Where Does Inspiration Come from?

 Is it inspiration or motivation that's the starting point for art?

A few weeks ago I attended an Art Journaling workshop with artist/designer/author, Dina Wakely. When not traveling, she usually has monthly workshops at one of our local stores, The Occasional Artist.

Sometimes I know what we'll be focusing on, but lately I show up with my basic kit and prepare to go with the flow. After years of participating in her workshops I know that I'll learn something new or get pushed outside my comfort zone. This evening was no different.

 

 We would be working with collagraphs. While some of my fellow art teachers had made them with their students, I didn't fully grasp how to make them successfully. Working with old folders, chip board and fun foam, we created our own collagraphs by cutting shapes and gluing them onto a substrate. Above is a collagraph plate using fun foam, (in red), made by one of the ladies in class.

Here's mine after a few prints have already been made. I used pieces of folder glued on chipboard.

The prints came out well but the white background made me crazy. This is my in studio set-up for spraying inks and color washes. I sprayed several pages.

The acrylic paint print with a wash of water based inks.

I signed up for a postcard swap with no idea what I was going to do for my cards. These prints were perfect.

I dug out one of my favorite rubber stamps. Gathered paper scraps and cut circles. Then it was time to add stitching on the sewing machine.

The card fronts.

The card backs. Another favorite stamp!

The finished cards.

The cards found new homes overseas and throughout the US. Exciting!

Marissa