michelle ward

day 17: transfers

I'm not going to try to convince you to try doing transfers, nor am I going to teach you how to do them.  I'm just going to say that I love them.  Why?  They are an easy way to get an image on your painted surface.  I find it much more interesting than gluing down the perfect print-out or copy.  You never know how it will turn out, and that's the beauty of it.  In addition to images, I love to transfer text.  I can set the type in my word program, selecting the scale and font, then flip it before printing.  You need the print in reverse so it will transfer tp be legible.  The cool thing about making toner transfers (in color or black and white) is not only the partial image result, but the original copies (now remnants) become imperfect and can be additional collage elements.  If your page is still damp it's likely the remnant will pick up some of the paint and then you have an even cooler additional element.  My preference for toner release is goof-off as it has xylene in it.  There are less toxic agents that work just as well - google it.  See some works with toner transfers below.  I didn't include any injet transfers today but I like doing those too!

 

day sixteen: spray paint

It's no big secret....I love spray paint.  I learned how messy it can be when I had the job of repainting our lawn chairs as a teenager.  Until 2006, I considered spray paint to be for refinishing furniture or red wagons.  Then one weekend when I was away with friends for a self-imposed art retreat, my friend Lisa Hoffman pulled out a few cans for a project.  I had to go outside, in the rain, under a tent, and try the paint with my stencils in a journal.  I was hooked!  I loved the randomness that spray offers, and the quick drying so you can move stencils around swiftly - placing, spraying, repeating.  Once the paint gets too built up on the stencil I figured out you could monoprint it off.  Flip and rub.  For me, and the way I work, its hard to separate spray paint from stencils, but for today I'm just nodding to one of my favorite supplies:  spray paint.  Stencils will be presented later.  I recently learned that Liquitex (who have some really nice new acrylic based spray paints) is based right here where I live...same town!  Wouldn't it be fun to get on their payroll somehow? 

 

 

 

 

 

day fifteen: gesso

Don't ask me about the scientific properties of gesso.  All I know is:  it works for me.  I lay gesso down on nearly everything as a first layer.  I love it's quality of resisting acrylic.  A nice dry gessoed surface can be painted with acrylic and sprayed with water and completely lifted off, or let it set a few seconds and wipe off for little specks, leave longer for more pronounced specks.  Apply gesso through a stencil and after you've heat dried it or let it set overnight you can add a wash of color and lift off for a really nice effect.  I love when my paper plate palette gets so messy with color, and brushes are no longer recognizable as the black paint, or the ochre paint, and gesso gets mixed in....some cool stuff happens.  If your painting feels like it's getting too dark or muddy, brush on a little gesso, then add a layer of color.  The new layer will pop with a brightness that color alone can't offer you.  Here are some works that show how gesso is always the common demoninator. 

Thank you for all your heartfelt and kind words about Winston yesterday.  It will be a Valentine's Day to treasure.

 

 

i love LOVE

A departure from talking about loving art, to talking about the art of loving.  On this calendar day when we honor and celebrate those we choose to love, I want to share our sweet boy, who gave us so much joy.  It is a sorrowful time for us and I don't mean to bring down the day by sharing this, but want to ackowledge him, and that he matters.  Blowing kisses to all of you, especially those who have embraced me at this time to share my grief in an attempt to divide it.  Thank you.  Loss is painful, but I loved loving him, and always will.  I read a quote by Hilary Stantin Zunin, "The risk of love is loss, and the price for loss is grief, but the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love."  Here's to us risk-takers, who love loving both people and the creatures who enrich our lives.  Happy Valentine's Day.

 

 

 

xoxo

 

day thirteen: needle felting

Three years ago I went crazy for needle felting.  I saw a 3 minute video on youtube and it looked so easy.  I collected the materials required - inexpensive and easy to get online.  I was hooked on making felted treats for gifts - hearts, shamrocks, and eggs....then I started making acorns and fit them into the real caps.  It's a great project to do with the kids but be sure to get the tool thing that shields the needles because those things really hurt!  I loved working on felting around the dining table in the winter months when my studio was too cold.  There are artists who are very prolific in either wet felting or needle felting - very cool stuff out there, give it a google.  I was happy to just try it out....and maybe I'll pick it up again as we have snow falling as I type.

 

 

i love art: playing with blocks

I was a lego and block girl.  I still am.  I can never resist stopping in the wood items aisle at the craft store to see if there are any new styles of finials.  A few years ago a scored a Michael Graves set of building blocks at Target.  Swoon!  I think working on blocks is a great way to forge through creative block if you are experiencing one or need to have an aimless project to keep busy.  There is something non-committal about it.  It's not a 'real' canvas, it's not attached to your journal.  Just a humble loose supply that can be sanded, painted, stamped, wrapped, collaged, brushed with wax....and then make another, and another....then stack them.  Move them around.  Build compositions.  Learn from it or just enjoy it.  And before you know it you have an emerald city, or an urban landscape.  I've used blocks as a class format on several occasions, and have enjoyed the process with groups of friends - first Lisa, Anne, and Lynne in Montreal was back in 2002, then with Betsy, Sande, Laura, and Anne when I first was entertaining holding workshops in my home studio.  I love that each artist completed them in their own way, their personal styles evident. 

The first piece I show, Perpetual, is one that evolved from an a-ha moment...taking some of the blocks and stacking them on dowels so they spin, revealing all the sides.  It's an interactive art piece.  Each time I pass it on the wall I move a few blocks.  The following picture is a sampling of blocks that are stacked around the studio - you can see how I started with paint and stamps and moved into spray paint.  A great time-capsule of how my style has changed. 

In a creative rut?  Pick up a few blocks and start making some of your own.  It's been a rough few days here - more about that later....I think it's time for ME to get out some blanks as a therapeutic distraction.

 

 

i love art: stamp carving

I'm guessing you may have lino-cut an image for a print-making assignment 'round about junior high?  If that was the last time you used a 'v' cutter than you are missing out!  Carving stamps is easy, addictive, and an inexpensive way to customize art-making tools.  It's a great way to embrace "make it your own", one of my favorite mantras.  Designing and cutting your own images leads to art that is clever, authentic and personal.  I always have slabs or scraps of safety-cut material on my studio table to help me out in a pinch.  You can spend hours on a large and/or intricate piece like the first one I show, or whip out a few quickies like in the last sample.  Here's the thing - I've only the used the time-consuming one a few times, but the little trees have been used over and over.  Haven't tried your hand at carving yet?  I have a tutorial you can visit - maybe you'll take the plunge.

 

Visit the stamp carving tutorial by clicking on the TUTORIAL button in right sidebar, or click HERE.

i love art: making theaters

Oooh, I love architectural scale models!  Even better, when they are toy theaters!  I first started assembling theaters from kits.  I have a few Benjamin Pollocks and used to love browsing through their site at all the offerings.  They have shelves of goodies.  The first theater type assemblage I made was for an article my friend Lynne Perrella wrote for Somerset Studio (Sept/Oct 2001).  Later I would make a much larger  theater with drop-in scenery, props, and characters for Lynne's book Beyond Paper Dolls (2006).  All the extras were stashed in a pull-out drawer which included a paper doll of Ville Valo.  Stampington surprised me by including him on The Raven stage with Poe for an article in Somerset Studio (Sept/Oct 2007).  It was a huge thrill to visit (was it 2004?) Joseph Musil's Salon of Theaters with Lynne and our True Colors friends at the Santora Arts Building in Santa Ana, CA.  Joe treated us to a presentation and shared his passion for the theater, the models, and the great architectural history of real theaters.  There are societies all over the world dedicated to making and displaying toy theaters.  I can see why - it's an addictive project.

It would be a fun workshop wouldn't it?  It would have to be at least two or three days long, and you'd have to expect some issues getting it home.  Maybe it could be my first online class?  Ooh, I'm not quite ready to be on camera yet.  I'll leave it to the pros.

 

i love art: digital graphics

I'm a self-taught photoshop artist.  I love manipulating graphics.  I have several ongoing assignments to maintain websites, design logos and print ads, and from time to time just give myself a project to do so I keep my skills up and try to discover new ways to use the platform.  I love making brushes and figuring out how to adjust layers - can you believe it took me several years before I even knew how to use layers?  Working in a digital format is a practice that also informs some of my non-digital art.  I have a few versions of PS but always end up defaulting to 5.5.  I know, I'm a dinosaur.  But it works for me, and I love it!  Here are some of my pieces....

 

day seven: cardboard

Dang!  I forgot to move this post from draft to publish.  So here is day seven of I Love Art.  You're probably tired of seeing me post about cardboard but it's the thing I'm heavily into right now.  I've had some fun reformatting the binding for the upcoming workshops, Debris Journal, and I've been trying out some new techniques on this wonderful surface too. 

I can't stop making these journals, and filling them up with the stuff that floats around the perimeter of this place.  Here's how it started:  I always use cardboard on my work table or under my spray painted projects out on the grass.  Typically the scraps gets slathered in run-off paint - either acrylic as I paint substrates, or spray paint when I'm f;ailing stencils around.  I could never part with the pieces because they just looked so cool so I began vutting them down and binding them together as a book.  Each page had interesting marks and provided a wonderful start for additional paint or collage. 

Everytime a break down a box to go into the recycling bin I end up hijacking some of it for the studio stash.  Can't beat easy access to art-making supplies.  These are fun to make and so addictive!  I feel like I'm ready to take my cardboard to a new level, especially after seeing some of the cool dimensional or sculptural art made with corrugated cardboard.

 

day six: altering furniture

I've had several furniture projects over the years.  I've reupholstered chairs, painted dressers, tables, and cribs, but this has to be my favorite - our coffee table.  It had these recessed lines that bugged me - always gettings filled with debris and trying to clean them meant the paint was wearing off.  At I first thought a glass top might solve the problem, anf that led to another idea - why not spray paint with some cool graphics if I'm going to be protecting it with glass anyway?  So I sanded it a little to remove the finish, then I taped off the sides and legs and began spraying.  Love it!   Later, while teaching at Valley Ridge, we were outside with spray paint and I looked over at the picnic table - it was painted black, but was a little worn and chipped, so I hijacked it and spray painted the top!  I love that each year I visit VR the paint has worn off a little more, but there are additions to it - evidence of artists working.

 

day five: polymer clay

I first started working with polymer clay back in the nineties.  A friend of mine, artist Julie Pearson, was making incredible jewelry with it (scroll down to see).  I instantly fell in love with the possibilities it affords, especially when combined with stamping.  Julie is much more than a clay artist, but taught me the magical things that can be done with the inexpensive and easily manipulated medium.  I have used clay in some of my work, and also employ it for making molds for paper casting (which I will show you soon).  Later I discovered Laurie Mika and her amazing Icons built with gorgeous patterns and rampant colors.  I resonated to Laurie's work immediately, and upon further inspection was thrilled to discover she was using some of my stamps in the clay!  How cool is that?  We collaborated on an Exemplar for Somerset Studio (Nov/Dec 2005) and eventually sold the piece in an auction to raise money for Katrina Relief.

 

 

Julie Pearson does not have a website but you can find her current work of mixed media assemblage at Gallery 50 in Traverse City, Michigan, click HERE. 

Laurie Mika's website is HERE.  She teaches workshops around the globe, visit her site for details, and take a look at her really cool book, Mixed Media Mosaics, click HERE.  And good news!  She just launched (finally!) a blog, HERE.

day four: messy hands

When I'm in the midst of a project I take over every flat surface within a 20 foot radius.  The floor is cluttered with debris, piles of materials are stacked everywhere, and my hands are filthy.  I have been seen at the local pizza place, picking up dinner with paint covered fingers.  There is paint on my shoes, the phone, the carpet.  Evidence that I'm a slob....but I'm working.  Nothing beats digging in and doing it. 

i love art: assemblage

Remember back in grade school when you had to make a diorama?  Mine was a science project built in a shoebox.  Later in high school I fabricated scale models of houses that I designed in my architectural drawing classes.  One even won the first place blue ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair!  I love constructing and assembling art in boxes as it provides the perfect platform for collecting and presenting interesting items - some found, some altered, some invented. 

i love art: visual journals

 

I love my journals.  They chronicle my art journey.  Sometimes I use them to work out ideas, with sketches and notes, and trials of techniques and a playground of discovery.  Sometimes I use them to collect evidence of a work-in-progess with paint strokes of color, collage clippings, and remnants of materials or supplies used.  There are also times I just want to focus on a theme and make a self-contained journal with a recurring motif.  I have big ones, little ones, some finished, some incomplete.  I believe keeping a visual journal is a vital part of my artistic process.

art love

As soon as the calendar page turns to February I get all excited about red, of course, but I also reflect on the people and things I love.  Valentine's Day isn't until mid-month but I feel my heart open....having survived the holidays and the lull that January can bring, this month gets me motivated about the things ahead in the coming year, and the promise of Spring.  I look around this messy studio and want to break out with new work and maybe cross some things off my to-do list of making stuff I've been wanting to make.  I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such cool supplies, I want to be using them all the time.  With the new year I tend to do some clean-up on my computer and review the completed projects from the past year.  I loved seeing the archives of all the work I've done.  It is clear that I love art and I love being an artist.  I decided to take this month and make a daily declaration about it. I will show both old and new work....to celebrate where I've been and where I'm going.

 

REMINDERS:  Today the registration begins for Art Is You in Stamford, CT.  Hope to see you there! 

Just a few spots left in the Far Away Places workshop I am co-hosting with my friend Lynne Perrella - a three day event May 10-12, click HERE for info.  It's going to be amazing!!

tip: stencil/mask storage

Do as I say, not as I do.  Truth be told, I don't always put my stencils away.  I often toss them in a cardboard palette or a massive file folder.  Every once in a while I will set to the task of arranging into binders, according to style.  There is an alphabet binder, and one for fronds, one for patterns, some handcut, some commercial....

Many stencils come packaged in clear envelopes or bags.  Why not add some easy DIY tabs and keep them stored in a three ring binder?  Supplies required:  binder, packing tape, 1/4" punch.  Done!  For stencils that don't come with packaging:  page protectors! 

Registration for CREATE NJ has begun!  Hope to see you there!!

more workshops....connecticut in october

I didn't expect to have several posts in a row all about the upcoming workshops but each venue has posted the class listings so I wanted to give you the latest news.  Just up today:  Art Is....You in Stamford, Connecticut in October.  Registration for this event begins February 1st.  Visit the site to see the list of instructors, workshops, and events.  Lots to consider!  Below are quick-reference visuals of the workshops I'll be teaching.  For full descriptions visit my Workshop page, or Art-Is-You.com.

There are a few spots left in the 3-day May workshop, Far Away Places, I'm co-hosting with Lynne Perrella in CT.  First weekend is full!  If you are interested, click on the workshop link at the left sidebar, or top navigation bar, for workshop description.  Full dossier of registration and lodging details available by request, LKPerrella@aol.com

 

 

july workshops in jersey

The CREATE-NJ site went live this week.  Click HERE to learn more about the venue and event.  Workshops take place Wednesday, July 17th through Sunday, July 21st in Somerset, NJ.  I believe vendor night is Friday.  I'm teaching an encore of Frond Chronicles, and two encores of Debris Journal since they did so well last year, and I will have new class, Less is More, More or Less.  I have descriptions posted on my Workshop page for easy reference, but all details about how to register are found at the CREATE-NJ site.  Registration begins January 22, 1:00 Eastern Standard Time.

 

 

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.

party girl

Evidence....she's One Hundred years old!  It was a terrific party - attended by aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, friends, cousins, kids, grandchildren, great grandchildren.  May we all be so lucky to live such a life!

happy new year

1/1 = 100

On January 1st my Grandma Kelly will be 100!  One hundred!  I'm heading home today so I can be at the party.  Hope you had a blessed Christmas.  We got snow on the eve, it was beautiful.  More snow today!

 

 

happy merry greetings

 

However you celebrate the season, I wish you the very best now and for the New Year.  Always feeling reflective at this time of year, I know I am such a lucky girl.  Thank you for your continued friendship.

 

If you can find a spare five minutes in the hustle and bustle, I think you will enjoy this: 

 

to the magic makers

I'm still wrapping.  Are you?  I thought I was on a good pace....numerous trips to the post office shipping gift packages and orders, nearly everything on the to-do lists is done but I'm still writing out cards, and still wrapping and baking....and tomorrow is Christmas Eve!  No matter how much I try to be organized I am always down to the last minute with holiday preparation.  I could ask for help, but that would take away the surprise and sneaky selections I've made as gifts.  No, I am happy to be the chief elf.  I am lucky to have that role.  As I write out each gift tag I think about this great position I'm in to continue making Christmas a magical time - even though our kids are no longer little.  It's the lights, the sparkle, the surprises, the LOVE....and tomorrow night at church we will pause, pray, and lift our voices in song.  I'm rushing to beat the clock, but I'm grinning through it.  As you enter into final-preparation-mode, like the rest of us, think about how lucky you are to be the magic-maker for your family. 

 

I've mentioned this before - one of our family traditions is to collect souvenir spoons on our travels.  Brought out each December, it is fun to remember places we've been together as we hang each spoon on the tree.  This year we get to add a few new ones.  I think this makes at least 6 from England, and now we have two from Italy.  One purchased, one stolen (gasp!).  If you sift through the box you'll see a newish one from New Orleans, an old one from Traverse City, several from Boston and Minnesota, and a special one from New York when the twin towers were still part of the skyline. 

 

I would ask you to share with me some of your unusual holiday traditions....but you should be wrapping!  We will talk about it another time.....for now, I'm raising a glass to toast you, the magic-makers. 

just give me a reason

Last week I watched the Storyteller episode on Palladia featuring P!nk, and I fell in love with the duet she did with Nate Ruess from Fun.  I've been playing the track over and over.  Although it was written about a troubled relationship, there are lines that stand alone....we will learn to love again.  Music is my go-to remedy for soothing sorrow.  Perhaps it is yours too.  Melodies or lyrics touch a part of us like nothing else.  There are notes that, when strung together, can reach in and just get to us.  We get a lump in our throat, or goosebumps across our arms, or a tear in our eye, and we feel it.  Here, the words say we are not broken, just bent.  I'm certain there are families who are broken after the tragedy in Newtown.  I think of them when I listen....I feel for them, as we all do....and pray that they may rise, to learn to love again.

 

 

HOLD THIS SPOT

I missed posting this at 12:12 AM so I scheduled it for 12:12 PM.  I was going to call it "hold this space" but opted for "hold this spot"....the difference?  The latter is twelve letters, of course!  As I was preparing the graphic this morning I observed that 12.12.12, 12:12 PM is also twelve characters.  Since I posted an essay, Ode to the Eleventh Hour on 11.11.11 last year I wanted to acknowledge today's date in a post about the Midnight Hour (twelve letters!), but I haven't had the time to complete it...therefore, I'm holding the spot and will edit later.

 

As I was reviewing my to-do list, I noticed how many things could be described in twelve letters.  Luckily I'm on the winning side of the tasks...and there are still twelve days until Christmas Eve, when it better all be done! 

1. Move the sofas
2. Bring up boxes
3. Set out stable
4. Decorate tree
5. Light the tree
6. Shop for gifts
7. Wrap the gifts
8. Mail Packages
9. Send out cards
10. Do the laundry
11. Get groceries
12. Let us rejoice

Speaking of 12, does it bug you (the way it bugs me) that retailers talk about the twelve days of Christmas as though it starts on December 1st, or December 13th?  It actually begins on Christmas and sees us through to the eve of the Epiphany. 

However long your list is, I hope you are managing, moving along with grace, and taking time to enjoy it.

art collecting

On two occasions while in Venice, Fallon and I visited the home studio of Enrico Orlando Martina.  He is located near our hotel and we enjoyed meeting him and seeing his process of making art using several mediums.  We spied his open door down a narrow alley and were tempted to enter when we saw his paintings in the window.  Like me, he is schooled in architecture but spends his time making art.  He is such a talent and swiftly illustrates local scenes like St. Mark's Basilica below, with a swish of his charcoal which he demonstrated for us as we carefully selected a piece to bring home.  He gave us the sketch too! 

 

I love to fill the walls of our home and my studio with art that I make, and art by others that makes me happy.  Recently I scooped up some very handsome pieces by my friend Julie Prichard.  She's loaded her Etsy shop with very affordable prints from her original paintings - these are amazing!  Not only do I love her style, but the texture she achieves in the prints is stunning.  It's like owning the real thing.  Recently she added miniatures as soldered glass charms - great gift *hint*.

 

 

Using them...new stencils

Thank you so much for the enthusiastic response to the new collection of stencils and stamps.  I thought I'd show you the prototype for a visual on the set of both stencil and mask you will receive on all but the Grasses and Noise sheets.  And here is a large canvas I made using them.  LOVE how thick they are, they work like a dream.  PRE-ORDER special offer for stencils and stamps good through Monday evening, December 3, then they will be produced and shipped.  My guy said turn-around will be quick, yay! 

Visit GREENPEPPERPRESS.com for the ordering info. if you're interested.

 

 

Calling all Frond Lovers - new stencils & stamps

I've been working on this for a while and I'm really excited to finally share this with you.  I'm introducing a new line of stamps, stencils, and stencil/mask sets.  Take a look - you get both the innie and the outie - the stencil and the mask with these sets.  How cool is that?  I've been teaching this technique and advocating that you utilize both the stencil and mask when you apply images.  I also love having images in multiple scales which is why you can get the fronds in stamps too.  After many requests following my Frond Chronicles workshop (which seems to be the most popular 'pin' of my work) I was swayed to launch this collection.  It is available for pre-order this week as I await the inventory, then the prices will adjust.  Visit GREENPEPPERPRESS.com to order.

Some digital samples...I like messing around with shapes, color, layering and composition digitally so I know they work prior to production. 

 

I will be teaching this workshop again next year.  I can't post details yet - announcement will come in January (I think!) so stay tuned.