Getting in a groove with #100daysofcollage

So for those of you out there who haven't read my blog before, I just wanted to say welcome, glad you stopped by. You have found me in the midst of the #100dayschallenge where I have dared myself to complete 100 collages in 100-ish days (you can find other participants on Instagram by searching #100days). 

While I am still in the first quarter of this challenge, I thought I would begin to cover some of the basics about my process so far. For starters, the paper. I knew that I wanted to work in a relatively small scale because my studio space is rather small and a lot of artists will tell you that the scale of their work is often informed by the size of their work space. 

This 6x8" pad seemed like it had the perfect dimensions for what I had envisioned. Ideally, I would have purchased Arches paper and cut it down, but I was looking for something more low maintenance. I then made myself a view finder so that I could have a better idea of how my finished piece would look while I'm still in the layout phase.

Here is my rough draft of a collage. I can adjust the layout, change proportions and switch out papers before settling on the final design.

Already, I'm accumulating quite a stockpile of scraps. Think I'll have to start using these up soon before they totally take up my work space!

Any of you big Snap chat fans? I just joined up and am posting there on a somewhat regular basis. I'm rachelloewen with no spaces if you wanted to add me!

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Biting off more than I can chew? (100 Days of Collage)

For those of you who are addicted to Instagram like I am, you are all probably aware of the #the100daysproject. For everyone else, it is a sort of challenge to creative people to do what they do for 100 days in a row. I found out about it's launch date just before it happened and made an impulse decision to join in by focusing on #100daysofcollage. At first I used papers from my collection of magazines, but then switched over to my hand-printed ones on day three. 

Old palette paper + drawn tissue paper.

Monoprint + layers of drawn tissue paper + acrylic paint

My stash of monoprints was starting to get low so I started cranking them out!

But then making them started to feel more stressful, and I was becoming more fixated on the end goal instead of enjoying the process of making them. I mean, this should be fun, right?

So now I am taking my time making these prints and giving myself permission to take a day off if need be. 

I still plan on completing 100 collages, but I'm ok if it takes more than 100 days. Emily Jeffords talks about sustainable creativity on her blog and started the #doitfortheprocess hashtag on Instagram and those concepts are really resonating with me. 

Are any of you participating in the #the100daysproject? 

To see my work, follow me on Instagram or purchase prints here! 

More ink experiments

A few weeks ago I was messing around with ink and watercolor paper and decided to try a few more things! For instance, what happens when you combine ink, copic marker, a felt tip marker and then spray it with water?

Or when you spray a leaf design you drew?

Or a surface design... 

Or an absract landscape of sorts!

Happy creative experiments to all of you!

Toddler art takeover

The best way to know my kiddos are feeling better is when the oldest asks, " Mom, can we make acrylic skins?" For those of you who have never made them, Jane Davies does a great tutorial here! 

I toyed with the idea of working on the dining table, but I kinda like the idea of the kids creating in my studio. While it is really easy to fit one of them in there, but it can get kinda tricky with all three. I had two blank canvases that I adhered pieces of wax paper to (wax paper was the substrate for the skins. Note: see update at end of post before trying this yourself!) using artist tape and a third to a basic drawing board. The kids picked green and blue for their first colors, and then I let them go at it!!

A good 20-30 minutes of work time is usually all they need! I've found that limiting their color palette greatly increases the kids happiness with the final product!

I'm planning on doing some live Periscope video tutorials this weekend talking about ways to make art with your kids. My handle is @rachelloewens if you want to join in on the conversation!!

Urgent update!! Do NOT use wax paper for a substrate when making a skin. They won't come off!! Agh!! I haven't told my daughter this devastating news because I am pretty sure there will be tears. Think I will go back to using sheet protectors or my gelli plate because they are a safe bet. Much apologies to anyone who tried this with the wax paper!!

In my studio: ink experiments

Last Friday night I was hanging out with my husband when an idea hit me. What would happen if I used a spray bottle on an ink drawing? 

The black ink I draw with would do absolutely nothing because it becomes permanent so quickly, but I had no clue what would happen with my new blue-green ink. 

Well, the result (I thought) was kind of amazing. The amount of bleed was definitely impacted by how close the water bottle was to the paper and the angle that I held the sketchbook. Having watercolor pencils nearby, I added some washes of blue to create depth. 

The next morning I taped down some paper that I thought was watercolor paper (but now am pretty sure isn't) and played around with washes, drips and spraying. The result was nice but different from what I achieved on the watercolor paper. 

This time around I made sure to use the same sketchbook paper from the first time. I had my camera set up to record and take close ups afterwards so you could get a better idea of what I was up to. 

Kinda cool, right? Now I should warn you that I have not made any type of multi-media video since like the fourth grade. Seriously. Fourth grade. I'm not sure which is more shocking, that I was able to figure out how to use an app to add text to my video or that my kids were quiet while I shot it! 

Stay tuned to see where these experiments lead, or if I ever attempt to record again! :-)

In my studio: ten minutes at a time

As a wife and momma, I sometimes long for extended times to spend working in my studio. As Herman Melville wrote in a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, " I am so pulled hither and thither by circumstances. The calm, the coolness, the silent grass-growing mood in which a man ought always compose, --that, I fear, can seldom be mine."

This notion that I had to have at least three hours to work if I was going really make art was all fine and dandy when I was young and had fewer responsibilities. Now, that just isn't going to cut it. I would never make anything if that was still a requirement for art making.

Ten to twenty minute spurts are how I seem to best operate now. Washing machine cycle is almost over... Run!! I can glue down those collage pieces before it is finished! 

The kids are about to wake from their naps. Can I get those canvases primed in time? Yes!

Sketching while simmering soup for dinner? Of course!!

The couple of pieces I am currently working on have been made in short increments of time. 

(Still in the beginning phase)

Here's to making it work while still getting on with life's work!!

A little crayon therapy

We spent Independence Day at my husband's grandparents house in Langdon, ND. This quiet little town is the perfect escape for our little ones who are not big fans of fireworks. Also, my Grandparents-in-law are just wonderful people. They've set a great example to the family of how Christians should live and love people, warts and all!

It was really hard to say goodbye to them on this trip because Grandpa's second round of cancer is finally catching up with him, and we don't expect to see him again on this side of eternity. We are filled with a mix of grief for our up-coming loss but also a hope-filled peace that he will soon no longer have to feel the effects of this disease. 

This up and down of emotions has just made me just not want to work on anything I've got "in process" for the moment. I knew that I just needed to work on something so I was thankful that Jane Davies posted this showing her latest pieces using crayons. Given the ages of my children I'm sure you can imaging how many crayons I have!!

I ended up using a combination of crayons, oil pastels and watercolor. The pastels and crayons work as a resist for the watercolor which can created some interesting pooling of color.

The older I get the more I appreciate these times to just experiment and play. They help keep my creative energy up and any negative inner criticism down. Using cheaper materials also takes off the pressure to create masterpieces each time I'm in my studio!

Speaking of tough critics, my four-year-old told me that she thinks I did really well on these pieces. She is not known for holding back negative reviews of my work so positive comments are always appreciated! :-)

Trying something new!

When I collage, I have a tendency of using small pieces of paper. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this method, but I wanted to try to maintain some larger areas in these pieces.

In an attempt to be more organized, I've already uploaded these to my print store for sale! 

Happy making!

More naptime making and interruptions!

Well, it looks like all these "Naptime Collages" might become a series since I keep making them! I've even toyed with recording myself making one until I realized how many times I have to stop and check in on one of my sleeping kiddos. (going to pause writing now to do just that!)

The one from the previous post and the three pictured above are all made on these pressed wood boards that I purchased last year at a school closing sale. They are a nice size and make an excellent substrate! You can see in the one below where I used a thick paper as a substrate how it curls up on the left side a bit. That won't be noticeable if I scan it in for prints or frame it for my own wall so I'm not worried! 

If anyone knows of any amazing tutorials for how to record yourself making art, please put a link in the comment section in case I decide to try it anyway!

Happy making!!

In my studio: getting unstuck

It has been a long time since I've been able to paint on a regular basis. Last week the withdrawal symptoms I felt from going off my arthritis medicine finally stopped so I have been able to find a little time each day to get out my paints and brushes and have at it!

But something odd kept happening. I would be going along just all fine and dandy and then get stuck. This is nothing new for me, in fact, this is something that plagues most artists. The odd part was that I couldn't get "un-stuck", I couldn't move forward no matter how long I looked at a piece.

Then last night, I took my latest pieces outside to work on. Since my lap was my work surface, I brought along my little collection of pens, markers and pencils that I've been using for the last year or so in my sketchbook (you can see those pieces on Instagram). 

All of a sudden, I was no longer stuck! Once I had that white gel pen in my hand my brain immediately told me what to do next. There was just something about having those familiar tools at hand that moved me past my artists block!

These pieces still have a ways to go before they are finished, but I hope to have prints available soon!

In my studio: Achy hands, happy heart

Seeing how my designs look carved in wood!

In my studio: Playing with my new gelli plate

Last week I finally got myself a Gelli plate!!!

There are so many tutorials of how to make different kinds of prints with them online that it can be sort of overwhelming just where to start.

I really liked the simplicity of Linda Germain's Yoga Printmaking that I thought I would began with that. I cutout several organic-shaped stencils out of a manila folder and collected several other items that would go well with this method. 

My supplies: newsprint, hand-made stencils, string and various paints I had on hand

  

It was a really fun, relaxing process, and I'm anxious to use these prints in an upcoming collage!