Marcia Beckett

In my sketchbook, on my workdesk

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Little Sketches of People and Published!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Here are a few recent sketch pages. The top one and bottom one were started with a layer of inktense block colors mixed with water and gesso. I laid down washes of color. After dried, I sketched on top with some brush pens. The middle one was on white paper, with brush pens and some Pan Pastel coloring. There wasn't a peach color in the 20 color set I got. Can you believe that? Anyways. I also cut out some homemade stickers that I made to add to the page. In a later post, I will show you more of the stickers.

I was pleased to discover that one of my mini-collages was published in the Cloth Paper Scissors Art Journaling Exposed EMagazine. It is an interactive downloadable magazine with videos and slideshows. My mini-collage was part of the Sketchbook Challenge reader challenge.

Linking to: Balzer Designs

Books I'm Loving Now

Saturday, March 17, 2012

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.

Trip to EPIC- Part Two

Earlier this week, I toured a medical software company with some 7th graders at our school. The hallways are decorated very artistically and contain many works of sculpture and paintings. For part one of my visit to EPIC, go here!

I LOVED this one!

A unique sculpture made of computer parts. Kind of reminds me of Louise Nevelson.

Fabric art on the wall

This was a celestial hallway. Yes, this is in the office building!

Also in the hallway... a heaven/hell junction.

This was my favorite hallway. It was very light and airy feeling.

Wouldn't you love to have chairs like this in a conference room?

pretty flowers.. totally my style

The head of this is made out of a scrubby brush thing.

Can you believe this office building also has a slide!?

Cabinet of Curiosities #3-- Mixed Media Painting

Friday, March 16, 2012

This is a mixed media painting called Cabinet of Curiosities #3. A series of paintings in this grid-like style is emerging. I used a lot of acrylic paints, gel sticks, pan pastels, my own watercolor illustrations and random ephemera. I am linking this to Paint Party Friday.

A visit to EPIC-- Part One

Thursday, March 15, 2012

This week, I went on a field trip with some 7th graders at our school. We toured the EPIC company which makes medical software for hospitals and clinics. The company has three different locations in the Madison, WI area. The campus we visited had about 13 different buildings. Each building has a decorative theme. There was TONS of artwork from local artists around the buildings. It was amazing! There was so much to take pictures of, that I only took pictures of my favorites. I will tell you about the tour in two blog posts.

Here's me next to a Dr. Suess style sculpture.

This was a sculpture attached to a picture frame. The guy is super realistic looking and it kind of creeped me out when I looked at it up close.

Here's part of the outside courtyard. The 13 buildings are connected by indoor walkways.

Look at the paintings on the wall.. this was a New York themed area.

more NY themed decor

the campus

Look at this set-up in the hallway!

In progress mixed media painting

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

This is what's on my workdesk this week! I am in the middle of a mixed media collage including some of my watercolor illustrations and ephemera from my big ol' paper stash. The white areas are going to have added color and patterns. I just got a supply of pan pastels in the mail today, which I already love so much! Yes, they are expensive, but I have found that when I buy a bunch of supplies, I end up using them in one way or another throughout the years. They are such good quality with a creamy smoothness that I love. Plus you can blend them on top of areas you've already painted with acrylics (when dry, of course.)

Just Journals

Friday, March 9, 2012

The preview and pre-order is up for Featuring, the magazine which I've been writing articles for! Check it out here.

Also, consider sending in a submission for the next issue!.
For our THEME GALLERY we seek artwork that is based on a given theme. The theme is meant to be a jumping-off point. We encourage you to interpret it in your own way. We’d like to publish artwork (lay-outs, journal pages, photos, paintings etc.) and texts/poetry that shows the theme from all viewpoints.
For the theme gallery in the second issue of the magazine: the theme is:
THE ROAD AHEAD…
Take it literally (travel, holiday) or metaphorically (personal/psychical journey) – just be inspired.
Deadline: May 31, 2012

I decided that I would play around with this old book that I've had for a long time.

I have started to cut some of the pages out, paint over some of them and glue pages together to make them thicker. My plan is to use it as a sketchbook/collage book. This is the first time I have made an "altered book".

Some of the kids at school saw my book and these are some of the comments they made:

"Why are you killing the book!?"
"Is that legal?"
"Does Ellen (the librarian at our school) know you are doing this?"

I haven't done a Just Journals Link Party in a few weeks. So.....
You are invited to submit your link to a recent art journal or scrapbook page! Share what you have been working on. Try to visit at least 3 other artists :)

Grab a button for your page: