Valentines by Lenall Siebenaler

I felt the need to spend some time meditating while doing art.  Valentines were a natural place to go.  I like the way they turned out and especially the backs.  I made hearts using my fingerprints.  Cute?  Happy Valentines Day!

Lenall

Tips to Try- a valentine paper cut

Learn to make a one of a kind Valentine paper-cut.
This project takes few supplies and can be completed in a very short time. You will need; a self healing mat, exacto knife,text weight paper, pencil, light to medium weight black paper and your back ground paper.

Finding and deciding on your image might be the hardest part of this project. Once I have an idea I do a rough sketch to see if it has balance and will translate well into the paper-cut. I then draw it again with all the details like where the breaks in the cuts will be. Paperclip or tape it to your black paper.

Now the fun begins, take your time and make your cuts with a new blade.

When you are finished cutting remove the top white paper to reveal your finished piece.

Mount your finished piece on contrasting paper. You can make it into a card or a wall hanging.

 I have had some paper cut posts on my personal blog if you would like to see them follow this link. #1link - #2 link - #3 link .

Have a Happy Valentines-

Artist Profile--Z'anne Bakke

Our featured artist this month is Z'anne Bakke. Z'anne is one of those artists who loves to do meticulous, intricate work. We always marvel at her patience for pieces that would frustrate most of us.

1. What are the main mediums you use? What do you find satisfying about them?

Beads. Lots and Lots of Beads! My first class in beadwork was January 1993 and I haven't stopped playing with them since. When I've had a particularly stressful day/week/ month, sitting down and going through the motions of picking up a bead, pulling the thread through and starting over can be a very calming and meditative practice. I've kept my sanity these past years by beading. (Bede is Middle English and means prayer.) A word of warning: beads are as addictive as drugs and just as expensive. The nice part about this addiction, you end up with some great jewelry that you can brag about and maybe even sell.

When not beading, I use a new form of doodling called Zentangle, www.zentangle.com For someone who cannot draw, (really, I can't), it gives me the self-assurance and confidence to continue with my art. I can doodle myself a cool picture using one line at a time. This, too, is very addictive. You do get some cool art out of it so....things even out.

One of Z'anne's zentangles called "Purple Garden":

2. If someone were going to get started in those mediums, what suggestions would you give? (classes, materials, book recommendations, general tips?)

Classes are the best way to learn beadwork. You can get hands on instruction and meet some very nice people. Check out your local bead store to see if they have a class schedule or if not, who they might know that can teach you. Books are the next best thing. I've been collecting beading books since I started and there is no one book that can teach you everything. Check out your library for the beading books you like before purchasing them. And you will be buying books.

3. A perfect art day would look like_________

Partly cloudy, mid-70's, no wind, out on the deck with my beads and bead magazines, no interruptions, no cares and no responsibilities. I can dream......Wha? What? The cat box needs cleaning? *sigh*

4. Do you have dedicated studio space? Give a brief description of where you work.

I have the back bedroom as my studio with all the beads, collage, stamping, painting and whatever, for all my art activities, if I can get to them. (The studio is an art storage room at the moment.) However, I spend most of the time in the living room at the Bead Desk. It's a beautiful oak roll top with big drawers and lots of cubbies. It's positioned by the living room windows so I get lots of natural light, whenever the sun comes out. I can also watch the birds and the squirrels on the deck when I need to rest my eyes.

5. Favorite place you've visited or lived?

I'm now living in my most favorite spot. Five acres, in the woods, off the road and away from most of civilization. My grandparents had a cabin in the woods outside of Camptonville, CA when I was growing up and I've always loved the mountains. Mt. St. Helens is a clear shot down my driveway and Mt. Hood stands tall over the road as I drive out. It's the closest thing to paradise I can think of.

6. What inspires you (or are there recurring themes in your work)?

Well....the aforementioned five acres in the woods is a good start to my inspirations. There are so many textures and designs in nature that keep my creative juices flowing. Also, sometimes it's just the beads themselves that can spark an idea. I enjoy looking at other artists work, and might take part of their idea and turn it into something beady.

"Sand to Pearls" necklace:

7. I still struggle with_______________

Deadlines. I think I give myself plenty of time to get pieces done for a show or competition and before I know it, time has slipped by and I missed it. Sticky notes are my friends, but if I keep losing more of my mind the house will plastered with them.

8. I'd be lost without__________

The great friends at PAC. They are fun and funny, creative and clever, inspirational and insane. Time with my Arty Girls is special time for me. Oh...I'd also be lost without my Fire Mountain Gem and Beads Catalog.

Gold dyed coral necklace:

9. Favorite dessert?

Anything chocolate. Except chocolate covered bugs or anything chocolate covered from Monty Python.

10. What's on the horizon?

Continue with my Earrings 365 challenge of making a pair of earrings a day for a year. Work on some new bead and paper collages that my Muse recently suggested and enter some art shows later in the year.

One of many sets of earrings that Z'anne is auctioning off:

I am auctioning off all those pairs of earrings, one weeks worth at a time, to help two charities. http://www.aplacetobark.com and http://www.catadoptionteam.org are two no kill shelters for unwanted cats and dogs. You can see all my earrings at http://www.zannesbazaar.blogspot.com and click on the Earrings 365 page. Then if you see something you like, go on over to http://www.onlineauction.com/store/zannesbazaar to bid on them. Thank you for helping out our furry little friends.

Red Felted Flower Pins by Lenall Siebenaler

I made these pins for a friend to choose from.  I like them!  When I was young and until I started painting in 1991, I always did needlework.  It is great to be doing it again.  I like being productive in front of the TV.

Lenall

January's Giveaway Winner!

Someone is a very lucky winner of Cynthia Mooney's lovely springy quilty journal and watercolor paint set made by Cynthia herself! So who is the fortunate one picked by the random number generator? (Yes, there IS such a thing--online!) Drum roll please...Bobbie Bryan, this is your lucky day--congratulations! Cynthia is on vacation but Paula McNamee will be contacting you and mailing your goodie package to you. Enjoy!

Please go here to go to Cynthia's blog and see more of her lovely creations...

Stay tuned to here about February's blog giveaway!

Cedar Panel Wall Hanging Commission (for my husband)

I had created 24 individual wall hangings for our Open Doors Art Show and Sale this past December 3 and 4, 2010. Each panel was a slat from a round cedar wood planter that I deconstructed years ago. The panels each measure 3 inches wide and 15 inches high. I had wanted to move the planter but I needed to empty the soil from it first. Once the soil was removed, all of the panels fell into the void.

I had a feeling that I could use them in a creative way, but at the time I had no idea what I would do with them. The stack of cedar panels sat in my garage for about 2 years, drying out and gathering spider webs. Well, inspiration struck one day and I was joyfully engaged in selecting old rusted metal pieces and nails, beads, bamboo and other assorted stuff to affix to the front of each panel by hand drilling into the wood.

My husband asked if I could do a commission for him using items that were special and personal to him. Since he is a photographer, he was hoping that I could include some camera related items on it. Members of our Portland Art Collective came to the rescue and donated a few camera lenses for my project.

So, from the top of the cedar wood panel to the bottom, here is an introduction to all of the items on his own personalized panel:

1. An old brass doorknob because he loved its smoothness and patina and because he loves old houses.

2. An old clear plastic dial with the numbers 1 through 10 and 'hi' and 'lo' written on it. (The dial for an old electric blanket?) In the center of this dial I glued a button that reads "Life."

3. A camera lens.

4. An industrial metal valve cap which reads "Do not loosen nut. Refer to Handbook." This is so applicable to him because he always reads every instruction manual of everything he buys. And he always keeps every manual, too.

5. Fastened to the front of this metal cap is a small metal key. (Perhaps the key to his success is that he reads instruction manuals?)

6. In small black beads the word "Miksang." This is the type of photography he practices. You can read about it on his website: http://www.scottjonesphoto.com/

7. "MTA" stands for "Midlife Transition Artist". This was a term introduced to us by a gentleman who referred to himself as an MTA. Little did we know that my husband would take this term to heart and sign himself up for a photography class to reacquaint himself with this favorite childhood hobby. That class was 11 years ago.

8. A macro camera lens. When you look into the lens you see a tiny metal heart that was placed inside.

9. One of the items dangling off the bottom is a Multnomah County pet license. My husband absolutely loves dogs. Another item is a large red plastic gem, red for his favorite color and red for the ruby he surprised me with on our 30th anniversary.

Well, I surprised him with this creation on Christmas and it was a hit. It now hangs on the wall above his desk in his studio. He is thrilled that it contains so many personal things about his life.

Well, that's it, I guess. Just a quick note: this was my very first blog entry ever in my life. I swore that I would never write on a blog (or does one write in a blog? sigh) I capitulated because my husband gave me my own digital camera for Christmas and taught me how to use it and taught me how to download my photos onto my computer (or upload or whatever you call it, jeez.) With his help I was able to maneuver through all this techno stuff and join the rest of you who seem to have so much fun here in computer land. This maiden voyage was a bit scary, I must admit!

Love,

Lorraine

The Heart of the Matter

Two PAC artists will be part of a group show at Guardino Gallery, Dayna Collins and Stephanie Brockway. The show, The Heart of the Matter 3, opens on Thursday, January 27th and runs through February 20th. If you'll be in the Portland area, stop by the gallery and pick up a gift for your Valentine (or yourself!).

Help the Cats and Dogs - Buy Earrings

That's right! When you bid and win in my earring auctions, the proceeds will be split between A Place To Bark and Cat Adoption Team.

I am 30 weeks into a yearly challenge of making a pair of earrings a day for a year. That's a LOT of earrings and I only have one pair of ear lobes! I am slowly
getting the auctions up and will complete them this week. To make life easier for me, I am not auctioning separate pairs of earrings, that would drive me crazy. Each week will be sold, that's seven pair of earrings per auction.

To see all the earring craziness go to Z'annes Bazaar OR www.ola.com and type in zannesbazaar in the search box.

To see ALL 30 weeks worth, check out my blog at: Z'annes Bazaar and click on the Earrings 365 page.

To help save our furry friends, please pass this along to everyone you know. These are very worthwhile charities. Thank you!!!

Question of the Month--Organizing Tips?

Since so many of us do a studio clean out at the beginning of the year, our question for the month is: Do you have any organizing tips?

We'll start with advice from our resident organizing expert:

Jennifer:

Ahhh, the “O” word…what an appropriate question for “Get Organized Month”!

As a professional organizer, I have organized many studio spaces. I’ve taught 3-hour workshops on the subject and many books have been written on how to organize art spaces. My favorite method for organizing an art space is to use Julie Morganstern’s SPACE system – sort, purge, assign a home, containerize, equalize (maintenance).

So I’ll begin with a quick sort of what’s visible, identifying items and categorizing them. Toss or recycle obvious trash. Separate out incomplete projects to be decided upon later (that’s a whole other topic). I’ll keep to that one area selected so the client and I will be able to see progress. Breaks are important during this process – and when the client and I come back from a break to see a beautifully organized area, we are encouraged to move on to the next section.

During the purging process, the client and I will be creating categories and thinking about what there is truly space for, how much time it will take to find supplies to create with, and which items to pass on to friends or charities.

Next we’ll be assigning a home for items. I like to have “like with like” and store adhesives together, beads in another area, tools for a particular project type together, tins on shelves…When like items are stored together, it’s easy to retrieve and put back frequently used items.

Containerize – this is where containers are decided upon. Many clients have all of the containers they need already (and have emptied during the sorting process). Choose containers that you love and that fit in with your personal style. You will also want your containers to be sturdy (and any drawers to open easily). Make sure the containers are a proper fit for the number of items you will be storing – leave room for adding new items as your work grows and changes.

Equalize – Evaluate new systems about two weeks after organizing. Does something need to be changed around? Integrate a periodic maintenance program into your lifestyle, keeping it simple. Ongoing maintenance will keep a system running smoothly.

Jennifer Campbell – Professional Organizer and Creativity Coach

www.TheArtofOrganizing.net

Some of Jennifer's expertise in action:

And now how some of us non-professionals approach the problem.

Lorraine:

I keep stuff in clear plastic tubs. Rather than pay money for them, I use the ones that my friend collects for me. She buys the organic spinach at Costco which comes in large rectangular plastic tubs. I have trouble separating the lid from the tub so I add a tab of masking tape at the corner. That way, I can lift up on the tab and the lid comes up. Presto!

Suzie:

I put like things with like. And they are in containers that are labeled, or see through. My studio is a bit like a 747 cockpit: very small but everything is within reach.

I’m also getting a Fujitsu Scan snap to scan magazine articles and class instructions so I can save space for other stuff. I’ll organize articles by media and such as calligraphy, watercolor, book arts etc.

Robin:

I've learned that it doesn't really matter how well I organize my materials, as soon as I start a project, it looks like a tornado moved through. I guess my one tip is to clean up and organize materials between major projects so the pile doesn't get too bad. I tend to organize by color and have shelves of fabric stocked that way. But then there's a special bin for silks, one for velvets, one for hand-dyes. The plastic bins could easily take over my studio.

Dayna:

I'm the queen of organization because if my supplies aren't organized, I suffer from severe bouts of inertia. One of my favorite organizational tools is using inexpensive plastic drawers and bins, which I label using an old school labeler. I'm also a big fan of jars as I love the look it creates: a jumbled mess of order and you can see what's inside!

Scenes from Dayna's delicious studio:

She uses an old bed frame for display:

Steph:

Well since I am so organized I just had to jump in.(ha) For me after this last go round of excavating long lost/ forgotten suplies, the #1 tip is if it's out of sight it's out of mind. Sooo, SEE through, think jars (thanks Dayna) clear containers, and big bold labels. Like supplies grouped. I just might start working efficently! but don't hold your breath

Paula:

Since I'm going through this process of clearing out my studio, I like the idea of keeping art supplies in sight with clear containers and items easily marked. Thanks, Steph. I went to your blog and saw the great job that you did reorganizing your studio. It gives me hope to complete this project here.

Suzanne:

The biggest organizational challenge in my workspace is finding what I need in order to work on a project. Spending time to search for things can easily bring the creative process to a grinding halt. A couple of things that help me are organizing supplies like beads and fabric according to color groups, and storing things in a way that they are always visible. For example, I find the clear plastic bead boxes very handy. Also, I keep fabric in large clear plastic boxes by color on shelves; not the prettiest arrangement, but it's function over form for me!

Suzanne's perfectly organized bead box:

Tammy:

This takes a little time at first, but when I'm done it is terrific. I found a great organization thing that works great for me. I have all my art supplies and other art pieces in plastic drawer units, as well in dressers and other stuff like that. I put everything away in the drawers. I put all the often used things in one location, all the sewing things next to my machine, etc. After it was all placed, I numbered every drawer (1,2, etc.). Then I made a list of everything in all the drawers, typed it in the computer listing the name of the item ( Scissors) and the drawer number (7).

After this task was finished, I hit sort and put everything in alphabetical order. Now I can find anything in a flash, and others in my family can find things they need to borrow as well.

Maggie:

I’ve been challenged by trying to design a space for two purposes. By day I am a management consultant—mostly head work on my computer and phone. I also aspire to making jewelry and paper arts—mostly hand work. I’ve finally resolved it by having two separate tables and ‘stations’ of storage around the room. Bookshelves and files for reference. Drawers and containers for art supplies. The best thing I EVER incorporated is my library catalogue with a drawer for every color bead and finding. It makes me feel like an organized artist!

Maggie's much coveted library catalogue:

Any other ideas? We always need them!

I couldn't just stop with hearts...

I had to keep going.  I made 20 heart pins and liked them so much I made 16 more little pins using the recycled handfelted, embroidered, beaded pieces that I had made 2 years ago.  Here are 4 of them:

Lenall