Orange Spiral Arts

Watercolor Patterns on Old Book Pages

Hello Creative One,
Today for Watercolor Wednesday, I am painting patterns on old book pages.

I am using Pelikan watercolors and a size 2 Loew-Cornell flat brush.

I am surprised and pleased that the watercolor did NOT soak through the book page.

Some possibilities for using these patterned papers could be as follows:
Collage fodder
Greeting cards
Junk journal papers
Gift tags
Gesso the other side and do some journaling

What else can you think of?

Have an amazing day!

Blessings,

Briana

Step by Step-5-Hole Pamphlet Stitch Art Journal (a Post for artistcellar)

Hello Everyone!

You may not know this about me, but I am a huge book arts fan. I love artists’ books, handmade journals, and the like. Today I am going to share an easy way to make your own mixed papers, single signature, art journal.

Here are the supplies you’ll need to gather:

• One -11x14 sheet of hot press watercolor paper (or any size you want)
• your favorite stencils sold on artistcellar.com
• acrylic craft paint
• a paint palette
• cosmetic wedges (for applying paint)
• a paint scraper
• a pencil
• one sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock
• extra copy paper
• Faber-Castell Graphite Aquarelle pencil-8B
• A paper slicer (which can double as your ruler)
• A ruler
• A bone folder, binding needle, and waxed linen thread
• Various papers from your art studio or paper stash

The Cover and Inside Pages

I love hot press (smooth) watercolor paper. When Fabriano came out with this pad a year or so ago, I was thrilled! It works great for a sturdy cover.

Fold one sheet of 11x14 hot press watercolor paper in half, with the grain of the paper. In this case, the grain runs short, so make a “hamburger fold”. (See below)

Once your cover paper is folded, it’s time to get out those stencils and paints!

Scrape a few colors of paint on the outside of the cover.

As you work on the cover, have extra copy paper underneath your painting spot. Use this extra paper for the inside pages of your journal. You can even stencil on them as you give your cover a chance to dry!

Work back and forth between the cover (both inside and outside) and the loose sheets of paper for the inside pages. Pictured below is the second layer on the front cover.

Pictured below is the second layer on the back cover. I am using an 8B Faber-Castel Graphite Aquarelle pencil to do a stencil rubbing.

Pictured below is some stencil work and Dye-Na- Flow drips on the inside cover.

Scrape paint on the inside cover, over the drips and stencil work. Doodle on the outside of the cover with the Faber-Castel Graphite Aquarelle pencil. Then add a third layer of paint to the cover using a stencil and white acrylic paint.

Sewing the Signature To bind your single signature book, you will need a ruler, or a paper slicer that has a ruler on its surface. We are going to be doing a 5-hole pamphlet stitch.

First, you need to make a hole-punching guide, using a piece of cardstock, a ruler, and a pencil.

Fold the piece of cardstock in half lengthwise, or a “hotdog fold”.

Measure one inch from the bottom and one inch from the top, and place a pencil dot. Put a dot at the center of the punching guide. Put two more dots in between the dots you already have. (See below).

Label your marks from top to bottom, 1 -2- 3- 4- 5.

Reverse the fold of the punching guide, so the numbers are now on the inside of the fold.

Gather 5-7 pieces of artsy paper to be the inside pages of your journal. Fold them, and place the punching guide at the center of your papers.

Place the folded papers and the punching guide inside an open phone book or on a thick piece of foam.

Use an awl to punch the holes for sewing.

Thread a bookbinding needle with waxed linen thread. The thread should be about 2x the length of your journal. Be sure to tie a loose knot about two inches up from the end of your thread and also near the head of the needle.

Important Note: If you want the loose threads to be on the outside of your journal, start sewing on the outside in hole 3. If you want to tie off your sewing on the inside of your book, begin on the inside in hole 3.

Use your hand or clips to hold your pages in line with the sewing holes once everything is punched. The pattern for sewing is:

Hole 3 to hole 4

Hole 4 to hole 5

Hole 5 to hole 4

Hole 4 to hole 2

Hole 2 to hole 1

Hole 1 to hole 2

Hole 2 to hole 3

 

You will be making an inside to outside, outside to inside, weaving pattern as you sew. For simplicity, write the sewing pattern on your punching guide as: 3-4- 5-4- 2-1- 2-3 Choose to start from the inside or the outside of hole 3, depending upon where you want your final tied threads to reside.

TA DA! You bound a book! Congratulations!!!

For more art ideas and mixed media inspiration, be sure to stop by OrangeSpiralArts.com

Blessings to YOU!

Briana

Mark Making Monday-Art Journal Backgrounds

Hello Dear One,
I am working on two journals simultaneously. They are both for work I am doing through Lisa Sonora's offerings. The first is my Creative + Practice sketchbook. The second journal is for working through Lisa's book, The Creative Entrepreneur. I just started the second journal this weekend. The pages I am sharing for this Mark Making Monday post are from my second journal.

You probably know by now that I love stencils and mixed media art supplies. (Feel free to share some of your favorites in the comments below, so we may inspire one another).

For these pages, I have used acrylic paint, a paint scraper, stencils, and pencils.
(Except the blue and white paper is my "clean off" paper, where I have tested pens and cleaned off alphabet stamps. These papers end being some of my favorites, as I am not thinking at all when I use them.)

What I noticed when I scraped paint over my journal page with a stencil underneath it, is that the results vary. Sometimes if the paint is just right, you'll see an impression of the stencil come through. Perhaps the manilla card stock paper in my journal is too thick. I moved to scribbling with colored pencils and a graphite stick over the stencil. That worked pretty well. I like how this looks over the scraped acrylic paint. Layering is good!
Then, because I pressed so hard, when I scraped paint on the back side of the page, a stencil impression appeared!

I am not sure if this is making sense. The best way to learn is to go play with your supplies. That's what I hope to inspire you to do today! Oh, and don't forget to scribble a little, too. It's quite cathartic!

Blessings and Happy Creating!

Briana

Watercolor, Book Arts, and Creative + Practice

Good Day to Fabulous YOU!

I hope this email (if you receive blog posts by email) or blog post, finds you well.

Today, I have a few random photos to share that hopefully will ignite some spark of inspiration.

WATERCOLOR

First of all, I am thrilled to be the new owner of an old watercolor paint palette from the 1990s. On Monday, I attended the monthly Visual Journal Collective meeting at the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts. It was a small group, but we thoroughly enjoyed hearing each person's book recommendations, as well as looking inside journals or at art inspired by the books we brought. At the end of the meeting, Roz said she is trying to clear some stuff out of her house, and brought some freebies. I picked up her old watercolor paint palette. I know Roz uses quality watercolor, and I was curious to see how she set up her old palette. I have been loving the online classes by Lindsay Stripling on Creativebug, which has gotten me interested in setting up a watercolor palette. If you are curious about watercolor, the watercolor classes on Creativebug by Yao Cheng are also really wonderful and inspiring.

Below is a photo of the new-to-me watercolor palette (previously owned by Roz Stendahl) and a little piece I created.

A close-up:

I made a couple of gifts from the watercolor shapes I painted and shared previously on the blog. 

Below is a small work of art created with a vintage stamp on an irregular rectangle shape. The stamp didn't print very well because the rubber is old and hard, so I drew in a lot of it by hand. I am loving the Uniball Signo 207 pens for writing and drawing lately. 

Original Art by Briana (signed by artist)

"Bunnies in a Car", 2016

3 inches x 2 inches

watercolor, acrylic, ink, graphite

$20 USD (FREE SHIPPING WITHIN USA)

(Note: Pink background is NOT included)

All sales final.

BOOK ARTS

While I was at MCBA on Monday, I was intrigued by a series of artist's books on display. Sheila McNellis Asato is the artist behind the following beauties!

Don't these books just make you want to play with paper and color? Yum!

CREATIVE + PRACTICE

Finally, I thought I'd share a photo of some of the work I am doing for Lisa Sonora's Creative + Practice online class.

So, tell me . . . what inspires you? (Or don't tell me, but do tell yourself through some timed writings.)

Thank you for being here.

May your day be full of tiny delights and surprises.

Blessings to you,

Briana

 

 

Watercolor Gel Crayons from Target

Yesterday morning, my creative exploration involved a set of Up & Up Watercolor Gel Crayons I found on clearance at Target, some old copy paper, and a Pentel Aquash Water Brush.

I was listening to Room in the Trees, a podcast on creativity by Trent Reynolds and Sabrina Ward Harrison.
A podcast is such a great way for private people (and introverts) to share about their life, thoughts, and have a dialogue around deeper questions.
I found it quite relaxing to play with a new art supply while listening to the podcast.

What are some of your favorite podcasts?
How do you help yourself relax at the beginning or end of the day? I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions in the comments below!

Have a beautiful day!

Blessings to you,
Briana

Watercolor Wednesday-Heart

Hello Friends!
For a quick art inspiration, I am drawing on part of artist Lynn Whipple's lesson from the 2015 Year of the Spark. Go to CarlaSonheim.com for more online class information.

I used canvas paper, scissors, and pan watercolor paints.

Draw simple shapes. Cut them out. Use the cut out as a stencil. Throw and splatter some watercolor around!

Sending so much love out to you and everyone who needs a little extra!

Blessings and Peace,
Briana

Stencil Play (Post Written for Artistcellar), Creative + Practice with Lisa Sonora, and Lynda Barry

Hello Everyone,

Did you miss me yesterday? I didn't post for Mark Making Monday. : (

I have been in sort of a funk lately, but feel the energy shifting to something more positive.

By now, you probably know that I write blog posts for artistcellar.com

Below is the post that went live on Monday, June 13, 2016, on the artistcellar blog.

Be sure to look below the post written for artistcellar, as I have a few thoughts to share with you about Creative + Practice and Lynda Barry.

Art Journaling and Stencil Play with Briana

 

Good day artistcellar fans! How are you doing?

Do you feel like a little art journaling session is in order?

Grab your favorite supplies: a mixed media art journal, artistcellar stencils, a few markers, acrylic paint, a brush, a jar of water, and the Faber-Castell Graphite Aquarelle set.

Today I’m playing with the Faber-Castell Graphite Aquarelle Pencils. I used one pencil in particular from the set-the 8B, along with the included paintbrush.

Let’s begin!

First, scribble some lines through the openings of a stencil.

Next, wet the included paintbrush from the Faber-Castell Graphite Aquarelle pencil set, and start to play within the stencil where you scribbled your lines.

Tip: Blot with a paper towel before removing the stencil.

Remove the stencil to see the design.

To continue with the art journal pages, I used a stencil from the Halftone Dots series and some turquoise paint.

TIP: To get more on your background, clean the stencil with a baby wipe on the blank side of your page spread.

Now it’s time to add some journaling. I am a big believer in the power of writing, and I also love how handwriting looks in an art journal. What’s fun about the Faber-Castell Graphite Aquarelle pencils, is that you can easily blend out some of your words so it’s illegible to other people.

To make the writing even more difficult to read, I made a line grid over the words and added more water with the paintbrush.

Use markers to add patterns or anything else you want to include on your pages.

For me, this page spread is complete. I love creating backgrounds while playing and experimenting with art supplies!

Thanks for reading this post!

Blessings to you,

Briana

********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Okay, now onto Creative + Practice with Lisa Sonora.

I have been taking the online workshop Creative + Practice since 2011. I participate at least once per year, as Lisa generously gives registrants forever access to each new round she offers. A new round just started on June 8, 2016. I am feeling super jazzed and excited about this next session. It feels like exactly what I need right now to brainstorm what's happening next for me and my small business, Orange Spiral Arts.

I am going to see if this works. I created an album in the Creative + Practice Facebook Group. I am going to try to link it here. Hopefully if you click on the word "here", you'll see the four pictures I posted.

Mostly what I want to share is that I love this online class. It has helped me tremendously over the last 5 years. I am thankful for people who are out there sharing their wisdom, especially around the subjects related to creativity.

Lynda Barry is also doing amazing things. The first thing in my Creative + Practice sketchbook is an article about Lynda Barry's work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, my alma mater. In the article, Lynda talks about the correlation between the hand and the brain. If we move our hands, eventually the mind will catch up and give us pearls of wisdom. I experienced this last night as I was cleaning off my office desk that has been collecting piles of papers for nearly four years. I blame the mess on being a first time parent while trying to build a small business as an expressive arts coach. 

What happened to me while I was moving my hands, picking up papers, sorting through piles, felt quite remarkable. Not only did I visually enjoy seeing the bottom of my desk for the first time in four years, I also felt like wisdom and light was being revealed. It's kind of abstract and hard to explain, but all I want to say, is that I agree with Lynda. We must use our hands. They are our creative tools. There is a mind-body connection there. Studies are showing that people feel better when they engage in activities like drawing, painting, playing an instrument, writing, doodling, etc. 

This conversation reminds me of the amazing artist Lynn Whipple who has a great poster with the words, "Move Your Hands" on it.

I adore Lynn's art, don't you?

So, this blog post is a bit of a departure from my usual post. Let me know if you like the change, what changes you'd like to see, or any other positive words of encouragement you have for me! I appreciate you! Thank you!

All of my best,

Briana

 

Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Artist Crayons with Water

Howdy Ya'll!

Today I was in a slump, but am feeling much better after making some art.

Here's all you need:
Watersoluble artists' crayons
An index card
A jar of water

How to:
Dip a crayon in water and start drawing or playing on the index card

Choose another color and do the same

Maybe try colors you don't usually go for

Think (if you want) about choosing light and dark colors, vibrant and neutral colors

Play, play, play!

Sending BIG LOVE out to you today!

Blessings,

Briana

Mark Making Monday-An Expressive (Sort of Scary-Looking) Journal Spread with Lots of Mark Making

Hello and Welcome to another edition of Mark Making Monday!

Today I am going to bravely share a journal spread I created in an art journaling class with DeAnne Olguin Williamson in Minneapolis, Minnesota. DeAnne and I share the love of self-exploration through the art making process. We both teach an inside-out approach, where self-discovery and self-understanding are way more important than the end-result.

It's important for teachers (like myself, and maybe you, too) to step into the student role on occasion. It is wonderful to learn new techniques and get a new perspective from other artists.

So, I took DeAnne's art journaling class yesterday, as I have been for the past several months. As a student, I am able to "not think", and just create. I express what's in my heart and on my mind. 

I am sharing these pages with you, as I used many mark making techniques in them. Can you spot some marks in the pictures below?

A few of my favorite mark making techniques are: making dots with paint on my fingertip, using my own handwriting, and scratching into wet paint with the wrong end of a paintbrush.

DeAnne had us add a face to our art journal spread. I usually don't put faces in my art, however, a face can express a tremendous amount of information from one glance.

Try not to be too scared when you see the face I painted. It's kind of dark. At the same time, I feel like it represents the whole of life. Life is beautiful, scary, unknown, and mysterious. Okay, here it is. 

(Pictured above is my page spread just before I added a swear word and some other finishing touches.)

I find it interesting that a piece of ephemera I chose from DeAnne's bag is a quote on beauty by David Whyte. The quote on white paper is collaged underneath where the face is painted. Here's the quote:

BEAUTY

is the harvest of presence, the evanescent moment of seeing or hearing on the outside what already lives far inside us; the eyes, the ears or the imagination suddenly become a bridge between the here and the there, between then and now, between the inside and the outside; beauty is the conversation between what we think is happening outside in the world and what is just about to occur far inside.

An excerpt from David Whyte's book 

‘BEAUTY’ From CONSOLATIONS: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words.
2015 © David Whyte & Many Rivers Press

Below are a couple more photos of the art journal page spread.

May you feel inspired to spill some paint, open your heart, and express yourself on the pages of your art journal!

Blessings to you,

Briana

Fun Foam Printmaking

Hello!
I am switching things up a little for this Friday's post.

I recently rewatched the Art Journaling LIVE DVD put out by Interweave.

After watching Traci Bautista's segment, I simply had to do some printmaking in my art journal.

I used a ballpoint pen and drew some designs on a half sheet of fun foam.

I pulled out my soft rubber brayer, some acrylic paint, and my art journal.

What you see here are the results of my playtime!

I hope you have an awesome day!

Thanks for reading this post!

Blessings,
Briana