…come CREATE with me!

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 Nothing screams “CREATE” better than a group shot of happy, painty, inky artsy hands!  Are you looking to travel, get artsy, laugh and learn with the most amazing people you ever will meet?  Kindred art souls gather at CREATE retreats sponsored by Cloth Paper Scissors magazine!  I will be teaching at all three events this year: Irvine, CA in June, Somerset, NJ in July and Chicago in August.  So if you’re in the neighborhood, or in a convenient flight pattern, come join the creative fun.

I have a brand new class this year called  “ARTFUL LETTERING FROM A-Z”.  Look at this canvas sampler you’ll make in a three hour class, i’m not kidding!!  We even added a SECOND session to the schedule in Irvine, Saturday, June 2nd from 9-12 noon.  The first class sold out, and the second one is filling fast!
 …and how about ALSO  lettering this little watercolor sampler…….creating while learning!
Another brand new class is my “MAGICAL MARKER MYSTERY TOUR”!  I promise it will change your MARKER life when you know how SIX brands of popular markers are so completely different.  Look at all the markers you get to try and learn, as my markerful blissed out students show you from last year’s Copic class……

I have ALL new classes debuting at CREATE this year!!  

 ….i’ll be bringing a hoard of materials, as i love sorting supplies in the my hotel room art studio…
…the kindred art souls you’ll meet will become your cherished forever art friends, i mean it!

Check out my wonderful “art friends” who will be joining me at CREATE this year!  Really, really, really hope to see you in Irvine, CA i June, Someret, NJ in July and Chicago in August.  We can’t wait!



The Create Mixed Media Retreat’s Meet the Instructors Blog Celebration Weekend:

…it’s a HOP!!

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You’re at the HOP!!  It’s my pleasure today to share a fun stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop, designed by Julie Balzer.  The “Peek A Boo” stencil, is a composition of repeating “half moon” shapes in a block pattern.  The arrangement of the patterns on the 12″ x 12″ template was begging me to make an art journal!  The four groups of circles is a perfect canvas for a decorative background for lettering and journaling.  In the midst of my hosting my online lettering classes, this was a perfect opportunity to create another small lettering journal, i’m calling my “Vision Book”.

I started with 2 sheets of 12″x12″ watercolor cut to size.  Both sides were spritzed with the new spray inks, Dylusions from Ranger.  Of course the bold, vibrant palette just sings to me!

After the inks were dry, i painted to a thin coat of gesso to unify the page, soften the colors and create a smooth surface for writing.

When the gesso dried, i cut out around the “half moon” shapes around the borders on all four sides.  When i first saw this stencil i envisioned whimsical scallops as edges of pages in a handmade journal!

 …Using a metal t-square for leverage, i tore the pages down the center creating 4 pages of design to be folded in half to make 8 book pages.  (this is actually a 6 page book with a half sheet for the inclusion, and the other half for the cover decoration)

I used 3 pages to make the book and bound the pages with bookbinding thread.  I then tore the 4th piece in half to make and inclusion page, and a decorative ruffle for the front.  The scallops were screaming “paper ruffle” to me!  I cut two strips for the ruffle from one leftover square from the stenciled pattern.  The scallops were created by rolling the cutout “moons” with a thin paintbrush handle to create dimension, then glued to the journal cover.

Bling girl that i am, i then coated the cover with the new Silks, the delicious acrylic glaze paints, which glided on like shiny buttah!  Be still my blinging heart!

My favorite part comes last, filling the book with lettering samplers, writing words and quotes with my black markers and sparkly Sakura Galaxy pens.  I love how the stencil design elements became the dimension for the edges of each page.

This was such a great challenge, to take a stencil and do something completely out of the ordinary with it.  That’s what i love about my life as art, being constantly inspired to make something simple, or wonderful in every creation.

Join the fun and HOP on these links to see what my friends created with this stencil.  
Creativity is a magical thing!

…to DO and DUE list….

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Do you have a giant “TO DO” list???  Mine is huge right now.  All of a sudden May is here and  everything comes at once, all the deadlines are right now, the events are weeks away………….thus the GIGANTIC to do list.  So here’s why i don’t get to blog as much as my heart desires:
TO DO AND DUE: I’m not complaining one bit, it’s all good…
1) Prepare my posts as Guest Curator on Jenny Doh’s Crescendoh site this month.
2) Make stencil art for Julie Balzer’s stencil hop.
3) Sign contract and plan daily schedule for an overseas adventure in September 2013.
4) Send additional lettering samples  for a “vision board dream” project submission.
5) Send artwork to an author who invited my work to appear in her book.
6) Gather all my teaching supplies, handouts and goodie bags for Create event in Irvine, CA, where we just added a SECOND lettering class as the first one sold out.
7) Mail magazine submissions by printed deadlines.
8) Vacuum the tumbling tumbleweeds on the first floor of my home.
9) Launch promo video for my next online class: “Color Love 101: Whimsical Journaling”. 
10) Film my first tutorials for my new weekly video blog: “Studio Stash Book”.
11) Finish “Artful Alphabets” class alphas 21-25.
12) Put away my winter clothes.
13) Book airfare for Art Unraveled in Phoenix in July.
14) Post art on my Whimspirations Facebook page.
15) Count my blessings, breathe.
There.  It’s out in the universe.  So i better go finish all this and cross it off my list.  But of course, while this list is staring me in the face every day, i doodle, i draw, i paint, i letter.  In the overwhelming bursts of stress, i turn to my art stuff on my journal pages, add to art already in progress, i breathe, create.  Art saves for real!!  Here’s the art that serves as my comfort and distraction this week…

…art muscles??
…adding to already painted pages…
…”letter-storming”…
…Doodle paint….

…for my Create class…
Really thankful to be so busy in my creative journey.  
What do you do when your TO DO list is overwhelming??  
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for dropping in!

…"fountain pentivity journals"

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I really, really, really love pens.  All kinds of pens.  I don’t know where this obsession came from, but i have it.  One kind of pen that i love in particular is a fountain pen.  Because i letter, write and draw so much, i am served best by the kind of pen that is refillable. I call my daily pen writing “pentivity journals”…creative efforts with assorted pens and journals.

Here’s a peek into one of my lettering, writing, doodling journals.   Mine is a Rhodia journal with pages filled with a varitey of ink colors and musings.  Try this in your own “pentivity journal” using whatever favorite pens or markers you have.  Any journal will do, just have someplace to write and practice every day.

Let’s take a tour of my Rhodia book…in my journals i write with all different colors of ink.  Oh, and that’s another tiny obsession, trying and using various colors and brands of fountain pen inks. (see the Goulet Pen Company for products)  On these pages, I’ll write about the different colors, as a sampler for my own color reference.
 My favorite online store for shopping and learning all things fountain pens is  the Goulet Pen Company.  They are most knowledgeable, with outstanding customer service and have everything you can imagine for “pen people”.  They even offer a discount to students in my online lettering classes, are true blue “penablers” and i love them!!  Brian Goulet, the owner also has excellent teaching videos and pen and ink resources in a feature called the “Fountain of Knowledge”.  It’s brilliant.

 …drawing and doodling with ink, knowing that my favorite pens, the Noodler’s Flex pen used here,  are completely refillable with whatever color i want to use!!

 …sometimes i will write my favorite quotes or daydreams in this pentivity journal, trying new letterforms and writing styles.

 …this journal is freeing, and useful for asking questions of myself, reflecting on my artful life journey….

 …i really, really, really like getting lost in my “pentivity journals”. You will too!  Join the fun, grab a journal and your favorite pens, whatever they may be, and illustrate your everyday musings.  Write words, thoughts, experiment with your different handwriting, letters, doodles…….get in a pen trance…….stretch your pentivity!

 Thanks for visiting!  What’s your most favorite pen in the whole wide world??

Doodle 365: DAY 111

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Did you know that today is the 111th day of the year??  
That means i should have 111 doodle artworks posted right???  

Well i do!!!  Hooray!  I am all caught up on posting my 365 Doodles in the tab at the top of this blog.  I made a promise to complete 365 doodles (art, journal pages, illustrations) this year and post them here on my blog.  I am a huge fan of “catch up”, so click on this link and see what i’ve added:

The 65 new pieces that i just posted to the page are from all the journals and pages that i have been “doodling” every day, so far this year.  It’s now a ritual, to create every day, some days more challenging than others, but i always will pick up a brush, pen or marker and make something.  I’m very happy with the production and progress, just to gather this large collection of artwork has been a great accomplishment for me.  Enjoy these 111 doodles!

Oh, and stay tuned to the blog for the next few days, i have a bunch of very exciting announcements to share with you!  So many artfully good things coming this way.  See you back here soon and thanks for dropping in…

…catching up spring!

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I looked at the calendar today and couldn’t believe that it was already MID APRIL!!! Not, just April, MID April!  Seems like after a vacation everything speeds up for catch up!

A PEEK INTO MY TRAVEL JOURNALS…

Just returned from a sunny sandy vacation on the Florida gulf coast at Anna Maria Island.  It’s my favorite place in the world, a bit of the tropics right in our own backyard.  It sure is a change of pace from sunless, gray and chilly upstate New York!

Driving around the island one day, it was a thrill to see an Easter flag that i designed years ago when i was licensing my artwork.  This house looked pretty fancy, so I was too chicken to go to the door and offer to sign the flag, LOL! I know, i should have.

It was a perfect trip. I came for the sun and sand and was there to paint!  Determined to bring limited art supplies, i made a promise to myself to create 1-2 pieces of art each of the 10 days we were there.  Armed with my journals, watercolor palette and a few brushes it was simple enough, and i did create 20+ journal pages on this trip.

 …I like to bring a few journals, because i usually have more than one painted page going at once.

 This is my perfect vacation…eat, paint, beach, paint, sleep, REPEAT!  My bliss is morning coffee on the sunny deck with my paints and pages, filling the journals and absorbing the warmth and color around me.

 I love to paint.  There was no real plan to paint anything in particular, i just went with my colorful palette to just paint.  Watercolor doodles as a warm up got the paints and color flowing.

 …these pages can have journaling at another time…
 …brush to paper by the sea…….bliss…

 Capturing things around me with pen and watercolor…

…
 …the word “bliss” was speaking to me…

 …Adding words and journaling takes me back to the moments of tranquility while painting.  The journal pages feel exactly like the moment when it was painted.  Different from a travel photograph, when you paint or draw in a travel journal, you are putting yourself in a moment in time with pen or paints.  You are capturing the feelings of where you are, with your artwork which is drawn from a deeper place.  As you go back to the pages later, the artwork brings you back to those moments.  Maybe because your whole heart and soul goes into your art?

 …go to your bliss!!…

 …these pages hold words that take me back to moments.  Keeping a travel journal is a wonderful way to step back in time and relive a certain bliss and care free moments …

 …My heart and soul truly is alive and shines so bright at the sea…….
…until next year…

"Art Journaling Exposed" BLOG HOP!

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Happy to be spending some time on the Florida Gulf coast, but pausing my palm tree journals to share in this blog hop for Cloth Paper Scissors magazine.
Have you heard about their new emag?!!  It’s called “Art Journaling Exposed” and it’s journalicious!  I’m thrilled to be a contributor in the premier issue with a little lettering video.  My segment was taped when i was at Interweave’s headquarters in Colorado in December filming my Lettering DVD (ooops, just spilled a little secret…to be released later this spring).

This first “issue” is stellar. It’s chuck full of artful treasure, real art, from real artists who teach and share their talents all over the world.  It’s an interactive e-mag that you download onto your computer or iPad.  What impressed me most, was that for the $4.99 download, it is like taking a “live” online class from the best instructors in the mixed media community.  And once you download the issue, it’s yours forever, just like a “real” magazine,  That’s pretty cool.  There are articles, tips, artwork, videos, samples, and so much more.  To me it was art journaling idea goldmine!

Treat yourself to the issue, and enjoy the instant gratification you’ll get when it appears on your computer in minutes.  You’ll love it, i mean it!

To purchase the eMag for your desktop computer, visit InterweaveStore.com: PC download or MAC download.  And here is the link to purchase the eMag for the iPad on the iTunes Store

What do you think?

It’s really an honor, and am happy to be sharing this debut and blog hop with my artsy friends.  These are the art journaling gurus, with the most creative inspiration and knowlege.  Visit their blog links listed here and have a ball at the hop!

In alphabetical order:
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/
Traci Bautista
http://kollaj.typepad.com/
Jane Davenport
http://www.janedavenport.com/
Dea Fisher
http://thestarbook.wordpress.com/
Jacqueline Newbold
http://djnewbold.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Osborn
http://identityseven.typepad.com/themessynest
Joanne Sharpe
http://joannezsharpe.blogspot.com/
Melanie Testa
http://melanietesta.com/blog/
Diana Trout
http://dianatrout.blogspot.com/

…fun, funky, fabulous fonts!!

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announcing my second online class
“ARTFUL ALPHABETS” 
 REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!  
ALL NEW!  Let’s focus on the fonts and “lettering letters”. We get artsy and fancy in a new online class: ARTFUL ALPHABETS.  It’s all about making letters, whole alphabets with most the supplies you already have.  With your creative confidence, you’re ready to focus on your ABC’s and distinctive lettering styles for art journaling, scrapbooking and mixed media art.  Enjoy all new content creating fun, funky, fancy, fabulous fonts! (LETTER LOVE 101: Art Journals class not required)
THIS IS A PASSWORD FREE VIDEO!  FEEL FREE TO SHARE ON YOUR BLOGS AND WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

Joanne Sharpe presents
“ARTFUL ALPHABETS” 
*online class goes live April 9, 2012*
*25 alphabets in
*25 video lessons with 
*25 printable reference pdfs
*FOREVER ACCESS CLASS*
*5 weeks April 9-May 11, 2012
$35



Learn and letter 25 whole alphabets!  
With art and design principles, explore fancy script and flourishes, casual calligraphy, composition and spacing, decorative pattern, shading, shadows and color.
  • This is NOT your “cutesy daisy dotted letter i class! Five weeks of sophisticated techniques with generous information focused exclusively on artful alphabets and letter making.
  • Create an alphabet sampler and lettered journal with pens, markers, inks, brushes, watercolor and colored pencils.
  • FIVE new alphabets and self paced activities will be featured each week in lessons posted on Monday/Wednesday/Friday.
  • Enjoy Flickr, Facebook and Yahoo groups for networking and socializing
  • Teacher feedback in public forums
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!
“ARTFUL ALPHABETS”* 
5 week online class
$35 
Within 24-48 hours of Paypal confirmation, you will receive supply list and class access information from Joanne Sharpe. (jzsharpe@yahoo.com)

…making journal art…..

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In the midst of my artful life as my “business”, nurturing and creating my online classes and preparing for my upcoming teaching events, i have to DO art.  I find great comfort and calm and “just breathe” in my art journals, especially with watercolors.  These journal pages are filled with my “art trance” artworks and watercolors, using several mediums.
The illustration above is in a square Handbook journal where i created a watercolor look with Tombow markers. First coloring in black doodles, then adding water to spread the ink.  A water resistant black marker is used to letter and doodle.


 The following pages are from my Strathmore Visual Journal MIXED MEDIA.  Here, i whip out the Koi watercolor palette and “doodle paint”….drawing organic black lines, doodling until i have a pleasing image and letter in my “words of the moment”. 

… i was thinking about and wishing i had a LOVE button for Facebook….
…more watercolor doodling, filling in shapes with the new Luminarte Silks.
…getting bold here with Ranger Distress Stains as watercolor wash, spreading around the concentrated ink with a water brush making a rich intense background.  Adding a black and white doodle and some words of course.


…daydreaming in my journal with watercolor illustrations here, anticipating an upcoming vacation.  Palm trees will be included!
…must be thinking of the ocean in these!
I religiously practice and create my art every single day.  It’s what i am, it’s who i am…… my numerous art journals serve as my refuge, calm, therapy,  a place for brainstorming, experimenting and playing, thinking, loving and exploring……..where i live every day.  
Do you find comfort in your art journaling? 
How does your art journal fit into your every day?  Please share!

soooo Letter Loved!

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My goodness February was a whirlwind!  I officially launched my first online class LETTER LOVE 101: Art Journals, an art journaling class with a focus on lettering.  It is a huge success with hundreds of creative souls from around the world, coming together to “letter better” and stretch their artistic muscles.  

At the end of the class, my very talented student Ginny Markley, presented me with this tribute artwork.  I was touched beyond words.  Isn’t it an amazing illustration?  it even looks like me!  Ginny mailed me the original, such a treasure.


Letter Love 101 never ends, it has forever access! Since the class is officially “OPEN” anyone can register at any time.  The class is self paced with 29 lessons. Current students are enjoying the lessons, taking their time and lingering on the daily assignments.  We have a very active (LIVE!), supportive network of art friends sharing every day on Facebook, Flickr and Yahoo. 

…if you are curious about this class, here’s what the Letter Love students are saying… 

 I am so proud of all the fabulous masterpieces coming out of this class.  There are so many talented “letterers”, this post would be 90 miles long if i could feature them all.  Students come from many skill levels and areas of creativity, beginners to experts, scrappers, artists, mixed media and more.  Right now there are 2000 incredible hand lettered images on the Letter Love class Flickr site, it’s so inspiring!  It’s a wonderful reference of creative energy.

You’ll just have to join the class to experience that inspiration in our Flickr group 

Enjoy this very little sampling of some student work created from the class.
LETTER LOVE STUDENT ART GALLERY:

Deona Paine
Denise Smith

Gail Lieurance

Jen Lynnie

Juli Elgin

Lucy Edson

Rachel Markus

Ramsey Alexander
Sherry Pollack

There are hundreds more of these beautiful pages, and i wish i could share every single one!  I am so proud.  Thank you to my new art friends for making this class a hit.  As we celebrate our love of lettering and colorful journaling, i am looking forward to continuing this artful journey with you.

Stay tuned for more online workshops coming soon in April and June!