a new Black & Kraft one.  Scroll down for previous sneak peeks, or if you're reading through a feed, click HERE.  Magazine on shelves May 1st.

I will be teaching two cardboard classes in NYC in October.  Visit www.TheInkPadNYC.com for details.  All my upcoming classes are posted in the left sidebar or you can click on WORKSHOPS at the navigation bar on top.  I will be teaching three classes in NJ in July, and I'm coming to San Diego for the first time in September, for San Diego Book Arts.

My apologies to visitors who got frustrated during the week as Typepad had issues on and off for several days.  I wasn't able to connect either!  Hopefully all is fixed and we won't experience outages again.  Happy to see things back up!

EDIT:  In late May, I was a guest blogger on Stampington's site.  I offered a tutorial on making your own cardboard journal.  In case you missed it I'm posting here, as well as in my Cardboard Journal album in the right sidebar.

 

black and kraft

I'm knee deep in three different projects, and I haven't even started our taxes.  Yikes!  I handcut some new stencils today to test out before I send into production - can't wait to show you!!  For now, since I've been an absent blogger, I will give you a peek into my latest Debris Journal - I call this one Black & Kraft.  You can see more from this one in an upcoming article for Somerset Studio (May/June).  You can also take a class with me and make your own Debris Journal at the Ink Pad in New York City, October 19.  We'll be doing some fun stuff on the pages, like you see below - using stencils to make marks, and to peel away the top surface. 

Cardboard Compositions

I've shown you some of the cardboard I've been collecting and hoarding, but I've been using it too!  In my recent column in Somerset Studio (March/April) you can see some of my relief sculptures.  The article opens with a sampler I created using all kinds of cardboard clippings and natural materials.  Similar to my "me first" style of journaling, this printer's tray makes me so happy to look at, plus it frees me up to use the remaining stash since I've saved a little piece of each offering for myself.  The article continues with some examples of my assemblages of dimensional, deliberate cuttings and piercings.  Influenced by the monochromatic works of Louise Nevelson, which she fashioned from found objects, then painted to let the shadows tell the story, I found a way to use my favorite supply, and made it my own.

I will be presenting workshops that focus on cardboard later this year.  If you're interested, stay tuned!

 

new reads and more crowning glories

It was a terrific Christmas and a nice few days of just enjoying family time.  Today I'm catching up on loose ends, wrapping up a few deadlines, and planning to do some reading.  A fabulous graphic book from Lynne looks amazing,  a cool book of architect's libraries from Santa, and a handful of magazines are piled on the table.  I've been hearing about Flow magazine (for paper lovers) from Lisa and Julie so I ordered from the Netherlands and they arrived in two days!

 

The Jan/Feb Somerset Studio arrived and like last year, Lynne and I collaborated on an article.  The title of our workshop Crowning Glories is not meant to be literal or limiting, and we each presented different ways you could interpret the title.  Lynne describes and illustrates how impressed she was at seeing pages on exhibit from The Persian Book of Kings.  For my part of the article I took on a self-imposed challenge to incorporate faces, something I rarely do, and found inspiration from playing iPad Solitaire!  Whether you're traveling to see something unique at a museum or gallery, or you're procrastinating on the couch while playing games, you can find new directions to influence your work.

 

I decided to leave my panels in black and white for the article, but I've been working additional pieces in color, which I will show you another time.  This design style has become addicting and I can't stop making them.  Here are the original four colorized in Photoshop.

 

And a reminder about our workshop, which is filling up!  I think there is only one spot left in the first weekend before we start the waiting list, and a handful of spots left in the second weekend.  If you are interested, email Lynne, lkperrella (at) aol (dot) com for the packet of details.

October arrivals

New arrivals this week - the latest Somerset Studio - Nov/Dec 2013, and Mary Beth Shaw's new book, Stencil Girl:  Mixed Media Techniques for Making and Using Stencils.  I'm very impressed with the book publisher - I got the book and the return of my art one day after the book release.  It's usually weeks before we get a copy! 

Thanks to all the new visitors to Green Pepper Press who ordered stencils and stamps after the exposure on the GelliArts blog.  Wasn't that an awesome video?  I've been filling and sending orders, and preparing packages to go out as soon as I get restock on my inventory.  After teaching and vending in Connecticut, then this promotion, my merchandise has been cleared out.  Crossing fingers that I get a nice big box from my manufacturer early next week so I can fulfill all the remaining orders and send them on their merry way.  Again, my thanks to Joan at Gelli for this opportunity.  I have been making lots of prints of my own - will post soon.  So here's the peek at the latest ink:

 

 

 

 

sun dried paper

Before the sunny summer days are over, and the evening darkness starts to creep into the afternoons, I have a suggested project:  Paper Casting.  I've written an article about it for my column in Somerset Studio - the September/October 2013 issue should be arriving to your home, or your local bookstore soon.  It's not required to utilize the sun to dry your casts, but it certainly makes it more fun to have them dry quickly, so you can 'harvest' them and refill for more.

 

 

Since I took alot of photos to support this article I chose to edit and leave out a few - the embossing folder casts were cool, but they were fabricated in a different manner than all the other casts so I didn't include for the article.  I've been making and using paper casts for years, and have talked about them on this blog several times, but if you are new to the concept, perhaps the article will be useful....you know I love to advocate for Making It Your Own :)

 

 

i love art: matchboxes

Continuing my declarations of art love for the month of February....the new Somerset Studio arrived yesterday so I thought I would talk about matchboxes, the subject of my Make It Your Own column.  I started using matchboxes a few years back when I was interested in making mini shrines.  I love that they are on standby, ready to assist me in projects, in a bin on my studio table.  And when they are pre-painted it's even better.  Recently I started embedding them into canvas surfaces.  I had so much fun doing it - the possibilites are endless with what you can put in them, how to compose your piece, and I thought it would make a great class so I'm teaching RECESS at Art Is You, Stamford, CT in October.  Get it?  The boxes are recessed, plus taking a workshop is like getting to play at recess.  I crack myself up!  So here are some of the pieces that appear in the article.

 

collaborating

The current issue of Somerset Studio is on the shelves.  You'll see my friend Lynne and I each swapped our regular columns to collaborate on an article:  Far Away Places.  It's a subject we love and we enjoyed exploring it with words and visuals for the publication, and we are co-hosting two workshops in Connecticut this May on the same theme.  It's going to be a wonderful experience to work together, and share our passion for making cool stuff with fellow creatives.  Come away with us!

See the workshop description by clicking on the sidebar link or on navigation bar on top.

Visit Lynne's site to see more of her Far Away Places artwork, HERE.

turkeys, nutcrackers, and rock stars

First, let me wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  There is so much to be thankful for, especially this year as we reflect on all that has happened in our neck of the woods.  I am grateful for the walls and roof of our home, with full power restored to cook a turkey and all the trimmings.  I am grateful for my family - my parents are arriving soon to celebrate around the table with us.  I am grateful for an entire trunk full of memories visiting family and friends in England, and seeing the glorious sites of Venice. I'm a lucky girl.

 

With all that went on recently I wasn't able to share this news.  My latest Somerset Studio column came out November 1st, Make It Your Own: Nutcrackers.  I love nutcrackers!!!  It finally occured to me to put my own spin on them.   If you think you want to try it I recommend shopping Hobby Lobby - they have a wonderful unfinished large nutcracker this season.  My store is sold out and they aren't re-ordering :(  You could also buy a cheapy one from the dollar store and sand off all the cheesey sequins and add your own handsome bits to it.  Here are three of mine...the Royal Guard was described, but the photo was inadvertently left out of the article, so I will share here.

 

And if you don't want to go full-out with embellishment, you can always just spray paint a solid color.  They look cool too.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!  And since tomorrow is 11/22, I have to wish my favorite rock star Hyvää Syntymäpäivää.

 

The Raven with a Tell-Tale Heart

A few months ago a showed you my plaster covered hands.  I was involved in a MakeItYourOwn project.  You can read about it in the Sept/Oct Somerset Studio.  I loved trying to figure out how to make a raven from a few simple supplies.  I admit in the article that I would do a few things differently, like cutting smaller feathers.  My guy seems to look more like a Goth Bald Eagle than a sinister Raven....or maybe he even looks like a penguin recovering from an oil spill.  When I put him in context with my other Halloween decorations, which includes lots of black birds and Poe figures, I think he will pass as a raven. 

 

 

I didn't include stepped out directions in the article because that would have meant stopping to take great pictures, or sending along several versions of the raven-in-process.  Sometimes you just gotta stay in the groove and keep working, right?  I did manage a few quickie shots - not good enough for publication but they serve as a record for myself, and maybe they'll be useful should you take it on yourself.  With my own visuals I can clarify a few things....like what is that white unidentified object in the photo above?  It's the balloon body, covered in plaster strips....scroll down, you'll see.

First, the journal pages.  I started by attaching some of my sketches as I was formulating ideas.  One page actually has all the samplings of materials, evidence right from the table, including the plaster dripped scrap paper that protected my work surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cut it out

The new Somerset Studio arrived.  My column is about making stencils and masks.  I've updated the tutorial page with information about cutting your own.  I love investing time in making some cool patterns to use over and over but I also advocate for making a stencil or mask that is fleeting, made from just a scrap of paper, that can be used directly on a page once it has served its purposed by guiding an application or two of paint. 

Visit the tutorials link on the right sidebar, or go directly to the new stencil page, click HERE.

I've been absent from here as it has been a busy week with school wrapping up.  Thanks for sticking with me and offering your congrats to Sam for his performance at the Special Olympics.  As I mentioned earlier, it is a milestone month.  Tomorrow my parents arrive and Thursday he graduates.  I'll be back with pictures and other news soonish.

Happy Summer ~ it's here!

artmaking tools: carved stamps

Yesterday I was reminiscing with Mom about May Day activities in our old neighborhood.  We would make (and receive) handmade paper baskets and cones filled with flowers cut from the garden - usually nearly-expired tulips or daffodils, wrapped with a wet paper towel and tin foil, or a handful of leftover Easter candy.  Ding Dong.  We'd drop our offerings on the front step and run for cover.  Did you do that too?

My doorbell did ring yesterday, but it was the mailman with an armful of deliveries too big for the mailbox.  Included was the latest issue of Somerset Studio.  It remains a thrill to be included in my favorite publication.  My Make it Your Own column has me standing on soapbox to encourage you to carve some rubber. 

Here is a better view on the first piece - metallic doesn't show up very well in print.  Made for Shannon.  We all think of her when we see pink roses, but sunflowers were one of her favorites. 

I included my journal pages but I always find it interesting to see the thought process of an artist at work.  Here are what my process pages typically look like while I'm working on other surfaces.

And as I said earlier, and in the article, I've assembled previous posts about carving onto a tutorial page - not meant to be a comprehensive how-to, but you might find it useful, or motivating.  See HERE.