#ARTifacts: July 2017

Artifacts (plural noun): objects made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.

ARTifacts (plural noun): a collaborative project for 2017 documenting adventures in art.

Every year I have so many "art memories" from my travels, my teaching, my adventures in NYC, and my studio work. I have decided that 2017 will be the year of ARTifacts where I document my adventures in art for the entire year in a physical book. Here is a glimpse of my July pages.

Always wanting to be inclusive, I turned my project into a no-rules collaboration. Participants were asked to find or make some sort of artist book, planner, scrapbook, 3-ring-binder, folder, or other container to document their creative experiences, whether they be in art, craft, or anything else.  As you can see below, each and every participant put their own creative twist on this project. And it is never too late to join. Email me at shap97@gmail.com if you would like to participate.

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YOU CAN SEE ALL PREVIOUS MONTHS HERE

JULY 2017

Bleubeard and Elizabeth

Julie Short

Monique van Dijk

Gwen Lafleur

Nan Murphy

Karen Campbell

Carol Ann Wiebe

Donna Ellis

Karenann Young

Kathy Fritz

Cecile Graven

Raylee Syrch

Carolina Dreaming

As summer 2017 comes to a rapid close, I have my eyes on 2018. My travel and teaching schedule is nearly complete for the upcoming year and I will be posting highlights in the coming weeks. And as always, you can see all my upcoming classes on my workshop page.

Today I am...Carolina Dreaming.

Join me February 6 and 7 for my first visit to Betty's Creative Studio in Greensboro, North Carolina. Betty makes it easy for you as almost all supplies are provided for you.

February 6 - 52 Card Pickup - Registration Open

February 7 - Mixed Media Mashup - Registration Open

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I am excited to return to Donna Downey Studios in Huntersville, North Carolina. I mean what other art venue has their very own coffee shop and barista in-house? Plus Donna also makes it easy, providing all the supplies except for those needed to personalize your project.

February 9-11 - Table of Contents - Registration Open

Art Deck 4

I just can't stop. I continue to make new additions to my Art Deck, 52 small works of art under 6 x 6 inches. All being offered for sale at an accessible price ($35-$55) in my online shop. Today I am sharing 6 new pieces. You can see the all the earlier ones here.

Torn (sold - thank you)

Second Home (sold - thank you)

Epoque (sold - thank you)

 Possible (sold - thank you)

Silence (sold - thank you)

Swatches (sold - thank you)

Make it Your Own: Broken Maze

I always find it exciting when I come across artwork online that incorporates my product lines. Seeing how different people use these items in such creative ways is always inspiring. I love the wide variety of styles and unique choices.

Today I am featuring artwork I have found that uses my Broken Maze die set from Spellbinders.

Vicki Evans 

Amanda Southern 

Jenny Marples

Jacqueline Stevenson 

Annette Madsen-Larsen

Sara Emily

Amanda Pink 

Angela Radford

Barbara Schiassi 

By the Book

Two very exciting events are happening this month, both related to books - an area in art very close to my heart.

MIXED MEDIA ART BOOK GROUP

Marjie Kemper has started the Mixed Media Art Book Group on Facebook. In August, members of the group used Dina Wakley's book Art Journal Freedom as inspiration and created any number of artworks based on any project in the book that resonated with them. Marjie also provided weekly prompts. Over 380 images were shared. 

For the month of September, the last month of the group, Marjie has selected my book The Mixed-Media Artist as inspiration.

I am excited to see the work that is inspired by the pages of this book which, if you are not familiar, is not a traditional how-to book but rather an intimate look at the creative process of the artist. 

Intrigued? There is plenty of time to join the group and play. If you need additional incentive, anybody uploading their work in the group will be eligible for some goodies based on random draw...

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MINI ALBUM MAKERS CHALLENGE

Autumn Clark has just started a new challenge blog all about books - the Mini Album Makers Blog. The site offers images of and tutorials for artist books from a very talented design team. This month reveals the first challenge and I am the sponsor. The challenge happily has few rules and limits. You simply upload images of a completed artist book and link back to your site so people can see all the details. There is already some beautiful work shown. 

At the end of the month, a participant will be chosen at random to win a prize package provided buy the sponsor. I mean...who wouldn't want stamps and stencils?

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And speaking of books, stay tuned for a page-by-page reveal of my newest artist book: As it Had Been

Art Deck 3

Back with 5 new additions to my Art Deck. These make numbers 15-19 of 52 small works of art that I am creating. Each will be shared as made and offered for sale at an accessible price ($35-$55) in my online shop. You can see the first 11 pieces here, the next 3 here, and my newest ones below.

Shibui  (sold - thank you)

Start  (sold - thank you)

What Might Have Been (sold - thank you)

Sigh (sold - thank you)

Figure 3 (sold - thank you)