Show and Tell Saturday #26

-->Show and Tell Saturday Rules
Add your link!
Please visit at least 3 other artists and put a link back to Artists in Blogland, so other people can find us. If you are reading from a blog reader, you will need to pop on over to the actual blog post to add your link.


Thanks for participating! Are you doing anything exciting? Hosting a challenge? Conducting a workshop? Tell me about it and I will write a post to put on Artists in Blogland. Grab a button for your page:




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Creatively Featured - Natasha May

Hi Everyone! Today we have an interview with Natasha May. I have been enchanted with her gorgeous girls and use of bright colors. She has some great video tutorials on her blog if you want to pop over and check them out.

You can find her at:
Etsy

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Tell us about blogging and how it's worked for you.

I've been blogging since September 2008. First I didn't know what to do with a blog because I wasn't a person that kept a diary. But then I started making handmade greeting cards and blogging was one way of showing them off. I joined in with different challenges and met all these wonderful people. 

Then I discovered the world of whimsy. :) I created another blog in May 2009, more artistic one, and have been blogging about my art ever since. 

It's just a wonderful community to connect with kindred spirits and I find everyone so supportive. It has definitely broaden my horizon and inspired me to make art in the first place.

How did you discover your favorite art medium?

I've discovered my medium through on-line workshops. I was pretty addicted to them for a while. :) There were so many different techniques to learn and supplies to use and through time I figured out what works for me and what doesn't. I love acrylics, india ink pens and watercolor pencils right now. But it's an on going process and I never say never. I bet I'm going to change my technique and media in the future.

What inspires or influences you artistically?

This is a tough one to answer because I draw whimsical girls. I can't really say I look at the woods and get inspired to draw a girl. :)) But I do get inspired by colors. I love bright happy colors. And since I'm trading my ATC's on ATCs For All forum I get challenged to draw things I'd never think of drawing before. Either by joining a swap or being asked to do a personal trade.

Have you exhibited work or taught classes?

I have had one exhibition so far. I would love to exhibit more in the future but right now I'm in the middle of changing up my style and I don't have a coherent work to show. And I have a problem with keeping my paintings. :) I find that if I have too many paintings at home, my muse feels crowded and goes on vacation. :) That's why I put my paintings up for sale as soon as I finish them.

And I launched my very first on-line workshop Cotton Candy Girls in May this year. This was a year long project in the making and I was so proud of myself to see it through. I have a tendency to chicken out because of these little mean voices in my head saying "who do you think you are?". :) I guess I have overcome the fear of being judged and simply put myself out there and hoped for the best. And I must say it has been a great experience so far.

Do you work to a design or theme or just go with the flow…or something else entirely?

A little bit of both. It depends what inspired the process in the first place. If I envision it in my head how I want the painting to look like then I sketch and start painting. But it can change in the middle of it. I might make a mistake or something doesn't work the way I thought it would then I take a different path. But if I get inspired by lets say a feeling or a song then I start painting with no end result in mind and I let the painting lead its way to the end.

What artistic plans do you have for the coming year? 

My plan for this year is to have another on-line workshop but I'm open to suggestions so anything is possible. :)

Announcing an Autumn Challenge! Fall Fearless and Fly!

Jessica Sporn here, announcing a new challenge that Carolyn Dube and I will be hosting beginning October 1.  So that you have time to get ready, here's the scoop:

Fall Fearless and Fly - a bi-monthly art challenge to take you into 2013:

The autumn equinox marks the arrival of fall, traditionally seen as a season of changes leading to the dark of winter.  The trees are shedding their leaves, flowers are dying back, and animals are preparing for hibernation.  Fall is a time to reflect on shedding and releasing aspects of our lives that don't serve us, and embracing positive and uplifting perspectives as we end one year and begin the next.  Between October 1 and December 31, we will use various prompts to reflect upon the past, and ready us to enter 2013 as our best possible selves.  All of the prompts are taken from portions of newspaper headlines in the past year from this art journal page:

 

Each bi-monthly challenge will contain 3 parts -- one of these headlines, a color prompt, and a relevant quote.  

The challenges will be posted on  10/1, 10/15, 10/29, 11/12, 11/26, 12/10, and 12/31.  Your submission should be linked by Sunday the day before the next challenge is posted.  i.e., 10/13, 10/28, 11/11, 11/25, 12/09, and 12/30.  Winners will be announced the following Monday.

The rules are simple --

• Grab the button above and put it on your blog with a link to this page.
• You may participate in one or all of the challenges.
• You may link up to 2 times, but no back links please.
• Use one, two or all of the prompts.
• Use any media -- art journal, scrapbook, canvas, watercolor, quilting, you name it!  This is "Anything Goes" as far as your creativity is concerned.
• Each time you participate, visit 3 other links and leave loving words!

Will there be prizes?  The answer is yes!   Here is a sneak peak at just some of the prizes (outdoor flags, stickers, a needlepoint kit, fabric, a Woman of Valor bowl), all designed by Jessica.  LuminArte, lue Moon Scrapooking, The Crafter's Workshop, Ranger and more are donating prizes too! We hope to offer two each challenge - both will be picked randomly because we know it will be too hard to choose.

Carolyn and I will be back on October 1 to announce the first challenge and to show you what we've made in response to it.  In the meantime, let us know by commenting below if you plan to participate!  We're so excited to see what everyone does, and look forward to "going deep" and doing this "art cleanse" with you! 

UPDATE!!  Marcia Beckett, Jane Davies, Maria McGuire, Ronda Palazzari and Dina Wakely will be guest artists in this challenge.  Can't wait to see!!

ANOTHER UPDATE!  Joanne Sharpe will be our guest artist for 12/31. We are adding a challenge in January for Nathalie Kalbach.  Welcome Nat!

Issue #2 of Featuring Magazine is going to the printers!

The 2nd issue of Featuring Magazine is going to the printers.  It is ready for pre-order!

I am part of the editorial team at Featuring magazine and I'm so excited for the release of this issue.  In this issue, I wrote the article titled Mapping It Out, which features the art of Mary C. Nasser, Tofu and Karey Kessler. Each of these artists explores using maps in their own way to tell a story or to make a statement.  I also wrote the Featured Blogger column:  Tammy Garcy from Daisy Yellow guides her blog readers with tutorials, art journaling prompts, challenges, inspirational photographs and interesting quotes. Tammy is our featured blogger!

I love this gorgeous cover!

Here is a preview of the Mapping It Out article...

You can see several pages of preview at the website.  Visit this page to learn more about the 2nd issue.

Pre-order issue #2 in the store for a chance to win an inchie on the back of our next issue!

We will give away 30 inchies to readers who pre-order issue #2 before September 21.
These will appear on the back of our third issue.  On the 21st, we will draw 30 winners. Issue #2 of FEATURING will be released soon after.

Issue #1 is still available too... and remember:
Save money by buying multiple magazines at once.

Within Europe:
if you order two magazines at once, you save 11.2% on shipping costs.
if you order three magazines at once, you save 40.8% on shipping costs.

People living outside Europe:
if you order two magazine at once, you save 15.8% on shipping costs.
if you order three magazines at once, you even save 43.8% on shipping costs!

Do take advantage!
Combine your order with those of your friends or order different issues at once – and save on shipping costs.

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Submitting to Featuring magazine is a great way to share your art with the world. 

In the third issue

Inspiration for the THEME GALLERY:
SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE
take it literally or metaphorically
it's up to you, just be inspired

There are other categories (joint projects, creative spaces, feature articles) to submit to as well.

I have written the past two columns about a FEATURED BLOGGER.  I am open to suggestions for blogs you love, or if YOU have an artistic blog and would like to be considered for this column, let me know.   I am especially looking for unpublished talented bloggers.

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Take a look and see what some of the readers have said about Featuring magazine.

Quinn McDonald, author of Raw Art Journaling

Seth Apter, author of The Pulse of Mixed Media

Jill Zaheer, mixed media artist

iHanna, mixed media artist

Daisy Yellow's Interview with Featuring founder, Marit Barentsen

Artist Trading Card Swap and Show & Tell Saturday #25

Here are a couple more links for you to enjoy from our Artist Trading Card swap.

The ones I (Marcia) received...


Jennifer Burgan's cards sent and received

Show and Tell Saturday

Add your link! Note: If you are reading from a blog reader, you may need to visit the actual post to add your link.
Please visit at least 3 other artists and put a link back to Artists in Blogland, so other people can find us. 


Thanks for participating! Are you doing anything exciting? Hosting a challenge? Conducting a workshop? Tell me about it and I will write a post to put on Artists in Blogland. Grab a button for your page:




<a href="http://artistsinblogland.blogspot.com"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAkavWgIt3j0JGaezCk5nI8yCAo_gHu9ded1SMT2R2dQ7kFY6zpG8wAsbbnoIqJaZykCBSWf9hfCwbKuiNlfpMxFkrsX5lIzwTgFDosb1BX2tm93y6npS-KgB_3jAle6wDotpqSi5PSk/s1600/003_picnik+%2528202x100%2529.jpg" alt="BWS tips button" width="202" height="100" /></a>

August Challenge Winner

Dana!

Congratulations Dana! Here's a badge for your blog:

Voting for August Monthly Challenge

Hi all! It's time to cast your vote! Our theme for August was Wonder. You can cast two votes. Winner will be announced on September 6th.