ArtTRADER

All about trading

m a g a z i n e
Putting the art in trade
Issue 3 - Summer 2008

ATCs, Altered Art, Art Journals, Chunky Books & Creative Inspiration

In this issue...
FEATURES: Interviews with Dan Casado & Sarah Zamora Soldering Made Simple Reduction Block Printing Coloring with Kat! Vintage Digital Collage Mixed Media Swap Galleries

Sarah Zamora AKA Original Youth

FALL THEMED ROLO CONTEST INSIDE!

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Table of Contents
3 5 6 8 10 13 15 19 22 24 30 31 34 35 39 41 44 47 49 50 Art Trader Contributors Editors Note & Letters Gallery: Mixed Media & Collage Art All About Ink Pads Coloring with the Kat Fall-Themed Rolodex Contest Step by Step Vintage Digital Collage Soldering Made Simple Gallery: Monochrome Chunky Pages Feature: Sarah Zamora Petite Artiste: Tori L. Gallery: Mixed Media Owls Vlogging with Michael Shapcott Artistic Journeys: Overcoming Artists Block Gallery: Angels An Interview with Dan Casado Reduction Block Printing: Victorian House Walkthrough Gallery: Colored Pencil ATCs Advertisers Ads Call for Articles & Art
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Summer 2008

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CHIEF EDITOR Dana Driscoll COPY EDITOR Meran ni Cuill CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Dana Driscoll Sal Scheibe Annie Melion Abi Aldrich Angela Kingston-Smith Greer Gschwind Heather Luedke Bonnie Driscoll ART DIRECTOR Sal Scheibe ASSOCIATE DESIGNERS Brittany Noethen Annie Melion PUBLISHED BY IllustratedATCs.com

ArtTRADER Magazine www.arttradermag.com Editor: editor@arttradermag.com Advertising: ads@arttradermag.com Submissions: content@arttradermag.com Call for Entries: www.arttradermag.com

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Contributors
Sal Scheibe works as a creative designer for print and web and also as a freelance illustrator. Her designs and artwork have appeared in books, CDs and DVDs, brochures and posters. Sal is currently working on a number of large canvas paintings for art shows. She also enjoys trading ATCs and is an administrator at IllustratedATCs.com. Sals favorite artists and illustrators include Joe Sorren, J.C. Leyendecker, William Bougereau and John Singer Sargent. Her favored mediums are acrylic paint, colored pencils and markers. www.slscheibe.com www.flickr.com/photos/amerasu

Annie Melion is currently a full-time student, planning on eventually earning a Masters in Library Science. She loves all types of art, but is fond of the Surreal and Symbolist movements. Her favorite artists are Michael Parkes, Daniel Merriam, Aubrey Beardsley and her buddies at IllustratedATCs.com, where she is a Moderator. She mainly works in watercolor, colored pencil, acrylics, markers and gel pens, though not all at once. She lives in NY (cow country, not the city) and has difficulty writing biographies in the third person. artpfunkcentral.blogspot.com www.flickr.com/photos/littleboots

Dana Driscoll is an experimental artist working in a variety of media including watercolors, mixed media, oils, clay, book arts, hand papermaking, and altered art. She is currently working on several artistic projects, including painting her way through a 78-card tree tarot deck and combining her love of pottery and bookmaking. When not avoiding the perils of pursuing her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition, she can be found frolicking in nearby forests or hanging out with her nerdy gamer friends. Danas work can be found at her blog: artisticjourneys. blogspot.com and she can be reached at adriayna@yahoo.com. www.artisticjourneys.etsy.com

Brittany Noethen is an artist living in a tech managers body. She would rather be decapitated than give up making art, trading ATCs, or stop thinking that the phrase Muffins or Bust is hilarious. She currently lives in Iowa with her partner Cat, her 12 year old pit bull, Maggie, and shelves full of art supplies. www.bnoethen.etsy.com arty-iowa-girl.vox.com www.flickr.com/photos/arty-ia-girl

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Contributors
Angela Kingston-Smith is more widely recognised as LemurKat and considers herself an illustrator, not an artist. With her quirky, whimsical style she has the tendency to turn anything cute and her art now graces the walls of fellow artists all over the world. She hails from the lovely south island of New Zealand, a place now known everywhere, thanks to a rather popular trilogy of movies. Proud of her country, Kat loves to add a kiwi flavour to her art. For more information on LemurKat or to see more of her art, pay a visit to her online gallery at Deviantart. lemurkat.deviantart.com Greer Gschwind Born in Houston, Texas, E. Greer Gschwind now lives in the metropolitan Atlanta area. She attended the Art Institute of Atlanta and has worked as a graphic designer. Her home studio is shared by her husband and two dogs known as the kids. I have always loved making things with whatever was at hand, says Greer. I became interested in making jewelry because it is a way to utilize art in a practical way something a person could use by wearing it. Each necklace design Greer makes is a unique, miniature collage. It is also reversible, with a different collage on either side. The sealing material around each piece is jewelry-quality, lead-free solder. Greer also makes Altered Art shrines and books, using a variety of media in a two dimensional form. Her strong interest in history finds expression in her altered pieces that portray Queens of England, Joan of Arc and Lucrezia Borgia, to name a few. You can find Greer at www.atcsforall.com under the user id of Eggstudio. Meran niCuill Fascinated by nature and science, Meran ni Cuill attempts daily to translate her passions into art. Sometimes she feels she even succeeds! And then something else will catch her attention and off shell go! Chasing another ideal. Meran enjoys gardening, sunsets, dogs, birds, and just about anything as long as its not endless crowds of people. When those present, shell retreat to a quiet place and read a book, or cut some glass, both of which she finds therapeutic. www.meran.etsy.com atcs2008.meran.fastmail.fm Abi Aldrich is an K-6 Art teacher in Wyoming. She sells oil paintings professionally, makes pottery because she likes to play in the mud, and generally makes text based sculptures and installations because that is her true love. Beyond that she loves printmaking, drawing, and graphic design. In all her massive amounts of free time, Abi hangs out with her menagarie, including several rabbits, a chinchilla and a large bearded dragon. She also calls West Africa every night to talk to the love of her life, Gee. So in a nutshell she is a nut who likes to make a mess in art! www.abigayle.etsy.com

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Letter from the Editor

Dana Driscoll

Hello and welcome to our third issue of Art Trader Magazine. I have been recently reminded of the importance of community in mail art. I was lucky enough to spend some time in both Indianapolis, IN and Dallas, TX with some fantastic women who got together for multi-day artfests! The time we spent on art, sharing and talking, reminded me of some of the distinctions between mail art and other forms of artistic pursuits. When I think about myself as an artist before discovering mail art, it seems a bit lonely. Locking myself away for hours, painting and creating; a solitary endeavor. I had a few artistic friends, but mostly I tried to share my work with family and friends, many of who did not really understand. When I discovered mail art, the feedback and support I received from my art communities was overwhelming! Finally, I had found my artistic home; a place where I could share and trade my work in a encouraging environment and build a fantastic collection of art. And so, I encourage you to browse this issue of Art Trader Magazine and think about how you might share what you learn--and create--with your own artistic community. Our technique articles on Whimsey Portraits, Vintage Digital Collage, Illustration, Soldering, and Block Printing are sure to give you new techniques to share with your friends. Our swap galleries of Monochrome chunky books, owls, collage and colored pencils will inspire you to join more swaps and trades! And finally, our interviews and columns will encourage you to push the boundaries of what it means to be an artist. Finally, I encourage each of you to submit a rolo for our fall-themed rolodex competition. The winners will be featured in our next issue, so join in on the fun!

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Linda Vaughn, Journal page

Roxann Nicholas, ATC

Amy Sargent, ATC

Debra Leach, ATC

Jennifer Williams, ATC

Karen Leigh, ATC

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Shirley Hays, ATC

Carol Schmidt, ATC

Debi Babcock, Chunky Book Page

Renee Von Stien, ATC

Bethany Ahlberg, ATC

Anita Mistry, ATC

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All About Ink Pads By Heather luedke

When you go into the craft supply store in search of an ink pad for a simple stamping project, do you leave confused and unsure of what you need? Heres a list of ink types, along with some hints and tricks for use.

Types of Ink

Inks come in three types: pigment, dye-based, and solvent-based. Additionally, there are fabric inks, washable inks, and chalk inks. Each ink has different qualities and purposes within the mail art world.

Pigment Ink

Example brand: Colorbox Pigment inks are composed of color pigments suspended in a binding substance. Most metallic and pearlescent inks fall into this category. Pigment inks do not soak in, but instead rest on the surface of your project. This makes them great for use on dark backgrounds and matte surfaces. Pigment inks will not dry thoroughly on non-porous surfaces and dry slowly on all other surfaces. They are ideal for heat embossing due to their sticky consistency and slow drying time. Pigment inks clean fairly easily from stamps using water, baby wipes or stamp cleaning pads.

Dye-Based Ink / Water-Based Ink

Example brand: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Dye-based inks are best for use on porous surfaces such as paper or fabric. They work by soaking in and staining the fibers, and may slightly bleed at the edges if used on extremely absorbant surfaces. Most dye-based inks may also run if exposed to water, even after drying. Dye inks typically dry too fast to be used for heat embossing. Dye inks will wash fairly easily from rubber or acrylic stamps with water, baby wipes or stamp cleaning pads.

Tips for use of Dye-based inks:

Use small pads (such as Dew Drops or Cats Eyes) to ink edges of paper and for easy direct-to-paper application. These are a great value and a good way to have a variety of colors. Use pigment based Chalk Ink for opaque color on dark papers. This dries with a powdery, matte finish. Set pigment inks by heat embossing the stamped design with clear embossing powder. This will keep the image from smearing and help it retain its vibrant color. Use a heat gun to speed up drying time and help set the color; just be careful not to overcook and scorch your paper. Use clear pigment ink (embossing ink) for basic embossing applications. Use colored pigment inks along with your embossing powders to experiment with color combinations. Use a spray fixative on finished projects where smearing is a concern.

Tips for use of Pigment-based inks:

Use the Tim Holtz Distress Inks for an instant antique look. These inks react with water to create an aged or worn look. Do not use dye inks in applications where you will be working over later with markers, watercolors, or other wet media. It may cause the image to smear or bleed. There are waterproof dye-based inks available, just check packaging to make sure that is what you are getting before using with wet media. Experiment with dye-based inks by first applying the ink directly from the pad or re-inker onto a non-porous work surface such as freezer paper or craft sheet and spritzing with water, letting the colors dilute (or bleed together if you use multiple colors). Then apply your paper face down onto the inked area for an interesting background. Use dye inks like watercolors by using a damp brush to pick up ink from your pad, then paint onto paper.

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Solvent-Based Ink

Example brand: Staz-on Solvent-based inks dry quickly and thoroughly on any porous or non-porous and are permanent and waterproof when dry. This is your best option for use on metals and plastics. They are also your best option for use with highly detailed stamps. Solvent inks typically dry too fast to be used for heat embossing. Solvent inks are not easily cleaned from stamps and usually require a special stamp cleaning product, such as Staz-on stamp cleaner. Tips for use of solvent based inks: Have re-inkers on hand to refresh your favorite colors since the pads will dry out faster than other types of ink. Use solvent inks if you intend on coloring your stamped image with markers or watercolors. The lines wont smear or run once they are dry. Solvent inks are the best option for use in projects intended to be coated with clear mediums such as Modge Podge or acrylic matte medium. If you can only have one solvent-based pad, a large, black archival pad is your most flexible option. Stamp a design with solvent ink onto flat objects such as plastic buttons, metal washers, colored plastic bingo markers, and bottle cap tops to make interesting, personalized embellishments. Stamp a design with solvent ink onto shrink plastic, color in the design with colored pencil, cut out and shrink for interesting embellishments.

Other Specialty Inks

Fabric Ink (sometimes called Craft Ink) - a special type of pigment-based ink that, when heat set, is permanent and washable (with cold water). Washable Ink - Typically used for childrens crafts, these inks are meant to wash easily from hands and off of most surfaces and fabrics. Be wary and test these inks before use if complete clean-up is a concern. Chalk Ink - A type of pigment ink that dries with an opaque, powdery finish.

Additional Hints and Tips

Store dye-based ink pads upside down to keep the ink from settling to the bottom of the pad. Store pigment inks right side up and flat. Store multi-colored ink pads flat. If stored on their side, the colors may run together. Clean ink from stamps immediately to minimize staining Need an easy way to store your ink pads? Look for old cassette storage boxes at a thrift store. They are the right size to hold most standard sized stamp pads.

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Coloring with the Kat

By Angela Kingston-Smith (Lemurkat)
In my last article Every Picture Tells a Story (Art Trader Magazine, Spring 2008), I showed you how to draw a picture that told a story. Youve followed my tutorials and have drawn a picture youre proud of. Now you want to color it in! Well, heres how I bring my pieces to life. This is an Easter Bilby. In Australia (and indeed, New Zealand), bunnies are the ultimate evil. Thus a native animal has been selected to be the Easter icon. The Bilby is also known as the rabbit-eared bandicoot and is, as you may have guessed, a bandicoot with bunny-like ears. They are exceptionally cute and make an adorable Easter card. So, lets give her some color. For this I will need: Colored pencils Pencil Sharpener Gel Pens (white and some pretty sparkly colors) Inking pens (Uniball Pin, Finelines - 0.5, 0.3 and 0.8) Colored markers

Colored Pencil Choices

I always use Polychromos pencils. They are an oil-based pencil produced by the German company Faber Castell. The leads are relatively soft and give a good, bold color that blends very well. They are far superior to Crayola or the non-artist Faber Castell brands. Derwent and Prismacolor pencils are also quite good. Derwents are even softer, and quite good for final light highlights. I have not much experience with them however (I only own one, a very light purple, a color not produced by Faber Castell). Prismacolors are not available in my country, New Zealand.

I often scan my art into the computer before continuing with coloring and then print it out lightly. To make the image lighter on the paper, increase the brightness of the scanned image in a photo-editing program like Photoshop. Examine the file for corruption thanks to stains on your scanner or not-quite-erased pencil lines. It is possible to scan pencil line art, of course, but I prefer to ink it first and thus give myself a smooth outline to work around. Photoshop Image Editing Tip: Adjusting the levels of the art (Image> adjustments> levels) can help you eliminate pesky light colored pencil lines!

I print off my line art onto a nice, clean piece of watercolor paper. Although I do not intend to use watercolor pencils, the paper has a nice grain to it and a good thickness. I print the line art lightly, so that I can fix any errors in the original sketch and re-ink it.

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We shall begin by coloring the main character, the Bilby. First, I select the colors I need: dark grey, medium grey, and light grey. I start with the medium grey by defining in the greater shadows - the lower parts of the limbs and head, beneath the neck and ears, and along her rump. Having added in these, now I skip to the lightest grey and color in the remainder of the Bilby. You will notice I have also began work on the belly. For this I am using cinnamon, cream and ivory colored pencils. I often use ivory as a substitute for white when coloring animals. It has a touch of yellow to it, which makes it a little more obvious against the white paper. I reserve the white pencil for highlights (drawn over the original color) and to help blend colors together.

The coloring of the belly and feet is following the same technique as the main body. I start with the shadowed areas and the cinnamon--the pads of the feet, the arm pits--and then add in the cream.

Now I take the darkest pencil and add in the fur strokes. The most effective, and efficient way to do this is in a series of little Vs. For this you will need to sharpen the pencil to a fine point. Dont make the Vs too big, or it will look more like feathers. Use the medium colored pencil to blend the fur in a bit. If working on a larger scale, you can use the medium pencil to shade beneath each V. With your nice, sharp, dark pencil increase the shadows.

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Now the main character is colored, it is time to move to the back ground. Here the same principles apply. Beginning with the shadows, making sure they are dark beneath the feet and belly and where the tail touches the ground. Do not forget here to take the suns position into consideration. If you have a visible light source in the card, shadows should fall as that light source would dictate them to. If there is no visible light source and it is outdoors, choose a corner and imagine the sun is shining from there. Remain consistent! Can you guess which corner my sun shines from? Its the top right corner. I hope you guessed correctly (because it proves Ive done my job right). For the desert, I have chosen a range of shades of ochre. I would tell you the exact names, but my pencils are so short I can no longer read these! The darkest golden brown is used for the shadows (deeper shadows are black or indigo, depending on which I manage to grab first). I use a variety of shades to scribble in a few lines that indicate stones and grain. Heres a secret tip - a quick squiggle does the trick. You do not need to draw every pebble!

The remainder of the background is fairly easy to complete using the same technique. Where flowers are concerned, I color in the foreground stalks with a light green pencil, and shade the flowers in what is almost a stylized manner. Depth can be added by taking up a dark green or black marker pen and drawing in a few stalks behind the foreground ones. This adds an impression of depth. I use markers to color in the eggs, giving them a bright and playful feel. Additional embellishments can be added to the eye with gel pens - the glint of white off the pupil, a bright blue iris. I also make her claws shiny and silver and add a gold touch to the center of every flower. The Happy Easter greeting I color with glitter gel pens. And now shes ready to go to her new home - a little late for Easter, tis true! But its the thought that counts, right?

~Coloring

Tip~

White or cream gel pens (fine detail work), or white gouache or acrylic paint (larger areas) is great for adding highlights to your work!
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Fall-Themed Rolodex Contest!

Art Trader Magazine is now accepting submissions for our fall-themed rolodex contest! Rolodexes should be 3 x 5 including one side for art and one side for addresses/contact information. All mediums are welcome and experimentation is encouraged. We ask that you use fall colors--brown, burgundy, gold, orange, deep green, etc. or fall themes in your work for this contest. Entry Rules & Information Each artist can send up to three rolodex scans (front and back) at 300dpi or higher to art@arttradermag.com. Please be sure to include your real name and contact information and send by September 10, 2008. Remember the Autumn theme!

Here is some rolo inspiration & eye candy! Get creative!

SallyAnn Arndt

Cynthia Blood

Cheryl Howley

Jeanette Dimock

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Dana Driscoll

Sandy Sappington-Broschat

Renne Helem

Tanya Whitley

Remember to get your Fall Rolo entries in by September 10, 2008. All styles & mediums are welcome!

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Step-by-Step Digital Collage, Vintage Style

Beginner to Intermediate Level, By Sal Scheibe
Vintage collage is a pretty fun style of art but not everyone is going to be a master at it. Im the sort of artist who ends up with glue all over me my collage attempts always turn into messy mixed media mayhem. The art of physical collage seems to be beyond me so I usually turn to what I know best digital design. As a creative graphic designer, the digital world is where I feel most at home. And creating vintage collage on a computer can be just as much fun as the real world version. Both can turn into little mini-masterpieces to trade with new friends. With digital collage, you need to find a good source for decent quality images. The photos and images dont have to be 300 DPI but they should be a decent enough size to use in a 300 DPI creation. You will want to create your collage at 300 DPI since you will need a nice quality version for printing. I sometimes get vintage images from the Flickr group called Collage Images. They are often copyright free and in the public domain but be sure to check the comments or description to make sure. I use Adobe Photoshop for all of my digital collage art. Step 1 Create your image at 300 DPI, 2.5 x 3.5 I used this salmony-brown color for my background. This is layer 1.

Step 2 I chose this old fashioned flowery wallpaper to use as a background. I pasted this onto layer 2 of my PSD file.

Step 3 To get a see-through effect, I set the layer option to screen and turned the opacity down to about 60%.

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Step 4 Much like the steps above, I added an old letter on another layer and then changed the layer setting to overlay and turned the opacity down to 20%. These two background images, along with my initial salmonybrown background, have provided a nice, but not too intrusive background to work with.

Step 5 I took a photo of a bathing beauty and cut her out using the Lasso Tool. Then she was pasted onto a new layer in my digital collage image.

Step 6 I cleaned up the photo by using the Eraser Tool to get rid of all of the photo background. You could use the Magic Eraser to do this for some photos, as long as the colors are a bit different. In this case, the Eraser Tool was the best option.

Step 7 I found some pretty butterfly wings in the Collage Images group at Flickr and cut out the left one to use as her wings. You may need to use the Scale tool to resize images to match proportions. My wings were too small so I made them a little bigger. I used the Eraser Tool (as in Step 6) to erase the edges. I pasted a copy of the same wing on another layer and rotated it a little so it appears as though she has two wings. I didnt want her to be too 2D.

Step 8 My fairy is a Writing Fairy, which is why she is sitting on a typewriter. She needed to be sitting on an object and the typewriter tied in nicely with my chosen theme.

Step 9 The fairy, her wings and the typewriter are all in different colors and tones which needs to be fixed. I added a new layer on top of the wings, selected the wing shape (pressing Ctrl + V on the wing layer) and filled it with red. I then set the red layer to overlay and turned the opacity down to about 90%.

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Step 10 I created a new layer which I set to overlay and then I painted (you can use a mouse or a Wacom pen) her hat and her shoes with an orange red color. Having the layer set to opacity allows all of the tones and shading to show through. I also colored the typewriter (Image >> Adjustments >> Hue/ Saturation) to a browner tone to match the fairy photo.

Step 11 On a new layer beneath the fairy and typewriter photos, I painted in a bit of a brown shadow on the ground so my fairy looks grounded rather than floating. I set the layer opacity down to about 25% so the shadow wasnt so harsh.

Step 12 Here I have added a few small yellow / white butterflies on a new layer. This butterfly shape is in the Custom Shape Tool menu. I added different sizes and then rotated them individually to make them a little different.

Step 13 On a new layer, I added a Zetti style checked border by using the Rectangular Marquee Tool. Once I had the border, I added yet another layer and selected the border shape (press Ctrl +V on border layer to select its shape). I then did an Edit >> Stroke, 2 px on the inside. Then I deselected and blurred it to make the border appear 3-D like. I also used the Layer Effects to give the butterflies a red Drop Shadow so they stood out more from the background.

Step 14 At the top of the image, I added a quote about poetry by Anton Chekhov. As you can see, I had to move my layers down a little to fit in my quote. I didnt plan very well.

Step 15 I added a new layer (beneath all of the photos and above the background). On this layer, I used the Custom Shape Tool and added a few random flowers on the background to fill things out. I then turned down the layers opacity so the flowers sat more in the background. I also added a background glow to my fairy and her wings so she could stand out a little more.

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Finished Version Here is the finished image. Its ready to be printed out ATC size at 300 DPI. All set for trading! Digital collage can be a lot of fun. Just like physical collage, there is definitely a learning curve but once you have the hang of the software and a little artistic inspiration, your creations can be limitless!

Art TRADER

Here are a few more digital vintage collage samples.

Art by Sal Scheibe

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Soldering Made Simple!

By Greer Gschwind (aka Eggstudio)
This article contains information to make soldering fun and simple!
For soldering, you will need the following supplies: Glass Lead-free Solder (get this cheaper at your hardware store), or Silver Solder Flux Copper tape Soldering Iron ( I use a Walnut Hollow 25W, 120V) Sandpaper Art Scissors

General Soldering Tips

Silver Solder: Silver solder, often used in jewelry making, has a low % of silver. You may not want to spend extra for this. I have tried both silver and leadfree. Paste Flux: I like paste flux because it will not ooze under my glass like liquid flux will. Clean excess flux off your gun tip with sandpaper when it looks black or the solder will not flow correctly. Removing Flux: Use WD-40 to clean off Flux - you dont need to buy that pricey flux remover stuff. Soldering Technique: There are different ways to solder. You can put the solder on the tip and move it along the copper so it flows off. You can also put the solder on your copper and put the tip on the solder. What I do a lot with long strips of copper is load the gun tip with solder. Changing Solder Colors: There are patinas you can use on solder. It must say for solder. One will make your solder black. There is another that will make your solder look like copper. This is good if you really liked what your piece looked like with that copper tape and hated to cover it all up.

Walkthrough: Soldered Glass Pendant with Scalloped Edges

Step 1: You can make decorative edges by cutting your foil. Here I used a scalloped pair of scissors and wrapped the glass with the foil.

Step 2: Tape your glass and burnish the copper tape down on the glass. Dont press too hard or youll break the glass.

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Step 3: Now we will add the jump ring. Cut a bit of foil in half so that it fits through the jump ring.

Step 4: Attach the jump ring on to your piece with the tape. This way you dont have to worry about it moving around or having to use a third hand.

Step 5: Apply flux all over the tape. Remember, flux is your friend; it helps the solder to flow.

Step 6: Solder the jump ring.

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Step 7: I like to solder the jump ring front and back so it does not jump around.

Step 8: Solder the rest of your piece. I solder the front and back and then the sides. The front and back solder will clump over the side; you can use this solder just smooth it out. Step 9: To remove the excess flux, spray a bit of WD-40 onto a towel - not too much. You dont want it drippy or it will ooze under your glass. You need just a bit to melt the flux and make it easy to remove. Also, you can scrape the flux off with an X-Acto blade. Step 10: Clean up your piece with glass cleaner. I have read that you can polish your solder with car wax, but this is something I have not tried. Step 11: Finish off your pendant and wear it!

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4 X 4 pieces of big phat art in monochrome flavor!

Tanya McClelland

Lisa Manyweathers

Cheryl Duncan-Molloy

Wendy Pompe

Christina An Biro Mireya De Jesus

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m a g a z i n e More big and yummy chunky page goodness from a swap held at

Art TRADER

www.ATCsforAll.com

Sandy SappingtonBroschat Tanya Whitley

Debra Leach Julianne Waller

Lisa Brown Amy Sargent

Karen Mlincek Debi Babcock

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: w e i v r e t n I Member
by Annie Meli on

a r o m a Z h a r Sa

How & when did you become interested in art? Sarah: Ive always been drawn to art; I can remember doodling, coloring, painting, and designing things, even as a young child. Expressing myself on paper has always been a part of who I am. I used to draw pictures to hang all over my room (when the fridge was full, of course). This was really just a hobby to me, until 2003 when I rediscovered painting on canvas, and Ive been busy creating 2-d pieces ever since. I started mainly doing custom wall art for kids rooms, acrylic on canvas. That morphed into murals, custom works for homes and businesses, and then, gradually into mixed media. Did you study art in school? Sarah: No. Most of my youth focused on performance art (theatre, choir, band, etc.) so my art interest was just something I did in my free time. As a hobby I would doodle in class or while talking on the phone. I took one 2-D art class in college when I was trying to find a new major, but the instructor wasnt really impressed with me. I worked REALLY hard to get a B. At that time, I was pretty disappointed, but, looking back and considering I was competing with students that had pursued art full-time for years and had lots of previous experience and instruction, I regard that grade as a success! I really enjoyed learning the fundamentals there, and later took a drawing class at a community college in California. That class really gave me confidence, as I began to be able to more accurately depict what I was seeing through lots of repetition. Id love to go back to school and take some more formal art classes someday, maybe after both my kids are in school.

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Which artists have inspired you over time? Sarah: This one is hard. Ive never really followed one persons style. I guess Ive just always found delight and strengths in every piece I happened upon. Whether it is theme, color, brush strokes, composition, etc, I can almost always find something in an art piece that I admire. Ive been blessed to visit lots of great museums around the world, and seeing one persons work featured in an entire museum has shown to be really fascinating. A few of the most memorable collections Ive toured would be Joan Miro (Barcelona), Picasso (his home in Paris), and Andy Warhol (Pittsburgh, PA). Ive also been drawn to the story of Frida Kahlo. These artists embraced their oddness, revoked traditional rules in art, and created whatever they desired, regardless of the views of proper society. They also each had a dose of madness mixed in, some sort of dysfunction or illness in their life. Working against the challenges of life is something that really is fascinating to me. Honestly, the artists that have inspired me the most the past few years are those that I trade with on the net! Interacting with them, holding their works in my hands, receiving critique and encouragement from other artists has inspired me to no end! Great painters, mixed media artists on Flickr.com, Illustratedatcs. com, ATCsforall.com, and Craftster.com have really encouraged me to work on my technique and style.

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What art themes do you like?

Sarah: Well, can I say all of them? I guess that is cheating. Honestly, the past few years, I have really enjoyed creating anything and everything! The ones that I gravitate towards for my collection are those with bold colors and forms. Ive really enjoyed collecting colorful portraits, those mimicking the bold style of artists such as Alexei von Jewlensky, Kees Van Dongen, or Martina Shapiro. I have pretty big collections of cards in several themes, including: Eiffel Tower, Zetti, Frida Kahlo, Wonder Woman, Black and White, Red Poppy Flowers, Art/Creativity themes, among many others.

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What are some of your favorite mixed media techniques? Sarah: Mixed Media is fun for me because of all the layers. I really enjoy making complicated pieces, especially incorporating everyday found objects, or recycled bits. Some of my favorite things to use as bases, are layers of phone book pages (or other text), tissue paper, paper doilies, used overhead transparencies, and blending in layers of inks, paints, gesso, and pigment powders to the mix. Getting messy with these is a great stress reliever; spreading all kinds of ingredients out over the table and just gluing and mixing without regard to order is a process of discovery. I think making a quality mixed media piece is way more than just about a simple collage process of cutting and gluing stuff to other stuff. Incorporating messy materials, blending different techniques and supplies and putting your own unique twist on the papers is key. Part of the fun with ATCs and other mail art is that there arent as many rules as in formal fine art. There isnt any reason you cant mix watercolors with scrapbooking supplies with a bit of metal you found on the sidewalk. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination. I also think it is important to do your own thing, and my work is definitely a testament to that. Its easy to get caught up in hype or trends and follow the muse of someone else. While expanding your skill set is all good and fine, I think it is important to follow your own imagination. Be inspired by the works of others, but dont seek to copy it; make it your own. Look at their body of work for a few moments, and then take what you remember most and recreate it with your own flavor, changing it as you go. Finding your own favorite supply, style, and technique should come with practice and experience, not what you read in the latest overpriced crafting magazine. I dont mean to be preachy, because honestly, I dont buy any of those magazines. I know they can have great eye candy and inspiration. I just think that if we put a barcode on our art and make it commercial and mainstream just to get attention or make some cash, we are selling ourselves short. With supplies, I think its important to remember you can make art from almost anything! Use what you have, and dont feel hindered for lack of fancy art materials. I have made some very popular ATCs using plain cardstock and Crayola watercolors! I use what I have on hand, upgrade when I can, and dont apologize for my work. Ive made cards using paper towels, baby wipes, cereal boxes, phone book pages, craft acrylic paints, staples, and other everyday supplies. Putting energy and creativity into your work is what makes it unique, regardless of where your materials come from. I like to save all kinds of pretty materials; postmarks and stamps, cards, calendar pages, fortunes, vintage book pages, clips from magazines, even an occasional food label can have a great image.

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Do you feel there is anything outside your comfort zone? Anything youd want to try in the future, or would you avoid like the plague? Sarah: I used to say Ill paint anything but portraits. Not anymore! I really havent avoided any subject, nor do I plan to. Although I dont collect every one, I dont have an aversion to trying to paint them! I really enjoy the diversity of size, subject, medium, etc. I actually paint murals as well, so, in my case, size doesnt matter. Id love to take some art classes once my kids get into school and I have more free time. Im definitely open to learning more about formal techniques in order to improve my own confidence and style. Can you tell us a little about your Tip-Top dolls? The inspiration for them, and your creative process in making them? Sarah: The Tip Top Dolls came about in the summer of 2007. What started as a series of 3 ATCs grew to a little obsession of drawing little pointy hat people, and they got their own little personality and story. Next came a small swap, which turned into a large swap, and the fun was contagious. I decided they needed 3-D lives, and spent some time developing them into fabric art dolls. I made hundreds of mini Tip Top ornaments to sell on Etsy in the Fall of 2007. That was a whirlwind month of flurried activity in my sewing nook! I plan to start making batches of them later this summer to do another round of Holiday ornaments in the fall. You also create murals; can you tell us a little about the process? Sarah: Murals are a side gig, something I do for clients as needed. I like to find out what the client wants to feel from the space, and what the needs are as I design a plan. I use the term design rather lightly, as I really hate sketching or formal planning. I usually just explain my vision (based on their preferences) and paint it! It usually blows people away that I dont sketch or pencil in my lines first, I just start painting; but that is what works best for me. As long as the client has seen my prior works and I feel confident that I know the result they are looking for, its really a fun process. Ive done lots of murals for private homes, mostly playrooms, family spaces, and kids rooms. Ive also done a handful of very large scaled projects: churches, play gyms, and other businesses. As another side job, I also do faux finishing projects and decorative wall texturing for clients. The trend in Venetian plaster really adds a lot of depth and character to a home. I cant wait until we buy a home of our own; almost every wall will have its own personality!

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In regards to your custom dolls and murals: How do you incorporate your own creative vision and still keep to a clients needs? Sarah: I think making sure the client is enamored with my style is the key. Ive turned down jobs for people when I knew my creative vision and style was not what the client was seeking. Its frustrating to turn down a paying gig, but its much easier than to fight against doing something that is not in my nature. For instance, last year I got a great offer to do a professional break room for a local company. The problem, for me, is that they wanted a 50s diner styled room, with dancers in poodle skirts and such. That really isnt my style; so I referred them to another local artist. Sometimes my personal vision is definitely compromised when seeking to please a client. Ive painted things I thought were a bit silly, or added extra details that I personally wouldnt have chosen. Thats how it works. Ultimately, the client is the one who will live with the wall when I am gone, and I want them to be happy. Sometimes that means adding another color to a textured wall, modifying a design, or incorporating another element that I wouldnt have chosen on my own. Thats what being a custom artist is about; using my skills and instincts to make the clients vision and imagination come to life in a way that they will be most happy with. You trade work in many different mail art formats (ATCs, 4x4s, rolos, etc.) which do you like best and why? Sarah: Right now, the chunky book pages (4x4) have my attention. They are just so tactile and easy to hold and display when made into a book. I really enjoy adding the 3-d bits and charms to them as well. I have several books (Creativity, Monochromatic, Zetti, Fabric) and they each are just captivating! I really enjoy the size and shape of them, the ease of display, and trading them in group swaps where you can get the maximum in art trading for your postage. ATCs were definitely my first love in the mail art world, I have at least 800 or so. I will keep trading them, for sure. Why do you like mail art? Why do you feel it is important? Sarah: Mail art is such a great way to connect with others in the local (and global!) community. The sense of sharing of your time, work, skills, and supplies with others is just ideal. The fact that you can do it (make art, chat, play in the forums) on your own time (instead of having to schedule time to meet up with a specific group) is great for those of us with otherwise busy lives. I think part of the fun (for me) is that I am engaging with people of all walks of life, of all skill levels, of all situations. We dont always admire each others work, but appreciating each others strengths and participating kindly in the community is really important. The fact that works are traded (and not purchased) is an important concept. The difference between mail art sites and other artistic online forums is that you get to actually exchange the works; holding a piece in your hands can really make something click instead of just viewing a photo of it on your computer. Thats obviously the reason that galleries still flourish today, as a photo in a book of a sculpture just doesnt do that art piece justice as when you see it in real life. As humans, sharing your talents and skills with others is so valuable. Giving back is really healthy, and mail art allows us to do that.

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You have a young family to raise and are quite active in your community; how do you make time for art? Sarah: Art definitely takes second priority, as family comes first at our house. Im a WAHM (work-at-home-Mom) with 2 kiddos, age 2 and 4. Their daily care is paramount, and consumes lots of time and energy. Art time is squeezed in around that. Ill check emails while they eat meals, and usually dont do much creatively until they are resting. During the day, if I want to do a project, I balance the time with a project for them. My daughter is very artistically motivated as well; so shell jump right in next to me with a collage or painting project of her own. My husband is very understanding of my need to create; he knows that it helps me emotionally to make stuff. We trade off time in the evenings; where sometimes Ill take an hour to go paint or sew, or Ill give him time to draw or watch TV. We know our kids are a blessing (sometimes disguised between sticky fingers and tantrums), so having lots of family time is important. My best creative time is usually from 9-11pm at night. The main secret to my success is multi-tasking; some of my friends tease me about how much I can accomplish, but its really about balance. I may sketch while watching the kids play outside, while the dishwasher and washing machine run inside. Ill spend one evening making lots of backgrounds, spreading my mess out on the kitchen table and getting as much accomplished as possible. I spend time only one day a week preparing all my envelopes for mailing (addressing, putting backs on cards, etc.), so that I only have to make one or 2 trips to the Post Office per week. If Im making one watercolor card, Ill work on 2-3 more while the first layer is drying. All of these are big time savers. Knowing what the priorities are (Faith, Marriage, Family, Business, Personal Art) helps to balance each project in the long run. Its not hard to get emotionally wrapped up in something like a swap when you are frustrated or disappointed, but Im fortunate to have a husband who is very grounded and can re-focus me to what is really important. Sometimes that is hard (to put the fun stuff aside and do the work first) but, essentially, it is key to maintaining the proper balance. Basically, juggling it all isnt easy. If I feel I am getting overwhelmed, I stop signing up for stuff! I dont sign up for every swap I want to join, but pick those I am most enamored with. Ive withdrawn from a few too, if the cards are proving too tedious or I am simply out of time. Whatever your situation, considering your priorities and what is truly important will always help you to be balanced.

Visit Sarah Zamora on the Web!

For work that is currently available for sale: www.originalyouth.etsy.com For custom work or to inquire about murals: www.originalyouth.com

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Petite Artiste
Getting To Know Kid Artists by Abi Aldrich. featuring

Tori L.
Tori is a nine-year-old artist from Tucson, AZ. She has been interested in art since she was one or two years old. Some of Toris favorite things to draw include horses, landscapes, treasure maps. Toris mom adds, This varies from day to day. Today it was dinosaurs. As a medium Tori says she likes to use paint, watercolor pencils, glue. Her mom includes, Tori pretty much can turn anything into art. From paperclips and cotton balls to string and painters tape. She added plastic eyes meant for stuffed animals onto the hem of a skirt. She makes 3D construction paper sculptures. Most of the art doesn't last long enough for me to document. Bummer. With all the art Tori creates she says I save and frame some of it and also trade it for other art online. Her mom adds, I save choice pieces in a file so the kids and I can go back and look later. Tori also gives away a lot of art to friends and relatives. Toris 3rd grade art teacher is Mrs. Tilbalm. Tori adds I won an art contest for best artist in third grade in my school and also got an award for class artist.

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The Owl Swap

A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why arent we like that wise old bird?

Kristin Marz

Lorraine Wilson

Heather Platt

Sarah Graham Susan McDonald

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Pauline Turgeon

Jennifer Erwin

Lori Paulus

Sharon Lee Wilcox

Miranda Kearns

Jacqueline Coyle

Rebekah Grimes
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Malin Walkeby

Caroline Gunn

Stephanie King

Elena Garcia

Christina An Biro

Sophie Tousignant

Bethany Ahlberg
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Vlogging with Michael Shapcott

By Annie Melion
Michael Shapcott creates his paintings in graphite, oil and acrylic. His vlog channel mixes quirky off-beat musings and discussion of his work with time lapse videos that demonstrate how he paints. Illustration and realism are combined in his work and give the viewer a sense of depth. What kind of camera do you use? What editing program do you use? Michael: Right now I use an older model of the Sony Handycam mainly because it was given to me. Its pretty basic, easy to use, and it gets the job done. I have my eyes on the Canon HV20. Right now, Im using Windows Movie Maker. Its a really simple program that came with my computer - very user friendly - but limited. I find the whole process from filming to editing to feeling the satisfaction of a finished video exciting and fun. Im looking forward to broadening my horizons in film-making. How many hours do you spend working on your Vlog? Have you found it beneficial in your marketing? Michael: It depends on what Im shooting and what mood Im in. For the Vlog entitled, Bye, Bye Beard, it took me 20 minutes to shave my face and about an hour to edit it. The Painting a Painting Vlog, on the other hand, took days to shoot and days to edit - about two weeks altogether I think. I havent consciously made the decision to use my videos as a marketing tool, but people are definitely showing some interest in my work because of them. I started to make art videos because of the lack of unique art videos Id seen. I wanted to blend the instructional part with the fascinating part and throw in some humor and good music. Now that YouTube has been out for a while, there are a variety of talented artists making really entertaining and inspirational videos. I hope I am one of them. Mostly, I make the videos because they motivate me to work harder. I have always enjoyed sharing my work with people. My aim in making these videos is for people to look at art and enjoy it in a new and exciting way. Vlogging and the Tradtional Artist: Video Blogs, or Vlogging, is an exciting step forward in the partnership between art and technology. With the onset of digital, or computer-generated artwork, many traditional artists sometimes wonder how technology can positively affect their more tactile work and creative process. The Internet has worked wonders in communicating words and still images (via more traditional blogs and web pages), but Vlogging takes us into the richer realm of sound and movement, enhancing the experience of the viewer. So if youre interested in using an additional media platform to inform, express and promote your creative vision, go grab a camera and join the Vlogging revolution! http://www.michael-shapcott.com/ http://www.youtube.com/redlung http://www.myspace.com/redlung

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Artistic Journeys: Overcoming Artists Block

By Dana Driscoll & Bonnie Driscoll
Every artist dreads the day that you sit down and begin to work on a new projectand nothing happens! The mind, like the page, remains blank. Try as you might, it seems like all of your creative energies have left you. Artists block can be the most frustrating and depressing time for any artist. This article walks you through positive steps you can take to help lift artists blockincluding our own artistic familys technique we have been using for over 20 years.

What causes artists block?

Causes of artists block, much like writers block, vary widely from person to person. Common causes can include the following: Stress and lack of energy. Lacking sufficient time and energy for artistic pursuits can easily cause creative block. Even if you use art as a way of relaxation, when you are stressed out, it is hard to muster creative energies to produce quality work. Mail art itself can be a source of stress; many mail artists get overwhelmed both with the amount of swaps they join and/or projects they take on at once. Stuck in an artistic rut and/or being afraid to try new things. While many artists work in a certain style or theme, the same thing over and over can become a block for new and original work. Pressuring yourself. Some artists have such a strong desire to make art that when mistakes happen, they become overly upset and become blocked in making more art. Additionally, artists may become overwhelmed by the work of other artists, and compare themselves in ways that are ultimately unfair and destructive to their creative process. For example, Bonnie often gets discouraged because Dana produces so much art comparatively! Just like there is no one single cause for artists block, no single solution exists, as each artist is unique! The following are some general suggestions which should enable you to overcome artist block and expand into new artistic territory. First, well present our own familys technique for creative expression and then some other general hints and tips for overcoming artist block.

The Driscoll Family Solution

In our family, art has been more than just a hobby - it has been a lifestyle. Nothing energizes or excites us more than creating new visual designs, paintings, and drawings. When things get dull or boring or someone is having an artistic crisis, our family likes to go out in the yard and slop paint around to get the creative juices flowing. Going outdoors allows us to not worry about splattering paint, to work big, and to move from piece to piece. It is not uncommon for some of us to be working on 5-6 canvasses at a time, just painting abstract or backgrounds! This is not a solitary pursuit but rather should be done with family, friends, and other creative and artistic people!

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Materials:

A sunny day Flat space outsideyour yard, patio or deck (protect your deck or patio with a drop cloth or newspaper) Several friends and familydont do this alone! Surfaces to work ona roll of canvas, large sheets of watercolor paper, objects to alteranything goes! Bring out something unexpected and see what happens. Media to work withvarious paints, texture mediums, inks, and so forth. Depending on the project, we recommend cheap acrylic paints (like Apple Barrel brand) or even spray paint. We dont recommend oils, as they take too long to dry and bugs and various grasses can get stuck in them. Brushes and other materials to create texture Water buckets and outdoor access to water Old clothing and shoes

Additional important necessities:

Uninterrupted time. Unplug the phone, send young children to daycare, and clear your schedule! No expectations. This technique is a way of releasing you from your inhibitions and block, not a way to create new ones. Come with a completely open mind and be ready to have fun and be free. The Technique: In one sentence, the purpose of this technique is to slop some paint around outside! Fling paint, use your fingers and toes, experiment, and just have fun. For this technique, we recommend working larger rather than smaller, especially if you are used to doing smaller work for mail art. We also recommend having a variety of surfaces to work on several canvases for each person, and different types of papers. A single painting might develop, or a series of backgrounds that can be added to later. Start by getting your materials all togethermake sure you arent forgetting anything so that once you start creating, you dont have to stop to find additional items. Image 1 shows our suitcase of acrylic paints, brushes, canvases, water containers, etc. Everyone begins to paint! Mark always likes working big, and he starts splashing color on the canvas in bold strokes. Briel and Mark discuss a developing textured acrylic painting. As the works are progressing, sometimes two family members will switch canvases partway through the process just for a challenge!

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When we say anything goes, it means anything goes! Bonnie decided to experiment with chicken feet painting--dipping our baby chicken Nutmegs feet into yellow nontoxic paint and letting her walk across the canvas. Dana has begun working on the foreground of a developing tree painting. We painted for several hours and afterwards spent time admiring, critiquing, and discussing our work. Here is Briel, Mark, and Dana looking at their creations! Some of these works will be finished at a later time, while others will be cut down for mail art use and develop into nice backgrounds. Others may sit on a shelf, collecting dust, until they are brought to another painting day outside at a later point.

Unplug the phone, send young children to daycare, and clear your schedule!

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Other helpful suggestions for overcoming artists block:

If the Driscoll solution is a bit extreme for your tastes, here are some other general suggestions to help you overcome artists block! Take a break from it for a while. Art, just like any other pursuit, can get overwhelming: too many swap commitments as a mail artist, too many paintings for an upcoming gallery show, or too much work on any single project can burn you out. Sometimes, a week or month away from art can help re-energize your creativity. Try something newartistic or otherwise. Treat yourself to a new book or try a new technique within our own Art Trader Magazine! Take a class in any artistic pursuitpainting, pottery, photography, culinary arts, dance, music, or writing. Sometimes stimulating creative juices in other areas, like writing, helps stimulate all of your creative energies. Try a change of scenery. Sometimes getting away for an hour, a day, or a week is just what the creative mind needs to get back into gear. Try to get yourself a segment of uninterrupted timeeven if it is just a few hours. Better yet, bring a friend! Interact with other creative people. Nothing stimulates the mind like your fellow artists who have ideas and techniques to share! An in-person or virtual get-together is sure to bring artistic excitement back into your life. Submerge yourself in artistic worlds. Museums, art exhibits, shows, and contests are great ways of inspiring yourself to try new things and experiment. If you are an artist who finds her inspiration through nature, a walk in the woods or in the local botanical garden may also be of help. Take a camera or sketchbook to take ideas home with you! Dont panic; it will pass. The more you dwell on it, the more it gets to you! Taking a break and not letting your block get to you are both simple solutions to artists block. No art is ever a lost cause. When Bonnie was in art school, she remembers a time when she had to design a new set of letters for a font. After nearly forty hours of work, she spilled ink on the final project and after an initial upset, she was able to work the ink blob into the font design. Although it wasnt exactly what she had envisioned, making mistakes into art was a great way of getting past the issue! Make bad art. Sometimes its hard to always be producing quality work. Take a break from looking good for a while and just make everything ugly! This is part of the goal of our outdoor painting days. Make your art portable. Have a small container of art supplies ready to travel. You may be inspired by something at any point, and be ready to keep track of those creative energies! That is it for this editions Artistic Journeys column. Join us next month when we explore another solution to artists blockthe beauty and fun of producing bad art!

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Mixed Media Angel Swap

Angels are many things to different people. The members of ATCsForAll.com were asked to create their own interpretations of what an Angel might be, using mixed media. Thread painting, acrylics and cut paper were among the many techniques used.

Angels are spiritual energy. Alexis F. Hope

Rhonda Anderson

Angels have no philosophy but love. Adeline Cullen Ray

Robyn Tisch-Hollister

Elaine LeMay

Sometimes even the flight of an angel hits turbulence.

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Caroline Gunn

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We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another. Luciano de Crescenzo

Robyn Tisch-Hollister

The reason angels can fly is because they take themselves lightly. G.K. Chesterton

Susan McDonald

Carole Corbeil

Dana Driscoll

Lisa Brown

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Dan Casado
Interviewed by Annie Melion
How did you become interested in art? Did you study it in school? I remember myself always drawing during my school hours, not interested in math or history lessons. just drawing! Later, looking for a creative job, I obtained a degree in Graphic Design and worked for magazines for a few years. Where are you from? Tell us about your life. I was born in Argentina, South America, in 1956. When I was twentythree years old, I left my work as graphic designer, and moved to live in Spain, where I owned an antiquarian [ed. note: antique dealer] store for ten years, in a small village near Barcelona City. Meanwhile, I had always been drawing, sometimes painting, doing small assemblages bit by bit becoming deeply involved in art. Thanks to the Internet, I know and was known by other artists, being invited to take part in my first art shows five years ago. In this time I moved again, establishing my home-studio in the Canary Islands, where I live now.

What materials do you use? Do you have any favorite techniques? Actually I do paintings on wood, mostly wood cutouts, shaped painted cutouts. I prefer to paint the wood pieces with acrylics. I dilute the colors to obtain new tones by adding coats, and then I like to scratch and scrape on the paint while still wet, to get textures, lines and patterns. You work a great deal with wood; what prompted this? When I had the antiquarian store, I used to restore by myself the old furniture and used to keep the discarded wood pieces in a big basket. Recycling the discarded wood from the basket, I begin to make things, figures, small sculptures, reliefs Actually, I do my wood cutouts with the same old tools that I used as antiquarian! What has influenced your work? Discovering the work of the named folk or outsider artists was a blast to me; their use of common materials to create spontaneous and unfiltered art shows me the way to follow. My first contacts were with the Who-Ha DaDa Outsider Art Fellowship, www.whohadada.com. There I found close friends!

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Your people are very beautiful and quirky; where do your ideas come from? Can you describe your creative process? It begins always with a drawing. Id filled many sketch books with pencil drawings, most of them related with people or animals. I draw spontaneously until the moment I see a figure that I feel it is fine to translate on wood. The French art critic Jeanine Rivais says my people look like me, as if they were my self-portraits. How do you market your work? Since five years ago, I sell my works through Ebay. For me, this site is a great worldwide art gallery, and many art lovers and collectors are buying directly from the artists on Ebay. I have always a few pieces on auction in my Ebay Store. Most of my collectors are from the US, but also from Canada, all Europe, Australia Also, I do group shows here in Europe and in the US. In 2007, I traveled to Atlanta for the Slotin Folk Fest, where I met my friends from WhoHa Da-Da group. This year I will go to show my works in France for a second time, at the Festival dArt Singulier BANNART. In France, as in the US, there are many interesting outsider artists, big fairs and very active collectors. Do you have any advice for other artists? Nothing is impossible in art!

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Personal Website www.dancasado.com

You can find Dan Casados art at these websites!

Flickr photo gallery www.flickr.com/photos/dan-casado/ Ebay Store http://stores.ebay.com/DAN-and-SISI-Folk-Art

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The Art of

Dan Casado
Nothing is impossible in art!
-Dan Casado

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Reduction Block Printing: Victorian House Walkthrough

By Dana Driscoll
Ive always loved block printing, and have found many new uses for it in mail art. When Im entered in a large swap that requires me to make 15 or 20 pages, a block print is a great way to create backgrounds, foregrounds, and other unique effects without an enormous expenditure of time or resources. Just as importantly, block printing gives a very unique and distinct look impossible to get otherwise. The technique described in this article is called a reduction block print, a print where block itself is carved back as the print stages progress. This article will walk you through my reduction block print process for a house swap hosted at www.mailartworld.com.

Linoleum or rubber block, large enough for the size of art you are working Block printing ink or acrylic paint* Ink roller 90 degree angle tool, several inches high (I built a 90 angle with Lego blocks that was several inches wide on each side; a wooden frame also works fine.) Paper for printing I used Stonehenge all-media 90lb smooth paper Glass plate for rolling out plate a sheet of glass works, or, in a pinch, one of your dinner plates Pen or pencil (regular pen, not pen and ink) *A note about block printing inks. Ive found that some brands of block printing inks take a very long time to dry, so I prefer to use standard acrylic paints. As long as you work quickly, they work perfectly and then you dont need to purchase another set of media specific to block printing. Adding in some stamping medium to regular acrylics helps as well.

Materials

The Process
Reduction block prints work in stages, so you need to work background to foreground, and generally light to dark (depending on what kind of media you are printing with). You should begin by deciding what youd like to have your final piece to look likehow many stages do you want? My block print ended up being three stageswith each stage, I carved back more of the linoleum block and added a darker layer of paint. The image <right> provides a detailed example of the layers of printing. The first layer is the lightest layerthat was printed first. The second layer was medium blue, and the last layer was dark blue. I actually carved a fourth and final layer, but after printing one house decided that I liked the print with only three layers.

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Reduction Block Printing: Victorian House Walkthrough

Another aspect of reduction block printing that is important to know is that this is a limited print run. Because you are carving back the block after each print, you must print however many you need before carving back, as it is nearly impossible to recreate that same block again. Additionally, you should always print more than you need - for this swap I needed 12 houses, so I started with 20 prints, knowing that several would not come out as planned. This means that for each segment of the printing process, I printed out 20 sheets, then carved down further, then printed on the 20 sheets again, and so forth. This will be explained in detail below.

The Steps
1. Begin by sketching out your piece. Remember that with all block printing or stamping, the image that you carve will be reversed. For my piece, I chose a Victorian/haunted house that measured X by X (the requirements of the swap). I found it helpful to sketch on paper and then make my sketch on the block. I made my lines dark so that I would not lose them as the printing process progressed. (Figure 1) 2. For my first stage of printing, I cut out only the silhouette of the block and then printed in a light blue. For printing, take your roller and your paint/ink and roll it out on the plate, then roll it on the block. Press the print firmly into the paper (using a press, your own weight, etc) and then pull it off in a swift motion. Let it sit to dry. After you have printed all that you want, make sure you wash off your block and dry before continuing on. (Figure 2) 3. After each printing stage, I redrew the overall image so that I could decide what areas I wanted to carve out at each stage. I decided to make the fronts of the house areas the medium blue. The image (Figure 3) is the second stage of the printing process. 4. When you print after stage one, it is good to have a 90-degree angle raised area - a wooden frame, box, even Legos work for this purpose. Then you can line up the image exactly for the next print segment so that the image is printed exactly at the same place through each print. The next image is after a stage 2 print. (Figure 4)

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Reduction Block Printing: Victorian House Walkthrough

5. I continued to carve back and print, shifting to a darker shade of paint after each print. Here is my block after carving stage three. (Figure 5) 6. Here is the final print of all three stages. (Figure 6) 7. I decided that I wanted to add some additional ink layers (gel pen and India ink) to define it further. (Figure 7) Reduction block printing is only one of many types of block printing techniques that can be applied to mail art with ease. Try it today and experiment!

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Colored Pencil
A gallery of colored pencil art from the artists of www.illustratedATCs.com

Meran ni Cuill

Melissa Muir

Tabitha Ladin

Tracie Rozario

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Anne El-Habre

Anne Hermelin

Jan Michael Briggs

Judith Metzger

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Advertise in the next issue of ArtTrader Mag! Please visit our website for details.
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m a g a z i n e Call for Articles and Artwork Thank you for your interest in contributing to ArtTrader Magazine. ArtTrader is a web-based publication (in PDF format) focused on mail Magazine art for trade such as ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), ACEOs, art journals, chunky books, altered art and altered books. We are always accepting the following types of materials: How to or Step-by-step articles on artistic techniques. We are interested in techniques that can be applied to any mail art. These include illustrative techniques, and also works in fabric, digital, collage, mixed media, and more. Articles on artistic journeys or experiences. Do you have an interesting story that you would like to share? We would like to hear it. Artist Spotlight/Profile. Do you have a body of work you would like share? We would love to feature you in our artist spotlight. Showcasing Art. We are interested in showcasing assemblages, mixed media work, creative journaling, chunky books, fat books, inchies, ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), post cards and more. These types of articles usually have a small bit of background accompanying them but primarily are visual in nature. Product and Book Reviews. If you are interested in writing a review of a new product or book that is connected to the mail art world, we would enjoy hearing about it. Submissions of Artwork Almost all of our articles require artwork submissions. You might also want to submit artwork to appear in our webzine galleries. Our call for artwork is always open and we welcome your submissions of ATCs, ACEOs, art journals, chunky pages or altered books. Everyone is welcome to submit their art. You do not need to be a member of IllustratedATCs.com to submit artwork. You must submit your work to us in digital format. 300-400 DPI is sufficient. Do not submit artwork lower than 300 DPI. Acceptable formats include: JPG, BMP, TIF. Do not submit GIF files. Any submitted artwork should be at least 500 pixels wide and high (they can be much larger than this, of course!) -50-

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