The Poor Artist's Etching/Drypoint Process

Actually printed with acrylic paint!

I'm cheap. I didn't realize how fancy etching was until I looked at a few
YouTube videos and saw what in the process I was missing.

But I love the line quality in etches, so I'm not giving up just yet.


 I got a tiny block of lino to practice on. It's two sided, so there will be another tiny etching to make next.

Tools of the cheap trade:

After cutting and scratching out the shape on the lino with my knife, I used my finger to push paint into the crevices. I used a dollar store squeegee to get the extra paint off.

I did soak the paper a bit too.

To make the pull I put down a clean sheet of paper to protect my wood floor.
Next, I placed my lino plate on it, and put my damp watercolor paper on top of it carefully.
On top of the damp paper I laid a terry washcloth, something nice and squishy and fluffy to push the paper down. Then I took my rolling pin (brayer) and went over the pile from bottom to top with the most even pressure I could manage.









I peeled off each layer carefully and this is my result!

I even took two pulls from the one inking.

This is addicting. I want to do more! I'd like to work on tightening the lines that print, which might work with a thinner printing agent anyway. I'd also like to try multi-color and two-plate etching, maybe an ecorche.

Time Lapse Painting of a Seascape/ Beach in Acrylic and Recording for Youtube.

I recorded the painting of a 6x6 canvas the other day, and found out how much fun it is to record live painting and speed it up! I need to add music to these someday, and figure out the aspect ratio problem.


Here's the finished product:




I wish I had more to say about making this, other than it was very fun!






And it's for sale as of this blog post!


https://www.etsy.com/listing/238451669/6x6-acrylic-seascape-painting-with-

Time Laspe Charcoal Sketch for Painting of Broken Lighthouse

I've taken to recording some of my paintings and sketches for paintings. Here's the most recent.

Small Acrylic Paintings and Other Odds and Ends

Acrylic, 2010

Here are some old beauties of paintings I thought I would air out online.

Acrylic, 2010

Pen and ink, 2010

Watercolor, 2009

Acrylic, 2011

Acrylic, 2013

 

 

 

Digital Painting, 2013

Set of Small Acrylic Cloud Landscape Paintings for Sale with Free Shipping

I have a set of 6"x6" paintings for sale in my Etsy shop now. That size of canvas is very addicting!

You can find them HERE,

unless they are sold! '


























And here are the detail pictures for you! 
 

Having an Idea for a Small Fiber Art Series: Should I Pursue the Project?

I had an idea for a project, which is always very dangerous, because ideas are just powerful.

Also, ideas tend to be very strong for me in the beginning of the inspiration cycle, so sometimes I need to sit on it for a few days to see if it's wise to pursue.

Meanwhile, I want to make a small fiber/mixed media series called The Twelve Baskets.

Each of the vessels represents, or will represent something we can give to God that he makes bigger. We give of our little, we give of whatever tiny thing we have, and trust in him to grow it to fill the need.

I had many ideas for how to go about this, even down to asking for donations of materials so I could "enlarge" the donation with the art process and make a piece of trash worth $60, and have a sort of cooperative art work! We'll see. I'd like to have people invested in the process, and they can see thier contribution in the final product too. And I'd have at least 12 people at the opening event.

But where to exhibit these things? I would be selling them individually unless someone really wanted
all of them. And I'd want to have a little booklet to go with them.


Another idea for Art Shows:  QR codes that people can scan and go to information about the art! I'd have to see how those work, because I don't have a smart phone.

Small Paintings for Sale at the Alamo Craft Fair

Fiber Art Earrings with Precious Stones and Glass

So, I made earrings today for the craft fair in a week and a half. The problem is I  might keep them! I like these multi-green ones with aventurine the best.

Amethyst and Acrylic?!

One thing that is unique about these fiber art pieces is the fiber I used to make them---it's acrylic!

I used Lion's brand Homespun. I know quite a few knitters and fiber artists that really don't like this particular yarn, and I can't blame them, it bunches, is to textured you can't see any pattern your knit, and the tension is wacky. It also comes apart.

But wait, it also comes apart!

 

I should clean these up a bit  more.

There are three reasons why I still choose to work with this yarn:

1.Pretty colors! So many colors merged into one yarn, so bright and beautiful. And washable!!!!
2. It's very soft and warm and light
3. You can take it apart!






By gently pulling on the plying strand I can separate it from the poofy  acrylic "roving." But was surprised to find two more threads in the second ply! This took a more gentle extraction, and the leftover "roving" is very soft and easy to pull apart.

Because acrylic won't felt, the other challenge I had was how to secure the ends of the fibers after I had wound them around the eye pin. Elmer's Glue All, anyone?

Then I wrapped the same thread I had just pulled out of the yarn around the created fiber bead. It was designed to match!

New Website is Up! Changes to Blog Posts Are Beginning.

Hello everyone out there!
The official Dabblebag home site is now up at www.dabblebag.weebly.com   and will be getting it's own domain soon, I hope.


And there's an email sign up form that is very important to YOU. 

Because, you see, that will be the only way you can get coupons for my art from now on.

                                         AND

Those newsletters are the only place you will see photos of behind the scenes art making, studio work, and WIP pics.

             So why haven't you signed up yet?


                     Here's the link to go sign up!

SIGN UP

When you sign up, you will get an email with all sorts of goodies in it no fewer than once a month, and no more than twice a week.

Asking "Why?" When You Make Art: When To Use It, When Not To.

Asking "Why?" can be very dangerous.

This question has changed the world, for whenever someone asks "why?" about a tradition taken for granted, a whole system of values brought to awareness for debate.

Asking "why?" can strengthen you because you examine what you believe and can defend it. But there is another side to the question "why?" that can get you stuck.

I like to think of the question "why?" like glue. It can hold you together or get you stuck.


When you have a tendency towards depression or are otherwise discouraged in your art, asking "why?" might get you stuck.

You may find it brings out purposelessness and pointlessness to your pieces. Don't ask why someone needs X. Not yet. Don't ask why we place colored mud on walls and make a living from it.
 One of the reasons for this could be because you are judging your art for the market that exists now, not for the people who actually need it. No one needs an invention until after it had been invented, and then they realized how much we needed it all along. So it is with art, and marketing to the future buyers and purposes that don't seem to exist at this very moment. But art has other purposes too.

Sometimes when I ask "why" I get very discouraged because I want to help the poor, feed the hungry, or cure cancer and here I've been pushing colored mud around on a canvas. "When I could be doing something constructive."  How do you deal with that?


Here are some ideas on asking "why?" in ways that will help make your art stronger and not get you stuck.

• Ask "why?" about the process, not about the product.
• People buy art for all sorts of reasons, and the story behind it is one of them. 
• You are the one spending your life's time making art, have a purpose to your life! 
• Have reasons for the processes and techniques you use and your art will be much stronger.
• Figure out why first before you decide on the how or the what.
• The rest falls into place, and all your work is aimed towards the purpose and message you want to create with your art.

The Two Languages of Art: Creating Art for the Church and the Secular World

   Why do I really want to go to this conference?
  I am an artist, and an artist for the church. I paint during the service sometimes, and they even have a whole wall in the lobby with my paintings on it! So in a way, I feel responsible to grow in this gift. But I also want to sell my work and eventually make a living at it too, and creating excellent art for both secular and faith based worlds that SELLS is a challenge.

  Beyond that, art is a communication tool to deliver a message. The problem is the church and the secular world speak two different languages. The secular world may be put off by the languages, much less be able to understand it. "Blood of the Lamb" taken literally or not in the secular world, is really quite creepy and cultish. But those of us with a Bible based background and education know the implications and symbolism of "the blood of the Lamb."
But the same message of redemption can be delivered in a visual language that the secular world can understand.

It's like translating the Bible into another language. The visual language.

And that's partially what this conference is all about.
I would really like to hear what other people in the Christian artist workforce have to say about this.


The church as a whole has gone back and forth about art for millennia, and I'm sure it will happen again with the cycle of the use and misuse of art as a tool. But we are currently in a phase where we are bringing GOOD art back to the church, and we young artists are at the forefront of that effort that will shape how art is perceived by the church for the artists and years to come.

More importantly, we have a responsibility to use our talents, skills, and time for God's glory. We can worship God with stick figures and joy, but need a reputation of excellence if we want to put it on the same market as the art we sell to pay our bills. It's about giving God our first-fruits, the BEST of what we can do. If the best we can do is stick figures, so be it. If not, let us paint will all our skill. We have to compete on two grounds. The first is how we pay our bills and the secular, visible, physical standards by which our art is priced and valued by the customer. The second is the spiritual, the message of the work, and our heart in creating it. Spiritually, it can be a tool or a snare. Satan will hate the tools, and what may be spiritually powerful may not be commercially viable in the secular market, because they are judged differently. So how do we as artists make a living at art and worship God with our gifts at the same time?

"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all this will be given to you as well."
God knows what we need, he knows that we have to practice our art and eat, it's how he designed us. And it might be hard, but that is part of the great adventure. It just never seems like an adventure at the time. But I believe that we should make art for God first, because that's the art that will have the most lasting impact.

No matter what happens:

"Make good art" ~ Neil Gaiman

CIVA Conference for Christian Artists

I really want to go to here!
 http://civa.org/events/conference/ 

Here's the description:

"Today, more than ever, the Church needs art, and the Art World needs the Church. This four-day CIVA conference is an excellent opportunity to consider the ever-present tension that persists between artists and the church and to learn from leaders and practitioners who are working to overcome this divide. Through keynote presentations, exhibitions, workshops, and cultural outings, we’ll explore the role of art and the church. Artists and curators, educators and church leaders, and everyone in between are invited to celebrate the vital relationship of art and the church"   http://civa.org/events/conference/

But it costs money. 

While I have applied for a scholarship to help with the fees, the scholarship will not cover the entire cost. So I have started a gofundme campaign to help with the rest! 

You can find the campaign at 

NOPE!!!

There  are also rewards of a very awesome painting made just for you if you donate at least $75.

I would love to blog the event while I'm there and do art in the downtime too.

Developing the gift of art that God has given to me is very important to me, this is one of my biggest ministries.  I would like to grow and develop this gift as well as network with other artists who share a similar goal. 

 

Update! As of March 28, 2015, God prompted someone to donate the entire sum for my fees. 

God is good. And a bit crazy. :)

Art for Sale for March Madness Mission Fundraiser.

 BUY ART FOR CHARITY. Do it. do it now.

 There's art for sale this Sunday, and all proceeds go to Pastor Solomon's mission in Uganda
http://www.thebridgeportage.org/missions/

Writng a Business Plan for Dabblebag's Makeover

Dabblebag will soon be a true, real, business! Having signed up for 6 art fairs already, I needed a tax number. Now that I've opened that can of worms, I thought I might as well go for it and try out another idea. Art subscriptions! 
Meanwhile I am working on writing a business plan. Since the business is just me right now, no employees to do paperwork on, no partner to play tug of war with our egos (for now!) The business plan is mostly for me.

And I have broken down the start up and growth of Dabblebag the business into five phases. Five phases until I can quit all my jobs and do my own business full time. That may take a while, or it may never come, but the business can also remain steady at one of the other phases too. I based my phases on how much time I would have to devote to the business and whether it is during the crowdfunding campaign or not. Each phase has a revenue goal in order to move forward with the next investment of time, or simply put, when I can quit my job!! 

I am getting lots of advice for the business plan, lots of excitement and research into start up costs and capital. I am searching branding and marketing ideas and price per unity it would take to ship the subscription boxes. 

A newsletter is also a goal of all of this, pending the time I can put into it. Coupons for local businesses, artist bios, local events, and articles on the art industry itself, like why art costs so bloody much!

Big Ideas, Writing a Business Plan, and Changes to Dabblebag

I signed up for SIX craft fairs so far this summer.


 I'm excited, but I also think I pushed the first domino to start my own business. 

Because my brain likes to think up grand ideas and then lose interest in them, I won't go into details just yet. However, this idea would be beneficial to the art community in a big way, and create a steadier income freelancing for me. Not only that, but it's an idea that I can take with me when I move, even though the beneficial impact is directly a local one. This idea is also easy to expand and grow, and I think the start-up cost is quite low. Is there any reason I shouldn't go for it? With my ADHD, I'm just afraid I would lose interest (in a big way) again and abandon it and all my efforts, and my clients. That's also what refunds are for, and I can start on a small trial basis too. 

 

So, off I go, writing down big and bigger ideas. Let's see what happens. 

Spiritual Gifts and The Great Adventure

We all have a special part to play in the big story that God is writing, and I feel like spiritual gifts are his gift packet to us; tools we need treeto plaas Paul our part. When we don't use our gifts, we cannot fill our role, and miss out on our part in the Grand Adventure God is writing . God's Grand Adventure is the only true fairy tale, it is the only story that counts, and it is the one that tugs at your heart to do something meaningful, to play superhero, to change the world, to find satisfaction in a hollow world.
The desire to be a part of God's Grand Adventure, and the sour, bitter pang of lonliness and meaninglessness of our efforts in life to be a somebody when we don't participate with God's story, this is what drives us to addictions and escapism, and idolizing fictional characters with lives more meaningful to us than our real ones.

And at the moment, not using my spiritual gifts has distenced my fullness in playing in the big story, and I feel lonely and unused, unsatisfied, and unhelpful. I'm trying to connect at church, it's very hard when I work so much.

The gifts I have in my tool bag are knowledge, teaching, and visions. I'm not sure which gift these visions fall under, I was thinking prophecy.  But I want to use them more. I'm thinking that the book I'm very slowly working on works with most of them.  Painting during the church services, and the prep for that, has generated a few images from God, and sometimes a long teaching blog post to explain it, like the one above was specifically for my church.
The gifts of knowledge and teaching I know how to develop, they are more easy to discuss and practice in our Western culture of books and quantitative data. Visions, not so much. I don't know how to develop those, or "fan into flame" as Paul told Timothy, because it's so easy to just imagine something.

Why are visions important to me? It's a rarer gift, and kinda fun, and it strengthens my faith in the unseen, much more real world, with it's more real battles. It's a glimpse, a very direct confirmation of the more real world, and God's connection with all of us. With visions of spiritual war, I feel like my prayers are more effective when I see what I am fighting. They are metaphors and symbols; reminders.

I want my visions to go in the direction of being for specific people, or messages for the church. I need to get more involved with my church to do that.

Ideas for Creature Making

A roly poly soot dragon. The current idea, and the many iterations of it. I have a large box of donated fur coats to make creatures out of. Normally i wouldnt pick real fur to work with, but the coats are not in good enough of shape to be worn or donated for anything else, so I shall make creatures. So far I have mostly brown, dark rust, and black fur, with a little faux gray and really cheap tan. So cheap I'm having second thoughts about using it at all. Maybe to practice with.c

Creature Making Inspiration

this one is mine

Its hard to define the kinds of creatures I want to make, but done of the first steps that I can do it find things like it.
I have quite a bit of random materials, and would love to populate a craft booth with creatures like these.


This  is a good example of the kind I want to make:
http://www.dollmakersdream.com/free-polymer-clay-tutorials-creature-6.html

Its semi realistic, soft bodied, and also has polymer clay sculpting.










Also like these:
http://santani.deviantart.com/art/I
nari-Foxes-418720127

http://lisatoms.deviantart.com/art/Silver-aqua-dragon-spirit-411076252

http://wood-splitter-lee.deviantart.com/art/SOLD-Poseable-Hand-Made-Baby-Fum-420878939

http://scenceable.deviantart.com/art/Exalt-435968577

A Riddle For The Outcast and Lonely

There is a special section in the store just for these items. They are often set apart from the others. The majority of customers do not buy them, or even look for them. When you do look for them, you can look very hard and be very excited when you find it.  Sometimes they have special packaging. They fluctuate in quantity, you never know what you will find.You feel like you got a deal when you buy it. Often, it is what you can afford.


      So, is it discount merchandise at the grocery store, or a rare gem at a jeweler's?

  Maybe you feel you are cheap , that no one searches for you. That you are weird. And you find yourself thinking you are a malformed item on a discount shelf. But perhaps the truth is very different.


God refines us though fire, and the result is something more valuable than fine gold. He sets us apart so we are no longer common, we are precious.

But we are costly, and few will pay for something rare when they can get something shiny and pretty for much cheaper. 

At what cost to them? And yet, it is their loss, and they don't even bother to find out why. Our packaging it different. We have something to guard. There's security, laser lines and
pressure plates like a rare jewel in a museum. And we don't have to  apologize for our boundaries when they protect something precious.

.

heheheheh

Few have the skill to navigate those boundaries, because few appreciate the value, and even less are willing to put in the effort to get it.






Don't apologize for your boundaries when you protect something precious. Don't worry that you are hard to find, that God puts you in the back of the store. He's protecting you, he knows you are valuable, and only those who know the high cost can have you.

For we are far above rubies.