MMCA Marketplace

Seth Apter ~ Own Your Own Voice

By Creative Contributor: Seth Apter

The following images are detail shots of work Seth has completed.  Make sure you click on each image to view the amazing layers, fibers, colors, elements and more.   

 

We all know artists that have signature styles. When we see their work, we can immediately identify it as theirs and theirs alone. This is true of many of the great masters and of today’s bloggers as well. But I have heard many people say that they are forever trying to find their own style.  They are no longer satisfied following the step-by-steps in books. They want their own voice.

Many times an artist’s style emerges organically over time. But for some, this doesn’t seem to happen. If you feel this way, the following seven ideas may help you to own your own voice!

Style File:  We have all had the experience of seeing a piece of art that really grabs us. Start a file of images that call your name. But don’t limit yourself to artwork. How about an ad in a magazine that has just the right color? Or an online photograph that gets your heart beating just a little faster. Do not use these images in your art. Instead, as your file grows, try to see what themes repeat themselves. This can be a clue to your own style.

Play Day: Give yourself permission to play with the art materials you already own, without any preconceived plan. Clear the area. Spread out the supplies. Put on your favorite music. And just play. Grab whatever catches your eye. Mix materials that you usually do not combine. Work with no thought of a finished piece. When recess is over, see what you have created. Ask yourself, where did I end up?

Obsess Less: As artists, we all end up collecting (e.g., hoarding) special objects that we hold on to and cannot seem to actually part with to use in an art piece. Grab all these objects and look at them together. After you find any patterns, chose one special object and create an art piece around it. Your creation will provide a hint to your artistic voice.

Playing Favorites: We all have artwork that we have made that has a special meaning - the one or more pieces that we really love. You know…the ones we pick to show other people. Find those few, very special pieces and study them. What is it about the work that resonates? See if a theme emerges across all your favorite pieces.

Book ‘em: Chose a favorite art “how-to” book or just grab one randomly off your shelf. Pick a project or a technique in the book. But instead of following it step-by-step, challenge yourself to change it up. Add a new step. Bring in a new material or technique. Make it your own. Do this a few times over the course of a month. In the end, see what you have brought to the table and try to identify your own influence.

Four Score: Chose 4 pieces of art that you have made that best represent you or that are simply your personal favorites. Show all 4 pieces to 4 different people whose judgment you trust. Ask each person to write down 4 words that in their minds best describe your artwork. Sometimes we already have our own style but find it hard to see it ourselves. It may be clearer to others.

Journal It: Keep track of the results of these exercises in a journal. And keep your journal with you always. Write down artful thoughts, words, and events. Doodle, draw, or paint anything that inspires you. All without any worry about how “good” it is. As your journal fills you will begin to see a pattern in all the entries. You will begin to own your own voice.

Seth Apter is a mixed-media artist from New York City, focused primarily on paper arts, book arts, and textural assemblage.  Using layers of paper, paint, ink, text, transfers, found metal, and other altered objects, he creates highly textured and distressed artworks. 

His work has been highlighted on multiple websites and published in national magazines, independent zines, and three books to be released in 2010.  His blog, The Altered Page, is a visual journal of his own artwork, photography, and collaborations, as well as a showcase for artists he admires and his creative experiences in NYC.

Blog:  The Altered Page   
  

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To publish/reprint this article you must respect the copyrights of the author and MMCA Marketplace by publishing the entire article as it is with no changes, including title and content with ALL links active and clickable.  You must include the following (between the dashed lines) in the same font size at the end of the article.  Without adhering to ALL of the above is a violation of copyright laws.  Common courtesy is to let the author and MMCA Marketplace know when you reprint this article.

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This article is courtesy of the MMCA Marketplace Blog, a place to connect, promote, inspire and share resources to help others live a creative life in their artful journey!  The MMCA Marketplace Blog is a subsidiary of Debbie Overton Designs LLC.

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Great Art Finds ~ Lisa Bebi

Today's Great Art Finds takes us on a visit with Lisa Bebi.  Lisa loves to paint and explore new ways to create. Most of you know Lisa from her articles in art publications. 

“My painting is like jazz fusion. Not so much for my brushstroke work but because of the complex layers of seemingly unrelated stuff that somehow tie together. My brushstrokes are speedy looking but I think my detail is described more in the subject matter rather than by way of tight brushstrokes, sort of reflecting the fast pace of jazz and its many layers.”

To learn more about Lisa and her artwork visit her website, blog and etsy shop. 

Thanks Lisa for sharing with the Marketplace readers.

Book Review :: Artist's Color Manual

Review by Debbie Overton

I purchased this book over 6 years ago and it has been one of my "go-to" books many times. 

Artist's Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Working with Color by Simon Jennings.

Artist's Color Manual is the ultimate guide to color for visual artists. Whether they work in oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, colored pencils, or inks, artists of all stripes will find information and ideas flowing from every profusely illustrated page. Renowned art instructor Simon Jennings begins with a basic introduction to color theory, the color wheel, and the art of mixing pigments. The heart of the Artist's Color Manual is a comprehensive guide to mixing and creating each color of the spectrum, from primaries to tricky neutrals, flesh tones, and metallics. Additional chapters focus on techniques, such as mixing media, that create color in both traditional and unexpected ways. Examples of work by accomplished artists and interviews with leading painters suggest creative ideas for color use. With expert instruction, detailed information, and inspiring visuals, Artist's Color Manual is especially helpful for those who are learning to paint, yet speaks with definitive authority to all artists looking to perfect their craft.

Artist Interview with Cindy Couling

Cindy has worked as a professional artist, illustrator and designer since 1992. She expresses her whimsical, colorful style in a variety of media including pencil crayon, block prints, pen and ink and electronic images. Cindy enjoys observing people and incorporating their unique expressions and personalities into her work.

In her spare time, Cindy works in her home studio, painting, printmaking and making pottery, often while listening to old blues or alternative rock, and finishing off a pot of coffee.

MP:  You are a professional artist, illustrator and designer.  How does each play a part in where you are today with your creative life?

I think they are all one and the same. It's my entire life. My day job is spent creating, and my play time is crammed with creating. 

MP:  What are two art supplies you don't think you could live without and why?

Hard question! Being a multimedia and ceramic artist, it's hard to decide!

1. Sharpies - I use them for a lot of my inking work. They are really durable and can write on most any surface.

2. My Windsor and Newton watercolor travel kit - My absolute favorite watercolor set in the world. It has all the basic colors I need, a small brush and water dish and it's small enough to fit in a purse. 

MP:  Is there any time of day that you find you are the most creative?  Do you try to schedule studio time or do you prefer to follow the muse?

In the evening at home, after the nightly chaos is over, I have a chance to unwind with some art. Usually it's while watching TV with my husband. (He's great. He got me an art table which I can work at on the couch. He also transformed an old microwave cart into “the Art Cart” which I can roll around the room and shove out of the way if we have company.)

I pretty much follow the muse. Since I have such a hectic life running my business, I fit my art in where I can, and when I feel I need to. I try to do something artistic every day. I make a lot of drawn ATCs. ATCs are great - since they are small, they are low commitment! I can do several in a sitting very quickly and it gives me a much needed dose of creativity.

MP:  Describe your creative space.

I have several creative spaces. One is described above, the living room desk and art cart.

And the front room of my house, which is supposed to be the formal dining room, has been transformed into a full studio. I have several desks and tables covered with all sorts of art supplies and works in progress. There is an easel, a flat file filled with papers, bookshelves with lots of inspirational books and magazines. I also have a computer station in this room. It's light and bright with hardwood floors and room for my dog Luna to stretch out on her bed under one of the desks.

We converted our garage into a pottery studio as well. There are big tables and a counter to work on, shelves to stack artwork and supplies on, a pottery wheel, a kiln and all the supplies for ceramics. (My husband also makes pottery. Art is a big part of our lives.)

 

MP:  As an artist, we have many roles, which do you find to be the most rewarding and which the most challenging for you?

My day job is owner of a graphic design and web company. I find it to be the most challenging of all my roles mostly because I am constantly creating art for other people, not myself. But what can you do? It pays the bills! *LOL*

Being boss to several employees is difficult too. I have to be constantly on the ball coming up with ideas to give them direction. Sometimes, I can't think of a darn idea and it creates a lot of pressure for me.

The most rewarding thing would have to be giving a graphic designer on my staff rough ideas out of my head for a project, or a scrap of paper with a rough drawing, and having them come back to me with a wonderful design for a client. It amazes me every time.   
 

MP:  How do you manage to get in your social networking time?

I need my social networking time. *LOL*

My job is demanding and time outside of work is limited so I find I need connection with the outside world. I've met some really awesome artists I'd never have met outside of the social networking outlets.

Luckily, being the boss I have more freedom to get online. I'm also really good at balancing my time.
 
MP:   When you’re not working, how do you spend your time?

I try and cram as much art time as I can get in my spare time. I enjoy hanging with my husband and our dog. I like making pottery, gardening, watching movies and TV, and just chilling. :-)

MP:  Is there anything you would like the art world to know about you that we did not cover in our interview?

Make art every day, and peace out! ;-) 

Visit Cindy to learn more about her fun artistic life and see more incredible works of art.

Websites:

My Official Website:
www.couling.com

My Blog:
www.lunagraphica.blogspot.com

My Design Shop:
www.lunagraphica.com 
   
Cindy, thank you for sharing with the Marketplace readers.

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To publish/reprint this article you must respect the copyrights of the author and MMCA Marketplace by publishing the entire article as it is with no changes, including title and content with ALL links active and clickable.  You must include the following (between the dashed lines) in the same font size at the end of the article.  Without adhering to ALL of the above is a violation of copyright laws.  Common courtesy is to let the author and MMCA Marketplace know when you reprint this article.

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This article is courtesy of the MMCA Marketplace Blog, a place to connect, promote, inspire and share resources to help others live a creative life in their artful journey!  The MMCA Marketplace Blog is a subsidiary of Debbie Overton Designs LLC.

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Calling & Business Cards ~ Shabby Cottage Studio

Mixed Media Supplies

Online Video Classes

Original Art

Shabby Cottage Studio Blog

After you have visited Gail, we would love to feature your card and hope you will send us your Calling or Business Card too.  Please send to:  Debbie Overton, PO Box 243, Waynesville, GA  31566

Great Art Finds ~ Andrea Seiler

Meet Andrea from Kentucky!

I am a self-taught artist from the blue grass state. I live in Kentucky with my wonderful husband and a house full of crazy pets! I am endlessly addicted to scrapbooking, but I have recently fell in love with Altered Art and Mixed Media. I collect and create ATC/ACEO cards and love to make handmade greeting cards. I work with many techniques such as rubberstamping, collage and vintage elements. My unique cards can be purchased in my ETSY store. "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." - Mother Teresa

You can learn more about Andrea on her blog as well as find her artwork for sale here.

Thanks Andrea for sharing with the Marketplace readers!

KC Willis ~ KIDS ALLOWED

By Creative Contributor KC Willis of Lipstick Ranch

My step-son has artist written all over him. He's much more likely to be found skateboard and IPod in hand than paint brush...but the inherent inclination is there and I'm jazzed. When I met him, nearly six years ago, he was eight and already as individual as one can be when one can't spell individual. Right from the start he was completely curious about everything in my studio and didn't even seem to be phased one bit that the art I made involved a sewing machine. All he saw was the old bits and pieces that were everywhere and went into these cool things I called collages. He never hesitated to try his hand at the ideas he had. And yes, at eight he had ideas...lots of ideas. So much so that when 3 p.m. rolled around and he and his brother strolled through the door with a chorus of "Hey KC!" I knew all my work was about to come to a screeching halt. After all he had had all day to think of what cool things he could make.

Now I never had children. Never had to share a remote control much less my sacred studio with a child. And I had come from a family of all girls and my mother had come from a family of all girls. When my nephew was born and they came out to tell the family it was boy we all kind of looked at each other like...what the heck are we supposed to do with one of those! And I'm not going to lie to you...those days of stopping my work and relinquishing my art supplies to a little boy who never stopped making noises (I learned early on that if male children didn't have anything to say they made sound effects) while he made his creations was hard on me. Made me down right grumpy at times. But he was so into it. I would tuck away the really rare fabrics and trims, but other than that I let him have at it. It was just another form of babysitting to me.

But then I started noticing little things and not so little things. The way he observed the world around him, soaking it in, his ability to mimic (quite hysterically) the voices he heard. How his face lit up when I told him he could have a small piece of canvas and handed him some acrylics and a brush. He didn't just go into my studio and scribble some cute little kid rainbow. He put headphones on and found the right music so he could feel what he was painting. Don't look at me! When he was given an assignment to write poems in 4th grade, he tackled it with great enjoyment and seriousness and wrote a small booklet of poems that could take your breath away. His teacher told us that this young man was the kind of student he got up for in the mornings. Us too.

But when he came home from school with a paper that ended with "And when I grow up I want to be an artist because KC taught me how to be creative,"...well I don't have to tell you that right then and there art stopped being Super Nanny. I realized that this boy had already packed his bags and was heading down a road he paved everyday with his own ideas. What an incredible thing to be even a small part of.

Now, as a teenager he gets all that angst and energy out by learning every trick he can on the skateboard and speaking "skater-ese" which I assure you is a language unto itself...but he also spends hours in his room teaching himself the guitar and writing notebooks full of songs. He tapes and edits short films, is funnier than any kid I know, and isn't embarrassed to show you the beautiful sunsets pictures he has taken on his phone. He digs looking at art and I dig looking at him looking at art.

It's not that difficult of a thing to do...to encourage creativity in a child or to gently open up the world of art to them. Sure, it helps to have a youngster with a natural inclination to explore his creative side, but any child...ANY CHILD can have their world changed by us sharing with them the thing that changed ours.

 KC Willis immersed herself as a young girl in the stories of western life and fell in love with Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and the idea of heading west.  Each of her fabric embellished collages tells a story featuring these women and more.  Her original "Old Hope and Glory" flag is featured in The Art for Obama book, "The Women - The Flag" is in the permanent collection of The Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth TX and her collectors are world wide.

KC is an online workshop instructor, as well as holds Studio Retreats in her gallery in Colorado.  With over 20 years of experience she is sharing how she started to where she is now with her Marketing Mindset online workshop. And now KC is "Hittin' the Road" holding workshops from coast to coast.

 

Website:  Lipstick Ranch 

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To publish/reprint this article you must respect the copyrights of the author and MMCA Marketplace by publishing the entire article as it is with no changes, including title and content with ALL links active and clickable.  You must include the following (between the dashed lines) in the same font size at the end of the article.  Without adhering to ALL of the above is a violation of copyright laws.  Common courtesy is to let the author and MMCA Marketplace know when you reprint this article.

-----------------------------------------------

This article is courtesy of the MMCA Marketplace Blog, a place to connect, promote, inspire and share resources to help others live a creative life in their artful journey!  The MMCA Marketplace Blog is a subsidiary of Debbie Overton Designs LLC.

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A Day in the Life of.....Debrina

Debbie (Price-Ewen) - aka "Debrina", the "Governess" and various other pseudonyms. I am a mixed media artist but also love to paint. My other jobs include being a mum to my son Jason (born 2008) and a librarian (where I can get all the inspiration I need from my books!). I also love writing and reading poetry, trading atc's, writing letters to random people and including a bit of art in and on the envelope, my witchy house and garden, cooking, sewing, knitting, and any other domestic goody yum yum pursuits...

A Day in the Life of......

Well, if I have the energy, the best time for me to hit the studio is around 5.30am. 

From there I have about 1 hour of concentrated  art time before Jason wakes up at 6.30 - 7am.

Then it's Jason time until about 12.30pm when he naps for an hour or two).  At around about this time I do all my catching up on the housework, important calls to make and any quick out of town stuff that would be hindered if Jason were with me.

Then, when Jason wakes up, it's Jason time again until he crashes at around 7.30- 8pm.

From there it's tea, dishes at around about 8.30 - 9pm it's me time in the studio (if I've got the energy).

If I do have the energy it's art time till about 12am or even 1 in the morning.  A small price topay (lack of sleep that is) for quality art time.
 
Occassionally, I get Andy to do something with Jason during the day if I have a deadline to meet.
 
My work week isn't much different, except that Jason is at daycare.  When we get home, it's Jason time, tea time, then bed. 

If I have energy, it's off to the studio again.

Visit Debs blog to see what she has been up to and look for her upcoming Artists Interview where she answers our questions and shares some of her amazing artwork.

Thanks Deb for sharing yours and Jason's day with our readers.  We look forward to your Artist Interview in the coming weeks.

Great Art Finds ~ MizKatie

Meet MizKatie of Wichita, KS. 

MizKatie paints people, cities and the characters in her head.  She has been a mixed media artist for over ten years.  

You can learn more about MizKatie as well as find her artwork for sale here, plus more links to her online presence.

Thanks MizKatie for sharing with the Marketplace readers!

Get Your Calling or Business Card Featured!

 

Remember back on May 10th, I mentioned in a post to get your Calling or Business Cards ready that I would be announcing on June 14th, a way for you to get yours featured?  Years ago when I first started reading Victoria magazine, I would flip to the Calling Cards page first to see what new find was there.  I became a frequent shopper to many of those featured over the years.

Once you have chosen a business name one of the first things to consider is getting a Calling or Business Card and then carry a stack of them with you at all times.  Hand them out, leave one on the table or drop one on a table on your way out of a restaurant, stick one in the envelope when you pay your bills, leave one tucked in a book you are returning to the library or putting back on the bookshelf of your favorite bookstore.  There are so many ways to get your card in the hands of a future customer and we want to help!

Calling all artists, crafters, and creative business owners (online & storefront) to send the Marketplace your Calling or Business card to be featured here on the blog.  The feature will include your card and a link to your blog or website.  One of our readers may be looking for something special and you may have it. 

Here are the details you have been waiting on:

• Your card must include your blog or website address!
• All sizes, shapes & designs are welcome!
• Drop your card in an envelope addressed to:  Debbie Overton, PO Box 243, Waynesville, GA  31566
• Please note:  Cards will not be returned!
• Sit back and wait for your card to be featured on the blog, Facebook, Twitter and sent to our mailing list via our newsletter.

If your card has your information on the back such as mine featured above that is fine.  I have several cards and I simple picked this one to share.

What's your favorite way to make sure your card is seen by others?