So, this is *totally* a better-late-than-never kinda' post, Valentine's Day having come and gone some days ago-- but-- shouldn't *every* day be a celebration of love?!?!
Love in its many facets and shapes and sizes and colors and patterns and textures-- some hidden & secretly tucked away, some big and bold and visible....
In honor of this particular Valentine's Day, I participated in my very first online artists' swap, thanks to the warm invitation of my dear friend Kara Jones, and for my 20 signed & numbered limited edition art pieces, I chose to do my very first ATC's (Artist Trading Cards-- 2 1/2 " X 3 1/2 ", same dimensions as baseball cards.)
In return for the 20 Valentine ATC's I made and submitted to Kara, I had the delightful pleasure of receiving a package containing a gorgeous assortment of Valentine love from the 19 other artists who had participated.
I found the process of creating my Valentines to be quite enjoyable and satisfying, and what a wonderful way to feel the love that flows all around us, accessing the warmth and good wishes and creative outpourings of other artists in other places, all sending out love into the air, across the miles-- for Valentine's Day and every day! Since I have benefited so tremendously from the tutorials other artists have shared via this Web of Connection that stretches all 'round this big wide wonderful world of ours, a brief outline follows of the steps that went into creating my Valentine ATC's....
For my backgrounds, I decided to recycle some boxes from the recycling bin-- cardboard that once held breakfast cereal and butter now became the base for my creations, once they'd been covered in a couple of layers of thickly applied gesso (provides a blank white surface, with a good tooth for the paint to adhere to, and a purposefully interesting texture). I picked up a lot of great techniques for applying gesso from the excellent class I took at last year's ArtFest from the exceedingly inspirational Lynne Perrella .
One aspect of this project that was key was to begin far enough in advance of the deadline to allow for each of the many layers to dry completely before adding the next. Good exercise in time management! :) After the gesso layers came the paint, again applied to maximize textural interest. The jumping-off point for this approach to creating the backgrounds was loosely based on one of my very favorite techniques among the dozens that I've read over the last couple years as I have meandered my way into becoming a "self-taught" artist through reading just about every altered art/ collage/ art journal book that has been published over the last 10 years, as well as winding my way through the vast treasure trove of resources now so readily available online. The section by Juliana Coles in the book Kaleidoscope: Ideas and Projects to Spark Your Creativity where she describes her style of Extreme Visual Journaling has proven to be one of the most powerful ways I've found to circumvent my inner control-freak and delight in the possibilities of "planned spontaneity"....
After the paint had dried and I'd applied a coat of gel medium to seal and provide a surface for writing and drawing, I cut the backgrounds into the ATC dimensions, then drew my swirly trees/ dangly hearts/ and hand-written words of love using my beloved Pitt pens and Sharpies.
I decorated the backs of the cards with my name and blog address, and some cheerful designs using one of my other very favorite mark-making tools, the gorgeously vibrant Caran D'Ache watercolor crayons. If I had to pick one and only one supply to use in my art journals and paintings, they'd be the clear winner-- love LOVE ***L*O*V*E*** 'em!
So, here they are, ready to make their way out into the world....
...and now I've had the chance to spread a little more love by sending these words and images out into The Land of Blog! As I'm still pretty new to bloggin', I've encountered a few little frustrations in my attempts tonight to arrange the elements within this post, the relative sizes of the photos, and the way it's all laid out. For now, though, the hour has grown late, so I'll close for now, and continue to investigate and experiment with the shiny new tools at hand. For now, I will wish for each of you
a gleeful sense
of loving energy
***springing forth***
as the seasons cycle by,
as love fills the air....
