Erica's Artistic Endeavors

blurry picture issue

2012-01-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

I apologize for having been MIA! Sadly, my digital camera has been taking blurry pictures for some reason. Nonetheless, I'll post some pictures of my recent artwork here. Here are two envelopes that I made using the "acrylic smashing method" and also a postcard I collaged. I hope you enjoy!

mail art and a picture of my desk!

2011-11-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

Happy fall! I hope everyone is enjoying the autumn! During the October snowstorm, a tree fell on my car. Luckily, I have insurance, so repairing the hood won't be that expensive. It's still such a hassle, though! Anyway, I haven't been making art all the much recently. However, I still make mail art here and there. Here are some postcards I've made recently, as well as a picture of my very messy desk!

August Update

2011-08-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not having posted in a while! I've still been making art, just not posting it here. So sorry! Here's some new stuff, including mail art, some stamping experiments (a la Traci Bunkers), and an art journal page in which I play with washi tape.

April Happenings!

2011-04-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I'm sorry I've been neglectful of my blog. Recently, I've been art journaling, making Zentangles, and exchanging mail art. Here is some of my recent work: a postcard that I made for Samie Kira (www.journalgirl.com); the beginning of a scarf I am making for Vasya, the orphan in Ukraine who I sponsor; a mandala I colored in (the mandala is from http://www.doodle-art-alley.com/index.html); and a Zentangle ATC I made for a swap.

two art journal pages and my first piece of mail art

2011-02-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of two art journal pages I finished recently, as well as a picture of my first piece of mail art. I made the postcard for a CFE that asked for art that deals with travel and stamps. I used three stamps, three pieces of text in various languages, and a piece of scrapbooking cardstock.

Sunday's My Fun Day

2011-01-30T15:28:00.000-08:00

I had a great Sunday! Mostly, I just doodled my heart out. I went to my dad's house to spend time with my parrot, Picasso. I brought with me some pens and markers. Four of these pages are the results of my art-making at my dad's house; one page (the one with the three collage bits) I did at my mom's house.

spinning and embroidery

2011-01-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to a fiber arts guild meeting. It was so much fun! I got to try spinning on a spindle and on a spinning wheel. Here is a picture of the yarn I spun on the wheel. Also, because I couldn't sleep last night, I decided to break out the embroidery kit from Sublime Stiching (http://www.sublimestitching.com/). What fun! I am not done with this tea towel, but I figured I'd post a picture of how my project is coming along.

two playful spreads

2011-01-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

Here are two spreads I created yesterday. Mostly, I was simply experimenting with the rubber stamps, chalks, and ribbon I bought recently. It was fun to just play and not worry about the outcome. By the way, I did one spread in my small, spiral-bound sketchbook and the other one in my larger, bound sketchbook. I used brush-tipped markers, rubber stamps, ink, buttons, glue, chalks, and ribbon.Good times!

pictures for Color A Smile

2011-01-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Here are three pictures I made for a charity called Color A Smile. For these pictures, I used a brush-tipped marker and colored pencils. Also, for the Valentine's Day picture, I used a Faber-Castell medium-tipped pen for the swirls. I love to make pictures for Color A Smile! If you want to do so, as well, their link is: http://www.colorasmile.org/.

Sketchbook Pages and a Failed Zentangle!

2010-11-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some sketchbook pages and a zentangle.

more sketchbook pages

2010-10-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here are three more pages from my sketchbook. Lots of random doodles!

sketchbook

2010-10-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

On October 19, 2010, I decided to start a sketchbook. I hope it will be more visual than textual, as I started it with the hopes of practicing my drawing skills. I also hope to exercise my imagination and free my inhabitions. Here are a few of the pages I have so far.

doodles and a zendala

2010-10-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Since I started my new babysitting job and my new tutoring job this week, I have been slacking with my art work. However, here is a zendala I made over the past week and a page of doodles I whipped up today. I used some Zentangle patterns from the book by Sandy Steen Bartholomew. The book is called Totally Tangled and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Zentangles!

This too shall pass!

2010-09-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is an art journaling page I made over four days last week. I used a salt resist with Twinkling H2Os watercolor to make the background. I included bits of collage from Samantha Kira at www.journalgirl.com. I also used Sakura pens, tissue paper, colored pencils, and Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons.

Pretty in Pink: A Quick Collage

2010-09-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick collage I made today. It is not complete, as I plan on adding some lettering to it, and perhaps some other touches. I also made my second-ever ATC today! It is for an art swap that Samantha Kira (www.journalgirl.com) is hosting. I fear that my art swap partner will be disappointed, but hopefully she will understand that I am an amateur!

doodle mania!

2010-09-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

I have been making doodles for Traci Baustista's "Creative Doodles" class. It's so fun to make these! I love to experiment with my different pens and different types of marks. Doodling is very liberating. These are just four of the many doodle pages I have made.

drawing exercise and three works-in-progress

2010-08-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here is an "upside down drawing," a drawing exercise I did from an instructional book, Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner. I think it came out better than I thought it would. Also, here are three works-in-progress. I did these on individual sheets of paper.

first attempt at drawing!

2010-08-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

I've been doing lots of art-related activities recently! Everything from coloring pictures for a charity called Color a Smile (www.colorasmile.org) to painting backgrounds to doodling designs in my art journal. I don't have any completed pages of my art journal to show you, though. However, I do have my FIRST attempt at drawing to show you. I followed an exercise from a website called Teach Art at Home (http://www.teachartathome.com/). I will be taking an online drawing class with Leslie Herger (http://www.comfortableshoesstudio.com/) in September, so I wanted to experiment first. Here is my final product! (PS- I know it's terrible!)

Rome and Sparta pages

2010-07-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Roma- I made this spread about a month ago. But, a few days ago, I added to it. I used an ultra fine black Sharpie, a fine black Sharpie, pictures and a map from an old book about Rome, gesso, and walnut ink.

Sparta- I made this spread about a month or two ago. I used watercolors, Twinkling H2Os, a black Sharpie, green acrylic paint, and two poems from a book of modern Greek poetry. After reading one poem by CP Cavafy (one of my favorite poets ever), I was inspired to art journal about Sparta. Writing in cursive is always a challenge for me, as I usually do not write this way. However, I was happy I chose to use cursive writing for this piece.

zendala

2010-07-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

Here is my very first zendala! Zendala is a cross between a zentangle and a mandala. I made this zendala early in the morning after a sleepless night. I used an 03 black Micron pen and a fine black Sharpie permanent marker. I would like to thank Milliande at http://www.milliande.com/ for her video about zendalas! It was her video that inspired me to make my own zendala.

Shape your Happiness spread

2010-07-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a collage I made today. I started with the intention of making a gluebook-style spread. So, at first, I used just paper and a glue stick (and a scissor to cut out the elements). After I made the collage, I decided to place a player of yellow tissue paper over the spread. I used gloss Mod Podge for this. I find it interesting that this is the second art journaling page I've made this month that is yellow. Maybe a psychologist would be able to figure that one out! lol

Art Journal Stimulus Project (with Dawn D. Sokol)

2010-06-19T06:22:00.001-07:00

This is an assignment for Dawn D. Sokol's art journaling class. With a permanent marker, I wrote all the nasty emotions I have been feeling and the causes of these emotions. Then, I painted two layers of white gesso and two layers of deep yellow paint. Next, I used a red permanent marker to write all the good things about my day. I also added a quote by Dr. Seuss and three pictures of song birds.

bronchitis and backgrounds

2010-06-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

I've had bronchitis that has lasted more than two week! I am starting to feel much better now, and I am back in action with creating art. Two days ago, I painted some backgrounds, some with watercolors and some with acrylics. I am starting to realize that I like creating art journaling pages on individual sheets, rather than in a journal. However, I still use journals, as well. Here are some of the backgrounds I did the other day:

10 minute collage

2010-05-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

This is a collage I made a few weeks ago while doing an exercise in Diane Trout's book, Journal Spilling. In this exercise, Trout encourages readers to work quickly and without stopping. I followed her advice pretty well. It took me 10 minutes to make this collage. Here is the collage:

no art recently!

2010-05-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

I have not been making much art recently, as I started a new volunteer position two weeks ago. I now volunteer with children at a domestic violence shelter. I've still been writing in my journal a few times a week, but I have not been taking out my art materials and playing with them much. So, instead of posting a picture of my art, here is a picture of Vasya, the orphan from Ukraine whom I have been sponsoring for three years. He is holding clothes I bought him in this picture. If you would like to sponsor a Ukrainian orphan, check out: http://anorphansmiles.org/