Thursday, October 30, 2014

Altered Book Page With Tags Using The Namaste Stencil


I'm on the Stencil Girl Talk blog today, sharing step by step photos for how I made this spread in my altered book, using my Namaste stencil from Stencil Girl Products!


I hope you'll go over to Stencil Girl Talk and check out the post and leave a comment there, as well as here.  I'm giving away one of the tags I made to one commenter.  If you comment both places, you'll have two chances to win!


Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you don't already, please sign-up for my newsletter HERE, and follow me on Facebook, PinterestBloglovin and YouTube, so that you never miss a giveaway, and always get the latest Jessica Sporn Designs News!  


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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Art Is ... Making Art in Community

Judy Shea, Me and Marjie Kemper at Art is You
One of the joyful things about Art is You is the community of women creating, sharing, and socializing together.   Highlights of my non-teaching time included making flags with Kecia Deveney and Linda Willis.  Here are some of the panels - you will definitely be seeing more stitching and stenciling from me!  I loved that I could create my own fabric designs using my stencils from Stencil Girl!


Taking Marjie Kemper's awesome art journaling class was another highlight.  Marjie and I both work in art journals, but have different approaches and "go to" supplies.  I loved stepping into her world of inks, embossing folders, dyes, and her extensive wash tape collection!  Marjie is a very organized and knowledgeable teacher.  She's teaching in November at The Ink Pad in NYC, and has lots of dates scheduled for 2015 as well. 

Here are her gorgeous demo pages:  

Marjie Kemper's Samples

Here we are hard at work and showing off our pages.  There was a lot of laughter in the room!  (Pictures "nicked" from Marjie's site!)



Here's one of the pages I made, inspired by what we worked on in Marjie's class:


The words are from a stamp from Technique Junkies quoting poet Mary Oliver.


Even the staff of the Sheraton Hotel got into the act, wearing pink for a day devoted to Breast Cancer awareness.

Who are your creativity peeps?  If you don't have one yet, find a community of like-minded souls with whom to create.  It makes art all the more fun!

And... the winner of the charm from my last Art is You post is Linda Kunsman.  Linda - send your snail mail address to JessicaSpornDesigns at gmail dot com and I will get it out to you! 

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you don't already, please sign-up for my newsletter HERE, and follow me on Facebook, PinterestBloglovin and YouTube, so that you never miss a giveaway, and always get the latest Jessica Sporn Designs News!  


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Monday, October 20, 2014

Art is ... The Sky's the Limit!


The second class I taught at Art is You is called "The Sky's the Limit."  There were many old friends in the class, including Marjie Kemper.  It is always such an honor when another teacher takes your class.

We started out making lots of prints using Gelli plates, lots and lots of Stencil Girl Stencils, stamps and other mark making techniques.  


Look at the beautiful prints people made!



Then we cut up our papers and collaged them.




The collages were beautiful in and of themselves!




We sketched out our cityscapes, and painted them using glazing techniques to adjust the colors without obscuring all of the beautiful patterns underneath.



 Thank you Marjie Kemper for capturing these "action shots!"


 

Happy students make for a happy teacher!


If you missed this class or my Altered Book Memory keeper, check out the Jessica Sporn Designs Meetup group.  I am teaching these two classes in 2015 in my home studio.  The limit is 6 students per class, and we have a lot of fun.  I live in the town of Montclair, NJ, within walking distance of the NJ Transit train from Penn Station.  My studio is just steps away from lots of great restaurants, a movie theater and more.  I would love to see you!

The winner of this Hamsa tag is Jo Murray!  Jo, send your snail mail address to jessicasporndesigns at gmail dot com and I will get it right out to you!

I have another one to give away so comment below to throw your hat into the ring!

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you don't already, please sign-up for my newsletter HERE, and follow me on Facebook, PinterestBloglovin and YouTube, so that you never miss a giveaway, and always get the latest Jessica Sporn Designs News!  


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Friday, October 17, 2014

Art Is ... Altered Book Workshop


I am back from a joyous week with beautiful souls at Art is You - a five day fest of support, kindness, love, and creativity.  I will be posting about many of the wonderful things, but for today, here are pics from the Altered Book Memory Keeper, the first of two workshops I taught.

This was a labor intensive class - prepping the books, cutting niches to imbed photographs and objects, as well as matchboxes to create sliding drawers.  My students were intrepid and fearless, and created beautiful works of art.  
I love how Maria used the Medieval Leaves stencil to echo the wings of her dragonfly.

Amy and Kymm created their books in honor of their children.  And Amy, who rushed out to compete in a Toastmaster challenge, treated us to a rehearsal of her speech before she left!  She was terrific and won the challenge.  Congratulations Amy!

So cool how Susan used Terri Stegmiller's Broken Circles stencil to compliment her theme of "Time." 
Eileen had the largest book - a Psychology textbook, and used the Frames stencil to surround the beautiful doll she embedded in her cover niche.  Her color choices are so pretty, and I love how the purple she used with the Medallions stencil created such a lacy feel.


Teri is a mystery writer and created a tribute to Sherlock Holmes with her book.  Echoing Sherlock's London roots, Teri used Seth Apter's urban Past Present Future stencil to get a gritty look befitting that legendary detective.  


Linda created an intensely book about her journey.  I just love the moon she adhered to the cover.  

No two books were alike, and each was intensely personal to its creator.  I didn't get a picture of Deborah alone with her book, but it's in the top row on the right.  She also celebrated her children, and her color scheme perfectly echoed the colors in her cover photo.  What beautiful creations.


Do you live in the NY/NJ area and want to take a class with me?  Check out Jessica Sporn Designs Mixed Media Group.  I offer a class a month in my home studio, and plan to offer an altered book workshop soon!

Giveaway alert!


It's a tradition at Art is You to make trades and giveaways.  I came home with some extras of the ones I made, so I will be giving one away with each Art is You blog post.  I will pick one random commenter, so if you want to be consider, leave your email address in your comment below to be eligible for this Hamsa charm!  And remember to check my blog, because there will be at least two more Art is You posts coming!

By the way, have you checked out my new calendar from Avalon?  


Here's what Raine said about it:
I just got your calendar in the mail today. I had bought it on Amazon. It's GORGEOUS!!!!   Such beautiful artwork and inspirational messages. I also love that you have small calendars for the rest of this year at the front. That is very practical. I can start using it right away!
Thanks for the great feedback Raine!   There's a great deal for the Women Inspired calendar right now on Amazon ... check it out!

 Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.  
Don't forget to leave your email address for the giveaway!

If you don't already, please sign-up for my newsletter HERE, and follow me on Facebook, PinterestBloglovin and YouTube, so that you never miss a giveaway, and always get the latest Jessica Sporn Designs' News!  


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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Thankful at One Little Word


It is so fitting that the "word up" at One Little Word is "THANKFUL."  Wait until you see what the design team created!


One of the things I'm most thankful for is having good friends.  The times we've spent together are precious to me, and the memories of those times are memories I cherish.  I chose a photograph from my 21st birthday for this art journal page, and embellished it with flowers from The Layered Peonies stencil and leaves from Ganesha Deity stencil from Stencil Girl.

I hope you'll let the word "Thankful" inspire you to create something and link it up with us at One Little Word.

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

If you don't already, please sign-up for my newsletter HERE, and follow me on Facebook, PinterestBloglovin and YouTube, so that you never miss a giveaway, and always get the latest Jessica Sporn Designs News!  


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