pamgarrison

full reveal of my December Daily® mini kit!

It's here! The full reveal of my December Daily® 2016 mini kit. I seriously had the best time designing this kit. It opened up a whole new creative world to me- designing product in a way that I had never really participated before. I thoroughly loved it. I'm excited to be able to show you the whole thing vs. just the sneaks. I was going for a very artist inspired kit- meaning lots of designs based on artwork, be it illustrations, or stamps I've carved, watercolor art etc. etc.

This year each mini kit had the same basic elements: 4 6x8 papers with plain grid design on the back, 31 journal cards and a selection of embellishment items. In this picture I've already taken my kit's washi tape and applied it to the pink stripes on that paper. I decided after receiving the kit I liked it better that way... for now anyway ;). I think that the full page of stars is my favorite paper. That was all designed digitally. 

The 31 journal cards are made up of 3x4 or 4x6 sizes. This is side A of mine above and here is side B:

Here is the A side of the 3x4 cards in my kit. Lots of pen work, watercolors, digital design, stamp carving, illustration, etc. 

And here is the B side. I've already taken colored markers to the stars (third one top row), and used the stamp set in the kit to make the holly card (row 2, 4th card), stars, (row 3, 1st card) and snowflakes (row 4, 4th card.) I like to alter things as you know. ;)

This side of the stars is just the grey and white when the kit arrives. I used pen here but also think watercolor, gouache or colored pencils would be great. 

And here is where I was adding the washi tape from my kit to the 6x8 paper...you can see it as it comes on the last row there. Side note, how great is that Merry album designed by Jasmine Jones from this year's offerings? Love it. I also love the 2 other 6x8 albums offered. I'm a 6x8 DD album girl. 

 I started stamping the back of the B side of the cards. I used the stamp set I designed for the kit and Ali's  Crafter's Inks to stamp them and I really like them. They are very wet and easy to apply evenly, and from my experience they dried quickly on paper.   

The embellishments are one of my favorite parts of any kit and so I was thrilled to get to pick which embellishment types I wanted to be in my kit and design them. Star die cuts, some with gold foil, chipboard shapes with sayings in gold foil, star washi tape and a gold alpha with lots of repeat letters for my kit. 

I started playing with it to get some in use photos, and I can't wait for December already. I wanted to confirm for myself that my bright, festive colors would go with traditional holiday colors so I grabbed some pages from a previous December Daily® I have. Yep, to me, it totally works! 

All the December Daily® goodies are now available for ordering (shipping in October) here. You can see all the other mini kits too and see how the different designers chose to create their kits. Ali does a great unboxing of her own main kit (yes, of course I ordered one, love it!) and also scroll down to see what her favorite items from each mini kit are. I loved what she chose from mine! 

I've heard from some of you that you already participate in December Daily®, and a few friends that promise that this year they are really going to for the first time (Paige, Michelle, Amy, I'm talkin' to you!). I am super excited to see how they put these pieces to use. I've placed my order and am patiently waiting until October...no need to rush those holidays, now that I've got my plans made, I can go ahead and enjoy our last days of summer and the beginning of fall too! 

 

I'm a December Daily mini kit designer!

I am so happy to finally be able to share the news that I am one of the mini kit designers for Ali Edwards December Daily® 2016! I love December Daily®, it's one of my favorite projects I do each year, so when I was invited to design a mini kit I didn't hesitate to say yes. I knew instantly that I wanted my kit to feel fresh and festive, be fun and playful, and yet, also wanted it to mix with the more traditional kits, so it'd have to have neutral elements. I also wanted it to be warm weather winter appropriate too, for all of us that have Decembers that aren't exactly full of snow days. I love a good creative design challenge! 

Having an artsy flair, a kit that felt hand designed more than digitally created, yet with some digitally designed art as well, and being very "Pam Garrison" feeling were all up there on my list too. After all, that's one of the concepts behind having mini kit designers; offering different styles and creative leanings. I think those of you that follow me would probably recognize it as mine in a mini kit line up if you were pressed. :) (And to those of you that are just coming here for the first time due to the mini kit announcement, welcome to my slice of the web! I'm glad to be sharing in the December Daily® fun!)

I'm super excited with the way it turned out and I can't wait to reveal the entire kit to you here on September 1! These are just some sneak peeks so you can get the feel for the kit. 

If you aren't familiar with December Daily®, it's a month of December memory keeping in an album concept created by Ali Edwards. I think this will be my 5th year participating. Some albums of mine aren't quite finished yet, but most are, and I love bringing them out and looking through them each Holiday Season. Seeing Ali's is what got me started in scrapbooking/memory keeping at all, and I feel forever grateful that she thought up the concept and each year shares it in such a way that it inspires participation. It's so fun and not nearly the "added to-do in one of the busiest times of the year" that it might sound like if you've never tried it. It actually helps me be more mindful, to slow down and notice the important things. Head over to her site to see hers through the years and learn more. 

As I mentioned, I wanted it to work with the other mini kits, and of course, Ali's main kit too, so that people could mix and match as it strikes their fancy. I like it when people use the same products in different combinations to come up with totally personalized and unique feeling results. I feel that is one of the aspects of a successfully designed line. I hope that some of the pieces will be so fun to use that it will inspire participation and easily spread some joy and merriment around. I love fun products that make me want to use them, that's my hope with these. Some "let's get using this!" sparks to get you telling your stories and wanting to engage creatively.

Of course, me being me, it was hard to limit my ideas. I immediately had 10,000 and I wanted to include them all, lol. I was grateful for the awesome team I worked with who excelled at editing where I did not. The paper was one very fun part of designing, getting to choose and design the other kit components and embellishments was another. More on all that when my full kit is revealed September 1, when presale opens up for December Daily® 2016.

If you want to be on the December Daily® specific email newsletter list, you can sign up at the bottom of this page here.  A few items did sell out pretty quickly last year. Those on the newsletter know the news first.

It feels great to have my name on a product I fully believe in and love. I was stalking my mailbox once I knew it was on it's way to me and it didn't disappoint!

So excited to share more with you soon, in the meantime, they are doing a fun reveal all week of all the other mini kit designers and sneaks of their kits on decemberdaily.com I don't even know who the other designers are or what their kits look like, so I'm as excited to get that daily email and check the site for more info myself!  

Order selection period start September 1, which I know might sound early, but with shipping and prep to consider, it ends up being perfect timing. Plus, December will be here before we know it (yikes!) Hope some of you that are new to December Daily® will join me this year, and hope those that are regular participants will enjoy my kit!! I can not wait to see it's pieces in use. I'll share more of my design process after the reveal of the entire kit, because I for one love the behind the scenes scoop too. 

I'm already excited for the holidays and summer is still on it's last legs...it's going to be a fun one! xoP

painting painting and more painting

 

Hello out there! I'm coming up for air just long enough to put up a post on the blog. What?!? Crazier things have happened, surely, but with my track record this past year, I'm happy to find myself pulled here to share.

This is the current state of my family room floor. And it's been like this for too many days to count.

As you can see in the pictures (and post title) I've been putting in lots of hours painting lately. In this instance, when I say painting I'm referring to acrylic on wood and canvas; both florals and abstracts or a combination of them both.

I'm pretty sure it started on a recent trip to Portland where I got in a lot of painting time; both with Michelle in her awesome studio, and then an intense 12 hour non stop session with Jennifer, (amazing artists both), I felt a creative growth spurt coming on and if there's one thing I love it's new developments in my creative expression. This week I dropped as many things as I possible could and devoted myself to more uninterrupted painting time. And it's paid off. I fully believe that quantity time leads to good quality creative learning. The breakthroughs happen eventually. Just stick with it. Practice without judgement, play, fun, experimenting... all recommended by me! 

I painted a lot of my more usual like these:

and then some new things started coming out like this:

and this:

...which feel and looks different than I'm used to. Like finding a new gear. Fun times.

As per my usual, many, many at once. That way I don't feel forced to stick to any one idea; I feel free to try different things like colors or marks that wouldn't necessarily belong together. 

I'm still painting away but probably need to clean up the family room for the weekend. It's ok, a break, switching it up, is good on occasion too. Maybe I'll paint in my art journal instead, a little cleaner for the family for a bit. ;) 

I've even been on a finishing(!!) roll and have started moving some pieces around my house. 

(That tall skinny flower is a Jennifer Mercede piece. It's so sweet.)

I've started a second instagram account that's focused on paintings and behind the scenes/works in progress. It's where Jennifer and I had our art auction, and I've listed a couple things for sale there just to try out something requiring less clicks than etsy.  It's @pamgarrisonstudioshop if you're interested.  

And, I'll be listing lots of things on my etsy too, that'll help me focus on finishing them all the way through!

Pursuing creativity and putting in enough time for growth...yes please. As always, I appreciate you stopping by here and also as always, I'm here cheering you and your creative time on. I hope if you want some, you get some. Even if you have to steal a little time...trust me, the dishes will wait, I've tested it! 

 

in search of fellow creatives

Hello there, you! Are you an artist? Is art a hobby of yours? Do you want to get started or expand your creativity? Want to join me for three days of guided creative exploration and general art making fun?!?

Well, you're invited!

I'll be at Donna Downey's incredible art studio teaching Ever Expanding Creativity September 30-October 2, 2016. Donna's Studio is in North Carolina and we had so much fun in class last year that it's well worth the trek across the country for this artist for sure! You can bring some of your favorite things or just show up, the price of class includes everything and more that you'll need. 

If you joined us last year, know the content is all new and I'm super excited to bring this new teaching material to this group of creatives. 

It's no secret that I am a passionate creative.  I feel one of the best things about my creativity is how accessible it is. I've figured out some simple ways to open up that creative flow along my journey that I am going to share. It is always my hope when teaching to encourage, inspire, inform and simplify creative pursuit, but this class especially will focus on some specific exercises and fun playful ways to open up that creative window even more. 

We'll be doing this using guided exercises as I've mentioned, and we'll also be art journaling and painting on wood too!

All level artists welcome and encouraged. 

After having taught at the Donna Downey Studio, I now know how very many delicious supplies we have at our fingertips. Donna is a passionate creative like myself and spares no expense when it comes to stocking the studio. As a teacher, and as a student, this is an incredible gift to one's creative explorations. We're not going to limit ourselves over the three days, that's for sure!  

One night last year I came back to the hotel to find many of the students having a late night art fest in the gathering room off the lobby. This year I think we'll have to set a time and see how many of the students want to join in for after hours creative time. Or maybe we'll have a pizza party at the studio... there is delicious pizza right across the street (why yes, I did test it out last year, I do love my pizza, don'tcha know?).

Another thing that holds true for all my classes is that I want to be sure to answer your burning questions. Is there something you've seen me do that you want to see demonstrated? Some supply you want my thoughts on? Some process or specific pursuit? Requests welcome and time is built in for getting them addressed. That's what's great about the three days, although it goes by quickly, there is time to dig into the creating. 

I love sharing all the new things I've discovered in my own creativity and methods and mediums. I'm always exploring and expanding my repertoire. 

This is my last live teaching engagement for 2016, and I only plan on doing 2 in 2017, so if learning live is where it's at for you, I encourage you to meet me in North Carolina this September!  We're going to have a creative haven for three days, can't wait! 

xoP

 

 

Collaborative art auction today!!

 (Edited: Auction has ended, all paintings sold. Jennifer and I thank all those that linked, looked, liked or bid!!! xoP)

Hello! Here's a blast of colorful craziness for you ;)

Jennifer Mercede and I recently got to collaborate and we ended up with 9 original abstract paintings that we are auctioning off. The auction ends today, Sunday, August 7 at 9pm PST. If you want a look see and more info, they are on my @pamgarrisonsrudioshop Instagram account found here: bit.ly/JMandPGArtAuction. We are thankful for each and every look at the fun we had working (playing) pushing paint together.

More photos and close ups can be seen on the @pamgarrisonstudioshop account on IG, but here are a few more I've been sharing recently:

The collaborative painting experience is fun and challenging. At the end of any collaborative experience I have always grown and stretched my creative muscles. I think the artwork that resulted this time is a perfect blend of our original styles. New things came up for both of us, new strides and new notes.

Thanks to all those that have bid already and good luck to any bidders!

Hope you are having a lovely Sunday and hope you get to collaborate creatively now and again, it's such a good thing for one's art practice on occasion.

Xo P

one true constant

ah! glorious peonies! we can't grow them here in Southern California, but I sure am thankful Trader Joe's stocks them for a short while every year and that it happens to fall near Mother's Day ;) 

Hello hello! Long time no post. I've been thinking a lot about this space here, my blog, and what my plans are for it, and have many thoughts to share, but I'll save that for another day. Today I'm inspired to put blogging on the top of the to-do's because of my thoughts on creativity.

While thinking about blogging and dreams and time management and all-the-things, I realized that we all have some true constants in our lives, and one of mine absolutely is pursuit of creativity. It's a non negotiable. It doesn't matter if I'm sick or well, happy or depressed, busy or with time on my hands, creativity happens. I have to make stuff, it's one of the great loves of my life. 

I love that. I am deliberate about it, and also choose creating by default - it's my favorite procrastination technique, it's the most effective place for me to problem solve, it's an excellent well filler - to name but a few. 

Let me back up a moment and tell you what brought on this realization:

Recently, I started thinking about what kind of travel journal I wanted to take with me to Italy soon. I even debated using a Midori Traveler's Notebook, but after looking at some of my favorite past travel journals (below)

I knew I would likely regret not making my own. I'm going to Italy to assist Amy
while teaching a jewelry class at La Dolce Vita retreat, so we started brainstorming together. We went to Italy together just over a year ago when we co-taught making Travel Journals at Adventures in Italy retreat and had so much fun constructing the design and making pre-trip as well as enjoyed having similar designs while there. 

I've found that making a travel journal doesn't just leave you with wonderful scrapbook and souvenir, but extends the trip before and after the actual travel. Ahhh! is exactly how I feel when I look at them...a little bit of heaven!

Amy and I decided to get together to brainstorm and begin making our journals for this trip. She had some leather and I brought two of my TN's for construction inspiration, traditional Midori TN and a Webster's Pages TN:

Amy had some leather she had found at the flea market, so we cut strips, talked about options, and began sewing. (I loved the bright neon orange thread she bought at Wallmart.) We had our basic plans down and I had to leave for my son's baseball game. Of course, I thought about it the entire game. Later that night I worked on it some more and came up with some fun alterations and additions. I finished it late last night after a week of off and on playing.

I really really like it, I'm not sure I love it, but what I really loved was the whole process of creating it from brainstorming to execution. One true constant. There's nothing wrong with it and I'm not fishing for argument, it's just I'm not sure how well it will function as a travel journal for me. It might be perfect, it might take getting used to or I might not like it. I'm not worried about it, I'm just sharing that because it was such a great example to me about how it's all about the process, the result is the icing of creative time spent. So here it is! :

Unlike the traditional TN's we decided to extend the length so that there is a flap that covers over the open book edge (not the spine):

I went the traditional Traveler's Notebook route with elastic bands there to hold the pages in the journal and also to keep the Journal closed tight. I bought some white elastic and tried unsuccessfully to die it with Rit dye, so instead I painted it with some orange Sumi ink, worked fine. (Amy said she might sew in her pages or might sew a leather strap on the top that wraps around vs. elastic. We hadn't gotten very far before we split up.)

Before I attached the elastic that wraps around the book from back to front, I mistakenly punched a hole in the wrong place, so I added a little scrap of leather rectangle to cover it. I put a star eyelet in the center to receive the elastic cord for a more finished look. Problem solving- always a favorite part of making for me. Of course, I could have done a better job of sewing it on, but with my non industrial sewing machine and penchant for focusing on process over perfection, I'm just fine with it as is. I tend to embrace the unique aspect imperfections bring. ;) So much easier than ripping out and starting again! 

I also added a little piece of stiffer leather with grommets (what's the difference between grommets and eyelets? One for paper, one for material? or??? I feel I should know this but I don't). I think I'll use some of Amy's tiny metal alpha stampers to write Italy on it. 

Here's a breakdown of the inside of my book:

I added pieces of leather to the left side before folding the base flap of leather down on top and bottom to create a pocket. The larger brown is to tuck papers in, sewn down on the side and bottom and on top of that brown piece is a red piece that is a pocket that just happens to perfectly fit the Pocket Palette I just bought. I also tried in vain to make my own monkey's knot bookmark and resorted to buying one from Handmademits on Etsy. 

Now that I've broken it down and shared it here, I'm finding myself more fond of it. That usually happens after I let time pass from when I first complete something and do a quick evaluation of it. I'm super excited to test it out soon!

And with that, it's now:

And just like that, I've gotten back up on the blogging horse. That's another true constant; this here blog is almost entirely about sharing my creative adventures, I can always start there when stuck since there are always more of those to share ;).

It's Friday here, hope you have a good weekend wherever you are! xoP

p.s. if you follow me on IG you know that I am giddy about my recent investment (they are spendy!) in an ipadpro and apple pencil. giddy I tell you! so please forgive the inundation of digital writing. it's just so fun:

   

Much more to come on that too, I'm just getting started. I think I'll Periscope it soon to share what I've learned and hear from all you others that use those apps. (@pamgarrison_ over there) or link here. 

Painting Petals class starts tomorrow!!!!!!

My Painting Petals class starts tomorrow!!!! Woohoo! Aiyee! Yippee! 

I have been working on it for a year and I can't believe the day has finally come. I'm checking and re-checking and tweaking away. I want it to be perfect from minute one, (and I know there is no perfect, it's one of the biggest things I impart in all my teaching, but you know, smooth, easy and fun from the start). Beautiful, informative, inspiring and encouraging, that's what I intend class to be. 

The students have been leaving the best introductions and after just being at the Creativebug Studios and seeing some of the student work from my class over there, I am even more excited to see the art that comes out of this class. Painting pretty petals is one of my favorite things to do, so happy to find so many of you feel the same, and I'm so happy to lead the Painting Petal brigade! The world can't have too many delightful florals. Speaking of which, the flowers above are giftwrap we'll be making in week 5 of class, one of the many projects.

We'll be covering floral inspirations, seeing more creatively and less realistically...

...drawing loosely with different tools, painting with acrylics...

...liquid watercolors and inks...

...talking colors and composition...

...imagination as inspiration...

...lettering and monochromatics, adding details...

...faux oil painting techniques and projects...

...practicing, and using and repurposing the practice...

...and so much more. I'm really proud of the class. I hope you'll join us...the first lessons are released tomorrow!!! 

For more information or to register, go here. 

(Sign ups will remain open for a bit and classroom stays open until February 1, 2017.)

I suppose my kitchen table won't look like this for too much longer...it's such pretty content I haven't minded. 

Greetings from San Francisco!

(A little hotel room fun.)

Well, hello!! How are things out there?!? 

I'm up in San Francisco filming another series for Creativebug (on doodling- how fun is that for a topic?!?) and thought I'd share a few shots from life on the road. 



If you follow me on Instagram (which, to be honest, has taken over my blogging for quite a while now, more likely you check in there vs. here these days), you may have seen me working on the set backdrop which is made of three 4'x8' panels. I shipped them off last week and yesterday, after I asked if they arrived at the studio as expected, I got off the airplane to see this Instagram. I laughed out loud. It's Courtney Cerruti and Liana Allday (both Creativebug geniuses), after hanging the banner in the studio for my shoot this week. 

The Creativebug studio is right in the middle of the city now, so tonight I was able to jump on the cable car and ride all the way up the hill until home. 


A room with a view. In such a great city.

I saw this sign as soon as I left the studio and stepped out into the street: 



LOVE it !!! And I couldn't agree more! 

And here's a shot from earlier today while filming:



We're so serious aren't we? About doodling, lol. Another great crew and three more days of filming to go. 

And then....

Then I return home, and soon after that... Painting Petals class starts!!!! I am so thankful to all of you that have signed up! I'm excited and nervous and impatient and inspired all at once. Some little Painting Petals type of fun had recently in the desert:





(It's really going to be good. And it's not too late to join us!)

Thinking of you, the blog readers, my oldest creative compatriots. I'm thankful you stop by, even though my blog has been more of a newsletter of late. I'm definitely grateful for you, the readers, the students, the artwork supporters. You motivate me to keep creating and sharing, whatever the platform. 

Hope your week is off to a good start! XoP

greetings from the desert

We are here, Mary Ann, Carol and I, on our yearly art retreat to Palm Springs. It's our 4th. Something to look forward to all year. Last night we went to dinner and toasted 2 out of 3 birthdays, another year of life's ups and downs, hard work done, a shared love of art making and so much more.

I just loved this visual, had to grab a shot. I wish I'd had it for the holidays. It's perfect winter photo fare to me.

Breakfast today. Another yearly tradition.

We don't always see snow on the mountain tops, even in winter. It was pretty breathtaking.

And then we ventured to the Sunnyland gardens. Amazing!

Two of the Moss sisters. Don't let their sweet smiles fool you, these two are up to trouble in a heartbeat if it's an option!

The Sunnyland garden is truly stunning. Highly recommend a visit.

Driving home to our rental. I will always love these windmills.

I'll share some art making next post.

(A friendly reminder: last day for the early bird discount price on my Painting Petals online class!!!)

Oh, and one more thing:

;) hahaha!

Ps from Pamela Garrison on Vimeo.

 

 

 

my Painting Petals class is coming soon!!!!!

 

Hi! I am SO EXCITED to share this with you! I'm also super appreciative to all of you that have expressed interest and encouraged me to press on with creating my own self-hosted online classes. And of course, for your patience too; I know it took me a looooong time, but it's worth it, I promise! Super grateful for all MaryAnn's help getting this class from a thousand ideas to actually releasing. Look at the awesome promo she made, I love it and hope you do too!

Well, without further ado....

Painting Petals Sneak Peek from Pamela Garrison on Vimeo.

Registration begins December 26, 2015

Class begins January 31, 2016
 

At long last, my very first self-hosted online class is ready to share. I am thrilled to finally be able to present my floral based e-course, Painting Petals, to the world! 

I've been infatuated with flowers for as long as I can remember. Growing them, arranging them and creating with them as inspiration. They make their way into nearly all of my artwork, whether it's in my paintings, art journals, or any number of craft projects. This ongoing life-long love affair with flowers made it a natural choice for my first online class. I can't wait to share all the methods, materials and techniques I use in my floral artwork with you!

If you follow me on Instagram, you are well aware of my never ending petal love. It's undeniable, I'm crazy for florals!

 

I look forward to sharing with you so many different ways you can express yourself with floral art. My hope is that by joining me in this 5-week lesson and project-based class, you'll be inspired and informed by my love of flowers and art making into creating your very own unique works of art. The imaginative drawing and loose painting I'll be teaching will bring a freedom and ease to your current artistic work. No matter your skill set, novice to professional, you'll learn how to capture leaves & petals in playful, spontaneous, original ways. Our focus here will be on impressionistic works of art; beautiful, expressive florals!

During class you'll see me create using liquid watercolors, colored inks, inexpensive acrylic craft paints, markers, pens and more. A full supply list will be furnished in class, both a general and specific list for each lesson and project. If you have any sort of an art practice now, you should be fine with your current stash of supplies. I have tried plenty of supplies and will share my favorites with you.  Substitutes and alternatives are encouraged for artistic development, and the benefits of doing so will be demonstrated. We are certainly going to be breaking some rules and overriding preconceived notions!

 

The nitty gritty details:

• A beautiful, easy to navigate class site bursting with inspiration & information
• 30 high-definition instructional videos 
• 5 weeks of instruction with new lessons & projects released weekly
• Detailed supply information for each lesson & project
• Unlimited access to the virtual classroom and content for 1 year - until Feb. 1 2017
• A private Flickr group to share your work
• Class price = $145  registration opens 12/26/15 at early bird special of $120
• Once you complete payment, class access information will automatically be sent via email to the address associated with your Paypal account; if you don't see it, please check your spam folder. 
• Pre-class content, you can get started having fun before class even begins!

 

Terms & Conditions:

• ©Pam Garrison 2015-2021  Please do not re-post, redistribute, or reteach class content in the form of written instructions, video tutorials, or live workshops.
• You’ll need a high-speed connection, and up-to-date computer to access the classroom site. A full understanding of how to navigate a website will be useful as well as some basic understanding of how to troubleshoot unique problems that may arise with your system.
• Due to the persnickety nature of everyone's computers and varying level of expertise, I am unable provide tech support beyond basic troubleshooting. I will however always make sure things are operational from my end.
• All sales are final.  No refunds or credits will be granted for any reason.
• Please treat your password PDF like a gift certificate and keep a hard-copy somewhere safe in the event of a computer malfunction.

 

I hope you'll be joining me in Painting Petals! It's going to be so funnnnnnnnn! 

 

painting with shoes in mind

What? I know, that sounds a little strange, and it was a lot harder than I imagined when I said yes...let me back up and explain... 

My friend Paolo has been taking shoemaking lessons for over a year now and has developed a true passion for the craft. He's even gone to Orvieto, Italy to meet a shoemaker and source supplies, so... a very strong passion for it, yes. 

He asked me to paint on some leather for him to use when making shoes. Of course, I immediately said yes. And as I waited for the leather he was mailing to arrive, I grabbed a large piece of canvas I had and began on that. You can see it above. I broke it into four sections and did different backgrounds. 

And then I went to town. I did that first section (bottom right above and more below) the way I do my responsive drawing (which I teach in my Creative Sketchbooking class on Creativebug, link on sidebar)

and then I got a little stumped. I started over-thinking what would be good on shoes, altering my instincts to fit the project, which usually isn't a good idea for my creative process- trying to change things up for what I think someone else wants usually dulls that instinct I've worked so hard to have access to over all these years of making. That said, an assignment every now and again is a good challenge for me; editing myself doesn't come naturally and sometimes less really is more.  

So, when I got to the second square, I started to think about shoes. What kind of shoes? Are we talking women's or men's? Wing tips or ballet slippers? What color shoes would be useful, as the art itself would likely limit the use of the shoes, I wouldn't want the colors to as well. Dark shoes I thought, and left the background a light charcoal. And then promptly went the opposite direction and painted white flowers on top with ink. But how dense should they be for shoes? At first I thought very dense, envisioning a pair of classic Ked's tennis shoes covered in them, but then started to loosen the scatter of flowers, "tossing" less out over the remaining fabric. I wasn't sure if this would be useful or not, to have options, and I'm still not. Time and the shoemaker will tell on that one. 

When I got to the third panel, I decided to try to do a toss of flowers that would look more like an old oil painting. I first painted colorful flowers all over the panel and then...

I painted outlines with ink. I can see this as an entire hush-puppie type saddle shoe, or just the center panel even. (Oh, and I broke up the back pain of bending over the canvas on the floor by painting on some small wood pieces I could hold in my hands.) 




When the piece of leather arrived in the mail, I was still thinking darker shoes might be best, but I was honestly wishing Paolo was there with me, guiding me. I didn't want to ruin his material. As I worked on it with acrylics, I decided that I'd happily buy it from him and make myself a clutch out of it if it was way off the concept he had in mind when sending. I kind of liked it best at the beginning above...



But then added lots more (contradicting less is more yet again- as I said, editing isn't my strong suit). I kept folding it over the top of my foot trying to imagine it as the toe of a shoe...not sure what the heck I was doing...

As always happens, the due date arrived. Time to pick him up at the airport and give him the goods! But first a stop for breakfast on the beach (Crystal Cove Beachcomber restaurant). I thought it was funny when creating this post, how all the colors of the breakfast picture match the colors of the painted leather above. Do you see it too? The yellow of the pottery, the red of the umbrella, orange of the drinks, blue of the ocean and brown of the bacon...

With all my trying to do something "different for shoes", I was seeing through my same lenses. It gave me a good chuckle on this Saturday morning. 

And now that I've handed them off, the story will unfold in another artist's hands, through his lenses. I'm very excited to see where that is and will of course share the end results here! 

And I still would like to make a clutch out of that leather, lol.

And here is Paolo himself. ;) After a very full day of driving, and talking shoes, ideas, and creativity and and and... we ended up in Palm Springs, the location of his class. Where over happy hour dinner I proceeded to draw all over the leather I'd painted...per his request! Now doesn't he look like he'd make a great pair of shoes?!? Can't wait to see...

week 2 of Creative Sketchbooking is here!

creative sketchbooking on creativebug week 2 promo from Pamela Garrison on Vimeo.

Sheesh! Yesterday got away from me before I could mention that the 2nd part of my Creative Sketchbooking class on Creativebug went live yesterday!!! That means new exercises (see the video above for content), a whole new round of sharing all over, and a new contest by Creativebug for helping promote- one on facebook, one on instagram. Here are all the details on the contest. 

This week we are doing exercises in responsive drawing, and I am using a watercolor sketchbook, this one specifically:

You can get it on amazon or at Michael's crafts (be sure to use your coupon!) or any number of places including some local art stores. But any watercolor paper will do! 

If you are in the class, a new feature started yesterday, at the very bottom of class chapters there is a discussion section where you can post comments or ask questions. There is one for the class viewed via the app, and one for the class viewed on the website (it took me a bit to figure that out!), so I'll be over there checking daily to see if there are any questions. I've fallen a bit behind on seeing everyone's work, and I'm looking forward to my son's lesson later today which will give me a pocket of time to look at the class gallery etc. 

The comments and question area got me thinking, are there any questions you have about the behind the scenes of the class? Questions that aren't about class content, so better asked and answered here? I'm happy to share if able...so leave a comment here if you have a curiosity about something. 

Oh, and if you are wondering, I'd say this is the order of most likely for me to see it in a timely manner and hopefully get a somewhat timely response:- (in other words, how I'm currently checking in or trying to!) 

-class discussion boards (website and app both) 

-instagram

-here on the blog post

-facebook on post

-facebook conversation

-email

-etsy conversation

ack! I'm really not the best at keeping up with everything, especially communication. In all honesty, there is a significant time delay for everything after instagram, but I'm trying extra hard during this class time to be available and answer questions! Just wanted to let you know in case you have a pressing need ;) because we all know that art emergencies are a real thing!

Hope you're having a great week, xo!

 

still talking creative sketchbooking class

Eventually I'll stop talking all Creative Sketchbooking class here, there, and everywhere...eventually ;). But not today! Today I have more to say.

So, are you in the class with us? If yes, yay, fun, right?!? If no, what?!? ...I kid, I kid...it's ok, it's not for everyone, I know, you'll just have to bear with our excitement while we go on about it a little more. ;)

If you are in the class, I wanted to make sure you know you can watch it by logging in via any internet browser on any computer or device, you don't have to download the app. I mention it because I know one friend was having problems downloading the app. If you are participating, please share what you are making, either on the classroom gallery section of Creativebug (be sure you put your name in the comments if you don't have a profile that uses your name, so that I can give you credit when I pin your work to my #CBsketchbooking pinboard.) If you are sharing on instagram, make sure you hashtag it #CBSketchbooking (be sure you have the ing!) And if you are sharing on a blog, your facebook, or anywhere else, feel free to leave a link in the comments here on the blog. I really want to see your work! I'm not sure I'm seeing everything that you all are sharing, but I'm trying to! The classroom gallery was losing some photos yesterday, but I think they've resolved that, so please give it another go if yours went missing. Today, there are a lot more photos appearing and it's exciting to see them pop up there and on instagram! I'm loving what everyone is up to and hearing about how it's fun to stretch and try new and different things!!! I'm also excited to see what everyone makes and how it might change over the week since the next lesson doesn't release until next Tuesday. Plenty of time to experiment! 

Which is why I'm sharing these pages here today, different pages than were shown in class. The truth is, I rarely love what I make when teaching; my focus is truly on the doing and sharing the process, not the result, but often that leads to each technique being done a little bit faster and more disjointed, because it's about how to play and I'm trying to teach all the different aspects of the concept. Add verbalizing to the mix and it increases the odds for discombobulatin. I was a little bit disappointed to realize that I might feel the same about the samples I made while filming, until I reminded myself again, that that is the point I am trying to get across- no focus on result- so I'm demonstrating that too ! ;) When I sit down and enjoy the same process and techniques at a slower (non talking, non demonstrating) pace, I often end up in a little more finished, and often more pleasing place. Still organically, just a quieter, more natural manner of getting to the end. Which is why I think that the student work will change over this week too, as students keep playing and experimenting and are able to get comfortable with the techniques, they will free up in different ways and possibly even start incorporating into their own typical work a bit. 

So here are some pages from my sketchbooks, using the same concepts of week 1:

love that flower!

Look how different the page on the right looks above, before coloring in the big circle and after coloring in below:

It's a little darker in the day now, but you get the idea, I like it both ways for different reasons.

Today, I used my non dominant hand and forced myself to go very slowly, because that speed is not my usual when creating. I think trying anything that's not one's usual is informative to your creativity. 

I also slowed down the painting process, slow, meditative and enjoyable. Now I'm going to go back in and play with some pens on top...or not...I might wait or paint the whole background. 

It's fun to lean into color exploration and the feel of the brush on the paper. 

I've got a growing stack of sketchbooks, which I see as totally different than my art journals, (but of course, don't have to be). For me, the sketchbooks are used as more of a one technique focus per page, and are a little more organized thought process or experiment taken all the way to finished vs. my art journal pages, which often have a little of this and a little of that mixed with who knows what!

 

Ok, back to searching around for more student art and making more of my own to share!!! xox 

 

creative sketchbooking class!!!

Hey there!!! The class is live!!!! You can see it here!

Wow, I actually have a class online, that's been a loooooong time coming. I really appreciate all those that have patiently waited!!! I know I've been painfully slow with the creation and release of the content in my brain into an online course format. There's more to come for sure, now that things are moving down the pipeline! 

FYI, I misunderstood yesterday, and said that a credit card isn't needed to have the membership with free trial period. In actuality, to see the class you have to sign up for a membership (with a credit card) and the first two weeks of your membership are free, so you can cancel before the monthly $4.95 charges begin. There is going to be a contest along with the class, and 8 chances to win a free 3 month membership and that one is the free membership, no credit card required, no free trial period with membership. Sorry for the confusion! 

Anyway...back to class!!! I am excited to present new content created with a specific desire to expand creativity and free up creative expression. These sketchbook exercises are guided in hopes that you'll find it easier to not think about result along the way and just play with pen and paint and paper alongside me! 

Creativebug is running a month long contest to encourage participation and promotion of the class. 8 winners (4 from facebook promotion participants, 4 from IG promotion participants) will receive 3 month paid memberships and $25.00 Michael's Crafts gift cards, and one month long class participant that shares their work via Pinterest promotion will win a 1yr creativebug paid membership, a $50.00 Michael's gift card and a sketchbook from class where I've done original art made using class techniques inside, with plenty of white pages for you to work on as well!!! For all the contest details go here. 

So looking forward to seeing who comes to class, please post your work in Creativebug classroom gallery and hashtag #CBSketchbooking when you share on social media so we can all find your work!

Hooray for creative friends, now let's go have some fun!!!

tomorrow's the day!!!

Wow. I can't believe it's finally here! It seems like it's been forever in the works...but my Creative Sketchbooking class over on Creativebug launches tomorrow (mid morning/afternoon PST)!!!!! I don't have a direct link for class to share until it's released, but in the meantime, if you aren't already a Creativebug member, you can sign up for a free two week trial. No credit card needed, it's truly a free trial- (ED: I'm hearing feedback that a credit card IS required. I'm on it and trying to find out if I misunderstood, or if I gave you wrong link etc. I will get back to you as soon as I know!!! 2nd ED: I misunderstood and mixed up the free trial and the prize free trial that's coming. If you sign up for the free trial, you are signing up for a membership and DO need a credit card, you get a 2 week trial for free to determine whether it's a membership you want to continue -and pay $4.95 a month for- or to cancel with no issue before payments actually start. Easier than a guarantee with refund if you aren't satisfied. I apologize for my misunderstanding and misstating the deal!!!!)  I'm sure they know that once we creative types get a look at the 500+ offerings they've got, that we'll be wanting to subscribe. I've been a member long before a collaboration was in play. Now it's only $4.95 a month, the best price it's ever been. 

I took a screenshot from the July preview of classes. This was filmed by the director Brian Emerick and he showed it to me after we were finished, I loved it instantly. 

One more thing before class starts tomorrow, (it's a four part work-along series, with a new part released each Tuesday in August. There's plenty of time, but if you want to have the exact sketchbook I'm using in class to start, it's this one. You can also buy it at Michael's crafts and use one of your coupons to save a bundle. :)

Lots more tomorrow, including promo video, news of some good giveaways/creativebug contests, and more details (with pictures!) of the class!!!! Until then....xoxo

 

art journaling pages in progress

What?!?! An art journaling post? Just when I'd been talking all quilts, all the time.....

If you follow me on instagram, you know I still have quilts in progress to share...and I will! But today, as I continue to prep for my trip to Donna Downey's art studio to teach art journaling, I realized it's been way too long since I've shared some pages in progress. So here are some recent bits of art:

It's Friday! Ahhhh....

I hope you've got some nice plans ahead of you for the weekend. I'm going to continue class prep, finish sewing the binding on a quilt, patch some holes in my jeans...you know, the usual creative pursuits tucked in among the other parts of life...

Have a good one!!! xo

 

a baby quilt gift

Hey there! How goes it out there? I wish I had some good excuse for being away from the blog for so long, but the truth is, the speed with which time passes is befuddling me. It's crazy!

Anyway, I'm back with one of the things I was up to in my absence; a gift for sweet baby Vincent, born to Maggie and James, and my dear friend Charlotte's first grand-baby!  

a little dedication for baby

 After seeing Maggie's posts about nursery decor plans for her baby to be, and being on a quilting binge, I couldn't resist a little patchwork quilt. I went to JoAnn's fabrics one night and bought a bunch of fabrics, then raided my own stash once home to come up with a selection of various prints and solids. The mix and the match, the choosing combinations, it's so much fun for me. A big reason I've always been drawn to fabric and occasionally go on purchasing binges with no specific project in mind. It's also likely why I haven't used solids alone in the past, missing an opportunity to play with design and color specifically. Just more fun things I'm noticing along the way as I continue to explore and learn about quilting. 

I improved a little bit with matching my corner points, but there are still many many non matching points:

I'm totally fine with that because it's handmade with so much love. I never even used to look at things like that when looking at quilts, but the more quilting books I look at, and linking around I do, I really respect the quilting artists out there and their mad skillz, and that aspect of the art form. I am not one to pursue perfection in my creating, but I do want to pursue precision when that is something that I believe adds to the creation. And some quilt designs would definitely qualify for that category. 

Luckily, this patchwork baby gift doesn't qualify for that. I don't think the journey of learning (thus the imperfect quilting) is anything to be secret about so that's why I'm sharing them up close. Not because I'm proud of them, but because it's a totally welcome part of any creative journey to me. I embrace the participation in something creative so much more than any result. 

I made the binding trim out of one of the fabrics. 

I did everything on the sewing machine, except sewing the binding to the back, that I did by hand. 

I quilted it by sewing machine, sewing first in the ditch, and adding one, two, sometimes three more stitches to the inside of each square. Making things up along the way vs. following any pattern or rule. 

Just enough to give it that puckering after washing. I love the way the back looks because of it, those big puffy squares:

I can't remember what size the finished quilt ended up to be. I think it was around 38x58".  A baby quilt or lap quilt makes an excellent size if you're not a quilter yet but want to start exploring with it. It's not too big to easily fit under a home sewing machine. And overall it can be done pretty quickly, decreasing the chances of getting intimidated and overwhelmed, (or even bored). 

Baby and Mama should receive it today ;). 

A little bit of California warmth sent to the other coast this crazy winter season. 

Welcome to the world baby Vincent!!!! xo

 

more art made at art retreat ps #3

I mentioned before that I took very limited art supplies to our little Art Retreat #3 in Palm Springs. Just some art journals and sketchbooks. It felt good to limit my supplies and spend less time sorting through them to find want I wanted, and less time going from one idea to the other vs. just relaxing and really enjoying one. Okay, I consider art journaling and sketching to be different, so make that two. 

After we were finished driving around taking pictures like these:

Thanks Carol for this photo of me behind the Palm Springs sign. When I was a little girl I loved Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem that starts, "There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead." Not so much the little, but the poem springs to mind when I see this. ;)

We headed back to the house for fun, and making art was the main priority. All day long outside and all night inside. 

I plucked ripe lemons from the tree and tried to paint/sketch them in a manner more similar to what I learned in the oil painting class by Leslie Duke I attended. I love to explore different methods. 

Carol bought this sweet teacup and saucer at the antique store we popped into. You can see it in use at her home here. It was too beautiful to resist sketching. 

Carol was also the inspiration for this sketching of a chair that was at the house, as she was the first to sketch it. All three of us had a go at it. Not only is it fun to sketch the same subject yourself a few times, it's even more fun to have three different people sketch the same thing and enjoy the results of how unique each one is, how different the styles are. (The Moss sisters have their renditions on their blogs too.) 

Watercolored birds.

Yep, still birds. 

And then I some art journaling (the difference for me being:not based on looking at anything for inspiration, just imagination):

How gorgeous is this new Antietam ink I bought? Dipped my brush right in it to paint with it, even though I bought it for my fountain pen. 

A little doodly drawing using this Pilot Parallel pen and then watercoloring fill in. 

 

 These two. Excellent Art Retreat cohorts. Even cuter sisters. 

It was a good trip, I highly recommend grabbing a small group and making time to create, I'm never sorry when I do!

And with that, my Palm Springs Art Retreat #3 recap concludes. 

Well, one more:

 xo

 

hello!

I'm back from a fun getaway to Palm Springs with the Moss sisters Mary Ann and Carol, and our 3rd annual Art Retreat. 

Every time I go to Palm Springs, I appreciate it more, and I love to try to capture new photos of  things making me happy while there. 

Just driving around provides plenty of photo opportunities. 

Of course, walking around does too. 

The colors and color combinations, the unusual sights...

And then there's the reason we're there; hanging out and making art at the top of the list.

We've rented a new house each time, and this is the slice of heaven Carol found for us this year. Horrible, right? 

This is what it felt like being there, like floating in air:

Art journaling and sketchbookery madness were pretty much the main creative activities.

Besides quilts and quilting books (so I could put on a mini quilt show), I only brought one basket of art supplies. 

Of course, we shared supplies and gifted each other presents too. 

There is always a show and tell of current or recent journals.

 

I've got more to show and tell... part 2 next post! 

and then, and then, and then...

First of all, thank you!!!! Thank you for all the quilt love on the last post. I love that I can count on readers to understand where I'm coming from on whatever creative journey I embark on. I so appreciate that. We all just want to be understood, right? If you even knew how few people in my real (physical vs. cyber) life could care about my current obsessions or explorations, you'd know I meant it! ;) So thank you, to all that took a minute to comment here or on my IG or Facebook or wherever, and to those that didn't have a minute, but cheer on creativity regardless, you too; I've been there many a time...whether I leave a comment, or even if I miss what you're up to, I'm definitely cheering on your creative pursuits! Always.

Shortly after finishing the triangle quilt, I stumbled upon this quilter, via this book (which I totally recommend). I was completely inspired by both the book and the artist for sure. These quilting scraps left over from the triangle quilt were begging me to come and put them to use. Who am I to argue? 

Clearly, I have been taken over with inspiration. 

The shapes. The colors. The combinations. The interactions. 

Ideas beget more ideas. 

I can't wait to think about making a quilt out of some of them. 

But that's going to have to wait a bit...because last night I had to stop at JoAnn's after dropping the boy at baseball, and the fabrics started calling to me again...colors I didn't have already...new ideas to try...did you know you can buy as little as 1/8 yard increments? ;)

 

 

And so it goes....