Mixed Media Artists Archives - Page 3 of 10

Mixed Media Artist – Marjolaine Walker

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This week, mixed media artist Marjolaine Walker shares her story with us – take it away Marjolaine…

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Hi, my name is Marjolaine Walker. I’m a mixed media artist from Ottawa Canada. I’ve been working in the creative industry for eleven years now but didn’t discover my true passion until three or four years ago. I’m the owner of Twelve Stones Scrapbooking (and Art Studio) which is a travelling store. I also teach out of my studio. For a long time I desired to be a teacher and designer but never thought I was good enough so I hid myself behind the retail front where I figured I belonged. I never told anyone about my dream because it felt too out of reach. Two things happened a few years ago to get me to where I am today. The first was taking a mixed media class taught by Donna Downey. It was there that I fell in love with mixed media and I became free to be creative after Donna told me to stop thinking so much. I have a habit of over analyzing every little thing when I am creating so this was a huge eye opener for me! From there I taught a class only as a favour for a friend and discovered that not only did I enjoy teaching but people actually wanted to take classes from me. It took another two years for me to call myself an artist.

As a stay at home mother of four children I find it difficult to make time for art but I make it a priority because it’s important to me. During this season of life I don’t get to be artsy as much as I would like but these years with my children will be over before I know it so for now they come first.

I get my inspiration from my faith in God. Most of my pieces have part of my heart on them. There’s often a much deeper meaning to my art than what is known or seen. It’s always my hope that my art encourages and inspires others. It warms my heart when my art deeply moves people and touches them in an amazing way.

I love to use all kinds of products and found objects on my projects. My goal is to use up everything in my studio in a fun and creative way. I have accumulated so many treasures through the years and I don’t want them to go to waste. If you look closely you will often find costume jewelry as part of my art.

If I could change anything about myself as an artist, I would make myself more organized and tidy. My studio is almost always a disaster and it sometimes stifles my creativity. I waste precious time looking for things that are piled up on my five work tables. On the other hand, I prefer being creative over cleaning!

I love to travel and it is my dream to some day teach all over the world but for now, I stay a little closer to home. My art friends are a diverse group from around the globe and I cherish my time with them twice a year. It’s an awesome community to be part of. As a designer member of the Craft and Hobby Association I am part of a special family who encourages me every step of the way. As a teacher and artist, my top priority is to help others to believe that they are good enough and creative enough to make their artistic dreams a reality.

My art can be seen on my blog: www.twelvestonesscrapbooking.blogspot.ca

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Filed Under: Mixed Media Artists Tagged With: Canada, Twelve Stones Scrapbooking

Mixed Media Jewelry Artist Susan Walls

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This article was written by Michelle G Brown

I had the privilege of watching an ICE Resin demonstration at CHA in January 2014. I had heard a lot about this product and had listened to an interview by Julie Fei Fan Balzer with Jen Cushman, one of the partners, along with Susan Lenart Kazmer who make up the ICE Resin team. The jewellery I had seen produced by the ICE resin was just gorgeous and it was great to watch the process of using the resin, as well as seeing the elements and bezels up close. And that day the demonstration was done by Susan Walls.

Susan Walls certainly brought a sparkle to that demonstration, stepping us through the process and patiently answering many questions. And, of course, she was wearing AMAZING earrings – I just had to know more about her, so we sat down for a Skype chat, after the CHA rush was subsiding so we could learn a bit more about the charming Susan Walls.

South California is where Susan can be found, hanging out with her husband and two kids. These days she makes jewellery and cool stuff. And while she has always been “creative”, the artistic pathway she is following today took a bit of a detour after collage as she ventured into the restaurant business. Even then Susan would sell the jewellery and clothes she had made and was wearing.

For nearly 20 years, Susan had followed Susan Lenart Kazmer and loved her style and jewelry. Susan began to make her own jewellery through the 1990’s on a part time bases and started playing with resin about 5 years ago, watching the increase in popularity of ICE resin along the way.

Eventually Susan found herself at a cross-roads where having kids and the restaurant business, with it’s long, unsociable hours, just wasn’t working, so she transitioned to a stay at home mom, which, as we all know, has its own challenges! That was when Susan’s artistic business with painting murals started. When that got too busy, Susan shifted again, this time focusing on mixed media jewellery, with painting and a “few other things” also thrown in.

Resin, metal elements and shrink plastic are the key materials Susan likes to include into her pieces. She loves creating charm jewellery pieces, with themes that include humour and words that capture our imaginations.

“I want people to laugh and respond”, Susan says when asked about her style of mixed media jewelry. And Susan’s obsession with these materials continues. She keeps a notebook beside her bed to capture those inspiring ideas in the middle of the night and jot them down so she can remember them in the morning.

While Susan has been attending CHA show for 10 years, 2014 was her second time demonstrating with the ICE Resin team, after joining their Design Team in the middle of 2012.

“CHA is just the best time, catching up with the clan and creative circle”, Susan says. And she left with the fog of creative inspiration in her head, ready to head back to her studio and continuing with her mixed media jewellery making.

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Framed Faces Mixed media bracelet – made with artists grade shrink plastic, paper, Ice resin

Mona Lisa earrings – made with artists grade shrink plastic, paper, Ice Resin

Part of an ongoing series “Flower People” – made with Artists grade shrink plastic, paper, Ice Resin

This bracelet “Time” and the one at the top of the article “Butterfly Flight” went to the Emmy celebrations here in Los Angeles. The Ice Resin Design Team was tasked with making over 100 one of a kind bracelets for the celebrity swag bags given out at the event. It was very exciting!

Each is a combination of Iced enamels, layered vintage papers, and Ice resin with various metal components.

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You can see more of Susan’s whimsical work on her website ~ Susans Art Circus or on her Facebook page ~ Susan’s Charming Trinkets. If you would like to own your own piece of Susan Walls Jewelry, you can visit her Etsy Shop ~ Charming Trinkets

You can find the Julie Fei Fan Balzer Podcast with Jen Cushman, talking more about ICE Resin here ~ Adventures in Arting Podcast

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Michelle G. Brown is passionate about mixed media art and enjoys sharing her knowledge and techniques with you to allow you to express your own creativity. Michelle understands that many of us have an inner need to create. By learning a few basic techniques the amazing world of mixed media art is accessible to everyone!

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Filed Under: Mixed Media Artists Tagged With: Artists grade shrink plastic, bezels, ICE Resin, whimsical jewelry

The Woman behind Craft Test Dummies – Jenny Barnett Rohrs

By MMA Team 2 Comments

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This article was written by Michelle G Brown, Creative Director at Mixed Media Art

I can’t remember now how I came across the Craft Test Dummies website in internet-land but I was certainly captivated by the simple product reviews and tutorials that the Craft Test team were undertaking. I loved seeing markers used on different papers, inks used across different mediums and interesting and unusual ways to make cards and other craft projects. I was so intrigued by the work that Jenny and her team do that I wanted to know the behind-the scenes details of this remarkable website. So, with the wonders of the internet, I reached out to the women-behind-the-website, Jenny Barnett Rohrs and we had a great Skype chat, all about life, crafting and mixed media art.

Craft Test Dummies started from humble beginnings in 2008. Jenny had an extensive crafting background, and along with her background as a cognitive behavioural therapist, wanted to get into the details of the “why”s and “how”s of crafting products. She wanted to know which markers were suitable to include on her fabric quilts and how long should this adhesive take to dry. After searching for these answers online , Jenny realised that there wasn’t anyone consistently reviewing the products with transparency and honesty. So Jenny set out to review these products on our behalf and share them via her website, in a fun way – like talking with a best friend or sister, not as a consumer report.

And so the Craft Test Dummies website was started and has been steadily growing and attracting like minded people who what to play, create and answer questions – to be our online craft mentors. Jenny now has four other “Testers”, all volunteers.

The key to the Craft Test Dummies success is their two key principles:- “we are provided product to review, but the review will be honest first, and helpful second” Jenny says “our audience can smell a fake and we will turn stuff down if it’s not right for the blog”. Not only does Jenny and her Testers tell us about what these products can do, they also provide feedback to the manufacturing companies if there are problems with the product, like one coloured marker tends to dry out before the others, or if measurements in instructions are incorrect.

“You need to believe in what you are doing”, Jenny continues – and we can see how her passion for all things crafting shines through.

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As with every working mother, Jenny juggles her family and business; having a supportive partner helps and the family understanding that CTD is a business and needs time to support it. Jenny is lucky to have a third floor studio, like a mini apartment, complete with bathroom but minus the computer and internet access. Her day starts with some exercise and the morning focusses on the writing and social media side of CTD. After lunch, until the kids come home from school, it’s crafting time. Jenny enjoys a range of craft and will “play with anything”.

“Paint, mist, stencil, draw, Zentangles – what ever is at hand”, Jenny says with a laugh. “I taught myself how to quilt. It’s like free drawing, not the patterns or matching prints, but quilting on newspapers, and up-cycling and painting with fabric”.

With a professional background in music therapy, painting found objects became a collision of her two worlds. Jenny started painting guitars and drums, and then moved into making her own drums and decorating them.

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When asked whether social media is a blessing or a curse, Jenny laughs. “I just marvel at the wonders of the internet,” she says. “It wasn’t around 10 years ago and look at what we can do with it now”. Jenny finds that each social media channel (Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Youtube, Pinterest) all have their own personality and following. Being a social person and an extrovert, Jenny loves keeping in touch with the crafting community and it helps to offset the potential loneliness with working form home.

We discussed the rise of the popularity around the mixed media art movement. We note that scrapbooking seems to be in decline but crafters are moving towards pocket journals and other transportable art forms, including all sorts of media. “I’m so pleased to see the “product vomit”approach to scrapbooking slip away; this doesn’t tell a story” Jenny comments. ” We want to use our personal style”, she continues “Long live mixed media” Hear, hear, we all say!

Jenny reminds us that we are all creative and craft is everywhere. We need to know our products and be confident with the tools and materials we do have, so we can create without restrictions. and if you need a “quick craft fix”, Jenny tells us you can’t go past making a handful of greeting cards. Jenny donates cards to Operation Write Home every year and uses the extra materials from product reviews to make the cards.

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The Craft Test Dummies meet up each year for their Winter assault at the Craft and Hobbies Association show in January 2014. Jenny and her team were on the look out for the latest crafting trends and you can find their reviews at Craft Test Dummies: CHA 2014 New Product Recap

I had a chance to catch up with Jenny and two of her team members at CHA – we FINALLY caught up on the last day and had so much to share. I have a definite feeling that the Craft Test Dummies and the Mixed Media Art team will be collaborating on a project in the near future!

Until then, you can read and see more of Jenny at:

Craft Test Dummies on Facebook

Craft Test Dummies on Pinterst

To see Jenny in all of her crafting glory, watch her here with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer on Scrapbook Soup TV

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You can see more of Michelle’s work at Mixed Media Art or via Facebook – Creating Mixed Media Art

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Filed Under: Mixed Media Artists Tagged With: CHA 2014 Top Products, craft product reviews, Craft Test Dummies, Jenny Barnett Rohrs

Mixed Media Artist Jennifer Schultz

By MMA Team 3 Comments

Today we are SO pleased to be presenting Jennifer Schultz, from One Happy Little Mama, and her brightly colored acrylic paintings.

Take it away, Jennifer…

I am a self-taught artist, mommy and wife living in Georgia. I’ve always had a passion for art and drawing. After I got married and had children, my art took a backseat and my focus turned to my family. Now that our youngest is 5, I’ve been able to find more time to devote to my love of expressing myself through my art.

Mostly, I work with acrylics although I occasionally incorporate oil paints and watercolors into my works. My process is sort of a mixture of whatever I’m feeling at that time. I don’t do a lot of pre-planning, it’s more like letting my hands do what they want to do, at that particular time. I enjoy getting lost in my paintings! For me, it’s best not to over think but, instead, have fun and just be in that moment.

I’m drawn to birds, unusual objects in nature and I find beauty in interesting faces. Ever look really closely at a mushroom? Or, a Poppy flower pod? They’re beautiful little works of art that go unnoticed every day. I like to recreate these types of objects, on a larger scale. I found a quote by Georgia O’Keeffe once, it read: “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.” That quote really resonated with me.

Since getting back to creating, over the last few years, I’ve realized how important it is for me to be able to express myself, through my art. I missed having that outlet. I think everyone needs some form of self-expression. My hope is that my kids may also find a passion of their own. I think it’s something everyone needs in their lives. Self-expression is key and I try to encourage my children to find their own voice. Unfortunately, there are too many adults running around who’ve either lost their voice or were never given the encouragement to find it in the first place.