Gorgeous and Fun

Magazine Collage 2

Some red more red, black and white to whet your appetite. Another magazine collage.

 

Magazine Collage 1

My heart has been wanting to tell stories!  Telling stories with images.  At some level, don't we all like stories? Stories intrigue the imagination.

So starting today I am sharing images that I am calling magazine collages. Something about these pictures in magazines appealed to me. Say hello to inspiration!

 The color palette of the bold reds and blacks......

Images are from magazines like Vogue, Vanity Fair, Instyle..... I wish I had written down the exact publication months. Some of these images are ads.

Another House Drawing

This one with a sketchier style. This looks darker and looks more like a midnight scene. Things are afoot....

Which one do you like better, the one from yesterday or the one from today?

The Drawing of a House

I didn't draw this, I photoshopped a picture I took a couple of years back. Kinda cool, don't you think?

Seven Questions for Jenn Shurkus

Today I get to present the lovely and talented Jenn Shurkus!

Jenn is a super talented artist and designer who loves working with rubber stamps and mixed media. Not only is she super creative, she is a phenomenal teacher.

I have had the pleasure of taking classes with Jenn and she is fantastic. She teaches great techniques, shares tips and she makes sure that every person working with her creates something beautiful. She cares deeply about making sure that her students understand and master the techniques and leave the class with that proud glow of  "I Made This".

You can catch her at jennshurkus.typepad.com, where you can catch up with her and her class schedules and much more.

 

How did you get started creatively? What set the ball rolling?

The real answer to this? Probably with my first box of crayons. I was always creating posters for my bedroom, art on wood pieces and selling them in my neighborhood... I always loved being creative. In high school I decided that I would focus on that, and decided I would go to college for graphic design. The funny thing is, my art teachers laughed at me, as I lacked in the fine art department.... but I stayed strong and decided to try it anyways, so glad I did!

 

What inspires you?

Honestly, since I teach a lot of classes... and that is when I get to have my most creative time... product inspires me. I get new stamps, or papers, or a new punch... and I want to focus a class around that... thats what gets the creative juices flowing.... when I'm in a slump.. I dig out my art journal and just PLAY... with no focus or goal.

 

 

 

When you encounter setbacks, criticism, rejection or unkindness how do you deal?

This question really hits home, as the store I manage and have managed for 8 years is closing at the end of the summer. At first I FREEZE. Not quite sure where to start, but I am just about at the stage where I am running full force... coming up with a game plan and figuring things out. As far as in my teaching career, or even sharing my art... I haven't had many setbacks, in that I am lucky.

 

 

How do you balance your time? Especially since you are your own boss!

 This is a tough one! I work full time managing a papercrafting store, and almost another full time job - designing classes, kitting for them and then traveling and teaching them..... I'm not a very good time manager, procrastination is my middle name... and I work best under pressure, but lists work for me. If I can sit down and create a timeline, I usually can focus on that and stay on track.

 

 

Any thoughts you would like to share on being self-employed and running a creative business. Something you wish you had known when you got started.......

Hmmm.... I would always just recommend to someone to do whatever it is you are going to do with you 100%. I hadn't started an Etsy store earlier, because I didn't want to give it only 70%... I want to be able to give it 100%... and be creative even when you aren't creating.... be creative in how you promote yourself, and  market yourself.

 

 

Could you share a guilty pleasure? Or interests that are not directly connected with what you do?

Some of my guilty pleasures... staying up SUPER late into the early am hours in my studio, knowing I can sleep in the next day, filling a whole day with beach time.... not thinking about work, or projects I have to do.

 

 

Your idea of a fun vacation is.........

Fun vacation = anything tropical and warm for me... all inclusive resort... drinks delivered to me, and I am happy!! :). A little less than 200 days until this will be happening in Mexico... I can't wait!

 

Thank you so much for talking to me Jenn! Not only are you a fab teacher, you inspire! And I might be giving away a secret here but keep a watch on Jenn's blog where she will be announcing new ventures. Best wishes Jenn for loads and loads of success :-).

All images are from Jenn except her portrait which I got to take!

Seven Questions for Suzi Blu

I am so excited to present an interview with Suzi Blu today!

I came across Suzi's work through a Stampington magazine, I read that she had an online school where she taught how to create mixed media work! I was intrigued. That night I went to Suzi's site and was absolutely smitten. Not only was her work gorgeous but she had a no-stress style of teaching. She is a pioneer of teaching art/creativity online. She is also among the rare online teachers who lets you download the videos. 

Suzi is a successful artist and yet she is one of the most approachable artists I know. She is encouraging and fun and I can go on and on. But really it's her turn to talk.

Before I turn the mike over to her,  you can catch her at suziblu.typepad.com or suziblu.ning.com. This month she is introducing new classes too!

 

How did you get started creatively? What set the ball rolling?

 Heartbreak. Loneliness. A need to express what was inside of me. Stephen king said "when you have friends you join a band, when you are alone, you write."  Or paint, as my case may be.  My later teen years and early twenties were spent with severe anxiety attacks which limited how much socialization I could do.  Out of being alone all the time I found ways to entertain myself that was more meaningful than watching tv. I drew, wrote bad poetry, and painted.  (some things don't change). 

 

What inspires you?   

Grungy cities like Detroit.  Pretty girls. I always want to mix the two. 

 

 

 

When you encounter setbacks, criticism, rejection or unkindness how do you deal?

Until about 4 years ago I had nothing but setbacks.  My family didn't take my interest in art seriously so until the internet my world was small and I felt no one understood me.  It's been FABULOUS meeting those of a like mind.  Art gives us soul mates. I believe that. I have friends who support me and even if we live in different states or countries they are as easy to reach as a text message.  So whenever I go through something bad I turn to them and I get through. But before that, when it was just me against the world (and with anxiety attacks I felt like my own worst enemy most times,) faith got me through.  Not in any organized religion way but holding on to the idea that something bigger than my problems existed.  That I could go on in spite of the crappy things that happened. That I could get up and keep at it.  

 

 

 

How do you balance your time? Especially since you are your own boss!

I don't.  And I get asked all the time what should an artist do to become successful, it means not do much else.  I think it's possible someday to have more balance, but when you are first starting out the first years as your own boss, no matter what job or field it is in, you need to work 100 percent of the time.  Then sleep.  And if you really want it bad enough, it won't feel like sacrifice to you.  It's as natural as breathing. That said, now that I feel somewhat established in my little niche, I am working with a work coach to help me manage my time.  I can take way too long on a task because I do work for myself and don't have to answer to anyone.  Also my projects are starting to become overwhelming. I want to do BIG things, so I need help organizing them into smaller bites. It's easier to get overwhelmed when it's all up to you. Chopping things down into smaller attainable goals is what to focus on. 

 

 

 

Any thoughts you would like to share on being self-employed and running a creative business. Something you wish you had known when you got started.......

Eat right.  Don't live on coffee and sugar you wont be productive for any real length of time.  

 

 

Could you share a guilty pleasure? Or interests that are not directly connected with what you do?  

Right before I sleep at night I play a game on my iPhone called Dragon Raid. I just made it to level 15 and Im SO PROUD OF MYSELF.  Spending 15 to 30 mins doing something that entirely gets you away from working thinking planning stressing figuring it all out - is priceless.

 

 

Your idea of a fun vacation is......... A spa somewhere pretty and relaxing. 

 

Thanks so much for talking to me Suzi. You have no idea how much the stories, thoughts and feelings artists like you share matter! They inspire and encourage us to keep going!

All images are from Suzi Blu and all artwork is created By Suzi Blu.

A Bird Again - Being Creative

Another bird picture from me today. This one has yellows and I like yellow. I think of yellow as a bright, cheerful color, a hint of summer. 

 

What will you share today? Add your link in the comments.

Just a Bird

I found these little bird pictures from the 60s at some vintage stores. I wanted to use them in my collages but here I have used one with paints. I have made a few of these but I think I will be holding on to the rest of the pictures to use in collages.

What will you share today?

Another Book - Botanical Illustration Course

While I am on the subject of books, here is another one that I like. "Botanical Illustration Course with the Eden Project" by Rose Martin & Meriel Thurstan.

A few years back I was interested in learning botanical illustration. Turned out that I lacked the patience for it. But I still love gazing at botanical art. So much detail, so much color. At the time I had bought a few books on the topic. And I really like this illustration course book because even if you don't want to do botanical art it has really good techniques and is great for inspiration.

Take a peek below at the color studies from the book - I am showing a cropped page. Just seeing so many colors in the same place makes my heart sing. And I think some of these color studies could be art work on their own.

 

Painted Pages

Remember I had mentioned the book "Painted Pages" by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare just a couple of weeks back? I bought it! And I read it in a week flat. And I liked it.

This book is a rare book where you get to see the artist's whole process from inspiration to the finished mixed-media work. This is very rare. Generally creative books give instructions and show the finished work. But very few show the genesis, the seed of the concept.

Other than the process there are great exercises to get your creative juices flowing. And the exercises are well thought out, are not intimidating, don't expect you to go out and buy new stuff, don't even expect you to have a lot of stuff and well....are just great. I will definitely be reaching for this book over and over for inspiration.

My only lament is that I wish the publisher had used glossy paper for this book because the photographs (by  Thea Coughlin) are gorgeous and would have popped on glossy paper.

Here is an image from the book of a project that Ms. Ahearn Bellemare shows from start to finish. Gorgeous, no?