Pen work!

Today I am more focused on sharing with the world one young lady, who started college today.
One of the greatest creations I've ever had a part in.
Congrats Cheyenne. I am so incredibly proud of you, you are going to do amazing things. I hope the world is ready for you.

But I do have this to share as well.
(I'd like to say it kept me from crying like a mom on the first day of kindergarten... but nope)

Color

I love the way a tile pops once you photograph it. The darks, darker somehow, the lights, brighter and crisper.

I struggle to photograph color and yet playing with it makes me happy.
These are basic alcohol inks in blues and yellow, which I then tangled using a dark green micron, shaded and then added in a few tiny accents.

The brights are brighter on the tile, the color richer and more intense.
This was a fun tile to make

New ideas....

I love to play with things. Seriously, Im much like a child than never grew up in many ways. Put tools and supplies in front of me and not only will you have made my day but I wont be able to resist touching them, trying to make them work together to create something new.

So, that's what happened.
And I got this... which I liked a lot, but it was hard to see.

So... now it looks like this! 

I'll share more about how I got there after I have time to play with it a bit more, really see what I can make it do and where it can go

SO MUCH FUN.

Speaking off, I better run. It's fingerpaint day! :D

Tangles and Ink

I love the way that alcohol ink plays on pottery! I was making more examples for my upcoming class and this happened!
It looks like a rose appeared on the magnet!

I am so looking forward to this class!

Wearable art

This was designed and tangled for a dear friend. She had found an image and quote she loved and wanted it in pendant form.

 I love pieces like this, that are meaningful for people and that I can put a lot of love into.

And here it is completed.

Today, I seem to be lacking in motivation a little.. .but in the coming months, I hope to have something pretty awesome to share with all of you!

Shading for dimension

I love shading. From a relaxation perspective, I adore the way the graphite lays on the paper, I get satisfaction from the way it blends into the cotton fibers. It makes me happy.
If it doesn't.. if it really stresses you out, then it's ok to not shade.

Art confession time. I used to be terrified to shade. I was always thinking, but I like it the way it is, what if I "wreck it" and then I discovered that it really needs it most of the time.
I shade very intuitively  to tell you the truth. I can tell when it needs some darkness, some light.
Everything needs depth.

I get asked a lot if tangling needs shading. That's a choice only you can make, but I do want to show you the difference in the richness of a tile that's been shaded and one that hasn't and encourage you to give it a shot if you've been holding back.

Fun isn't it?

Here's some closer pictures.
Before. It's a pretty tile right? Some fun stuff going on. Printemps, Nipa and Jetties, that I finally learned thanks to Sonya Yencer! 

But it's nothing special. 

I spent another 5 minutes on it. I blacked in the white space, I added some highlights. I added shadows and now...
I kind of love it. 

Are you a shader? In love with graphite? 

Did you shade from the beginning or were you nervous?
And what are you working on today?

Botanical cards

I have been trying to find somewhere to have my prints made into cards in a way that I'm happy with the print job, they are quality and don't end up so expensive that I have to charge $8 per card.
I believe I've found a solution for color, still on a hunt for black and white. Perhaps I'll just print my own.

Which do you like? I think I want to package them in sets of 5, but I don't know which I like best.

I also have several in other colors... that I think would be a good start for a different set, or do you think I should mix color palettes?

Hope you are doing something awesome and fun today! I just got the call that freshman orientation is tomorrow! YIKES! I'll have 2 freshman! 1 college and 1 high school.
That only now occurred to me!

Not my usual "works of art"

Sometimes... creativity takes a little bit more of an edible form.

I give you Dark cherry, nutella fudge popsicles. 

Well, I'm not really giving any to you because we ate them all but they were delicious. 

Recipe:
1½ cups of dark chocolate almond milk
½ cup nutella
handful of dark cherrys, pitted
      reserve a half dozen and slice them in half

I threw everything in my magic bullet but a food processor or blender would work.
Pour into Zoku.
Eat.

Really that simple. :)

Giveaway winner and some tangling

First, I want to start out and say that Debbie Bennett is my giveaway winner. Debbie, I need you to shoot me an email with your address and I'll get your package out to you this week!

Yesterday was a busy day. First there was fingerpainting and then I did a private class with a good friend using the Tints on Tan technique created by Marty Deckel.

We started with some monotangles on Bijou 

And then dove in!

We did 2 tiles, then strung a 3rd.
I also finished one I'd been working on for a while as we were chatting and catching up on life!

Today is going to be a great day! I hope yours is wonderful too!

Messy is fun!

Today was fingerpaint day in the studio, which is always delightfully messy and I love to see the kids get into it!

I got the chance to finish up some awesome sculpy earrings that I learned how to make from my awesome friend Diane! I'm working on a cool little box but I have a shirt that will match these colors perfectly so I had to give it a shot!

I hope your day is filled with as much fun and laughter as was in my studio this morning and that you make something awesome.
And maybe a mess too!

Zendalas and class mosaics

Yesterday I worked on some Zendalas for my class last night. This is my favorite.

This one isn't finished.

Our mosiacs from the class I taught last night!

I'm going to announce the winner tomorrow from the last giveaway!

Pokemon! Kirby! Metaknight! Mario!

Knee high sneakers have room for lots of art!
I'll post the final pictures after she receives them... she wants to be surprised at the 4th side.

The story of these has been a long journey. Knee high Converse are no longer available. I can do them in a generic version but actual Converse are not being made at this time. 

Flower Pop up Card

I was always fascinated by pop up books, I have a collection of Robert Sabuda ones and I look at them frequently. I love paper sculpting and cutting and piecing things together to create something really different and exciting. 

I am working on putting together some directions for all of you in case you are interested in making one of these, but for now, I had fun making one! It was a little more difficult than I expected, but I think the light green paper was a good choice!

Have you done anything new or fun lately?

Nintendo

Working on some nintendo sneakers!
Still a work in progress, but turning out pretty cute!

What's on your list of things to do today?

Playing with paradox

HAPPY MONDAY!!!!
I don't use paradox very often but I do like the way it turns out when I do it!

Today I have a few things to get photos of, that'll be my creative project for the day today I think!
I need to create a plan, I have so many ideas in my head that I need to organize myself to get stuff done!

What are you working on this week?

Something about the sunshine....

Tangling out in the fresh air, the sunshine helps me find my zen. One of the reasons I fell in love with my studio was because even though the building was a trainwreck when I signed the lease, the light was beautiful.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon tangling surrounded by music and lots of sunshine.
The result? 7 tiles.

Some I like better than others of course, but overall I am happy with the crispness in my tangling yesterday. 

Not too crazy about this one... but I like it better than I did yesterday.

These 2 were my favorites. 

 
So overall a productive, enjoyable and relaxing day.
Just like a weekend should be.
Hope yours is going well so far and that you use your Sunday to create something awesome!

Today is the last day to enter the contest so if you haven't yet do so by midnight!