Tell All Wednesday ~ Featured Artist: Siobhan Beer

Hello beautifuls,

Okay so I posted a quick post yesterday explaining this week TAT would be TAW due to issues with my email, but hurrah the internet didn't end! (tee hee just a lil inside joke...for me, as I doubt anyone even read the filler post yesterday lol) so here it is the first TAW, although I don't think it technically is if you count the times I've been late...but it's the first officially named TAW so there we are, enjoy =)

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are.
Well I’m Siobhan, I’m 24 and live in South West England between my two homes, one with my parents and the other with my boyfriend (life can be so topsy turvy!) Together we own a rather large collection of animals which give me so much inspiration and joy. I’m a complete dreamer, an avid creator who uses anything from twigs and leaves to paint and canvas for my art work, I guess I can be described as a mixed media artist most of the time! I’m also a self-confessed animal/nature geek who adores the natural world more than most people can understand. I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember and have always been inspired by the world around me. It’s rare for me to create anything without an animal or something natural in it… even if it’s a twiggy tree in the background. I used to primarily use graphite to work with but about ten years ago I saw the wonders of other media and couldn’t control myself. Since then I’ve worked with anything I can get my paws on. At the moment I seem to be going through a watercolour stage. It’s very difficult for me to go a day without doing something creative, I bake, write, draw, paint, sculpt, journal, scrapbook… I don’t like to be confined to one creative hobby which tends to leave me fighting with time as there are never enough hours in the day. I can normally be found working on my bed with Flynn my gerbil scampering around and trying to add his own unique talent to the world.

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?
My lack of confidence. The biggest challenge I face is letting people see anything I create. The idea of people seeing my work is terrifying for me especially when I’m in the same room to see their expression as they take in my creation. The first time I let my boyfriend see my sketchbook was awful! I was sat there trying to hide the shaking hands by fidgeting nervously and watching in horror as he looked through my ideas and feelings. It’s not that I’ve had bad experiences from people seeing my work, actually it’s usually the opposite but I put so much emotion in to my work it’s quite unnerving for other people to see, I worry that they’ll see something in me that they hadn’t seen before but over the past year through sharing my work I’ve come to the conclusion that what others see isn’t always what I saw when I created it. And if they do see something in me they hadn’t seen before maybe it’s not always going to be a bad thing. I’ve only just started to overcome this challenge and the only way I’ve managed this is by actually showing people my work and not locking all my sketchbooks away in a box somewhere. It’s been really difficult and I’ve had many moments where I just want to hide from the world but it’s done so much good and my confidence has grown so much in a very short time.

Do you ever lose your mojo, and if so, how do you get it back?
All the time. I get in to a state where I just sit staring at a blank piece of paper for hours, biting my lip, pulling funny faces and eating too much chocolate to ease the pain. It’s a horrible state for any creative person to be in and it really does get painful because you desperately want to create but you just can’t for some strange reason. I used to get it a lot more than I do now, I don’t know whether that’s because I’m in a more creative state or whether I’ve learnt to pull myself through it. The best cure for me is to stop forcing it. The more I sit and stare at the paper the more frustrated I feel which just makes things worse. Giving creating a break is so helpful, it not only reboots your creative mind but it also lets you focus on other things. I started going for walks, reading, writing among other things. The break usually gives me a fresh start and I’m able to get working again, usually with a strong creative force behind me and I can’t actually stop!

What advice would you offer to any perspective new artist?
Never expect to be perfect when you first try something out. It’s something we’re all guilty of these days. We try something new and for some reason we expect ourselves to be perfect from the start and be as good as somebody who’s done it for years. I’m guilty of it myself. I tried out watercolours a few months ago and was so disappointed when my first try didn’t look fantastic. Another thing I’ve learnt is that art work goes through something I call an ugly stage. No matter what media you use there is always an early stage where you just want to give up because it’s turning out to be a large blob of something rather than a branch of cherry blossoms. The thing to always remember is that if you keep working through this stage it will come together and look amazing. Believe in yourself.

Tell us where can we find out more about you & your art?
I’m a bit quiet with my work at the moment but the best place to find me right now is my blog. Originally started with the intention of showing work in progress. I can also be found on Twitter where I post many sketches and work I’m currently having fun or struggling with.

Thank you for not letting your biggest challenge of sharing your artwork stop you from sharing it with us Siobhan, I think it's something many of us can attest to when we had over our work to someone close to us, even if we feel the butterflies and do it anyway (and yes, sometimes I still get nervous posting something, especially when I know many people may see it). The only thing I can say for sure that helps dissolve the nervousness is practice, and the more you do the more you will see a change where it'll flip in the balance to be more excitement - and sometimes you'll actually be psyched to show people your stuff, it's awesome when that happens! ....but like anything with art it doesn't always come instantly, or without work =)

Do you want to be featured in an interview here?

Email me or click the link to find all the details here =)

TAT to TAW

Hey guys,

just a quick FYI that though I should be writing a Tell All Tuesday post now due to 'technical difficulties' with my email provider I can't get into my artist folder so TAT will be posted tomorrow (assuming that the technical difficulties are just a hitch and not the start of the end of the internet....it could happen). See you tomorrow =)

Quick n' Easy Projects

So I've not had much time to spend in the studio just messing around of late, all my creative time has been spent on Journal Workshops (who knew starting a Ning would be more work after it's launch than before? lol) or making up products for my shop as I've been blessed with sales this month. But last night I decided to make a few things just for me, just for the sake of it to release steam, but I still wanted them to be quick to keep me moving through creativity, no hard work going off here oh no lol so here's three quick easy projects I did:

1: Sharpie Pen Journal Page

For a super quick journal page grab a sharpie pen and be bold, draw something without preamble for the foreground first, then worry about the background after - something super quick like flowers and spatters for a background works just as well as anything else does it not? I used watersoluables like gelatos to colour - quick fast coverage, no headaches, job done =)

I also started another page, this time background first: 

For a quick background I will nearly 100% of the time head straight to my scrap paper drawer - decoupage some scraps, gesso & acrylic a little with a rag then use some acrylic inks to add splashes of colour. The longest time required here is the drying time of the inks, so I think it's always a good way spend 15mins so you can leave it overnight and next day you've a new background ready to go when you want it =)

2: Paint A Pebble

If you follow my facebook page or my vlog channel you would probably have seen that I love crystals and stones. I often just randomly collect them, so naturally I had a couple laying on the windowsill of my studio...doesn't everyone? Acrylics work fine on them, I did seal the main painted side with a spray varnish for some extra protection but given that I do love the naturalness of stones I left a hidden window in the back:

3: Scrap Paper Beads

Just the basic paper bead technique from my Epic Paper Bead Tutorial, but I still love doing these. Quick & relaxing ahhhhhhhhh I call them one of my 'lazy crafts'. And that was about all I had time for.

What about you?

What are you quick n easy projects/lazy crafts?

I'd love to know, let me know below...

Much love

Tell All Tuesday ~ Featured Artist: Sanja Radovanovic

Hello, 

the pic above is just a share from a recent trip, just coz. Grrrrrr. 

But it's tuesday, which means it's Tell All Tuesday not a share of recent places I've been phone pics lol so here we go, this week's featured artist is Sanja enjoy

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are.
My name is Sanja Radovanovic and I am a student. I have been doing all kinds of crafts since I can remember, from making jewelry and figurines out of different materials to paper crafts. When I was starting out I used to use anything that was on hand, so that is how begun to recycle things into something else. I try to use as many things as possible that would otherwise become trash and I became the collector of "junk" in my family. For example I have a box full of bottle caps. I just hate seeing people throw away things with so much potential to become a part of something beautiful. I mostly learned everything I know on my own by experimenting and I discovered the online crafting world just last year so I was overwhelmed with all the information. I had no idea there was so much out there.

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?
My biggest challenge at the moment is lack of time. Ever since I started grammar school I hadn’t had as much free time. I did some art on occasion during the school year, but being unorganized as I was it had an effect on my grades, so I mostly used my vacation time to craft like crazy. Now I am in the last year of grammar school and I’ve god important exams entire semester as well as preparations for university so that shortens my free time even more. Luckily I am more organized than before so I’ve created a system recently to overcome this problem. I marked out an hour every Saturday just for art, so instead of wasting time watching TV when there’s nothing on, I do what I love.

What is your heart’s greatest desire for your life as an artist?
I would like to learn all different crafts, but what I always dreamed of is to open my own workshop with all kinds of homemade goodies one day.

What advice would you offer to any perspective new artist?
Don’t be afraid of art. I find that sometimes new techniques or what not might keep us from trying something new simply because we’re afraid that it won’t turn out ‘right’. There is no right way, there’s your way. Sure, if you don’t draw or saw well you can always improve your skills, but it is your art, you project yourself into it, so don’t be afraid of making it your own. There is a saying I find very inspirational: ‘It’s not who you are that’s stopping you, it’s who you think you are not'

Tell us where can we find out more about you & your art?
Well, I’m new to the online crafting community. I have a youtube channel, but no videos uploaded yet, I am working on it though. And a Pinterest

Thank you for sharing Sanja, it's inspiring to hear from someone on the younger scale of our community being so free and yet mindful in their approach to art. I love the santas and the saying you shared, please let us know if you ever do open your workshop =)

ps the Collective of Collectors of Junk welcome you into the loving fold lol

Do you want to join the TAT-ed??

Email me or click the link to find all the details here =)

Inspiration Station: My First Free Class

Hi guys, so as those of you who have come over to Journal Workshops may know I have my first free class live already which is available to all. 

It is a creativity boosting art journaling workshop where the idea is to make inspiration happen and create some fab journals along the way too!

There is no required level of techniques, skills or equipment to take part. Therefore it is suitable for beginners, but hopefully more experienced artists will get something out of it too as the whole emphasis of this workshop is all on the process...and on being forevermore inspired.

Here is a quick video to give you a taster:

So if you would to join (you are more than welcome, and will be joining in with more than 500 members already) please visit 

Journal Workshops.

Much love

Tell All Tuesday ~ Featured Artist: Angelina Slaymaker

Hi guys (I can't believe it is this already but...) Happy March!!

I'm sorry that having been busy the last month with Journal Workshops I have not been around much but there has still been feature Tuesday posts happening =)

so let's get on with this one...

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are
I guess I will start by introducing myself, my name is Angelina Slaymaker. I live in Washington state usa. And if I tell the truth I am 37 years old. I have had the blessing of having a disability called Osteogenisis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones). Some may not view this as a blessing but it has afforded me the time to grow as an artist. As to what kind of artist am I? That is truly hard to narrow down, I love to work with so many thing's. Right now I guess I would say mixed media plus. I also work with polymer clay, Draw, Paint, etc.….

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?
Space…..There is never enough of it. I always have painted paper and scraps and cardboard and well everything stacked everywhere. I don't have a separate craft space so I have always said 'my bed room is a craft studio with a bed'.

On a personal note I always have a hard time taking a complement on my work. It is very hard not to always say: oh it's not that good. I always need to work on that. I also find it hard to know if I'm a crafter or an artist. I never know where I stand.

What is your greatest personal achievement either in your art, or because of it?
This question really got me thinking. I have been doing one form of art or another my whole life. I spent much of my time growing up in cast and in wheelchairs so I had the time to learn. And as I have gotten older I continue to try to learn all I can about all different art forms. And while I feel that I have achieved many things I have set out to do I think one of the best Is Not being satisfied with what I already know, and always being willing to try what's next.

What advice would you offer to any perspective new artist?
I have had many people tell me they have no talent. Unfortunately this stops them from even trying. First of all it's not all about the finished product it's about how you feel while your making it. About letting go of everything and just not thinking. And when you do that often people find that they have a talent they never let themselves find.

Tell us where can we find out more about you & your art?
I can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/iceteacrafts/ As well as on Pinterest. And I can be reached at iceteacrafts@gmail.com

Thanks for sharing Angelina, amen to the space thing but having recently put up a discussion board on Journal Workshops to share pics of our art spaces I've realised that's it's actually the norm to be limited on the space we can attribute to our art. All the lovely scrapbooking room tours that are the size of a small department store, with as many supplies as to fill a department store, are the exception, not the reality and I think that's nice. For some reason I like creating a lot more in my cramped tiny indoor studio than my slightly more spacious outdoor one, which I just tend to chillax and do bits and pieces in, so way to go 'craft studio with a bed', it works and you're creative there & that is much better than having ten times the space that is never used!

Do you want to be a featured TAT artist??

To be featured email me or find all the details here =)

Much love

Introducing Jennibellie's Journal Workshops...

Hi guys I have very some exciting news...

I am *finally* going to be doing online classes yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!

I know some people have been waiting for me to do this for a long time, but now I really am doing it yay! So I have been working hard making a fab space so that I can not only host workshops, but also host activities & groups too! Below is a short video which contains the basic info...

I really hope you do sign up and take my first *F*R*E*E* class with me.

To sign up for my class you will need to first sign up to the site and then request to join the class - so make sure you provide a valid email or you won't get access. If you don't know where else to click just look out for the big bold button on the left that says 'Jennibellie's Free Class, Click Here to Join' kinda thing ;)

I'm so super stoked about this, it's taken me a long time and a lot of effort to get here so I hope you will come on the journey with me.

Love to you all

Tell All Tuesday ~ Featured Artist: Nina Fenner

Time for Tell All Tuesday, time for Tell All Tuesday, time for Tell All Tuesday, yeah!!

As you may or may not have noticed I've not been around much this month, so I'm super psyched to I have Tell All Tuesday for some arty inspiration...and fyi where I have been I will become very apparent soon (esp if you are a newsletter subscriber - you are in for a treeeeeeeeeeeat!! ;) ) But before that loveliness here's some more in the form of this weeks TAT:

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are.
I have just turned 50 and have spent all my working life living in the countryside, earning most of my living as a self employed gardener. All my life I have I dabbled in a wide variety of crafts. When I was about 30 I started doing life modelling and I was tempted into the idea of going to art college. I planned to simply enjoyed my foundation year and then go back to gardening, but I got drawn into doing a Fine Art degree. It wasn't really my thing because so much of it was conceptual stuff and I'm really a craftsperson, but I did enjoy exploring processes such as printmaking, textile art and photography, and best of all I did a three day book binding course which really got me hooked. After my degree I went back to gardening but also continued making books and experimenting with other arts and crafts. In 2004 I was asked to teach some workshops which I enjoyed enormously. I continued to run occasional workshops for the next few years and also dabbled in craft fairs (which I dislike doing!) In the last year or so I have really been putting more effort into promoting my workshops. I am also trying out teaching other subjects and I am really enjoy inspiring other to make creativity a part of their lives. I think eclectic probably best describes the work I do, as I am constantly trying new things. I spin and knit, I do patchwork and embroidery, I sketch and write and make baskets. I also love cooking, dancing and singing, and growing vegetables.

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?
My biggest challenge is always balancing doing creative things for pleasure and for money, and being organised enough to do my own promotion and make the moneymaking ventures as efficient as possible. I try to focus on having a core of paid creative work and then allow myself to do some playing for pleasure, and also offer some freebies for good causes now and then as well.

What is your heart’s greatest desire for your life as an artist?
I still love gardening and plan to continue doing it part time, and would love to be earning about half of my income from teaching workshops and selling some of my work. In real terms this would equate to me teaching one or two workshops per week on average over the year.

What is the best thing / worst thing that art has brought into your life?
The best thing is the wonderful creative people that I meet, and the feeling that I have inspired people to bring more creativity into their lives. The worst thing is the feeling that there are SO many things I want to try and sometimes I feel I take on too much and challenge myself to the point that I feel stressed about it, which is the opposite of what being creative is supposed to be!

Tell us where can we find out more about you & your art?

I have a website, a facebook page and a blog that is a mixture of creative stuff and my life in general. I don't post on my facebook page or blog as often as I feel I ought to, but I try not to feel bad about that!

Thank you  for sharing Nina, I definitely agree about the stressed thing, I want to do so much too and there is just never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever enough time for it all! And it's hard facing the fact that there may never be, especially during those times when you feel like you have used every moment you have available to do so to be as creative as absolutely possible, and still feel like you've managed nothing! I guess this is where the wisdom of 'it is not the destination, but the journey' comes into play, and give ourselves a break over all the creative to do list projects  that will never ever ever even get looked at, and simply enjoy the time we have when we are actually creating.

Want to read your name in the title??

To be featured email me or find all the details here =)