Pattern, pattern, pattern...

I showed you the start of these fun foam prints a couple of weeks ago, and thought you might like a view of the plate after the first print:

Of course, one can't do just one print with fun foam plates, especially given they pair so nicely with  gel plates.  The prints on the left are done with Golden Open paints on the gel plates with the ones on the right done from there directly onto white cardstock.  I can see there will be more of these in my printing future on both counts.

Blaming another recurring addiction directly on Lynne Mizera, I have to tell you we got stencil burning this past week...she'd taken a class a couple of years ago with me, but hadn't done her own since.  

We were so into the whole thing;  I used her Natalie Kolbach stamp to create paper mask and stencil and soon there were flying elephants all over the place.

The first elephant materialized when I used the mask portion over a gel print...yummy colour, don't you think?

Of course, I had to go back in with some gel pens and play some more - a whole lot more, in fact.

Then I used the paper stencil to create an outline on the house wrap, and started burning.

I was going a little bit googly-eyed, so I put a colourful print underneath the glass so I could actually see what I was doing.

It showed up really well, I thought.

Pretty soon there were elephants everywhere; they seemed to multiply faster than I could corral them.

I used the burned stencil portion over another gel print, and then the paper mask to pounce back into it for the background.  More gel pen play, and this happy, heart-ful elephant is well on it's way.  I think she looks like she's going on an adventure, don't you?

What have you been up to this week?  I love hearing about your own adventures during these hot summer days!

Just because I could...

...I did it again.  I'm possibly (read probably, absolutely) hooked on these tangled fun foam plates and created another one in an overall grid pattern this time.  I immediately tested it with stamp pads and ink,

and then my trusty Gelli plate.  These prints are the first prints, and I love the colour underneath generated by the dry paint on the plate from previous printing sessions.

 I may have gotten a little carried away...

 with more than one print.

There was something about these prints that triggered a conversation with a good friend regarding the energetic changes happening in our world right now, and I was reminded about the connections I have with others.  I fussy cut a house-wrap mask that spoke to me of this,

 and overprinted one of the Gelli prints.

I used my Posca pens on it, and can see that it will become part of a journal page.

My use of the fun foam plate has enlivened it a great deal - I suspect that another Gelli plate session will hit the studio this weekend when  Alice Saltiel comes to visit.  Sounds perfect to me!

And you?  What's triggering your creativity these days?

I count...

...it a good day when I can spend  time in the the studio, and now that I can play while I'm at work, that happens nearly every day.

This week I managed to finish a crate

 and a book sculpture.

 I  embossed teen-some tags for future exchanges,

 and nearly finished a fun foam tangle drawing (Gelli plate here I come!),

as well as a painting (just a sneak peak here).

 I started laying out pieces for a gold themed painting,

 and gazed cross-eyed at a pair of shoes waiting patiently near two bottles, all in progress.

I also inked half a dozen mandala designs for my next adult colouring book.  Go, Win, go!

I'm a happy creator - how about you?

In Kimberley...

the art group is WAY beyond obsessed.  Every time I teach at the Centre 64, I'm stunned by the response of the students - the manner in which they pick up and test new techniques, the enthusiasm they show and the fun they generate.

The Gelli plate playshop brought so many stunning pieces to the table (and the floor) I couldn't stop taking photos.  From the gilding technique,

 to textures plates,

 to fun foam stamps,

and they still couldn't get enough of it.

They used ArtFoamies to the max,

they masked,

and they stencilled.

They printed on every conceivable surface from mat board to dryer sheets to card stock to printer paper, and I wouldn't have been surprised to see the walls done up by Sunday afternoon.

You can tell some of them took their work very seriously!

Watch their space;  they'll be up to more shenanigans in that wild art group!  And if you'd like to get in on some of the fun, please join me at The Arts Station in Fernie at month-end!