AED - collages

Okay, here on the 15th day of this project it's time for a little self-evaluation. Notwithstanding the fact that I've missed a couple of days (argh), I'm now struggling with an internal debate of "trivial" vs "important". Although I have created art since the beginning of the month, I do feel like nearly everything I've made is fairly trivial. I may be overthinking things (quel surprise), but it's bugging me and I'm going to try something different.

Soooooo, saying that, here is the first step of a series of collages. I'm working on 8" x 10" bristol board with a mixture of Liquitex fluid medium and acrylic paint.



I'm not sure whether I'll work on one at a time until it's done or on one layer on all of them at once - I guess I'll have to see what tomorrow brings!

If you're doing the AEDM project, how do you feel about your progress so far?

AED - gifts

The stomach bug that I haven't been able to shake since mid-October knocked me out again yesterday and I missed making art and posting. Grrr. Today I worked on some fun, pretty bracelets so I can start populating my Etsy store again, just in time for the holidays.



I also did some writing today and plan on a lot more of that tomorrow. I honestly feel like, if the days were longer or the business work shorter, that more art would be happening. It's certainly not from a lack of ideas, although the disastrous mess in my studio is certainly hampering my enthusiasm at the moment. Can cleaning/orgainzing/sorting/putting-away count as creativity?

AED - pile o' postcards

Today I finished up a pile of postcards that's been mostly done for a couple of weeks now. Finally. Tomorrow they go out in the mail. Finally.

AED - backgrounds

Background layers for Artist Trading Cards. Yummy.

AED - photo effects

Today was a paperwork catch-up day (still not caught up, but a dent was made). My creativity consisted of playing with a fun application on my iPhone. Have I mentioned how much I adore my iPhone? Love, love, love it. The app is called ToyCamera and it has a variety of cool effects that you can apply to photos snapped on your phone.



What's your favorite creative app?

AED - impatient stamping

Today I learned what happens if you don't wait for your background to dry before you stamp on top of it.



The stamped images blur and sink into the damp background. This is useful information for those times when that is the effect I'm seeking, as well as a beneficial learning experience. And I did wait until everything was completely dry before I transfered the bee.

Good thing this project is Art Every Day and not Successful Art Every Day...

Surface Design Essentials

I'm so excited to show you a sneak peak of my newest book. Surface Design Essentials will hit the stores in January 2010!



A smaller format book with a covered spiral binding, Surface Design Essentials explores the use of acrylic paints, mediums, acrylic inks and water soluble pencils on fabric and some unusual, mixed-media surfaces. In addition to the 15 techniques covered, there are 7 projects to help you get started playing and creating. I think it will be a handy reference tool for any artist working with paints, inks and mediums.

Some of my very favorite artists generously contributed work for the gallery section of the book. You're going to love to see what they've created!

Judy Coates Perez
Virginia Spiegel
Terry Grant
Jane LaFazio
Natalya Aikens
Elin Waterston
and Lynn Koolish

The book will be available in bookstores and quilt stores worldwide in mid-January. If you'd like to order an autographed copy, please contact me.

Paired with the release of this book will be C&T and Liquitex's new Surface Design Center to quilt shops near you. The Surface Design Center features:

24 Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic colors
4 Liquitex Professional Acrylic Ink colors
Liquitex Fabric Medium
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
& Winsor & Newton Brushes

I had the great pleasure to be in on the development of this center and it was so much fun to test out the products and give input as to what art quilters and mixed-media artists would find most valuable and useful in it. We debuted the center at Quilt Festival in Houston last month and invited everyone walking by to sit and paint and play with the mediums. We had such a fantastic response!

I'm delighted that it will be much easier for art quilters to find these products in their local quilt stores. I'm equally delighted that this means that more and more people will be experimenting with making art quilts and trying things they haven't yet tried. The Force is strong in those of us who play with paint and we welcome more people to join us!!