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[whimsylake]

Fine Arts Summer Fun for the Family

2018 SUMMER ART FUN is waiting!

I have my favorite family-friendly fine art destinations for the whole year round, but summer time is even more exciting.  We all of a sudden have a seemingly endless number of warm, lazy, and leisurely days ahead of us.  Museums tend to up their kid appeal during summer time, so this is the best time to take them on a visit (and to beat the heat).  And our local museums never disappoint!  Here is what our museums are offering this summer:

MFAH:

The past few years at MFAH have been extremely memorable to my family with their interactive kid-friendly exhibits, and from the look of these photos, this summer will be amazing, too.  I am excited about the abundance of exhibits that are available free with admission.  Here are a few that stood out to me:

Mike + Doug Starn: Big Bambú This Thing Called Life

On View June 10 - September 3, 2018

For the summer of 2018, Mike and Doug Starn have reconceived their ongoing Big Bambú project for Houston, filling the austerely graceful architecture of the Museum’s Ludwig Mies van der Rohe galleries with a monumental wave of bamboo. An installation made up of some 3,000 poles lashed together, This Thing Called Life rises 30 feet from the floor of Cullinan Hall, cresting onto the balcony of Upper Brown Pavilion. Visitors are invited to cross a bridge of bamboo that winds from the balcony into the wave’s curl, then continue on the path deep into the sea of Big Bambú. The path extends to the floor of Cullinan Hall, where they can explore the bamboo eddies and currents at ground level.

Joris Laarman Lab: Design in the Digital Age             On View June 24 - September 16, 2018

Showcasing furniture, design experiments, suites of drawings, and videos, the exhibition features a number of works from the MFAH collection. Joris Laarman Lab explores the highly progressive qualities of Laarman’s work, both aesthetically and technologically. Along with his advanced production processes, which often involve digital fabrication methods and robotics, Laarman (born 1979) remains inspired by nature, giving equal attention to organic form and beauty.

(The former designer in me is really excited about this one!) 

Click on the Joris Laarman Lab heading to view mfah.org’s slide show of this exhibit.

Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India             On View Through August 19, 2018

Centuries of royal treasures from India come to the United States for the first time, in an epic presentation. Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India features masterpieces and relics—never before seen beyond palace walls—that illustrate the history and artistic legacy of the Rathore dynasty.

This exhibit requires a ticketed entry, so factor ticket pricing into your visit.

Spanish Colonial Paintings from the Thoma Collection             On View Through December 30, 2018

The Museum presents a selection of Spanish colonial paintings from the celebrated collection of Carl and Marilynn Thoma.

My thoughts on visiting MFAH as a family:

Anytime I get to visit this museum is a treat.  I also love allowing my kids to explore the galleries and to develop an appreciation for art.  I have brought them so many times over the years that they are beginning to memorize some of the pieces in the MFAH’s permanent exhibit.  As much as I love to bring the whole family to a big art museum, though, I know that it is also much more peaceful when I make a trip by myself.  I would highly recommend that you take a solo trip, too- you can thank me afterward.  I will bring my whole family on free Thursdays, though!

Ways to visit MFAH for FREE:

MFAH has some beautiful, interesting, thought provoking art in their permanent collection, and these items are FREE to view with your general museum admission!  On Thursdays, you can get in for free!  As for parking, I used to be able to find an abundance of free parking directly adjacent to MFAH, but it looks as though those days are over.  Consider a parking fee when visiting, unless you visit on a Thursday (free!) evening: *Parking is free in both garages for MFAH visitors who enter the Museum between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursdays. 

Here are some other ways to visit the museum for free:

You are visiting on a Thursday, when general admission is free for everyone, courtesy of Shell. Ticketed exhibitions are separate from general admission and remain ticketed on Thursdays.

You are age 12 or younger. This age group receives free general admission every day.

You are age 18 or younger and visiting on a Saturday or Sunday with a library card from any public library in Texas. The library cardholder receives one free general admission; offer does not apply to ticketed exhibitions or events.

You are a visitor to the library, shop, or café. You are a teacher visiting the Kinder Foundation Education Center in the Law Building.

You are a college student with an art-related assignment or attend an institution that participates in the University Partnership Program.

Lunch + Look On weekdays, bring your food-truck receipt to any admissions desk, and you’ll receive free same-day general admission from 12 noon to 2 p.m.* Enter the Museum during those hours, and stay as long as you wish, until closing time. *Free admission does not apply to ticketed events or special exhibitions.

I LOVE visiting their permanent (and free) collections.  The art is magnificent.  I have my personal favorites that I love to “get lost in” and so do my kids. 

I strive to instill an appreciation for art into each of my family members, but let’s be realistic.  This is usually the reaction I get from at least one of the kids when I bring them to a big museum:

On the other hand, I know my son is developing an appreciation for art.  He just handles it better in small doses.  

If you visit MFAH, you can’t leave without visiting the Cullen Sculpture Garden!  They have some noteworthy new sculptures on display right outside the outstanding new Glassell School of Art- it is all brand new and very exciting!

The New Glassell School of Art exterior

Look at the interior of the new Glassell building!  This is very exciting for Houston.

The Menil Collection:

A lovely, small museum that is ALWAYS FREE to the public.  Unfortunately, the main campus is closed through the summer, but all of the surrounding campuses are open, which are totally worth the trip.

A visit to the Menil’s campus can include seven separate buildings, two institutions, and neighborhood public parks.

Main Building

Cy Twombly Gallery

Dan Flavin Installation

Menil Drawing Institute

Byzantine Fresco Chapel

Bistro Menil

Bookstore

Rothko Chapel

Menil Park

For an interactive map of the whole campus, click here.  

Pack a picnic basket and make a day of it for your family.  Maybe I will see you there.  To convince you of how totally picnic-worthy this campus is:

My thoughts on visiting The Menil as a family:

I feel like this whole campus is a can’t miss for the family.  Truly, if I let a year go by without visiting The Menil, I feel as if we have missed out.  There have been some really memorable exhibits here over the years- they have been fascinating, weird, head-scratching exhibits that make me ponder, and I love that.  Even though the main campus is closed for the summer, I am still planning on making a trip into town to visit the surrounding campus. A trip to The Menil has something to offer all family members- young and old, and will not disappoint.  

Do you have any free art hot spots to recommend this summer?

[whimsylake]

Whimsy Lake’s Music Inspired  Exhibited Artworks

Below you will find the title of the art as a clickable link to a Youtube song.  Open the music in another tab to listen while you view the piece.  I would love for you to hear the music as you view the piece.  (The video itself is unrelated- I used the music only as inspiration.)

"Lydia" by Highly Suspect 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

**explicit lyrics**

More Info

"TNT for the Brain" by Enigma 18x24 Mixed Media on Paper, (above)

More Info

"#1 Crush" by Garbage,18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

More Info

"As Hope and Promise Fade" by Chris Cornell 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

More info 

"Sundrenched World" by Joshua Radin, 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper,  

**explicit lyrics**

More Info

"Come What May" Moulin Rouge Soundtrack, 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper,(above)

More info (and detail views)

"Wolf" by Highly Suspect, 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

**explicit lyrics**

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"Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica, Mixed Media on Gallery Wrapped Canvas 48" x 60" (above)

More Info

Publication

"Wake Up" by NF, 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

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"Dixieland Delight" by Alabama, 18x24 Mixed Media on Paper, (above)

More Info

"Hey You" by Pink Floyd 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

More Info

"Hurricane" by Thirty Seconds to Mars, 18x24 Mixed Media on Paper, (above)

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"Go" by Meg Myers 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

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"Soulshine" cover by Government Mule (original by The Allman Brothers) 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

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"Dust to Dust" by The Civil Wars, 18x24 Mixed Media on Paper, (above)

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"Break In" by Halestorm, 18x24 Mixed Media on Paper, (above)

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"She Used to be Mine" by Sarah Bareilles 18x24 Mixed Media on Paper, (above)

More Info

Sold

"Tomorrow" by Ozzy Osbourne 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

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"I Will Always" by The Cranberries, 18x24 Acrylic on Paper, (above)

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Sold

"House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals 18x24 Oil Pastel on Paper, (above)

More Info

[whimsylake]

Art Museum Fun for the Family

SUMMER ART FUN is waiting!

I have my favorite family-friendly art destinations for the whole year round, but summer time is even more exciting.  We all of a sudden have a seemingly endless number of warm, lazy, and leisurely days ahead of us.  Museums tend to up their kid appeal during summer time, so this is the best time to take them on a visit (and to beat the heat).  And our local museums never disappoint!  Here is what our museums are offering this summer:

MFAH:

The past couple years at MFAH have been extremely memorable to my family with their interactive kid-friendly exhibits, and from the look of these photos, this summer will be amazing, too.  I am disappointed, however, that this year it seems all the special exhibitions MFAH has lined up each come with an additional cost to view them.  As a family, this can potentially be a very expensive museum trip, but keep scrolling down- I have some money-saving tips to share, as well as some free museum options to tell you about.

Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest and Worry Will Vanish 

On view June 11–September 17

This exhibit requires a ticketed entry, so factor ticket pricing into your visit:

Ron Mueck On view through August 13 

This exhibit requires a ticketed entry, so factor ticket pricing into your visit: 

Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910–1950 

On view June 25–October 1

I am personally very excited to see a Frida Kahlo painting in person! I have loved this artist and admired her art for years through books and internet images.  This is a very exciting thing for this art teacher!

This exhibit requires a ticketed entry, so factor ticket pricing into your visit: 

My thoughts on visiting MFAH as a family:

Anytime I get to visit this museum is a treat.  Without a doubt, I am excited about these summer exhibitions, but in all reality I cannot afford to take my whole family of five to visit all of them.  I will plan to sneak away on my own this summer and treat myself to a paid walk-through of one or two of the exhibits I referenced above.  As much as I love to bring my family to a big art museum, I know that it is also much more peaceful when I make a trip by myself.  I would highly recommend that you take a solo trip, too- you can thank me afterward.  I will bring my whole family on free Thursdays, though!

Ways to visit MFAH for FREE:

I referenced some really nice paid exhibits above, but MFAH has some reeeeally beautiful, interesting, thought provoking art in their permanent collection, and these items are FREE to view with your general museum admission!  On Thursdays, you can get in for free!  And if you are able to find a parking spot in the free lots surrounding the museum, then you can truly bring your whole family to visit this beautiful museum without paying a cent.  

Here are some other ways to visit the museum for free:

You are age 12 or younger. This age group receives free general admission every day.

You are age 18 or younger and visiting on a Saturday or Sunday with a library card from any public library in Texas. The library cardholder receives one free general admission; offer does not apply to ticketed exhibitions or events.

You are a visitor to the library, shop, or café.

You are a teacher visiting the Kinder Foundation Education Center in the Law Building.

You are a college student with an art-related assignment or attend an institution that participates in the University Partnership Program.

Lunch + Look On weekdays, bring your food-truck receipt to any admissions desk, and you'll receive free same-day general admission from 12 noon to 2 p.m.* Enter the Museum during those hours, and stay as long as you wish, until closing time. *Free admission does not apply to ticketed events or special exhibitions.

I LOVE visiting their permanent (and free) collections.  The art is magnificent.  I have my personal favorites that I love to “get lost in” and so do my kids. 

I strive to instill an appreciation for art into each of my family members, but let’s be realistic.  This is usually the reaction I get from at least one of the kids when I bring them to a big museum:

On the other hand, I know my son is developing an appreciation for art.  He just handles it better in small doses.  On that note, here are some smaller museums that are more “bite sized” for those with younger children:

Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts:

This lovely little museum is ALWAYS FREE!  It is small, it is in Spring, and it is connected to Barbara Bush library.  Not only is it perfect for bringing the whole family to, it is in a prime location for a nice, enjoyable outing: browse the art, go check out a book, and grab some lunch from one of the many delicious restaurants that are less than a mile away.  Here is what is coming up for this summer:

Terri Sanders is one of our very talented local artists, and she is also an art teacher within Conroe ISD!  She is a lovely lady, and I am so excited to see her artwork on display.

My thoughts on visiting Pearl Fincher MFA as a family: 

We LOVE the Pearl Fincher!  Make sure you visit on one of their free family art days- there are many hands-on, kid friendly events available in the summer.

From pearlmfa.org:

“The Pearl offers free monthly Family Days with hands-on art projects, artist demonstrations, performances, and more!  Projects are inspired by current exhibitions at the museum and are designed for ages 5 and up. Family days are typically held the 2nd Saturday of the month from 11:00am-3:00pm, but may vary depending on other events happening at the museum.” 

The Menil Collection:

Another lovely, small museum that is ALWAYS FREE to the public.  This building and its peaceful surrounding campus is a must for the family this summer! 

A visit to the Menil's campus can include seven separate buildings, two institutions, and neighborhood public parks.

Main Building

Cy Twombly Gallery

Dan Flavin Installation

Menil Drawing Institute

Byzantine Fresco Chapel

Bistro Menil

Bookstore

Rothko Chapel

Menil Park

For an interactive map of the whole campus, click here.  There is much more to see than the main campus!

Pack a picnic basket and make a day of it for your family.  Maybe I will see you there.  Here is what’s new for the summer:

The Beginning of Everything: Drawings from the Janie C. Lee, Louisa Stude Sarofim, and David Whitney Collections

Feb 24 – Jun 18, 2017 Main 

ReCollecting Dogon 

Feb 3 – Jul 9, 2017 Main Building

The Menil’s permanent collection is always worth visiting.  My personal favorite is their Surrealism collection.  I find something new every time I walk through.

Their cultural and ancient art displays are always very informative, too.  It is pretty fascinating to see ancient art and imagine what life was like that long ago.

And to convince you of how totally picnic-worthy this campus is:

My thoughts on visiting The Menil as a family:

I feel like this whole campus is a can’t miss for the family.  Truly, if I let a year go by without visiting The Menil, I feel as if we have missed out.  There have been some really memorable exhibits here over the years- they have been fascinating, weird, head-scratching exhibits that make me ponder, and I love that.  A trip to The Menil has something to offer all family members- young and old, and will not disappoint.

Do you have any free art hot spots to recommend this summer?

[whimsylake]

Whimsy Lake Art Exhibit

The big day is finally approaching- the opening reception for my solo art show!  I am very excited to share with the public what I have been working on for the past year.  Here is a visual walk through of the art that will be on display.  All art is for sale, and is available for purchase before the show on Friday.  If you see something you like, send me a message through whimsylake.com to reserve it.

Music Inspired Series

Each of these pieces is inspired by a song, and is named after it, respectfully.  I have created all these while listening to songs that affect me. They are spontaneous and I have no end result in mind before starting them.  Scan the QR codes during exhibit to be taken directly to the music!  

Music Series Installation at m ARCHITECTS

"Oceans" by Hillsong United 18x24

"Anywhere" by Evanescence 18x24 SOLD

"If You Can't Say No" by Lenny Kravitz 18x24 

"Hurricane" by Thirty Seconds to Mars 18x24 

"Little Wing" by Stevie Ray Vaughan 18x24 SOLD

"The Sky is Crying" by Stevie Ray Vaughan 18x24 SOLD

"Dust to Dust" by The Civil Wars 18x24 

"Break In" by Halestorm 18x24 

Metal Relief Series

Found items and aluminum foil tape are used together to create this low relief, slightly sculptural art.

Metal art displayed at gallery

"Sweet Dreams" art 12" x 18", framed 22" x 28" 

"Ammonite" 23.5" D. 

"Trending Now" approx. 21" D. SOLD  

Fluid Paint Series

These results are all from poured paint.  It is a very fluid, and very messy process that is deeply rewarding for those who do not mind being so covered in paint that it is actually squishing between your toes.  That is the ugly side behind a beautiful product.  

Fluid Octopus 36" x 48" 

Octopus at an angle to see sheen of pearlescent paint

Octopus detail 

Octopus detail

Alluvium 48″ x 60″ 

Alluvium (detail of 48″ x 60″) 

Alluvium (detail of 48″ x 60″) 

Fluid Mystic 16" x 20" 

Smoking Heart (No. 2) 12" x 12" 

Fluid Squid 16" x 20" 

Warm & Cool 30" x 40" SOLD

The Smoking Heart (triptych) 20" x 30" overall dim.  SOLD

Anatomy of a Human Heart 16" x 20" 

Mixed Media Series

Watercolor, acrylic, oil pastel, sometimes collage.  These were all nonobjective- I did not have an end result in mind when creating these.  I let my hands do the work and tried not to second guess myself too much.

"Abundance of Joy" art 36" x 48", framed 37.5" x 49.5" SOLD 

"Where the Wind Blew Me" printed on aluminum 16" x 20" 

“Paper Shadows” 18″ x 24″  

"Nothing Else Matters" 48" x 60" 

Mixed Media + Wood

It all started with the rose windows of Gothic architecture as my main inspiration.

Rose Window  24″ x 48″  SOLD

[whimsylake]

Glass Blowing Experience

I enjoyed a very informative glass blowing demo AND I got to help make a piece for myself yesterday at Three Dimensional Visions in Tomball, TX.  

"I have always wanted to try that!”

I have said this many times over the years about learning to do glass blowing. I have heard so many others say this, too.  Well, folks, this studio has made it really accessible to us.  They offer so many options for people like you and me, such as a 30 minute session to make a glass piece (for only $40), to a 6 week course for a more in-depth learning experience ($600 for weekly 3 hour sessions- that is a really good deal if you ask me).  What a great opportunity we have right here in Tomball, which is an easy drive from many greater Houston areas.  I am thinking that treating friends and family to a class is a really good idea right about now, with Christmas coming up.  

The studio also provides demos and lessons on the history of glass which would be a fantastic opportunity for homeschoolers.  What a memorable experience that would be!  

Check out their options for classes here:  http://threedimensionalvisions.com/

[whimsylake]

Kids + Nature = Pure Joy

This is where I am supposed to be.  Every time I surround myself with kids and with nature, my heart overflows... and I feel like if I were to leave this world today, I would leave a deeply happy and joy-filled individual.  

[whimsylake]

Allow Spontaneity Into Your Art

Have you ever heard the phrase, “It is not about the product, it is about the process?”  As an art teacher I have heard this often.  I have learned the difference between focusing on the end product vs. focusing on the creative process along the way, and I really have come to fall in love the process of creating art.  This is especially true when I am teaching art to kids, but I want to encourage you as an adult to think this way, too.  

I have loved art my whole life, but only in the last few years have I experienced great consuming joy when I create art.  What changed?  My expectations of my final outcome.  I recently wrote a blog on my mixed media process, and described this change in my approach to art:  http://whimsylake.tumblr.com/post/139727261077/the-anatomy-of-my-mixed-media-art

“First, I must preface this with the fact that I consider this stage of my art a bit of a rebellion against my former self.  I started as a timid artist, very careful not to make mistakes, and this would often result in me making no art at all- in fear of messing up.  I was stuck with blank canvas syndrome.  Darn white canvas… staring me in the face, daring me to make a mark, and shaming me if that mark was not perfect, causing me to doubt myself as an artist.

I discovered American artist, Tim Yanke, and everything changed from there.  I watched his artistic process through a window into his studio called YouTube, and a spark was ignited: mess-ups are okay!  Not only are they okay, but they actually bring my art to unexpected turns that I would have never encountered by planning every step.  This new thought process was exciting!!  It has given me tremendous freedom as an artist. 

I feel a new artistic invigoration that makes me feel like a child again when I am creating, only better.  I am older, I am wiser, AND I get to experience that child-like excitement that happens when I trust my instincts, throw caution to the wind, and just create for the sake of creating.  I am not trying to impress anyone, I am not worried about a perfect piece, in fact, I often do not know what I will create anymore- it is a surprise, even to myself!  I tell myself to not overthink it- and sometimes my art comes out fantastic through this spontaneous process, and sometimes not, but that’s okay.  I will not create a masterpiece every time.”

Tim Yanke...  I wish I could meet him one day.  He has changed my artistic life.  When I saw his buffalo for the first time, I was intrigued.  I was reeled in and enveloped by his loose, sketchy, and bright style.  

(Image courtesy of www.parkwestgallery.com)

Tim Yanke is a spontaneous artist.  In fact, I have heard him referred to as an action artist.  He turns up the music, and just becomes lost in his art, making quick decisions and trusting his instincts.  Here are the videos I watched that changed my outlook on my art, and then showed to my students to inspire them.  There is no fancy editing, it is just him in his studio doing his artwork:

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQjtrlekbK4

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7PX7AgPiYI

I am at my computer writing this hoping I can inspire you to become more welcome to mistakes, and more open to spontaneity.  And most importantly, accept your child’s artistic mistakes.  I have a quote I’d like to share by Pablo Picasso: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Picasso knew what he was talking about when he said this.  I imagine he watched the creative life drain out of many people during his long life.  He, on the other hand, became more unafraid and uninhibited with his art the older he became.  Just look at his self portrait evolution from age 15 to age 90: http://www.boredpanda.com/pablo-picasso-self-portrait-style-evolution/

Have you ever noticed how uninhibited a toddler is when he or she is painting?  They are just starting out their artistic life, and they are ready and excited to explore the world of color and lines and shapes.  They are so very unconcerned about making mistakes.  They are jabbing their brush into their paper, scrubbing holes into it, mixing colors together until they make brown.  As they get older, they hear that they need to color inside the lines, and to “not scribble scrabble.” I have heard that one time after time after time.  Their artwork may be compared to others’ and questioned, “Why didn’t you do your art like everyone else?”  These little scenarios that an average kid may encounter from parents or teachers or classmates as they grow up start planting seeds in their mind- that their art is not good enough.  They may eventually lose their childhood spontaneity, and inherit this line into their adult vocabulary that spills out so naturally and so easily it becomes second nature: “I don’t have a creative bone in my whole body.  I can barely draw stick figures.”  This is another one I have heard from adults time after time after time.  It is a sad situation.  People who utter this phrase were once spontaneous artists...  long ago.  If you say this phrase, please know that the inner artist still lives within you.  And the more you say this, the more likely your child will eventually inherit this phrase into their vocabulary because they hear it so often.  Give yourself some more credit, and try art again- and when you do, be ready for the mistakes to happen!  We’ll call them “happy accidents.”  And while you’re at it, read this with your kid: https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Oops-Barney-Saltzberg/dp/076115728X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469318095&sr=8-1&keywords=beautiful+oops

Embrace the process of art, and don’t get so caught up in the final product.  Don’t throw in the towel if you mess up, or should I say *when* you mess up.  Mess ups are inevitable, so learn how to deal with them.  Is the mess up giving you a new possibility that you had not considered before?  Look at it as a problem solving situation.  It may take you out of your comfort zone by changing your end result- and if so, great!  It gives you room to grow as an artist- better yet- it is a learning opportunity, and makes you a better artist.  Allow flexibility into your thought process.  Don’t get so intent on what your final product “should” look like.  Instead, consider it a welcome surprise to find out where your creative process takes you.  It is an amazing journey if you learn to let yourself enjoy the process.  You know what they say, “It is not about the destination, it’s about the journey.”

[whimsylake]

Experimental Art = LEARNING Through Art

Today was bittersweet.  It was my last private art session with a student of mine (we’ll call her E) whom I’ve come to really look forward to spending time with on a weekly basis.  She is young, she is spontaneous with her artistic decisions, and she is moving to China.  I am going to miss our weekly artistic hour greatly, but our last session today was a wonderful one.  We did water marbling, which in itself is mesmerizing to watch.  The process of this art technique is a memorable one.

But the part that will be the most memorable to me and E is how we discovered a new method together.  Well, E discovered it, and I was there to witness it.  I learn so much as an art teacher.  I learn from kids constantly.  One thing I have learned as an art teacher is when to back up and let a kid take control, and allow him or her to make creative artistic decisions- even when it means they are going against the “guidelines” I have laid out.  This is a tricky situation, one that every art teacher is faced with on a semi-regular basis: should I allow this kid to “break the rules” and trust their artistic instincts?  Because, didn’t the greats, in fact, break the rules?  

Luckily my decision today was an easy one, because it was just me and E, and there were no eavesdropping ears around us to hear the art teacher instructing one student to break the rules (wreaking havoc on an art teacher’s sanity when everyone then wants to break the rules).  When we were finished water marbling, E wanted to drip the ink on the wet paper directly.  My first instinct was to say, “No, it’ll use too much ink, let’s keep doing it the ‘right’ way.”  I told her to go ahead and try it out.  She made a fascinating discovery!  That particular brand of ink had a very successful, unique effect on the paper: it swirled, it was vibrant, it created an interesting texture that we absolutely were not expecting, and we both had a blast watching it all happen before our eyes.  We learned a great deal from today’s experiment.  I was completely inspired, E was on cloud 9, and we had a fantastic last class together.  E was thrilled that I was so pleased with the accidental results that she had discovered and asked, “Will you teach this to your next class?” And of course, I told her yes!  

I thought about this the whole way home- this situation mirrors our faith in life- when we take a risk and try something new, chances are the results will be great.  But mostly, I was reminded how important it is for kids to be allowed to experiment with new and unique art methods.  Shoot, it is important for us all to experiment with art methods- just take a look at all the photos below of my experimental project that I did as soon as I got home from my lesson with E.  My creative fire was ignited!  

This may sound scary to some parents- allowing your children the freedom to play with art materials and experiment in your home.  But I am here to encourage you to allow it, even if it is a little at a time.  Take baby steps, but allow some of the mess into your home.  It is not pretty, I know.  Experimenting means fingerprints and chalk dust and paint on your kitchen cabinets sometimes... but if you channel your inner Deepak Chopra and try to focus on the delightful giggles and squeals of excitement as they are touching paint, squishing their fingers into Play-doh, you will start to see the important part of their mess: they are learning!  

I have 2 quotes for you.  One is from a dear friend of mine: “What is going to matter in 5 years?”  Will it be your pristine, clean kitchen, or your children’s sensory experience development and happy memories formed at your kitchen table?  The next is my favorite, uttered out of Picasso’s lips: “ Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ” Kids are naturally curious, and want to take risks, particularly with art.  If we are constantly telling them no, let’s not make a mess, their innate desire to explore and discover and get their hands messy will eventually fade.  Don’t let that happen.  Help them keep their inner artist alive.  They all have it, and so do you!  Maybe this will rekindle an old artistic flame that you thought was long gone.  I assure you, kids inspire!  Watch them and be a kid again with them.  Model the activity for them- it will help them to know what to do with the art materials, and will allow them to see mom or dad doing art with them!

When you decide to take the plunge and allow messy art supplies into your house, here are some tips: have a glass of wine, spread out a large drop cloth for easy clean-up, have your shower curtain open and ready for paint-covered children, do it on a day that you are not exhausted, and summer is coming up- do it outside, then clean them up with a water hose!  

Finally, here are my personal experiments from this evening, inspired by my E:

[whimsylake]

The Anatomy of My Mixed Media Art

I have had some frequently asked questions about how I go about accomplishing my recent mixed media art.  Rather than trying to explain it with words, I figured I’d document the process and show you through images!

First, I must preface this with the fact that I consider this stage of my art a bit of a rebellion against my former self.  I started as a timid artist, very careful not to make mistakes, and this would often result in me making no art at all- in fear of messing up.  I was stuck with blank canvas syndrome.  Darn white canvas... staring me in the face, daring me to make a mark, and shaming me if that mark was not perfect, causing me to doubt myself as an artist.

I discovered American artist, Tim Yanke, and everything changed from there.  I watched his artistic process through a window into his studio called YouTube, and a spark was ignited: mess-ups are okay!  Not only are they okay, but they actually bring my art to unexpected turns that I would have never encountered by planning every step.  This new thought process was exciting!!  It has given me tremendous freedom as an artist. 

I feel a new artistic invigoration that makes me feel like a child again when I am creating, only better.  I am older, I am wiser, AND I get to experience that child-like excitement that happens when I trust my instincts, throw caution to the wind, and just create for the sake of creating.  I am not trying to impress anyone, I am not worried about a perfect piece, in fact, I often do not know what I will create anymore- it is a surprise, even to myself!  I tell myself to not overthink it- and sometimes my art comes out fantastic through this spontaneous process, and sometimes not, but that’s okay.  I will not create a masterpiece every time.

Here is a quick rundown of what makes up my mixed media pieces:

Collage

I call this stage my icebreaker.  With these collage pieces I no longer have a blank page.  I go through magazines and tear out patterns, portions of vivid color, and throw it down.  I consider these little pieces of magazine “free color”.  I search for unrecognizable pieces of images- I want these colors and patterns to contribute to my art, but I don’t want to steal the photography.  

I arrange the images into a position that makes sense to me.  I look at the shape of the torn paper, and lay it down in a way that kind of flows together.  I don’t always do that- sometimes I just lay it down randomly...

Connect the Collage

I use my favorite oil pastels and start drawing lines and blocks of color between the collage images after I glue them down.  This is where I have to remind myself to stop thinking!  Just draw.  Do what your hand wants to do.  Curves?  Zig zags?  Go with it.

Circles?  Okay.  

There are still times I doubt myself along the way, and previously, I may have let this get the best of me.  I may have stopped and thought, “This looks like crap... I suck.”  I have to block out my self-doubt, and remind myself that this is not finished yet!  Just like us all, we are a work in progress...  If anything, I have gained persistence along the way.  Persist past mistakes- it doesn’t have to end there.

Smear, Blend, Spray, Layer Colors

One of my favorite things to do currently with my oil pastels is press down hard to build up a thick layer, and then use my fingers and smear them around, blending colors with each other.  This is also a way for me to achieve texture and spontaneous lines.

I look for spots that are not quite bright enough for my liking and I spritz them with liquid watercolor.

My favorite spontaneous moment of this piece was swinging my oil pastel around until it took on this sketchy flower shape.  I have to move my hands quickly to achieve many of these bold, spontaneous lines.  I can’t overthink it - my confidence shows up in the quality of my lines.  If I want a bold look, I have to be bold with my movements.  I can’t be bold if I am taking it slowly, planning every step of the way.

Take a Step Back

Once I have been spontaneous and thrown my hand around the page, scribbling till my heart is content, I lay my artwork at a distance and survey my progress.  At this stage I ask myself, “What does it need?”  Translation: what do I want to see more of?  In this case I wanted to balance out my blues and add more of this deep color around the edges, to create a bit of a border using contrast.  I also really love grey right now, and I didn’t see as much as I wanted to see, so I scribbled some more in various sections.  I also wanted to add some more contrast with white and black, so I got out my acrylic paint and added some spatters at the end for good measure.

And that’s that.  I am happy with this piece! 

[whimsylake]

Nature Art with Kids

I had a beautiful day yesterday.  The weather was cool and pristine, and as I walked out of the house and to my art lessons for the day I felt giddy.  I was traveling light and didn’t have to spend time packing up art supplies because I knew we’d be using nature’s resources as our art supplies.  Anytime I can spend the day outside with kids looking at and appreciating nature, I get excited.  

Today I taught 2 sessions of homeschool classes- a group of little ones between the ages of 4 and 7.  My second group is made up of kids aged 8 to 14.  If you think kids are too old for this kind of activity, think again.  My older group got way more into this than my younger group.  And that is saying a lot, because the little ones were very excited about it, too.  The lesson of the day: appreciating the world around you and training your eyes to find variation of color, shape, and size within nature.  This activity reinforces artistic concepts that we learn while painting and drawing, too.  The words pattern, contrast, form, and texture were used quite a bit with my older group while building these designs... these terms are straight from the elements of art and principles of design.

When you decide to create nature art, there are a few simple steps to take in order to create a successful experience with kids:

Explore Your Environment

Look around for a variety of natural objects in the yard, paying attention to its color, size, and shape.  At first glance when you walk around to survey your environment, everything looks as if it blends together.  You won’t see anything special while standing at the porch.  Once you start walking around, though, there are so many things that are revealed once you are right up on it.  One of the girls found moss growing on the underside of a rock!  Now, that is really exploring your environment!  

We also found teeny tiny yellow leaves with dainty green polka dots- but we had to crawl under a bush to get to them!  These were not discovered until we looked around for about 20 minutes or so.  This time of discovery should be fairly lengthy- allowing kids the time to tune into their environment is the name of the game.  

A tip I give kids when they are looking for a variation of color- look up.  If the leaves remaining on the branches are yellow, you will find yellow leaves underneath the tree.

Gather All Items That Interest You

Gumballs, acorns, sticks, pine cones, yellow leaves, green leaves, red leaves, pine straw, pebbles are just some of the many things kids start to discover while exploring.  All these items vary from one another in size, shape, and color.  Gather all these different items and place them in a designated spot- preferably in a smooth, flat area.  The kid that likes (and needs) to run around is perfect for gathering!  I often give kids the choice of being in charge of gathering, sorting, or arranging, while doing a group project outdoors and there are always one or two kids who would prefer to run around and discover new items.  They rush back to the rest of the group excitedly to drop off their find, and then go hunt some more.  

Sort Like Items

Once a large amount of variety has been discovered and gathered, sit together and sort by color, shape, and size.  It makes the design process much easier when all like items are grouped together.  When the group decides to add a new item, all they have to do is pick up a handful of say, red leaves, which makes the process easier and more efficient.  Organization of the items takes a small amount of time and is so worth it- it sets everyone involved up for success when the items are easy to spot and access.

Begin Your Design Arrangement

I often start the kids off with the idea of creating a design called a mandala.  It is a simple shape, it is easy to build, and it looks beautiful! Look for an item that you only have a small amount of- let’s say you only have one purple flower.  Place that item on the ground, then build a circle around it with another set of items- this creates a center.  

You may add to the design by creating multiple circles extending outward, each circle makes the mandala larger and larger.  You could keep it small and detailed by stacking items.

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When stacking, start with the largest item on bottom.  Choose an item of contrasting color to sit on top.  The image above starts with a large green leaf on bottom, was layered with smaller yellow leaves, then topped with even smaller pieces of moss.  

Of course, there are many things you can create using items from nature!  All it takes is some imagination!

This student made some family portraits with her nature items!

Here is her brother on the right with a green mustache! (above)

Here is a person with rosy cheeks on either side of her smile.

And we had a tepee building session in the last ten minutes of class!  Everyone made their own tepee in my second class, so they had themselves a miniature Indian village!

I am a sucker for close up shots of nature- especially when there is so much variety all together.  I find it pretty fascinating.

Love the texture on this tree bark.

We had a beautiful day, and I hope this inspires you to get outside with kids to build some nature art.  Breathe the fresh air, let the kids run wild picking up leaves, and consider this a relaxing and sacred time with them.  This is the kind of thing that will stick in their minds- these moments outdoors, spending time with one another creating beautiful things.  I hope that these activities that I do with my students and my own kids builds an appreciation for found resources.  We don’t need paint and paper to create beautiful art- all we need is an open mind and open eyes to see all the free resources that surround us in our environment daily.

I have to recognize to a couple individuals who have inspired me to create art using nature.  I originally got the idea to create nature mandalas from this inspiring mom, and have been making them annually for years ever since discovering her blog: http://momenttomomentdk.blogspot.com/2010/06/garden-mandalas.html

Garden Mandala (above)- from Moment to Moment Blog

The idea for one of my favorite recent nature projects came when I discovered land artist, Richard Shilling.  http://www.richardshilling.co.uk/  

4 Colour Sunwheel (above) - by Richard Shilling

Richard’s work inspired me to create this dreamcatcher/ suncatcher from leaves and sticks (and a whole lot of hot glue).

[whimsylake]

Art Crawl Houston 2015

The day was finally upon me- the Saturday before Thanksgiving where artists all over Houston’s warehouse district open up their studio doors and allow the public to meander in and out, looking at their personal, artistic creations.  I wait for this day every year like a kid waits for Santa on Christmas Eve.  There is just something about the cool, Autumn air swirling around me, the creaking floors of 100+ year old buildings, and the discovery of amazing talent around corners of private, tucked away studios.  

I hope to give you a visual journey of my Saturday stroll through the studios.

The photo below, and the one above, are both from the entryway of Mother Dog Studios.  This is always my first stop during Art Crawl.  

Christine Bailey is the artist of these pieces below.   christinebaileyart.com  I remember Christine’s art making a memorable impact on me last year- so I asked her permission to photograph her pieces to show you.  

All images you see here were taken with permission from the artists.

Christine uses ink toner for her soft effect.

These paintings are by Clint Stone.  clintstoneart.com

As I was admiring their mystique, a lady next to me mentioned to Clint that his work reminded her of Cy Twombly.  I was thinking the very same thing at the very same time.

I got a chance to chat with artist John Runnels of Mother Dog Studios, and we found a common thread within seconds of introducing ourselves to each other.  I am named after Fleetwood Mac’s “Sara” and so is his daughter!  I revealed that my mom always said to me, “You are the poet in my heart.” (Lyrics from Fleetwood Mac’s song) He immediately told me to follow him into his studio.  He found this stamp that he uses to print that very same song lyric on the letters to his daughter, Sara.  What a beautiful discovery, and an absolute highlight of my day.  

John and Charlie Jean Sartwelle are the founders of Mother Dog Studios, and are the very reason Art Crawl is as successful as it is.  These are two very vital Houstonians right here.  I am very thankful for this couple for doing so much to orchestrate Art Crawl.  

Window of John’s studio- there are such interesting details everywhere you look around here.

Artist Kevin Cromwell http://kevin-cromwell.squarespace.com/ within his studio working.

Glass artist Mark Todd gives lessons in his warehouse studio.  http://www.toddglassart.com/  

Artist Solomon Kane’s studio is always memorable!  http://artavodah.com/

Part of the fun with Art Crawl is getting outside and looking around.  There is so much visual texture and variation of color to soak in while walking around Houston’s warehouse district.

Food trucks are parked and on standby...

Entrance to Last Concert Cafe, a famous Houston restaurant that has had its doors open since 1949.  http://www.lastconcert.com/

This building is a familiar sight to me, as I used to work across the street from it for a couple of years.  This building is now the home to the popular restaurant, Oxheart.  http://oxhearthouston.com/  

And one of my personal favorites: m ARCHITECTS . http://www.m-architects.com/  I am partial because this is where I began my professional career as an interior designer.  The owner and lead architect of m ARCHITECTS, Michael Morton, designed this historic building to accommodate his office, which includes an art studio.  This building started out as The Fifth Ward Hotel, and was built in 1882.  This is a remarkable building in the Houston area, and I feel very privileged to have worked within these walls.  Check out this photo gallery of its design award winning interior:  http://www.m-architects.com/architects-office 

m ARCHITECTS hosted artist, Valeria Pili for Art Crawl this year.  http://valeriapili.it/  She is visiting from Italy to exhibit her artwork in Houston.  Her artistic process is tremendous:  http://www.valeriapili.it/techniques.html

Mark your calendar for Art Crawl 2016!  It is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  It is a beautiful and inspiring way to start off your Thanksgiving week.  http://www.artcrawlhouston.com/  

[whimsylake]

Art Journaling Adventures - Intended or Open-ended?

My evening class of art journalers tried their hand at found poetry, charcoal, and collage.  I also wanted to discuss the two methods I use when I begin my journal layouts.  As I thought about my approach to art journaling I came to the conclusion that I really begin two ways: either an open-ended, or an intended approach.

Open Ended Approach

Open-ended is an exercise that helps with writer’s block, and what I refer to as “blank canvas syndrome.” There are times that I don’t know what to write, and I don’t know what to draw, and there are times I feel completely unmotivated to do any art.  But, if you just make yourself begin, and take those initial steps of mindlessly gluing down collaged paper, or dripping some paint on paper, or drawing random lines with charcoal and smearing, chances are you will be led to an idea- a subject matter to focus your art on.  

Here is an example of a haphazard collage layout- I have no idea where this is going, and what art it will result in, but I have begun by tearing out book pages and pieces of a map and glued them down randomly.  I have broken the ice, if you will, and at least taken that first step in beginning.

Below is a journal layout that I started last week as an open-ended approach, and I have finished the last step of adding details and a title to my cassette tape.  What started out as something completely and utterly random ended up as something that means a lot to me.  

I had no intentions of designing a layout dedicated to my moody teenage/ Cranberries listening years, but it ended up that way.  That is the beauty of an open-ended approach.

Found poetry- this is one technique that I would definitely consider an open-ended approach.  This activity is a wonderful prompt generator!  If you are looking for ideas, circle words that stand out to you on a book page, and hopefully they will link together to form a poem that inspires you.  Here is my latest “found” poem:

He held mystery.

Mary listened

as he summoned her

into silent dusk.

I had no idea my poem would go that way, but I kind of liked it.  I was imagining a couple of people in this poem, but as I flipped through a magazine to look for items to collage around it I found this image of a horse.  It was a game changer- my poem had gained a new meaning.  I all of a sudden liked it so much more!  I was led into a journal topic by the open-ended approach of found poetry.

Intended Approach

If you have a vision in your mind of how you want your art to look, I call this an “intended approach.”  Your intent is what drives your color selection, your images, your text.  

I don’t create a lot of intended layouts, so I will have to refer back to an older entry.  Here is an example of an intended journal layout to represent how I feel about Hillsong United’s song, Oceans.

This song speaks to so many parts of me- my fear of quitting a full-time job to be an artist and freelance teacher when the world calls artists starving.  I also have a fear of water, but I am fascinated and intrigued by it.  I had envisioned the color scheme for this journal entry, knew what lyrics I wanted to include, and knew I wanted an image of a female swimming deep into a beautifully scary ocean.

Here are some collage techniques that were created on Thursday evening- I love how different everyone’s style is.

I really enjoyed the look of collaged tissue paper, and it was so easy!  Glue & tissue paper- and as you can see below, with the addition of scraping some pastel color on the ridges it takes on a very delicate, laced look with all those fine wrinkles.

I also love the white, and how it allows the text to peek through as if it were draped with a sheer fabric.

Some found poetry from the evening:

This one below, fit the artist perfectly.  She said this is a process she practices quite often when listening to friends:

Waiting, silent.

Understand her choice.

Delicately help friends.

And some amazing Zentangle techniques that I just had throw in here for inspiration- this artist looked up the key words “Zentangle + water” to find ideas- love that idea.

What will your next art journal entry be- intended, or open-ended?  Which is your favorite approach?

[whimsylake]

Art Journaling Adventures - Day 5

I had two art journaling sessions in one day!  In my ongoing sessions, it is week 5 of a 6 week class, and we are already planning a continuation of our mixed media adventures!  My second class of the day was a brand new session!  It was a pleasure meeting a new group of people who wanted to create, and to share time with them making beautiful art.

I love that this class is creating channels to allow creative energy to flow.  We need these channels in our life to let out stress, and to focus our energy in a visually productive way.  Art journaling is a beautiful way to express yourself.  

I love that so many had brought personal inspirations: photos, meaningful quotes, song lyrics...  What a great starting place for your art journal entries.

Look at that amazing laced paper!  Great for spraying liquid watercolor over to make a beautiful print, or to be added to a collage application for elegant texture.

Layers of textures- adding a tactile element

Chalk pastels

Metallic paints

Patterned paper, chalk pastels, and liquid watercolor

Pockets, personal mementos, lace edges, all make this journal a meaningful, personal keepsake

Cut paper collage, spray liquid watercolor over book pages

Blues and golds- always a winning combination.  Very nice contrast of colors.

I am drawn to this darker color application- I reach for bright colors so often out of habit, but not all moods are properly represented by bright color.  I love the idea of this deep color as a background for a more somber art journal entry.

Using netting from the produce section!!  It is good stuff!!  

Look at these colors- such a calm, serene blue.  And the layers below include coffee stained paper towels- isn’t that a great idea?!  And it is free!

Soft texture of chalk pastels to create this peacock feather

This looks was achieved with a shaving cream marbling technique

It is always a great day when you are art journaling, and this day was no exception.  What a fantastic bunch of people I get to be around!  We will try out a whole new slew of techniques next time.  I can’t wait to see what artistic results our next class has in store for us!

[whimsylake]

Kids- That is Where My Inspiration Comes From.

I feel more artistic and full of creative energy than I ever have before in my life.  It is only since I have become an art teacher that I have felt this creative burst within me.  I totally owe it to them.  It is as if I have found a spring of youth that fuels my fire, puts a sparkle in my eyes, and makes me giddy with excitement.  Kids... and art. Kids and art are a great pair.  There is something about this dynamic duo that makes me a better person.

There are days I leave an art lesson wide eyed with excitement and inspiration, and these images are from one of those days.  And with my lovely homeschool groups, that happens pretty much every time.  What a blessing they are to me!  I brought the groups a variety of materials to experiment with- and we had a mixed media session.  I showed them some tricks that can be done with watercolor, saran wrap, rubbing alcohol, and salt.  We played with oil pastels and toothpicks.  We sprayed liquid watercolor until it pooled on our papers.  I spent maybe 10 minutes showing them a few techniques, and they spent the remainder of their class creating art with such wild abandon, it was an absolute joy to watch them work.  They feverishly spattered, smeared, scraped, and the little discoveries they made along the way were absolutely priceless to witness.  They had that gleam in their eyes.  The art bug.  It was a beautiful day!  Enjoy these pictures below of precious, tiny hands, making beautifully vibrant art.  May it inspire you today, and add a little sparkle to your eyes, too!

[whimsylake]

Choosing a Used Book to Become Your Next Art Journal

When choosing a book for your art journal, there are so many ways you can go.  You can simply go to the art store and purchase a sketch book.  This one is kind of a no-brainer.  Just keep in mind paper weight- thicker paper accepts paint better than thin drawing paper.  Opt for a book that is suitable for wet media (or mixed media as many state on their packaging now).

I also love the idea of re-purposing old books.  I love hardback covers, I love the smell of old books, and I also love the text that shows through when I paint over the pages.  If you like some of these qualities too, here are is something to think about when browsing the used book section:

What regular function will your art journal serve?  Will it be a book you’ll want to store in your purse at all times?  Will you want to stow it away in your tote bag and take it places from time to time?  Will it just sit at home on your desk?  Look at these 2 book widths being compared side by side below:

If I were carrying my book around in a bag, I would surely opt for the thinner option.  The bigger book would likely be too big and bulky for anyone, so take into account the width.

If you want a purse option, choose a small book that tucks away easily in your purse so you’ll have it at all times.  

I keep my small journal in a little pouch with a pen.  

Anytime I want to record something I discover at a museum, write down a song    I liked, or a website, I get out my little purse journal.

I have sketched in this journal when I was bored, drawn still-life inside of it at the art museum with my daughter, and taken notes in it during an art workshop.  I guess you could call it the journal I use to record “found inspirations” that I wish to be remembered.

Small books can be found in various places, if you look closely.  One place that we might often overlook is the children’s book section!  Board books are great for art journals!

I buy most of my used books from Goodwill.  As you can see from the price tag here, it was only $0.79!  Look at all these half pages- what fun this would be to draw half drawings, only to be mixed and matched.

Just apply a coat of gesso to the glossy pages, and you have a blank slate to begin with.  One coat will not cover all the illustrations, but once you apply your art: pictures, collage, pastel, paint colors, etc., you will barely see the original book illustrations, if at all.

Children’s books are not only good for fulfilling your “tiny journal” needs.  They could be a source of whimsy in your art as well.

Do you have a favorite childhood book?  I used to LOVE The Giving Tree.  Well, I still do!  I would love to use the pages, but keep the cover as a sentimental element that reminds me of my childhood.  I will not touch my original book that I had growing up, but maybe I can transform this copy I found in the used book store.

My husband found this AWESOME Transformers how-to-draw book for our son, and this would be a fantastic art journal!  Again, less than $1 at Goodwill!

Look at these pages!  It even has a color wheel!  And how cool would it be to have these illustrations peeking through in your art journal designs?  I love the idea of having drawing diagrams showing through in my artwork.

And it is full of thick vellum tracing pages- I wonder how upset my son would be if I painted all over his book?  Not usually a common problem in families- the mom painting in the kids’ books.  Usually it’s the other way around!

I have had a lot of success with thick, glossy book pages.  They seem to hold paint really well.  That is what I have used for this particular journal:

As you can see, I have an art journal entry on one page, and on the next I am revealing that this started out as a fashion guide... from the 90s, I think.    

An alternative would be regular chapter books, like this one below.  I have not used this type of book as my journal itself, but I do keep them nearby to tear pages from to be used in a collage.

Here is another book with thick, glossy pages, that would be a great art journal:

The reason I like thick, glossy pages is because they seem to hold thick paint applications without getting severely warped.  I have been very impressed with how this type of paper handles my mixed media applications.  Most paper not intended for painting would wrinkle majorly.  Although, with glossy paper, it is necessary to coat your pages with gesso, or any other acrylic paint for that matter.  Otherwise, that slick surface will not have enough tooth to grab hold of art materials such as pastels.

Here is what I do to remedy that problem.  I have also used colored acrylic paint, and it serves the same purpose as gesso.

With this close up, I intentionally let the gesso stop halfway up the page, so you can see the difference in surface texture.  After the white gesso dried, I applied chalk pastel to the surface, even to the glossy part of the paper.  It did not have any tooth to grab hold of on the glossy portion, therefore it did not work.  The gesso (or acylic paint), on the other hand, is matte and takes on the texture of whatever method you use to apply it, allowing the chalk to grab a hold and stay.  If you look closely you can even see my brush strokes- I swirled the brush at the bottom, and applied straight brush strokes as well.  The brush strokes may be desirable, or undesirable.  I imagine a softer brush would soften the texture if you do not like the highly textured surface.  

Another great source to look for?  Nice magazines with thick pages.  Fashion magazines have been awesome!!  This is a Macy’s catalog passed to me from my mother-in-law.  Unfortunately, this seems to be only available to Macy’s cardholders... I tried to request this catalog online, and it was not available.  I have found great, used fashion magazines at libraries for sale for 10 cents, though.

Fashion magazines have great patterns, textured backgrounds, fabric photos, etc.

Look at that suede backdrop on the left and vibrant blue on the right.  This is free color for your art!  Allow it to show through.  I also use fashion photo spreads to tear out and paste down as a collage element in my art.  

I put my hand on this image as a scale reference.  It is pretty big, perfect for nice, large journal entries.  Travel magazines are fantastic, too.  Lots of scenic images to use as a starting place for your art.

And the last new discovery I want to share is these free catalogs from building stores!  

We are planning our new kitchen so we had picked this catalog up for ideas.  As I was thumbing through it I was impressed at how high quality the cover and pages were, then I got to thinking- this can become my future art journal one day, too!  The pages are thick and glossy, and will hold thick paint very well without wrinkling very much.

And my favorite part: it has about 5 sets of these foldout pages!  I could really have some fun creating a very large foldout journal entry.  Hmmm... the possibilities!

I hope this helps you think outside the box when choosing a book to re-purpose as your next art journal.  Now that I’ve got your creative juices flowing, what ideas would you add to this list?

[whimsylake]

My Top 10 Favorite Art Supplies for Kids

Need help shopping art supplies for your children this year?

I have formed a list of my top 10 favorite art supplies.  I hope this helps while you are choosing art products to buy for your kids this holiday season.  I am not being compensated for this, by the way.  I truly just want to pass on the things I have learned (often times the hard way) to parents who don’t know where to start.

One thing I would recommend AGAINST- is buying those fancy looking art kits.  They are so tempting- I mean it has a handy carrying case, it has a variety of supplies right there already curated, so what could be wrong with this?  They are bought in massive quantities annually for children by well meaning parents, but the truth is: the case may look nice, but the art supplies usually are very poor quality.  I have seen it time and again-  kids get discouraged because the art supplies “don’t work” and in the end this may curb their creativity rather than enhance it.

Now I should not discredit ALL art sets- I have seen some high quality brand art sets in nice boxes.  But they are also quite expensive.  I personally prefer to handpick a variety of art items when I am buying for a child myself because I know what is good and what is just going to be tossed to the side.  And I also prefer not to pay an arm and a leg for art supplies, so I’d like to share what I have learned over the last decade of art supply buying for myself, for my kids, and for a whole elementary school:

As an art teacher, I recommend skipping the fancy art kits in wooden cases, to be perfectly honest.  Buy a nice gift box from Michael’s, a fabric pouch, a basket, some functional storage system, and load it with supplies that are tried and true (by me and the hundreds of kids I have used them with), and that will get your kids excited about art.

My Top 10 Favorite Art Supplies for Kids:

(I am linking each of these headers to Amazon.com for viewing purposes.  Amazon doesn’t always have the best price, though.  If I have found these items less expensive elsewhere, I will refer to that store.)

1. “Good” Oil Pastels  (links below)

If I was told I had to pick ONE art medium to live with for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t think twice about this.  Good oil pastels are so fun to work with.  And I don’t mean the oil pastels that come in big art kits- those don’t seem much different than crayons, and they give oil pastels a bad name.  No, no, good oil pastels are rich, creamy, very “smearable” and are just a joy to draw with.  I mean, they feel like I am drawing with tubes of lipstick.  They blend well, they are vibrant in color- I could go on and on about how fantastic these things are.  AND some of them are water soluble, which means you can take a wet brush to the pastel and it turns to paint.  This also means that cleanup is an absolute breeze- it rinses off hands super easily, and all you need is a wet paper towel to clean off work surfaces.  I have yet to find these in retail stores, so I purchase them through Amazon.  I like Crayola Portfolio Series and Mungyo.

2. Canson Mix Media Paper

Paper quality really does matter.  When painting, you need good, thick paper with somewhat of a tooth- it affects the way the paint looks sometimes, too.  My favorite is Canson’s Mix Media paper pads in 18″x 24″ size.  I always buy my paper pads in an18 x 24 size because I like to work large scale sometimes, and so do my children.  You can always cut the pages down.  I fold them over and use a ruler to rip half sheets or quarter sheets out- It has been working quite well. 

The large size makes a child feel like a “true artist” as I have heard my daughter say- the scale gives her so much freedom, and it just feels great to be able to move your whole arm while painting!

I buy mine at Michael’s- it is a buck or two cheaper than Hobby Lobby, plus I use my 40% coupon every time, so it comes out about half the price of Amazon’s.

**If your child goes through a wealth of paper in one sitting- invest in a roll of art paper as well and tell him/ her to save the thicker paper for their “best work” and use the paper roll for their everyday stuff.

3. Liquid Watercolor

I have always referenced the liquid watercolor in spray bottles before, but I have discovered a less messy set of liquid watercolors in brushes.  I realize that not all parents want liquid watercolor on the loose in their households.  :-)  Here is a set of Jane Davenport’s Mermaid Markers.  They are a lot of fun, and contain highly pigmented watercolor.   These sets are normally over $40, but if you go to Michael’s you can use a 40-50% coupon to get a substantial discount.

4. Watercolor Pencils

This is a great watercolor medium that allows the precision of a pencil, but also the “spreadability” of a watercolor paint.  My favorite method is to start by coloring the paper with the watercolor pencils, overlapping colors, and then wet a brush and watch the magic happen. The pencil’s pigment is paint, so when water is applied, the dry paint begins to intensify with the wetness, and can be moved around with a paintbrush.  You can also wet the paper first and draw into the water directly from the pencil for a different effect.  There are a lot of watercolor pencil tutorials online, but here is a good, short one that gets straight to the point.  I have linked Kimberly brand watercolor pencils above, which I have really been very pleased with.

5. Charcoal & Charcoal Accessories

Charcoal is a beautiful, classic medium.  It can be very messy, and if the dust is not controlled, it could be your worst nightmare, but if you teach your child how to use it and to be aware of his/ her surroundings, is a very valuable experience.  It is so rich and velvety black, and smears so far, it is just a pleasure to use.  It helps to know the difference between the different options out there, though.  Here is a little overview:

compressed charcoal- this is one of the messiest of all the options out there, but it also produces the most dramatic results.  It is my favorite.  A couple recommendations: 1. Have your child start using this outside until he knows the medium better.  2. The dust that is produced is where the big mess comes in, so teach your child to either press the dust down into the paper, using it to his advantage by making the color even more intense -or- take the paper to a trash can and tap the edges of the paper, allowing the dust to fall down into it.  Teach them to not blow the dust away (as our instincts tell us to) because that is what creates more mess.

vine charcoal/ willow sticks- these charcoal sticks are not as dense as compressed charcoal, so they produce more grey color, rather than black.  They are great for sketching and planning a drawing because it can be erased very easily.  

kneaded eraser- this is exactly what it sounds like: an eraser that can be kneaded like dough.  It is very helpful while using charcoal.  It is self cleaning- if it is covered in solid black charcoal, just knead it and it kind of swallows up all the dust and is clean again to use.  You can twist a portion of it to make a sharp tip and erase small, detail areas.  It can also be flattened out to erase larger areas at a time.

charcoal pencils- if you are afraid of all these references I have made about this medium being messy, just start with charcoal pencils.  They don’t last quite as long and they must be sharpened frequently, but they still have the main qualities of compressed charcoal: velvety, pitch black color, and pigment can be smudged.

6. Prang Watercolor

I purchased this brand every year when I was an elementary school art teacher.  The pans are semi-moist which prevents dried out, crumbles over time, plus you can purchase refills of a certain color when it runs out.  (I made a change here from before- last year I recommended Crayola brand, but I have had to throw out too many Crayola palettes that dried out into little crumbles.)

7. Brushes

I have a bit of a struggle with paint brushes.  I use them for so many different applications, I have to have a very wide variety of them.  Not all are created equal.  I have bought so many brands and variations over the years, and the biggest thing I have learned is: you don’t want to go terribly cheap on these.  Bristles falling out while you are painting is just not fun.  Many of the “economy” sets you see for super cheap will give you just that: frayed bristles, and fallout.  Skip those economy packs, skip foam brushes.  Crayola brand has always treated me well, and so has Royal & Langnickel.  If you want to get  more “professional” looking brushes to make your young artist feel very prestigious, I would recommend going to Hobby Lobby (their brush selections are bigger than Michael’s) or another ART store, like Texas Art Supply or Jerry’s Artarama and actually feel the bristles.  

Some of my favorite brush types if you decide to get a handpicked variety: 

fan brush, 

mop brush, 

small detail brush, 

a script liner,

a pointed round brush, 

and a flat straight edge brush. 

(Please keep in mind these links here are for viewing purposes only- so you can see what they look like.  They are not necessarily the best prices.)

This one looks like it has a good variety, including many of the brushes I just listed.  I have never tried this set before, but it looks like something I would buy.

8. Easel 

The type of easel you decide on really needs to fit your space and your family’s lifestyle, otherwise it may not be used, or it will just be in the way. Think about how often your child will use it.  Just a bit here and there?  Then pick an easel that can be stowed away.  All the time?  Maybe a more permanent free standing one would be best.  Consider whether you’ll want a shelf to hold brushes below the easel’s surface, or whether you’ll want to attach a roll of paper to easily pull down.  These are important details to me- if the easel doesn’t have features like those, you’ll need to consider having a small table nearby to hold brushes, a cup of water, and supplies.

I linked my latest easel purchase above, because it was fitting for my life at the time.  Our house had sold, our possessions were all packed up and we were living with my in-laws temporarily.  I didn’t have the luxury of an art studio with a free-standing easel at the time, so this one was perfect.  It has a carrying handle and a drawer for my favorite supplies.  This would be great for painting plein-air!  

My daughter got a lot of use out of this $20 freestanding Ikea easel at our old house, where she had a little painting “nook” in her room.  It served its purpose, and I did not pay a fortune for it.  I was satisfied and so was she.

9. Sharpies

Let ‘em use Sharpies.  Most kids will be responsible with them.  And if an oops happens, there is always the magic eraser.  It really works getting permanent ink off of hard surfaces, like tables and walls.  Life is short, don’t get too frantic about permanent markers.  They will be so excited to own their own set of Sharpies, you might actually be surprised at how well they take care of them.  Might.  

10. Chalk Pastels

These are so fun to blend with.  I would compare the consistency to charcoal, and the color to the vibrancy of the above mentioned oil pastels.  I have linked the header to Prismacolor brand, which is a little pricey.  It is worth knowing, if you go real cheap on chalk pastels, I have found that they will produce waaaay more dust.  I tried a cheap brand once.  And only once.  I put them right back on the shelf and went with Prismacolor again.  

What supplies would you have in your top picks?  Are there any you would recommend to me?  I would love to hear about your favorites, too!

[whimsylake]

Art Journaling Adventures- Day 4

Stencil Making and More Mixed Media

I am so pleased with how our last class went!  I really feel like we are getting into the groove of our journals, and experimenting with different techniques and materials.  While that is a great feeling, we also have that impending feeling of our class quickly coming to an end in a couple of weeks and none of us are happy about that!  On the upside, I really feel like after this class is over, these wonderful ladies will keep their art journaling alive, and that is really my main goal.  I want to create lifelong artists through my classes.  Art journaling is truly a form of therapy, and a great habit to build into your life.  You’ve heard of music therapy and art therapy.  Well, combining artistic expression with words to convey a mood and a feeling really is a significant outlet.  And what a way to record a special memory- through a visual art layout that incorporates text.  I can think of quite a few memories that I’d like to create an art journal layout for, to help me remember them better.

I brought so many art supplies for today’s class, I decided to set up stations to be visited at leisure.  Mixed media is using anything and everything, so there was a wide variety of techniques and materials to be utilized today.  

We created our own stencils from Styrofoam plates and Mylar plastic.  I am very aware of the massive amounts of choices available for purchase in the stencil category.  There are some beautiful stencils for sale in craft stores.  I do find myself getting a bit excited when I see all these fancy clear stamps with interchangeable pieces.  BUT, my excitement fades when I think, “Who designed this stencil?  Whose art am I stamping over and over again?  It isn’t mine.”  And when I am using it repeatedly, just as one should with a stamp or a stencil, I will hear those questions echo in my mind.  I want to design my own stencil.  When I print it repeatedly I will know- that is all my design.  It may not matter much to others, especially given the sheer number of artists out there with Youtube videos on creating beautiful art with store bought stamps and stencils, but it sure feels more authentic to me.  Take it or leave it, it is just my opinion.

We made our own stencils from Mylar, or repurposed plastic school folders.  These are some tulips printed from one of my student’s custom-cut Mylar stencils.  We used a stencil “shifting” technique with multiple colors.  

And my feature photo for today’s article is also art made from a custom-cut stencil.  She has taken the print to the next level by embellishing it with colors from liquid watercolor and oil pastels.

We used various odds and ends to make prints with- believe it or not, this one below is the print of a mesh bag that used to hold onions!  Spray liquid watercolor over it, and you get a cool effect!  We got a good laugh- if you look closely there is also the print of a thumb and forefinger!  A perfect example of a happy accident that can be turned into something interesting.

One of my students made me so happy- she went outside and grabbed a leaf, and traced the outline of it to create her own stamp!  If that is not mixed media, I don’t know what is!  I love it.

I was playing around with acrylic paint and squirted a bit too much out, so I decided to press 2 pages together to distribute some of the paint to a 2nd paper.  To my delight, there were delicate, raised, vein-like ridges created all over where the paint touched the other paper.  Some of the spots remind me of trees, some look like the dendrites within the human brain.  (My husband would be so proud of me for remembering that term- we studied together in a college psych class.)

I LOVE the addition of the word “LISTEN” on this page- she really changed my perspective of this piece with that one simple word.  Isn’t it funny how that works?  I originally thought it looked floral, but then I saw it as bursts of sound after she added that word.  

We also tried out rubbing alcohol on wet watercolor, and some watercolor pencils and crayons.  One of the most popular materials is the liquid watercolor in a spray form.  I love it, and I think I am a bit addicted...  I have always wanted to use an airbrush, so I guess this is like the next best thing to get that soft, spray effect,

Lots of stamping materials; yes I caved and bought mass produced punctuation stamps!  Even after getting on my soap box about making my own stencils and stamps, I am a sucker for the & symbol, and will probably buy it in many font styles if I find more!  I have letter stamps there, too.  And somewhere on God’s green earth there is someone saying, “I could buy letter stamps off the rack, but I would rather design my own font.  It feels more authentic to me.”  Ha.  And the muffin tin was used to do some paper towel dyeing!  Tie dye, anyone?

By the end of our class, we each really had a nice sized stack of our own artistic papers- designed and printed by hand.  Yes, you can run up to Hobby Lobby and pick out pre-printed artist papers.  Yes, you can browse the stencil and the stamp aisle.  But these are different.  They are unique, one-of-a-kind artist-made papers, and that is important to me.  Since we are going to use these to create sentimental page layouts within our art journals, it will mean so much more as we thumb through the pages, looking back at our finished journals.  And that, to me, is worth the extra bit of time to create paper designs from scratch.