Mark Making for Pencil Drawing Class

Today is the start of Beginner's Pencil Drawing Class at the Community College of Beaver County.  On the first day of class, we practice mark making.  It's a wonderful way to get familiar with your art supplies and to give yourself permission to play.

I began with an ink brush, creating on old book pages.  

Each different medium - ink brush, pen, pencil, etc. has its own magic for creating marks, and it's relaxing to discover what sorts of things each medium excels at.

Mark making is a great way to see your own style develop if you are new to art.  Even if you were to copy another artist's marks as closely as you could, you would be creating in your own hand. 

It's a good practice in fact to visit a museum and copy the marks or even the whole composition of a master artist.  You learn so much through the process.

So long as you don't claim the work as your own original idea, it's perfectly ethical.

I find mark making a relaxing project, good for when you don't have much time, or for when you've seen another artist's work and been inspired.  It can be a form of notetaking on the marks you saw that you liked.

Next time you are stuck waiting in your car, or have 10 minutes to fill, try grabbing a sketchbook (or even the back of an envelope!) and a pencil and making marks. It's a great way to keep your creative gears turning.

Burnishing Practice

I've been exploring taking my time and simply playing with my art supplies.  I recently decluttered my studio workdesk, and though it might not appear uncluttered from the photo below, it's way tidier than it was!

I can now see my colored pencils in their jars right in front of me as I work, and I find I'm more likely to reach out and grab a few colors and put a sketch in my journal.

The colored pencil drawing of the heart above was the result of telling myself to take my time and practice burnishing with the colored pencils -- layering one color over another, then coming back and shifting the color balance as you go.

The burnishing process is relaxing, especially if you start with a simple shape or symbol.  Hearts are a favorite symbol of mine, but perhaps you'd rather start with a circle, a triangle or a leaf shape.  

Choose what's appealing to you.

Then pick colors -- using colors that are next to each other on the color wheel will create a harmonious scene with all of the colors getting along well.

Feel free to experiment as your intuition suggests.

I hope you have fun creating, allowing yourself time to burnish, explore and simply play!

Making my Wanderlust 2024 Art Journal

I'm participating in Kasia Avery's Wanderlust 2024, a whole year of art journaling prompts and instructions.  You can find out more about it here:

https://www.everything-art.com/p/wanderlust-2024-artjournalingcourse

Rather than buy a new art journal, I chose to make my own.  I had the recommended 140 pound watercolor paper on hand, as well as an old book, an awl, a craft needle, and some heavy cord.

I began by cutting out the body of the book, being careful not to damage the binding.  I left the end papers for their beauty and charm, even the title page.

Then I reinforced the binding with fiberglass tape. You could also glue on a strip of fabric.

I selected my papers, cut them to fit the binding, and folded them into four signatures (segments) of four papers each.

Next I made a pattern with a scrap piece of paper, marking where I wanted to punch holes for the bindings.  I punched four sets of holes in the binding of the book cover.

I clipped each signature/bundle together so that none of them slipped, and I punched matching holes in the crease of each signature of pages, using the pattern I'd made.

I threaded the craft needle with heavy cord I had bought at the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, and I sewed each signature individually, starting and finishing inside the book, and tying off the cord in a couple of secure knots.

Here's a link to a YouTube video by Johanna Clough that shows the entire process I went through:

https://youtu.be/fM9sRSLLADE?si=ChP1YBMOB-x1L6Tj

I finished the book, and am delighted with the friendliness of the vintage cover and endpapers.  It feels like a place I can create without being too precious and "perfect" about my work.  Of course, we all know there's no such thing as perfect in art making!

It felt good to gather items I had on hand rather than make a special trip to a craft store to spend money on a new item.  I gave new life to an old book and came away happy with the artmaking experience and the final product. That's what I love about upcycling and making it yourself!

If you're curious to make your own book, it's not as hard as it might seem.  Watch a YouTube video and give it a try.

You can do it!

Nature Journaling on a Snowy Day

A great way to spend cold, snowy, winter days is sitting by a window and sketching the beauty of the outdoors in your nature journal.

Freshly fallen snow filled up the crotches of a nearby cucumber tree, and I grabbed a black colored pencil, and several watercolor crayons to make a quick sketch.  

Next August when it's swelteringly hot, I'll look back on this day with wonder.

Do you see beauty around you? 

What would you like to remember about your life right now? 

Include it in an artwork, and you will lock in the memory to look back on it in future years.

A Valentine Print

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  It's all about love, chocolate and sending letters and cards to those you care about.

Each year, I fight back against the cold, dreary weather with bright colors, and hearts.

 

This year's plan began when I was in a local Michael's store buying supplies for a Pet Portraits class I was teaching.  On the way to the checkout, I passed down an aisle of brightly colored papers.  I couldn't help but pick up a pack of pink papers with Valentiney projects in mind.

I dug out linocut blocks and rubber stamps I'd carved in years past, and sketched up new ideas.

The songbird stamp bubbled up to the top of my idea list, 

and I transferred the design onto the rubber block with a graphite pencil.  

You can color the back of your design with a 4B graphite pencil, 

then place the graphite-covered paper on top of the rubber block, graphite side down.  

Now trace over the design with a pencil to transfer it to the block.

I began carving out the design, using Speedball carving tools and an X-Acto knife for the fine work.

Here's the finished printing block. I inked it up with a Ranger permanent black ink pad with StazOn ink.

I was happy with the final result!

Hoping you have fun finding your own way to create with color in winter!

A Blast from the Past

 
 I was digging through my printmaking supplies, looking for old Valentine's Day designs when I found this oversized postcard that I made in 2005.

I designed the art, then carved it into a linoleum block print. I printed up a batch of these on a variety of papers to make Valentine's cards for family and friends.

 I didn't have to travel to get the heart-shaped postmark. 

I shipped a batch of Valentine's cards in a manila envelope to the Postmaster of Valentines Virginia 23887 with a note requesting that they postmark and mail the cards from their town.  I included this postcard to myself so I could have a copy of the festive postmark.

You can still do this trick to get your Valentines postmarked with a heart.  Here are some cities to try:

Postmaster,  23 Manning Drive, Valentines, Virginia  23887

Postmaster, 239 N. Hall St., Valentine NE 69201-9998

Postmaster, 311 California Avenue, Valentine, TX 79854

For more information, check out the US Postal Service's Valentine's postmark information page:

https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/valentine-post-office-names.htm

Wishing you a cozy, creative Valentine-making session!

Making a Hand-Carved Stamp

I've always felt a connection with American Crows.  

They're intelligent, curious, and have a magical air about them.  

This crow photo, by Brad Silberberg, inspired a rubber stamp I made recently. 

I first made some sketches of the crow, then I chose one design to become the stamp.

I used a big pink eraser chunk for my rubber stamp. 

You can create stamps out of a variety of materials -- I've used corks, erasers & the soles of blown-out tennis shoes.  You can also buy "Speedy Cut" rubber blocks from Speedball.  They're uniform in texture and easy to cut into with carving tools or an X-Acto knife.

I chose a sketch and transferred the design onto the pink eraser by coloring on a scrap piece of paper with a 4B graphite pencil, then placing that face-down onto the stamp.  I placed my sketch on top, and traced over an outline of the drawing with a pencil to transfer the design.

As I carved out the crow, I began playing with doodles in the margins. I ended up wishing I had left more material above the crow's head to carve swirls into.  Though there's no "undo" button in stamp-carving, I can easily create another stamp.  Artists often work in a series.

I inked up the stamp with Ranger permanent black ink for a first test. 

I liked the design, but decided to simplify it -- editing out the marks in the space outside the crow.

I used to be impatient to finish a project like this and put it to use, but I now realize that the therapeutic power of art lies in the tinkering process as well as in expressing my unique vision.

Here's a look at the final crow stamp.  

I'm happy with the simplified look, and stamped up a bunch of stationery.

A home-made stamp like this is wonderful for decorating journals, for adding to mixed-media projects, or simply making greeting cards.

Playing around with art supplies with no goal other than to create for your own joy helps a person to drop into timeless time, into a place of peaceful exploration, into that blissful, childlike experience of creating. All the cares of the day fall away, and a person can relax into their own world of creativity.

I hope you take time to be creative for your own delight & relaxation this week.