Seth Apter's Blog, page 101

Shifting Gears

I am always looking for ways to create dimension and texture, even when working on something as small as an Artist Trading Card or ATC. ATCs are the size of a playing card and traditionally are created to trade among artists. Being that it was a freezing day when I sat down to make this piece, I knew right away I wanted to capture the icy feel by using a palette of primarily silver and white.
I was further inspired by Creative Cogs, a new embossing folder from Spellbinders.
Using the silver side of a sheet of craft foil, I ran the embossing folder through the Grand Calibur.
I chose one section of the foil and cut it down to playing card size.

I also embossed and hand-cut several pieces of patterned paper in contrasting colors in the exact same way to use as accents. I added some extra silver markings to the white paper using a metallic marker.

I selected some of the embossed and some of the debossed sections of the foil piece, cut out the equivalent sections on the white piece, and glued them together for more detail.

I then added brads to create more dimension. I had silver but no white brads. So in order to keep a consistent color palette, I painted the heads of several brads using white gesso.

I then cut out three strips from the black piece I had embossed earlier. I glued one strip to the very top of the ATC for some contrast and then added my title using white, rub-on letters to the other two strips, which diagonally crossed the card. To finish off, I brushed a layer of black gesso on the playing card and glued that to the back of the ATC to both hide the prongs from the brads and add the finishing touch.




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Supply List
Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:
GC-001 SpellbindersTM Grand Calibur® MachineF-013 SpellbindersTM Jewel Tones  Craft Foil E3D-002 SpellbindersTM 3D M-Bossibilities® Creative Cogs
Cross Promotional Partners: Bo Bunny patterned paper
Other: playing card, white gesso, black gesso, metallic marker, adhesive, paper, brads, rub-on letters, scissor, awl

Stops Along the Way

The Thread that Weaves: I have been working my way through an online workshop taught by Roxanne Evans Stout from River Garden Studio. 

I have been taking my time on this project and savoring each step along the way. 

She has just decided to extend sign-ups through spring. At the end of the workshop, not only will you have a handmade book to treasure but through Roxanne's videos and exercises, you will better be able to identify the "thread that weaves" through your art.
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The Big Road Trip: Join Marit Barentsen from Marit's Paper World as she takes a virtual trip across the United States. 

Every Monday, starting 2/25/13, Marit will highlight a city or state by first sharing a guest post from a local who will talk about their home from an artist's point of view and then post her reader's thoughts and experiences about the same place. There is no charge for gas and no tolls along the way. This is one trip you will not want to miss.
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One Fish Taco and Half an Order of Guacamole: Lynn Cohen from
Filled cover to cover with her sketches and accompanying thoughts, this book is a gem. The drawings are filled with life and a bit of whimsy too. Any artist who has ever dealt with the self consciousness that comes with drawing in public will doubly appreciate this book.
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The Ground: The third issue of The Ground print magazine was just released. The Ground is a current, edgy magazine that focuses on art, music, photography, and fashion. 

It is also a community of artists and writers that offers many networking opportunities. This recent issue is titled The Balance, and like all their issues, also focuses on a charity - in this case Unicef.
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El Anatsui: Those of you who are in or close to NYC have the opportunity to see Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui at the Brooklyn Museum. El Anatsui is a Nigerian-based artist who creates the most amazing sculptural pieces made from found materials - most often bottle caps. 


These shimmering pieces, which he manipulates almost like fabric, are large in scale, completely unique, and truly awe inspiring. The following picture gives you an idea of the size.


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The Craft Donkey: Lacey from The Craft Donkey is highlighting some of my work and words on her site in a section aptly titled Men Craft Too! 

If you have never been there, her website focuses on craft-related tutorials, challenges and giveaways. Thanks so much Lacey for spotlighting my work and my blog.

Tell All: Chapter 7

 
Welcome to the 5th edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.
Style File, Techniques & Tools, Master Class, It's Still Life, and Playing Favorites were the first five projects posted and links to all these posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The final project from The Pulse #5, Tell All, continues now...

Participants were asked: what is the one thing that you know now that you would have liked to have known when you first started to create art? ------------------------------------------
I would not have spent so much money buying every art supply I could lay my hands on! It's a treat to now now where my interests lie and not be tempted by things I will never use. Makes for easier storage too. I have many grateful friends and colleagues who have been the recipients of my many purges in the last few years. Erin Perry
I really started painting again about 5 years ago. It was me all alone in my little condo, painting on large canvases and adding collage elements. I then attended my first art retreat where I found out that this is called "mixed media". I began to devour everything I could find out about retreats, blogs, mixed media artists and the magazines they were published in. So much so that I stopped creating with that unabandoned innocence I had started with in my condo. I'm not negating those things as I've learned a huge wealth of information. But I wonder how much further I would be along had I not spent that time comparing myself to those things. Adrienne "Dree" Berry
No matter how careful you think you're going to be, never paint while wearing a white top. You would not believe the amount of clothes that I've ruined because I didn't cover up! Kathryn Dyche Dechairo
Probably I would have liked to know that any class that required me to purchase an extensive or expensive set of specific tools was likely not for me. I've taken a number of classes that I had to do this for and never used the tools again. I eventually figured out that my first love is paper-based art. I then considered any future classes carefully, paying close attention to the supply lists. I know take classes that help me add to my skill set in the medium that I create in on a daily basis. Lelainia Lloyd
Creating everyday and being consistent is the biggest tool and advantage you can secure for yourself and your art. I've been pretty dedicated to my art since I started, but the difference really came for me when I decided I was going to do something, anything, every single day that gets me closer to my goal. It's been a motivating factor for me. Jodi Ohl
If I had known how much pleasure creating art would give me, I would have started doing it much earlier and more often. And I would have made sure I had a sink in my studio. Susan Madden
I'd share this with all young and all old artists: learn how to haul your regalia or your stuff around - tents, displays, easels, supplies and artwork - because that's what you do a while heck of a lot. Laura Lein-Svencner
Don't get hung up on about having your own style. Just create. Create lots. Your style developed all by itself somewhere in the middle, and just when you think you have your style pinned down, it begins to change. Natasha White
The importance of organization. Organization of the records of one's body of work from the get go would simplify things. It makes things easier when you have a website, when you apply for work, or need to put together a portfolio.  theresa mARTin
It would have benefited me greatly if many years ago I started a sample book of my experiments, both the failed ones as well as those that were successful. With time, some things are forgotten, of course, and sometimes I look at an older piece and can't, for the life of me, remember exactly how I created it. Jessica Walthall
------------------------------------------Next Tell All will be posted on Sunday, February 24th

My Library

I just reorganized my work bench -- the bench under the large window in my studio that I have always used to display finished art and works in progress. I decided to switch things around and now it is filled with a selection of my handmade books, including artist books, travel journals, workshop samples, and collaborative projects. 

I am also reorganizing my blog and have added another tab [ARTIST BOOKS] to the space just below my banner. This will take you to a new post that highlights, page-by-page, some of my own, handmade books.

Change Direction

You don't need a compass to make this book. Just follow these instructions...
I started this project off by hand-painting several sheets of watercolor paper using gesso, acrylic paint and acrylic glaze. You could also use scrapbook or other decorative paper instead.
I can never get enough texture in my artwork, so I decided to use one of Spellbinders new Texture Plates, which has already become a staple in my art supply box. This one is Grate Works Three.
Click on this picture to enlarge it so you can see the incredible nooks and crannies the paper now has.
I gently sponged over the surface with ink to make the texture pop even more and to add some color highlights.
I cut the textured paper using a scissor into two 3.5 inch squares. Using a ruler so I could get deckled edges, I tore a sheet of 90lb watercolor paper into three 3.5 x 7 inch rectangles - one would be for the cover and two for the pages inside. 
 I folded the three pieces of watercolor paper in half to create a book form.
I next glued the textured paper to both sides of one sheet of the folded watercolor paper, and these sides become the front and back covers to my book.
 I used a simple pamphlet stitch to put the book together using waxed, brown linen thread and added one bead at the closure for visual interest.

To decorate my covers, I cut a contrasting color of hand-painted paper using Spellbinders Exquisite Circles dies...
..and of course felt the need to add some found and altered metal to complete the look.

A book is born...


Right now the inside pages are blank but I will soon be completing them and showing them in a future post. Stay tuned...
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Supply List
Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:
GC-001 SpellbindersTM Grand Caibur® MachineMT1-005 SpellbindersTM Media Mixage Texture Plates Grate Works ThreeS4-384 SpellbindersTM Nestabilities® Majestic Elements Exquisite Circles 
Preferred Promotional Partners: Tsukineko Momento Dye Ink Pad, Imagine Crafts Inkblushers sponge
Other: watercolor paper, gesso, acrylic paint, acrylic medium, gilders paste, paint brush, adhesive, waxed linen thread, sewing needle, scissor, ruler, awl, bead, found objects 

Tell All: Chapter 6

 
Welcome to the 5th edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.
Style File, Techniques & Tools, Master Class, It's Still Life, and Playing Favorites were the first five projects posted and links to all these posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The final project from The Pulse #5, Tell All, continues now...

Participants were asked: what is the one thing that you know now that you would have liked to have known when you first started to create art? ------------------------------------------
That I am an artist. Basic, right? You'd think. After all I went to art school and spent my life as a graphic designer. It took years, though, for me to accept that I was, in actual fact, an artist. Judy Sidonie Tillinger
Be happy developing your style rather than impatient to be perfect. Theresa Plas
Not all the advice out there applies to you. In my case, I needed more studio time and less marketing time. Shayla Perreault Newcomb
That I didn't need to be so intimidated - being able to draw is a skill that can be acquired (and that isn't always necessary), sometimes the flops lead to the best successes, sometimes mistakes turn into great surprises. I would have started getting my hands dirty a lot sooner. Marianne Konvalinka
It's easier than you think when you stop thinking, you don't need to know what you are doing and there isn't a 'right' way to do it. Paula Art
I wish I had understood the crucial roles of structure and routine in supporting creative productivity. Lisa Scardron

I wish I had known the importance of taking your art seriously enough to do whatever it takes to make time for it. Even a little time compounded over 10, 20 or 30 years can yield results. Pat Pitingolo

That it's okay to play and experiment; not every piece turns out. Simply enjoy the process. Gail Pierce

I wish I had given myself more freedom to make mistakes. Some of my best work is the result of working through the ugly duckling stage of a project. It is very liberating. Leslie Marsh

Skip the cute stuff and get right into mixed media. Donna Joy

------------------------------------------Next Tell All will be posted on Sunday, February 17th

Rolodecks

Rolodecks

I love old school office supplies and was excited to see the new release of Address Book from Spellbinders, which included these rolodex card dies, along with some very cool label dies that I will be using for another project. I didn't let the fact that I did not have a rolodex stop me!

Rather than use my own hand painted paper, I decided to raid my supply of Artists' Paper that comes free within the pages of so many wonderful Stampington & Company magazines. Thanks to all those artists who contributed! These pages are one sided, so I started off by gluing two pages back to back.
I then used the Grand Caibur® Machine to die cut my first card.
 For this project I made 23 cards, with the tabs varying from left to center to right.
Since I did not have a rolodex, I needed something else to store the cards in. I found this box in my stash -- it had been waiting years to be used in the perfect project. 
Perfect fit! Time to collage.. .I gathered my materials from my ever-growing supply of "stuff", which included ephemera, magazine clippings, stickers, rub-ons, stamps, and the like. I also used a number of small die cuts from Spellbinders.
I dove in and when I came up for air, I had completed all 23 cards.

Here are just a few:




Then on to the box...

And my completed project!




Supply List
Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:
GC-001 SpellbindersTM Grand Caibur® MachineS5-167 SpellbindersTM Shapeabilities® Address BookS4-396 SpellbindersTM Shapeabilities® You Are HereS4-397 SpellbindersTM Shapeabilities® That's the TicketS4-386 SpellbindersTM Nestabilities® CogsS4-390 SpellbindersTM Nestabilities® Majestic Elements Gold Circles One 
Preferred Promotional Partners: Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko StazOn Solvent Ink Pad, Tsukineko Momento Dye Ink Pad, Imagine Crafts Inkblushers sponge
Cross Promotional Partners: 7 Gypsies Paper, 7 Gypsies Stickers, Basic Grey Papers
Other: box, ephemera, decorated card stock, scissors, glue stick, rub-ons, washi tape, rubber stamps, colored pencils, water-based markers, metallic pens 

14 Artist Journals

Thoughts from a Shadow
I am honored to be a part of a new book lovingly created by artist, blogger, and friend Orly Avineri. Orly is the keeper of One Artist Journal, a blog that spotlights her personal journal pages and accompanying thoughts. In May 2012, she released her first book, aptly titled One Artist Journal , based on the posts within her blog. The book is a gorgeous compilation of thought-provoking imagery and lyrical text.  

Just a few days ago, Orly's second book was released. Entitled 14 Artist Journals , this book shares the private journal pages of 14 artists. I am thrilled to be 1 of the 14.

I have only had my copy for a few hours and I am already obsessed with this book. It is beautifully designed and has the look and feel of a journal itself - both because of the book's size (about 9 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches) and the fact that the pages are full bleed.
I am familiar with some of the artists within the book, for example Jesse Reno, Juliana Coles, Brian Kasstle, Tracy Moore, and Nathalie Nayer. But many of these artists are new to me. It is very clear that the journal pages shared are quite personal. And unique. I am struck by the fact that I can glean so very much about the personalities of each artist by their pages -- which feel like a bit of a glimpse into the artist's soul.
Orly is hosting a giveaway of a copy of her book to one lucky person who comments on her blog post here. You can read more about the book on her blog and can order it directly here.
Ten pages from my journal were included in the book. I wanted to share with you a few of those pages that were not published. I give you...Thoughts from a Shadow:

Tell All: Chapter 5

 
Welcome to the 5th edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.
Style File, Techniques & Tools, Master Class, It's Still Life, and Playing Favorites were the first five projects posted and links to all these posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The final project from The Pulse #5, Tell All, continues now...

Participants were asked: what is the one thing that you know now that you would have liked to have known when you first started to create art? ------------------------------------------To listen deeply to my own voice. Creativity involves moving beyond our fears, excuses, road blocks, people (the naysayers), etc. It involves going deep inside - to see what is really there. And to remember to do that! It's about following your vision. It's about all the effort it takes to get it out there, because you must. It's about passion. Wen Redmond
When I first started to create art, I would have liked to have known myself better. That's one of the greatest strengths that I now have to draw from as an artist. It's provided me with confidence to take risks in my art, experiment, and have a greater ability to process and synthesize what I'm feeling with how best to communicate it. Jill Zaheer
Don't create to please others. Create only for yourself, stay true to your own thoughts and feelings and don't be afraid that it 'isn't good enough'. When you create from the heart, when your art is honest, then it always is 'good enough'. Ummm... somehow I DID know this when I first started to create art, but I couldn't live to do it back then. I was too much of a pleaser when I was younger. Marit Barentsen
I struggled in the beginning with learning to let go and trust the instincts that I felt when looking at a composition enough to actually commit to putting glue on it and making it permanent. Because I work with all original ephemera, what if I ruined something precious? I finally came to the realization that whatever precious scrap was in my possession was there for a reason. I would literally have to give myself a pep talk to build up the courage to glue these items together - playing with Nike's slogan and coming up with my own - "Just Glue it!". Crystal Neubauer
I think perceptions of what makes art "good" change over time. For example, as a kid I thought realistic = good. In college, it seemed that every artwork had to have a deep meaning. Now I think a work of art doesn't necessarily need to have a deep meaning in order to be inspiring to look at. One thing I try to teach my elementary students is that not everything you make needs to be a masterpiece. Every work of art helps you learn a little bit more. Marcia Beckett
In retrospect, looking back at 18-21 year old me, I struggled through art school trying like the devil to please others. I should have just followed my inner need that wanted scratching rather than worrying about my grades. I nearly gave up painting all together after graduation, but I never stopped. There were shapes and colors that were mine to explore, and it took time to unlearn everything that I was taught, and learned to go with the flow. A worthwhile journey, but maybe I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if I didn't go through the early frustration. Laura J. Wellner
To trust myself, that I CAN DO IT. That confidence that comes with doing, and receiving positive feedback fro what I have done. I think it's why I enter art competitions/shows. I seem to need to be told something is good. And remember I only really started to seriously create in July 2007. Sometimes you have to walk away from a piece...and come back to it later. Or even just start over. I agonized over pieces that just weren't working until the frustration was at a peak. It's okay to scrap it all and start over - or just let it be (sometimes for months and even years) before you come back to it. Forcing creativity doesn't work! Amy Duncan
The vulnerability it takes to Create Art. The need to break down walls and completely unravel in order to really tap into the part of my Self that my work comes from. The risks I must take if I want to keep growing and getting better. Then again if I had known these things, maybe I wouldn't have begun this journey. Loryn Spangler-Jones
As a young artist, I tended to be that person who could be intimidated by a large, white sheet of drawing paper or a blank canvas. Later on, using a sketchbook, daily, quickly got me beyond such artistic difficulties and made me realize that the artist that doesn't take chances, and sometimes make mistakes, is playing it far to safe, and is unlikely to grow very much in terms of creativity and technical skills. Robert Stockton ------------------------------------------Next Tell All will be posted on Sunday, February 10th

Pulse 6: Open Call

It is once again time to take your pulse! The Pulse is a collaborative experience that has been part of The Altered Page since January 2008. Its purpose is to "tap into the pulse" of the online, art community. With so many talented and creative artists to follow, I thought it would be fun, informative, and inspiring to bring them together through a series of ongoing projects, which have included: five online editions, a zine, my book The Pulse of Mixed Media published by North Light Books, and a series of live artist panels. 
I am now gathering participants for the newest version of The Pulse and every person who submits will be included. In a bit of a twist, this sixth edition will collect your favorites in 10 categories. The results will be tallied and collated and will form the basis for a series of online resource manuals for both artists and art lovers.
All the information you need to participate can be found at this link, which can be accessed at any time from both the [PULSE 6 OPEN CALL] tab just under my header as well as my sidebar. But tally your favorites quickly -- the submission deadline is 3/3/13.