Today I was looking at the Zettiology rubber stamp catalog. These quotes which are on their rubber stamps struck me. I think you will like these, too.
“You finally do have to give something terribly intimate and secret of yourself to the world and not care because you have to believe that what you have to say is important enough”.
–May Sarton
Rubber stamp #34-178-E by Zettiology
This stamp is applicable to me right at this exact moment in time! It is hard sometimes writing here on my blogs as I am putting pieces of myself out there to the great unknown public and sometimes it makes me feel vulnerable. Today someone navigated to my other blog by doing an Internet search for “frumpy homeschool moms”. Oh my! Am I a frumpy homeschool mom and is that why it pointed them here? Nah, it was because of something I had written about in the past. The reason I mention is that I then saw that another person linked through from a blog I’d never visited so I went over there and saw that the blogger spoke in a positive way of the post I did earlier today, and she called my blog ‘cool’ which was nice and frankly I was flattered. I went to thank her in the comment but first, I read that one of her readers shared her opinion that she’s read my blog and ‘doesn’t like my tone’. Oh my. The bubble of happiness was deflated. Sigh. See what I mean, it is a risky business sharing my thoughts with the world. Of course not everyone will agree with what I say and some may not like my tone but really, do they have to talk about me like that, what purpose does that serve? Whatever.
“What you are will show in what you do.”
–Thomas Edison
Rubber stamp # 1047-D by Zettiology
“Each of us has more power over the world than we imagine.”
–Marguerite Yourcenar
Rubber stamp #32-168-C by Zettiology
“Begin where you are”
Rubber stamp #33-171-C by Zettiology
“Things are only impossible until they’re not.” –Jean-Luc Picard
Rubber stamp #1045-C by Zettiology
I love Jean-Luc and Star Trek Next Generation so I just love that there is a rubber stamp with one of his quotes on it, plus it is a great statement!
“Thus to be independent of public opinion is the first formal condition of achieving anything great.”
(quote from G.W.F. Hegel but it is not stated on the rubber stamp)
Rubber stamp #28-131-E by Zettiology
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
–Martin Luther King
Rubber stamp # 1103-C by Zettiology
“These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.”
(quote from Gilbert Highet but not stated so on the rubber stamp)
Rubber stamp #29-140-C by Zettiology
Hey here is one quote I just found on the Internet that I absolutely love!
“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Hear, hear!
Back to the art stamps…
Zettiology is a rubber stamp company and a vendor of some other art supplies (like all these collage sheets!), owned by Teesha Moore and her husband Tracy Moore. You can view their rubber stamp catalog online (and place orders if you want). Also they have lots of photos of their studio and tons of scans of their artwork, go check it out! Some of Teesha’s is here and some of Tracy’s journals can be seen here. Their newest line of stamps is art by the very interesting artist Theo Ellsworth.
Technorati Tags: great quotes, rubber stamps, Zettiology, Teesha Moore, Tracy Moore, Theo Ellsworth.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Thursday, November 02, 2006
My Collage: Scotland/Ireland
I made this 5x7 inch mixed-media collage today.
The base is a recycled piece of cardboard from TGI Friday’s Potato Skins.
The background was given to me by a participant in an ATC swap which I hosted, whose name is Maureen B. I also added some other collage elements from Maureen B.
There is a piece of magenta colored lace fabric in the upper right hand corner.
I liked the background so much that I had trouble covering it up!
The black blocks are stickers from the sides of postage stamps (from the packaging).
I used tiny cut-out’s from a Dover Publishing book catalog, going with the theme of celtic and medieval images.
Snippets of text were cut from junk mail that I had received. The hopefully inspirational messages were actually from an ad from Sears trying to convince us to remodel our kitchen (hilarious)!
As you can see there is a piece of a round playing card. I own a deck of this but I think this one card was also a gift from either Maureen or another ATC swap participant.
Maureen also gave me the moon face which I believe she printed on her computer printer directly onto acetone, or it may be that plastic for an overhead projector (or are they the same thing?).
Someone, it could have been Maureen, gave me those silver stickers which actually are raised up and have a texture to them (the four leaf clover, the cross and the bow).
The adhesive I used was Golden acrylic gel medium in soft gloss. I also used it as a top coat.
Since the heat is on in the house it is very dry and this has completely dried in about two hours.
I love the background especially the color of that yellow in the map. I like the type of illustration on that background map as well as the font type.
Originally I was going to use rubber stamps or painted effects on top of the collaged elements but in the end I didn’t think it needed any further embellishment.
The original intent for this piece was to be a collage which would be cut into four ATCs. However I really like how it looks as one piece and I may just keep it for myself.
I have been thinking of starting an art journal just for myself to keep and if I do something like this could be added in as one page in the artist journal.
Technorati Tags: mixed media collage, artist trading card, ATC, artist journal.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Most Disturbing ATC Ever
In an ATC art box I just saw the most disturbing content ATC ever. I am very bothered by this image. It literally is haunting me.
The background card was lovely and I believe was alcohol inks, in pretty pink colors with a tinge of light yellow. There was an accent of a handmade paper that was light yellow. Lovely, so far.
The center and main image was a photograph. It was an image of a girl who was either four or five years old. She was wearing a pretty pink dress that looked like a little prom gown or perhaps it was a little girls beauty pagent gown, which complimented the color of the background paper well.
She was dressed in costume, for Halloween, one can only assume.
Her face had white makeup on it and black around the eyes such to look like whe was a member of the living dead. She was making a gruesome face bearing her teeth like she was a mean possed person or something like that. Her face also had makeup like blood streaked on it.
In her upraised arm was a chef knife at least 12 inches long which was colored to look like dripping blood was all over it. Her pink dress was spattered with blood as if she had just murdered someone.
I hate to be judgemental but I cannot for the life of me fathom a parent dressing a girl of age four or five to look like a murderer. It was the creepiest image that I have ever seen.
I also would dare to say that this crosses the line between what is art and what is not art. My issue with this is not whether this is a piece of art but that the imate in it and what the parent chose to dress a young girl as is very disturbing to me.
At that moment I was glad that I did not have my young children looking at the art box with me. I used to have them look over the ATCs with me when they arrived.
So the question is if you saw an ATC of content that really distrubed you would you keep it in circulation or would you remove it and destroy it?
(I swear I won't be able to get that image out of my mind now that I've seen it!)
ON a related note...
The last art box I had had a photo of two teenaged girls dressed in gothic clothing and makeup who were french kissing. That is another image that I'd not want my very young children to see. We have not yet discusses the gay and lesbian lifestyle and I didn't think that ATCs would be the door to open that topic for discussion.
The question of what is offensive to some in the 'artist trading cards' art world is a controversial one. Some online groups have rules about what can be traded on the list such as PG content only, no nudity or some other rules. I am not sure if the two ATCs that I didn't like that I discussed actually would break any of those rules.
It is something to think about.
What do you think?
Technorati Tags: artist trading card, ATC.
The background card was lovely and I believe was alcohol inks, in pretty pink colors with a tinge of light yellow. There was an accent of a handmade paper that was light yellow. Lovely, so far.
The center and main image was a photograph. It was an image of a girl who was either four or five years old. She was wearing a pretty pink dress that looked like a little prom gown or perhaps it was a little girls beauty pagent gown, which complimented the color of the background paper well.
She was dressed in costume, for Halloween, one can only assume.
Her face had white makeup on it and black around the eyes such to look like whe was a member of the living dead. She was making a gruesome face bearing her teeth like she was a mean possed person or something like that. Her face also had makeup like blood streaked on it.
In her upraised arm was a chef knife at least 12 inches long which was colored to look like dripping blood was all over it. Her pink dress was spattered with blood as if she had just murdered someone.
I hate to be judgemental but I cannot for the life of me fathom a parent dressing a girl of age four or five to look like a murderer. It was the creepiest image that I have ever seen.
I also would dare to say that this crosses the line between what is art and what is not art. My issue with this is not whether this is a piece of art but that the imate in it and what the parent chose to dress a young girl as is very disturbing to me.
At that moment I was glad that I did not have my young children looking at the art box with me. I used to have them look over the ATCs with me when they arrived.
So the question is if you saw an ATC of content that really distrubed you would you keep it in circulation or would you remove it and destroy it?
(I swear I won't be able to get that image out of my mind now that I've seen it!)
ON a related note...
The last art box I had had a photo of two teenaged girls dressed in gothic clothing and makeup who were french kissing. That is another image that I'd not want my very young children to see. We have not yet discusses the gay and lesbian lifestyle and I didn't think that ATCs would be the door to open that topic for discussion.
The question of what is offensive to some in the 'artist trading cards' art world is a controversial one. Some online groups have rules about what can be traded on the list such as PG content only, no nudity or some other rules. I am not sure if the two ATCs that I didn't like that I discussed actually would break any of those rules.
It is something to think about.
What do you think?
Technorati Tags: artist trading card, ATC.
Monday, October 23, 2006
My ATC: Distressed Alphabet "Z is for Zebra"
Here is one of the ATCs that I made for a "Distressed Alphabet" ATC Swap. This was the letter Z and as you can see I chose a zebra for the image.
The image is from the Internet. I resized the image in Photoshop then printed it off on my computer printer.
I used colored inks from a distressing kit by the company "Making Memories" which did not have labels on them to describe the colors or type of ink. The ATCs were then sanded and rubbed with an emory board. I rubbed the edges with black rubber stamp ink by dragging the card along the top of the rubber stamp pad.
I used different rubber stamp alphabet sets to write the words. The tiny font one is by Hero Arts and the Z in the square is by Dawn Hauser.
I then sealed the ATC with Golden brand acrylic gel medium in soft gloss.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Heard About Swap-bot
I have heard about Swap-Bot from about three different people on various ATC Yahoo Group! discussion lists and I wanted to share this resource with you.
It is being called by some the new and better way to do swaps through the mail.
Here is the site's URL.
You will see they do all different kinds of swaps, not just art swaps and not just ATC swaps. In fact I saw one swap for swapping girls panties which I thought was potentially a little kinky if not just strange.
I have not joined yet and so I have not participated in any ATC swpas on Swap-Bot yet. I have not even spent a ton of time browsing the various swaps available there.
My goal for ATC making is to first make a bunch for just fun. When I have some made I will then think about doing some private swaps or swapping them out on Swap-Bot.
I am not in a rush to find new swaps to join and to participate in, but I wanted to share this with you in case you find it of interest.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, Swapbot, Swap-bot.
It is being called by some the new and better way to do swaps through the mail.
Here is the site's URL.
You will see they do all different kinds of swaps, not just art swaps and not just ATC swaps. In fact I saw one swap for swapping girls panties which I thought was potentially a little kinky if not just strange.
I have not joined yet and so I have not participated in any ATC swpas on Swap-Bot yet. I have not even spent a ton of time browsing the various swaps available there.
My goal for ATC making is to first make a bunch for just fun. When I have some made I will then think about doing some private swaps or swapping them out on Swap-Bot.
I am not in a rush to find new swaps to join and to participate in, but I wanted to share this with you in case you find it of interest.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, Swapbot, Swap-bot.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Made Some ATCs for a Numbers Swap
Two weeks ago I made a bunch of ATCs for a swap with the theme of numbers. I was assigned a number (one) and I had to make 10 ATCs for that number.
I procrastinated on doing these as I was in an art slump. The deadline was looming so one day I just decided to make them and be done with them.
My original plan was to use a rubber stamped image on the ATC and rubber stamp the number 1 on the card. However when I began looking through my rubber stamps I could not find any images I liked. It also got tricky because when I looked at images I saw other things. For example the image of a man’s face had two eyes and so that could be either the number 1 or 2. A flower with a certain number of petals could be 1 flower or 10 petals. I then felt stumped about what background to use and felt that colored cardstock was too boring.
I then dove into some half-done ATCs and my mistake pile of ATCs. I was surprised to find some great things in there. What I ended up using for the swap ATCs in the end were some ATCs that had some different kinds of transfers on them. I also used some hand painted backgrounds and applied some rubber stamped images on top of that background. I added other decorateive elements so the ATCs were not too un-decorated.
Once I got working the work went quickly and I was surprised when I had ten finished ATCs that I was proud of and felt good about swapping out to others.
I also had some botched ATCs that I threw away, some mistakes that I don’t think were wroth saving.
One thing I realized was that I don’t own enough rubber stamps with numbers on them. In my mind I thought I owned more than I did. I also would like to suggest to rubber stamp manufacturers that when they sell alphabet stamp sets they should also have the numbers 0-9 in those sets, so the fonts match. I realized I had some great alphabet stamps but not enough great number stamps in those same fonts. So one thing for my wish list for future buying will be some great number rubber stamps in different sizes.
I was then very prompt about packaging up the ATCs to get them out before the deadline. I also packaged up some background prepared ATCs as a hostess gift and I think I also gave her a finished ATC. I wrote my thank you note then rushed off to the post office to mail them out that afternoon (after the scans were finished).
This will be my last ATC swap on a certain Yahoo Group then I will be done with that Group.
I have been so busy homeschooling my kids and running around to various children’s classes and activities that I have not made time for making art.
I have begun quilting and am taking a class but that is a story for another day.
Now I have to go bake some bread for a bake sale fundraiser!
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs.
I procrastinated on doing these as I was in an art slump. The deadline was looming so one day I just decided to make them and be done with them.
My original plan was to use a rubber stamped image on the ATC and rubber stamp the number 1 on the card. However when I began looking through my rubber stamps I could not find any images I liked. It also got tricky because when I looked at images I saw other things. For example the image of a man’s face had two eyes and so that could be either the number 1 or 2. A flower with a certain number of petals could be 1 flower or 10 petals. I then felt stumped about what background to use and felt that colored cardstock was too boring.
I then dove into some half-done ATCs and my mistake pile of ATCs. I was surprised to find some great things in there. What I ended up using for the swap ATCs in the end were some ATCs that had some different kinds of transfers on them. I also used some hand painted backgrounds and applied some rubber stamped images on top of that background. I added other decorateive elements so the ATCs were not too un-decorated.
Once I got working the work went quickly and I was surprised when I had ten finished ATCs that I was proud of and felt good about swapping out to others.
I also had some botched ATCs that I threw away, some mistakes that I don’t think were wroth saving.
One thing I realized was that I don’t own enough rubber stamps with numbers on them. In my mind I thought I owned more than I did. I also would like to suggest to rubber stamp manufacturers that when they sell alphabet stamp sets they should also have the numbers 0-9 in those sets, so the fonts match. I realized I had some great alphabet stamps but not enough great number stamps in those same fonts. So one thing for my wish list for future buying will be some great number rubber stamps in different sizes.
I was then very prompt about packaging up the ATCs to get them out before the deadline. I also packaged up some background prepared ATCs as a hostess gift and I think I also gave her a finished ATC. I wrote my thank you note then rushed off to the post office to mail them out that afternoon (after the scans were finished).
This will be my last ATC swap on a certain Yahoo Group then I will be done with that Group.
I have been so busy homeschooling my kids and running around to various children’s classes and activities that I have not made time for making art.
I have begun quilting and am taking a class but that is a story for another day.
Now I have to go bake some bread for a bake sale fundraiser!
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Made Some Distressed Alphabet ATCs
I signed up for participation in an ATC swap called "Distressed Alphabet". Each player was assigned two letters. I had to make 13 ATCs for each of my letters.
I thought I signed up very quickly but by the time I signed up what was offered to me was Y & Z (not easy), the next choice being X & V. I kept Y & Z.
I procrastinated on making these ATCs. I also was in an art slump. I also have been in a slump about chatting about ATCs and overwhelmed by negativity from that ATC chat list.
I did go 'no mail' on that chat list and finally did sit down to make these ATCs last week.
Over four sessions I spread the work of making these ATCs. My six year old son joined in and I let him use the sandpaper and emory board on some of the ATCs. He only ruined a few, by getting carried away. It was a good thing I was making extra ATCs!
I did scan the ATCs before I sent them out last week. I hope to find time to resize the dpi so I can upload the images here to Blogger. At that time I will share about the actual process.
It feels great to be back to making art and ATCs.
I am so busy now with homeschooling the kids that I have little time for ATC making and I am beginning to feel resentful about it.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs.
I thought I signed up very quickly but by the time I signed up what was offered to me was Y & Z (not easy), the next choice being X & V. I kept Y & Z.
I procrastinated on making these ATCs. I also was in an art slump. I also have been in a slump about chatting about ATCs and overwhelmed by negativity from that ATC chat list.
I did go 'no mail' on that chat list and finally did sit down to make these ATCs last week.
Over four sessions I spread the work of making these ATCs. My six year old son joined in and I let him use the sandpaper and emory board on some of the ATCs. He only ruined a few, by getting carried away. It was a good thing I was making extra ATCs!
I did scan the ATCs before I sent them out last week. I hope to find time to resize the dpi so I can upload the images here to Blogger. At that time I will share about the actual process.
It feels great to be back to making art and ATCs.
I am so busy now with homeschooling the kids that I have little time for ATC making and I am beginning to feel resentful about it.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs.
Monday, October 02, 2006
One Inch Collages!
Today I learned of this little fad, and I mean little. Here is a great write-up of the process, written by Zorena on her blog.
I can't wait to try these.
I have been itching to make some art over the last few days. Maybe I'll stay up late tonight after putting the kids to bed and make some art.
I can't wait to try these.
I have been itching to make some art over the last few days. Maybe I'll stay up late tonight after putting the kids to bed and make some art.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Rubber Stamp Consignment Sale Westport Connecticut This Weekend
I just found out about this today.
Happy Shopping or Happy Selling!
Here is the invitation that I received today.
Note: I receive no money for promoting this sale. I am just sharing it in case you are interested.
Technorati Tags: rubber stamp, rubber stamp sale, rubber stamp consignment sale, Connecticut.
Happy Shopping or Happy Selling!
Here is the invitation that I received today.
Come to the
2006 Rubber Stamp Consignment Sale
at the
Great American Stamp Store
September 30, 2006 10-5
October 1, 12-5
Over 75 customers have stamps to sell.
Don’t miss this sale!
Note: All sellers must be registered by Wednesday September 27.
Call the store at 203-221-1229 to reserve your kit.
Note: I receive no money for promoting this sale. I am just sharing it in case you are interested.
Technorati Tags: rubber stamp, rubber stamp sale, rubber stamp consignment sale, Connecticut.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
UK ATC Exhibition Accepting Submissions
I received an email inviting me to participate in an ATC exhibition in the UK. There was a link to the website. From reading it I see they are accepting submissions from anyone. The exhibition is being hosted by "The World Has ATCs" website.
There is a 2 ATC minimum submission.
There is no fee (unlike the Ohio, USA exhibition).
If you are interested, read the simple and few rules here.
I am going to participate in this, it should be fun.Technorati Tags: ATC, artist trading card, artist trading card exhibition, artist trading card art show.
There is a 2 ATC minimum submission.
There is no fee (unlike the Ohio, USA exhibition).
If you are interested, read the simple and few rules here.
I am going to participate in this, it should be fun.Technorati Tags: ATC, artist trading card, artist trading card exhibition, artist trading card art show.
Update With Me
I have been too busy to make ATCs.
I camped out with my son at Cub Scout Camp.
We went on a family trip to Cape Cod with relatives.
I've had two relapses of Lyme Disease.
I restarted homeschooling my children.
I have been catching up on housework and decluttering which built up while I was sick.
I held the family party for my older son's birthday.
I miss making art. Can't wait to get back to it.
I am not up to date with reading chat lists about ATCs. After I decided to not read all the emails due to the negativity, even more negative threads came up.
One good thing was that when I got home from my trip the latest issue of Art and Life published by Teesha Moore was waiting for me. Reading that helped inspire me again to create and do what I want.
I received a random act of kindness ATC in the mail a few days ago, what a big surprise.
Due to Blogger's new rule about only accepting uploads of image files of 50 dpi that means yet another extra step of work on my part to share my ATC images with you. Sorry but I've not had time to do that lately.
I am more up to date wTechnorati Tags: ATCs, artist trading cards.ith my other blog, oh well.
I camped out with my son at Cub Scout Camp.
We went on a family trip to Cape Cod with relatives.
I've had two relapses of Lyme Disease.
I restarted homeschooling my children.
I have been catching up on housework and decluttering which built up while I was sick.
I held the family party for my older son's birthday.
I miss making art. Can't wait to get back to it.
I am not up to date with reading chat lists about ATCs. After I decided to not read all the emails due to the negativity, even more negative threads came up.
One good thing was that when I got home from my trip the latest issue of Art and Life published by Teesha Moore was waiting for me. Reading that helped inspire me again to create and do what I want.
I received a random act of kindness ATC in the mail a few days ago, what a big surprise.
Due to Blogger's new rule about only accepting uploads of image files of 50 dpi that means yet another extra step of work on my part to share my ATC images with you. Sorry but I've not had time to do that lately.
I am more up to date wTechnorati Tags: ATCs, artist trading cards.ith my other blog, oh well.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Too Much Talking About ATCs and Not Enough Making of ATCs For Me
I have not made ATCs in over two weeks. I really miss it.
I have been too busy with things in real life and/or too sick to do it. I did have three chances to make art this week but had creative block. I didn’t have enough time to haul out the paint or to make a big mess, so I just didn’t do much at all.
I flipped through a few magazines and took out some images that I may use in collage some day.
Last month while quite sick with Lyme Disease, I went gone ‘no mail’ on all the art email lists except for one. I am up to date with checking and reading those emails. I have been annoyed with some of the messages. So I am considering going no mail from that list as well. Perhaps I’ve been doing too much thinking about making art and talking about making art and taking in too many ideas. Perhaps I should just take that time and actually make the art and try the ideas.
Once I had a nice email reply from Teesha Moore, a response to an email that I wrote to her. In it she shared that she does not discuss art on the Internet as it got too negative. I was surprised. Another thing we were discussing was the critique of another person’s art work, how dangerous that is. She was encouraging me to do what I want; make the art I want for my own self and to not think about if anyone else will like it. If I have to stop the part of artist trading cards that is about the talking about them in order to continue the swapping part of artist trading cards then I may have to do that. I could also just stop making ATCs and just make other art as well, art that doesn’t involve swapping and dealing with other people (but then I’d miss out on some great/good conversations and also I’d not get to own some wonderful little pieces of other people’s artwork).
I only send out ATCs that I think are decent, that is, they follow rules, they are glued together well, they are cut in straight lines when the lines are supposed to be straight, they are the right size, etc.
I can’t control if anyone likes what I make or not. I am alright with the idea that someone may think what I do is weird or perhaps even ugly or stupid or whatever. My little ATCs are what they are, they are not masterpieces but they are little creations from my own mind and hands.
However I would never send out an ATC which I thought was garbage or that I just threw together for a trade in order for me to be collecting back something that was of higher quality. That is not my intent with being in an ATC swap, to produce garbage in order to quickly collect lots of other ATCs. I have a lot of supplies here, and using an assembly line style and some ideas that I see on other ATCs I could rip out a slew right now if I wanted to. But I am not, because my own ATCs are my own creations that may be inspired by someone else’s work but they are not a direct copy of it.
I don’t expect that I will always like the other ATCs that I receive in blind swaps or blind private trades. I know that when I participate in a swap, that I may be disappointed with what I get, I set myself up for that, and then if I am not disappointed it is like a surprise gift!
I don’t judge others if I don’t like their ATC style, color, theme, etc. I just don’t have to like them. It is alright not to like something.
It is also alright to own something and to like it for a while, but to not keep it until I die.
I am sick of the debate over what to do with ATCs that a person doesn’t want to keep. Some people throw the ones they don’t want in the trash. That is their prerogative. I don’t do that. I trade mine out again to someone else who does like them.
I am sick of the controversy about that: trading ATCs. I don’t know where some people get the idea that an artist TRADING card is not meant to be TRADED. Those that state that say that they view an ATC is a GIFT. I disagree as participation in an Internet based SWAP is BLIND and the maker usually doesn’t even know who ended up owning their ATC. So to say it is a gift is a stretch to me.
To those who make handmade greeting cards: do you think everyone keeps every card you gave to them? You may be disappointed to know that your work ended up in the trash bin, where most people put their greeting cards. One reason that I’ve not gotten into making intricate homemade greeting cards is that I know that most of my friends and relatives throw them in the trash two seconds after reading them. If they don’t value them, why should I put more money and effort into them? I know some of you are already answering that, you’ll say that your joy comes from the process of making it and that the greeting card served a purpose, to give you joy while you were creating it. Okay, that sounds good, I can agree with it. I have to pick and choose how I spend my spare time and so, that reason is not good enough for me, I still prefer to spend my time making ATCs that are traded and which part of the fun is in the swap part, the part where my mail comes and not everything in it is bills or junk mail—sometimes tucked in with the mail is a package with some fun ATCs in it to brighten my day and give me a fun surprise—what will the envelope have inside it today? That to me is a lot of fun and why I have not quit ATC trading (so far).
Back to ATCs as a gift…
Also who ever said that a gift must be kept? Do we all keep every gift we ever receive just because it is a gift? That is one source of developing a clutter problem, in my opinion. I am a Pack Rat by nature so believe me, I know clutter problems and they are problems that I want to avoid if possible.
I can’t relate to those who say they love every ATC they own even if they hate the way it looks or if it is poor quality (such as literally falling apart)? How can you love something that you have used such a strong word to describe: hate? Hate is a strong word!
I have received some ATCs that were morally offensive to me, and I have no qualms about not keeping them. It is interesting that some of the people who keep saying they love every ATC they get publicly announce their Christianity to all through their email signature lines and/or content on their website, however some of the ATCs I’ve seen contain very obvious sins including nudity or pictorial representations of s*xually sinful acts as defined by the Ten Commandments, and some have content that is morally oppositional to Christians. So I remain miffed—perhaps those Christians have not seen those types of ATCs? Some Christians say “no nudes on ATCs for me due to my religious beliefs”. Well it is okay for someone to say that for religious purposes but if a person doesn’t like a certain other kind of image on an ATC we are BAD people? Huh??
I assume that not everyone who owns one of my ATCs will love it. That is alright.
I don’t care what someone does with my ATCs after they own them. I’d hate for you to sell it for a profit though, if you could actually find someone willing to pay for it. I would be very, very happy if you swapped out/traded my ATC to someone else who would enjoy it. It would be good if someone ended up owning it, who liked it. I don’t like the idea of someone keeping my ATC just for keeping-it’s sake but every time they look at it to say “blech, that is ugly/weird/stupid”.
Because I have experience in a second generation swapping list, I can attest to how fun and great it is to participate in the art box swapping process. The art boxes that come to me have 90 ATCs in them. I get to admire in person, so many ATCs! I am inspired by many, even though I don’t end up keeping all 90 of them. So you see, those re-traded ATCs are inspiring more people than the one original owner! Swapping in that way with this group is not anything negative. We don’t sit and slam the people whose ATCs we put into the box. It is all quite anonymous in the end anyway; no one knows who put what in the art box. Note we call it an ‘art box’ which indicates appreciation for them; we don’t call it a ‘junk box’ or a ‘crappy ATC box’.
When ATC trading began, the trades were done face to face, and people would look at ATCs and PICK the ones they wanted. I cannot find any documentation that when this began, that the artists only traded out the ATCs that they created themselves. There is nothing in the rules to indicate that trading the trading cards is not ethical or ‘not nice’ let alone ‘against the rules’.
We have also had a discussion about the collecting of ATCs and selling them for profit on eBay. I feel that doing it is unethical. Some people feel that once the ATC is out of our hands the owner can do anything they want with it (true) but to me that doesn’t make it ethical.
I have said in the past that baseball trading cards are meant to be traded and collected. They are sold in stores for goodness sake, and paid for with money. When you buy a pack of them, you don’t know what is in them. You may like and want a certain team’s cards, but what you get is a crapshoot. Trading is encouraged. Selling old cards is what some collectors do. The cards are made in a factory and are mass produced. While some are intentionally rarer due to lower production numbers, the whole thing is a commercial enterprise, therefore setting the stage that more commercial activity with selling them to collectors is not only ethical but encouraged.
To me artist trading cards are meant to be traded, not sold. ATCs are handmade, not bought with money, and they are traded out. They are usually traded out, in a group swap or a game type swap (‘winner takes all”) or in a privately arranged swap. Lucky people live in areas where face to face swaps are done, where they can hand pick the ATCs they want to swap for. I think that ATCs should not be sold because they were made with the intention of being traded only, that is the spirit of the process, of the game, in my opinion.
If you want to make one of your own little cards that are sized 2.5x3.5 inches and sell it, the proper name for it is an ACEO (art card editions and originals). So do that if you want, call it an ACEO and sell your stuff, make a profit, good for you, go for it.
After writing all of this out I think I really do need to stop thinking and talking about ATCs and just sit down and make some.
Technorati Tags: ATC, artist trading card, ACEO, ATC ethics, ATC swap.
I have been too busy with things in real life and/or too sick to do it. I did have three chances to make art this week but had creative block. I didn’t have enough time to haul out the paint or to make a big mess, so I just didn’t do much at all.
I flipped through a few magazines and took out some images that I may use in collage some day.
Last month while quite sick with Lyme Disease, I went gone ‘no mail’ on all the art email lists except for one. I am up to date with checking and reading those emails. I have been annoyed with some of the messages. So I am considering going no mail from that list as well. Perhaps I’ve been doing too much thinking about making art and talking about making art and taking in too many ideas. Perhaps I should just take that time and actually make the art and try the ideas.
Once I had a nice email reply from Teesha Moore, a response to an email that I wrote to her. In it she shared that she does not discuss art on the Internet as it got too negative. I was surprised. Another thing we were discussing was the critique of another person’s art work, how dangerous that is. She was encouraging me to do what I want; make the art I want for my own self and to not think about if anyone else will like it. If I have to stop the part of artist trading cards that is about the talking about them in order to continue the swapping part of artist trading cards then I may have to do that. I could also just stop making ATCs and just make other art as well, art that doesn’t involve swapping and dealing with other people (but then I’d miss out on some great/good conversations and also I’d not get to own some wonderful little pieces of other people’s artwork).
I only send out ATCs that I think are decent, that is, they follow rules, they are glued together well, they are cut in straight lines when the lines are supposed to be straight, they are the right size, etc.
I can’t control if anyone likes what I make or not. I am alright with the idea that someone may think what I do is weird or perhaps even ugly or stupid or whatever. My little ATCs are what they are, they are not masterpieces but they are little creations from my own mind and hands.
However I would never send out an ATC which I thought was garbage or that I just threw together for a trade in order for me to be collecting back something that was of higher quality. That is not my intent with being in an ATC swap, to produce garbage in order to quickly collect lots of other ATCs. I have a lot of supplies here, and using an assembly line style and some ideas that I see on other ATCs I could rip out a slew right now if I wanted to. But I am not, because my own ATCs are my own creations that may be inspired by someone else’s work but they are not a direct copy of it.
I don’t expect that I will always like the other ATCs that I receive in blind swaps or blind private trades. I know that when I participate in a swap, that I may be disappointed with what I get, I set myself up for that, and then if I am not disappointed it is like a surprise gift!
I don’t judge others if I don’t like their ATC style, color, theme, etc. I just don’t have to like them. It is alright not to like something.
It is also alright to own something and to like it for a while, but to not keep it until I die.
I am sick of the debate over what to do with ATCs that a person doesn’t want to keep. Some people throw the ones they don’t want in the trash. That is their prerogative. I don’t do that. I trade mine out again to someone else who does like them.
I am sick of the controversy about that: trading ATCs. I don’t know where some people get the idea that an artist TRADING card is not meant to be TRADED. Those that state that say that they view an ATC is a GIFT. I disagree as participation in an Internet based SWAP is BLIND and the maker usually doesn’t even know who ended up owning their ATC. So to say it is a gift is a stretch to me.
To those who make handmade greeting cards: do you think everyone keeps every card you gave to them? You may be disappointed to know that your work ended up in the trash bin, where most people put their greeting cards. One reason that I’ve not gotten into making intricate homemade greeting cards is that I know that most of my friends and relatives throw them in the trash two seconds after reading them. If they don’t value them, why should I put more money and effort into them? I know some of you are already answering that, you’ll say that your joy comes from the process of making it and that the greeting card served a purpose, to give you joy while you were creating it. Okay, that sounds good, I can agree with it. I have to pick and choose how I spend my spare time and so, that reason is not good enough for me, I still prefer to spend my time making ATCs that are traded and which part of the fun is in the swap part, the part where my mail comes and not everything in it is bills or junk mail—sometimes tucked in with the mail is a package with some fun ATCs in it to brighten my day and give me a fun surprise—what will the envelope have inside it today? That to me is a lot of fun and why I have not quit ATC trading (so far).
Back to ATCs as a gift…
Also who ever said that a gift must be kept? Do we all keep every gift we ever receive just because it is a gift? That is one source of developing a clutter problem, in my opinion. I am a Pack Rat by nature so believe me, I know clutter problems and they are problems that I want to avoid if possible.
I can’t relate to those who say they love every ATC they own even if they hate the way it looks or if it is poor quality (such as literally falling apart)? How can you love something that you have used such a strong word to describe: hate? Hate is a strong word!
I have received some ATCs that were morally offensive to me, and I have no qualms about not keeping them. It is interesting that some of the people who keep saying they love every ATC they get publicly announce their Christianity to all through their email signature lines and/or content on their website, however some of the ATCs I’ve seen contain very obvious sins including nudity or pictorial representations of s*xually sinful acts as defined by the Ten Commandments, and some have content that is morally oppositional to Christians. So I remain miffed—perhaps those Christians have not seen those types of ATCs? Some Christians say “no nudes on ATCs for me due to my religious beliefs”. Well it is okay for someone to say that for religious purposes but if a person doesn’t like a certain other kind of image on an ATC we are BAD people? Huh??
I assume that not everyone who owns one of my ATCs will love it. That is alright.
I don’t care what someone does with my ATCs after they own them. I’d hate for you to sell it for a profit though, if you could actually find someone willing to pay for it. I would be very, very happy if you swapped out/traded my ATC to someone else who would enjoy it. It would be good if someone ended up owning it, who liked it. I don’t like the idea of someone keeping my ATC just for keeping-it’s sake but every time they look at it to say “blech, that is ugly/weird/stupid”.
Because I have experience in a second generation swapping list, I can attest to how fun and great it is to participate in the art box swapping process. The art boxes that come to me have 90 ATCs in them. I get to admire in person, so many ATCs! I am inspired by many, even though I don’t end up keeping all 90 of them. So you see, those re-traded ATCs are inspiring more people than the one original owner! Swapping in that way with this group is not anything negative. We don’t sit and slam the people whose ATCs we put into the box. It is all quite anonymous in the end anyway; no one knows who put what in the art box. Note we call it an ‘art box’ which indicates appreciation for them; we don’t call it a ‘junk box’ or a ‘crappy ATC box’.
When ATC trading began, the trades were done face to face, and people would look at ATCs and PICK the ones they wanted. I cannot find any documentation that when this began, that the artists only traded out the ATCs that they created themselves. There is nothing in the rules to indicate that trading the trading cards is not ethical or ‘not nice’ let alone ‘against the rules’.
We have also had a discussion about the collecting of ATCs and selling them for profit on eBay. I feel that doing it is unethical. Some people feel that once the ATC is out of our hands the owner can do anything they want with it (true) but to me that doesn’t make it ethical.
I have said in the past that baseball trading cards are meant to be traded and collected. They are sold in stores for goodness sake, and paid for with money. When you buy a pack of them, you don’t know what is in them. You may like and want a certain team’s cards, but what you get is a crapshoot. Trading is encouraged. Selling old cards is what some collectors do. The cards are made in a factory and are mass produced. While some are intentionally rarer due to lower production numbers, the whole thing is a commercial enterprise, therefore setting the stage that more commercial activity with selling them to collectors is not only ethical but encouraged.
To me artist trading cards are meant to be traded, not sold. ATCs are handmade, not bought with money, and they are traded out. They are usually traded out, in a group swap or a game type swap (‘winner takes all”) or in a privately arranged swap. Lucky people live in areas where face to face swaps are done, where they can hand pick the ATCs they want to swap for. I think that ATCs should not be sold because they were made with the intention of being traded only, that is the spirit of the process, of the game, in my opinion.
If you want to make one of your own little cards that are sized 2.5x3.5 inches and sell it, the proper name for it is an ACEO (art card editions and originals). So do that if you want, call it an ACEO and sell your stuff, make a profit, good for you, go for it.
After writing all of this out I think I really do need to stop thinking and talking about ATCs and just sit down and make some.
Technorati Tags: ATC, artist trading card, ACEO, ATC ethics, ATC swap.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Negative Discussions on ATC Chat Lists
I don’t think that ten days can go by without a negative discussion going on at a certain ATC chat list that I am a member of.
In the past I have gotten quite upset over some of what I read.
Sometimes, yes, I agreed with what was said. Sometimes I have voiced complaints (in a polite manner). Most of the time I keep quiet. Lately I have tried to chime in with positive things to say. That doesn’t always work as someone picks up from there and it gets back to negative. The other thing I chime in about is saying, "well this list doesn't have a rule for that but if YOU want it then why don't YOU suggest it to the list owner". The idea for more rules makes some cry out in opposition. I am not saying that I want more rules. But sometimes if a person is complaining and the group does not have a rule for that issue and the complainer takes it to the list owner the decision might be "no, we don't want that rule". Then the person took it up with the person in charge and if they don't like the outcome they can choose to leave if they want. I can't stand so much complaining to the powerless list members. The list members can't do anything about most of it. The only things that can happen, that I guess some people want, is that the others will feel peer pressure and they will either conform or maybe they will quit. As to the complainers, they could quit as well and find a Group who has more rules and is less loose.
I was so upset last week about some things that were said that I decided to stop reading ATC chat list emails for a while (it lasted about two days, it was hard to stay away). I also made a pact with myself that if a negative discussion came up again I’d not enter the discussion.
So yesterday another negative discussion came up. I am keeping my mouth shut. I may even choose to not read any more replies in that thread.
I also am annoyed with some things about hosting a swap that ended earlier this month. As a result I decided to take a break from hosting swaps. I am going to switch gears again to just participate in swaps when I have the time.
Now that I am feeling better and since the new school year is approaching I will be busy homeschooling my children and am not sure how much time I will have for chatting about ATCs on email. I probably will concentrate more on the making of the art in every possible spare moment.
Through private emails I have been told of some not very nice things that go on in the ATC trading world which surprised me and disappointed me. I am still digesting that negativity.
Each time a negative tone conversation takes place on the chat list it seems to me that some members that were actively chatting quit the list.
The main things that have repeated hot discussions are these:
1. Swap participants not being on time with deadlines causing either the other participants to be mad that the swap is being held up and/or the hostess being annoyed.
2. Some people saying that ATC trading is for fun and should not involve deadlines and rules.
3. Opinion that ATCs received in a swap are of poor quality or are literally falling apart while that person feels they spent a lot of time and effort in making their own ATCs.
4. What to do with ATCs that someone doesn’t like—is it ethical to trade those with others?
I am so drained from such negative discussions that I am close to quitting that particular list. The thing that keeps me from not doing it is that there are some great artists on the list whose ATCs I receive during the swaps (some who never chat on the list) and that I have learned a lot from these artists and I continue to learn new things.
We’ll see what happens this time.
Just to clarify the issue is not rudeness toward other or profanity or things like that. The issue is that the politely expressed opinions are offensive to some. Then some people post that their feelings are hurt. Some newbie’s then post that they are then afraid to participate in swaps. That is the problem, the overall negative vibe that happens from such discussions.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, ATC swap.
In the past I have gotten quite upset over some of what I read.
Sometimes, yes, I agreed with what was said. Sometimes I have voiced complaints (in a polite manner). Most of the time I keep quiet. Lately I have tried to chime in with positive things to say. That doesn’t always work as someone picks up from there and it gets back to negative. The other thing I chime in about is saying, "well this list doesn't have a rule for that but if YOU want it then why don't YOU suggest it to the list owner". The idea for more rules makes some cry out in opposition. I am not saying that I want more rules. But sometimes if a person is complaining and the group does not have a rule for that issue and the complainer takes it to the list owner the decision might be "no, we don't want that rule". Then the person took it up with the person in charge and if they don't like the outcome they can choose to leave if they want. I can't stand so much complaining to the powerless list members. The list members can't do anything about most of it. The only things that can happen, that I guess some people want, is that the others will feel peer pressure and they will either conform or maybe they will quit. As to the complainers, they could quit as well and find a Group who has more rules and is less loose.
I was so upset last week about some things that were said that I decided to stop reading ATC chat list emails for a while (it lasted about two days, it was hard to stay away). I also made a pact with myself that if a negative discussion came up again I’d not enter the discussion.
So yesterday another negative discussion came up. I am keeping my mouth shut. I may even choose to not read any more replies in that thread.
I also am annoyed with some things about hosting a swap that ended earlier this month. As a result I decided to take a break from hosting swaps. I am going to switch gears again to just participate in swaps when I have the time.
Now that I am feeling better and since the new school year is approaching I will be busy homeschooling my children and am not sure how much time I will have for chatting about ATCs on email. I probably will concentrate more on the making of the art in every possible spare moment.
Through private emails I have been told of some not very nice things that go on in the ATC trading world which surprised me and disappointed me. I am still digesting that negativity.
Each time a negative tone conversation takes place on the chat list it seems to me that some members that were actively chatting quit the list.
The main things that have repeated hot discussions are these:
1. Swap participants not being on time with deadlines causing either the other participants to be mad that the swap is being held up and/or the hostess being annoyed.
2. Some people saying that ATC trading is for fun and should not involve deadlines and rules.
3. Opinion that ATCs received in a swap are of poor quality or are literally falling apart while that person feels they spent a lot of time and effort in making their own ATCs.
4. What to do with ATCs that someone doesn’t like—is it ethical to trade those with others?
I am so drained from such negative discussions that I am close to quitting that particular list. The thing that keeps me from not doing it is that there are some great artists on the list whose ATCs I receive during the swaps (some who never chat on the list) and that I have learned a lot from these artists and I continue to learn new things.
We’ll see what happens this time.
Just to clarify the issue is not rudeness toward other or profanity or things like that. The issue is that the politely expressed opinions are offensive to some. Then some people post that their feelings are hurt. Some newbie’s then post that they are then afraid to participate in swaps. That is the problem, the overall negative vibe that happens from such discussions.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, ATC swap.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Creative Block Last Night
Last night after dinner I declared to my family, that I wanted to have some alone time in the kitchen in order to make some ATCs, and no one protested, hooray!
I have signed up for two swaps that required signing up and being assigned a topic to feature on the ATC and I wanted to work on them.
One swap that I signed up for is a ‘distressed alphabet’ swap. I thought I had responded quickly after it was announced but I was the second to last person to sign up for letters, and ended up with Y and Z (the other set left had X in it). I have to make 14 ATCs for each letter. The ATC must represent the letter or an item that starts with the letter and the ATC must have some distressed elements in it. I am thinking of doing them all alike, which is allowed, as the idea of making 28 completely unique alphabet themed ATCs is mind-boggling. Each player in the swap will receive back a full alphabet deck of ATCs. One of our ATCs goes to the hostess for her to keep.
The other swap I signed up for ahead of time is a number swap. I have to make 10 ATCs which all feature the number 1 in some way, shape or manner.
I went through all of my rubber stamps and would you believe I don’t have any stamps for an object that begins with the letters Y or Z? I was also looking for an image that I could use for the number 1, such as one ball, or something like that. However the more I thought of numbers the more I got confused. If I used a flower image, would they get ‘1 flower’ or would they notice there were 6 petals? One person’s face could also mean “2 eyes” or other numerical things.
I began thinking of using some Dover copyright free images from books that I own of images of zebras for the Z ATCs. I could print them on my (black ink) laser computer printer and make transfers with them. I began thinking of background papers but since I didn’t haul everything out I wasn’t getting very far.
I also noted there were no Y images in the three Dover copyright free image books/CD ROM sets that I own. Groan.
So I went to bed without coming close to making any ATCs!
This morning I woke up with an idea for a background for the Z ATCs. Perhaps I’ll find the time today to make some ATCs. No, I will have to make the time in order for it to get done. Let’s hope I don’t let reading emails suck away all of my time this morning!
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, ATC swap.
I have signed up for two swaps that required signing up and being assigned a topic to feature on the ATC and I wanted to work on them.
One swap that I signed up for is a ‘distressed alphabet’ swap. I thought I had responded quickly after it was announced but I was the second to last person to sign up for letters, and ended up with Y and Z (the other set left had X in it). I have to make 14 ATCs for each letter. The ATC must represent the letter or an item that starts with the letter and the ATC must have some distressed elements in it. I am thinking of doing them all alike, which is allowed, as the idea of making 28 completely unique alphabet themed ATCs is mind-boggling. Each player in the swap will receive back a full alphabet deck of ATCs. One of our ATCs goes to the hostess for her to keep.
The other swap I signed up for ahead of time is a number swap. I have to make 10 ATCs which all feature the number 1 in some way, shape or manner.
I went through all of my rubber stamps and would you believe I don’t have any stamps for an object that begins with the letters Y or Z? I was also looking for an image that I could use for the number 1, such as one ball, or something like that. However the more I thought of numbers the more I got confused. If I used a flower image, would they get ‘1 flower’ or would they notice there were 6 petals? One person’s face could also mean “2 eyes” or other numerical things.
I began thinking of using some Dover copyright free images from books that I own of images of zebras for the Z ATCs. I could print them on my (black ink) laser computer printer and make transfers with them. I began thinking of background papers but since I didn’t haul everything out I wasn’t getting very far.
I also noted there were no Y images in the three Dover copyright free image books/CD ROM sets that I own. Groan.
So I went to bed without coming close to making any ATCs!
This morning I woke up with an idea for a background for the Z ATCs. Perhaps I’ll find the time today to make some ATCs. No, I will have to make the time in order for it to get done. Let’s hope I don’t let reading emails suck away all of my time this morning!
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, ATC swap.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Candy Collage Made on Memorial Day
We had a very busy Memorial Day which included watching a parade at which the float riders tossed candies to the children who were spectators.
When we got home I was happy to sit in a comfortable chair and to unwind by making this collage.
My sons were sitting at the table with me eating some of their candy. I was inspired by the bright colors to use some of the wrappers to make a collage with. The intention was to make a collage which would then be sliced into four ATCs.
Here is the finished collage before it was cut up.
When we got home I was happy to sit in a comfortable chair and to unwind by making this collage.
My sons were sitting at the table with me eating some of their candy. I was inspired by the bright colors to use some of the wrappers to make a collage with. The intention was to make a collage which would then be sliced into four ATCs.
Here is the finished collage before it was cut up.
The base was a recycled cardboard box of some kind. I then added a background of very colorful mylar which came as part of an Easter basket thing imported from Italy. It was this cool thing that apparently they do in Italy, a giant wrapping of colorful mylar with a hollow chocolate candy egg inside. You smash the egg and inside of that is a toy for the child! They were selling those eggs at a local Italian import grocery store. There were hundreds of them hanging from the ceiling. I was very tempted to take a photo but was too shy to actually do it. I vow to do it next year. Anyway my children were given these as gifts from their grandparents.
Added to the collage were various pieces of paper from our real lives. There is a label from a t-shirt we had just purchase "glow in the dark". There is part of a Girl Scout cookie box. There are a bunch of candy wrappers as I mentioned earlier.
You can see a tiny baseball card that appeared out of who knows where. I used cancelled postage stamps from my recent mail as well as one that came from the postage stamp collecting company.
I had recently experimented with embossing rubfer stamps for the first time and had some left overs from those experiments. One was made onto a tea bag wrapper. Others were made onto backgrounds from magazine ads and mail order company catalog pages.
I had just been working on some ATCs with a heart on top of a map background in which I put the words "Love makes the world go 'round." I had left over scraps from that and added them.
Unfortunately I am having problems uploading the individual scans of the ATCs, so I'll just publish this for now.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Technorati Updated Their Site
Today when I visited Technorati.com to ping my blog I noticed they have updated their site.
Technorati is a service in which a person can search for blog entries by topic of interest. The entries are given with the most recent post at the top (just like a blog’s format!). If you want to read about homeschooling you can type in the keyword “homeschooling” and you will see a list of blog entries on this topic. As a reader of blogs you can find new blogs that you may not have known about.
I see today that now each blog has a ‘cloud’ which shows a list of words which appeared in recent blog entries on that blog.
For we bloggers, we can now use the ‘ping’ (update) button right on the front page of Technorati (more convenient).
The style of the information is all moved around and I think it appears much more clean and easier to read.
For each blog you can view the inbound links that were made to that blog.
There is also a little graph of the number of posts that were done each day in the last month.
If you are a blogger and want to increase traffic to your site, you should consider signing up for a free account at Technorati. By using the tags at the end of your blog post, Technorati will point users to your blog entry with the keywords (tags) of your choice. One of the reasons that I like Technorati is that I can see what blogs or websites are linking to MY blog and also I can have a link on my blog to that same information for my readers to view if they so desire. I also use the Technorati blog search window on my blog and find that it works much better and more accurately than the Google search box worked (there was some problem with the Blogger configuration and Google Blog Search box that made it not work properly). As the author of my blog I do use my Technorati blog search window to find old posts that I had published by keyword (easier than searching manually!).
So check out Technorati if you haven’t done so already!
Technorati Tags: blogging, blog, Technorati.
Technorati is a service in which a person can search for blog entries by topic of interest. The entries are given with the most recent post at the top (just like a blog’s format!). If you want to read about homeschooling you can type in the keyword “homeschooling” and you will see a list of blog entries on this topic. As a reader of blogs you can find new blogs that you may not have known about.
I see today that now each blog has a ‘cloud’ which shows a list of words which appeared in recent blog entries on that blog.
For we bloggers, we can now use the ‘ping’ (update) button right on the front page of Technorati (more convenient).
The style of the information is all moved around and I think it appears much more clean and easier to read.
For each blog you can view the inbound links that were made to that blog.
There is also a little graph of the number of posts that were done each day in the last month.
If you are a blogger and want to increase traffic to your site, you should consider signing up for a free account at Technorati. By using the tags at the end of your blog post, Technorati will point users to your blog entry with the keywords (tags) of your choice. One of the reasons that I like Technorati is that I can see what blogs or websites are linking to MY blog and also I can have a link on my blog to that same information for my readers to view if they so desire. I also use the Technorati blog search window on my blog and find that it works much better and more accurately than the Google search box worked (there was some problem with the Blogger configuration and Google Blog Search box that made it not work properly). As the author of my blog I do use my Technorati blog search window to find old posts that I had published by keyword (easier than searching manually!).
So check out Technorati if you haven’t done so already!
Technorati Tags: blogging, blog, Technorati.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Duck Collage I Made On 7/21/06
Hooray!
I was able to upload an image to Blogger! I had to resize it to 50 dpi in Photoshop before the system would let me upload.
So here is a collage that I made late yesterday afternoon. I was resting and had a terrible headache but managed to make this.
The intention (in a few minutes) is for me to slice this into six artist trading cards (ATCs).
I will explain how I made this. I will upload images of the individual ATCs at a later time.
The base is a recycled food product box. I covered the cardboard with two pages ripped out of a children’s science book about birds. The book was purchased for 25 cents from a tag sale. It reeks of mildew and I cannot bear to read it as a book. The illustrations are gorgeous so I am using them to make artwork. After I seal this no one will be affected by the mildew odor. (Actually now that it is ripped out of the book it doesn’t smell too badly.)
I used some illustrations from a Golden brand insect field guide. That was falling apart and I picked it up at a library sale for 50 cents. I figured that is less than buying scrapbook papers in a craft shop. Images of the rose, the insects and the small maps of the United States of America are from that book.
The other two map images are from two different small world atlases that I own. One was a gift from some company as a promotional item and the other was an old falling apart book that I bought for 10 cents at a local used book shop.
I used scraps of paint chips. Most of those paint chips were used to make other ATCs earlier this year.
I used a postage stamp that came off of some junk mail that I received. I used a cancelled stamp with a tiger on it which was from the sample packet that a postage stamp collecting company sent me.
The music score was from $5 per bag day at a library fundraiser book sale, it was old sheet music that was falling apart.
I took a color illustration of a famous painting from a book of Impressionists paintings and cut it up to add some little colorful graphics to the collage, when I was near the end.
Also appearing is a listing of the index from the bird book, a list of natural resources from one of the atlases, part of an ad from a 1960s magazine. The phrase about dealing with feelings is from a book I got at a library book sale which is called something like “How to please your husband”. The scraps of Asian paper were given to me by another ATC trader.
So that is that. I hope you enjoy it.
I wonder what it will look like after I cut it into six ATCs?
Technorati Tags: collage, artist trading cards, ATCs.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
About PaperBackSwap.com
Yesterday I was told by a fellow homeschooler who I know through the cyber artist trading card world about PaperBackSwap.com. This is a free service/internet site. The other mother said she uses it to get books for her children and also to get art books for inspiration in making art.
In a nutshell, here is how it works.
1. You go to their site. If you link through my blog’s icon in the left sidebar, you will go to the site. Sign up for a free account. You do not need to give a lot of personal information (no financial information, for example), and you don’t pay anything.
2. You then list at least 9 books that you are willing to give away. After you post 9 books for swap, you are given 3 credits. You can then search for books that you want and request that they be mailed to you.
3. Hopefully, someone sees your book listed and requests it.
4. The site notifies you of the request. The site prepares a mailing label to you, which you print off. They suggest that you wrap the book in the computer printer paper (!). They even tell you what the postage fee is that you must pay for the media mail rate. If you have the stamps on hand at home you just add them to the package and put it in your mailbox for your mail carrier to pick up.
You do not need to swap with the person that wanted YOUR book (just in case you were wondering).
Each book is worth 1 credit. Each audio book is worth 2 credits.
So the gist is you list a bunch of books and when they are mailed out and received by the other party, you get 1 credit to use in the future, for each that you swap out.
I listed over 70 books today and already 9 have been requested and mailed out by me.
Tips I’ve already learned (after one day of swapping books!)1. To get first dibs on a book you can create a wish list of books which are ‘unlisted’. Then if that book gets listed you will be on the list of those who are notified and given first dibs on the book.
Therefore it pays to keep a few credits sitting and ready for if/when a book that you want suddenly appears.
I have 2 other people who have 2 books that I listed today in their wish list. They have 48 hours to say they want it or else it goes to someone else (or onto the general listing, I guess).
2. Uploading books to list them is very fast and easy if you have an ISBN. It takes more time to list an older book that doesn’t have an ISBN.
3. There is an option to put in a book review. Perhaps if you do this, someone will be motivated to request the book?
4. There is an option to rate the book with a star rating system.
5. For each person that you refer that either follows your link or who mentions you by name in their sign up process, you get 1 credit. If you are going to join based on you reading my blog entry I would ask that you give me the credit for the referral. You can do that by following the link in my sidebar or by manually inputting my Nickname which is “ChristineMM” (the same name I use here on Blogger, so it is not too hard to remember).
Fun Tips1. Book lists: You can read the top most requested books. You can read the top wish list requested books. You can quickly see the bestseller list (New York Times).
2. There is a discussion forum. That forum has a category for homeschoolers. I see that people are putting up announcements when they list books for homeschooling while others are posting ‘wanted’ lists.
3. You can flag other users at your ‘buddy’. This can help you keep track of other book lovers who have similar tastes in books.
This is fun! Check it out!
(By the way so far I have not wrapped my books in 20 lb. printer paper. I am using bubble wrap envelopes, so far, and am double checking the weight. I can’t stand the ida of books going through the mail with just 20 lb. printer paper protecting them, sorry!)
For the Doubting Thomases (such as my husband is about this):
1. If you were planning on buying a book new, even at a discount, you would save money if you were able to get it from PaperBackSwap.com.
2. Yes, you may be out some money up front, but in the end it will save you money.
3. This is easier than going around to used book shops and trying to find ones who want your used books who then just give you store credit in the end anyway.
4. This is convenient. Just keep some stamps on hand!
5. This is more convenient than listing books for sale on eBay, Amazon Marketplace, or on other websites, in my opinion.
Technorati Tags: books, used books, PaperBackSwap.com, frugal living.
In a nutshell, here is how it works.
1. You go to their site. If you link through my blog’s icon in the left sidebar, you will go to the site. Sign up for a free account. You do not need to give a lot of personal information (no financial information, for example), and you don’t pay anything.
2. You then list at least 9 books that you are willing to give away. After you post 9 books for swap, you are given 3 credits. You can then search for books that you want and request that they be mailed to you.
3. Hopefully, someone sees your book listed and requests it.
4. The site notifies you of the request. The site prepares a mailing label to you, which you print off. They suggest that you wrap the book in the computer printer paper (!). They even tell you what the postage fee is that you must pay for the media mail rate. If you have the stamps on hand at home you just add them to the package and put it in your mailbox for your mail carrier to pick up.
You do not need to swap with the person that wanted YOUR book (just in case you were wondering).
Each book is worth 1 credit. Each audio book is worth 2 credits.
So the gist is you list a bunch of books and when they are mailed out and received by the other party, you get 1 credit to use in the future, for each that you swap out.
I listed over 70 books today and already 9 have been requested and mailed out by me.
Tips I’ve already learned (after one day of swapping books!)1. To get first dibs on a book you can create a wish list of books which are ‘unlisted’. Then if that book gets listed you will be on the list of those who are notified and given first dibs on the book.
Therefore it pays to keep a few credits sitting and ready for if/when a book that you want suddenly appears.
I have 2 other people who have 2 books that I listed today in their wish list. They have 48 hours to say they want it or else it goes to someone else (or onto the general listing, I guess).
2. Uploading books to list them is very fast and easy if you have an ISBN. It takes more time to list an older book that doesn’t have an ISBN.
3. There is an option to put in a book review. Perhaps if you do this, someone will be motivated to request the book?
4. There is an option to rate the book with a star rating system.
5. For each person that you refer that either follows your link or who mentions you by name in their sign up process, you get 1 credit. If you are going to join based on you reading my blog entry I would ask that you give me the credit for the referral. You can do that by following the link in my sidebar or by manually inputting my Nickname which is “ChristineMM” (the same name I use here on Blogger, so it is not too hard to remember).
Fun Tips1. Book lists: You can read the top most requested books. You can read the top wish list requested books. You can quickly see the bestseller list (New York Times).
2. There is a discussion forum. That forum has a category for homeschoolers. I see that people are putting up announcements when they list books for homeschooling while others are posting ‘wanted’ lists.
3. You can flag other users at your ‘buddy’. This can help you keep track of other book lovers who have similar tastes in books.
This is fun! Check it out!
(By the way so far I have not wrapped my books in 20 lb. printer paper. I am using bubble wrap envelopes, so far, and am double checking the weight. I can’t stand the ida of books going through the mail with just 20 lb. printer paper protecting them, sorry!)
For the Doubting Thomases (such as my husband is about this):
1. If you were planning on buying a book new, even at a discount, you would save money if you were able to get it from PaperBackSwap.com.
2. Yes, you may be out some money up front, but in the end it will save you money.
3. This is easier than going around to used book shops and trying to find ones who want your used books who then just give you store credit in the end anyway.
4. This is convenient. Just keep some stamps on hand!
5. This is more convenient than listing books for sale on eBay, Amazon Marketplace, or on other websites, in my opinion.
Technorati Tags: books, used books, PaperBackSwap.com, frugal living.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Uploading Images to Blogger Issue
I have had problems with uploading images to Blogger. In the past they would accept documents sized at 75 dpi or smaller. My scanner's smallest setting is 75 dpi.
I went on the Blogger Help function and now see that they want the image size to be 50 dpi or smaller.
I will have to teach myself how to make the image size smaller in Photoshop, I guess.
I assume this is why I have not been able to upload images to Blogger.
I am way behind in posting my ATCs to this blog due to this Blogger photo uploading issue. Sorry!
I went on the Blogger Help function and now see that they want the image size to be 50 dpi or smaller.
I will have to teach myself how to make the image size smaller in Photoshop, I guess.
I assume this is why I have not been able to upload images to Blogger.
I am way behind in posting my ATCs to this blog due to this Blogger photo uploading issue. Sorry!
Been Swapping ATCs
I had a ream of ATCs that I made in late June and early July.
I have joined two ATC swaps and sent out those to the hostesses.
I have arranged to swap 8 ATCs privately.
I have been joining "winner takes all" contests on ATC chat groups. I won one in May and so was the recipient of 13 or 14 ATCs. However since last August when I got into ATCs, I have joined these contests and lost. So I've been sending out the prizes to the winners.
Last week I received another Art Box and took out 25 ATCs and swapped in 18 of my own and 7 second generation ATCs.
I did a lot of experimenting with different methods of transfers. I have a lot of transfers ready to be made into ATCs when I have time.
I've been doing a lot of traveling to visit relatives out of state. Since I have been a passenger in the car (not the driver) I have had lots of reading time.
I am reading books about Joseph Cornell and Kurt Schwitters.
I also received the lastest issue of the zine Art and Life and read that.
I have been buying Somerset Studios and Rubber Stamp Madness magazine with the 40 or 50% off coupon from AC Moore and Michael's Craft shop and have been reading those.
The thing I am behind in is uploading scans of my ATCs anywhere!
I have joined two ATC swaps and sent out those to the hostesses.
I have arranged to swap 8 ATCs privately.
I have been joining "winner takes all" contests on ATC chat groups. I won one in May and so was the recipient of 13 or 14 ATCs. However since last August when I got into ATCs, I have joined these contests and lost. So I've been sending out the prizes to the winners.
Last week I received another Art Box and took out 25 ATCs and swapped in 18 of my own and 7 second generation ATCs.
I did a lot of experimenting with different methods of transfers. I have a lot of transfers ready to be made into ATCs when I have time.
I've been doing a lot of traveling to visit relatives out of state. Since I have been a passenger in the car (not the driver) I have had lots of reading time.
I am reading books about Joseph Cornell and Kurt Schwitters.
I also received the lastest issue of the zine Art and Life and read that.
I have been buying Somerset Studios and Rubber Stamp Madness magazine with the 40 or 50% off coupon from AC Moore and Michael's Craft shop and have been reading those.
The thing I am behind in is uploading scans of my ATCs anywhere!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
I Love Kurt Schwitters' Artwork
To de-stress I have been immersing myself in stress relieving pursuits. I have been reading more and making more artist trading cards lately.
I have decided that my favorite artist is Kurt Schwitters. Formerly it was Claude Monet. So I have shifted gears dramatically.
A few weeks ago my family and I went to a big nearby library. I borrowed a bunch of books about Kurt Schwitters and on the Dada movement in general.
I have been not just looking at the reproductions of his artwork but have been reading about Kurt Schwitters. I hope to share some quotes with you in the future.
Perhaps what I love was that Schwitters began taking trash and discards from a sign printing company and using them to make collage art. The initial inspiration was to reject normal/typical art by creating something that was not a realistic image of some thing. The goal was to take something as lowly as garbage, tickets, scraps of paper, random ephemera, and to use it in a way that was pleasing to the eye and therefore was a work of art.
I enjoy doing this as well so to read now about Schwitters and the Dada movement, which I had never heard of until recently, is surprising and interesting to me.
If you want to see some of his art try a Google Image search by his name. You can also check your local library for books about Kurt Schwitters. I must have about 40 pounds of coffee table books here just on his artwork, borrowed from the library!
(I have been working to try and upload photos to this blog entry but it is not working. I have had a problem for about two weeks now and have not been able to upload images to Blogger, which is very frustrating.)
I’d love to buy some of the new books about Schwitters but one series has a price tag of $200 for each book in the series which is way, way out of my budget, to the library book borrowing will have to suffice for now.
Kurt Schwitters is considered to be a surrealist artist, an abstract artist, and part of the Dada movement also referred to as “Dadaism”. Most of his artwork was collage or assemblage, and he named his own style of artwork “merz’. If you want more information you can search on any of those keywords (or use them to search for books at your library).
There are some current ATC swaps for ‘my favorite artist’ and some for ‘abstract art’ and one for ‘security envelope’ art so I hope to make ATCs in the style of Kurt Schwittters which will then fit all three of those categories, and I will join those swaps!
Anyway to curl up with a book about art history or Kurt Schwitters is a perfect thing for me to do right before going to bed, to distress and unwind.
Technorati Tags: Kurt Schwitters, collage, assemblage, Dada, Dadaism.
I have decided that my favorite artist is Kurt Schwitters. Formerly it was Claude Monet. So I have shifted gears dramatically.
A few weeks ago my family and I went to a big nearby library. I borrowed a bunch of books about Kurt Schwitters and on the Dada movement in general.
I have been not just looking at the reproductions of his artwork but have been reading about Kurt Schwitters. I hope to share some quotes with you in the future.
Perhaps what I love was that Schwitters began taking trash and discards from a sign printing company and using them to make collage art. The initial inspiration was to reject normal/typical art by creating something that was not a realistic image of some thing. The goal was to take something as lowly as garbage, tickets, scraps of paper, random ephemera, and to use it in a way that was pleasing to the eye and therefore was a work of art.
I enjoy doing this as well so to read now about Schwitters and the Dada movement, which I had never heard of until recently, is surprising and interesting to me.
If you want to see some of his art try a Google Image search by his name. You can also check your local library for books about Kurt Schwitters. I must have about 40 pounds of coffee table books here just on his artwork, borrowed from the library!
(I have been working to try and upload photos to this blog entry but it is not working. I have had a problem for about two weeks now and have not been able to upload images to Blogger, which is very frustrating.)
I’d love to buy some of the new books about Schwitters but one series has a price tag of $200 for each book in the series which is way, way out of my budget, to the library book borrowing will have to suffice for now.
Kurt Schwitters is considered to be a surrealist artist, an abstract artist, and part of the Dada movement also referred to as “Dadaism”. Most of his artwork was collage or assemblage, and he named his own style of artwork “merz’. If you want more information you can search on any of those keywords (or use them to search for books at your library).
There are some current ATC swaps for ‘my favorite artist’ and some for ‘abstract art’ and one for ‘security envelope’ art so I hope to make ATCs in the style of Kurt Schwittters which will then fit all three of those categories, and I will join those swaps!
Anyway to curl up with a book about art history or Kurt Schwitters is a perfect thing for me to do right before going to bed, to distress and unwind.
Technorati Tags: Kurt Schwitters, collage, assemblage, Dada, Dadaism.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Making Lots of ATCs
I have been making time each day to work on ATCs.
I have carved time out in many different ways. Sometimes I do a little after dinner and before doing our family bedtime routine. One night I stayed up after my kids went to bed, until about 11:30pm. Three times last week I was awakened in the middle of the night by my sick son and was unable to get back to sleep, so I made ATCs while the rest of the neighborhood was sound asleep.
Last night I put the finishing touches and top coat seal on 24 ATCs. When they are a little drier I will scan them.
I continue to not be able to upload scans to this blog. I don’t know what is going on.
I opened a free Flickr account to show my ATCs to the web community. However I am now having problems with arranging the sets to differentiate between what is available for trade and what is already traded out. Grrr. I also opened a free Yahoo photo album but am having problems figuring out how to tell others what the URL is.
An art box will be coming my way within the next week. I am going to save my own extra ATCs to possibly swap into that art box. After that I will initiate some private trades. I have also been working on some ATC swaps. Some of them proved challenging so I gave up on them. Since I make the ATCs before contacting the hostess, they have no idea that I have given up on it and so I don’t have to tell them I am backing out.
I am having a lot of fun making the ATCs.
I have been experimenting more with transfers.
I am also puling out my old favorite music from the 80s and early 90s from my pre-children era. It is interesting to listen to it, see what I no longer can stand, which is too angry or too whiney, etc.
I have carved time out in many different ways. Sometimes I do a little after dinner and before doing our family bedtime routine. One night I stayed up after my kids went to bed, until about 11:30pm. Three times last week I was awakened in the middle of the night by my sick son and was unable to get back to sleep, so I made ATCs while the rest of the neighborhood was sound asleep.
Last night I put the finishing touches and top coat seal on 24 ATCs. When they are a little drier I will scan them.
I continue to not be able to upload scans to this blog. I don’t know what is going on.
I opened a free Flickr account to show my ATCs to the web community. However I am now having problems with arranging the sets to differentiate between what is available for trade and what is already traded out. Grrr. I also opened a free Yahoo photo album but am having problems figuring out how to tell others what the URL is.
An art box will be coming my way within the next week. I am going to save my own extra ATCs to possibly swap into that art box. After that I will initiate some private trades. I have also been working on some ATC swaps. Some of them proved challenging so I gave up on them. Since I make the ATCs before contacting the hostess, they have no idea that I have given up on it and so I don’t have to tell them I am backing out.
I am having a lot of fun making the ATCs.
I have been experimenting more with transfers.
I am also puling out my old favorite music from the 80s and early 90s from my pre-children era. It is interesting to listen to it, see what I no longer can stand, which is too angry or too whiney, etc.
Above the Mark: Supply Company and Artwork to View
I love the art stamps sold by Above the Mark. I wish I could buy a ton of them. Here is their website’s online catalog.
There is a specials page.
There is an inspirational gallery of artwork made by artists using Above the Mark products. Check it out here.
Technorati Tags: rubber stamps, art stamps, art supply company, Above The Mark.
There is a specials page.
There is an inspirational gallery of artwork made by artists using Above the Mark products. Check it out here.
Technorati Tags: rubber stamps, art stamps, art supply company, Above The Mark.
Monday, July 03, 2006
1001 Journals Website
Thanks to a fellow ATC maker named Lauri Jean Crowe, I found out about this new website called 1001Journals.com through her email chat list posting.
It appears to me that the site was going through Beta testing and now is up and open to the public. I see that many journals are being started as of July 1, 2006.
The site allows for journal keepers to scan and share their private journals. There are also traveling journals. A person can start a journal circulating and when it is done it goes back to the creator to keep. A person can participate in a journal, by receiving it in the mail, adding to it, then mailing it away. Scans of the traveling journals can be placed on the site.
There is a lot of eye candy. My one complaint is that the size of the scans is not large enough for me to see all the details.
If you are interested in journaling or artist journals or drawing or mixed media collage, check out the site.
Right now I am considering starting a journal. While at a library sale this past weekend I picked up two blank books for a very low price which can be use for journals for my own use or to make a traveling journal out of.
Technorati Tags: journal, artist journal, drawing, collage, 1001Journals.com.
It appears to me that the site was going through Beta testing and now is up and open to the public. I see that many journals are being started as of July 1, 2006.
The site allows for journal keepers to scan and share their private journals. There are also traveling journals. A person can start a journal circulating and when it is done it goes back to the creator to keep. A person can participate in a journal, by receiving it in the mail, adding to it, then mailing it away. Scans of the traveling journals can be placed on the site.
There is a lot of eye candy. My one complaint is that the size of the scans is not large enough for me to see all the details.
If you are interested in journaling or artist journals or drawing or mixed media collage, check out the site.
Right now I am considering starting a journal. While at a library sale this past weekend I picked up two blank books for a very low price which can be use for journals for my own use or to make a traveling journal out of.
Technorati Tags: journal, artist journal, drawing, collage, 1001Journals.com.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Made Some Altered Dominoes
A few months ago I saw some dominoes altered. I swear it was on the Carol Duvall show with Tim Holz but I am not able to find the directions on the HGTV website. Did I dream it? I recall that he used either alcohol inks or water based markers to color the dominoes, then rubber stamped upon them, then hinged two together to make a mini-journal. Cardstock was used to make pages for the interior of the tiny journal and to finish it off it was hung from a cord to be worn as a necklace--a mini journal necklace.
Anyway with that in mind one day I was in a dollar store and saw a set of dominoes in the toy section. I bought one set. On another day I saw another set of 30 in a dollar store, these were smaller sized, so I bought that. I put them away for another day.
Yesterday I was reading on the Cherry Pie art stamp chat list about altering dominoes. Someone shared directions to use pigment based ink. The directions were this:
1. Rough up the domino with sandpaper on all surfaces.
2. Color the background with pigment dye ink.
3. Heat set the background with a heat gun.
4. Add rubber stamped images with pigment dye ink.
5. Heat set that.
6. Color the sides with metallic marker.
If you wanted a hole drilled through the domino so it could be worn as a necklace or attached to something with a string or thread or cord then the first step would have been to drill a hole through the domino. I skipped that step as my husband was not available to do that drilling for me.
Caution: the heat gun and the drill will heat up the plastic domino.
Today my son is still sick and woke me at 4:00 a.m. I was unable to get back to sleep so I got up and decided to tackle altering dominoes.
I followed the above directions but I used Color Box Chalk Ink instead of pigment dye ink. Instead of step #6 I used the chalk ink on the sides, the same color as the background. I am now considering either using the ink that the top design color was on the sides instead. I could still color the sides with a marker but for these designs I am not sure a gold metallic finish would look best on it. I was also thinking of going back and applying rubber stamped images to the sides, either tiny text or basic geometric shapes or something.
I am not sure if I will make these into pins or not. I could also drill them now and see how that goes.
I made 21 in all today. Here is a scan of my first attempts. All the rubber stamps were Zettiology brand. Most of these are small portions of the rubber stamp, because these dominoes are so small and I don't own many stamps that are that tiny.
As of right now these do not have a sealer or a top coat finish on them of any kind. If I do seal them I will use Golden Acrylic Gel Medium in soft gloss. I would seal them to act as a protective layer against scratching.
This was a fast and easy project. The hardest part or longest part of the process was looking through my stamp collection and deciding which stamps and which tiny portions of the stamps that I would use on it, and deciding on which colors to use.
If you do this project I recommend that you sand a bunch of dominoes and have them ready. Then ink your backgrounds in a large batch, then use the heat gun on the large batch. Then apply the images, then heat set those. If you were to do one domino with all steps from start to finish, then start domino #2 the process would take forever!
I stamped my dominoes on scrap newspaper. I left them there to dry while I worked on the others. Then I heat set them right on the same paper, not even touching them as I didn't want to smudge the ink or burn my fingers on the hot dominoes. I then left them to cool right there in the same spot.
TIP: Make sure your fingers are clean. I messed up two by getting one color of ink from my fingers onto a new domino.
Other idea: Due to one ink pad being dirty with another color, two colors went onto the background of the domino. I chose to use both colors in the background. It ended up looking interesting.
TIP: If you smudge your rubber stamped image, immediately rub it off. It will leave a shadow image. Re-ink and re-stamp with the same color ink and same stamp or choose a new color and/or a new stamp. I tried this with one of them to cover up a mistake and it actually was an interesting result. Lesson: turn mistakes into something else, don't trash them.
NOTE: I have tried for two days to upload a photo to Blogger and their photo upload function is not working, still. I see it is on Blogger's list of known problems, and that they are working on it. I decided to share this entry now and I will have to post the photo at some later time. Sorry!
Anyway with that in mind one day I was in a dollar store and saw a set of dominoes in the toy section. I bought one set. On another day I saw another set of 30 in a dollar store, these were smaller sized, so I bought that. I put them away for another day.
Yesterday I was reading on the Cherry Pie art stamp chat list about altering dominoes. Someone shared directions to use pigment based ink. The directions were this:
1. Rough up the domino with sandpaper on all surfaces.
2. Color the background with pigment dye ink.
3. Heat set the background with a heat gun.
4. Add rubber stamped images with pigment dye ink.
5. Heat set that.
6. Color the sides with metallic marker.
If you wanted a hole drilled through the domino so it could be worn as a necklace or attached to something with a string or thread or cord then the first step would have been to drill a hole through the domino. I skipped that step as my husband was not available to do that drilling for me.
Caution: the heat gun and the drill will heat up the plastic domino.
Today my son is still sick and woke me at 4:00 a.m. I was unable to get back to sleep so I got up and decided to tackle altering dominoes.
I followed the above directions but I used Color Box Chalk Ink instead of pigment dye ink. Instead of step #6 I used the chalk ink on the sides, the same color as the background. I am now considering either using the ink that the top design color was on the sides instead. I could still color the sides with a marker but for these designs I am not sure a gold metallic finish would look best on it. I was also thinking of going back and applying rubber stamped images to the sides, either tiny text or basic geometric shapes or something.
I am not sure if I will make these into pins or not. I could also drill them now and see how that goes.
I made 21 in all today. Here is a scan of my first attempts. All the rubber stamps were Zettiology brand. Most of these are small portions of the rubber stamp, because these dominoes are so small and I don't own many stamps that are that tiny.
As of right now these do not have a sealer or a top coat finish on them of any kind. If I do seal them I will use Golden Acrylic Gel Medium in soft gloss. I would seal them to act as a protective layer against scratching.
This was a fast and easy project. The hardest part or longest part of the process was looking through my stamp collection and deciding which stamps and which tiny portions of the stamps that I would use on it, and deciding on which colors to use.
If you do this project I recommend that you sand a bunch of dominoes and have them ready. Then ink your backgrounds in a large batch, then use the heat gun on the large batch. Then apply the images, then heat set those. If you were to do one domino with all steps from start to finish, then start domino #2 the process would take forever!
I stamped my dominoes on scrap newspaper. I left them there to dry while I worked on the others. Then I heat set them right on the same paper, not even touching them as I didn't want to smudge the ink or burn my fingers on the hot dominoes. I then left them to cool right there in the same spot.
TIP: Make sure your fingers are clean. I messed up two by getting one color of ink from my fingers onto a new domino.
Other idea: Due to one ink pad being dirty with another color, two colors went onto the background of the domino. I chose to use both colors in the background. It ended up looking interesting.
TIP: If you smudge your rubber stamped image, immediately rub it off. It will leave a shadow image. Re-ink and re-stamp with the same color ink and same stamp or choose a new color and/or a new stamp. I tried this with one of them to cover up a mistake and it actually was an interesting result. Lesson: turn mistakes into something else, don't trash them.
NOTE: I have tried for two days to upload a photo to Blogger and their photo upload function is not working, still. I see it is on Blogger's list of known problems, and that they are working on it. I decided to share this entry now and I will have to post the photo at some later time. Sorry!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Feeling Inspired by Sabrina Ward Harrison’s Work
Today we were in the car for a long time and I was a passenger. That meant I had time to read books with leisure and not feel any pressure that instead of reading I should be doing something else (which is what I feel lately when I am home and I try to read a book or even a magazine).
Today I chose to finish reading “Brave on the Rocks” by Sabrina Ward Harrison.
I was about 1/3 through the book when I picked it up today and I finished it. This is an artist’s journal in which the author/artist shares some very intimate thoughts (during the year that she was 23-24 years old). Part of the journal is based on a trip to Italy so it is also in part, a travel journal.
I can’t describe her style, it just must be seen. Go to her website at http://www.sabrinawardharrison.com/about/.
Here is an area of the site showing works from “Brave on the Rocks”.
You may also look through the Portfolio section of her site. Note that you can click on the icons for photography, on paper, on wood, and special projects.
I won’t do a full book review right now but I will share some things I am inspired to try based on what she did in “Brave on the Rocks”.
I am considering moving away from doing all my collage work on ATCs and instead to try to do more journaling ‘to keep’. I do love the sharing of the ATCs, though. I like making my ‘art’ then giving it away and swapping it for some other ATCs that I like and am inspired by. I feel selfish to just do journals that I will keep. I feel that I’ve already ‘spilled open’ enough in my life that I don’t need the journal to get myself free of penned up emotion. I feel like my heart is already being worn on my sleeve.
I will wrap up by saying that I have not read any of Sabrina Harrison Ward’s other books (but I am dying to). You can see a listing of her books on her site, here, and if you click on the book you can choose to see a bunch of scans of the pages from that book.
I had a hard time finding a copy of “Brave on the Rocks” and I wonder if it is out of print. I had to resort from buying a used copy from an Amazon Marketplace seller and paid near full retail for it (but that is okay because the condition is excellent so it is worth it). It normally kills me to buy a used book at a price which is near the full retail back when the book was new.
On the way home today I stopped at a Borders bookstore outlet store and wondered if I’d find any artist journal books like these there. I looked in the art section and found none. When I was back in the car I realized that this book is categorized by the publisher as a self help book (!). So apparently I was not looking in the right section of the store. I guess the next time I am in a used book store or a book discount store I am going to have to check those sections. I usually avoid them as I feel pretty well and not in need of ‘self-help’ at the moment!
Technorati Tags: Sabrina Ward Harrison, artist journal, journaling.
Today I chose to finish reading “Brave on the Rocks” by Sabrina Ward Harrison.
I was about 1/3 through the book when I picked it up today and I finished it. This is an artist’s journal in which the author/artist shares some very intimate thoughts (during the year that she was 23-24 years old). Part of the journal is based on a trip to Italy so it is also in part, a travel journal.
I can’t describe her style, it just must be seen. Go to her website at http://www.sabrinawardharrison.com/about/.
Here is an area of the site showing works from “Brave on the Rocks”.
You may also look through the Portfolio section of her site. Note that you can click on the icons for photography, on paper, on wood, and special projects.
I won’t do a full book review right now but I will share some things I am inspired to try based on what she did in “Brave on the Rocks”.
Write in water soluble crayon then put a little water on it and let the colors blend.
Add bits of dried plants to the pages with tape.
Tape photographs to the page, with messy shreds of masking tape (not hidden super clean scrapbooking type tape).
Repeat a favorite hand drawn object/item or a doodle that you like to do. Repeat it many times on a page. Make one large. Repeat the image throughout the journal in various sizes.
Take small torn off portions of maps or tickets and add them to the journal. You don’t have to use large pieces of things, just little snippets.
Use a sticker book and use the stickers randomly throughout a journal. It seems to me that she used a Dover sticker book of Victorian woman images. On one page there was a cutesy Bugs Bunny.
Combine elements and don’t worry about them matching, fancy writing font, stickers, maps, photos, etc.
Alternate between large images on a page with little writing with pages with lots of writing and small sized added elements (photos, etc.).
Use itemized bills and receipts on a page.
Make lists of what you see or hear or what you did that day or still need to do. Make wish lists of your dreams and short goal lists for your life.
Try keeping the words minimal but do use words that express the emotion you are feeling.
Try using a page with lots of color. Take an image that you are drawn to and make the centerpiece of the page. Leave it ‘empty’ like that or write on the background colored page. For example, one thing she did in the book was to use the clothing of paper dolls, floating on a page, when the writing on the page had nothing to do with that image.
Use fabric! Glue fabric to the page, fabric that you like or are drawn to.
So there are some things that I feel inspired to try.
I am considering moving away from doing all my collage work on ATCs and instead to try to do more journaling ‘to keep’. I do love the sharing of the ATCs, though. I like making my ‘art’ then giving it away and swapping it for some other ATCs that I like and am inspired by. I feel selfish to just do journals that I will keep. I feel that I’ve already ‘spilled open’ enough in my life that I don’t need the journal to get myself free of penned up emotion. I feel like my heart is already being worn on my sleeve.
I will wrap up by saying that I have not read any of Sabrina Harrison Ward’s other books (but I am dying to). You can see a listing of her books on her site, here, and if you click on the book you can choose to see a bunch of scans of the pages from that book.
I had a hard time finding a copy of “Brave on the Rocks” and I wonder if it is out of print. I had to resort from buying a used copy from an Amazon Marketplace seller and paid near full retail for it (but that is okay because the condition is excellent so it is worth it). It normally kills me to buy a used book at a price which is near the full retail back when the book was new.
On the way home today I stopped at a Borders bookstore outlet store and wondered if I’d find any artist journal books like these there. I looked in the art section and found none. When I was back in the car I realized that this book is categorized by the publisher as a self help book (!). So apparently I was not looking in the right section of the store. I guess the next time I am in a used book store or a book discount store I am going to have to check those sections. I usually avoid them as I feel pretty well and not in need of ‘self-help’ at the moment!
Technorati Tags: Sabrina Ward Harrison, artist journal, journaling.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
ATC Art Box Arrived and Sent Out
I was thrilled to receive another Art Box on Saturday. The art box is part of an Internet based ATC trading group whose original focus was to swap out ATCs that other people made that we owned but didn’t necessarily want to keep (which the list owner calls “second generation” swapping. However the group also allows swapping of our own ATCs. In fact there are some members on the group whose art I love and which I am now collecting. I look forward to receiving the Art Boxes so I can see if some of my favorite trader’s art is in it!
The group originally only worked through private trades. It was kind of cumbersome as sometimes someone would want one of mine but I didn’t like what they had to offer, for example. Then the group morphed to do more private trading of our own ATCs because to increase our pool of tradable ATCs we’d add our own ATCs to our list of trade offers. Then the list owner had a great idea to send out these ‘art boxes’. At first there were 45 in each but now there are 90 (five sheets that hold 9 ATCs with one on each side, so 18 per sheet x 5 sheets = 90 ATCs).
So what happens is the art box is sent to us. When I received mine I already had a few ATCs that others made that I didn’t care to keep. I also had a bunch of my own ATCs that I had ready to swap out. We are allowed to put in 18 of our own ATCs. We can put in an unlimited number of other people’s ATCs.
To get another art box circulating some of us contributed nine ATCs to make a new box. I helped with that and gave nine of my own ATCs.
The box that arrived on Saturday had 24 ATCs that I kept. Actually I wanted 23 and my older son wanted 1. In that box were 3 of the ATCs which I had sent in to start the box off. So I put in 15 of my own ATCs in addition to my 3 that were already in there to hit the 18 max of my own ATCs that I could have in the box. I then went through all the ATCs that I own and picked out some others that I had not intended to swap out but did decide to let them go as the new ones which I had in hand were more desired for me to keep than the ones I let go. Sometimes it is fun to have an ATC for a while and to enjoy it but then I feel that it is alright to let it go back out into the world and to let someone else enjoy it. So I added in 9 second generation ATCs.
I savored looking at these ATCs over three different browsing sessions this weekend.
I was very efficient this time and instead of using up the two week timeline that we allowed to work with the Art Box was sent back out this morning. So I had it less than one business day.
The Art Boxes are sent by Priority Mail to keep things moving efficiently and with Delivery Confirmation, so we can track the status of each Art Box. Right now that costs $4.55 to do. Right now this trading list is only for residents of the United States so that we can use the Priority Mail and have a Delivery Confirmation and to keep the mail moving quickly. (More and more people seem to be having problems with International Mail, with ATCs sometimes arriving 6 weeks or even months after they are mailed out.)
I think this Art Box idea is brilliant and I wonder if it will be the wave of the future of ATC trading. I will say that it does take time and energy on the part of the organizer/list owner. There are also problems when the couple of times a person has kept a box and not returned it. I am not sure at this point if both of the boxes which went missing have been recovered or not.
It is wonderful to have 90 ATCs arrive in my mailbox. It is fun to look through all of them including who made them, see if I know any of them and also what country or state is the artists from? Seeing all those ATCs is also inspiring and I get new ideas. This is quite different from just viewing scans on the Internet. Seeing an ATC in real life is a superior experience.
Just had to share that I had fun with that trade! (Not all are the same; one Art Box was so not-my taste that I only kept 3 from it!)
So my collection of ATCs made by others has just grown by 23 ATCs!
The group originally only worked through private trades. It was kind of cumbersome as sometimes someone would want one of mine but I didn’t like what they had to offer, for example. Then the group morphed to do more private trading of our own ATCs because to increase our pool of tradable ATCs we’d add our own ATCs to our list of trade offers. Then the list owner had a great idea to send out these ‘art boxes’. At first there were 45 in each but now there are 90 (five sheets that hold 9 ATCs with one on each side, so 18 per sheet x 5 sheets = 90 ATCs).
So what happens is the art box is sent to us. When I received mine I already had a few ATCs that others made that I didn’t care to keep. I also had a bunch of my own ATCs that I had ready to swap out. We are allowed to put in 18 of our own ATCs. We can put in an unlimited number of other people’s ATCs.
To get another art box circulating some of us contributed nine ATCs to make a new box. I helped with that and gave nine of my own ATCs.
The box that arrived on Saturday had 24 ATCs that I kept. Actually I wanted 23 and my older son wanted 1. In that box were 3 of the ATCs which I had sent in to start the box off. So I put in 15 of my own ATCs in addition to my 3 that were already in there to hit the 18 max of my own ATCs that I could have in the box. I then went through all the ATCs that I own and picked out some others that I had not intended to swap out but did decide to let them go as the new ones which I had in hand were more desired for me to keep than the ones I let go. Sometimes it is fun to have an ATC for a while and to enjoy it but then I feel that it is alright to let it go back out into the world and to let someone else enjoy it. So I added in 9 second generation ATCs.
I savored looking at these ATCs over three different browsing sessions this weekend.
I was very efficient this time and instead of using up the two week timeline that we allowed to work with the Art Box was sent back out this morning. So I had it less than one business day.
The Art Boxes are sent by Priority Mail to keep things moving efficiently and with Delivery Confirmation, so we can track the status of each Art Box. Right now that costs $4.55 to do. Right now this trading list is only for residents of the United States so that we can use the Priority Mail and have a Delivery Confirmation and to keep the mail moving quickly. (More and more people seem to be having problems with International Mail, with ATCs sometimes arriving 6 weeks or even months after they are mailed out.)
I think this Art Box idea is brilliant and I wonder if it will be the wave of the future of ATC trading. I will say that it does take time and energy on the part of the organizer/list owner. There are also problems when the couple of times a person has kept a box and not returned it. I am not sure at this point if both of the boxes which went missing have been recovered or not.
It is wonderful to have 90 ATCs arrive in my mailbox. It is fun to look through all of them including who made them, see if I know any of them and also what country or state is the artists from? Seeing all those ATCs is also inspiring and I get new ideas. This is quite different from just viewing scans on the Internet. Seeing an ATC in real life is a superior experience.
Just had to share that I had fun with that trade! (Not all are the same; one Art Box was so not-my taste that I only kept 3 from it!)
So my collection of ATCs made by others has just grown by 23 ATCs!
Monday, June 19, 2006
My ATCs: Blue Block Collage
My ATCs: Blue Block Collage
A few days ago I shared the scan of the blue block collage before cutting it. I made that collage knowing it woudl be cut into ATCs but truly not deciding where to put things based on the fact that it would end up being four separate collages in the end. Therefore the focus of each ATC is not a perfect collage composition in some people'e eyes.
Below:
I should share that some of the pieces were chosen for whimsy or because I liked the look of them. Others were chosen very intentionally. I chose the letter "Y" in upper case because this was on a New York Yankees background. I chose the number "1" because of the sports ranking idea that the Yankees would love to be Number 1. My collages are combination of nonsense and whimsy and intention, as well as quick picks and intentional picks; which is which is something I will leave to you to decide.
A few days ago I shared the scan of the blue block collage before cutting it. I made that collage knowing it woudl be cut into ATCs but truly not deciding where to put things based on the fact that it would end up being four separate collages in the end. Therefore the focus of each ATC is not a perfect collage composition in some people'e eyes.
Below:
Here is the ATC in the upper left hand corner of the blue block collage, 1st ATC. This one has four elements which were given to me as hostess gifts by other ATC swappers: the Bingo card, the two frog die-cut's and the play money dollar bill. The butterfly is rubber stamped on a background that I had painted as part of other ATC playing I did months ago and the scrap was kept. The little 'Mary had a little lamb' is a very flimsy child's playing card game received as a birthday goody bag from a party that my children attended. It is too flimsy to really use as a game but it is perfect for use in collage!
Here is the second ATC. This shows some of the background which is a New York Yankees promotional brochure we received in the mail. The Jiffy box (muffin mix), letters, play money dollar bill, and die cuts were RAK gifts from other ATC swappers. There is a little of the butterly. The foreign language text is left over from a children's game which came withe self-assembly parts in many foreign languages. The message "Listen with your heart" is from a Dove chocolate candy which I was given at a La Leche League workshop and just had to keep to use in a collage! Love the message!
Here is the 3rd ATC from the left bottom corner of the block collage. This one is all RAK stuff, one more piece of foreign language from the child's game, and another flimsy playing card game piece with a donkey on it. There is a piece of a rooster which is from packaging that came with eggs. The Connecticut shaped rubber stamp was designed by me and is my first hand carved rubber stamp. This was from a test strip I was doing when still carving it and making the final touches on it.
I should share that some of the pieces were chosen for whimsy or because I liked the look of them. Others were chosen very intentionally. I chose the letter "Y" in upper case because this was on a New York Yankees background. I chose the number "1" because of the sports ranking idea that the Yankees would love to be Number 1. My collages are combination of nonsense and whimsy and intention, as well as quick picks and intentional picks; which is which is something I will leave to you to decide.
So there you have it.
Feel free to share your comments. Do you like looking at these and trying to decode them? The only thing I was trying to do with this was have fun and use the color blue and complimentary yellow highlights. I tried to keep the other colors to white, black and grey.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.Thursday, June 15, 2006
Tonight I Made This Blue Block Collage
Tonight after dinner I sat down to make a block collage. This is 5 inches x 7 inches which means it will be cut into four ATCs.
What I did was gather a few small boxes of ephemera. A quick scan of what I had revealed many blue items popping out at me.
What caught my eye for a background was a promotional booklet that the New York Yankees sent us, trying to get us to buy tickets. My background was a large New York Yankees close up photo of a batter.
I then went through some packets of goodies that people sent me when I was hosting ATC swaps. I picked out various mostly blue things from these generous ATC swappers. The Jiffy box was even a RAK (random act of kindness) that someone mailed me, they put ephemera into a Jiffy blueberry muffin mix box and mailed that! The die-cuts were all mailed to me by other ATC swappers.
I added some things that were given to my children as a birthday party goodie bag (tiny card game pieces, long blue strips of paper).
There is one image that I had done in the past which is a rubber stamped butterfly stamp, I don't know the company who made that. I also have my first hand carved stamp image there, the shape of the state of Connecticut with a heart in it. That was left over from a test strip I did when I was doing the carving.
I finished the collage before even looking through all the papers I had on hand. These were all little scraps or little tourist brochures. I didn't use any pages of books and I spent no time going through magazines to find images.
This was a fun diversion.
So I quickly scanned it tonight, and am sharing it with you. I just cut it into four pieces and right now a top coat of sealer is drying. Tomorrow I will add my label to the back and seal that and let that dry.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Serendipity: RubberStampMadness magazine
Two weeks ago I was in Michael's Craft Shop with a 40% off one item coupon in hand. I saw a brand new display of make your own rubber stamp kits. I bought one small kit (original price $11.50). I made one stamp that night (fun and easy). I made one stamp the next day (again fun and easy).
My in-laws gave me a 40% coupon yesterday and we were driving right by the store so in I went. Found out they discontinued the full line of that product, which seems very odd to me as it was a new line, but, whatever.
I then used the coupon to buy the latest issue of RubberStampMadness magazine. This is the second one I have ever purchased. Read it before bed last night (it makes light and fun reading as it has a humorous tone).
Today we were far away from home and to be gone all day. I read RSM while a passenger in the car.
Then my 'friend' visited me which was a total surprise. To make a long story short we ended up driving all over back roads then up and down I-95 jumping off exits to try and find a grocery store or Wal Mart or a drug store or someplace to buy the necessary supplies. (We were headed still an hour away to go on a long hike, then had over 2 hour drive home again.)
On one back road we saw a huge tag sale and I asked to stop and I'd ask directions. (In Connecticut you have a hard time finding anyone outside their house to stop and ask directions of.) Well while there I had to take a quick look and guess what, a whole table of used rubber stamps was there. I passed them up as they were too pricey when compared to new unmounted stamps and also to used stamps on eBay. However I did pick up on RSM from 1995 for 50 cents and 2 RSM issues from 2002 for 75 cents each. I also found a new in sealed container rubber mallet for crafting (perfect for using to make metal crafts a la "Metal Craft Discovery Workshop" book by the Opie's, for $2 (I have seen them as high as $15 in Home Depot and resisted getting it for that price).
Yippee!!
So then the more hours in the car were spent reading old issues of RSM.
I would like to share that in the past I didn't see this side of stamping and have a new appreciation for stamping. I also realized that the detailed landscapes and other original compositions that people make are more like collage but instead of cutting out images from some paper they press the images onto paper with the stamp. So really that kind of rubber stamping is very close to collage. I had read in one of the issues that someone was saying collage is the fad of the day and some snub their noses at rubber stamping, but that person actually did artwork that looked like collage to me. I think collecting images from different companies and putting them together in new ways to make a cohesive scene or even a whimsical larger image is an art form in and of itself. I don't think I'd be too good at that but I find regular collage easy.
Okay off to bed, just had to share that!
(I saw some new to me techniques I want to try on ATC sized canvases in the pages of RSM. I hope I have time to do some art making tomorrow!)
My in-laws gave me a 40% coupon yesterday and we were driving right by the store so in I went. Found out they discontinued the full line of that product, which seems very odd to me as it was a new line, but, whatever.
I then used the coupon to buy the latest issue of RubberStampMadness magazine. This is the second one I have ever purchased. Read it before bed last night (it makes light and fun reading as it has a humorous tone).
Today we were far away from home and to be gone all day. I read RSM while a passenger in the car.
Then my 'friend' visited me which was a total surprise. To make a long story short we ended up driving all over back roads then up and down I-95 jumping off exits to try and find a grocery store or Wal Mart or a drug store or someplace to buy the necessary supplies. (We were headed still an hour away to go on a long hike, then had over 2 hour drive home again.)
On one back road we saw a huge tag sale and I asked to stop and I'd ask directions. (In Connecticut you have a hard time finding anyone outside their house to stop and ask directions of.) Well while there I had to take a quick look and guess what, a whole table of used rubber stamps was there. I passed them up as they were too pricey when compared to new unmounted stamps and also to used stamps on eBay. However I did pick up on RSM from 1995 for 50 cents and 2 RSM issues from 2002 for 75 cents each. I also found a new in sealed container rubber mallet for crafting (perfect for using to make metal crafts a la "Metal Craft Discovery Workshop" book by the Opie's, for $2 (I have seen them as high as $15 in Home Depot and resisted getting it for that price).
Yippee!!
So then the more hours in the car were spent reading old issues of RSM.
I would like to share that in the past I didn't see this side of stamping and have a new appreciation for stamping. I also realized that the detailed landscapes and other original compositions that people make are more like collage but instead of cutting out images from some paper they press the images onto paper with the stamp. So really that kind of rubber stamping is very close to collage. I had read in one of the issues that someone was saying collage is the fad of the day and some snub their noses at rubber stamping, but that person actually did artwork that looked like collage to me. I think collecting images from different companies and putting them together in new ways to make a cohesive scene or even a whimsical larger image is an art form in and of itself. I don't think I'd be too good at that but I find regular collage easy.
Okay off to bed, just had to share that!
(I saw some new to me techniques I want to try on ATC sized canvases in the pages of RSM. I hope I have time to do some art making tomorrow!)
Friday, June 09, 2006
On a Roll with Making ATCs This Week
I felt long overdue with making time to make ATCs.
Wednesday: Spent 30 minutes making some on the kitchen table, before it was time for dinner to be made. Stopped and prepared dinner. While the chicken was baking in the oven spent another hour making ATCs, quick clean-up so we could eat on the table. I think I finished eight ATCs.
Thursday: Spent 30 minutes before dinner doing some sealing of other ATCs. Finished off some ATCs for a swap. Packaged up the swap to send to the swap hostess. Put together a little goodie bag for the hostess. Cleaned up the table so we could eat dinner on it.
After dinner the kids were busy playing an educational computer game together. I spent about two hours making ATCs. Made 18 of them including the sealing top coat and laid them to dry overnight. Cleaned up the mess and went to bed.
Went on the Internet and looked at what swaps for ATCs are going on right now, on two ATC chat lists. Found a bunch that I want to work on:
time theme
clock face theme
vintage clown
science fiction
wallpaper as background
garden
vintage women
my favorite kind of ATC
Friday: Again kids are playing on computer with the educational game, so I took the time to make more ATCs. Did four block collages using big wallpaper samples as the background, making collages with rubber stamped images, after adhering the wallpaper to old cereal boxes to make a sturdier base. Used rubbber stamps and old postage stamps to decorate the block collages. Used tinted acrylic glaze and acrylic paint to further embellish the ATCs. Set them out to dry. Off the top of my head, I think there will be 22 to come out of those four block collages.
My creative muse is with me today so I hope I can make more ATCs today. I want to use more of the rubber stamps that I own with the themes listed above. I also want to delve into my ephemera and do some very cluttered up collages.
Wednesday: Spent 30 minutes making some on the kitchen table, before it was time for dinner to be made. Stopped and prepared dinner. While the chicken was baking in the oven spent another hour making ATCs, quick clean-up so we could eat on the table. I think I finished eight ATCs.
Thursday: Spent 30 minutes before dinner doing some sealing of other ATCs. Finished off some ATCs for a swap. Packaged up the swap to send to the swap hostess. Put together a little goodie bag for the hostess. Cleaned up the table so we could eat dinner on it.
After dinner the kids were busy playing an educational computer game together. I spent about two hours making ATCs. Made 18 of them including the sealing top coat and laid them to dry overnight. Cleaned up the mess and went to bed.
Went on the Internet and looked at what swaps for ATCs are going on right now, on two ATC chat lists. Found a bunch that I want to work on:
time theme
clock face theme
vintage clown
science fiction
wallpaper as background
garden
vintage women
my favorite kind of ATC
Friday: Again kids are playing on computer with the educational game, so I took the time to make more ATCs. Did four block collages using big wallpaper samples as the background, making collages with rubber stamped images, after adhering the wallpaper to old cereal boxes to make a sturdier base. Used rubbber stamps and old postage stamps to decorate the block collages. Used tinted acrylic glaze and acrylic paint to further embellish the ATCs. Set them out to dry. Off the top of my head, I think there will be 22 to come out of those four block collages.
My creative muse is with me today so I hope I can make more ATCs today. I want to use more of the rubber stamps that I own with the themes listed above. I also want to delve into my ephemera and do some very cluttered up collages.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
My ATCs: Spanish Text Swap, Part Four
Here is another ATC I made for the Spanish text-only swap. The hostess sent me a page with instructions on giving CPR.
One of the challenges with the swap was that most of the images that the hostess sent me were large, too large to fit in their entirety on the ATC.
The other text she sent was text-only. I translated some of the text and there were pages of poetry. The poems I received were odd, one was about a wounded solider who was in love, suffice it to say I had a hard time coming up with illustrations to literally match the text. The other text she provided me with was a Spanish translation of The Odyssey. I was not in the mood to hunt down ancient Greek images and work with that.
Anyway, here is another I made ATC, of CPR. I used different colored (rubber stamp) ink on a stipple brush to add a pink color to this white page. I then cropped the image and mounted it on top of a handmade paper (made in India and purchased at A.C. Moore) in a coordinating color.
I hope the person who received it doesn't think it is too boring. I like it!
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.
One of the challenges with the swap was that most of the images that the hostess sent me were large, too large to fit in their entirety on the ATC.
The other text she sent was text-only. I translated some of the text and there were pages of poetry. The poems I received were odd, one was about a wounded solider who was in love, suffice it to say I had a hard time coming up with illustrations to literally match the text. The other text she provided me with was a Spanish translation of The Odyssey. I was not in the mood to hunt down ancient Greek images and work with that.
Anyway, here is another I made ATC, of CPR. I used different colored (rubber stamp) ink on a stipple brush to add a pink color to this white page. I then cropped the image and mounted it on top of a handmade paper (made in India and purchased at A.C. Moore) in a coordinating color.
I hope the person who received it doesn't think it is too boring. I like it!
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
My ATCs: Spanish Text Swap, Part Three
Here are more Spanish text ATCs that I created in May 2006 for a Spanish text only ATC swap.
These are all mixed media collages. All started out with Spanish text as the background paper, with acrylic paint, acrylic wash and acrylic glazes on top (muliple layers of several different colors). I then applied rubber stamped images on top. Some I re-did with the rubber stamps and embossing paper. Some have edges in ink and others have embossed edges. All are sealed on both sides with Golden Acrylic Soft Gel Medium in gloss.
These three feature the moon.
These three feature a bee.
In real life the Spanish text is visable underneath this paint (of the ATC above).
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.
These are all mixed media collages. All started out with Spanish text as the background paper, with acrylic paint, acrylic wash and acrylic glazes on top (muliple layers of several different colors). I then applied rubber stamped images on top. Some I re-did with the rubber stamps and embossing paper. Some have edges in ink and others have embossed edges. All are sealed on both sides with Golden Acrylic Soft Gel Medium in gloss.
These three feature the moon.
These three feature a bee.
In real life the Spanish text is visable underneath this paint (of the ATC above).Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
My ATCs: Spanish Text Swap, Part Two
Here are two more Spanish text ATCs that I made for a Spanish-only text ATC Swap that I participated in, in May 2006. These are mixed media collages.
I had blogged about these ATCs in the past when I had creative block with them. Here are the finished pieces!
I had blogged about these ATCs in the past when I had creative block with them. Here are the finished pieces!
The background started off with Spanish text pages which the hostess had ripped from a book. I used acrylic craft paint (nothing fancy) which I watered down with water to make a wash to paint over it (which is called an acrylic wash). I also used some custom tinted acrylic glazes. I used a stipple brush to apply the paint. There are several different metallic colors of paint used here. I then rubber stamped the image onto the ATC. I don't know the brand of this rubber stamp as I bought it used in a 'lot' on eBay (from a woman who was really into crafting who died suddenly!). I didn't like the way the stamp came out so I re-did it using embossing powder.
On the first one, I then added the phrase 'el sol' by printing it off on my computer then painting that and adhering it to the ATC. Now that I look at it I realized I probably should have used a different color on the 'el sol' piece, oh well.
The second one, I botched by blobbing paint on that looked horrible. To save it I cropped out the mistake part and made it smaller. I then adhered it to a background of black handmade paper from India. I then adhered that to another background paper. I think it came out well. I really want to stress that I'd never have done this type of shape ATC as I usually just don't do that (no specific reason) but I did this to save it from being ruined. I think it came out nice.
These are sealed with Golden Acrylic Gel Medium, soft, in gloss.
I continue to have problems uploading scans to Blogger so for today I give up and am sick of wasting my time, so I can only share these two with you today!
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
My ATCs: Spanish Text Swap, Part One
I participated in an ATC swap called "Spanish Swap" in May 2006. The hostess mailed us twelve pages with Spanish text on them. We had to create ten ATCs using these pages.
Right now I will share three of the ATCs that I made with the Spanish text pages that the hostess sent me. I hope to share more when the Blogger photo uploading function is working properly (right now I am getting error messages).
These are mixed media collages. These first three were made by using background paper of watercolor paper which I painted with watercolor paint. I then made a packing tape transfer of the image and some Spanish writing and affixed it to the ATC.
The first two are just the packing tape transfer on top of the watercolor painted paper.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.
Right now I will share three of the ATCs that I made with the Spanish text pages that the hostess sent me. I hope to share more when the Blogger photo uploading function is working properly (right now I am getting error messages).
These are mixed media collages. These first three were made by using background paper of watercolor paper which I painted with watercolor paint. I then made a packing tape transfer of the image and some Spanish writing and affixed it to the ATC.
The first two are just the packing tape transfer on top of the watercolor painted paper.
For the third I added extra pieces of paper from the book page in Spanish which was a medical book about bones, disorders of bones and fractures of bones. As you can see the use of the packing tape transfer piece (from the same book) looks so different than when using the actual text and images from the same book.
Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, mixed media collage.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Drive Through Photography: Yale University Campus, March 2006 Part One
Drive Through Photography: Yale University Campus Part One
I am doing this in two parts because Blogger has been giving me error messages for days when I try to upload more photos than are already here.
Here are some of the results of my first "Drive Through Photography" experience. I took these photos in March 2006. I was going through a very busy time and a stressful time. I had just left Yale where I finally received the good news that "abnormalities" on my mammogram and breast ultrasound which had been tracked for two years were NORMAL breast tissue. I was so excited. I had a burst of creativity and got an idea. As my husband drove away from the doctor's office building I got an idea to stick the digital camera outside the window of the car and take random photos to see what would come out. Since there is a little delay in when I hit the button to take the photo, I never know what will come out. Also the fact that the camera is being stuck out the car's window doesn't guarantee and even or straight alignment.
So here are some images of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut as my husband and I drove down the streets of New Haven while we drove away from the doctor's office. It was raining lightly when I took these photos.
Technorati Tags: digital photography, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
I am doing this in two parts because Blogger has been giving me error messages for days when I try to upload more photos than are already here.
Here are some of the results of my first "Drive Through Photography" experience. I took these photos in March 2006. I was going through a very busy time and a stressful time. I had just left Yale where I finally received the good news that "abnormalities" on my mammogram and breast ultrasound which had been tracked for two years were NORMAL breast tissue. I was so excited. I had a burst of creativity and got an idea. As my husband drove away from the doctor's office building I got an idea to stick the digital camera outside the window of the car and take random photos to see what would come out. Since there is a little delay in when I hit the button to take the photo, I never know what will come out. Also the fact that the camera is being stuck out the car's window doesn't guarantee and even or straight alignment.
So here are some images of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut as my husband and I drove down the streets of New Haven while we drove away from the doctor's office. It was raining lightly when I took these photos.
Technorati Tags: digital photography, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
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