No Longer a Gelli Print Virgin

My BFF bought me a Gelli Plate for my birthday (I do so love her).  I have been watching Gelli printing videos on YouTube for months so I was anxious to break it in.  It is a wonderful tool to help me reach my goal of 100 decorated papers by the end of 2013.

I decided to start my Gelli experimentation using craft paint and stencils.  Here are the results.

Through the printmaking process, I learned something very important about myself.  I like my art tools to be CLEAN.  I mean really clean.  Clean like right out of the box/wrapping/packaging.  I have to come to grips with the fact that my Gelli plate has been slightly stained but it bugs me that my stencils are discolored as well.  And I scrubbed the dickens out of my brayer to get it clean.  I know that I need to relax about the messy nature of the Gelli but it will be a challenge for me.  Hey, personal growth is a good thing, right?

 I completed 9 papers today, which brings my total to 22.  I am almost one-quarter of the way to my goal.

- christina

My Birthday

It was my birthday last week.  I wore my tiara to work just in case anyone did not KNOW it was my birthday.

I received lots of "Happy Birthday" greetings (virtually and in person), great gifts from friends, and some wonderful cards.  Here are 2 that really inspired me.

Birthdays are great, as far as I'm concerned.  I plan to continue celebrating as long as possible.  My goal is to make it last until the end of September.  Do you think I can do it?
- christina

ATCs

I just attended my very first MeetUp and I’m happy to say it was very fun. I recently joined a group called “West Suburban Art Junkies” and the MeetUp was making ATCs.

ATC stands for Artist Trading Card.  They have to be 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches and should be traded not sold.  The MeetUp was held at the organizer’s house and she was kind enough to share all of her supplies with the 8 women who attended.  I had brought along some words that I had cut out of a magazine and tried to use those on all of my cards. 

I made 5 cards in total, which meant that I could select 5 cards from my fellow artists.  It was fun to see what everyone had made in the few hours that we created together.

I enjoyed meeting these women and plan to attend another MeetUp.  Rumor has it, we will be making shadow boxes next time.  That's another thing I have never done before.

Cheers to new experiences and new friends!

- christina

PS.  Click here if you want to learn more about MeetUp.

Setting Goals

I work best when I have a goal that I am working towards, but setting goals as an artist has been difficult for me. I need tangible and achievable goals, something more defined than "become a better artist" or "determine my favorite medium in which to work." 

My BFF came to visit me a few weeks ago so that we could attend CREATE Chicago.  We were immersed in art and spent a lot of time talking about where we wanted to go with our art.  We decided that we needed to establish goals to work on and I chose a simple and achievable goal (something with a high degree of potential for success). 

My goal is to create 100 pieces of decorated paper by the end of 2014.

Scraps of paper sewn together
ala Jenny Cochran Lee

Here’s the thing: I like decorating paper. All kinds of paper.  But I used to get stuck because I didn’t know what I would do with the paper once I was finished. Should I make a book? Would I use it for a collage?  If the paper didn’t have a purpose, then what was the point of taking the time to make the paper beautiful?  Well, I decided that making paper is a worthy goal in itself, even if I have no idea what I will do with the paper in the future. Hence, making paper is now my goal.

I have completed 13 papers so far.  I have been using rice paper mostly, stamping and painting it with acrylic craft paints. I will keep posting pictures as my numbers increase. 

Good luck working toward the goals that you set.

-christina