in the studio with Jeanne Oliver

Jeanne is married to her dream maker, Kelly, and the mother to three funny and creative kiddos.  She home schools her children even though she has tried to get out of it a few times.  You can often find her hiking in her state of Colorado, making creative messes in her studio and finding an excuse to have another cup of coffee.

She speaks and teaches all around the country and sometimes she even gets to cross the pond.  She was told that she needed to find that one thing but she doesn’t like listening to directions so she embraces many loves and that has given her a sweet mash up of family, art, decorating and fashion.  Connecting with women and sharing that each of us has been creatively made is one of her passions.   The Lord is showing her each day to trust in him.

I love seeing how other artists set up their creative space. Can you tell us a little bit your studio?

My studio was originally the dining room of our home.  For many years my studio space was located in our unfinished basement and this felt dark, separated from the rest of the home and not inspiring.  Our children are still young and it is important to me to keep my studio in our home for as long as possible.  It was my husband that really pushed me to take the dinning room space and make it my studio.  This space was rarely used and the light was perfect. Here we are many years later using this space to its full potential!  I love that I can be creating in my studio and still be a part of what the rest of the home is doing.

What inspires you? What motivates you to create?

I am inspired by vintage fabrics, interesting conversations with friends, walks through an art museum, thought provoking books and any time I can get outside and spend time in nature.

I am motivated to create by ideas I collect in my journal, sketches I am working on and sometimes even just color combinations that I need to put to canvas. I can leave a conversation with a friend with a deep need to create.  Sometimes there is no motivation and I need to just spend time in my create space and find my motivation and direction.

How do you organize your creative schedule?I wish I had an easy answer to this question.  So much of what I do is the business side of my creativity and what we have built.  I can get frustrated sometimes that I don't spend as much time in my studio as I would like but that is just the phase of my life right now.  This has made me change how I look at my creativity. I try to look at my whole life as a creative act.  This really helps me to see everything from how I cook a meal, put our home together, how I love on our children, a walk in the sunshine and even sometimes when I put paint to canvas...as my creative acts that I get to do each day.  

What is a typical day like for you?I wake up early before everyone else and spend those few hours going through emails and handling the business side of Jeanne Oliver Designs. I keep a tight schedule and work hard to stay on task each day so I also have the free time I need and want to be with my family and to also find time for all of the creative parts of who I am.  I try to make our days as beautiful as possible by the foods we eat, the music playing, the flowers scattered around our home, the candles lit, the books we read and the art we make. I think people are often surprised how hard I have to work to get time in the studio. I love to create but I am really seeing that my time with these three beautiful children is going faster than I am ready for and they usually win for my time.  

What are you working on right now?I have some amazing retreats coming up this year and much of my time has been creating art, reading books, and creating prompts and curriculum for the students. I have also been having a blast working in abstracts and I am excited where that is going.

Want to connect with Jeanne?

Creative Network
http://jeanneoliver.ning.com/
Blog
http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/

Shop
http://www.jeanneoliverdesigns.com/pages/shophome.htm

"In the Studio" is a new feature here on the blog where I share a glimpse into friends and fellow artists and crafters spaces. If you are interested in submitting your studio to be featured, send me an email at alisaburkesubmissions@gmail.com

summer in february

I don't know what it going on over here- the sun is shining, the water is warm, the sky is clear and blue. This is SO NOT typical for the Oregon Coast in February but I'm not going to ask too many questions. Instead we are trying to soak it all up and embrace a little bit of summer in February!

favorite lettering supplies with Megan Wells

It's Megan here and I'm back with some more tips and lettering tricks! Today is all about supplies. In my last post, an introduction to lettering, I emphasized that no special tools are really necessary to get started lettering. Just a few basics, like pencils, paper and a straightedge. 

But, of course, as you get more practice drawing letters, you'll want to explore different tools to work with. So today I'm going to share my personal favorites. 

I have a TON of pens, pencils, markers and other writing utensils. A TON. Even as a kid, my collection was huge. I just had to have every type of marker Crayola made, and I took my carrying case wherever I went! 

Today, my case isn't as big, but it still goes with me pretty much everywhere I go. I almost have to laugh when someone asks me, "Do you have a pen?". Um, yeah, I do...

But out of this huge collection, there are definitely some go-to supplies that I use the most and have become my favorites.

The first is probably every lettering artist's favorite: a Sakura Pigma Micron. 

For me, the micron pen is the cream of the crop when it comes to drawing lines. It comes in many sizes, from a point size of .20 mm (very tiny for super fine lines) up to a point size of .50 mm (for a thicker line). The micron is also available in a variety of colors, although I usually stick with black. 

Another reason why the micron pen is on the top of my list, is because it's waterproof. (I know Alisa is a huge fan of using these in her sketchbooks, because she can use watercolor on top of her doodles). 

For outside the studio, my go to pen for lines is a Sharpie pen.

A sharpie pen is very versatile, and I don't feel like I need to be as "gentle" with it - which is why I carry it with me more than I use it in the studio. I'm not afraid to let someone borrow my Sharpie, however, I'm not letting anyone get their hands on my micron pens. 

It also comes in a few sizes and colors. 

For thicker lines and filling in larger spaces, I love the Classic Copic marker. 

This is a high quality marker. It's a little more expensive than your everyday writing utensil, but I think it's worth it. If you take good care of it, it will last a really long time. The ink is refillable, and the nibs are interchangeable, and it's also waterproof. 

I use this marker a ton when I need to broaden a stroke or cover more area. 

For brush lettering, which I don't do very often, I prefer a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen.

I like this brush tip because it's not too flimsy, yet it does have some give. I also use it for filling in broad strokes on sketches - it covers a lot of ground quickly, however, it's not as easy to control as the Copic marker (which I use for more "finished" pieces). 

For colorful lettering, I just love Sakura Gelly Roll pens.

They are cheap, and come in a large variety of colors, including metallics, glitter, and more. These pens are not waterproof, so unless you want them to blend and bleed, they aren't the best for multi-media. 

When it comes to a nice opaque white ink, I skip the Gelly Roll (although it does come in white) and spend a little extra on Uniball Signo Gel pens. 

 

Oh, how I love this pen! It is the best white ink pen I have found - and trust me, I've tried them all. (if you do have another you like, please let me know!) It writes smooth and the white ink is super opaque. The downside of this pen is that it goes through ink super fast. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I go through about 50-60 of these a year. (I write with white ink a lot...)

I usually purchase a pack of 10 from Jet Pens and then, I add one additional pen in order to get free shipping (all orders over $25 ship free). This is my excuse for buying a new pen I haven't tried before, which is always fun. 

For simple sketching, I use a good ole cheap mechanical pencil. Nothing fancy about that.

I typically have about 20 of these on my desk, however I can never seem to find one when I need it.

And lastly, a few people asked about my ruler last time, so I wanted to include what straight edge I prefer. I actually use an Omnigrid Quilting ruler. 

I stumbled on this for lettering by accident (I tried make a quilt, bought tons of sewing supplies, and promptly gave up.) But here I was with a fantastic ruler, and I've been using it ever since. 

So there you have it, my very supplies for drawing letters! 

And thank you for the warm welcome last time - I'm so happy to be sharing on Alisa's blog and excited to keep sharing some lettering tips and tricks with you all!

And please share your own favorite supplies with us. Keep using the hashtag #redefinecreativelettering and let me know what you love to use!

xoxo - Megan 

Instagram: @makewells

Etsy: etsy.com/shop/makewells

website: makewells.com

happy valentines day

Wishing you a weekend full of love!

in the studio with sharon stanley

I live with 5 chickens, 4 dogs, 3 cats, 2 sons, one husband and lots of cows at White Oak Farm, a working cattle farm in rural Virginia. It’s a crop circle of craziness!

I’ve been a maker as long as I can remember, growing up in the 60s with Captain Kangaroo.  When he pulled out his shoebox of crayons and popsicle sticks, I was right with him making whatever he made. My father could make anything and fix anything so I learned early if you wanted something you made it yourself. I’ve been making things ever since…jewelry, mixed media, hand stitched goodies, cards, you name it. I also started writing children’s books after my youngest son graduated from high school.

I love seeing how other artists set up their creative space. Can you tell us a little bit your studio?

We built our home when we got married 30 years ago on the family farm, and at home I use a guest bedroom for everyday crafting. It’s set up with my sewing machine and a wall of shelves that are filled with way too many craft supplies. But when I began having Art Days last year, I set up a work space in my husband’s home place that is also here on the farm.  Built in l908, it’s a typical farmhouse that he inherited some years ago. The downstairs is rented out, but I use the upstairs for my work space. I have a light airy room for classes, and a second room for lunch and snacks. The ceilings are high and the windows look out onto the farm. It’s not fancy, but it’s a wonderful peaceful space and everyone seems to enjoy coming for a day of making art.

What inspires you? What motivates you to create?

It’s cheaper than therapy! People always think farm living is all pretty scenery and quiet peacefulness, and it can be, but it’s also 24/7 and hard work. When you have 200 cows that need to be fed, you can’t leave and go to the beach for a week’s vacation. I learned early on that I would need to make my own entertainment and it needed to be at home. I’d always been creative and when my boys were little I wanted to encourage them to learn to entertain them- selves so making things was just the ticket. As they grew and I had more time for myself, I began having classes as a way to make a bit of extra money and stay home with them. Now, with art blogs and Pinterest etc…I’m like a kid in a candy store waking up every day asking myself “what can I make today?” I love online classes too.

How do you organize your creative schedule?

My schedule is directed by what’s happening on the farm. Spring through Fall are busy times and though I don’t do farm work, I do drive my husband and sons from field to field when they have equipment to move…I am pretty much on call all the time. I keep a notebook for writing and a sketchbook for art play with me when I’m on the go so if I have to sit in a field for an hour I can enjoy the quiet and play while I wait. My children are grown so at this stage, my time is more my own now. I tend to work in spurts rather than regularly. I write that way too. I cannot sit and write every day unless I am working on a book. Once I have a story in my head, I write it. With art, I doodle all the time – watching TV, sitting in a field, or in the afternoons on the front porch.

What is a typical day like for you?

We get up and have breakfast then I spend the morning doing house chores. If the fellows need a ride, they call so I’m never far from the phone. If they need parts, I run to town for them. Everyone comes in for lunch at 12, or if they are away (we have fields in various parts of the county) I pack up some lunch and take it to them, which is nice if the weather is good….we can eat in the back of the pick-up. The afternoon is reserved for laundry and whatever project I am working on…sewing, jewelry, painting, mixed media, writing etc…till time to fix supper. As you can see, meals are a big part of my day and since we all work together, we eat together as well usually…feeding 3 men all over 6’ takes a lot of time (and food!) 

What are you working on right now?

As I said before, I have an Art Day at least once a year, and spend a good deal of time preparing for it this time of year. The first weekend in May I have 12 women into the studio/work space to make art and eat snacks and have lunch. I’m in the process of making plans for this year. I’m also working on some collage projects for fun and started a sketchbook where I am trying to do a page a day…It’s a new discipline for me. I just finished sewing a Japanese style smock because I am so very messy when I make art and I love it so I’m going to make another one. It pretty much covers me from head to toe!

Want to see more of Sharon?

Check out her website is www.sharonpstanley.com

Her latest children’s book is The Little Dog in the Middle of the Road

Check out her blog www.farmandfrufru.blogspot.com

"In the Studio" is a new feature here on the blog where I share a glimpse into friends and fellow artists and crafters spaces. If you are interested in submitting your studio to be featured, send me an email at alisaburkesubmissions@gmail.com