Creating a Village with the September Stencil Club Stencils

I'm on the Stencil Girl Talk blog with step out photos of how this canvas came to be.  I used the September Stencil Club stencils, which reminded me of building blocks, to create this village.  I hope you'll hop over for a visit.

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Art is ... The Sky's the Limit!

The second class I taught at Art is You is called "The Sky's the Limit."  There were many old friends in the class, including Marjie Kemper.  It is always such an honor when another teacher takes your class.

We started out making lots of prints using Gelli plates, lots and lots of Stencil Girl Stencils, stamps and other mark making techniques.  

Look at the beautiful prints people made!

Then we cut up our papers and collaged them.

The collages were beautiful in and of themselves!

We sketched out our cityscapes, and painted them using glazing techniques to adjust the colors without obscuring all of the beautiful patterns underneath.

 Thank you Marjie Kemper for capturing these "action shots!"

 

Happy students make for a happy teacher!

If you missed this class or my Altered Book Memory keeper, check out the Jessica Sporn Designs Meetup group.  I am teaching these two classes in 2015 in my home studio.  The limit is 6 students per class, and we have a lot of fun.  I live in the town of Montclair, NJ, within walking distance of the NJ Transit train from Penn Station.  My studio is just steps away from lots of great restaurants, a movie theater and more.  I would love to see you!

The winner of this Hamsa tag is Jo Murray!  Jo, send your snail mail address to jessicasporndesigns at gmail dot com and I will get it right out to you!

I have another one to give away so comment below to throw your hat into the ring!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you don't already, please sign-up for my newsletter HERE, and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin and YouTube, so that you never miss a giveaway, and always get the latest Jessica Sporn Designs News!  

 

Art is the Key that Unlocks All Doors

Art is You - an Art Retreat near and dear to my heart - is just a month away, and the sign-up deadline is only days away - September 15 to be exact.   I'm so looking forward to seeing old friends, putting faces and voices to blog friends, and making new friends.

One of the cool things about Art is You (and there are many) is that people bring all sorts of things to giveaway and trade - charms, artist trading cards, bits of ephemera.  So I decided to make a special container and journal for my trades, using the altered book technique I'll be teaching in "Altered Book Memory Keeper."

I used an old book I purchased in a consignment store in the Czech Republic.  I love the spirit of friendship on the front cover - which is one of the best things about Art is You.

I created a deep niche inside the book for storing ATCs and charms, and used the book pages I cut out to decoupage the interior.

Using my Garden Flowers and Leaves stencil from Stencil Girl Products, I decorated the front and back covers.

I glazed the inside and added branches and fruit motifs from the Medallions and Apples & Pomegranates stencils.

The phrase "Art is the key that unlocks all doors" came to me as I thought about all the doors that Art is You Retreats have unlocked for me.  Personal, professional - my experiences at 3 Art-is-You Retreats have been transforming (you can read about my prior Art is You experiences here.).

I used the Doors & Windows stencil to illustrate this sentiment, and glazed the cover with techniques I will be teaching in "The Sky's the Limit" class.

On the inside of the book, I added one of the beautiful name badges that Ellen Legare made for all the participants at one of the retreats.  I inserted one of the images from the book inside the niche.  I can't wait to fill up the niche with lots of Art-is-You goodies and journaling of my experience!

Will you be coming to Art is You?  Which classes are you taking?  In addition to teaching, I look forward to taking workshops with Andrea DeMeng, Diana Trout, Marjie Kemper, Kecia Deveney and Linda Willis.  If only I had a time turner and could take more classes during the time available.... Ah well!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

One Little Word: Adventure

The word up at One Little Word is:

ADVENTURE!
When I was looking for quotes for this word, I found so many great ones.   But choices had to be made, and so I picked ... two!

"The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams."  Oprah Winfrey and "Live, travel, adventure, bless and don't be sorry."  Jack Kerouac

  

These were perfect quotes to add to the citiscapes I have been working on for my class in October at Art-Is-You.

If you've never heard of Art-Is-You, you must check it out.  There are nearly 70 amazing workshops with the most incredible instructors, delicious food, lots of ice breakers and communal projects - it is five wonderful days of learning, recharging, and inspiration.  (You can come for one or all of the days.)  Give it a look, and I hope to see you there!

We leave today for our 10 day adventure to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia.  I have a post or two scheduled for you, and will be sure to post lots of pics when I return. 

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

Summer of Color Week 5

Hard to believe that there is only one more week left to Kristin's fun Summer of Color Challenge!  This week's colors are Apple Red and Yellow.

I created a skyline, following the steps in this post.  

I was inspired by the moody skyline in this pin:

Here's how my skyline looked after gelli print collage and free hand sketching:

And here's how it ended up after glazing and adding text:

I never would have thought to have apple red and yellow in the sky - thank you Kristin!  If you're inspired to create your own skyline, I hope you'll let me know!

I wanted to share some exciting news with you.  I was recently featured on the Create Mixed Media blog in a feature called "Living the Creative Life."  You can read part one here, and part two here! 

Thank you to Rice Freeman-Zachary for inviting me to tell my story!

Also, I was honored to be in the designer spotlight at Simon Says Stamp and Show for this flag, inspired by Sue Pelletier and Jasper Johns:

I am leaving for Israel for 10 days, and have a few posts scheduled for while I'm away.  I hope to be able to share some pictures of my trip while I'm there!  

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Miracles and Magic - A Tutorial

Magic is the subject of Artists in Blogland's "Color This Quote" challenge this month, so I've been thinking about what magic is, and where it is...

There's something magical about creating art.  When I have a lot of left over gelli prints, I like to cut them into strips and collage them onto whatever substrates I have available...

One will "speak" to me (that in itself is magic!), and I will take my super skinny brush, and some black fluid acrylic paint...

and sketch the outline of buildings, a skyline, or a citiscape.  I am leaving for Israel on Wednesday - one of the most magical destinations on earth - and plan to visit Jordan as well, so "exotic" architecture is on my mind. 

http://www.artsonia.com/museum/art.asp?id=11821936&exhibit=358767&gallery=y

I recently pinned this charming illustration, and it inspired me to create this:

I mix up glazing medium and acrylic paint...

and using a brush and my fingers, I rub this glazing mixture into my buildings until I'm happy.  When the glazing mixture subtly transforms the colors of the gelli prints underneath (but you can still see the texture and patterns from the prints), it feels like magic!

Some embellishing with pearl pens, glitter, and a sentiment, and voila:  my collage has magically become an enchanted place!

I hope this little tutorial inspires you to envision your own magical destination.  For more free tutorials and videos, click here or on the specific projects below.

   

Linking to the challenges at Faber Castell (favorite destination),  Dreamheart (color or colorful), and Art Journal Journeys (architecture).  Linking also to the fabulous blog hops at Make It Monday, Mandarin Orange Monday, Creative Every Day, Inspire Me Monday, Glue It Tuesday, Be Inspired, and Create Daily.  If you want to be inspired, visit these links - you won't be disappointed!

Speaking of magic, check out this post by Carolyn Dube.  She shows the alchemy that results from "mistakes," which she calls "OOPS," or Outstanding Opportunities Presenting Suddenly! 

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.