On My Wishlist....

Hey friends.. I always love seeing what other people are interested in (especially art books and products) so let me show you what's on my Christmas wish list this year!

1.  The Big Book of Art, an interactive book for preschoolers.  Partly for my inspiration, partly for my daughter...  Here is what the description says, "This is your first book of art! Grab it, flip through the pages, turn it upside down?what do you see? Scribbles and splotches, shapes and letters, signs and lines? You're the artist: mix and match the patterns paintings by simply turning the page. Use your creativity and imagination - and most importantly, have fun!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Press Here comes a new interactive book for pre-school children. The Big Book of Art features different colors, shapes, and patterns on pages that have been cut in two, presenting hundreds of possibilities for unique combinations. Young artists will delight in creating their own masterpieces time and time again."




2.  Set of 28 Gelatos:  These are one of my favorite art supplies and I'm starting to use up the ones I have.  I have about 12 colors, so having more choices would be amazing!






3.  Mixed Media Masterpieces:  The authors of the blog Everyday is a Holiday came out with a book.  They have the sweetest and cutest artwork and they just seem so nice! 



4.  Creative Illustration and Beyond:  Stephanie Corfee is another artist with cute, colorful and inspirational artwork that I love.



5.  And last but not least,
A Retired Art Teacher Tells All: One Hundred Simple Tips to Help Teachers Become Efficient, Inspiring, and Happy Educators.  Because I'm always interested in learning more about teaching art.

Art is Basic website
My Art
Etsy Shop
Pinterest

Featuring Magazine in the mail and a handmade book

I want to share with you a few peeks of the latest issue of Featuring magazine (#3).  I was eagerly awaiting my copy and yesterday I received it.

As a thank you gift, Marit sent me this very lovely handbound book.  Thank you Marit!  Sewing books is one thing I have never had the patience for.  The cover is beautiful and has a nice texture.  Those black circles look like they were embossed.

hand bound book

Here is one of the articles I wrote:  The Art of Motherhood.

And the Featured Blogger: iHanna!  There are so many awesome articles in this magazine.

We received this very nice compliment in our emails today and I am smiling from ear to ear over it.
"I just received issue #3 in the mail a couple of days ago, and would just like to say that all of you at Featuring continue to outdo yourselves.  I am still reading the articles in this issue, but have already found Spontaneous Acts of Creation, An artist in Berlin, and your own Three Journals, and Love Me Do, particularly interesting and engrossing.  What continues to amaze me about your magazine is the breadth of incredible art and words you are able to cram into a mere 76 pages, cover-to-cover.  Featuring is helping to create a real sense of community among art journaling, mixed media artists, and others, which crosses not only geographical borders, but artistic borders, as well.  Many thanks, Marit, for all you, and the other members of the Featuring team, do.  It is my belief, that there is not another art magazine, anywhere in the world as vibrant and original as yours!"

Best always,

Robert Stockton

Mukilteo, Washington

USA

What's on My Bookshelf?

Right now, I am reading...

Journal Fodder 365... Thumbs up!

 I have the first one too, and I like this one better. Both are great, but I feel this one is "meatier".. more prompts and techniques. The first one would be great for a beginner journaler and this one has a lot to look at and read. I appreciate how they did not spend a chapter going through a huge supply list, but dove right in to the good stuff.



Picture Perfect, by Jodi Picoult..  Thumbs half way up.
I am a huge huge fan of Jodi Picoult.  Love her books!  This one is good, but so far I am not as wrapped up in the story as I have been with others of her books.  It is interesting and I keep picturing Tom Cruise as the "Alex Winters" character.  If you have never read a Jodi Picoult book, read 19 Minutes or The Pact.... A-MA-ZING!  




Living Simply, by Joanne Heim.. Thumbs up.
When I first started reading this book, it was like a breath of fresh air.  I felt myself relaxing just reading the book.  Being more present..  appreciating what you have...  focusing on the family structure...  I like reading about living more simply.  Busy is not always good.  Sometimes it is ok to just relax.  You don't have to be 100% productive every minute of every day.  This book refers a lot to Biblical scriptures and Christianity. 




So, what do YOU think?  Have you read any of these books?  If so, what did you think of them?

What books are you reading right now?


P.S.  If it seems like most of my book reviews are positive it is because I don't bother with unsatisfying books.  If I start to read it, and I'm not enjoying it, I will just put it aside and not bother with it anymore.  I pick up most of my books from thrift stores, paperbackswap.com or the library, so I don't feel bad letting a book go.  Once in awhile (if it is a new book and I'm dying to check it out), like the Journal Fodder book, I will flip through it at the book store before I buy it to make sure it something I will actually really like.  Otherwise, it goes on my waiting list at the library.

Books I'm Loving Now

I love to read.  Of course I do, I'm a teacher.
Here are some of the books I'm loving now!

I can't say enough good things about Lynda Barry's collages and drawings.  They are just so fun and chock- full of inspiration.  She came to Madison recently to do some artist-in-residency programming and I am kicking myself now that I did not get tickets to her lecture.  Apparently, she brought Matt Groening with her to speak!!!  He is the creator of the Simpsons.




When Wanderers Cease to Roam is a delightful book full of lovely, airy watercolor sketches and drawings.


Street Sketchbook Journeys is fantastic if you are into edgy, urban, graffiti art.  I could see photocopying some of the pages for use with older kids at school.  I wouldn't leave the book out for full perusal, but bits and pieces would be inspiring.




Next up, is The Pulse by Seth Apter.  Seth is a really great guy who has participated in many mixed media collaborative projects and has a very active blog.  Seth is also a psychiatrist, which is a fascinating combination of careers.  I think art and psychology go hand-in-hand.  One of his projects is going to be in the Featuring Magazine which I am working on.

Seth had a call for artists and had a list of questions to answer and prompts to create artwork for.  There is a wide array of answers to the questions in the book.  One of my quotes is in the book and my blog is listed in the back, which is pretty cool.  I'm not going to lie, I'm bummed my artwork wasn't selected, but I suppose there was only so much room in the book...  keep trying, right?  Anyways, the book turned out lovely and it was fun to see everyone's responses to the questions. 


And finally, another book I am loving now is Jesus for President.  There are photographs and art scattered throughout the book which makes for a meaningful and interesting read.  If you are a Christian (or want to learn more about who Jesus was) and interested in how politics fits in with his teachings, this is a very interesting book.  How do we live in the modern times when war is ever-present?  What about social justice issues?  The first half of the book is about the history of Jesus and the church and the second half of the book leads into the present day.  I'm not through with it yet, but I'm reading it slowly, savoring and trying to understand each chapter.

Book Review

Linda Barry combines funny comics, drawings, and text in a book for adults about how to get your drawing juices flowing.  There's how tos are more for an adult who just wants to get started drawing.  Her own comics and art are what is really inspiring for me!  I also enjoy her commentary and questioning about the drawing process and creativity.  In one comic the dialogue says, "If you use coloring books past the age of ten, you will wreck your imagination forever.  Who says?  All the scientists.  Just warnin' ya."


"When you are little you will draw pictures for no reason.

What does a line do?  It's not something that you are good at or bad at.  It's something else.

You move your hand and you scribble all you want and it feels very good.  I can remember that feeling.

What makes us start drawing?

What makes us stop?"

I think this book is probably more for adults, as some of the pages have some adult-like things on them-- such as a monkey smoking cigarettes.  However, most of the pages you could show your children who are aspiring comic artists.

Here are some of the pages from her book Picture This.

 

 

 

 

Journals and Painting in Progress

I've been taping together a lot of loose journal and sketchbook pages to make books.  Thanks to Kelly Kilmer's workshop I learned an easy way to bind pages together. 

recently bound books

a couple pages inside  "Cloudy with a chance of stars"  I love that phrase

some sketches, plus magazine clippings and paint.  I know these are a bit cartoony.

These are some animal drawings that I drew after a lesson on Carla Sonheim's workshop.

In progress painting.. I have been using drawing inks, acrylic craft paints, and prismacolor markers