Art Camp for Women

Organizing Space and Supplies

No point in having it if you can't find it!

While I was expanding and organizing my art studio last week I realized that many of the things I was incorporating would work in any space. Whether your studio subs as the dining room table or your walk-in closet, many of these items would work for your space too.

Crock and Basket. Good for all types of paper rolls, material bolts, long tools and rulers. I got the crock at an auction years ago and have the heavy container on a plant stand with wheels. The heaviness makes it good for my bigger rolls of paper i.e. newsprint ends. The orange wastebasket was a thrift store find. Lorri Flint, our fiber artist, keeps her long rolls of cloth in a 32-gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck trash barrel, which also has wheels. She tried a galvanized trash can, but while it looked really cool, it was awkward to move. We have found that a straight-sided container is the most stable and space efficient.

Flexible bag holder. Another Rubbermaid oldie, often found in thrift stores. This can hang on your wall or on the inside of a door or cupboard door. As a mixed media artist I save interesting bags, foreign newsprint and plain brown packing paper for use in my hand made journals. This is the most compact and efficient method I've found so far. I don't know if the company still carries them, but I keep an eye out for the unassuming beige piece of plastic at garage sales and thrift stores.

Tape or ribbon holder. This is a favorite for me. I found these paper towel holders at Home Depot. So you should be able to find them
easily too. They are short so that you can spot your favorite spool easily and then get to it without unloading your entire col-
lection. Used this way your goodies are kept relatively dust free and undamaged by stacking. Also your bright colored items contribute to the 'art' of your room.

Folding Print Holder. Light weight and convenient, this folding print rack is a favorite for Carol Tuttle, our water color artist.  The stand is easy to set up and also easy to stash in the closet or under a table when she is working away from her studio.
This one anyone, anywhere can manage.
A Clothesline. Yes an ordinary old clothesline, strung along one side of a room can be wonderful for your large or funny-shaped art pieces and materials. You can use it for display or storage or both. Hanging can also help keep your items clean. With care this could also be used to hang large pieces as they dry.

Using Up the Odd Bits-Fiber Art by Lorri Flint

Whenever I finish up an art piece, I always have bits and pieces leftover.  After all the time I've put into creating the piece, the leftover scraps seem so precious...I can't throw them away and yet, I'm usually low on creative ideas at this point.  The juicy little bits get put in a plastic bag and tossed into a box with other leftover bits...never to be seen again.

I'm trying to declutter and use up some of my older fabrics and leftover pieces.  My posts will feature the projects I have made with my little bits and pieces.  Hopefully, you will be inspired to use up your bits and I hope you will share your results with the rest of us so we get inspired too!

My first project is a fabric Journal Cover using leftover pieces from the making of "Wired for Sound".

This art quilt is 41" wide x 62" high, the light background is composed of many black and white fabrics which were quilted and then painted with a thick layer of white acrylic paint and topped with glitter spray.  The guitar pieces are made from my hand-dyed fabric and are machine appliqued and embellished with real guitar strings.  The black you see is the photographer's backdrop - the guitar pieces extend beyond the edge creating a unique and varied border.

I took leftover pieces from "Wired for Sound" and used them to create a journal cover. 

I started with a piece of teal and fushia hand-dyed fabric that never seems to fit in anything I'm working on.

I pulled interesting pieces out of the big bag of scraps and collaged a composition.  The pieces were free motion machine quilted or satin stitched in place and the edge was finished with a zigzag stitch.

 

I put a Moleskine brand lined journal inside (purchased in a three pack at Borders)and held it in place by a pocket on each side and a piece of elastic cord down the middle.

 

It was fun and very satisfying to complete a project in just a few hours,  plus I used up a funky piece of fabric and a few bits.  The bummer is that I still have a big bag of scraps...

Photos at left, top to bottom:

Front view of journal cover 5.5" wide x 9.5" high

Inside view of cover

Back view of cover

  

New Year Resolutions

Can you keep a secret?

by Lori Wostl, Creativity Life Coach

Here's the secret: the best resolutions are the ones that we like the most. These are the ones easiest to keep. For example "I resolve to eat chocolate at least once a day!" Is much more likely to fly than "I resolve to do laundry every day."

My personal favorite this year is "Have an adventure every month!"

[This picture is of me on my January adventure which lead to another resolution "Adventures do not have to be extreme." LOL ]

Another resolution for this year is "Make art every day." This one, though I love it, is proving to be harder. So how can I make keeping this resolution easier?

To start with I signed up for some art classes that have assignments. I also joined a couple of online art groups. People in these groups have tons of ideas and experience that they are happy to share. These groups usually provide an opportunity to display my work and get input for problems. And I have an advantage over many of you - I will be attending Art Camp for Women three times this year.(And I consider Art Camp to be an adventure so I kill two birds with one stone.) These classes, workshops and groups continually remind me that I said that I want to make art every day,  making my resolution easier to keep.

My point is that if there is something that you love to do and you have trouble getting it into your life, you can do something about it. You can surround yourself with opportunities, you can learn more technique and you can box yourself in with deadlines and due dates until the things you want in your life become habitual and easy.

All of our lives are full to the point of bursting, but are they full of what we like?

Sauce for the Goose

Another Art Camp favorite:

Chocolate Raspberry Sauce

Goes great on everything from ice cream to toast!

Yield: 6 - 8oz. jars

Ingredients:

1 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
1 package regular powdered fruit pectin
4 ½ cups crushed raspberries
4 tbs lemon juice
6 ¾ cups sugar
Prepare canning jars and lids.

In a large glass bowl mix cocoa powder and pectin, blend well.
In large stainless steel saucepan place raspberries and lemon juice.
Whisk in cocoa powder and pectin mixture until dissolved.
Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.
Add sugar all at once and return to a full boil, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and remove any foam.
Ladle sauce into hot jars, leaving about ¼ inch from top.
Wipe rims. Place on lids.
Place jars in boiling water and process for 10 minutes. Cool and store.

Pull out and serve on your next gloomy day!

New Sponsor

Art Camp for Women would like to welcome their new 2009 sponsor, Bookcliff Winery, to the web site. BookCliff Vineyards is located in "the Vinelands," a region east of Palisade, Colorado, where grapes were grown at the turn of the century. Situated just west of the DeBeque Canyon, across from the Colorado River and underneath the BookCliff escarpment, their vineyards benefit from evening winds that prevent frost and provide moderate growing temperatures. Their wine is 100% Colorado grown. They apply sustainable farming practices, and minimize the use (once in our six years of operation) of herbicides or pesticides.

Stop for a wine tasting at their Boulder facility.

How Do YOU Learn?

Each month I drive from Boulder to Denver to take a class with a gifted artist and juror, Linda Doll, who comes from San Diego to teach my group. We are artists working mostly in watercolor but her advice and tips to improve paintings could work for any media.

 

As we put up our work for critique, Linda has the ability to zero in on the strengths and weaknesses of each piece and in a few sentences let us know what needs to change or be improved to make the picture a winner. By putting her hand or finger on one small area of a painting she emphasizes her point and the whole piece becomes stronger. I’ve already had so many aha moments I wonder how much more she can teach us over the course of a year.

 

But, I find I can only hold on to so much information when I am learning so I have to employ several methods to be able to retain the whole experience. I need to see the painting being discusses. I need to see Linda’s hand over the offending area of a painting and I have to hear her talk about the change that could be made. I have to use my own hand and do the same to emphasize the point. I have sit with the color wheel she recommended we buy in my hands and manipulate it to understand color changes and the reasoning behind it. I have to ask questions when I need clarification and get a direct response. I have to make diagrams of paintings as she talks about them to help me remember the point she was making. I have to make notes on the notes Linda gives us. Most of all I have to transcribe my notes when I get home and reread them during the month between classes.

 

Every part of my learning method increases the amount of information I retain. Amazingly, I’ve found “new” information within my notes after the third reading. I may have written it down but didn’t understand it or know its value until after I’d read it for the third time.

 

After this month’s session I was so excited about everything I had learned and had so many possibilities for completing the next assignment running through my mind I got lost on my way home, a route I take regularly. When I came out of my reverie I had driven several miles out of my way and had to take new roads to get back home. Although disconcerting at first it was refreshing. But then, that’s what I am finding is true about taking this class. My artwork had become stale and is now becoming refreshed as I  learn new routes toward finishing it.

 

Find out how you learn and don’t try to skip steps when the information is important to what you want to achieve.

 

About the photo: This is the pastel painting I took for critique with Linda Doll in September. To make it a “winner” I am challenged to make it either a predominantly warm or cool painting. Right now it is 50/50. I should also make it a stronger 3D picture by making an edge on the painting on the easel to give it depth. I should also darken the leg of the easel so it does not attract so much attention. Of course I took notes to remember all this AND put my finger over the easel’s curve to imagine the change! I’ll send another picture of the corrected painting in a later post.

What chases me?

When in a mode of procrastination my creativity declines, slumps, goes stagnant I don't care how you say it. On days where I am more behind than usual I get less productive.

With the days getting shorter and the morning sun coming through my window later and later, I can easily get side-tracked into a 'normal' pace.

My morning practices (and my morning) go better when done before other folk are moving around the house. They are quiet practices. Meditation, writing, and a quick walk around the hood. If I am up very long before I begin my practices my mind gets the upper hand telling me about chilliness, darkness and just this once.

If I get to the meditation before I can really think (but after I brush my teeth) I know my day will be more productive, which means I'll be itching to paint, glue and write by the time I get a chance to do it. Then procrastination and putting off aren't even an issue.

Well I think I got sidetracked right there - I notice that the more I put things off the harder it is to get up in the morning. If I don't get up EARLY in the morning I miss my daily set up. When I miss my set up I don't have the energy to tackle the icky stuff and then it builds up in my mind, gains weight so to say. Then the next obvious step is to the 'put it off' mode...it's a vicious circle is all I'm saying.

Art Journaling with Layers

Old Enough

I was trying to layer writing in as it's own "depth charge." I wrote out the entire song, The 12th of Never in tiny script and then  used a translucent overlay for the main subject page. I should have used transparent instead of translucent as the script barely shows. Earlier I used tissue with script and laid it in with gel matte medium which has the effect of making the tissue disappear and again adding depth without overwhelming the the journaling subject. I will continue to experiment as I know what I want to see and I haven't managed it yet.

For this journal page I was choosing a  new day for my birthday and this is what I came up with, along with the song which will be the new birthday song.

Happy Birthday.

                                                                          
                                                               Click to enlarge and read about my new birthday!

Why I Do Art Journaling

Each of us at Art Camp for Women are going to make an effort to post some of our own art as a way of sharing ourselves with you.

Sharing for me is a way of being. I believe I exist in what I share, whether it is conversation, art or food. I have a very practical helpmeet that grounds me in the reality of life that I need to have it before I share it...so picky.

This page uses my own 'made' papers as well as some little mosaic tiles I found somewhere. It is also another sample of the water-based poster paint pens by Sharpie...I understand they are a discontinued product so I will stock up.

I don't know if it comes through that I also love to share my values. See the post below for a look at the page with the flap lifted for the items I don't share.

Thanks for reading Lori W - the Lori that does the art journaling.

Danish Puff

Why Culinary Art?

To bring the warm and inviting camaraderie of camp home.

When we first organized camp we had no idea how important our meals would become. Well, being women we knew the meals were important, but we truly did not appreciate how central to the camp experience they would become. Every mealtime we all stop and acknowledge how lucky we are to be where we are and slow down to check in with each other and our bodies.

Danish Puff    Betty Crocker’s Cookbook 1972

A flaky pastry crust with a custard-like topping. Is a coffee cake so much like Danish pastry possible in so short a time? Just try it - you’ll see.
 
½ cup butter or margarine, softened                             
1 cup all-purpose flour*
2 tablespoons water
½ cup butter or margarine softened
1 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract
1cup all-purpose flour*
3 eggs
          Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze (below)
          Chopped nuts
 
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut ½ cup butter into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; mix. Round into ball; divide in half. On ungreased baking sheet, pat each half into strip, 12x3 inches. Strips should be about 3 inches apart.
 
Heat ½ cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil in medium saucepan. Remove from heat and quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs (all at once) until smooth and glossy.
 
Divide in half; spread each half evenly over strips. Bake about 60 minutes or until topping is crisp and brown. Cool. (Topping will shrink and fall, forming the custard like top of this puff.) Frost with Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze and sprinkle generously with nuts.
 
10 to12 servings
*Self rising flour can be used in this recipe.
 
Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze
 
Mix 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla and 1 to2 tablespoons warm water until smooth and of spreading consistency.
 
There is no meal more satisfying than one with friends,  when someone else does the cooking, serving and cleaning.