Diana Trout's blog

First Friday (on Monday: Shannon Green

Hey gang, I'm so pleased to introduce you to Shannon Green. She's quite the YouTube star and many of you have likely found her. I just fell in love with her Texas drawl, humorous observations and willingness to make art from just about anything just about anywhere. She came up with a journaling system called Journaling by 5's that's just awesome! (Video is linked below). Here's Shannon.

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Back in January I was watching some art journaling videos on YouTube. I’ve been a paper crafter for as long as I can remember and although I do like to dabble in other areas. paper will always be my first love. I watched one of Diana videos where she used a composition book in a way I’d never seen before. She simply did what she wanted on random pages for no good reason. She wasn’t trying to create an art journal page or a themed book, she was just making marks and gluing down images that made her happy. This spoke to my soul. 

A few minutes after watching Diana’s video I watched a few of Rae Missigman’s 15 Minutes of Mixed Media videos. My brain sort of meshed Diana’s freestyle composition book journal with Rae’s 15 minute pages and that’s how Journaling By 5s was born. It’s a simple process but can have profound results, especially for those who have trouble facing a blank page or who are intimidated by their inner critic. 

Journaling By 5s is not about the end result, it’s about the process. At the end of the 75 minute process you will have a 20 page journal that you might consider complete but it’s more likely that you will have 20 pages that you are dying to continue working on! 

Here's the formula for Journal by 5's

5 sessions
10 different media options, 2 per session
15 minutes per session
20 pages

Session 1-Background
Session 2-Texture
Session 3-Pattern
Session 4-Focal Point
Session 5-Details

Each session is a basic element of an art journal page. Breaking them down can help to demystify the process for some left brain creatives. You’ll be surprised what your creative instincts can accomplish if you get out of the way and let them!  

JB5 blog post

JB5 facebook group

Thanks so much for joining us today, Shannon! You are inspiring. Let's get back to Journaling (by 5's) or anyway that keeps those creative muscles pumping.

This Blog is Yours

I'm excited. Really excited. To be showing your work. My friends, followers, students, my inspiration. 

Most of you folks who follow me do so from work. Some of you are full time moms. Many of you have emailed me about responsibilities outside of work - either kids or aging parents. Or health problems. You Inspire Me.

Your courage and passion thrill me. 

My last two 1st Fridays have been from my followers and I really want to continue this. Those of you choosing to make art first and, though you might want to have a blog, don't have time. 

Let's talk about this. I'm thinking about the best way to get your art up on my blog. If you have suggestions, let me know. So comment. Let me know your thoughts. I'm opening up my blog to you. This space is for you.

These photos are from my MeetUp group. If you are in the Philadelphia area, join me here.

First Friday Artist: Stacy Rollins

Drum roll please. It a pleasure to introduce you to Artist Stacy Rollins. 

Stacy recent sent me a couple of simply astonishing mail art envelopes brimming with "stuff" to journal with. I'll let you enjoy while you read a little bit about Stacy.

My name is Stacy Rollins. From Waterville, Maine.

I'm a single mom and work, typing, at home My hands are always stained with ink and sticky from gel medium. My  work breaks are consumed with crafting every day. I wouldn’t consider myself an artist, more like a creative crafter.  

Visual journaling and mail art are my passions.  It melts my heart to watch a puddle of purple and a puddle of yellow meet (dare you to say that 3 times fast). I gravitate towards odd images.  I like to use found text to label a page or a fragmented sentence that holds a personal meaning for me and otherwise a mystery for anyone else looking at it.

 

I enjoy block form art with patterns and colors that have no business being next to each other but once they are glued down they create magic. My stuff is asymmetric and sloppy. I guess if I wanted to look at a  greeting card image, I’d go buy a card. I also enjoy found poetry with strips of random text over a bright background.

My favorite medias are Inktense blocks (I use them as wet media), collage, gesso, spray inks, fluid acrylic and watercolor. Since I couldn’t draw to save my life, my stencils are VERY broken-in.

Nothing spectacular or outstanding to be said about me.

Just a fellow lover of art. So grateful it found me. Because of art I am fortunate enough to say I truly cannot remember the last time I was bored. Boredom seems to be a demon in a lot of peoples’ lives. Not me! Thank goodness what I need fits right in my purse. 

Ahem. Nothing spectacular or outstanding? I am completely blown away by Stacy's artwork, the colors, patterns and her unique use of imagery. I'm thrilled to share her artwork with you today. 

First Friday Artist; Karen D'Angelo

First Friday Artist, Karen D'Angelo is here today. I met Karen some years ago while teaching at The Ink Pad in NYC. As so often happen, I learn as much from my students and art, life and combining the two as they from me. 

Here's Karen. 

These drawings are all under 5"x7"

"I now  Fabriano or Saunders Waterford text laid finish papers for my little drawings. I always tear my edges with a deckle ruler or on the edge of a table too. For these paintings I  made the watercolor paint using pigments. (I didn't include the edges because of a parallax issue.)

 I work at Pratt Institute as director of marketing in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies in New York City, and do home care for my 88 year old mom who lives with me. I joined Pratt in 2004 as a student in search of increasing my computer graphics skills and quickly progressed to my current role because I just love continuing education for adults!

Sometimes people ask me how I'm capable of balancing these two demanding purposes and still find time for art. My reply to that is always: a few hours of making art each day helps me sort out my thoughts and just be me for a while. The creative process is my guide back to my Self when things get challenging, and it helps me make time for the right actions in my life. 

My inspirations come from stories like The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) and The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien) where there are solutions to problems and always a happy ending (or an opening to a sequel LOL), and the introspective processes I use while journaling, which might be like someone reading their tarot cards in search of answers to life's deeper questions."

Karen is such an inspiration on so many levels. Look how interesting those watercolor blends are - especially on the first two pieces. Wow! I can see the serenity in the doodling. It's tangible. I'm so happy to share her work and thoughts with you today.

These are fountain pen ink and watercolor,  all under 5"x7"

Have a wonderful weekend! xo - Diana

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Jessica Curtaz, First Friday Artist

A few weeks ago, I visited Gray Gallery in Chestnut Hill. It's a tiny space; one room in an historic house and the exhibit was very exciting. I hope to bring each of the artists to you. The first is Jessica Curtaz. I was immediately taken with her highly detailed work. I leave this to Jessica ...

"I am interested in everyday objects that have repetitive patterns, for example; hydrangea blossoms, chain link fence, pine cones and cable knit sweaters. I play with these objects, increasing shadows, completely removing shading and overlapping imagery. I am interested in where the boundary is between representation and abstraction.

I have a background in science, I worked in research and development for five years, and I approach my art work the same way that I did science. I experiment. And each piece that I do leads me to the next thing that I want to figure out.

There don't tend to be grand moments of inspiration, it's more of a steady walk down a path. One cobblestone leads to another. 

There are though, the moments when I realize that I am afraid to try something or go in a certain direction, that something feels risky....and when that happens I always know that is what I need to do next."

The experience of looking at Jessica's work filled me with a feeling of movement and repetition. It was pretty thrilling. I hope you enjoy this peek into Jessica's world. And check out Gray Gallery too. Owner and Art Professor Carole Loeffler has some very exciting exhibits planned. 

Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes, 1st Friday Artist

Here's Michelle: "Lately, my inspiration seems to be anything in the sky - birds, the moon, rooftops - I just love looking up and creating art that reflects what I see.

I'm definitely a mixed media gal: my work all originates with my camera, and then I leap forward from there. I collage, paint, and combine all my components digitally to create each piece, and I hand-make a line of art and housewares that feature my designs. 

I like to tell stories within my art, and my very favorite thing is to hear the memories or feelings that my work inspires. Seeing someone smile or hearing them relive a happy childhood moment because of something I created is so incredibly rewarding." 

Michele's website
Follow Michele on Facebook and Instagram

It's a pleasure to have Michelle here today. Her blend of media and story is fresh and sophisticated. And very personal to anyone who views it! I love looking at her work because I can invent my own story. Thanks for sharing your work with us, Michelle!  

Michelle is part of MamaCITA. They have a show opening next Sunday, Feb 8 at Cheltenham Art Center on Feb. 8, Cheltenham, PA (just outside of Philly). Look here for details. 

First Friday Artist, Alyssa Holman

Alyssa is a 11th grader who contacted me last year to ask if I'd mentor her on her travel journal project for school. In this journal, Alyssa documented her trip to Africa. I was thrilled to work with this insightful and talented young woman. Today, she shares some of her art and thoughts. Here's Alyssa

Found at the Beach 

All the items on this spead were either bought or found while I was at the beach, or remind me of the beach. The colors in the spread represent the sand, and the image on both sides that says "Cherries" is a local fruit stand. 

What is Africa?

This spread to me represents the difference between tourist Africa and "real" Africa. As a tourist, all you see is t he the wealth of Africa; Cape Town is a luxurious city quite comparable to San Francisco. When you travel outside the city, you begin to see "real" Africa with the poor villages and the animals.

Faces of Africa 

I created these pages using a picture I took in an African village that I produced multiple times and layered. The children jump out at you from the page, and this is exactly how I felt while visiting the village. All the kids run up to you, eager to learn about you.

 

Alyssa has been inspired by Sabrina Ward Harrison, Dan Eldon amongst others. Her graphic visual style captivated me from the first. Alyssa's thoughtful insights are inspiring. She's sees to the heart of the thing.

It was fun to watch her thoughtful use of technique. I enjoy the graphic quality of her artwork and her composition is always so strong! All of this strengthens her message.

It's always such a revelation to see through young people's eyes. Thanks Alyssa!

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend, friends. 

First Friday Artist: Traci Bunkers

Welcome to Traci Bunkers ' world! Traci is the author of 2 books on Art Journaling Print & Stamp Lab and The Art Journal Workshop. Her work is funky and expressive and loads of fun. She joins us today with a neat tutorial: Printed Heart Ice Cube Tray: Quick Printed Backgrounds, Part 1. Part 2 of this project is printing on fabric and that is linked at the end of her post.

Here's Traci:

As you may or may not know, I'm a self-proclaimed love child of MacGyver. I can turn just about anything into a printing or stamping tool and I get a kick out of seeing what new things I can find to use.  

I get especially perky around the commercial holidays because I can find interesting things at the dollar store or the dollar sections of chain stores that make great printing tools. Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought it was a perfect time to print with those heart-shaped ice cube trays. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to use them to get nice, grungy backgrounds in your journal, or on loose sheets of paper that can then be used in your art work. Let's start with a loose sheet of paper.

Materials:

• paint palette
• acrylic paint
• sponge brush
• heart-shaped ice cube tray (I found this at Target!)
• paper or wax paper to protect your table
• loose sheet of paper (I like to use pages from old books.)

Step 1: Place something down to protect the table, then place your paper on top of it. Squirt some acrylic paint on your paint palette, and use the sponge brush to apply it to the top of the ice cube tray.  

Step 2: Place the ice cube tray onto the paper and push down with your fingers to print all of the flat areas. Be sure to get in between the hearts too.

Step 3: Carefully lift the corner of the tray, checking to see if everything printed. If not, place it back down and work the unprinted areas some more with your fingers.  

Step 4: Add more paint, and print the next section. It can be printed the same direction as the first time, or rotate it 180 degrees to print it the opposite direction.

Step 5: Continue printing until the page is covered. After the paint is dry, it can be used as the background for other artwork, collage material, or to make a Valentine's Day Card. Now let's print it in a journal for a quick background. You need the same materials, except this time you need a journal instead of a loose sheet of paper.

Here's a short video tutorial I made of me printing the ice cube tray in my journal. If you can't see this video, click here.

 

Now, my journal is ready for some action! As I start working in it, if I feel the hearts are too bold for writing or distracting from whatever else I put on the page, I can do a wash of color over it, or even add a thin layer of paint. Hop on over to my blog for Part 2, printing on fabric!   If you enjoyed this tutorial, I've got a new online workshop coming up called "Heaps of Layered Hand printed Cards." where I teach you some easy printing techniques while making mixed-media cards. Be sure to sign up for my mailing list or follow my blog so you'll know when it starts!

See previous First Friday Artists

Jeanne Handley McLaughlin talks about Eco Printing on rice paper 
Jane Davies ; talks about Gelli Plate printing and glue gun stencils here 
Seth Apter works with stencils and resists here
Tammy Garcia with a fun tutorial on painting flowers and stitching paper
Julia Rix talks about her woodcuts here

 

First Friday Artist: Seth Apter

Detail of Stenciled Page

Seth is a wonderful artist and a fantastic community builder and supporter of art and artists through his blog The Altered Page. Many of you know him through teaching, his blog and his two books: The Pulse of Mixed Media (in which I'm proud to be included) and most recently The Mixed Media Artist. Here is Seth with a tutorial using stencils in an unexpected way.

Art products are like boomerangs. They may disappear for a while but you can always expect them to return. Stencils, for example, are having a renaissance. Today’s stencils are made of high quality material, have artist-driven designs, and are being used in new and innovative ways.

I am always experimenting with stencils in an attempt to find new ways to use them. I have recently been using stencil resists as a way to create background pages and add to my stash of designed paper to tear up for collages. In my exploration of possible products (all of which were already in my studio) to use for the resist technique, I discovered the Sharpie Meanstreak Permanent Marking Stick. This is a fade resistant, waterproof marker with a thick tip that is very effective for resists. Be aware though that while this marker is non-toxic, it does have a strong scent.

As a demonstration, I painted a piece of watercolor paper with acrylic paint.

I then used my three stencil designs from StencilGirl Products (Story Time, Unfinished, Numbers) and the Sharpie Meanstreak to create the resist. I simply placed sections of the stencils on the paper and rubbed the Sharpie over the stencil cuts. The application is imperfect but that only adds to the uniqueness of the final design.

I then created acrylic glazes by mixing Golden Fluid Acrylic Paints with Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid. I brushed the glazes over sections of the paper and used a paper towel to pull some of the glaze off. The area that was covered with the Sharpie designs resists the glaze but not so much that you are left with a stark white design. Note that the more glaze you pull off with the paper towel, the stronger the resist. 

Thanks for this fun tutorial, Seth. How neat to see the evolution of this page. I'm going to be on the lookout for Sharpie Meanstreak markers. Can't resist a good resist :) Here is Seth's workshop lineup for 2014.

Have a happy weekend everyone. xo - Diana

 

First Friday Artist: Jane Davies

I'm really jazzed to introduce Jane Davies today. Jane manages to teach at breakneck speed while still producing a body of strong (and wonderful) abstract art. 

Her work is free and spontaneous but there is strong, well-practiced line, color, shape and composition that holds it all together beautifully. Man, her color is sophisticated. Knocks me out. And I get all droolly about her shapes like this:

You can float around like crazy in a piece like this. Here's Jane ...

"I have been working with the GelliArts gel plates for a couple of years, always trying new things.  This is a technique for making stencils that I learned from Traci Bautista.  The stencils are made using a glue gun and two sheets of parchment paper.  Here I've used them as masks in the gel plate printing process."

Jane's use of just the three primaries in this video is a point I make to my painting students: limit your colors and learn to mix new colors from them. It will give your work unity. 

I'm nuts about Jane's Red & Black series as well. Jane works quickly and in series and that always inspires me. She does a lot of exploration and that shows up in her work.

I hope you enjoyed having a look at Jane's work. She will be teaching "Stencils and Masks" at Art and Soul 2014 in Kansas City in March, and Virginia Beach in October. All artwork in this post are class samples.

See all of Jane's  workshop offerings here. She's one of the artists that I drop in on often. Wasn't this worth it a week late?! Thanks Jane.

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First Friday Artist; Tammy Garcia