my favorite supplies and a GIVEAWAY!

Art supplies are a big and important part of my life and I always seems to go through little stages where I will use the same things over and over again. Today I am sharing a few of my current favorites.

p.s. I am giving away four $50 gift certificates to Dick Blick (my go to for supplies). Scroll all the way to the end of the post for more giveaway details!

White paint pens are a must for me and my creative process (I prefer Sharpies). I love adding pattern, text and markings to dark or colorful backgrounds and a white pen works perfect! I prefer oil based paint pens because they will work (and be permanent) on just about any surface. I typically buy my pens in bulk and keep a variety of each size on hand.

Pigma Micron pens are my favorite sketching pens. They come in lots of sizes (I prefer the 05) and the best part is that they are permanent so you can watercolor or use wet media over the top of them.

I always keep a handful of neon paint on hand, it is perfect for adding a really vibrant pop of color to a painting OR you can tone down the neon by mixing a little white paint. Pretty much any paint brand creates a neon option these days- everything from Apple Barrel craft paint to Golden Acrylics offer all kinds of bright colors.

I rarely splurge on art supplies but lately I cannot resist Golden's High Flow Acrylics. It has an ink like consistency and can be used for splattering and dripping, to fill daubers, used with calligraphy pens, water brushes and more!

While I love painting on canvas, I might love painting on wood just as much. Back in college I used to paint on plywood panels because it was cheaper than stretched canvas! These days you can find all kind of light weight wood panels in TONS of sizes. The surface is nice and smooth and really lends itself to detail work.

This is my birthday week and I thought it was a good excuse to have a little celebration here on the blog. Every day this week I've got a giveaway!

Today I am giving away four $50 gift certificates to Dick Blick 

(No, Dick Blick did not sponsor this post, I just love them and want to share the love with you!)

Leave me a comment

Tell me what you favorite supply is

I will draw four names and announce the winner tomorrow (Wednesday)

MONDAY GIVEAWAY WINNERS-

Send me an email at alisaburke@gmail.com and I will get you the information for your online class season passes!

birthday week celebration- a sale and giveaway!

Friday is my birthday, I'll be turning 39 (yikes!) and I thought it was a good excuse to have a little celebration here on the blog. Every day this week I've got a giveaway- I'll be giving away some fun stuff so check in every day for a chance to win!

Today I'm kicking things off by announcing a SALE on online classes that will last ALL WEEK LONG! I've got classes marked $10 off for you over in the shop HERE.

And today I am also giving away 10 spring/summer season passes (season pass includes all four of my spring/summer online classes)!

Leave me a comment and tell me your favorite birthday memory.

I'll pick 10 winners and announce on the blog tomorrow(Tuesday)!

fashion friday- perler bead jewelry

Recently I purchased a bucket of Perler Beads and what started as fun sorting activity for Lucy, turned into inspiration for my own project! 

If you are not familiar with Perler Beads they are colorful beads that can be fused together with heat (an iron) to create all kinds of fun things. After doing some playing and experimenting I came up a with fun way to put my own twist on the materials.

I started by selecting my colors. Using a peg board I arranged my beads.

Next, I used the iron to fuse my beads together. I applied heat longer than directed so the beads would melt together and the surface would be smooth enough to draw on. 

(Typically Perler Bead projects have the holes in the beads visible. I wanted my surface smooth and the extra time under the iron helped to melt the colors together)

The last step was to add doodled embellishments to the surface. I used an oil based white Sharpie pen (which is permanent on just about any surface). 

Then I turned them into jewelry!

I love that with a little creativity, materials for kids can transformed into something unique!

signs of spring

altered picture frames

Picture frames are one of my favorite things to transform. They are affordable, available everywhere and really easy to alter! Here are a few of my favorite SIMPLE ways to turn a plain frame into something unique!

You've gotta know by now that I am obsessed with wood burning and using that wood burning tool on a wood frame is a really easy way to make it beautiful!

TIP: Keep in mind that different wood will look and feel different when burning. The softer the wood, the easier it will be to burn.

Paint it THE EASIEST way to transform just about anything! I used a layer of bright green acrylic paint and then using 3-D paint, went over the top with pattern.

TIP: Use your favorite mixed media and/or painting techniques (blend, drip, splatter, stamp, stencil, etc) to transform a frame.

Wrapping a frame with fiber is a quick and easy way to update an old frame! I used a combination of colorful yarn and fabric.

TIP: Use scraps of fabric, an old shirt, canvas, ribbon, string or upcycled materials for wrapping.

waste land- my favorite art flick

Back in college history unlocked something important in my spirit and became the source of my interest and drive to make art. And once in a while I like to share some art history in this space. I highlight an artist, an idea or a powerful moment in time that’s made an impact. My hope is to inspire you, my readers, and perhaps we can all meet some new, unexpected friends in the colorful chronicles of history.

I first heard of the artist and photographer Vic Muniz when I was in college studying art history. Vic Muniz is a world renowned artist from Brazil artist who incorporates all kinds of objects like thread, diamonds, sugar, chocolate syrup and trash into his work to create ironic and bold images pulled from culture and art history. His series "Sugar Children" (a series of drawings made from sugar of children of parents who worked on the sugar plantations of St. Kitts) was the subject for an essay question on one of my tests. Even as a young artist, I was inspired by the unconventional materials and unique perspective Muniz had.

Back in 2010 the documentary Waste Land was released. It the follows Muniz from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil into the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho. It is there that he photographs a group of catadores or garbage pickers. 

The catadores are a marginalized population who resort to picking valuable recyclable materials from the garbage thrown away by those in Brazil. Muniz's initial objective was to create portraits of the catadores from garbage but after meeting the amazing people who worked at the landfill, he decides to turn the project into a collaboration with the catadores themselves. 

He photographs each of the pickers, gathers items from the dump and then working together they create large portraits made from trash on the floor of a warehouse. When the portraits are finished he photographs them, auctions them off and gives the money back to the catadores.

I first watched Wasteland back in 2011 and not a day has gone by in the last 3 years I don't think about about this movie. From witnessing the amazing stories and spirits of the catadores to watching Muniz create beauty from trash to seeing a successful artist give back WITH HIS ART makes this movie one of the most profound, powerful, uplifting, heartbreaking, creative, innovative and layered stories I've had the honor to watch. If there is any movie I could recommend to fellow artist or creative- THIS IS THE ONE! 

WASTE LAND Official Trailer from Almega Projects on Vimeo.

Wasteland is out on DVD and also available to watch via Netflix

canvas storage bags

Once upon a time our house was clean and organized...and then we had a kid! Now that Lucy is a toddler, it feels like there is stuff everywhere! From stuffed animals to legos (oh the ridiculous amount of legos) to cars and robots- we have a lot of stuff all over the place. 

Slowly but surely I am determined to get the toys and the clutter under control is a stylish way. Since I made some pencil holders a while back from canvas paintings, I've had a similar idea floating around in my head to create really BIG canvas storage bags that could be stored all over around the house.

I started by painting yardage of canvas. I wanted my storage bags to be pretty big so I used a roll of heavy duty canvas and began painting it. 

I really didn't want to paint anything that time consuming or too detailed- instead I wanted pattern layered on top of messy color. 

When the canvas was dry I sewed it into large bags.

My method for making bags-

I cut my canvas into a rectangle.

I fold it in half.

Sew up both sides.

Sew each corner (on the inside).

Turned the bag right side out.

Speaking of canvas, I sold out of my last batch of canvas messy pouches within 2 hours last week so I've got another fresh batch in the shop HERE