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Art Making & Studio Spaces: Unleash Your Inner Artist: An Intimate Look at 31 Creative Work Spaces

Can we talk about eye candy?

 

Art Making & Studio Spaces

Unleash Your Inner Artist: An Intimate Look at 31 Creative Work Spaces

By

Lynne Perrella

Art Making & Studio Spaces is a visual studio tour, an opportunity to turn the key and discover the inner workings of artists in their ultra-personal, unique workspaces. The mission of the book is to look inside studios in progress, amidst the throes of the artmaking process, and to investigate the thoughts of the artists within.

This book reveals the interplay between artist and studio, and explores how each workspace reflects a different, distinctive creative journey. Photography by Sarah Blodgett, plus contributed photos by some of the artists, combines with personal insights to provide an incomparable studio tour that will inspire you to create your own private work space. Pages from Lynne Perrella's art journal are included, to give further insight into this bottomless topic of "art and where it happens."

Lynne Kendall Perrella is a mixed-media artist, author, designer, workshop instructor, and incurable collector. Her interests include collage, assemblage, one-of-a-kind books, and art journals. She conducts creativity workshops in the United States and abroad and exhibits collage in galleries throughout the Berkshire Mountains. www.lkperrella.com

Click on the images to enlarge and read about Pam Sussman, just one of the artists who is giving us a peek into her wonderful creative space! As you can see it is packed full of books, just the way I like my creative space!

Pam, a lover of books, funny enough is the author of a great book on book making:

Fabric Art Journals:
Making, Sewing, and Embellishing Journals from Cloth and Fibers

In addition to the wonderful photos of the art spaces and writing from their owners in Art Making & Studio Spaces there are fabulous and inspiring quotes like this one:

"Books meet each new encounter
without any need for their
batteries to be recharged,
software upgraded, or chips replaced.
But it is the densely
informative immediacy and intimacy
of the experience provided by books
which is at the heart of their longevity."

-Johanna Drucker, The Century of Artists' Books

Well, I don't know about you but I am inspired to be creative now!

Interview with Tracie Lyn Huskamp author of Nature Inspired: Last day to enter to win her book and art

Tracie Lyn Huskamp author of 

Nature Inspired
Mixed-Media Techniques for Gathering, Sketching, Painting, Journaling, and Assemblage

was kind enough to talk part in a little Q & A.

Read on to get a little more insight into this talented artist. And be sure to leave your answer to the question by midnight tonight (CA time).

What is your favorite natural/nature thing? Enter to win a signed copy of her book and some original art.

1. What does your workspace/ design space look like?

2. Do you save your mistakes/ or designs you don't love right away -or ditch them?  

This depends... if the mistake is unsalvageable then is goes in the trash, but normally there are at least bits of the design that can be recycled, and reused.

3. What's on your "next to try" list?

I have several projects that I would like to dive into... the one that keeps surfacing is working in a much larger scale with multiple painted flora and fauna subjects incorporating landscape stenciling or abstract backgrounds highlighted with embellished stitching details.

4. Do you ever work with recycled materials?

Yes, I am a vintage junkie and adore old fabrics, papers, other what-nots.  I also collect all of my left-over snippets and bits from various art projects to make fusion fabrics, which is a technique my mother-in-law and I teach in workshops.

5. What music do you listen to when designing?

I love all sorts of music. Music is an incredible source of inspiration for me.  I can quickly find myself lost in a truly content almost dreamlike state when I am listening to powerful and beautiful melodies. 

7. How long does a design take you to create?

Length of time depends on the size of the artwork and complexity of the piece.  On the average, it can be anywhere from a day to several weeks.

8. How do you organize your supplies?
Bins!  I am all about bins, plastic, wire, even cloth.

9. What books/magazines do you read?

I adore the poetry of Mary Oliver and Ted Kooser.  I sit mesmerized when looking at my books on the Quilts of Gees Bend, the art of Wolf Kahn and Annemieke Mein.

I have fallen in love with the

Journals of an Edwardian Lady - Edith Holden,

The Painted Garden - Mary Woodin, and

In and Out of the Garden - Sara Midda. 

I dream of the landscapes painted by Lilias Trotter and stories told by Julie Zickefoose.  I am inspired from reading Selvedge, Victoria, and Somerset Life magazines

10. How would you describe your personal style?

Each of my works embraces fundamental feelings regarding my joy of life, my love of home, and my enormous adoration of nature.

11. How do you determine what a design is going to be made with?

I mostly consider myself a painter and collage artist.  So when I begin a new work, I normally determining how a completed piece can be achieved through the use of paint and paper.

12. Do you have a collection of anything?

As a mixed-media artist, I am all about collections that are used in my art. One of the collections that is most dear to me is my nature gatherings, tiny bird's nests, butterflies, a bee, colorful fall leaves, shells, starfish, even sea glass.

13. And the all important question (from Ravelry) what is your favorite swear word?

Well, I try not to swear but on occasion you might hear "OH CRAP!" come out of my mouth. =)

Thanks Tracie Lyn!

Good Design: Deconstructing Form, Function, and What Makes Design Work By Terry Marks

Not only is this book interesting, thought provoking and enlightening-it feels good!

That's right the cover is super thick raw cut cardboard and pages are flush cut to it. It has a matte rough finish with a cloth spine. I just love the way it feels in my hands.

Good Design:
Deconstructing Form, Function, and What Makes Design Work
By
Terry Marks

What is good design? How is it judged and valued by not only designers, but the end users?

Thirty top creatives in varying design disciplines weigh-in on this important topic from aesthetics, to form, to function. Examples of good design are presented throughout the book along with explanations of why the work is deemed effective. This backward approach to design theory—from completed piece back to construction—will enable readers to discover why the design works and how they can use this information in their own projects.

Terry Marks (Seattle, WA) is principal of tmarks design, a multidisciplinary design firm. The work of tmarks spans clients from DC Comics to Weyerhaeuser to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. His work has been recognized by Print, Communication Arts, Critique, HOW, Neenah, Potlatch and a few others. He is the author of Color Harmony: Layout.

This page is so interesting!

Click on the image to enlarge and read this interview with Marc English.

He quotes Guy Davenport,"Man, it would seem, does not evolve; he accumulates."

Truer words have never been spoken!

I will definitely be using that quote on something in the future.

These are photos of his journals.

And here is just some of mine:

Today's question:

Have you given a journal as a gift to someone who you thought needed to start keeping one? And do you know if they have started?

Do you buy craft books and give them as gifts?

As a thanks for sharing you will be entered to win a free book.

Sneak Peek into Nature Inspired: Mixed-Media Techniques for Gathering, Sketching, Painting, Journaling, and Assemblage

This book will be out in September but I really have nature on the brain because I have been doing tons of work in the yard, everything from mowing the lawn to rooting clippings of new plants to go in the yard.

Nature Inspired
Mixed-Media Techniques for Gathering, Sketching, Painting, Journaling, and Assemblage
By
Tracie Lyn Huskamp

A lovely nature-inspired art and journaling book featuring the distinctive artwork, projects, journal pages, and unique techniques of artist Tracie Lyn Huskamp.

Along with hints and tips for photographing nature, collecting, and preserving natural elements, the book discusses ways to capture moments and create memories through simple sketches from photographs, painting on fabric, creating journals and journal art, as well as with shadowbox assemblages to display and highlight particular found objects. The artist will share handwritten notes, drawings, poetry, and detailed techniques.

Tracie Lyn Huskamp works as a freelance Product Designer/Illustrator creating mass-market products. A number of her designs have sold in retail stores such as Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, Michaels Crafts, Lowe's Hardware, and Walgreen Drugs. One of her products was featured on the television show, Extreme Home Makeover. Tracie's mixed media work has received both regional and national recognition. Her art has appeared on the cover of Somerset Studios, along with feature articles in Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine, Stampington's premier issues of Artful Blogger, Life Images, and the Quilting Arts Gifts special publication, and she is a contributor to several Quarry books. She has also participated as a workshop instructor at some of the most popular art and fiber retreats and conferences around the country, including Artfest, ArtFiberfest, Art Unraveled, Art and Soul, and the International Quilt Festival. Visit her blog at http://thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com

So I felt the best place to start was with this project:

Is is a Gathering Journal.

 

There are pages that tell you how to do it all from making the covers to tips on gathering flowers and leaves but the one part that looked really interesting was this section on Creating a window for pressed botanicals:

 

Today's question is an easy one, after all it is Friday!

What is your favorite plant or flower?

As a thanks for answering you are entered to win a free book.

Have a great weekend!

Ring Storage-Make it before Buy it-Sweater Surgery Style

My personal manifesto:
When I need something, I think first, can I make it instead of just going out and buying it?

Here is an example.

I have been acquiring quite a few rings lately (see yesterday's post and this one ) and they are not stored in an organized way. My first thought is- go out and buy a ring storage box. But then I stop myself and say, "can I make it?" and yes I can!

I look around all my saved treasures, the things I fall in love with and keep with the thought, "I can use that for something." Well that day has come baby!

I have tons of cigar boxes, both cardboard and wood. I can't help myself I am nuts for boxes.
And I have tons of wool felted sweaters, but you already know that!

So here is what I did:

I went to the stashes and pulled out one pretty blue and gold cigar box and a coordinating blue wool felted sweater. This one was pretty thick so it worked well. I think if you were using a thinner sweater you could fuse two layers together to thicken them.

I then cut pieces of the sweater the width of the inside of the box.

I accordion folded each section at about one inch and hot glued the folds on the underside and ends.

Ta-da! One ring display box. An added feature of this little creation is that it is a bit of "covert ops". Who would ever think of looking for jewelry in a cigar box? Certainly not as obvious a choice a standard jewelry box for sure.

So if making something conventional out of something unconventional is your thing grab yourself a copy of:

Sweater Surgery
How to Make New Things from Old Sweaters

By yours truly,

Stefanie Girard

Contemporary crafters are thriving on personalizing, modifying, and altering fashion as not only hobbies but as a lifestyle.

Why repurpose your sweaters? Because you can't buy sweater fabric by the yard. Sweaters get damaged or go out of style but we still love the prints, colors, and textures. You don't have time to knit it from scratch. It's ecologically correct. And most of all--it's fun!

Sweater Surgery shows you how to upcycle all your slightly worn, slightly damaged, or plain old out-of-style sweaters into fabulous new items for your wardrobe and your home. Readers learn how to choose, cut, restitch, felt, and embellish old sweater fabric, transforming it into beautiful handbags, mittens, scarves, hats, hoodies, skirts, jewelry, soft toys, pillows, and more!

Complete instructions for 27 projects, plus a huge gallery of exciting ideas for further inspiration.

I have a degree in industrial design from Pratt Institute and worked as a set decorator and prop master for 10 years in the entertainment industry. I have produced, written scripts and edited Web content for television shows and have been covering these creative topics for HGTV, DIY Network and Lifetime TV. I have designed and written directions for over 400 craft projects for clients.

And pop on over to Sweater Surgery for more practical sweatery goodness or click on the links below or to the right!