Sending Love

Hey there.

Just quietly checking in after a week or so of artistic inaction. After a super minor clash at work yesterday, I descended into a (not-so) Sneaky Hate Spiral in which I gathered every bit of work-related injustice I'd ever received and wanted so dearly to target hot red rage into the face of one of my least-loved coworkers. The problem with resisting and remaining polite, is that the fire never gets put out. Instead, it just puts another stack of kindling onto the pile for next time.

And what the Sneaky Hate Spiral story seems to lack is the truly unpleasant outcome! After all of the rage and daydreaming about punching people usually comes self-pity and sobbing fits of ridiculousness. Headaches, pain, exhaustion, and the goofy realization that a lesser person wouldn't even have bothered in the first place. 

So I guess today is an appropriate day to play onto a mini painting, an image I thought about when an old friend was going through a similar hate spiral. Sending love to you, even though all I really feel like sending out is rage! RRAAAGGEEEE.

Introducing Pattern Journal

I'm not sure if I've properly introduced my current journal. This one I purchased from Shannon because the mixed paper journals are just so tempting. The last mixed-scrap journal I made was a pain to work with, but this time seems to be a bit easier though I'm not sure exactly why. 

I decided to make this one more of a pattern doodle book! Because of that, I find it very easy to pick it up now and then and play with random shapes. It's like a zentangle that way, I guess. 

So excited to have a sit-down-and-watch-films kind of journal where I don't have to get messy at my desk if I don't want to! It would probably make a good travel journal too. Sometimes it's good to have only a few choices of materials. 

Here are some more pages that I have not drawn on yet:

 

Scrap journals can be found here. 

Art Journal Page - Rain Cloud

From the Desk - Journal Video Setup

This week I've been spending a lot of time tidying, cooking and baking (it is cake week, after all) and relaxing, so I thought I'd just share a photo of my current desk situation! 

My battery died in the middle of a video shoot so it is charging. In the meantime, I forgot how to use my Powershot! Ha! This photo makes me so incredibly happy to have gotten a DSLR. This is the best indoor photograph I can get without a tripod. 

Anyway, this is how the videos are usually filmed: upside down. It took me a shamefully long while to figure out that I can film directly overhead like this and just flip it afterward. Still need a larger memory card! Current maximum recording time: 9 minutes. 

Still worth it.

From the Post - Inspiration Deck

Remember the Inspiration Deck Swap?  Well, it finally arrived today! Fun, fun. This is definitely the largest card swap I've ever received. 

What's funny, is that I am absolutely not a fan of inspirational quotes and messages. Items that just say "breathe" for example, make me gag. And sometimes, just because it's written on a piece of wood or a pretty photo posted on Pinterest, doesn't mean it's good advice. 

Just saying. 

What I do like, is to see how everyone transformed their deck of cards! Some are very simple, and others have a lot of textural interest (my favourite)! I think one of them is actually a piece of burlap. Another is very sticky. Some are glittery. I loved looking through them all. 

This is where I usually store all of my ATCs (and Sailor Moon cards... woop woop) and it's getting a bit too full now. They look right at home, here!

I think I would be interested in doing this again. 

Exciting New Art Journals

Above is the journal I made while giving a private workshop this weekend, which is now available here.

But what is very new and interesting is a small set of super duper little art journals listed below. Have you figured out what is new and fun about them?

They're filled with a RAINBOW of Fabriano papers! I went to the supply store to get my huge wall of chipboard and the Fabriano display caught my eye. To my delight, they were nearly as heavy as my usual Stonehenge and so I had to grab some. 

The journals are slightly smaller by about an inch on both sides (because the paper is smaller) so they look like kid sister versions of my regular joes. Very cute, very super duper colourful. 

Look at the colours! Aaahhh! I think these would be pretty fun for pencil sketch journalers, collage artists or just plain written diaries (I had one of those in rainbow and it was pretty fantastic). Great for "Smashing" as well, or for any of us who can't put down their white spray inks!

The violet paper got a bit of a "fading" during its stay at the art store and so it has subtle faded lines here and there. You can see it in the photo above. I'm pretty okay with that but some people aren't.

Get a rainbow journal here. 

Art Journal Flip - Green Clover

That's it for Green Clover journal. The next one is going to be quite different (made by someone else)! It's a coil-bound collecting of random papers that I got from Shannon. I'm probably going to hate it, but they're always so dang tempting. 

As always, you can find a journal of your own here. There will be a fun, new style of journal paper coming out on monday. Can you guess what it will be? 

(hint: I posted a photo on facebook!)

Journal Covers & Garden

This weekend I'm doing a private workshop so I'm trying out some easy cover layouts to use with the Gelli Arts plate! I started out with two layers of colour, then a white layer (with a word written into it), then a bit of collage. Other than the printing plate, I'm trying to use items that most people would have around the house - basic acrylic paint, scrap paper, pencil crayon. That's it!

If anyone remembers the balcony garden, here's an update:

Another super wet year, so the tomato has been growing pretty slowly! I think it will keep going though.

Blueberry is still very much alive (and lively)!



Clovers are happy!



Strawberries are VERY happy, and soooo tall!

100% success rate for the nasturtium seeds. I don't usually grow from seed because I'm not that good, but these ones are looking pretty happy! I planted them a bit late so they have to catch up. 

The mini roses are still alive somehow (except for #3 but he may still come around from the ground up, who knows) but they will probably not have a great year. 

Peerless Transparent Watercolours

WHAT ARE THIS??

Look at this crazy thing Nolwenn found for me! It is a book. But it is also watercolours. As a book. On paper.

Kind of like those colouring books with all of the little dots maybe?

So this super old company puts watercolour on sheets of film and lets it dry. If I want to paint a colour, I cut off a tiny piece of the film and put it in a little pool of water. Voila! Paint.

Or... I can glue pieces of it to another surface to make a tiny, paper palette. What?! That's crazy. Look at this thing. It's adorable.

Apparently I can order individual colours from their list of something like 200 colours! Woah. I'm getting a Pokemon vibe over here. How can I not want to collect a million of them?

Art Journal Page - Honey

"Without" Available in Shop

I decided to use "Obsession" for the gallery deadline so "Without" (pictured above) is currently listed in my etsy shop. Here she is in her entirety. 

"Late at night, sometimes I dream about the day you will disappear, and all of the beauty and security I once took for granted will disappear along with you."

Available here.

Peek - Obsession

Choo choo! Out of the way!

Journal Page - Clutter

Journal Page - Mardi Gras Bird

Nearing the end of the journal. I made this layout away from home with a handful of markers and pens. Mardi Gras bird! 

There will still be a video coming up, I've just been very preoccupied with queries, big decisions and very strange power outages. 

Let's see... set up a journal video or take a nap in the sun? These tough privileged decisions...

Published!

Yay, look what arrived in the mail today, earlier than expected! It is a really nice looking "experimental literary magazine"! Love the design and some of the poetry is amazing.



Look who is inside! Cooooool. It's so weird to see one of my paintings in greyscale. What an odd choice! But that's the way with literary mags. I think it looks kind of dreamy.