Studio Explorations :: Practice. Play. Persevere.

Practice. Play. Persevere.

Brown sandwich bags stamped, lettered (with sumi ink),
and embellished with washi tape and sheet music.

Announcing My New Book :: Creative Lettering

I am thrilled and humbled to announce my newest book titled Creative Lettering!

It is a book where 16 amazing arists share their unique insights and signature methods related to their lettering work. From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to offer my sincere gratitude to these artists for working with me to create this truly breathtaking book.

They are (in order of appearance):

Flora Chang, Jessica Swift, Pam Garrison, Francois Begnez,
Karyn Denten, Aimee Dolich, Andy Ainger, Linda Schneider,
Lori Vliegen, Madeline Tompkins, Stine Kaasa, Lisa Engelbrecht,
Philippe Debongnie, Barbara Close, Rhianna Wurman, and Martha Lever

Creative Lettering will hit book stands on March 5th but you can also pre-order it here on Amazon. And here's a little video to give you a sneak peek. Enjoy! :)

Papercutting Tutorial

I've been doing some papercutting lately. It's so fun and easeir than I thought. Just takes some patience is all.

For this project, I used a small paintbrush and sumi ink to write the word "love" onto a book page. I made sure that all the letters were connected to each other so that when I cut it out, the letters would all be connected. Then I taped that page onto a piece of sheet music. I placed the layers of paper onto a self-healing mat and then very carefully, used my sharp craft knife to cut the word out.

So here's what the book page looks like once the cutting is done. So cute, right?


But what's also cool is that because I placed a layer of sheet music beneath the book page, I end up with two sets of cut-outs that I can use in my artwork.

Here's what I did with one of the pieces ... I added it to one of my art journal pages. So happy with how the page looks with the addition.
And onto a different art journal page this cut piece goes ... just a beginning. It'll evolve more from here I'm sure.
Easy peasy.

Happy crafting. :)

Painted, Lettered and Washi-Taped Wooden Cutlery Tutorial

Wooden cutlery is available almost everywhere. On etsy, amazon ... just Google it and you'll find loads of sources that sell these simply lovely objects ... perfect for embellishing.

For these, I started with a light application of acrylic paint on the handles of a fork, spoon, and knife.

Once dry, I wrote words with Sumi ink and a very small watercolor brush.

On the backsides, I made little raindrops.

To finihs, I wrapped each piece with two different colors of washi tape. So sweet.

Happy crafting. :)

Studio Explorations :: Rolling in the Deep

This art journal entry was inspired by the genius of Adele.
Sometimes ... when I listen to her lyrics and music ... I journey to a wondrous place ... a place that uncovers places of my heart that open up, make me remember, make me imagine.

Looks complex ... but it didn't start out that way.

The entry started out rather simply.
With a carved tear drop stamped on a page, with a piece of washi tape at the bottom.

And then I added stitching to the first tear drop.

Then the second ...

Then the third ...

And then the final.

And then I decided to add some drama with gray paint.

And then added words upon words upon words.

Falling.
Rolling.
Falling.
Rolling in the deep.

Rubber Carving Tutorial :: Jeung

I've talked about the concept of jeung with you here and here. So I wanted to see if I could carve the very special word to make it into a rubber stamp.

So the first thing I did was to write the word with my brush and ink.

The character starts with a small horizontal stroke, then a downward stroke, diagonally.

Then it's a small little stroke in the opposite diagonal.

Then an itty bitty horizontal stroke ...

Then a longer straight downward stroke ...

And then a ring stroke at the bottom.

Check out the many I made as I practiced with my sumi ink.
I picked my favorite one and placed a translucent piece of paper over it and traced the storkes with a pencil.

Then I turned the traced character over so that it rested on top of a piece of carving rubber and then rubbed the opposite side with pencil so that the pencil-traced character would become imprinted on the rubber.

And then I took my carving tools and carved around the character.

I stamped the character with a brown inkpad on watercolor paper, added a pencil doodle, watercolors, washi tape, and then mounted it onto a mini Moleskine.

This makes me happy.

DIY Crochet Stamp Printmaking Tutorial

Check out my new stamp. Not made of rubber. It's made of crochet.

I used hemp yarn to chain 12 and joined with a slip stitch and weaved in all the ends.

I used spray adhesive to mount it onto a piece of cardboard into the shape of a heart.

Using a sponge brush, I loaded the stamp with acrylic paint then stamped the image onto paper. To finish, I added washi tape, sheet music, and doodling.

Happy creating. :)

Painted and Lettered Ovals Tutorial

I started by painting colors acrylics onto watercolor papers. (Read my review of Eco Green Craft paints here.)

I lettered the words with a round brush and sumi ink onto the painted papers.

And then I added layers of acrylic colors, and marks with a white gel pen and pencil.

Happy creating.

Paintings :: She Will

I wanted to share with you my latest painting titled ... She Will.

This canvas looked very different at one point and I decided that I wanted to dramatically reinvent it and in the process ... incorporate letters ... not just letters that make up words and a message but for the words and letters to be design elements and become art forms in and of themselves. I love how letters help create compartmental pockets on the canvas ... opening opportunities to create small and unique universes.

I still see some things I need to do to it to finish it up and resolve but I like the reinvention very much.

I like the letters and the words as artforms.
I also like the message of these particular words.

Not "She Might."
Not "She Tries."

She Will.

So you better get out of her way. ;)

L = Lisa, Letters, Laughter, Learning & Listening

Oh the fun I had today as I learned from Lisa Engelbrecht and all the artists enrolled in her class. Here's one of the plaques I ended up making. I love it.

It was an experience where we learned, laughed, and listened to one another.

In the morning, Lisa had us all learn how to make strokes with a paintbrush and sumi ink.

She also did several incredible demonstrations. The thing that I love most about Lisa is that she's a total rock star but not fully aware of it.

Check out this alphabet she demoned on a L O N G piece of paper! Totally awesome.

After practicing strokes, Lisa had us practice words and letters, trying out different styles and encouraged to make up our own styles.

Then we broke for lunch. Lettering is hard work!

After lunch, we started painting and lettering on twigs and putting finishing touches on our plaques.

Here are some rockin' works from the class ...

I did these last two on long pieces of ledger paper. So cool, right? I love the word Evolution.

Sometimes I wish I could become awesome over night. A revolution of sorts. But when I really think about it, it's evolution that I want.

This I know: I love lettering and always have. And I'll continue to practice and evolve and potentially wake up one day to awesome.

Many thanks to Lisa and all the students who shared in this special day.

Many more wonderful classes coming up in Studio CRESCENDOh that you can view here. See you in the studio. :)