Seth Apter's Blog, page 129

Techniques & Tools: Chapter 1

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 was the first project posted and links to all 12 posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The second project, Techniques & Tools, begins right now...

Participants were asked: 'The one technique or tool that you cannot live without is... ' I have added links of my own choosing to each contribution below, sometimes to products, sometimes to videos, sometimes to the artist's own work, and sometimes to something unexpected. Even the contributors do not know what I will be linking to!------------------------------------------- Erin Perry
Paint splatter. I learned this from Lynne Perrella and I find myself using it on almost everything I do. I love to experiment with thin and thick paint mixtures and different angles and brush tapping techniques. Endlessly diverse results.------------------------------------------- Anne Bagby
I love my stencils. I use stencils when it would be easier not to. They protect the best areas, they can add pattern or texture. I like sticky stencils, quilting stencils, paper stencils, hand cut stencils. scrapbook stencils, and every other kind of stencil. Anything with a hole in it can be a stencil. Anything you can cut a hole into is potentially be a stencil. ------------------------------------------- Stephanie Hilvitz
Caran d'Ache water soluble wax pastel crayons.
------------------------------------------- Paula Art
Dremel Tool------------------------------------------- Shirley Ende-Saxe
Spray ink and stenciling/masking. So versatile. I am constantly finding new ways to use spray ink.------------------------------------------- Rachel Whetzel
There are too many! I'm still in love with Creative Paperclay. There are so many ideas I have for its application. Now I just have to find the time.------------------------------------------- Lani Gerity
At the moment (and this changes from year to year) I would have to say Photoshop. I can't go a day without playing with my Photoshop.------------------------------------------- Deryn Mentock
I can't live without my Fretz hammers. I refuse to consider it. My best piece of advice on this is: get the best tools you can afford.  ------------------------------------------- Kim Logan 
Hmm...so many...have to say TomBow glue sticks! ------------------------------------------- Lise Hoffman
Alcohol Inks from Ranger.-------------------------------------------
Next 'Techniques & Tools' will be posted on Sunday, September 25th 

Air and Light

Aether
Greek God of the Upper Air and Light. He is the personification of heaven and space. Aether has been referred to as the soul of the world from which all life emanates.

Available for purchase from my Etsy shop.

Paper Stacks

Paper Stacks - A Call for Collaborative Participants!

Earlier this month I posted this picture on my Facebook Page. I had been moving some things around in my studio and had temporarily stacked these journals, papers, artworks, and handmade books in a pile. Couldn't resist the photo op. One of my visitors, Heather Campbell from Blissful Things, commented 'I love stacks of paper and handmade books...we should all take a picture of our own. Maybe Seth you have a place we could post them?' Great idea Heather. Ask and ye shall receive.

One week from today, on Wednesday September 21st, The Altered Page will host Paper Stacks, an online collaboration. Please leave a comment on this post if you would like to participate. All you need to do is post an image on 9/21 on your own blog of your stacks - be they papers, books, journals, or anything else of your liking. On the 21st I will post a list of all participating artists on my blog so that you can be sure to find all the links to the stacks. Feel free to let your own readers know about this project by spotlighting it on a post on or prior to reveal day. Please (and this is important) email me with a link when your post goes up so I know to add you to the posted list on my blog.

This is one time when the higher your stacks of stuff, the better.

Collage in Color

The future is now. Cloth Paper Scissors has recently release Collage in Color - an amazing eMag. This is a must have, both in terms of content and format. Their eMag is not just any downloadable file. It is fully interactive, in all the best ways. Of course you can click on links all over the place, but you can also pan and zoom in on the images, watch one of the 19 videos embedded in the eMag, view slideshows, scroll through articles, print out pages and lists, and much more. You can also see my piece 'With Wings' in the gallery section of Jenn Mason's article 'Complementary Colors.'
Available for purchase in my Etsy shop.
The first time though the eMag I barely even looked at all the articles and pictures - I was too focused on the fun format. But since then, I have come to see that the eMag is packed with information and art as well. For more information, click here. Or for iPad, you can go directly here.

Ten Years

In memory of...

Double Header

The collaborative project that I completed with Bridgette Guerzon-Mills and Jen Worden will be featured as part of Come Together: an exhibition of sculpture, installation and collaborative work. Juried and curated by Beth LeFauve, Jane Michalski, and Emily Rutledge, this show is the inaugural exhibition in the new Logan Square Arts Center in Logan Square/Avondale in Chicago.




Come Together opens on September 10th with a reception from 6 to 9pm and continues through September 30th. Logan Square Arts Center is located at 2810 N. Milwaukee Avenue, 2nd Floor, in Chicago. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Thursday 12-3pm, Friday to Sunday 12-5pm. For more information contact Jane Michalski at 733-392-1866.

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An Object Found continues its journey. After being featured in a juried exhibition of members works at the Printmaking Center of New Jersey, it is traveling to the Harold B. Lemmerman Gallery at the New Jersey City University.

The exhibition opens with a reception on September 15th from 4:30 to 7:30pm and runs through October  26th. The gallery is located on the campus of New Jersey City University in Jersey City in Room 323 Hepburn Hall on 2039 Kennedy Boulevard. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday, 11am-5pm. Call Midori Yoshimoto, Gallery Director, at 201-200-3246 for more information.

Style File: Chapter 12

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 is the 1st of 6 projects from The Pulse. Participants were asked: How would you describe your artistic style?
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Roseann Cazares




My artistic style is not about making pretty art, but instead, about honesty and what is going on in my life at the moment. I am drawn to journaling and collaging, as well as hands and hearts, which play a huge part in my art making.
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Jodi Ohl




By and large, I think my work is distinctly textured with lots of layers, contemporary in color palette, and almost always inspirational in some way. I oftentimes incorporate hidden messages, inspirational words or free expression journal writing in my pieces. That said, a girl is allowed to change her mind and go in a different direction if she wants to! (fly away with me)
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Pam McKnight




Found object assemblage - Using up all the stuff that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
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Jeanie Thorn




I think it is a combination of two styles: Constructivism which is a precise and logical ordering of space inherited from the Classical world and the second style is Minimalism. I always try to simplify and remove what is unnecessary to tell my style...you know, less is more. Unfortunately less is more difficult...not a lot to hide behind. (Patch)
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debi lynn designs




Gypsyfied  (Mae West meets Stevie Nicks)
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Often my style is wild and colorful. This is the Sunflower art quilt that just won first place in the Yolo county sunflower art show. (Indian Summer)
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Marit Barentsen




That's difficult...right now I am in a 'reflection period'. I am standing at a crossroads, not knowing which way to chose or which direction my art will go. But I will keep my 'weekly journal' going, and that maybe shows a bit of my style. I always include text. My art is personal and on many occasions has a deeper meaning. This is not always visible though. For the 'unsaid' things, I use my own symbols - that way, some emotions stay unseen to the viewer and are just known by me. (The Chronicles of Marit - week 23)
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Laura A. Pace




I paint in an impressionist style. I go back and forth between mixing the paint on my palette and letting the paint just mix directly on the canvas. Many times I start with an underpainting of complementary colors as I feel that brings a certain sparkle and light to my work. I use little to no black, though I harbor no resentments toward it! It is beginning to be mostly about the play of light for me now, as I think this piece shows. (Hot Laundry Alley)
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donna louise rodgers




Everything I make is one of one. People are what fascinate me and everyone is unique so there are endless subjects to draw. And making dolls is an art form that enables me to recreate human based characters in three dimensions and make up stories to go with them. Making 3d bodies is hugely helpful when drawing life figures - your hands begin to 'know' what the image should feel like if it were 'real'. My limited edition salt dough dolls are absolutely me in terms of style.  'adonnalouiserodgersthing' does not try to be anything else.
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AnTonia Griva




SurRealistiC and DreamLike.
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Dave Dube


Realism. That's been my style since I was five years old. I want viewers to see what I see in my visual world of 'storyland'. There is of course a story to go with this piece. (Marianne's Putnam Lightening Jar)
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This posting marks the end of Style File, the first project from The Pulse V. The links to all twelve posts will remain on my sidebar but will drop down toward the bottom with the links to all four previous editions.

There will be no post for The Pulse next Sunday in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. But please join me at The Altered Page on Sunday, September 18th, when the next project from the The Pulse begins...

High Wire Act

Back in April I answered a call for artwork from Cloth Paper Scissors for their Wild Wire Challenge. CPS was looking for artwork made from or with wire, whether soldered, twisted, braided, weaved, torched, or shaped. In May I was happy to see on Barbara Delaney's blog that I was among the finalists. I am now even happier to find out that my submission was among those selected and has been published in the September/October issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. I share the page with  David Hayes and his very cool creation 'Hot-Wired Terrier.'

My submission 'Bone Folder' was made using a twist on a technique I learned in a workshop with Keith LoBue. 

You may also recall my recent collaborative sculpture 'Angel' that I made for the Exquisite Corpse Festival, again created using paper and wire.

Many thanks and much appreciation to the crew at CPS for this honor. 

Contexture Concludes

This is the third and last update on my collaboration with Bridgette Guerzon Mills and Jen Wordon. We have been working together on an art project since early 2009 and have recently completed our pieces. You can see my contributions to Bridgette's plaster pages here and Jen's metal pages here. And below you will find a complete set of images from Contexture, my book of brittle, vintage paper pages. Please enlarge the photos for a detailed view.
Front Cover


Back Cover

Sign in page
Bridgette
Jen
Seth
Bridgette
Jen
Seth
Bridgette
Seth
Seth
Seth
Seth
Seth
And again a thank you to Bridgette and Jen for joining me on this collaborative journey. Those of you in the Chicago area can see all three projects in September at the inaugural exhibit at the Logan Square Art Center. Specifics will be posted on my blog and Facebook page soon.

Your Blog, Your Way: Part 5

'The ideas for blog posts are as endless as your own creative imagination. And as artists, we are nothing if not creative.' Part 5 of my series Your Blog, Your Way is now posted at Create Mixed Media. Today's topic: the 'what' and 'how' of blog Content.