Art is You Mixed Media 2015 Recap Part 2

Last week, I shared the amazing work by my students at Art is You Mixed Media Retreats.  I thought I'd share the evolution of my demo painting in today's post.

Here's how the piece looked at the end of the class.  I had demo'd abstract line and color work, silhouette making, gelli printing and more.  (You can see images from my Hebrew Calligraphy and Namaste stencils, as well as icons from Mary Beth Shaw's Flower Tile Stencils.)

I came home to a messy worktable.  Inspired by this video by Denise Alloca, I started ripping shapes from the newsprint on my table, which had images from my Medallions stencil on it,  into impressionist silhouettes of people.  I added them to my canvas.  Then, I decided to add faces and wings to them.

The piece continued to evolve...

and here it is, finished. The stencils most obviously apparent are the Namaste , and Hebrew Calligraphy stencils from Stencil Girl.

This piece is on a 12 x 12 canvas board,.  The original is available for purchase (without the watermark of course) for $195.  A 13 x 13 Canvas Print is available on Society 6 for $85.  

This is a process I am calling the "Yes, And..." approach to art making.  

"Yes, And" is an improv technique used in acting classes.  It’s an exercise that allows for anything to happen, and it goes like this: No matter what your fellow actors present to you, instead of negating it, belittling it, or disagreeing with it, you say, “Yes, and…”  You accept the scenario as it’s presented to you (regardless of where you wanted it to go), and then to add to it.  (You can hear Julie Balzer and me talk about it in this podcast.)   This approach is evident in this canvas, where the torn pieces of paper on my worktable took me somewhere completely different.  Though it's no surprise, as I've been seeing angels everywhere! 

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Art is You Mixed Media Retreats 2015 Recap

Another Art is You Mixed Media Art retreat has come and gone.  As always, it was heartfelt and wonderful.   I taught a class called "Masked and Unmasked: Stencils and Silhouettes."  (Thanks to Suze Weinberg for taking this picture!)




My adventurous students explored mediation, and exercises in letting go and working with abstraction. Here are a few of the "underpaintings", in which we explored line and color.

We did lots of gelli printing with the Gelli Arts Printing Plate, resulting in spectacular papers. Several of the women had never used a gelli plate before.  Of course, it was addictive!

We hand cut our own silhouettes and stencils. Of course, stencils from Stencil Girl Products were in the mix too.

Everyone's final canvases were breathtaking.  Some of these are still works in progress.  I look forward to getting pics of the final creations!

As always, the best thing about Art is You is the camaraderie and support among the staff and attendees.  Seeing old friends, making new ones, and taking care of each other is paramount.   

It was great hanging out with Marjie Kemper and so many other wonderful friends.

Terry Favo, who has attended some of my Meetup classes, is having severe problems with her hands.  Many of us altered gloves or recreated our hands for her.  The presentation of a beautiful garland with all of the helping hands was one of the most touching moments of the weekend and so symbolic of sisterhood and love at Art is You. 

The deep connections start at the top, with fabulous organizers Sallianne and Ellen, and their wonderful staff.

Do you have an art retreat or class that has touched you deeply?  I hope you'll share it in the comments.

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Three Ways to Get Ready for 2016

I know ... it's not even Halloween yet!  

I promise that I'm not trying to rush through the holidays.  

But as we wind down 2015, here are three ways to prepare for 2016.

Finish Up Old Projects:

If you're like me, you have unfinished art projects laying around.  Finish a few of them and you'll have a jump on holiday gifts.  I recently finished this work-in-progress.  

I had a 6" square canvas on which I had stenciled some icons from my Teacups and Teapot stencil from Stencil Girl Products.    

I painted in the stenciled images, added some Garden Flowers and Leaves and some marker and pen work, and done!  I already know just who the recipient is going to be! 

To see tips for creating painterly effects with your stamps and stencils, check out this post where I introduced the Krishna Stencil from Stencil Girl Products with a video about giving your stenciled designs your own hand.  

You can also watch Achieving Painterly Effects with Stencils on YouTube here. 

Learn Some New Tips and Techniques

Do you want 21 days of free creative interviews, tips and techniques?  Of course you do! 

Beginning November 2, get 21 days of interviews, tips and techniques, and giveaways from your favorite artists. And it's FREE!  Sign up here.   I'm one of the lucky 21 artists to be interviewed.  On my interview date, I'll have a giveaway for you too.

This is a great way to learn some new techniques, or be reminded of old ones.  Jot down ideas in your journal so you have no shortage of prompts and inspiration for 2016.

Update Your Wall Calendar

I always get excited about picking out a new calendar for a new year.  While I'll be sad to turn the last page of my 2015 calendar, I'm excited to unveil a new calendar for 2016.  Each image is suitable for framing when the year is done.    They are $20, which includes shipping. 

Won't You Vote for Me?

One of my creations is up for the Craftsys Awards.  It's a cigar box transformed into a treasure chest to be filled with notes of gratitude for everyday blessings. I would love if you'd vote for me. 






How do you get ready for a new year?  I'd love to hear.  

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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Creating a Collection

Hi folks.  Many of you know that I have a toe in the licensing world with my artwork on Judaica products, greeting cards, and other surfaces.  When you're pitching your artwork for licensing, it's  important to show prospective licensors how your art will look on their products.  Although I do all of my drawing and painting on paper or canvas, I learned Photoshop to be able to make parts of my images into repeats, and "mock-up" products with my artwork.

Here are two recent instances where I did this, and also created "Sell Sheets" to show my work.

Below is a page from my art journal, where I outlined and doodled in pen and filled in with watercolor. Here's how it looked in black and white, and then painted.  

Art directors see a lot of art, so if you can lay it out on potential products, you'll have an edge.  Here's my example:

As you can see, I created a background for my design, showed it in a square, in a round, on some oven mitts, on an apron, a coffee cup, coordinating designs, and a border.  All from one art journal page!

Highly textured mixed media art is a little more challenging, but here's an example of one I just finished.  

The original, is a spread in my art journal (featuring my Hebrew Calligraphy & Hamsa Stencil  and the Peacock from January 2014 Stencil Club, as well as Mary Nasser's Compass stamp from RubberMoon and Pam Carriker's Cordelia Stamp) :  

and here's the Sell Sheet: 

  

Because I don't envision this design on as many products, I only show it in different variations, an allover pattern, and a few mock-ups.   It's important to only show your design on appropriate products - don't just place them on everything (for example, there's no reason to mock up a banana design on a coffee cup!).

Here's a great blog post about creating a Sell Sheet.  Thank you Natalie Timmons for generously sharing your experience and knowledge.  A great resource for learning Photoshop is Lynda.com.  And Phyliss Dobbs created great templates for mock ups, which you can purchase and download. 

Here's a video of me painting a face.  It's not the woman in this piece, but I hope you find it helpful anyway!  You can see other examples on my YouTube channel.    I hope you'll become a subscriber!



Thanks for stopping by. Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you don't already, please sign-up for my newsletter HERE, and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin and YouTube, so that you never miss a giveaway, and always get the latest Jessica Sporn Designs News!