GPP Street Team

CRUSADE No. 35 ~ What's Your Sign?

No, I don't mean what is your zodiac symbol.  The signs I'm talking about are images or things that make you think of a loved one.  The thing that happens when seemingly out of nowhere you see something and it makes you think of someone.  You know what I mean.  You see a cardinal and it reminds you of your Grandma.  Or you see a sunflower and it reminds you of a friend.  You hear a song and it makes you think about a special someone.  You smell a wood burning fireplace in the night air and it takes you back to your childhood home.  A butterfly, a bunny, a penny, a four-leaf-clover....silly or sentimental, signs offer connection.

I love hearing about signs.  I love hearing the stories that involve the discovery of a sign that makes one feel connected to someone else.  It can happen with those living, and those passed on.  I realized I include these type of stories and images in my journal alot.  I want to encourage you to do the same.  Capture the evidence of a sign in your journal.  It's a great place to document the story and the image.  

Here's an example.  One of the signs my mother has for my sister is a hummingbird.  There have been several times where she truly felt the spiritual presence of my sister when she was visited by a hummingbird.  Because I know this about her I will often gift her with hummingbird items.  Sharing your special signs with others gives them a chance to know you better, and allows them to become more aware of those same signs.

I've written about the deer as sign for me in a blog post HERE.  Because I shared the story of my sign of the deer I was given a most precious gift from my friend Lisa.  Additional deer treasures continue to show up that continue the ripple effect of the good feeling I received from the initial sign of being visited by the doe in the woods. 

I have several signs that remind me of Shannon.  A snowflake, a sunflower, and nearly anything pink, particularly a pink rose.

Please don't feel you have to share a sign or symbol that represents a connection to a soul who has moved on - signs are also for those who are still with us.  If you are like me you have a sign in mind for almost every person in your life.  There are colors that make me think of certain friends, songs that make me think of others, places that are special or significant to some relationships.  Does the Eiffel tower mean something to you because it makes you think about someone?  When you see a fleur-de-lis do you drift off in thought about someone?  Tune in, and pay attention to the signs.  Once you do you will find them everywhere.

This month, share a connection to loved one by showing a sign and telling the story on a journal page.  Blog about it or share it on your flickr or other photohosting site then come back here and leave a link in the comments section.  I will post the links in the sidebar on the left.  Come back often and check the list to visit and leave your words of encouragement for other team players.  Newest links will be at the top.  Open to anyone....come play!!  Due:  December 1st.

What I love about the crusades is that we are all trying something at the same time and have the opportunity to see each person's perspective.  We not only get to observe the same challenge interpreted different ways but we get to know each other a little better.  THANK YOU to all who CAME OVER TO THE DARK SIDE.  It was super cool to see all the work applied over a dark surface.  I think we all learned some interesting lessons by doing the work ourselves then visting other crusaders to see what they had to share.  THANKS AGAIN!

Crusade No. 34 ~ Come Over to the Dark Side

 

Everything is better with black.  Well, at least this month....because it's going to be Halloween!  What a great excuse to Come Over to the Dark Side and try doing a journal page on a black background.  If you don't have black pages you can paint yours black.  I've always enjoyed changing up the backgrounds I use.  It helps fend off Creative Block when you start on something non-white.  Things look different on black.  And sometimes you might even get new ideas by starting with a black background.  Problem solving takes a different twist.  Supplies work differently.  Try it!

 

On these two samples I started with a little bit of gesso because it helps make color pop when used on black.  Colors can seep into a black surface and look like nothing, so I monoprinted and brushstroked on a little white gesso before adding color.  {For a reminder, see Crusade No. 25 ~ Properties of Gesso, and Crusade No. 29 ~ Brush Effects}

 

You have probably already discovered this, but metallics (acrylic, spray, or ink) all show up better when used over a dark surface.  Silver spray paint is dynamite on black paper or black painted page.

 

A few more samples that show how the green and purple really show up when there is a little gesso under it.  Of course I'm just winking when I say "come over to the dark side", and journaling on black doesn't have to be goth and sinister....but why not?  It's Halloween month! 

Here are some of my Evidence pages of new supplies this season.

  

Using stencils and masks.....from Crusade No. 19 ~ Cut It Out II

 

That's it.  Super simple.  Make a journal page on a black background, blog about it and come back over here to share your link with the team in the comment section below.  I will add the links as they come in, newest at top.  Be sure to visit the other crsuaders and leave your words of encouragement.  I will be away for a week beginning 10/7 so I won't be posting during that time but I'll get you listed upon my return.  Due November 1st.

Thanks to all who played last month with Back to School.   I hope you found it inspiring to consider what you have already done this year, and motivating to take on more before the year is over. 

THIS IS OUR THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!  It's been interesting to see who comes to play - new friends are finding us, old friends have moved on but check in from time to time.  The highest number of participants at one time was 120!  The thing that is most rewarding to me is observing the friendships that have been made through this community, and to see so many people excited about staying plugged in to making stuff.  *HIGH FIVES and SMOOCHES* 

 
 

CRUSADE NO. 33 ~ Back to School

 

It's back to school for the kids.  While I always mourn a little that summer is over, it's fun to prepare for the year ahead getting new clothes and shoes, and new folders, pencils and other supplies.  Last year at this time I challenged you to Clean Your Plate and remarked that even though the year is more than half over we are entering a new season and it is an opportunity to begin again.  As the school year begins for students across the country why not take this time to learn something new too? 

 

If you're like me then there isn't enough time in a day to do all the things you want to do.  And it seems there certainly isn't enough time to learn something new.  However, when you make the time to feed your brain, your whole self gets nourished.  Even if what you are learning isn't art related, I bet the shift in perspective gives you new ideas for creativity. 

 

Is there something you've put off learning?  Is there something you want to research, something you want to know more about, something you've never tried?  Do it!  Take this time to learn something, and share it with us.  Have you read a an interesting article lately that made you want to know more, taken a workshop, picked up a new technique?  Tell us.  It may encourage us to try something similar or motivate us to expand our mind in another way.

Here are some of the things I'm doing.  It's not all related to art but with each new thing I'm learning I have a heightened awareness and find myself bombarded with all kinds of ideas that I can bring to my studio. 

I dug up some old favorite brass stencils and have been using them in an unconventional way.  It has been a lesson in patience to make this vision I have become reality (I"ll show you some other time) but meanwhile I have a new perspective on the relationship of positive/negative, and I see the potential of additional images and their capacity everywhere around me.  (Remember when we were cutting stencils?  Didn't that happen to you too?)  Is there a technique that you want to learn, or have recently tried - maybe try making jewelry, or ceramics, or printmaking? 

 

Finnish is a tough language and I am very very slowly training my ear to understand it.  Not sure I'll ever get my mouth to speak it but it's been an interesting lesson to observe a foreign language and to appreciate those that have mastered being able to speak and think beyond their native tongue.  What language have you wanted to learn...or what country do you want to know more about? 

 

There's still a chance I might be a rock star *grin*.  THIS has been really hard, but the most fun!  I've always loved a good bass line in a song but now that I have my own bass I am listening to music in an entirely different way.  I watch music videos to get a glimpse of the bass player to see how he (or she!) is holding their hand and if they pluck or use a pick.  I have numb fingers from practicing.  It's way different than the accoustic guitar I played as a teen.  I'm starting all over.  I knew my husband was a fabulous musician, but watching him play any instrument with finesse and ease....now I think he's a master.  What instrument have you wanted to learn?  What's stopping you?

 

This month's challenge is to feed your brain - in or out of the studio.  Tell us on your blog what you have learned recently, what you plan to learn, or what you are currently learning.  It does not have to relate to art.  It can be anything.  Tried a new recipe?  Learned to knit?  Took a yoga class?  Refinished a piece of furniture or built a birdhouse?  Joined a book club or learned ballroom dancing?  Tell us. 

The year isn't over - it's a new season, a time to get Back to School, a time to assess what is still on your wish list of things you want to learn.  Go for it, and share with us so we can cheer you on and be motivated ourselves!  Make a new blog post for Crusade No. 33 and leave a link to it in the comments section and I'll add you to the list.  Newest entries will be posted at the top.  Visit other crusaders during the month and leave your words of encouragement.  Open to anyone, come and play! 

 

EDIT:  I almost forgot to mention the last crusade - *High Five* to all participants!  It was really fun to see how each of you interpreted the challenge.  I hope you found the value in revisiting and reinventing previous work - it's a terrific way to see how much you've evolved or changed in style and method of working.  Thanks for coming to play and for adding to the conversation of how interesting it can be to Knock Yourself Off.  I just learned about a book titled Exercises in Style where the writer presents one story 99 ways.  (You can read a few excerpts on Amazon - clever man!)  Imagine finding 99 ways to re-tell a story!  Now imagine 99 ways to Knock Yourself Off!

CRUSADE No. 32 EXTENDED

 

I'm heading out of town again so I will miss the August 1st deadline and decided since we have so few particpants this month I will extend No. 32 to Spetember 1st.  I love this challenge so I'm hoping the low count is due to everyone having a blast this summer and not due to lack of interest.  I'm giving it another whole month (which gives me more time to get the next one ready too!)  Thanks to the seven who have taken the time to participate already.  Love seeing the *before* and *after* as you've Knocked Yourself Off.  Bravo! 

CRUSADE No. 32 ~ Knock Yourself Off

 

Recently Stampington & Co. made a call for entries for "True Colors" pages through Post Script, their online newsletter.  It got me thinking about my own work in that project and how differently I might approach a page today.  My style and interests have changed, and the process and techniques I use have evolved since that collaborative began in 2001.  As a way to chart our own growth it might be interesting to revisit older work through our current filters, don't you think?

A knockoff is an unauthorized imitation or copy, and is usually considered a bad thing.  Think:  designer purses sold on the streets of New York.  Or, an item that is popular or trendy becomes knocked-off by wannabes.  Ewww.  We don't do that....because we know how to Make It Our Own.  But if we knock ourselves off, that could be good.  (We have the authorization to imitate ourselves).  We could take something we've made, months or years ago, and try it again, armed with new skills and techniques and an evolved style to see how much we've grown.  Are we more sophisticated, more complex, more messy, more authentic?  Has your color palette changed?  Do you use more or less texture, paint, fabric, metal?

Here is an example.  I made this Exemplar for Somerset Studio a long time ago.  If I were to take on that self-imposed assignment today it might look a little different.  Those of you who know my work will recognize both styles, and that obviously the one on the right is designed with my current vision. 

 

While I love my pages in my Autumn journal for True Colors, I would most definitely have a different approach if I were to begin that project today.

 

We've all heard "cover" versions of music.  They aren't always better than the original, just a different version created through the perspective of another artist, in another style, and of course, with better recording technology.  For instance, here is T. Rex performing Bang a Gong.  Years later it was covered by Power Station HERE.  It's a little more punchy and powerful thanks in part to the growth of the recording industry.  More examples:  Careless Whisper by George Michael vs. Seether.  We can't leave out HIM, their version of Don't Fear the Reaper vs. Blue Oyster Cult. 

So this month, Knock Yourself Off, or Cover Yourself.  Go back a few months or a few years and select a journal page or piece of art and re-make it by your own "today's standards". 

 

 

NOTE:  I will be away for a week starting 7/8 so I won't be loading links during that time but you can check the comments and follow the posted entries.

Links will be posted in the order they come in with the newest at the top for easy navigating to new links.  Archived crusades are alphabetical order by first name.  If you wait for this page to load before clicking on links they will open in a new page. If you participate in the crusades and hope to get comments be sure your blog settings aren't so secure that it makes it difficult to leave a comment.  Here's a tip:  the more comments you leave the more comments you will get!

bravo! and coming soon...

Thanks to all who came to play in M.I.Y.O.  If you haven't visited all the links on the list be sure to stop in and leave your enthusiastic comments as we all like to be validated especially when we go out on a limb to share our work.  I hope you'll continue thinking about how to make your art personal, authentic, and completely yours.

 

We had two impromptu parties this week so I'm not quite finished with the next challenge.  I'll get it up during the weekend so come back and see what I have prepared for you.  For those of you in the U.S. - enjoy the 4th!

CRUSADE No. 31 ~ Make It Your Own

 

If you've ever taken a class with me you've probably heard me say this:  Make It Your Own.  That can mean several things.  Sometimes I'll say it when I'm encouraging an artist to claim a material they are using.  Adding a little paint, or scudging it up with sandpaper, means you are showing evidence of an artist's hand at work, and you are claiming the item....making it your own.  Sometimes I'll say it when I'm motivating someone to put their own spin on a project or process.   We have heard the question asked, "what's the difference between art and craft?"  I think the answer might be when you make it your own, it's art.  When you follow directions, as you would a recipe, or copy a project from a magazine - that is craft.  Personalizing, interpreting, processing through your own filters, is art.

 

 

For instance, let's take a product.  I'll pick on scrapbook papers.  I've got a stash of them.  Sometimes I'll buy one sheet just for inspiration - the color or the pattern.  Sometimes I'll buy them to use as a foundation, then I'll paint over them, making them mine, claiming them.  I want the items I use in my work to look like me, not the recognizable brand.  You can see I've spray painted over the dots and the stripes....they are less XYZ brand, and more me.

 

Using images:  it's always cool when you can incorporate your own images in your work.  Your own photos are way more interesting and individual than 'collage sheets'.  Clip art is a favorite default source of images for me, but I don't always want them to be obvious, or identifiable.  "Oh, I know that one, she got that from page X in book XYZ".  Bleh.  However, if you were to make a transfer of the image, you claim it.  It isn't as easily recognizable.  I've put my spin on it.  It's mine.

Another example:  here I illustrate how I've taken items you could find in a store, and made them mine. 

 

And I can even claim a branch, making evidence of my artist hand:

A few years ago I wrote an article in Somerset Studio where I broke down my artistic process in terms of being inspired by something.  Inspiration can come from so many places.  It's up to you to figure out how to make it your own.

 

Here's a good example:  I gravitated toward this rug.  There was just something about it that attracted me.  Loved the colors, loved the shapes.  I will sit with this a while and eventually it will be interpreted through my filters and I will make a journal page about it. 

 

If you've been playing along then you are already good at this.  You take my prompts and make them your own.  Every artist has shared their own interpretation of the challenges presented.  You've been making your own tools and your own backgrounds.  Even your blogs have their own personalities - you present yourself with custom banners or colors, nothing right-off-the-shelf or standard-issue for us!  Apply that to your work.  Make your artist hand seen.  Make it your own.  You can show how you've altered a material or product to claim it, or you can show us how you've interpreted an inspiration like your new kitchen rug, or the pattern from your new summer dress.

 

I'm going to extend the deadline to July 1st since it is already mid-May, and we all have alot going on in June don't we?  (graduations, family visits, summer!)  Thanks for hanging in with me.  Love you guys.  xoxo

 

wow!

 

Crusaders, thank you for all the love you've sent my way.  So many beautiful, thoughtful comments.  You've really touched my heart.  I admit I was giving some consideration to retiring this blog, but came to realize it was something I couldn't let go of, and then you validated that with your generous words.  I truly appreciate that you have reached out to me, and proved that this is bigger than any of us.  You make this address into a community.  You make this worthwhile.  You challenge ME to stay plugged in.  Thank you.

I have gotten behind on my self-imposed deadlines because of some real-life ones, but I am nearly ready with No. 31.  Check back Tuesday.  Thanks for hanging in. 

ENJOY YOUR MOTHER'S DAY.

CRUSADE No. 30 ~ Winner!

 

That's right, you are all winners.  Taking the leap to share your own work, and your interpretation of the challenge deserves a group *high five*.  Thank you for coming here to show us your writing style, your use of words and text, and your journaling habits or experiments.  We had 60 entries this month which means we've broadened the circle of friends, and gotten to see lots of cool stuff.  What I love about these crusades is that so many artists come together to focus on one thing each month, making it a great learning experience for all of us.

I've made some executive decisions about the crusades:  I will no longer be selecting a name from the Top Hat.  Here's what I learned about myself - I was continually running behind in getting the gifts wrapped and sent.  If you've been a Top Hat Pick then you are nodding your head as you know I was never too swift in mailing out the gift offering.  (I only just mailed packages for the past three winners - THAT is really behind!)  So, in order to give myself a break and not always feel like a failure, I've chosen to end that part of the process. 

When I began this plan, of presenting creative challenges, I intended to use this platform to be a sales tool for my own rubber stamp line, and therefore the gift would be thanks for helping me promote my business.  That never happened, and the crusades took a different direction.  I have enjoyed creating challenges that get you to think about the artistic process instead of pushing my stamps.

I do all of this on my own - preparing and presenting the challenges, giving you a place to promote your own sites, offering tricks and techniques, community, encouragement, and monthly gifts.  It is alot of work!  I do enjoy it all, but it is time to eliminate the winner/gift part.  I know you'll understand and hope that doesn't change your interest in coming here to play.  Learning and participating is its own reward, right?

I'm still working on the next crusade since I was busy with visitors this week.  Stop back soon to see what I'm cooking up for No. 31.

CRUSADE No. 30 ~ Cat Got Your Tongue?

 

No, this isn't a lecture about leaving comments, it's a prompt to get you to think about "journaling", the writing you add to a page.  I admit I don't often write on my pages, but I do think it is important - even if you only capture one thought.  Personally, I do not think that Visual Journaling is about writing, it's about the creative art process.  However, words play an important role in that process.  So how do you add them?  This month I thought we could share how we do it. 

You can use WORDS, or USE words.  Do you see the difference?

 

Don't know what to write about?  You underestimate yourself. 

  

Here's a quick look at some of the "journaling" on my pages.  You can write, type, stamp...use cut out words, transferred words...it's endless!

 

Don't want your words to be the main attraction?  Try Stealth Journaling... 

 

  

  

Many of you are already doing great things with words on your pages.  Go ahead and revisit something you've shown, or make new pages, and show us your favorite ways to "journal".  There are no rules, there is no right or wrong method.  We learn so much from each other - this is a great community of creatives.  The only thing I ask if you play in this crusade is that you make a new post for No. 30, and explain your process.  Then come and leave a comment here and I will add you to the link list.  Come back often during the month so you can click on the new links to see what others are sharing.  Be sure to leave your words of encouragement!

  

   

CRUSADE No. 29 ~ Winner!

 

Congratulations to Lay Hoon, our friend from Malaysia.  She is the Top Hat Pick for Crusade No. 29!  Lay Hoon has played along in twelve crusades so I am thrilled her name was drawn from my trusty hat by my daughter.  She is an enthusiastic player and often posts more than once for each challenge.  This winner also reminds us that our community is global - we even made some new friends from Brazil this month.  Welcome to all new players!!

Bravo to all of you who came to play, and courageously shared your work so that we might all learn from your experiments with Brush Effects.  I could see lots of light-bulbs going off, and it was fun to see how you are using many of the tools and tricks we have discussed here.  I'm sure you've figured it out by now, I have been trying to break down my personal creative process into simple and separate steps for you to try.  Tomorrow I will offer another challenge that is one of those processes, so come back and check it out.  In the meantime pop over and congratulate Lay Hoon.

One more thing - it's been very heartwarming to see so many crusaders join in my fundraiser for fellow crusader Paula (her other blog is HERE.  Thank you.

special announcement

 

One of our very own team players is in need of our help.  Please see my main blog for the details. 

CRUSADE No. 29 ~ Brush Effects

 

In recent crusades you may have noticed I've been breaking down elements of my own process.  I've tried to isolate techniques and provide visual and verbal tutorials.  I certainly don't think I'm a pioneer in any of these processes - my hope was to either encourage you to try something new, to remind you about something you haven't done in a while, or to motivate you to just get plugged back in to making stuff.  I also think that if we all are trying out a specific process at the same time we will not only appreciate what other crusaders share, but we will learn from each other.   

At my studio table I work intuitively, usually without giving much thought to the evolution, layers, complexity or simplicity.  I have given it some consideration, and have tried to observe and define the simple steps I use when making journal pages or painted canvases.  One of my favorite discoveries was made when I just took some time to learn from acrylic paint.  I wanted to achieve a painterly surface - one where there was evidence of an artist's hand.  I'm impatient, and often my attempts of brush-stroked textures would result in muddy yucky messiness.  I wanted brushy messiness, with defined color, not mucky nothingness. 

As I said, I took some time, and taught myself that monoprinting gives a handsome brush effect while maintaining color definition.  I also learned that if a surface is dry you can dry brush in some color - particularly useful when you need to tone down something in a compostion that isn't quite working, or to fill in a blank space.  I'll begin by showing you a piece I did some years ago that incorporates several brush effects.  I hope you'll agree that it is much more interesting because of the brushed effects than if I had just stamped the image on a plain background.

 

 

When you look at the detail you can see some cool brush strokes.  These were not made directly with a brush - instead, I brushed paint onto a sheet of acetate, then monoprinted it onto the surface.  Somehow this trick helps retain the integrity of the color and the brush effect. 

In the next sample you can see the difference between dry brush and monoprinting.  Dry brushing is exactly what it sounds like - dip a brush in paint, scudge some of it off on scratch paper until it is mostly dry, then rub across your surface.  It's better to be too dry than too wet.  You can aways add more paint to the brush - but too wet of a surface is what leads to muddy issues.

 

Once I started using monoprinting as a means of getting paint to my page I started getting excited about monoprinting with shapes, even the back sides of stencils.  I think the monoprinted stencil looks cooler than the actual stencil.  How to do it?  Place your stencil over scratch paper and heavily paint across surface.  Quickly flip over onto your page and place another scratch paper over it and rub.  If you don't use the scratch paper you will probably rub paint INTO the stencil, something you want to avoid.  Brushing paint onto a stamp then monoprinting to a page is often more interesting than just plain ink on a stamp.  The painted impression works better over paint anyway - but the image you use has to be a bold one - like those you have carved.

 

So what is dirty brushing?  I don't believe it's a technical term - I just made it up.  It's something that happens to you after you've been working a while and all your brushes seem to be filled with more than one color.  I use dirty brushes on purpose.  I will dip one edge in one color and the other edge in another color.  What comes out on your page is serendipity - much more interesting than a solid color. 

 

There are many paint effects that can be achieved with your brush - or with other tools to get paint on your page.  I like to use credit cards to scrape paint onto a page, and I like to drip paint from a watery brush - and in a pinch I will just scudge right in with my fingers.

 

A few more samples - and a tip:  keep your monoprinting material, whether you use acetate or just scratch paper - it becomes an interesting element to keep as matching collage fodder.

 

 

 

  

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to just mess around with paint and brushes.  Work on several pages at once, giving the paint time to dry.  Try dry brushing and monoprinting and see what works for you in order to make painterly brush-stroke-y backgrounds.  I'm sure many of you have already done this - great!  Show us what you've learned, or what your favorite thing is in a new post explaining the process.  Maybe you have a page that you are not quite satisfied with - try adding a few dry brushed strokes in the blank areas and see if that makes you happy.  However you decide to interpret this crusade just make a blog post or a flickr entry and leave a comment here with a link to your site.  I will create a link list with all participants, newest at top.  Keep up the Team Spirit by leaving your cheerleading comments when you visit other crusaders.

CRUSADE No. 28 ~ Winner!

 

Wow!  Another great turn-out for the Portion Control Challenge!  Thanks to all of you who came to play, and for the terrific Team Spirit I've witnessed with generous and thoughtful comments.  You are all winners!  The Top Hat Pick for Crusade No. 28 is Hanna Andersson.  She shared two blog entries this month, and has played along in nine crusades!  Congrats Hanna!

I am preparing the next prompt and will post it this week.  We just learned tomorrow is a "snow day" (we are in the middle of a big storm) so I may be sleeping in but will try to get organized and post soon.  *round of applause for everyone*

edit:  oops, missed an "s' in her last name.

CRUSADE No. 28 ~ Portion Control

 

After you determine you need to Shape Up, one of the next things to tackle might be Portion Control, right?  *Grins*  Practicing portion control can be useful when filling your plate, or making art.  What do I mean by Portion Control?  I believe that part of something is more interesting than the whole.  It creates a sense of mystery, an engagement of the viewer to try to figure out what they are looking at.  There are many clever ways to use part of something, but since we just tried on new shapes I thought now might be the perfect time to investigate portion control.

Try this:

 

Did you find you were drawn to the un-whole images or the whole images?  These samples investigate using portions of an image, while messing around with positive and negative.

 

 

Don't you think that mysterious is more interesting than obvious?  The left sample below shows a red paper that was crayon rubbed over the wallpaper sample, then monoprinted with paint to block out a portion of the image.  The right side is the wallpaper scrap - pretty image, but boring!

 

We KNOW what an alphabet stencil looks like - isn't the messy brush monoprint taken from the stencil way more cool?  Think of how to use your tools in a partial way, a backwards way, or even upside-down.  Build Mystery.

 

  

Use ink or paint, or torn paper, or pencil to "complete" a partial image.  Let's say you have a circle punch - use it to make a stencil.  Lay it over your page and paint in part of it, then pencil in the rest of it.  Am I making sense?  Below, you see the OBVIOUS stencil image of Xs on the right.  But on the left the image is less obvious, more myserious, by using two colors, and adding in my own lines. 

 

 

OK, I think you get it now.  Practice Portion Control with a shape or image on a journal page, blog about it, then come over here and comment and I will list you in the links under Crusade No. 28. 

A few reminders - even if you don't play along, please leave your comments for the participants you visit.  Everyone appreciates validation, and it makes the effort worthwhile.  The whole point of going out on a limb to share is to inspire one another while building a community of like-minded souls.  Technically - you would think if we had 50 players one month then each crusader should have 50 or more comments.  Ok, 50 is alot of comments, but you get what I mean.  Some of you a terrific commentors!!  Let's try something new - let's make sure each participant gets at least 13 comments for their crusade post.  Lucky 13.  Are you with me?

 

Show us your Portion Control!  Links will be posted with newest at the top for easy navigating.  Archived crusades will be alphabetized by first name.  Winners are selected from a Top Hat on the first day of the next month.  Come and play!  (you are welcome to come play on any previous crusade too)

CRUSADE No. 28 ~ Portion Control DUE MARCH 1st.

 

CRUSADE No. 27 ~ Winner!

 

Top Hat Pick is Cath Sheard!  Cath made three entries for this challenge by exercising her talents with pears.  She has played along in nine crusades!  She is also one of the most dedicated players as she always leaves comments for other artists.  Congrats Cath!!

We had many players this month, including a handful of new ones - hats off to all of you for Shaping Up!  I hope that you had fun and started *seeing* more shapes in your world.  I've said this several times - when you try on a new shape it's like seeing with new eyes.  It's all about awareness.  When we narrow our focus we can actually widen our view!

Stop by Cath's place and give her a *high five*.  New crusade is in the works - check back for details this week (hopefully Monday).

CRUSADE No. 27 ~ Shape Up!

 

Ok, I crack myself up.  This crusade isn't about getting into physical shape, but I couldn't resist the title since getting in shape is all you hear about after New Years.  If you've been following along on my main blog, you have noticed I tend to pick a shape and obsess over it.  I think it's a great lesson - to investigate a shape - seeing it in positive and negative, and trying it on in several sizes.

 

If you've been playing along, then you have the experience of making new tools such as cutting a stamp or stencil.  Didn't you love using your own stuff?  You have the skills - now you just need a shape. 

 

Here are some examples - I was on a circle kick, and collected every size of punch that existed.  Then I started scouting for stencils.  Then I started making stamps.  Then I added in "X"s.  I had to make alot of my "X"s since they are not popular like circles.  There is something empowering and authentic about using your own tools.  Obsession is a good thing.

 

  

Another favorite shape - the 5-petal asterisk.   

 

And one of my first shape obsessions:  a house.  I cut many sized stamps, and it evolved into a book form, which became a class, which started the GPP line of rubber stamps....you can see that one shape leads to many things.  Maybe another shape, maybe another perspective.

 

I obsess about many shapes:  the maltese cross, a quatrefoil, architectural domes, hands, roses, chess pieces....  One shape always leads to another. 

I challenge you to pick a new shape for this crusade.  You are welcome to revisit a favorite shape if it means introducing yourself, and your journal, to new sizes and using the negative as well as the positive.  With Valentine's Day approaching, maybe you could start with a heart if you can't think of anything else.  A circle or square is always good.  Show us your tools, and your pages, on your blog, then come leave a link here (in the comments) to be eligible for the Top Hat Pick.  I'll add you to the list with the newest at the top.  As you visit the links of other players don't forget to leave your words of encouragement.

CRUSADE No. 26 ~ Winner!

 

Happy New Year!  Thanks to all of you who participated this month, and this year!  The Top Hat Pick for Crusade No. 26 is Julie Thornton from the UK!  Julie played in three crusades this month - quite an accomplishment at this busy time of year.  Bravo Julie!

I hope that you take the time to document your own scents not only for this season, but throughout the year.  You'll thank yourself in the years ahead, to be able to go back and capture memories through the tucked in fragrances. 

I'm pulling together the Crusade for January.  Check back (hopefully tomorrow).  As always, I appreciate that you come here, to share your artwork, your personal stories, and your encouraging comments.  Raising a glass *clink* to another year filled with creativity.