tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48010417177139551152024-03-13T20:34:06.482-07:00A Fern Unfurling - A Journey of Creative GrowthFern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-4475195152764069352014-01-23T20:59:00.001-08:002014-01-23T20:59:27.699-08:00Petunias and Potato VineI love colour... don't you? <br />
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This week I took some time to play around with my Derwent Inktense coloured pencils. It's been a long time since I've used them and it felt good to sketch with them again.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dYy9BInYulo/UuHwahrycRI/AAAAAAAAEzY/hdhtb6VY1Hs/s1600/01-22-Petunias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dYy9BInYulo/UuHwahrycRI/AAAAAAAAEzY/hdhtb6VY1Hs/s1600/01-22-Petunias.jpg" /></a></div>
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I'm calling this piece "Petunias and Potato Vine" because these fuchsia petunias were growing amongst chartreuse green potato vines. The contrast between the colours is what I was hoping to capture.<br />
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The Inktense pencil was laid down dry, wetted with a water brush, and accented with some additional dry pencil. It was sketched in my 5" x 9" sketch book the pages of which aren't really meant for water media... hence the paper is a little buckled. I may do recreate the piece on heavier paper... we'll see. For now I'm happy with how this turned out and am linking it to Jenn's "<a href="http://www.justaddwatersilly.com/p/artists-play-room.html" target="_blank">The Artist's Play Room</a>" over at the blog "<a href="http://www.justaddwatersilly.com/" target="_blank">Just Add Water Silly</a>". Pop on over and check out the work of other artist!<br />
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So, what fun creative things have you been working on... ?<br />
: ) Fern<br />
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<br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-54296434929144519482013-12-05T15:49:00.001-08:002013-12-05T19:15:07.062-08:00Humorous Animals Are Now On Device Cases<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After a bit of silence from my little corner of the world I have great news to share… my humorous animal photos are now available on cell phone, iPad and iPad Mini and cases! </div>
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These are my 10 designs:</div>
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<a href="http://www.kekacase.com/designer-cases/fern-spackman.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="398" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssFVUceslVU/UqEJolYL5YI/AAAAAAAAEoo/WSErAzvk9LA/s640/2013-12-05-Devices-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.kekacase.com/designer-cases/fern-spackman.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="398" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3HdBnS3OzGM/UqEJmTP7K1I/AAAAAAAAEoM/UMvMRjmalVc/s640/2013-12-05-Devices-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.kekacase.com/designer-cases/fern-spackman.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="398" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GTOBYq45XHU/UqEJl9nlYhI/AAAAAAAAEoI/b3MOrNZcrlQ/s640/2013-12-05-Devices-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.kekacase.com/designer-cases/fern-spackman.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ewhgkQ1ETuw/UqEJmi1h3vI/AAAAAAAAEoU/RrW1Hn90J9A/s640/2013-12-05-Devices-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.kekacase.com/designer-cases/fern-spackman.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Keka Case - Fern Spackman Designs" border="0" height="450" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BQhI_6j64jk/UqEJnWg_VyI/AAAAAAAAEoc/nqEdiUmwo8c/s640/2013-12-05-Devices-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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I'm tickled to see my work applied to a format other than greeting cards. How fun to have cute and/or sassy animals for cell phones and iPad cases! It's been quite a challenge to decide which of the 10 designs I want to put on my cell phone and iPad first… (Oh, if only all our challenges in life were so fun! Lol…)</div>
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The cases are manufactured and marketed by the <a href="http://www.kekacase.com/designer-cases/fern-spackman.html" target="_blank">Keka Case</a> company and are available online. Each design can be ordered to fit the follow<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ing: <span style="background-color: white;">iPhone 4/4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, 5c, </span><span style="background-color: white;">Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy S4, </span><span style="background-color: white;">iPad 2/3/4 and iPad Mini. Oh, and Keka Case has a sale going on for the next two weeks -- 30% off and shipping is free! Use the coupon code "Gift30" at the checkout. </span></span></div>
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On another note, I very much appreciate everyone's encouraging comments on my past blog posts and send a special "Hello" to Nini who gently nudged me to hurry up and blog about my current art adventures. I get busy creating and forget to tell you all what I'm up to! Nini, I will post more soon… I promise!</div>
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Now… off to do more artwork for another project I'm working on. Sorry… can't tell you much about it just yet… but I'm having a lot of fun with it! </div>
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So, friends… what wonderful creative things are you working on today?<br />
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<br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-48195844273305304912013-07-18T00:07:00.002-07:002013-07-18T00:07:49.220-07:00Catching UpHello! It's time to bring you up to speed on the creative happenings in my life the past few months.<br />
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The art show back in January went well. I received wonderful feedback on the pieces I entered in the show. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the artists' reception so missed out on the opportunity to meet new people and celebrate participation in my first art show. Not to worry... there will be more art shows and artists' receptions -- like the one in August that I have just been accepted in to!<br />
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I have a few new pieces to share since my last post:<br />
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The "Mount Baker" picture was inspired by the view from Cattle Point in Victoria, BC. Mount Baker is in Washington State, USA, but on a clear day we can see it from Victoria, Canada. The paint was barely dry on this piece when someone asked to buy it.</div>
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The "Beauty at Rest" watercolour was just accepted in to a local art show to be held during the beginning of August! <br />
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I am crazy about roses. Aren't they amazing flowers? The "Peach Rose" is another piece accepted in to the August art show.<br />
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Inspired by Kristy Patterson of <a href="http://flyingshoesstudio.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><i>Flying Shoes Art Studio</i></a>, I have been also playing around with coloured pencil art on old book pages.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a6vYgtmUDIk/UeeKRQ0rLPI/AAAAAAAAElY/3-A3qDTfUGg/s1600/2013-07-08-Pear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a6vYgtmUDIk/UeeKRQ0rLPI/AAAAAAAAElY/3-A3qDTfUGg/s400/2013-07-08-Pear.jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1xYLryFiOJM/UeeKSZAxBHI/AAAAAAAAElg/GWpDDAX9LyQ/s1600/2013-07-08-Bluebird-Tranquil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1xYLryFiOJM/UeeKSZAxBHI/AAAAAAAAElg/GWpDDAX9LyQ/s1600/2013-07-08-Bluebird-Tranquil.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Tranquil, Coloured Pencil on Book Page -- SOLD</td></tr>
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Working on pages from old books has its challenges. I think I prefer the look I get when I put a thin layer of white ink under the coloured pencil. On the "Pear" piece I used coloured pencil directly on the book page and decided I didn't particularly like how the text showed through. On the "Tranquil" piece I put a pale white ink wash over the entire page and a slightly more opaque layer of ink under the bird and flower petals. I prefer how the ink "under painting" mutes down how much of the text shows through.</div>
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My camera has been busy, too. I had opportunity to visit a petting farm full of adorable animals and even more adorable babies - particularly baby goats and rabbits. Here's a sneak peek at some of the pics. Perhaps some of these (paired with humorous text) will become future greeting cards!</div>
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So there you have it... some of the things that have kept me busy since my last post. I'm currently working on more watercolour paintings, which I'll share as they get a little further along in the process. </div>
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Hoping all is well in your respective worlds, and that you're finding time to nurture your creativity.</div>
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Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-59863158449205944422013-01-03T23:50:00.001-08:002013-01-03T23:50:43.153-08:00Taking Exciting New Steps...Here we are at the start of a new calendar year and I can't believe I'm about to enter my first art show! Wow... how did that happen...?? : )<div>
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I've been very inspired by fellow alumni of the "<a href="http://stephanielevy.blogspot.ca/p/e-courses.html" target="_blank">Creative Courage</a>" e-course who have done amazing things like found galleries and shops to sell their work, offered on-line courses of their own, pursued licensing opportunities and secured studio space outside the home. But I didn't think I could do those things.... at least I didn't think I could to them <i style="font-weight: bold;">yet </i>(and I really can't say when I thought would be the best time, either!... lol...). Fellow watercolour artist, <a href="http://www.richardwongwatercolors.ca/" target="_blank">Richard Wong</a> (whose masa paper paintings I introduced you to a few posts back) had encouraged me to join some local art organizations and consider participating in some of their events. Somewhere along the line, the inspiration and encouragement tipped the scales (in a good way!) and I submitted artwork that was accepted for a local art show in January. The show is specifically for emerging artists. Somehow that feels like a gentle way to dip my toes in the local art scene - to display my work along with other new artists who may just be as apprehensive as I am!</div>
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What pieces have I entered into the show...? I thought you'd never ask... lol...</div>
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First is an 11"x17" B&W photo of a maple tree.</div>
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I loved the backlighting and how it accentuated the trunk and branches. When I look at the branches on this tree it reminds me of the branching nature of veins and arteries so I've titled this piece, "Patterns of Life." </div>
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Originally there wasn't going to be a second piece entered, but just a few days before the deadline I finished this watercolour painting and decided I should enter it, too.</div>
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This watercolour is 6" x 12" on 140 lb Strathmore cold pressed watercolour paper and I've titled it, "On delicate wings". Funny, but so many times before it was finished I quite nearly chucked this painting. It seemed to go through an eternally "ugly" stage and it wasn't until I was nearly finished before I decided I was really rather pleased with how it was turning out. That's a lesson for me - don't write a painting off too soon!</div>
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I tried something a little different with this painting and decided to leave the background with a soft washy look rather than painting in stems and leaves. My thought was that the soft, blurry background would focus more attention on the detailed wing patterns. I also tried some different paints. </div>
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One new materials was the Shinhan brand of Sap Green that I used along with my regular Winsor & Newton, Da Vinci and Veniza watercolour paints. I've read that the Shinhan watercolour pigments are suspended in something other than Gum Arabic and that they behave a bit differently. While my initial impression is that they do behave a bit differently, I'll have to try the brand again to really know how much differently they behave. What I am pleased with is how intense the Sap Green colour was - it was really a challenge to water the paint down enough to get a light green. </div>
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In the picture above, the Art Bars and paint tube are sitting on a "test piece" on which I tested whether the Shinhan Sap Green would "play nice" with my other watercolour paints. I love how intense the dark Sap Green is while still maintaining some translucency. </div>
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The other new material I used was some Derwent Art Bars (water soluble). They are amazing! Derwent Art Bars and Inktense pencils are going to be a permanent part of my watercolour painting kit.</div>
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So that's my exciting news for the start of this new calendar year. Let's hope the viewing public like the pieces I've entered into the show. If you happen to be in the Victoria, BC (Canada) area please visit the show! It's running from January 9 - 20, 2013 at the Coast Collective, 3221 Heatherbell Road. </div>
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I've also checked out upcoming shows... who knows, I just might get brave enough to enter more!</div>
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Thank you to everyone who has directly encouraged me or indirectly inspired me to enter this art show. A special thank you to <a href="http://stephanielevy.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Stephanie Levy</a> for her "Creative Courage" e-course as it and the support I've found in the discussion group that grew out of that course have greatly contributed to me having the courage to participate in this art show! </div>
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So, what's everyone else going to do that's creatively brave?</div>
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: ) Fern</div>
Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-44729622222175823752012-12-01T00:05:00.001-08:002012-12-01T00:05:38.910-08:00A Collection of HeartsHello all! A special "Hello" to Yvonne who FaceBooked today about dusting off her box of Inktense Watercolour Pencils and playing around with them. I was playing with my Intense pencils today, too! : )<br />
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It's been a couple of weeks since I participated in Jennifer McLean's "<a href="http://www.justaddwatersilly.com/2012/11/artists-play-room-37.html" target="_blank">Artist's Play Room</a>" challenge this week. The theme is to gather five or so items from your home and create a still life. Who would have guessed that while contemplating what to draw I would discover about myself that I have a number of heart shaped pieces of jewelry!! (Interesting these curious quirks that we discover about ourselves from time to time... lol...) So I decided to use some of my heart jewelry to create a jewelry still life...<br />
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This is the first time I've tried painting reflective metal surfaces. What a challenge!! The silver watch pendant actually turned out pretty easy... somehow silver was easy to capture. Gold on the other hand turned out to be really difficult for me to paint. <br />
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This was done in my Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal with Intense watercolour pencils. The gold... well I finally gave up trying to render it in watercolour pencil and brought out a bottle of gold liquid acrylic and a Pentel gold Slicci pen.... oh, and also a white Sakura Jelly Roll pen. The outlines of the pieces were made with a dark sepia Pitt pen.<br />
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The liquid acrylic was painted over everything that was supposed to be a gold metal, and then I added bright highlights with the Jelly Roll pen. On the heart pendant (on the right), the liquid acrylic seemed too dark and flat -- it didn't convey the many shades of gold on the piece especially around the top and centre of the filigree work. Since the Pentel pen has a slightly lighter shade of gold than the liquid acrylic I used it to draw in some lighter shades of gold rather randomly around the face of the pendant and then I added the extreme highlights with the gold Jelly Roll pen. <br />
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I feel like I really stretched myself (my abilities <i>and</i> patience... lol... ) on this challenge, so thank you Jenn for bringing me to the realization that I seem to have a 'thing' for heart shaped jewelry and for providing an opportunity for me to step outside my comfort zone. : ) It will be interesting to see what the weekly challenges are for 2013.<br />
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The other fun thing I did this week was to visit one of my favourite art supply stores. I have a mixed media type project rolling around in my mind and needed to pick up a few supplies for it. Well... that was the official reason for visiting the store....! And you know how it goes... I came home with a few more items that I originally intended to buy and a head exploding with ideas for more art project. : ) Don't you just love hanging out at art supply stores? <br />
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So there you have it... that's what I've been up to creatively this week. What about you?? <br />
: ) FernFern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-60384439770359404952012-11-05T01:42:00.001-08:002012-11-05T01:42:35.559-08:00The "Heart" ChallengeToday Andrea Hiltbrunner from the blog "<a href="http://dreamheartsmartart.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank">DreAm heArt sMart ArT</a>" has challenged people to post something creative on the theme of "Heart". Given how much fun I had participating in <a href="http://www.justaddwatersilly.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer McLean's</a> "Shadows" challenge last week, I thought I'd participate in this challenge, too. (I'm thinking that participating in these creative challenges could be a bit addictive... but in a healthy way, that is!)<br />
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So here's my heart...<br />
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It's a "Zentangle inspired" piece of art -- inspired by the art form of Zentangle doodling but not holding to the rules of it. <br />
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Back in high school I doodled a lot in the margins of my notebooks. Then my inspiration game from faces -- I doodled eyes, noses, mouths, eye brows... (In retrospect, it probably looked pretty weird to have disconnected facial features surrounding my class notes... but I digress...) <br />
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I was intrigued when I first heard of Zentangle art some months ago not only because I used to love doodling so much but also because I'd been reading about the stress busting benefits of doodling. Doodling helps us relax... lowers blood pressure and heart rate... improves concentration and memory. (Quick... hand me a pen and some paper... I need to save as much of what's left of memory as possible...!!! lol...) One article I read pointed out that as children we intuitively did things that were stress busting -- like hugging and doodling.... things we really should do more of as we navigate this complex adult world. <br />
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So to me this heart art is about more than art in the shape we associate with the heart. The heart is often associated with creative inspiration, deep emotion, or our "true selves" and this art illustrates my journey to explore and reconnect with my creativity. But in creating this heart using a style of doodling -- a form of art that brings health benefits to our physical heart -- I am also more literally nurturing and caring for my physical heart and the figurative source of creativity. <br />
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Hmm... that's a bit of a mind bender... That something as enjoyable as art can also benefit us physically is one of those things that never ceases to amaze me. Somehow I grew up with the notion that anything that physically beneficial - like medicine - will be unpleasant. This (creating art) is the kind of medicine that's a pleasure to take!<br />
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So what kind of creative medicine are you "taking" today?? : )<br />
<br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-74287410688620436672012-11-01T22:48:00.000-07:002012-11-01T22:48:15.350-07:00Shadows and SkiesToday I'm being brave and trying something just a little different.<br />
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I've been following the blog, "<a href="http://www.justaddwatersilly.com/" target="_blank">Just Add Water Silly</a>" by fellow Vancouver Islander Jennifer McLean. She's a watercolour artist and hosts the "<a href="http://www.justaddwatersilly.com/search/label/APR" target="_blank">Artist's Play Room</a>" where people share their interpretations of a weekly theme. I've been quietly observing (and enjoying) the submissions to the Artist's Play Room all the while thinking that maybe it would be fun some day to be brave enough to join in...<br />
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Well... today's that "some day" and I'm joining in. It's a little nerve racking to do something you've not done before and expose your art to a whole new audience... but (...pausing for a deep breath...) here goes..... <br />
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The theme this week is "Shadow" and below is my interpretation...<br />
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The artwork is based on some fall leaves I collected today...<br />
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When I began the art piece I rearranged the leaves and I positioned a desk lamp off to one side of the leaves to create more dramatic shadows -- the type of task lamp that creates a bright spot-light effect on things it is close to. In real life, the part of the shadows closest to the leaves include a bit of reflection from the yellowy orange of the leaves. I tried to suggest that in my shadows. I'm not entirely satisfied with how that turned out, but this is all about trying things and learning from our experiences... right? : ) <br />
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The art piece was done with water soluble coloured pencils -- Inktense brand, to be exact. I'm working through <a href="http://www.diondior.com/" target="_blank">Dion Dior's</a> online workshop about watercolour pencils and I'm really pleased with how the Inktense brand are working for me. The leaves are outlined in a fine point Faber-Castell Pitt pen in Dark Sepia colour.<br />
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The next part of this post is in response to a blog post by Suzi - another alumni member of the Creative Courage class. Suzi writes the blog "<a href="http://suzipoland.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Vignettes de la vie by Suzi Poland</a>" and in her post of October 26th she posted a beautiful pastel night sky picture and posed the questi<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">on, <i><b>"</b></i><span style="background-color: white;"><i><b>Have you been to the desert and seen how big the sky is?"</b></i> Now, Suzi's in Australia and I've never had opportunity to visit that country (yet...), so I can't say that I've seen how big the desert sky is that she's looking at. But I have been to Phoenix Arizona (USA) and I was blow away by what the desert sky is like there. Suzi's post inspired me to find some of the sky pictures I took in Phoenix last winter/spring and share a few with you. The sky here on Vancouver Island has (in my memory) never looked quite this amazing!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Not much </span>else happening creatively at the moment. I'm hoping to do more experimenting with the Inktense water soluble pencils. Perhaps Jennifer McLean's next Artist's Play Room challenge will fire up some more creative neurones in my brain... who knows where the creative whim will lead me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So... what's inspiring you this week...??</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">: ) Fern</span>Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-72472077791127323242012-10-25T01:15:00.000-07:002012-10-25T01:21:54.884-07:00Playing With Watercolour PencilsHello again! Thank you all for your lovely, supportive comments on my last post about printmaking and my hand coloured prints. There were some really great questions and suggestions which I want to respond to in a moment. But first I want to share the fun I've been having with my Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils!<br />
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Like my busy, brightly coloured table cloth...? : ) My workspace is the dining room table, and this is my art making table cloth - paint spills won't show much on a busy patterned surface like this! And I love how cheery and colourful it is - it helps inspire me.<br />
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First I decided to just do something "fun" to test out the Inktense pencils...<br />
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I love how bright and intense they are when washed with water. My other "regular" watercolour pencils look so much more pale and washed out than these ones do. <br />
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That was so much fun I decided to try something else.....<br />
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In my minds eye the "Hearts can mend" piece was supposed to look much lighter and brighter, but somehow it ended up looking somber, dark and heavy. But at least it demonstrated that the Inktense pencils can create some lovely rich colours. : )<br />
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I surfed the internet to see how other artists are using watercolour pencils, and came across an online workshop by Dion Dior. Her preference is to use Inktense pencils. So I'm trying some of the exercises she suggests in her workshop. One exercise involved blending colours using the image of a cherry. Here's my version of her cherry illustration...<br />
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There are several layers of pencil 'washes' built up on this cherry to achieve the final image. Once I was satisfied with the colours and shading, I went around the outside of the cherry, stem and leaf with a 0.03 fine tipped black Micron pen. While I'm pleased with how it turned out, it made me want to try pencil-painting a "real" cherry. There are cherry trees in the backyard where I live, so I found a photo from the spring and started my own cherry picture.<br />
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I love the soft look of the underpainting of the cherry (fuchsia pink blended with deep yellow)...<br />
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When the green cherries on the backyard trees were beginning to ripen in the spring they went through a phase of being a soft yellowy pink similar to the colours in this underpainting. But today my intention was to pencil-paint a ripe cherry... so more layers of pencil were added and washed with water - layers of warm orange red, cool blue red, and a deep wine red.<br />
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And there you have it... a ripe cherry hanging from the branch!<br />
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I signed my artwork with every intention of it being a finished little piece... but the more I looked at it the more I felt like something was missing. So I decided maybe it needed a little background colour. Out came the sky blue pencil...<br />
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The colour wash is really pale (and hard to see in the photo above!) but I think it finishes the piece quite nicely. (Since you can't really see it, you'll just have to trust me on this... lol...)<br />
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One thing I like about using the watercolour pencils is that when you wash water over the pencil it doesn't completely dissolve the pencil marks. I deliberately used that feature when laying down the blue pencil in the background - I don't know if you can see in the photo below (particularly the lower left corner) that I stroked the pencil in a bit of an arc.<br />
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I tried to stroke the pencil in curves and swirls over the entire background and even after it was washed with water you can still see faint traces of the original blue pencil strokes. I think this adds some nice texture and motion to the background.<br />
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Oh, almost forgot to say... one nice feature of the Inktense pencils is that once you've washed them with water and the paper has dried, the ink is fixed to the paper. Subsequent washes of water will not lift or smear previous layers of pencil-paint. What a lovely feature of these pencils! Makes glazing layers of colour so much easier than with traditional watercolour paints. : )<br />
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So there you have it... the fun I've had playing with watercolour pencils! <br />
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Ok, now I'd like to respond to some of the comments from my last post on printmaking. Hollace asked, <strong><em>"I am curious about the over-printing. Is that necessary?"</em></strong> In this instance it was necessary because the inks we were using to print with were water based inks. Using water media over top of the inked lines created smeared ink. : ( Not a good look. There are waterproof inks available - oil based I believe - and if they were used a person could apply watercolour paint over them without any problem at all. But oil based inks require clean-up with chemical paint cleaning agents, etc, and the workshop instructor preferred to use the less toxic water-based inks. So how do you use water-based inks and still over paint them with watercolours? The instructor had come up with a method of printing her first im<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">age in a very pale colour of ink. For my prints I chose a pale grey so that if some of it smudged when I applied my watercolour paint it wouldn't be so noticeable. I did experience a little bit of smudging/smearing - applying your paints with a single, light stroke is definitely preferable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hollace also commented, <strong><em>"I think I would just try to 'color inside the lines' if the print were
compromised by the wash."</em></strong> You know, I never thought about just using watercolour 'inside the lines' but that could work nicely, too. : ) <i><b> "The blocks I've done were lino on a wood block. What
you are using seems softer, like a rubber eraser. Did you like the product? The
linocuts were hard and it was easy to lose control with force."</b></i> Ah, yes... I remember the tough-to-cut lino from high school and yes, the vinyl material I used feels a lot like a rubber eraser! This product is MUCH easier to use. The instructor recommended a vinyl product called "Saf-t-kut". It was quite soft and very easy to carve without a lot of pressure which gave me good control over the cutting tools. Speedball makes a pink coloured material that seems similarly soft - it wasn't the instructor's preferred material so I haven't tried it yet and can't tell you much about it. If anyone out there has worked with the Speedball product I'd love to hear how it's worked for you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Suzi suggested, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; text-align: justify;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><i>I wonder what adding a little inktense pencil over them would look like.</i></b><span style="line-height: 20px;">" Great suggestion Suzi! I'd not thought about doing that but I think it would work well. The pencil stroke marks that show even after you've washed them with water would create more texture. That would have worked especially well in the foreground area of my print - the area that was to represent grass and vegetation. I'll have to play around with colouring prints with Inktense pencils. : )</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 20px;">As for the input on which print people liked best - it's a tie. Between comments on the blog and comments on Facebook, it would seem that the first (blue greens) and third (all blue) prints tied for most popular and the second (warm sunset colours) print was many peoples' second favourite. Thank you all for taking time to give me your input!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Not sure what project I'll be working on next. I might play a</span>round with mixing traditional watercolours with the Inktense watercolour pencils... but then again... I guess you'll have to check back next week to see where the creative muse led!</div>
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-- Fern : )</div>
Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-75805755309537599742012-10-18T22:15:00.002-07:002012-10-18T22:24:03.492-07:00More Fun With Print MakingTwo posts ago I told you about experimenting with print making. At that time I had three prints that I was going to hand colour with watercolours and then over print in black ink. Well... they're done!... and I'm excited to show you how they turned out.<br />
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Peaceful green and blue-greens...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kxjf_RDmHbA/UIDcSxnixdI/AAAAAAAADIE/aWr3fy1cCeU/s1600/2012-10-Lino2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kxjf_RDmHbA/UIDcSxnixdI/AAAAAAAADIE/aWr3fy1cCeU/s1600/2012-10-Lino2.jpg" /></a></div>
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The warmth of the late day near sun-down...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Jt9MkQzXbk/UIDcTSZ0sgI/AAAAAAAADIQ/N5TtYdUGy5U/s1600/2012-10-Lino3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Jt9MkQzXbk/UIDcTSZ0sgI/AAAAAAAADIQ/N5TtYdUGy5U/s1600/2012-10-Lino3.jpg" /></a></div>
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Icy cool blues...<br />
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Three different versions - different moods. Which one do you like best...?? <br />
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If the last one (the all blue one) looks a bit blurry, don't run out and get your vision checked. When I over printed it with black ink I didn't pay quite enough attention to making sure the plate was going to accurately line up with the grey lines previously printed. Oops...!! You can see the grey lines showing a little above the black lines in the picture below...<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IN8pWsGBQPc/UIDcUlWS7uI/AAAAAAAADIY/teegqTUHzHI/s1600/2012-10-Lino4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IN8pWsGBQPc/UIDcUlWS7uI/AAAAAAAADIY/teegqTUHzHI/s1600/2012-10-Lino4.jpg" /></a></div>
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So, good lesson learned... check v-e-r-y carefully before overprinting to make sure you have everything lined up as closely to the original printing as you can!<br />
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Other than that little glitch, I think my experiment with hand colouring and over printing went quite well. I'd like to try more printing and learn some new carving techniques. So many thing to try... so little time! lol...<br />
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In an earlier post I wrote about the fun I was having with pearlescent paints. Unfortunately it does not show up so well in these pictures, but I used some pearlescent paints on the top of the mountain to try and create the idea of sun glistening off snow. <br />
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And I thought I'd share pictures with you of what the printing "plates" look like.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nmHRlYj4cNY/UIDeAhhOOtI/AAAAAAAADIo/ngDixMJ068M/s1600/2012-10-Lino-Plate1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nmHRlYj4cNY/UIDeAhhOOtI/AAAAAAAADIo/ngDixMJ068M/s1600/2012-10-Lino-Plate1.jpg" /></a></div>
This is what the whole plate looked like before I cut the sky away. The black parts are the uncarved parts that pick up the paint when the inked brayer (roller) is rolled over the print, and those are the parts that press the ink onto the paper when you lay paper over the plate and press down on the paper.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4q9uRJadiGY/UIDeBFBFBKI/AAAAAAAADIw/hbEV7XmKHxo/s1600/2012-10-Lino-Plate2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4q9uRJadiGY/UIDeBFBFBKI/AAAAAAAADIw/hbEV7XmKHxo/s1600/2012-10-Lino-Plate2.jpg" /></a></div>
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And this is my plate now - cut in two, so I can print the sky separately or not print it at all if I want to leave a blank area to hand colour (like in the three prints I hand coloured). Notice that everything on the plate is reversed from the finished print? You have to account for the reversed image when you are planning how you want to carve your image. : )<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gDeUYKQHJCU/UIDd9m6kvWI/AAAAAAAADIg/YFCN4vULx10/s1600/2012-10-Lino-side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gDeUYKQHJCU/UIDd9m6kvWI/AAAAAAAADIg/YFCN4vULx10/s1600/2012-10-Lino-side.jpg" /></a></div>
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Here is a view of the side of the "plate" - you'll see that in some placed I gouged a bit deeply into the rubbery material. Good thing it was thick! Practice would help me make more uniform cuts. <br />
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Other than that, I've been playing with my watercolour pencils again. I bought some Derwent "Inktense" pencils and I'm <i style="font-weight: bold;">loving</i> the beautiful rich colour I get when I wash coloured areas with water. Next post I'll show you what I've been working on... (don't you love 'cliff hangers'...?? lol...)<br />
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I hope you're making time for some creativity in your life - it's a great stress buster!<br />
: ) Fern<br />
<br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-46130497866990939622012-09-29T14:51:00.000-07:002012-09-29T14:51:13.074-07:00Art Collaboration With Richard Wong, Watercolour Painter
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<br />
<span lang="EN-CA">The summer is a creatively inspiring time for me.
Yes, the warm sunny days seem to fire up my creative neurons. But summer
is inspiring for another reason - it's a popular time for art shows! Doesn’t
viewing other artists' work get your creative juices flowing, too?
Perhaps someone else's use of colour will inspire you... maybe it will be the
use of an usual painting material, perhaps a new type of paper for water media... or a technique that is freshly
interpreted. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-CA">At this summer's art shows I met many artists and found them to be of generous
spirit and genuinely interested in helping their fellow artists. For example, I met</span> <a href="http://www.richardwongwatercolors.ca/" target="_blank">Richard Wong</a> - a local oriental brush and watercolor artist who has developed an unique style of painting on a special type of paper. During October Richard will be having his first solo art show "<a href="http://www.richardwongwatercolors.ca/birds-and-fowl.php" target="_blank">Songbirds of Victoria</a>" at Island Blue Art Store here in Victoria, as well as showing some of his work at The Gallery in Oak Bay Village. Here's a look at some of his work --<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i5ViCWH77e0/UGdnhO3VNfI/AAAAAAAADHE/mCmdmAtF6uQ/s1600/2012-09-29-Richard-Finches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i5ViCWH77e0/UGdnhO3VNfI/AAAAAAAADHE/mCmdmAtF6uQ/s400/2012-09-29-Richard-Finches.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">"Finches & Sunflower" by Richard Wong; watercolour on masa paper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TzoNC9BtD1g/UGdnhVXzj0I/AAAAAAAADHM/ptpnbIMnzuU/s1600/2012-09-29-Richard-House+Finch+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TzoNC9BtD1g/UGdnhVXzj0I/AAAAAAAADHM/ptpnbIMnzuU/s400/2012-09-29-Richard-House+Finch+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">"House Finch" by Richard Wong; watercolour on masa paper</td></tr>
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As you can see, Richard uses a special paper prepared in a unique way to create a "batik" type of background for his paintings. Interesting effect, wouldn't you agree?<br />
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Richard and I discussed our mutual belief that there's a great benefit in artists working together - collaborating on projects and assisting each other toward mutual goals. I was honoured when Richard asked if he could use some of my bird photos as inspiration/source material for some of his "Songbirds of Victoria" paintings. Here are three paintings inspired by my photos:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F3MhQFHSBko/UGdpIGFVGNI/AAAAAAAADHU/0j2o7aQ2b7s/s1600/2012-09-29-Richard-Chickadees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F3MhQFHSBko/UGdpIGFVGNI/AAAAAAAADHU/0j2o7aQ2b7s/s400/2012-09-29-Richard-Chickadees.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">"Chickadees 2" by Richard Wong; watercolour on masa paper </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OvPPcdB_GxM/UGdpJJnRj-I/AAAAAAAADHc/3p2dQ3lIH1o/s1600/2012-09-29-Richard-Robin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OvPPcdB_GxM/UGdpJJnRj-I/AAAAAAAADHc/3p2dQ3lIH1o/s400/2012-09-29-Richard-Robin.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">"Robin & Blueberries" by Richard Wong; <br />watercolour on masa paper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5D0CiYQf8wc/UGdpLnK66OI/AAAAAAAADHk/SrXU7QPKu6c/s1600/2012-09-29-Richard-ThirstySparrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5D0CiYQf8wc/UGdpLnK66OI/AAAAAAAADHk/SrXU7QPKu6c/s400/2012-09-29-Richard-ThirstySparrow.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">"Thirsty Sparrow" by Richard Wong; watercolour on masa paper</td></tr>
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<br />Richard has many more paintings posted to his website (<a href="http://www.richardwongwatercolors.ca/">http://www.richardwongwatercolors.ca/</a>). Which is your favourite...? Personally, the "Thirsty Sparrow" is my favourite... but perhaps when I see his next group of paintings I may decide I have a new favourite! : )<br /><br />
I hope you've enjoyed being introduced to Richard's work. I know I'm looking forward to seeing what he creates next, and to collaborating on future projects.<br />
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What's inspiring you creatively lately...??<br />
: ) Fern<br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-77737998353245289692012-09-21T23:13:00.000-07:002012-09-21T23:15:37.895-07:00Experimenting With Print Making<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KclFQUxqBB0/UF1MbnpVXQI/AAAAAAAADFk/HyK6Z5A3bUQ/s1600/2012-09-LinoPrint-RainbowRoll-Whole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KclFQUxqBB0/UF1MbnpVXQI/AAAAAAAADFk/HyK6Z5A3bUQ/s640/2012-09-LinoPrint-RainbowRoll-Whole.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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When's the last time you tried print making? For me, it was high school and back then we called it lino printing. I was pleased to learn that old fashioned lino printing has become much easier and more enjoyable thanks to new and improved materials.<br />
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Recently a friend suggested taking a workshop in printmaking from <a href="http://members.shaw.ca/jnmci/index.html" target="_blank">Jennifer McIntyre</a>. I'd not really thought about doing printmaking before my friend expressed an interest in the workshop, but when opportunity comes knocking I've learned that it's a good idea to hop on board. (Oops... mixing metaphors there... but you get the drift, right??) We showed up at class clutching a selection of B&W images (photos converted to B&W and printed on everyday letter sized paper), cutting tools and pieces of thick, soft, easy to cut vinyl.<br />
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I chose to base my piece on a photo of Mount Baker, taken from Cattle Point just outside of Victoria, BC.<br />
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It took me much longer than my friends to get my image carved and ready for printing. I probably should have tried something a bit less detailed for my first attempt at printmaking after all these years... but I see a pattern developing in my life... I tend to jump in at the deep end of the pool when I learn new things by starting out with a challenging project instead of wading in gradually with something quick and easy. (Note to self... you have permission to <b><i>not</i></b> do things the hard way! Lol...)<br />
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Part way through the carving process, Jennifer (our instructor) suggested that we could print an "artist's proof" to get a sense of how our image was developing. The first picture on this post is one of my artist's proofs. Jennifer showed me how to ink the vinyl "plate" with a "rainbow roll" - multiple colours of ink on the brayer that created a gradation of colour on the printed image. I am completely in love with that artist's proof with it's rainbow roll! Oh, and the light purplish line you see in the foreground of the print...? That's colour that transferred from the black Sharpie marker I'd used to draw my carving lines on to the vinyl. It wasn't intended to be part of the print, but I happen to really like how it looks. Hmm... maybe I'll have to try other prints with deliberate Sharpie marker line transfers in them! : )<br />
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Back to carving away more of the vinyl... and soon I was ready to make a print of the finished plate -- this time all in black.<br />
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So, what do you think? The black and white image is very dramatic. Very different from the softness of the artist's proof at the top of this blog. <br />
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Jennifer suggested that the sky could be inked a different colour. To do that I ran a utility knife between the land and the sky and completely cut off the sky portion of the plate. (It felt a little strange to cut apart the thing you'd just spent hours to create!!!) When we printed it, the bottom of the plate was inked with a dark colour (that came out looking black) and the sky portion of the plate was inked with another rainbow roll. The two pieces of vinyl were nested snuggly beside each other like puzzle pieces before the paper was laid down. Here's the result...<br />
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I really like that effect, too. Oh... the possibilities...!!! : )<br />
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At the end of the workshop Jennifer had me print a handful of copies in light grey of just the bottom of the plate (without the sky). These prints are for me to hand colour with watercolour paints. Once they're painted and dried, I will over print them with black ink. That should be interesting... we'll see how it turns out. I'll keep you posted!<br />
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As always, I hope you're taking/making time for some art in your life. It really can be an uplifting break from the stresses of everyday life!<br />
: ) FernFern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-42321059586678150112012-08-05T01:57:00.001-07:002012-08-05T01:57:28.694-07:00Magpies Know a Good Thing When They See It!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1kZs5jN68-Y/UBteia4zPBI/AAAAAAAADEc/hcjBTmmvJdQ/s1600/12-07-Pears-JournalPage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1kZs5jN68-Y/UBteia4zPBI/AAAAAAAADEc/hcjBTmmvJdQ/s640/12-07-Pears-JournalPage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Can you believe it's August already!!?? Personally, I am loving all the sun we're having the past few weeks. I do feel so much better in warm sunny weather.<br />
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As I wrote this post I realized that the art I've been engaged in lately is all about pretty shiny things - like shimmer paint and glass - and it's not hard at all to understand why Magpies (and other birds and animals for that matter) find pretty shiny things so attractive.<br />
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The image above is a page from my sketchbook. I decided to play around with watercolour pencils, gold acrylic ink (outlining the pears in the upper right corner) and "Pearlex" paints (a pan of pearlescent watercolour paints). What fun!! You can see the pearly sheen in the highlights of the pears in the upper right corner. Now I want to accent everything in Pearlex paints...! lol...<br />
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Over the past few months I've finished the line of custom bridal stationery and a beautiful colour catalog showcasing it (thanks to the help of Scott at <a href="http://www.artinkprint.ca/index.html" target="_blank">Art Ink Print</a>!). Yeah!! A new bridal shop in Green Bay, Wisconsin (USA) called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/ALFA-Bridal/238622432860738" target="_blank">AlfA Bridal</a> is now carrying my custom bridal stationery line. It's all so very exciting. : ) My west coast sales rep has three Canadian retailers to show the catalog to and we'll see if any of them are interested in the line. I also noticed two new bridal shops have opened recently here in Victoria and I'm thinking of approaching one or both of them with the line as well. <br />
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As for the "everyday" line (as I refer to the non-bridal stationery card line), some new shops have picked it up including "Buchan's" in Vancouver, BC. Last week the newly opened gift shop "B&K Jewelry and Gifts" located in the town I grew up in (Sooke, BC) agreed to carry my cards. (Can you see me waving happy hands in the air...!!??) A greeting card display rack has been ordered and I hope it comes soon so I can get the cards on display. Little by little the business is starting to grow... and its teaching me patience... you know... that thing I was told as a child I didn't have enough of... : ) If nothing else this business of starting a business will perhaps teach me a lesson about patience! lol...<br />
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Somewhere in between working on the bridal card line and doodling in my sketchbook, I also played around with glass. Glass has always fascinated me - besides being colourful, it's so smooth and shiny. But I was firmly convinced glass art was difficult and some of the techniques might even be a bit dangerous. That was then... Now I know just how much fun working with glass (and fire) can actually be! I signed up for a 2-evening "Art Glass Sampler" workshop. Some glass art techniques were simply discussed and samples were passed around. But for other techniques we got to participate in creating our own samples. That was the fun part! The "hands on" techniques included sandblasting, tack fusing, full fusing, embossing and bead making. Here are a few of the samples I created.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWX1Ig43bUA/UBtm5pePfbI/AAAAAAAADE0/fAa7V2uEkKY/s1600/12-07-Glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWX1Ig43bUA/UBtm5pePfbI/AAAAAAAADE0/fAa7V2uEkKY/s640/12-07-Glass.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: full fused glass coaster, sand blasted mirrored glass, beads (see them reflected in the mirrored glass?) and tack fused glass coaster</td></tr>
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Here's a close-up of the beads<br />
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Bead making involved fire - an oxyacetylene torch to be precise. The instructor told us that some people love working with glass and fire... others not so much. Apparently I have a little pyromaniac somewhere deep down inside because I really enjoyed working with glass and fire. I can't wait to go back and play around with more glass. My biggest problem is deciding which type of glass art to do more of -- fusing or beadmaking...? hmm...<br />
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What else is on my creative "wanna-do" list? I am already starting to think about developing the newest cards to be added to the "everyday" greeting card line. I'd like them to be ready to debut in January 2013 so I need to start soon choosing the sentiments and images I like the best. I think I'll probably aim to add 12 new cards to the line... we'll see. And my watercolour paints are calling to me and teasing me with ideas of how I could combine them with more beautifully shimmery Pearlex paint... : ) Oh, and of course I'll be busy taking more photos -- that's kind of a "given" as I seldom leave home without my trusty old camera. <br />
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I hope you're enjoying your summer... unless you're reading this from the southern hemisphere, and then I hope your winter is going ok. Either way, I hope you are finding time for some form of art.<br />
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: ) FernFern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-54136839032842682852012-05-24T23:59:00.000-07:002012-05-24T23:59:32.204-07:00Psst!... Want To See My Sketchbook?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello! I hope the sun in shining brightly in your part of the world. Having recently returned to Vancouver Island after an extended stay in Phoenix, I am discovering how "solar powered" I am. Phoenix had sun almost every day and I felt creatively inspired often during my stay. Victoria on the other hand has very changeable weather and at times there are days on end that are cloudy, overcast and/or rainy. On grey rainy days I feel so very uninspired but the moment the sun pierces the clouds with its glorious rays I immediately feel my mood lift and creativity soar! Somehow I need to carry my own personal piece of sunshine with me (and no, strangely enough sun lamps and things of that sort don't seem to help me at all). <div>
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The bridal stationery line is still my main focus and I'm now working on compiling the catalog with the help of <a href="http://www.artinkprint.ca/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Scott at Art Ink</a>. It's exciting new territory for me and I am so grateful for Scott's objective input. Hopefully between us both we'll produce an easy-to-follow catalog that showcases the bridal cards to their best advantage. I'll give you a sneak peek...... soon... : )</div>
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In the meantime, you my have noticed that I haven't been producing any new art. All my energies have been focused on the bridal catalog although a little voice in my head keeps whispering.... no, make that almost yelling!... that I need to pick up a pencil or brush and doodle in my sketchbook if nothing else.</div>
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Which brings me to the subject of sketchbooks. Over the past months I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing pages from other people's sketchbooks -- like Koosje Koene's (<a href="http://koosjekoene.blogspot.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">to view her blog click here</a>), Connie's (which you can view on her blog <a href="http://crafty-home-cottage.blogspot.ca/2012/04/music-beattles-tulips-these-are-few-of.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://crafty-home-cottage.blogspot.ca/2012/04/doodling-in-my-journals.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>) and Amna Mehwish's (<a href="http://amnaartstudio.blogspot.ca/2012/05/connections-identity-roots-work-in.html?spref=fb" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">view her blog here</a>) to name just a few. (Koosje and Amna are fellow participants in the "Creative Courage" online course by Stephanie Levy.) I think people who share sketchbook pages are quite brave, as our sketches are rather personal and aren't polished works of art. The ladies I mentioned above have inspired me to be brave. Since I don't have any new art to share at the moment (sorry Amna... I know your comment on a previous post told me not to stop painting again...but this time it's for a good cause.... honest!) I thought I'd share a few pages from my sketchbook. </div>
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My sketchbook started as a place to draw. That's it... pencil drawings...plain and simple... </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VcUVI39SFtY/T78iiaFkdBI/AAAAAAAADDs/674bmtpqymY/s1600/2012-05-24-Ferns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VcUVI39SFtY/T78iiaFkdBI/AAAAAAAADDs/674bmtpqymY/s400/2012-05-24-Ferns.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New ferns unfurling in spring</td></tr>
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Way back when I was trying to be brave enough to do anything creative and artistic I challenged myself to draw the sword fern fronds unfurling in the backyard. I loved the curving, curling shapes and now wish I'd thought to take a photo as a reference so I could now turn this into a painting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXMJ8hTQar8/T78iuVYR-cI/AAAAAAAADD8/shi4Pi7M41c/s1600/2012-05-24-DallasRd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXMJ8hTQar8/T78iuVYR-cI/AAAAAAAADD8/shi4Pi7M41c/s400/2012-05-24-DallasRd.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dallas Road waterfront in Victoria</td></tr>
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I have a story to share about the Dallas Road sketch. I was sitting sketching on top of the cliffs that overlook this part of the waterfront when a tourist approached and asked if I'd mind having my picture taken as I sketched. The photo was taken from behind so they could get the sketchbook in the photo along with the actual scene I was trying to capture. So somewhere out there my sketchbook and I are immortalized as part of someone's Victoria vacation photos. : )<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9kTIMQABaI/T78iopcZgNI/AAAAAAAADD0/3Bjm-mHTy2A/s1600/2012-05-24-Sketch-RoseHip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9kTIMQABaI/T78iopcZgNI/AAAAAAAADD0/3Bjm-mHTy2A/s400/2012-05-24-Sketch-RoseHip.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer rose hip</td></tr>
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The rose hip sketch was made while sitting waiting at a ferry terminal for a sailing that was considerably delayed. Rose hips were growing profusely along side the parking lot and time slipped by quite quickly as I sketched. Thank goodness for my sketchbook! And that time I remembered to take a photo and may actually try to reproduce this picture in watercolour one day.<br />
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It didn't take long before my sketchbook became a place where I could also experiment with new and different art media.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgoSdZW0Mc0/T78jcknoTeI/AAAAAAAADEE/3t22cXAvQGM/s1600/2012-05-24-FeltDoodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgoSdZW0Mc0/T78jcknoTeI/AAAAAAAADEE/3t22cXAvQGM/s400/2012-05-24-FeltDoodles.jpg" width="152" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Testing out felt tipped drawing pens and Copic colour markers.<br />Such fun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iHiF96ikDVA/T78jfQT03RI/AAAAAAAADEM/46vpqgK2EUo/s1600/2012-05-24-Berries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iHiF96ikDVA/T78jfQT03RI/AAAAAAAADEM/46vpqgK2EUo/s1600/2012-05-24-Berries.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Experimenting with coloured pencils while reading a book on botanical illustration.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bX6AE86dkMU/T78dimXVXEI/AAAAAAAADDg/wdmGdefR0aM/s1600/2012-05-24-Eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bX6AE86dkMU/T78dimXVXEI/AAAAAAAADDg/wdmGdefR0aM/s1600/2012-05-24-Eye.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with pastels.</td></tr>
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It would be ideal if I could discipline myself to sketch regularly. I've read that regular sketching contributes to making good progress technically and artistically. I know some people manage to do it daily but at this point I'd settle for once a week! However, at the moment my first priority is the bridal stationery line. After that I'll see about more sketching.</div>
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So now that we're on the subject of sketchbooks, I'd love to you what medium you use most often in your sketchbook, and what's your favourite subject?</div>
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Happy sketching!</div>
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- Fern</div>Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-68246401034007819422012-05-13T22:37:00.001-07:002012-05-13T22:37:17.151-07:00Wedding Invitations and Bridal Stationery<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wow... it's true!... Time really does fly when you're having fun! lol... Since my last post I've been busy developing a new card line - a line of wedding invitations and bridal stationery! A new bridal shop is opening up in Wisconsin soon and I am developing a line of custom printed invitations and bridal stationery for them. Here's a peek at what I've been working on -- </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSeyvKTBk2U/T7CWOmVjoVI/AAAAAAAADCI/mnlqWjrhikE/s1600/05-12g-cactus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSeyvKTBk2U/T7CWOmVjoVI/AAAAAAAADCI/mnlqWjrhikE/s400/05-12g-cactus.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Altogether there will be 20 photo images, and as you can see each photo image with come in either a light or dark border because some brides prefer the bolder look of a dark border. I'm thinking that the white cactus flower image may appeal to a bride who wants a less traditional, slightly 'edgier' look. Someone who saw these images early in the card development process commented that the cactus flower is a fitting bridal image because love and marriage isn't all about romance and good times - there can be some thorny time, too! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm planning on putting together a catalog so a bride can see all the choices of image, font style and type of stationery. For example, wedding invitations could be folded cards or flat unfolded cards. Thank you cards will be available in two sizes - 5 x 7" and 3.25 x 5.25". A bride could also order RSVP cards, reception information cards, save the date folded cards or postcards, table place cards, dinner menu cards, wedding programs, and bookmarks that could be given to guests as favors. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are there any other types of wedding stationery that you think would be good to include? Something you wish had been available when you got married? Or something you saw at someone's wedding and thought was a really good idea? I'd love to hear your suggestions. </span><br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-9878206511958775112012-03-24T00:09:00.003-07:002012-03-24T00:09:33.206-07:00Painting Again!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What a huge relief to feel inspired to paint again! </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bTv4mQnxnco/T21RcPLRXII/AAAAAAAACgw/tS_bFya5gqE/s1600/Daffs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bTv4mQnxnco/T21RcPLRXII/AAAAAAAACgw/tS_bFya5gqE/s1600/Daffs.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My friend here in Phoenix bought a bouquet of daffodils - a flower that doesn't grow here naturally but which reminded me of Victoria and the beautiful display of spring flowers that will be blooming there right about now. In a fit of homesickness, I decided to try and capture their likeness in watercolour. It's a quick watercolour sketch - done in my art journal. The pages of the journal are not thick enough to withstand water media without buckling, so I took a glue stick and stuck three pages of the journal together to give me a stronger surface to paint on. It felt really good to be playing in the paint again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Doing that little painting made me feel like painting more! This time I was inspired by a cluster of tomatoes all on a single stem. They were laying on the kitchen island and lit by a series of overhead lights (hence the multiple shadows). I really wanted to try and capture the beautiful red glowing colours and am very pleased by how the painting turned out.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i_sXqNbhwNM/T21ov9WFDYI/AAAAAAAACg4/Z058QFeYt58/s1600/03-23Tomatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i_sXqNbhwNM/T21ov9WFDYI/AAAAAAAACg4/Z058QFeYt58/s1600/03-23Tomatoes.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I've also found myself feeling curious about other painting media lately. There have been only two times in my life when I've been brave enough to try painting with oil paints - once at age twelve when I created a huge disappointing mess in an attempt to paint a stormy ocean scene, and once at age seventeen when I painted a colour interpretation of a black and white photo of a landscape from somewhere in Scotland. I still have that painting. This week I decided to try oil colours for the third time. I'm using them to paint a different interpretation of this tomatoe cluster and so far it's going without incident. It will be some time before you will see the finished product as it takes so long (compared to watercolours) for the paint to dry between layers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think I'd like to try painting with acrylic paints, too. Watercolour is by far what I am most comfortable with, but if I am so curious to try other things right now. I'll keep you posted on my progress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And last, but not least, there's been more fiber art in my life during the past few weeks. A friend's neice is getting married soon. My friend had the idea of personalizing some bed linen for the bride with embroidered names or monograms. That idea fired my imagination. First I took some of the design elements from the wedding invitation and came up with this design, which my friend embroidered in black thread on blueberry blue coloured pillow cases.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AFHCr2fSxrg/T21tUPl-8EI/AAAAAAAAChA/yRqU4aFj0uI/s1600/Design-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AFHCr2fSxrg/T21tUPl-8EI/AAAAAAAAChA/yRqU4aFj0uI/s1600/Design-1.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next I designed another pattern for pillowcases so I could embroider something for the bride, too.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e_wHNDQ3e5k/T21tlnXPINI/AAAAAAAAChI/K7mOfv0SufI/s1600/Design-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e_wHNDQ3e5k/T21tlnXPINI/AAAAAAAAChI/K7mOfv0SufI/s1600/Design-2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I decided to use dark grey thread on dove grey pillowcases, and here's how they looked when they were finished -</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Last week I was out photographing at the ruins of a little place called "Scorpion Gulch", just south of Phoenix at the base of South Mountain. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xZb3YH6cYlc/T21vTn-fkDI/AAAAAAAACho/Tie3mJoxqzk/s1600/ScorpionGulch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xZb3YH6cYlc/T21vTn-fkDI/AAAAAAAACho/Tie3mJoxqzk/s1600/ScorpionGulch2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9b2HY9oRzNY/T21vlIokHmI/AAAAAAAACh4/lPlJQrbhZZ0/s1600/Ocotillo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9b2HY9oRzNY/T21vlIokHmI/AAAAAAAACh4/lPlJQrbhZZ0/s1600/Ocotillo.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhZ0eYYalEs/T21vuFYCc4I/AAAAAAAACiA/1m_QIc9CjWY/s1600/CactusFlower5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhZ0eYYalEs/T21vuFYCc4I/AAAAAAAACiA/1m_QIc9CjWY/s1600/CactusFlower5.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--94qGFUecTw/T21vziwjkwI/AAAAAAAACiI/LSjdcrZqDsk/s1600/CactusFlower3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--94qGFUecTw/T21vziwjkwI/AAAAAAAACiI/LSjdcrZqDsk/s1600/CactusFlower3.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's been a great couple of weeks and I am so thrilled to be feeling creative again! I can't wait to see where inspiration takes me next!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- Fern</span>Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-89195358496818081192012-03-04T22:41:00.000-08:002012-03-04T22:41:05.602-08:00Pieces of Previous Work<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been fighting a virus the last couple of weeks. Feeling unwell is a real creativity zapper for me. : ( So while I have nothing much new to share with you I realized that there were a couple of watercolour pieces from December that I did not share with you yet. Care to see...?</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H-_nESNSFIk/T1RQBqCseKI/AAAAAAAACUg/OjXnEdSA-Kc/s1600/WinterCreek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H-_nESNSFIk/T1RQBqCseKI/AAAAAAAACUg/OjXnEdSA-Kc/s400/WinterCreek.jpg" width="305" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In one of the watercolur classes we were invited to paint a snow scene. I chose one of the teacher's paintings (</span><a href="http://www.joannethomson.com/default2.asp" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">our teacher was Joanne Thomson</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) and painted my interpretation of it. I love how cold it looks... brrrr! </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx30RbZFSvI/T1RQFjHcZaI/AAAAAAAACUo/W7C3hMgOdc4/s1600/Rosehips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx30RbZFSvI/T1RQFjHcZaI/AAAAAAAACUo/W7C3hMgOdc4/s400/Rosehips.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The painting of rose hips was inspired by some photos I took last summer. During our painting class Joanne advised us to only use the best quality of paper, but I tbought I'd test out some other lesser expensive papers mostly out of curiosity but partly out of thriftiness. As I painted the rose hips I noticed the paint behaved differently on this inexpensive paper, but I told myself that I wasn't all <strong><em>that</em></strong> unhappy with it. At last the painting was finished and the paper was dry so I began peeling away the tape that held the edges of the paper to rigid board... only to have some of the top layer of the paper peel away with the tape! (Did you hear me yelling in frustration that afternoon..??) I stared at the jagged strip of sparking white paper where soft green paint had previously been and felt quite sick. This was never meant to be a masterpiece, but I liked it enough that I would rather have been able to keep it intact! Fortunately I had a small bottle of rice paper paste left over from a craft product and with much patience, diluted rice paper paste and a teeny tiny brush I was able to glue the torn layer of paper back onto the painting. Lesson learned... <strong><em>always </em></strong>use good quality watercolour paper because it costs less in tears and heartache in the long run! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few weeks back we had a lovely bunch of purple tulips in the house. The graceful curving stems begged me to try and capture their likeness so one afternoon I made this coloured pencil sketch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I do have one photo to share, taken a few weeks ago - a sunset taken from the top of South Mountain on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MgegZLQfY-Q/T1RbxSrglfI/AAAAAAAACU4/gak7BJSaJsY/s1600/SouthMtg-Sunset1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="457" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MgegZLQfY-Q/T1RbxSrglfI/AAAAAAAACU4/gak7BJSaJsY/s640/SouthMtg-Sunset1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This business of feeling unwell and being unable to do creative things is really for the birds! I am <strong><em>so</em></strong> looking forward to getting into a new creative project <strong><em>soon</em></strong>. Next post I hope to have more new things to share with you. In the meantime, I hope you're able to put at least a little sunshine in your life through expressing your creativity.</span><br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-75438862014050168612012-02-14T14:50:00.000-08:002012-03-04T21:25:49.161-08:00Creativity Takes a Tactile Turn<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This post is coming to you from Phoenix, Arizona, USA as I am still vacationing there. During the weeks I've been here I am witnessing a shift in my creativity. Drawing and painting don't seem to interest me quite as much lately. Photography is still a part of my life. But I find myself much more interested in textile arts, as though there is a subconscious gravitation towards things that are more familiar from childhood... or perhaps things that are more comforting because they are textural. I wonder if it is an attempt to balance out all the newness and unfamiliarity of my current environment? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet when I was about seven years old. She introduced me to quilting when I was around 11 or 12 years old. Perhaps the happy memories associated with these crafts are connecting me to home while I'm stay so many miles away? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Regardless of the underlying reason, I am enjoying working with fibers again. A friend is going to become a grandmother soon, so I started knitting a couple of baby hats on fruit and vegetable themes. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--LaMZetwgJs/TzrgTh83m3I/AAAAAAAACQg/oZgRcoJj_08/s1600/02-14Eggplant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--LaMZetwgJs/TzrgTh83m3I/AAAAAAAACQg/oZgRcoJj_08/s1600/02-14Eggplant.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Eggplant Hat</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KjAjoIDVyws/TzrgVbYIPaI/AAAAAAAACQo/DcVl3qkgrP0/s1600/02-14Strawberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KjAjoIDVyws/TzrgVbYIPaI/AAAAAAAACQo/DcVl3qkgrP0/s1600/02-14Strawberry.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Strawberry Hat</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once the first two hats were done I started thinking of other fruit or veggies and wondering how I could translate them into hats.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebiO0PtCd30/TzrgtHUsWRI/AAAAAAAACQw/1HS9hDf-OT8/s1600/02-14Blueberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebiO0PtCd30/TzrgtHUsWRI/AAAAAAAACQw/1HS9hDf-OT8/s1600/02-14Blueberry.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Blue Berry Hat</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTUeXEpP5Ok/TzrguShORRI/AAAAAAAACQ4/-RPsv4mxXXE/s1600/02-14YPepper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTUeXEpP5Ok/TzrguShORRI/AAAAAAAACQ4/-RPsv4mxXXE/s1600/02-14YPepper.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On my needles right now is what I'm hoping will be a green apple. I've been thinking how I'll finish the top so that there's a dimple where the stem and a single dark green leaf will attach. Not sure it will turn out like I envision it, but it's fun to try new ideas out.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HcuE96VWiNo/Tzrgv6muaAI/AAAAAAAACRA/tZpcfdY8PKU/s1600/02-14InProgress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HcuE96VWiNo/Tzrgv6muaAI/AAAAAAAACRA/tZpcfdY8PKU/s1600/02-14InProgress.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I've also started pieceing a hexagon or Grandmother's Flower Garden style of quilt in the English paper piecing technique. Stitching by hand is very soothing to me.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5qCBopc0YXQ/TzrhK-1w-EI/AAAAAAAACRI/D4aAvmfKr0k/s1600/02-14Hex1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5qCBopc0YXQ/TzrhK-1w-EI/AAAAAAAACRI/D4aAvmfKr0k/s1600/02-14Hex1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I haven't a clear idea of what the finished design will look like. It's going to develop rather organically, I think, and I'm very curious to see what it will turn out like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This past week I felt a small rekindling of my desire to draw or paint. I visited the local art supply store to fuel the desire a bit, but for now the desire is a bit reclusive and I don't think pushing it is going to be beneficial. Instead, I will go with the stronger drive to create textile arts and see where it leads. I'll keep on reading art magazines and visiting the art supply store, and when the drive to draw and paint gets stronger I'll shift back to that. Vehicles for creative expression come in many forms and I am learning the value of respecting and 'going with' the creative flow in whatever form it may take. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here are some photos taken in Arizona. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tNWrbV34Xuk/Tzrhpj1PnQI/AAAAAAAACRg/G47zM6v2wbM/s1600/Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tNWrbV34Xuk/Tzrhpj1PnQI/AAAAAAAACRg/G47zM6v2wbM/s640/Tree.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An Arizona Sunset</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Bird Tracks in the Sand</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Mourning Doves on a Fence</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PyRbEc-TgjU/Tzrikh6JwqI/AAAAAAAACSQ/x_a04UtarTE/s1600/YellowSunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PyRbEc-TgjU/Tzrikh6JwqI/AAAAAAAACSQ/x_a04UtarTE/s1600/YellowSunset.jpg" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Flames create such interesting shapes</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GDK-aE-dG94/TzriyojJfrI/AAAAAAAACSo/E0lIcSgNlfI/s1600/Fire-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GDK-aE-dG94/TzriyojJfrI/AAAAAAAACSo/E0lIcSgNlfI/s1600/Fire-4.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So let's see where our creativity takes us next!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">: ) Fern</span>Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-19571441776251169952012-01-10T22:24:00.000-08:002012-01-10T22:24:23.232-08:00Debut of the Packaged Sets of Cards<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The newest cards in my collection hot off the press!! I have just received from Scott of <a href="http://www.artinkprint.ca/" target="_blank">Art Ink Print</a> the final 12 new cards that I've developed for Winter 2011/2012. These cards will be packaged in sets of six - three different images per set, two of each image. Let me introduce the four new "six-packs" of cards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cyFhxBc2Re0/Tw0cExOqnNI/AAAAAAAACIc/0vNxnao2XFY/s1600/Blog-Wings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cyFhxBc2Re0/Tw0cExOqnNI/AAAAAAAACIc/0vNxnao2XFY/s400/Blog-Wings.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jxgDqkt3a50/Tw0cHCtsZyI/AAAAAAAACIk/SQBGTr_HSrs/s1600/Blog-TickledPeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jxgDqkt3a50/Tw0cHCtsZyI/AAAAAAAACIk/SQBGTr_HSrs/s400/Blog-TickledPeach.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">All of the cards shown will also be available on my <a href="http://fernspackman.ca/" target="_blank">website </a>for purchase individually (soon... I haven't added them to my website inventory yet 'cause they're <i><b>so</b></i> 'hot off the press'!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So there you have it... over the last three posts I've shown you all the new cards being added to my line this winter. I hope you like them!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">For the past week and a half I've been staying in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) and very much enjoying the sunshine and warmer, drier temperatures. The good news is, it does seem to be causing some degree of improvement to my health. (Yeah!!!) I have not done much exploring here yet, but quite soon after I arrived I found a lovely large art supply store and purchased a set of Faber-Castell coloured pencils and some different types of art papers to experiment with. I am really enjoying the feel of the new coloured pencils. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">At the beginning of my trip to Arizona I stopped in Vancouver and the place where I stayed happened to have some trees in the yard which had not yet shed all their leaves. The beautiful coloured leaves inspired me to paint and this is the watercolour I painted while I was there:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DtRE6g_ikkU/Tw0fC-sc4KI/AAAAAAAACI0/3Q0LK50wMGQ/s1600/Blog-Leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DtRE6g_ikkU/Tw0fC-sc4KI/AAAAAAAACI0/3Q0LK50wMGQ/s1600/Blog-Leaves.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A day or so after arriving in Phoenix, I was walking around the neighborhood and came across some fallen leaves that intrigued me. So I picked some up and set off to paint them, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbQZMpQt2HI/Tw0fyVyKtmI/AAAAAAAACI8/VF9rbOS2Vms/s1600/Blog-Leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbQZMpQt2HI/Tw0fyVyKtmI/AAAAAAAACI8/VF9rbOS2Vms/s1600/Blog-Leaves.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A few days later I brought my new set of coloured pencils home and was rather anxious to try them out... but on what?? The leaves that modeled for the painting above were now curled and dry... What perfect subject matter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PxoQ28wmQrE/Tw0kEaYJDlI/AAAAAAAACJM/8XmxDOUrrQ8/s1600/Blog-Leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PxoQ28wmQrE/Tw0kEaYJDlI/AAAAAAAACJM/8XmxDOUrrQ8/s400/Blog-Leaf.jpg" width="400" />I </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I certainly never intended to begin a 'leaf series', but here I am having fun drawing and painting leaves. Let's see what other leaves I might find and be inspired by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A mental health professional I know e-mailed me today and shared with me something she read about the affect of art on the brain. I'd like to share the quote with you:</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Walter Art Museum in Baltimore is conducting
a research project in collaboration with John Hopkins University entitled
"Beauty and the Brain: A Neural Approach to Aesthetics." The study
aims to understand why the human brain is attracted to artwork. Neuroscientists
hypothesize that the brain activates in a special way when we view compelling
artwork. Gary Vikan, Director of the Walters, comments <i>"The artist is
intuitively a neuroscientist."</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ok, so that's a rather deep concept to wrap one's head around. But take a moment and think about it. Those of us who are driven to create art are intuitively seeking a kind of 'brain rush' for ourselves and in turn, by sharing our art with others, we trigger a unique response in the brains of our viewers. That's really pretty powerful. From a scientific perspective it supports the idea that we benefit others as well as ourselves when we create art and share it. Yet another reason to push beyond our fears and courageously produce and share our creativity!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'll leave you with one other quote to contemplate:</span></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty
never grows old." -- Franz Kafka</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Here's to keeping a youthful outlook by appreciating the beauty of creation and sharing our perception of beauty through our creativity. [Both of the above quotes were taken from the book "Brain Power" by Michael J, Gelb and
Kelly Howell, page 133 'Your Brain On Art']</span></div>
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<br /></div>Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-32308070796414666582012-01-01T21:43:00.000-08:002012-01-10T21:11:48.129-08:00More New CardsLast post (almost a month ago now!) I promised you I'd share more of the new cards that I've had printed. Where does the time go...? I intended to post them much sooner than this, but life didn't cooperate with that plan. : ) So here at long last are the pictures of six others of my new cards!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a blank card with no text on the front so it can be used for any occasion</td></tr>
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The last card -- the 'Thank you' card with the picture of the hawk on it -- is in response to people asking if I had a thank you card in my line that was more 'manly', or appropriate for giving a man who may not be interested in flowers. Hopefully this one fills the bill!<br />
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Last post Helen asked who printed my cards. I am so thrilled to have my cards produced by Scott of '<a href="http://www.artinkprint.ca/" target="_blank">Art Ink Print</a>' in Victoria. Scott runs what I call a 'boutique' print shop, because it's a small operation and is highly specialized. For my photo cards, colour saturation is extremely important to me. Scott understands that and guarantees top quality colour. I can order as few as 50 cards of one digital file. My cards are printed on environmentally
certified papers by a digital on-demand printing press -- a process which creates
less waste, requires no harmful chemicals or cleaners and allows exceptional
colour control. And no, you don't have to live in Victoria to do business with Scott -- he can work with artists 'long distance'. </div>
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There are more cards yet to come. People have inquired about packaged cards, such as a package of "Thank You" cards, or packages of cards with no text on them, so I have these new card designs being printed up in the next week and I'll share those images with you soon.<br />
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My posts for the next few weeks will be coming to you from Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. I am enjoying the warmer weather and feel better for it, and am looking forward to the creative boost from being surrounded by an environment very different from the Pacific Northwest. <br />
<br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-16853875199631249652011-12-04T20:26:00.001-08:002011-12-04T22:11:34.102-08:00New Card Sneak PeekI am so excited... I have just received proofs of the 12 new cards for my greeting card line!<br />
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It's rather surreal to see more of my photos and thoughts formatted into greeting cards. A year ago I was so unsure of myself. Would anybody like the cards? Would they touch a responsive chord in anyone? So many anxieties and fears. But with the help of good friends I've pushed through the fear and now here I am getting ready to expand the line. <br />
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In this post I thought I'd share six of the new cards with you - four serious sentiment cards and two humorous ones. This is something of a teaser. More cards will debut in future posts, I promise.<br />
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Hopefully I will have the printed cards in my hands ready to sell in a week or two. (I can't wait!!) I will be posting them for sale on my own website (fernspackman.ca) and on Etsy. For those who live in Canada, I'll be posting a list to my website of retail shops that carry the cards. And please let me know if there is a shop in your area where you'd like to see the cards sold and I'll do what I can to try and make that happen!<br />
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Now these 12 are at the print stage I'm developing 12 other cards that once printed will be marketed as packaged cards - some 'blank' cards with no text on the front and no text inside, and some that say 'Thank You' on the outside and are blank inside. Actually, all my cards are blank on the inside, though I can custom print the inside with text and/or a logo if, for instance, a customer wanted a quantity of 'Thank You' cards personalized for business use.<br />
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Not much happening lately in the painting department as I have spent most of my energy working on cards. Today I played around with the idea of "underpainting" a watercolour. I use the term "underpainting" loosely, as I'd like to test both pencil crayons and extremely thinned down black waterproof drawing ink (think the modern version of what used to be called 'India Ink') as mediums to create shades of grey on white paper, then layering colour over the shading to see which method gives the most desirable result... or the result closest to what I see in my head. I will test the concepts out on a sample painting and post pictures so you can see how it's working out.<br />
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I've received a few questions about the various greens I used on my 'watercolour-on-gessoed-canvas' painting and how I mixed them. Sorry - I didn't think to mention before what the colour mix was. The four watercolours I've posted so far were all painted with mixes of a limited palate of just three colours -- Cadmium Yellow, Winsor Red and Prussian Blue (my paint all happens to be Winsor and Newton brand right now) -- so all the green are varying proportions of Cadmium Yellow and Prussian Blue, occasionally with the faintest touch of Windsor Red added when I want a more 'greyed down' colour of green. I quite like working with a limited palate. Prior to this fall's art class, I had firmly believed that I needed a box full of different paint colours. The class has taught me to be comfortable with just primary colours and the occasional "guest colour" -- like when using Alizarin Crimson instead of Winsor Red to get brighter purples or pinks, or adding in Payne's Grey on a rocky landscape.<br />
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You know, it's been really great to work on the cards -- both the words and the pictures. But I am feeling something like "painting withdrawal" symptoms! Apparently painting fills a need in me different than what other creative activities fill. Hmm... it's not too late yet this evening... I think I hear my paint brushes calling!<br />
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I hope you are all finding ways to add creativity to your life. <br />
: ) FernFern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-80184315786023192272011-11-28T01:27:00.000-08:002011-11-28T01:27:30.923-08:00Focussed on New CardsI have so much enjoyed reading your comments about the role creativity plays in your lives, and appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and personal experiences. Creativity is certainly a powerful force for our physical and emotional well being, and one I'm so glad to have back in my life. I so 'get' the comments about art being frustrating at times when results don't mesh with expectations and expectations of the result getting in the way of just enjoying the experience. Sounds like a few of us share a common bond! : ) We sure can get in our own way at times, can't we? A mental health counsellor I know has business cards that encourage people to "go beyond expectations". How true that is in the field of art!? Only by having the courage to stretch beyond our expectations (or comfort zone) are we really able to connect with the depth of creativity in our souls. (Ok... that was a kind of deep way to start this post... Let's change into a slightly lighter gear here. lol... ) <br />
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The past few weeks haven't been quite as creatively productive ones for me as what I was hoping they'd be. (Oops... there are those 'expectations' again!). Unfortunately winter is not being kind to my physical health and is slowing me down. Still, I'm happy to say I finished the forest creek painting - the one that is watercolour painted on gessoed canvas. Here's how it turned out...<br />
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I had originally envisioned a piece with more lighter green areas fading softly into the background but when I painted the water it turned out a fair bit darker than intended and it was such a challenge to paint the water that I didn't have the heart to remove it all and try painting it again. <a href="http://www.joannethomson.com/">Joanne</a>, my art teacher, suggested darkening the top part of the painting to balance out the dark water. The effect was amazing and I am fairly pleased with the piece now. I say "fairly pleased" because I need to stare at it for a week or two yet to see if there are any last little tweaks that I need to make to it. I am thinking that a few light/white dots added as highlights in the water might work well. Hmm... <br />
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To protect the fragile bond between watercolour and canvas, the piece will need to be sealed with a varnish-like product (not sure exactly what product... the teacher did tell us but obviously I wasn't paying close enough attention to that part of the class so will have to ask her to tell me again!). Once it's been sealed no more changes can be made, so I need to be very sure it's really "finished" before taking that step. Part of me would love to do this same painting on watercolour paper just to compare how a painting looks on canvas versus paper. Right now I have more ideas than the energy to execute the ideas, so this may be one of the ideas that has to be put on the back burner for now.<br />
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My main creative priority lately has been developing 12 new cards to add to my greeting card line. I'd like to have them ready for sale in January, so need to get them to the printer as soon as possible. Tonight I felt like I'd finally reached the point where I was ready to go to print with them. Yeah!!! : ) I won't show you all the photos - I'll just tease you with a few. (Gotta leave something for another post!! lol...) Here are some of the photos that will be used in the new group of cards. I'm showing you the photos without text, but will give you an idea of what kind of sentiment will go with the picture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tzia-aBIeBI/TtNBXK0I8QI/AAAAAAAAB8o/Etn1Vzv5Ca4/s1600/11-27PinkMagnolia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tzia-aBIeBI/TtNBXK0I8QI/AAAAAAAAB8o/Etn1Vzv5Ca4/s400/11-27PinkMagnolia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This card (pink magnolia) will celebrate new beginnings</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4YEePSalX1c/TtNCyRuT4nI/AAAAAAAAB8w/jSHv4Z3QE3w/s1600/11-27Crow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4YEePSalX1c/TtNCyRuT4nI/AAAAAAAAB8w/jSHv4Z3QE3w/s400/11-27Crow.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This thoughtful crow will grace the front of a card about retirement</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-53ETP1FCrwo/TtND6i0JidI/AAAAAAAAB84/guW37dBGNYM/s1600/11-27Problems.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-53ETP1FCrwo/TtND6i0JidI/AAAAAAAAB84/guW37dBGNYM/s400/11-27Problems.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo will be used on a humorous card celebrating the strength we get from relationships. Ok, I appreciate that at first glance it may not be readily apparent how this picture could celebrate relationships, but you're just going to have to wait until I can show you the final version to see what I mean. : ) </td></tr>
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</div>In addition to the writing the words for the fronts of the cards, I've written a 'story' for the back of each of them. The story is only a few sentences long and tells something about the photo, like why it inspired me, what I think of when I see it, or where it was taken. It takes me much longer to write the words than it ever does to take the pictures and decide which ones I want to use.<br />
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As a break from all the writing I did manage to take a few new photos this week. A neighbour told me about three young racoons huddled in a tree just down the block. It was late afternoon and the light was fading (in the winter it starts to get dark here around 4:30 p.m.) which made it a challenging shot. Also challenging was the fact that they were completely absorbed in snuggling that they didn't bother looking down at the by-standers often.<br />
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Aren't they adorable all snuggled up together? Later in the evening I went out and saw they had all left the tree. They were probably busy tipping over garbage cans and generally wrecking havoc in the neighbourhood, as racoon tend to do. As bothersome as they can be, their little masked faces are just so cute!<br />
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I also spent an afternoon at Butterfly Gardens where I thoroughly enjoyed the tropical temperature!<br />
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Some of these pictures are begging me to try and capture them in paint.... one day!<br />
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To those of you who commented that you used to paint or want to paint, I sincerely hope you will take the plunge and give it a try. For so long I was very afraid to try drawing and painting again, and am no so grateful that I was able to push myself over that wall. The benefit of expressing one's self creatively is very worth the effort of breaking through the fear. <br />
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Hope you are all doing well and finding time to be creative!<br />
: ) FernFern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-47057016870001420572011-11-16T19:24:00.001-08:002011-11-16T22:39:50.249-08:00Art... Better Than Pills and No Side Effects!!Thank you all for your wonderfully supportive comments. : ) This blogging thing isn't quite so scary after all! Denise - I loved your suggestion about painting a fern and am gathering my fern photos together to use for inspiration. I'll keep you posted on my progress.<br />
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The past few days I've been sorting through magazines and came across info about boosting creativity and the benefits art has on our health. For instance, the November 2011 <i><b>Good Housekeeping</b></i> magazine (page 45) comments on research done in Norway on more than 50,000 people that found that <i>"engaging in arts and culture--watching as well as doing--was linked with higher self-scores of physical and emotional health"</i>. Think about it... not only are we (people who enjoy creating art) benefiting our own physical and emotional health when we engage in our chosen form of art, but we are also contributing to the improved health of our viewing audience! Wow. That is, to me, the ultimate of 'win-win' and a strong motivator to keep creating and putting my art out for other people to see.<br />
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Creativity, as you've probably already discovered, is at times unpredictable and prone to dry periods and blocks. So if being creative is so good for us is there anything we can do to keep a consistent flow of it in our lives? Interestingly the March 21, 2011 edition of<i style="font-weight: bold;"> Woman's World</i> magazine had two suggestions (on pages 4 and 26). Regularly spending time with loved ones contributes to people having more creative ideas according to research from the UK's University of Portsmouth lead study author Lorenzo Stafford, Ph.D. The reason given is that socializing raises the brain's level of dopamine--a happiness-triggering chemical that also activates areas of the brain responsible for creative thinking. Another article discussed other research reported on by study author Ravi Mehta that suggests that gazing at the colour blue contributes to having more innovative ideas. The colour blue reduces tension and lowers stress, and the study states that, "Relaxed people are more open to new ideas." Hmm... makes me want to repaint the walls of my work area a lovely light blue.<br />
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Speaking of colour, I had coffee a few days ago with a friend with whom I have wonderful conversations about the emotional benefit of art. She is someone who has experienced some very traumatic things early on in life. She did not think of herself as artistic, but in the past few years someone convinced her to give painting a try. Long story short, she loved the experience of painting, continues to find it very therapeutic and produces some lovely works in acrylic. I asked her what painting had done for her life. Without much hesitation she explained that previously life had felt grey and colourless but painting literally and figuratively brought colour to her life. <br />
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For myself, once I got past the fear of putting paint on paper, I found the process of stroking the paint onto the paper (or canvas as the case may be) to be calming and relaxing. I can get completely absorbed in the process and lose track of time. Just last week I got so involved with a painting I was two hours late having dinner even though twice I told myself, "I'm hungry... I really have to stop and eat..." I've come to the conclusion that the phrase, "starving artist" may not have been coined strictly to describe artists having a hard time financially. Rather, it may have become popular to describe artists who got so involved in their work they forget to eat! (Who would have ever thought I would get so 'into' what I was doing I could forget to eat!!! lol...) This past week I also discovered a pretty fool proof way of measuring when I've been focussed on my painting long enough and need a break... It's time to stop when I find myself washing out my paintbrush in my cold cup of tea!! : ) <br />
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This past week I spent some really enjoyable time with a relative down at the waterfront. At the time I had not read the articles on boosting creativity, but I intuitively did both of the recommended things--spent time with a loved one and gazed at the colour blue (the ocean), and it was a very uplifting time that sparked some creativity. How could you not feel creative looking at the beautiful colours of fall...<br />
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... observing other people's humorous handiwork...</div>
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... and watching a powerful creature like a bald eagle noshing on freshly caught salmon "sushi"!<br />
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As for painting, I am still working on the watercolour-on-canvas picture of the forest stream. It has indeed proved to be challenging! I took it to art class this morning quite convinced that I'd ruined it but the teacher suggested one or two changes and I am now quite a bit happier with the way it is looking. Once it's finished I'll take a photo and post it here so you can see how it turned out. <br />
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I'm curious... What are some of the benefits you personally find from engaging in creating art? Does it lift your spirits? Perhaps it helps you escape from stress? Do you find it brings physical relief from pain or discomfort? If you'd care to share, I'd love to hear your experience.<br />
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I hope all is going well for each of you. Time for me to sign off... I hear my paint brush calling... lol!!<br />
: ) Fern<br />
<br />Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-43560051002608678882011-11-06T15:21:00.000-08:002011-11-06T15:30:44.724-08:00Pushing ForwardWhat a week! Things have cycled more widely than usual between bad stress and positive excitement, creativity and fear, good health days and bad ones, and in the end I feel like I haven't managed to be very productive in any area of my life. But at least things haven't been boring!<br />
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</div><div>One of the consistently good things in my life is going to art class each week. I am learning so much and rediscovering what I thought were long-gone skills. Two pieces I've done in the last few weeks especially please me: </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_B3bOpjeAhA/TrbTIHhgKcI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/tq0zcNDuq84/s1600/Lillies-Yellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_B3bOpjeAhA/TrbTIHhgKcI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/tq0zcNDuq84/s400/Lillies-Yellow.jpg" width="332" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The lilies were a complete impulse project. The grocery store had cheery yellow lilies on sale and somehow some of them just jumped into my basket. I couldn't resist the lively colour and thought I'd try to capture it on paper. I have been using Arches 140 lb paper, but decided to experiment with another type of paper for this painting. That was a hard lesson learned... (Note to self... stick with Arches paper!! lol...) Because the paper reacted so differently it was a challenge to make this painting work. But overall I am pleased. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lp7OCzK8FpA/TrblLp3zeFI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/6CS6F9MkoDc/s1600/11-04-Apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lp7OCzK8FpA/TrblLp3zeFI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/6CS6F9MkoDc/s400/11-04-Apples.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The apples were inspired by some photos I took a few months back of an orchard bordering a local park area. In particular I wanted to capture the soft blush developing on the apples with an overall bright, airy feel. I think the apple highest up in the grouping is my favourite part of the painting - here it is close up:</div><div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The shadows were a bit of a challenge at first but with some coaching from the teacher on using glazes of opposite (complementary) colours to create depth, I'm now rather pleased with those areas, too.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Last week we were challenged to paint a scene from our own travel photos and do it with dry brush technique and pen-and-ink. Wow. That is <i><b>SO</b></i> not at all my personal style, but I do see the benefit to learning all different styles of painting. And in the spirit of the "<a href="http://artistswhoblog.blogspot.com/">Creative Courage</a>" class I'm taking online, it was an opportunity to feel uncomfortable with something but do it anyway. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In the end, it became a completely different piece than I first envisioned. The photo that inspired it is a lake scene with mist in the trees - the photo was taken on the Oregon Coast between the cities of Florence and Bandon.</div><div><br />
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</div><div>A little hesitantly, I share with you my painting because I'm not all that pleased with the results... But I want this blog to be totally honest about all stages of my creative growth and rediscovery, so I am going to share the good along with the not so great...</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-npW4uXJoJoI/TrcFJt1Y86I/AAAAAAAAB54/I0yOsMDChvw/s1600/11-06-LakeHouses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-npW4uXJoJoI/TrcFJt1Y86I/AAAAAAAAB54/I0yOsMDChvw/s320/11-06-LakeHouses.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Emotionally I rebel against painting dark and somber pictures. I've been through so much emotional heaviness and darkness over the past few years I just <b><i>can't</i></b> create more darkness and heaviness - and I can't ask others to view dark and somber images, either. So it was intentional that this picture have a brighter colour palette. The lightness of the palette is something I'm pleased with. But the overall technique isn't one I'm particularly in love with. Still, who knows when this kind of dry brush could be very useful. </div><div><br />
</div><div>This week in class we were introduced us to painting watercolour on canvas. (Did your brain just hiccup like mine did?) Watercolour paints and gessoed canvas just didn't seem to go together in my mind. But they really do work! Having said that, the canvas needs to be prepped with a good quality gesso, and painting happens v-e-r-y slowly as you apply your paint, it puddles up, and you patiently wait for it to dry before you move on. Down at the art supply store I was told that painting watercolour on canvas was probably not unlike painting on Yupo paper. I've not tried Yupo paper yet, but from what I read the similarity is that the paint dries on the surface and doesn't soak down in to the support material, like it does on paper. The good news is, as my teacher informed me, if you don't like how your painting has turned out you stick the canvas in your bathtub, wash all the paint off and begin again. Fool proof!! : )</div><div><br />
</div><div>So here's my class project for this week - 'in progress' because the going is s-l-o-w...</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QMumVhRU45g/TrbqR7FZZaI/AAAAAAAAB5o/7M6msUSDsDI/s1600/11-06-Creek.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QMumVhRU45g/TrbqR7FZZaI/AAAAAAAAB5o/7M6msUSDsDI/s400/11-06-Creek.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>I've chosen a westcoast forest scene that will have a creek running through the lower left corner of the picture. The inspirational photos are very visually busy. I've mostly shied away from landscapes - even back when I was doing more painting in my teens and 20s - because they are so detailed and feel completely overwhelming to me. Joanne, our teacher, has a personal painting style that reduces the visual busy-ness down to simple shapes <a href="http://www.joannethomson.com/default2.asp"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(a link to her style)</span></a>, so I decided to give her style (or my interpretation of her style) a try. Joanne remarked that I'd taken on a somewhat difficult subject for a first attempt at painting on canvas. However jumping in at the deep end, so to speak, tends to be the way I do many things in life. So with the awareness tucked into the corner of my mind that I was <i><b>really</b></i> challenging myself on this piece I decided to try painting this subject anyway! After sketching the picture out I did sit and stare at the canvas for a few paralyzed minutes wondering just where and how to begin. The teacher rescued me by and talking me through a variety of options - starting in the foreground and working to the back, versus starting with the darker trees and water, etc... Talking it through was very helpful. And then all that was left to do was stick my brush in the paint... <i>and start</i>! (Come on courage... don't fail me now!! lol!) </div><div><br />
</div><div>The piece is turning out far differently than I expected, probably because I can't add shading and shadows with a glazing technique - if I try glazing the dried paint layer below is wiped off because it doesn't bond well with the canvas and is just sitting on the surface. That means trying to add shadows and shading while the paint is wet and it's much harder to control then. Challenges aren't bad - they just make us stretch out of our comfort zone and create a bit of anxiety. If you read between the lines right now you'll understand that I feel pretty 'stretched' over this painting but am determined to keep painting in spite of the anxiety as I just might be pleasantly surprised when I'm done. And if it turns out not so great... oh well, it's been a good learning experience for me and an amusement for you! </div><div><br />
</div><div>Let's see... what else good happened recently? I went with a friend and her children to a park where I had the joy of photographing her children as they played in the leaves. I love watching children when their faces light up with pure emotion - they are so very "in the moment" that I envy them a bit. </div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h4pptT11wqk/TrcOD6wIH7I/AAAAAAAAB6A/qAJHrDs2_JE/s1600/11-06-Leaves2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h4pptT11wqk/TrcOD6wIH7I/AAAAAAAAB6A/qAJHrDs2_JE/s400/11-06-Leaves2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a lovely bouquet you have, m'lady...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5qXHBrRYP94/TrcOLnKuHLI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/sYDZ0L4zlnI/s1600/Ceylon1-email.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5qXHBrRYP94/TrcOLnKuHLI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/sYDZ0L4zlnI/s400/Ceylon1-email.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotcha!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pj7AzbTl_Wg/TrcOFQU4eNI/AAAAAAAAB6I/RuQXROLZx7w/s1600/11-06-Leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pj7AzbTl_Wg/TrcOFQU4eNI/AAAAAAAAB6I/RuQXROLZx7w/s400/11-06-Leaves.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What if I buried myself in leaves...?</td></tr>
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<div>What a lot of fun it was! I came away feeling very energized and uplifted. (Note to self: Must make time to play... and/or watch children at play... more often.)<br />
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We don't get the truly amazing fall colours here in Victoria that are found in other places. But I enjoy the golds and rusts of a typical Victoria autumn. I've used a photo of autumn leaves on one of the anniversary cards in my greeting card line.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J80FnLu5KXw/TrcYhlmt6tI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/6MpHZjuFw98/s1600/0048-WetLeaves-408x569-Wtrmk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J80FnLu5KXw/TrcYhlmt6tI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/6MpHZjuFw98/s400/0048-WetLeaves-408x569-Wtrmk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br />
</div><div>Well, it's been fun chatting. I hope your day is going well, that you are doing things that nurture your soul and your creativity. Time for me to quit procrastinating and go do more work on my watercolour-on-canvas forest scene. Hope for the best for the outcome of my painting, won't you?</div><div><br />
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</div>Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4801041717713955115.post-90856350494834560072011-10-30T22:48:00.000-07:002011-10-30T22:48:10.213-07:00Hello World...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: left; color: black; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span><br />
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I am so excited to be launching this blog! Getting here has been in large part a testament to the power of friends and community support. How so? Let's see if I can tell you a long story in just a few words.<br />
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Some years ago my health began failing. It got so bad I had to leave an administrative job that I loved and go on a medical disability leave. The days were long and empty and I felt so totally useless. Scary and depressing stuff! Friends encouraged me to pursue creative interests, as did one of the health professionals I work with. As health allowed, I became reacquainted with my camera and reignited an old passion for photography. It was very therapeutic to wander through local parks enjoying sunshine, fresh air and 'exercise' (I use the word 'exercise' loosely as a snail could have zipped along twice as fast as I could walk back then!). While my health continued to be poor, my mind and soul gradually brightened and lightened - the beauty of nature and the tonic of creativity soothing the feelings of uselessness and despair. I began using the photos on handmade cards sent to friends to celebrate all manner of life events and soon I was being encouraged to make cards for sale. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0tIZ27xfnhI/Tq4t0iGn3JI/AAAAAAAAB4c/vsOD38Ba-V8/s1600/0026-Swan-408x569-Wtrmk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0tIZ27xfnhI/Tq4t0iGn3JI/AAAAAAAAB4c/vsOD38Ba-V8/s400/0026-Swan-408x569-Wtrmk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my photo art cards with a message I use to encourage myself - a message that has resonated with others, too</td></tr>
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It took a year to gather the courage and energy to produce some cards and all along the way my friends were there. Some offered their professional assistance, like one friend with a background in graphic design. Others cheered me on when my own enthusiasm failed, or when self doubt came crashing in and threatened to immobilize me. All were invaluable to my progress.</div>
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Taking up photography again had shone a little sunlight on my creative roots and slowly over the course of many months they sprouted a desire to get back to the drawing and painting I had done in my teens and 20s - back before life got complicated and the creative part of me withered. My creativity was slowly starting to grow and unfurl!! Sadly, the complicated part of my life had also planted seeds right beside the roots of my creativity - seeds of fear and self doubt. Soon fear and self doubt shot up like fast growing weeds and paralyzed the creative me. But my friends never stopped cheering me on. One friend connected me with a sales rep who agreed to market my photo art greeting cards. That was a huge boost to my creativity and self esteem and a hit to the weeds of fear and self doubt. Another friend offered to build a website for the photo art cards. A second hit to the weeds!! Sadly, those darn weeds are awfully strong. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UO9fqdYv3sU/Tq4uH6qMo4I/AAAAAAAAB4k/Ia0sSMnhbH4/s1600/0039-DreamBig-408x569-Wtrmk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UO9fqdYv3sU/Tq4uH6qMo4I/AAAAAAAAB4k/Ia0sSMnhbH4/s400/0039-DreamBig-408x569-Wtrmk.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another card with words drawn from my own personal experience</td></tr>
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Then one day very recently I was browsing some blogs by creative people and stumbled across a link to an online course entitled, "Creative Courage" by <a href="http://www.stephanielevy.blogspot.com/">Stephanie Levy</a>. "Wow", I thought... "I <b><i>really</i></b> need some of that!" Enrolling in Stephanie's course is one of the best things I've done lately as it has not only exposed me to practical suggestions on marketing one's creative self, but has also introduced me to an incredible community of creative people who are unbelievably supportive of each other's talents and dreams. And they really "get" the fear thing. I'm blown away by how quick they are to give encouragement and support. </div>
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After enrolling in Stephanie's course I decided to demonstrate creative courage also by signing up for a watercolour painting class with a local artist (<a href="http://www.joannethomson.com/default2.asp">Joanne Thomson</a>) whose work I greatly admire. It's been so exciting to see my painting skills re-emerge after all these years - a bit rusty in places, but still there! Yet another hit to the weeds of fear and self doubt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rns94Ip9REY/Tq4yLH4JUAI/AAAAAAAAB4s/ECgCpltUyOw/s1600/Fall-Leaf-Pair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rns94Ip9REY/Tq4yLH4JUAI/AAAAAAAAB4s/ECgCpltUyOw/s320/Fall-Leaf-Pair.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my recent watercolour class paintings</td></tr>
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It is from the nurturing environment of Stephanie's course and Joanne's class that I have beaten back the fear and self doubt enough for me to make the leap into blogging. I'm no expert and won't have deep and profound things to share. But I'd love to have your company as I celebrate the beauty we can sometimes overlook in our hectic lives, explore how art and creativity contributes to health (other people's experiences as well as my own), continue beating back those darn fears and doubts, and witness the unfurling of long suppressed creativity. And won't it be great if my journey inspires you to explore the creativity in you, too!<br />
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<br /></div>Fern Spackmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13168435042266117115noreply@blogger.com9