Seth Apter's Blog, page 53
October 11, 2015
The Week Links: 71
Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. All previous links can be found here.And here is Week 71...
Match the artist with their childhood art.
Brilliantly patterned jewelry made from layers of cut colored pencils by Anna Curlejova.
1,100 white umbrellas form a canopy made by Kaisa Berry and Timo Berry.
Foil stamping technique from Christine Adolph.
10 art apps to inspire your inner creative.
From to-do to done deal. Danny Gregory shares how to get it all done.
What do you think of Amazon taking on Etsy with their new Handmade at Amazon site?
October 8, 2015
Why I Art Journal
In the past I had started many journals and found that after a short time, they remained nearly blank, unused and in a pile on the shelf. At that time, journaling was a frustrating experience as it became more of a symbol of an unfinished project rather than a helpful process. Then one day a number of years ago it occurred to me that my journals were there for me and only me. They could be anything, with no expectations and no rules.
It does not matter whether I journal everyday or once a year. What matters is that I journal what I need, when I need to, and in any form that works for me.
Now art journals have become an important part of my life. I have several of them going at once and use them for different reasons. My current go-to journal is a 9x12 inch, spiral bound journal with 140b cold press water color paper. It is truly a visual journal in that every page starts with a layer of black gesso, continues with painted pages, and finished off with additional mixed media elements. There is text on every page as well but very limited actual journaling.
The expression of emotion is in the images and hidden within the layers. And that is just fine.
I also have a smaller journal that I hand bound myself and that is used as a more traditional journal - with a lot of writing. All of the pages have been prepainted with watercolor washes and there is collage added as well. This journal is there for me when images won't do and I need to use my words. I do not journal in this book as often as my visual journal - but it is there whenever I am compelled to reach for it. And unlike my visual journal, this smaller one is private and not shared with anybody on line or IRL.
Both of these journals, and the many others I have made, are containers for my thoughts, feelings, ideas and concerns. They hold my stories. They are me...
October 3, 2015
The Week Links: 70
Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. All previous links can be found here.And here is Week 70...
Embroidered textured landscape art from Ana Teresa Barboza.
Remember my Living with Art online collaboration? Check out the book Artists Living with Art by Stacey Goergen, Amanda Benchley and Oberto Gili.
Epic 3D graffiti from street artist Odeith.
Joanna Wirazka uses fallen leaves as her canvas to create stunning landscape art.
Love this floating college from Laura Lein-Svencner.
Fabric mending inspired by century-old Japanese textiles.
Excited to see that Roxanne Evans Stout's new book - Storytelling with Collage: Techniques for Layering, Color and Texture - is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
October 2, 2015
Words/Matter Exhibition
Back in 2009 I was involved with a collaboration with artists Bridgette Guerzon Mills and Jen Worden. The main idea was to challenge and experiment with our creative skills. I created a handbound, vintage paper book with the theme Contexture. Jen created a series of loose metal pages with the theme Shine. Bridgette created a book with plaster pages with the theme Book of Trees.
Juts got word that Book of Trees will be part of an exhibition in Chicago at words/matter. Opening 10/3 and running through 10/29, this show highlights artists books. If you are in the area, I hope you are able to stop by.
Bridgette's Book of Trees (photograph by Bridgette Guerzon Mills)
The three pages I created in the book:
Branch
Reflection
Grow
Head on over to this post on Bridgette's blog, Contemplating the Moon, to see images from every page in her book and to read about her own personal experience with the collaboration.
Juts got word that Book of Trees will be part of an exhibition in Chicago at words/matter. Opening 10/3 and running through 10/29, this show highlights artists books. If you are in the area, I hope you are able to stop by.
Bridgette's Book of Trees (photograph by Bridgette Guerzon Mills)The three pages I created in the book:
Branch
Reflection
Grow
Head on over to this post on Bridgette's blog, Contemplating the Moon, to see images from every page in her book and to read about her own personal experience with the collaboration.
October 1, 2015
Oh Canada...
Excited to be teaching in Canada for the first time in June 2016. Registration is now open for four workshops that I will be holding in Carp, Ontario - just outside of Ottawa. Hope you will be able to join me there. And many thanks to Holly Dean for making this happen!
Collage Camp: June 6, 2016
For Your Eyes Only: June 7-8, 2016
52 Card Pickup: June 9, 2016
Dimensional Stenciling: June 10, 2016
Collage Camp: June 6, 2016
For Your Eyes Only: June 7-8, 2016
52 Card Pickup: June 9, 2016
Dimensional Stenciling: June 10, 2016
September 30, 2015
Guess Who is Guesting?
Happy to be the guest poster today on Balzer Designs, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog. I am a sucker for numbered posts - you know top 10 this and 7 reasons for that. So head on over to find my list of 5 tips to finish off and integrate your collage .
September 26, 2015
The Week Links: 69
Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. All previous links can be found here.And here is Week 69...
Pantone's top 10 fashion colors for Spring 2016. Will they also be evident in the art world?
The 26 best art museums in the United States according to Time Out New York.
A blog is only dead when you are. Thoughts from Holly Becker of Decor8 that every blogger should read.
Anemones from Elena Nuez at Bicocacolors. What a lush, gorgeous palette.
Observations from Diana Trout.
More Joseph Cornell. A recent repost of a review of his 1967 show at The Guggenheim.
Want more links to love? Kelley Fewer shares her favorite links every Sunday too.
September 21, 2015
September 19, 2015
The Week Links: 68
Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. All previous links can be found here.And here is Week 68...
Dawn Sokol (author of A World of Artist Journal Pages) shares her thoughts behind art journaling and why everybody should journal.
8 abstract watercolor techniques.
Hundreds of vintage books transformed into giant illustrated murals by Ekaterina Panikanova.
Loving these art journal pages from Karen Michel.
Thrilled to finds out that Lisa Hoffman is in the process of designing her own very cool stickers and stamps.
Nathalie Kalbach shares her newest Art Tapas (bite-sized video tip) on brush care.
Excited to see my own mixed media artwork (plus step-by-step instructions) featured on the Stampington & Company website
Life: Documented
I am thrilled to be part of the 2015 lineup of featured artists in the Documented Life Project.
If this is new to you, click here for a short video that explains it all.
The theme for the month of September is Journaling with Photos, the art challenge is Silhouettes, and the prompt is There is no shadow without the light. It is up to the participating artist to interpret these any way at all.
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Here is how it was done
I knew that I wanted to create in my current journal and I had a specific photo in mind at the start.
When I first started this journal, I painted black gesso on every page. The backgrounds, including this one, are created pretty organically -- marked and painted along the way as I create other art.
While I understand the symbolic meaning of the quote, I chose a photo that interpreted it a bit more literally. I took this picture in Venice when I was there maybe 10 years ago. I thought that the shadows and reflections in it suited this project very well. I hand altered the photo using an awl, sandpaper, and dye ink.
Since the quote for this project focused on both light and shadow, I decided to add some brightness to the dark background with some sprays and splatters of acrylic paint.
I have no clue how this picture was taken...but it definitely shows my process!
The art challenge this week for the project is silhouettes. I decided to create a simple silhouette of a face by cutting out the outline on painted watercolor paper.
The fun really began at that point as I dug into my stash of painted paper, ephemera and collage material and made this mess.
I went with my creative gut, chose a bunch of pieces -- many of which were small scraps which most people (other than us) would have thrown away along time ago -- and began layering. Once the collage was completed and adhered to the journal page, I outlined much of it with a black Stabilo pencil, added some stamping, and splattered a bit more acrylic paint to finish it off.
When I was done, Look My Way was born.
If this is new to you, click here for a short video that explains it all.
The theme for the month of September is Journaling with Photos, the art challenge is Silhouettes, and the prompt is There is no shadow without the light. It is up to the participating artist to interpret these any way at all.
---------------------------
Here is how it was done
I knew that I wanted to create in my current journal and I had a specific photo in mind at the start.
When I first started this journal, I painted black gesso on every page. The backgrounds, including this one, are created pretty organically -- marked and painted along the way as I create other art.
While I understand the symbolic meaning of the quote, I chose a photo that interpreted it a bit more literally. I took this picture in Venice when I was there maybe 10 years ago. I thought that the shadows and reflections in it suited this project very well. I hand altered the photo using an awl, sandpaper, and dye ink.
Since the quote for this project focused on both light and shadow, I decided to add some brightness to the dark background with some sprays and splatters of acrylic paint. 
I have no clue how this picture was taken...but it definitely shows my process!
The art challenge this week for the project is silhouettes. I decided to create a simple silhouette of a face by cutting out the outline on painted watercolor paper.
The fun really began at that point as I dug into my stash of painted paper, ephemera and collage material and made this mess. I went with my creative gut, chose a bunch of pieces -- many of which were small scraps which most people (other than us) would have thrown away along time ago -- and began layering. Once the collage was completed and adhered to the journal page, I outlined much of it with a black Stabilo pencil, added some stamping, and splattered a bit more acrylic paint to finish it off.
When I was done, Look My Way was born.
