Spring Blog Hop w/ Jessica Sporn Designs!

(8 x 10 Canvas Panel)

"It is Spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart."

-- Rainer Maria Rilke

Spring is absolutely, positively my favorite time of year. Not only is the weather gorgeous, but the air itself seems to be drenched in sweet smelling, saturated color. 

So the idea of creating in the theme of Spring for our latest blog hop with Jessica Sporn Designs, gets my head spinning in all kinds of whimsical directions. And! I had a cool idea I wanted to try out: what if I took Jessica's "Build-A-Villa" stamps from RubberMoon and enlarged them to create the focal point in a collage? And, if I did that, then wouldn't it be cool to see what's behind the windows and doors? Anyway, that's where my mind wandered, I hope you enjoy watching along:

For more Spring Fun, keep hopping! Check out what both Jessica Sporn and Denise Alloca did with the theme, and be sure to comment on all posts you visit. Jessica will be giving away her (beautiful, stunning, I must have this!) "Layered Peonies" stencil from Stencil Girl to one lucky winner. 

"Layered Peonies" by Jessica Sporn for Stencil Girl

All entries must be registered by next Monday, April 19th (6:00 pm, EST) and will be announced on Jessica's blog the following day. 

Have fun, good luck and Happy, Happy Spring!

Kristin xo

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Design Team Thursday: Art Journaling with Bubble Girl!

"Surround everyone you can think of in bubbles of love."

- Diana Cooper

Happy, Happy, Happiest New Year! 

And welcome to my first post of the year for the Jessica Sporn Desgins CT. . . . This go around, I've been art journaling with a loose piece of "scratch" watercolor paper and my very favoritest (that's gotta be a word somewhere) stencil by Jessica Sporn for Stencil girl. 

My Favoritest 

Head over to Jessica's blog to for more, including details on the process. . . .

Oh, and while you're there, be sure to check out all the Design Team YouTube videos: there's a ton of talent, fabulous products & tutorials and a whole lota loveliness awaiting you there!

Until we meet again,

Kristin xo

Out Of Practice. And A Video to Prove It. . . .

"My big thesis is that although the world looks messy and chaotic, if you translate it into the world of numbers and shapes, patterns emerge and you start to understand why things are the way they are."

- Marcus du Sautoy

I learned something last time at bat in the studio. As you may have guessed by my lack of posts or art or really anything of creative value this Summer, I've been totally absent. Absent from painting, absent from drawing, and absent from the very room that I usually long to play in. {Although, having said that, I did spend weeks - literally weeks - transforming that hot mess of a room into a real working space with proper storage, organization and a new YouTube set up, so that was exciting}.

I think my absence in part comes from the fact that this was the first Summer that I didn't have The Summer of Color, an annual art event I hosted for 5 years, keeping me busy. And I think in part because of all this time I had on my hands, I just froze. Like a deer in headlights. But like, one that's holding art supplies and stuff. 

So back to what I learned. For me, when I'm out of sorts or out of practice, I find myself waffling when I get back to it. And my waffling, turns out, comes in layers. Many, many layers. I don't know if its insecurity that makes me want to throw every trick or technique or color that I ever learned, used or bought to the table, or honestly, if my picker is just off. You know, that voice that tells you when enough is enough. Maybe that voice is just quiet right now. Or, I guess there's always the opposite, that this page just didn't want to stop being played with.

Either way, I filmed the process and you can be the judge. If you too have been absent from creating, I hope my lack of direction in the above video inspires you in some way. After all, sometimes all we really need is a bit of messy & chaotic to get us back in the game . . . .

With love,

Kristin xo

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Turning Old Collages into New Mixed Media!

Turning an old collage into new mixed media

"I curled closer to May, comforted by her warmth."

-- Kiera Cass

Hi there! I've missed you so. 

The last several weeks have been a whirlwind around here, and I'm happy to have found time to play a bit. Actually, it was a few tweens that got me back into the studio! I assist in an art journaling class for kids every Friday, and last week I brought - along with several other collage materials - some colored copies of my old work. I hoped they would like the bright colors and perhaps some of the images, but what I didn't expect was how much they liked the idea of using old art in new ways and, moreover, how much I would learn from them in the process! They completely inspired me to try new things and to look at my own art in a different way. Sooooo, I decided to see what I could do with one of the same copies I'd given them and filmed the process.

In the end, I used copies of one old collage (wayyyyyy back from the first Summer of Color!) and created two new pieces with them: both a loose art journal page & an altered brie box. 

Loose art journal page 

Altered brie box

Wanna see the process? It's all here, and below, and all under 10 minutes . . . 

Thanks for popping by.  Happy May & happy creating from our crazy house to yours.

With colorful kisses,

Kristin xo

An Arty Collaboration . . .

An Arty Collaboration

2 x 4 Gallery wrapped canvas

"Unity is strength . . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved."

- Mattie Stepanek

One of the things I most look forward to every year is a trip I take with my friend Daniele Shannon. We actually met here - online through our blogs - several years ago and decided to meet in person at an art retreat in Portland. Long story short, we had such a good time that we've made it a tradition, and have been meeting every October since. We don't actually go to a formal retreat anymore, but rather make our own adventure by picking a place somewhere cool and lugging our stash to make art. 

For our most recent trip - to the wineries in Temecula, CA - we decided to do something different and brought a huge (I mean, huge) canvas to the party. The intention was to create a collaborative piece that Daniele would then take back to her new home in Colorado. Wanna see what we did with 3 days, the 2 of us and a lotta wine? Okay then, here we go . . . .

(The canvas in it's entirety)

(The sides)

And there you have it: An Arty Collaboration! And although I highly doubted our ability to finish both that huge canvas and all the wine bottles we had, I'm happy to report that we we successful at finishing both. . . .

Until we meet again,

Kristin xo

Deli Paper Mail Art!

Deli Paper Mail Art

" I love the rebelliousness of snail mail, and I love anything that can arrive with a postage stamp. There's something about that person's breath and hands on the letter."

- Diane Lane

I love deli paper. There's something so magical about drawing something on a translucent surface which can later be altered by adding it to something busy, colorful - and in my case lately - incredibly bright. My friend and fellow lover of the stuff recently (well okay, like a year ago) sent me a huge stash from her own collection so that I could play, play, play. Thank you Linda for sharing it with me, I've been having fun with it ever since! 

As a matter of fact, I've recently decided to create a series of mail art using deli paper as the base. Wanna see what I came up with?? Okay then, here we go. . . .

Deli paper sketch with pencil, Micron black & Sakura white pens

As she appears on top of her altered Priority Mail envelope

(Alpha stickers played a part here)

Little Blue Girl on a small Priority Mail Box

(Back view) 

And in case you wanna how I did it, here's the exact, technical-ish process:

I first collected several US Priority Mail boxes and envelopes in various sizes. Once I decided which combination of materials I wanted to work with, I began by painting both the front and back of each substrate with gesso. Once dry, I began playing with a variety of supplies and mark making materials including spray inks, homemade stencils, oil pastels, charcoal and pencil. 

In order to bring something different to the now colorful backgrounds, I decided to draw several quick sketches on translucent Deil paper to place on top. The sketches were first created in pencil and then brought to life with black ink and pops of white for definition. Once complete, I then tore around the images and glued them on to each box or envelope. 

Further details were then added with bits of collage including bubble gum wrappers, pieces of decorative napkins and other bits of dried paint on deli paper from a past project in which I used deli paper as my palette. Lastly, I added white paint over stickers that were removed once dry to create the “Somerset” and Zip on the pink envelope (so okay, for those of you paying real close attention, you now know where they're headed ;) and added stamped lines on the fronts of each piece to represent the addresses. 

Oh yeah, I also did a simple black and white pen & ink drawing on a large Priority Mail box to send the whole lot off. 

And there you have it: Deli Paper Mail Art!

Until we meet again, I wish you creative days & colorful kisses!

Kristin xo

A Glimpse to Melt the Heart . . .

"A Glimpse to Melt the Heart" 30 x 36

"The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery."

- Francis Bacon

I hope this finds you happy, well and in the throws of creation! I for one have been on an abstract roll as I try to finish projects around the house that require a bit of art here and there. As I said in last week's post, adding my own art to my home is new for me, but I must admit, I kinda like seeing some of my favorite bits and pieces of collage or vintage materials just hanging around. Feels like they too have found a "home." Anywho, here's some details of what went down in this latest abstract:

(30 x 36) 

And here she is as a whole . . .

Thanks for taking a peek! I look forward to seeing what roll you're on this week as well . . . .

Until next time,

Colorful Kisses,

Kristin xo

Paint Party Friday (Week 52)

"A little Something"

WIP

I have no idea where this is headed (a painted paper perhaps?), but I thought I bring my lil' WIP to the Anniversary Party. . .

Congratulations to Kristin & Eva for having hosted a year's worth of beauty and inspiration. Thank you both for your time, energy and efforts in bringing us all together: my Fridays just wouldn't be the same without you! 

"It's Friday night and I'm ready to swing. Pick up my girls and hit the party scene."

- Aaliyah (Back and Forth lyrics)

See you there,

Kristin xo

Because You Went Away

"Because You Went Away"

12 x 12 Mixed Media Collage

(Images from Retro Cafe Art)

I believe that art is magical. Magical because even when you don't intend (or are even aware) of what you may be creating, a story is being told. A story that only you can tell. And for me, when I get out of my own way and just allow the story to unfold, I find that there are many lessons to be learned.

Case in point: I've had a hard week. In moments of sadness, I went into my studio and tried to play. Play with paint, play with a new song book (found in the post below) and yesterday, I played with a background that I'd made a while back with Shiva Paintstiks. I sat down without knowing what to do and just cut and pasted. I played with the idea of using transparencies and and played with new collage sheets that I just received from Retro Cafe Art, but most of all, I just played without thinking.

When I looked up, I realized that I had created something that came from deep within. Even though I went into the studio to get away from it all, it all came back to me in the form of this collage. The text (which is actually a portion of a poem by Ella Darling Peed) reads, "With all these things / it's not a home / Because you went away." 

Without getting all sappy on you, I will say that this is about our family cat that we lost Monday. She was 17 years old. She was in a lot of pain, but in the moments just before she took her last breath, she started to purr. That made me feel better. . . 

Kristin xo