Well, since I'm a lost soul when it comes to creating new work to share, I thought I'd highlight a mighty talented illustrator who IS working her hiney off.
You probably already visit her blog and site. But in case you missed it, author/illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba has some great articles and resources on her website. And her fun blog can be found here.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Need some inspiration this today? Check out the art history lesson on Women Children's Book Illustrators. Love those classical images!
This week's Studio Friday topic is "The View From Above." I decided to go with a sketch today. Here is one I'm working on for the upcoming SCBWI conference. Trying to play with different perspectives.
Now I need to get busy carving.
Studio Friday is all about sparkle & shine. I can relate. Beads glimmer and tempt me all through my studio. I really love working with the tiny seed beads in a artist's palette of colors. Above is my current projects. Beaded starfish on a hand-felted base. Eventually they will be the centerpieces of some Caribbean-inspired necklaces. Tomorrow I'll take a better picture of the starfish that is almost finished. You can see just a peak of it on the right-hand side there.
The little Bead-n-Go container is from Sova-enterprises and was one of the many goodies we got in our Bead Cruise gift bags. : )
A new edition to my studio library, Complete Craft
And out of the studio, I'm looking forward to checking out the local sparkle and shine at the annual Southwest School of Arts & Crafts Fiesta Art Fair. Ohhh, I will be so inspired after tomorrow. This is the best show in the city, hands down. Can't wait. Next year I'd like to get a booth there, but competition is stiff!
I hope you have a very inspiring and creative weekend.
Oh boy, I was gleaning over my studio for a secret stash for Studio Friday and it dawned on me, my secret stash isn't an object, it's time. I secretly stash away time to work on creative projects that I want to try, whether they are for illustration or just some crafty idea I have. Above is one such example. A few months ago I crocheted this little hat for E. in a few hours. A few hours that I probably should have spent cleaning my house or paying bills or doing yard work or cleaning out the car. You get the picture, I stash away time from my chores to create. Not so great for the messy house, but just what I need to keep my sanity. One day I'll be able to afford a maid and then heck, I won't have to secretly stash my time away, because the maid will be spending her time scrubbing the toilet, not me. : )
Next secret stash project: crocheted beads...stay tuned!
This week's Studio Friday theme is Black & White. So of course, I immediately think of printmaking. I print all of my work in black ink. I have other colors, but they scare me. Maybe one day I'll get brave and do a multi-color print. Until that day, my work is printed in black and hand-colored with oil pastels.
Want to try out printmaking for yourself? It's fun and pretty easy. Here I show you the process on my website or you can download step by step instructions from my HGTV episdoe. This little guy was from an SCBWI event last year. Enjoy your weekend!
This weeks Studio Friday topic is "practice makes perfect." And what becomes more perfect with practice than a color palette? Polymer clay, as you probably know comes in very bright primary colors. I rarely use a color straight from the package. So the first step in my beadmaking process is a color palette that I work from. This week it's an early spring bouquet of muted colors.
Here are two links for more on polymer clay and color:
For Studio Friday this week, Tine asked us to think back on our accomplishments for 2005 and post about the ones we are most happy about.
Being on HGTV is the biggest thing that happened last year. My little dragonfly and I enjoyed our 15 minutes of fame!
Here is a list of other big things that happened this year that I'm just a pleased as punch about:
1. Organizing the Bead Cruise
2. Getting accepted to teach at Art & Soul for next year!
3. My bracelet project airing on PBS' Beads, Baubles & Jewels.
4. Having my lariat reprinted in Easy Beading.
5. My bead fairy on the front cover of the weekender!
All made for very exciting times this year. Some of the things on my list have been hard work, others just fell into my lap. Just little blessings that I'm amazed about.
I've been working on my marketing plan for next year. I can't wait to see what happens next!
Check out this necklace that Amy made. I love it!!!
Amy is the owner of Aplcreations, which features very original jewelry and folk art goodies. But this, this one is something I just had to rush you all over to take a look at!
And I forget to mention Anette's cute little advent calender on her blog. I love her little mischievous characters. She has a limited edition of cards and calendars available too.
And how in the world did Molly Chicken not show up on my blog radar until today? I love the penguins on her site. Since she has the pattern there, I think two may have to spring to life on my work table. My girls would love them.
And one more, Claire has just started a blog, but it's already filled with great little bits for you to read about. She's quite the knitter along with being a talented illustrator. I'm a big fan! I'm going to make some of the crocheted flowers. My youngest has a cheap fake flower she's been pinning to every outfit, I need to help her out a little with that!
Here is my entry for Studio Friday. Opps, a day late, but that's okay. The theme is sweetness and these two are the sweetest things that enter this room! My two girls are in here every chance they get, cutting, pasting, drawing, painting. It's a non-stop creative fest in my studio. This week they have been making Thanksgiving costumes. Native American headdresses seem to very popular among them.
They look like they are holding on for dear life in the photo. But isn't that always the case, no matter how many pictures you take, one will have their eyes closed or making a funny face? And notice the mess on the floor, gotta love them!
Tights, I love striped tights. I collect two things for my girls, funky winter hats and striped tights. The tights help with our disdain for school uniforms. The remind me of candy canes. Sweet.
Happy creating Studio Friday folks!
