Tim Holtz Workshops

This summer I had the opportunity to take a couple workshops with artist Tim Holtz. What a guy... You would think because he has his face on like, ALL of Ranger's products that he would be unapproachable but it could not be more the opposite. He's very nice, easy to understand and very patient. Being an Art teacher, it was nice to take a break from instructing and see how someone else does it.
He is VERY organized. I guess you have to be when you are traveling and teaching (I think he said) 200 days out of the year. He also has Mario, who works with him as an assistant but is way more than that. Mario is also very familiar with the projects (he actually preps a lot of the items for distribution for Tim) so he pitches in when Tim is getting a lot of questions.
I also thought that his projects were easy to follow and successful for everyone in the class regardless of skills. It was fantastic to also have EVERYTHING provided for you and ready to roll.If you ever get the chance to take a class with him, I would highly recommend it. I know I will be looking forward to more. :)

Charmed!

Everyone's makin' them... Why not me too! I tried my hand at soldering charms in a class at Absolutley Everything in Topsfield, MA a couple of week ago.

I decided that it was time for me to take some classes instead of always trying to teach myself. Love, LOVE Sally Jean's book but it really doesn't give all the details of soldering. I don't know, maybe it does and I'm just distracted by the pictures... Still, a wonderful book.

The class paid off... I learned some techniques that I wouldn't have otherwise known about so that was valuable to me.

If I can find time, I suspect that soldering will become something like wheel thrown pottery was to me a couple of years ago... I just won't stop until I feel that 'my hands have gotten smart'. Practice makes perfect!

Fabric Tags

The fabric tags from Dawn arrived the other day and they are fantastic! I don't know what I'm going to do without some swap stuff coming in. I absolutely LOVE doing swaps. The creative process, the packaging, the getting GOODIES back. It's all the things I love... Speaking of things that I love, I love the tags that I received.

Although they were all wonderful, I've included a couple pics of ONE of my MANY favorites;). Martha made this one and the reason why I like it so much is it represents where I would like to get to with my fabric art. The base fabric was a great choice, she used that technique where the stitching from the sewing machine can move freely (I KNOW there's a name for the technique and a special foot for the sewing machine but I can't remember the name for the life of me right now) and she incorporated some images that were printed(?) on to a transparency. Love it! Nice job Martha!



This is my fabric tag. I'm not a complete sewing novice but I'm trying to adopt more mixed-media techniques into fabric work. I don't usually work like this but it was an eye opening experience and just the right amount of challenge. I'm a little limited by not knowing too much about all the different products available to people that make art this way. It was great fun and I plan to try to do more in the future. A SPECIAL NOTE for anyone that got one of my tags... Did you happen to notice the button? Don't buttons unbutton? Look closely at my tag and see if there isn't a little something extra there. :) I don't know... Maybe the 'Secret' in my 'Secret Garden' tag was a little too obvious...or people will never figure it out! If you do let me know!

Best Wishes,
Holly

Bustin' Out the Books!

Well, the wait is over and I can now reveal my work as well as the work I received from Christine's Booklace Swap... This beauty was created by Linda S. It's made from some kind of copper wire mesh and paper. It's lovely and I feel special because I got a book with FOUR inside pages! (I only did 3...)

The inside pages talk about women and secrets...So true! It's very thought provoking and well put together. I was looking closely at it and realized that as you go through the pages, the 'women' with secrets progress from young to older. It's little touches like that that make it so successful. I will wear it proudly! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Linda.

This is a cover detail of my booklace which for lack of a better name I guess I would call 'Love'.
The Front and Back covers are made from PMC which I stamped and textured.


Here are some pics of the whole piece including the seed beaded chain and of course a back cover detail.



This is two of the inside pages. For all of them I created a digital collage and printed to photo paper. Next I adhered the images to pieces of plastic packaging (ya know the kinda flexible but very strong stuff that kids' toys come in. It actually worked great!) that I had colored with alcohol ink.
Using the plastic made hole punching a snap and I know that the pages will not tear out due to use.



Well that's it! They were so much fun to make and swap. Nell, who got mine, was very appreciative and thankful. It was nice to know that one of my works has gone to a good home.

Thanks and Best Wishes,
Holly :)

Done and done...

Phewwww.... Done with one of the summer activities that I had planned. I just completed and mailed off my 'Booklace' to Christine and would love to post more of a picture but don't want to ruin the surprise. It was tons of fun making it and I can't wait to see what I get back. I love these swaps and really like working with all the people involved. I'll post more once I feel 'safe' about a good reveal.

More later and best wishes,

Holly :)

The first step...

I'm feeling very good right now because I have taken the first step in attempting to materialize some dreams... Art Seeds is where I'm going to display my artwork and ideas in their many stages, forms and functions. In my previous blog I shared all aspects of my life in one place. I've decided that it's time to compartmentalize a bit and give the art part of my life its own special place. And here it is!

Why Art Seeds you might ask? Well, I think that deep inside all of us there is an ability to create. Create art, express self, communicate visually and do general 'good' while making art. Those abilities are like little seeds that just need a place to grow and be cultivated. I would like to offer this space as a place where this can happen. Be you an 'Art Sapling' or a 'Mighty Art Oak' I hope you will enjoy this blog!
Best Wishes, Holly