Universe DreamCatchers

My first blog post as a Creative Team Member for RubberMoon Art Stamps is up on the RubberMoon Arts blog!

Universe DreamCatchers; Martice's first tutorial on the RubberMoon Arts blog!

Hop on over there...see how I made with this beautiful dream catcher, incorporating these two awesome stamps from RubberMoon.

Enjoy my Universe DreamCatchers tutorial!

Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts

Welcome to the Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts blog hop!

 Sept. 19th - Sept. 21st

This is a closed blog hop,  just for the members of the Mixing it Up Every Day Facebook group so that we can get to know each other better. (photo: Cottonwood Arts Facebook page)

If you are not in the Mixing It Up Facebook group, please feel free to leave a comment anyway, then, if you'd like, we invite you to join our Facebook group, Mixing It Up Everyday. We would love to get to know you better, too!

 
Listen up, Mixing It Up members! In order to have a chance to win the prize package from Cottonwood Arts you must:

1. Be a blog hostess
2. Leave a comment on everyone's blog

Blog hop dates: Sept. 19th - Sept. 21st

Alrighty...now let's get to the FUN part!!!

A quote by Martha Graham inspired my illustration. It's very profound and one I've come to memorize and recite whenever I feel that no-good-inner-critic telling me her two cents. (Pretty sure you know what I'm talkin' 'bout, right?)

 "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."

Most of my illustrations start off traditionally, with a simple pencil drawing, like this. At this point, I'm still working on her features and blocking in shapes to create a dynamic composition.

When I say I'm a mixed media artist, I'm talkin' all kinds of stuff!! 

Here's some of what I used for this piece:
pencil, ink pen, spray paint, acrylics, hand cut collage, stencils, photography, and finished as a digital illustration (Adobe Photoshop).

Here she is!

I LOVE drawing hair! Afros and long strands that take on a life of their own are my specialty! These are hand cut and collaged.

I always embed inspirational words or phrases in my art. For example, the words "U R worthy" are in the lower, right hand corner.

I have my order book open to receive your special commission! 

Please contact me at:  http://bit.ly/talk2Martice

We were also asked to answer this question:
Are you a journal hoarder? How many do you have and why different ones?

Hmmm. I don't think I hoard them...I can say that because I don't mind letting others take a peek inside them! Well, I do have a stack of 'em laying around...not sure how many I have at this point! A good guess would be 11.

I like to keep different sizes on hand - never know what kind of surface I might wanna work on, so, I keep a variety of sketchbooks with different paper finishes; cold press, hot press, Yupo, Rives BFK...my faves.

I carry a 9"x12" sketchbook for my larger sketches and I also include ideas for my upcoming and future art shows,

One for my "free-falls" (where I study and play off other artists' techniques and determine if I want to incorporate them into my own work),

And a small, 4"x7" for when I'm traveling or walking around the city, or exploring nature. It's home for my random doodles, poems/quotes/jokes and paper scraps I find along the way.

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Challenge:
MMMC #4: Color Challenge

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Well, that's all for now, my friends! I really hope you enjoyed what you've seen.

Before you go: Don't forget to grab my new button, in the sidebar!

Come hop along with us!! :)
Here are the links to everyone's blog:

Sandee Setliff
Tiare Smith Woods  
Martice Smith II <---YOU ARE HERE!
Tiffany Goff Smith <--- GO HERE NEXT

Anna Turner Ely
Cat von Hassel-Davies
Terri Sproul
Sharon D. Estes


Betty Guffey Richardson
Tommy Jo Vilello Anderson
Melissa Willard Edwards

Donna Simmons Lueders
Jean Marmo
Tamiko McCurry

Blog hop dates: Sept. 19th - Sept. 21st

Studio Table Blog Hop

Today, I'm sharing a glimpse into my creative chaos...

Studio Table, collaboration of artists, sharing their work spaces. Hosted by Seth Apter of The Altered Page.

I have two studio tables that I work on:
My regular, everyday table

Currently, I'm working on a digital illustration. This is my laptop and Wacom graphics tablet. I guess I could clear off everything else but when the inspiration flows, I just go with it!

 And my sewing table

Curious to see other artists at work? Be sure to check theirs out, too!
Visit Seth Apter's blog for the list...it'll take more than one sitting to get through it.
(I heard there are 100+ artists sharing their studio table.)

I'll be showing my new illustration tomorrow, so please come back to see it!

A World of Artist Journal Pages! I'm Published in this book!

The word is finally out! Here's the book I'm featured in!! I'm just so honored to have TWO of my art pages alongside many other talented artists. Eeeekk!! ^_^

PRE-ORDER your copy at Amazon! 

Spread the word and share the love!

'A World of Artist Journal Pages', curated by Dawn DeVries Sokol. This new, art journaling book will include TWO of my art journal pages!

::TUTORIAL:: Mini ArtBooks: Matchbook-Styled!

No-sew, mini artbooks…matchbook-styled!

My tutorial has been published! I'll be showing you a fun little twist on the classic, matchbook style design to create miniature artbooks.

Follow along as we create these artbooks with a variety of decorative cardstock, sketchbook papers and a stapler. At least half a dozen of these snazzy, little stinkers can be made in less than 30 minutes!
 

Not only are these good for note-taking, I love using them when I'm working on a small-scaled layout- incorporating them as collage papers.

Enjoy the tutorial, here: Mini ArtBooks: Matchbook-styled!

The Artful Tribe Blog Hop

Hello and a huge welcome to the Artful Tribe Blog Hop! I'm so excited that you've decided to join us for this fun and inspirational treat.

The lovely Rita Seed, of the Artful Tribe, asked me and a handful of other artists to join in. What a great way to kick off the end-of-summer and start with fresh inspiration! Thank you, Rita :)

I invite you to look around my blog, comment, and ask questions. I hope you like what you find, here :)

:: About Me / My story, so far ::
Click on the "About" tab (on top menu) or for a more in-depth interview, please check out
my interview with Mixed Media May.

Don't forget to grab my blog button to share the love!

CONNECT WITH ME!*

*you can do this all in the sidebar, to your right hand side > > >

• "Like" Martice Smith - Illustration on Facebook  be sure to select "Get Notifications"

• Follow my blog via Bloglovin' and/or join this site

• Join the Uneek Art Letter (enjoy your gift: September desktop calendar!)



Be sure to check out the other participating artists and leave them some blog love, too:

1. Julie Osterc of "Loving Road"
2. Lynda Norton of "My Creative Lifestyle"
3. Jennifer Snellings of "Tattered Art Studio"
4. Nicci Battilana of "Brushed with Magic Fame" 

Happy hopping!

Super Hand-carved Stamp collection

These are some of my recent, hand-carved stamps. Most were created during the printmaking challenge that I had in July. The other ones were carved during my own, personal time.

Carving really isn't that hard at all. Besides a basic carving kit + paper, all you need is patience mixed with enthusiasm + you're well on your way!

Now, I want to take you through my process of carving out the large flower stamp. (I guess this is kinda like a tutorial, BUT I'll be sharing workflow tips + a general step-by-step.)

As you can see here, I've started the flower stamp without taking the initial photo! Ooops! The second piece of rubber on the right side of this photo is my alternating chevron stamp. The first step is to transfer your design to the rubber/linoleum. (The black pen marks are the parts that'll be carved away.)

DO NOT try to carve small details first! You'll only be working against yourself. Instead, carve away larger areas FIRST.

 

Once your design is carved out, cut the larger portion of the rubber block. Keep this piece to make smaller stamps!

 Now, we're ready to load the stamp with ink...but wait - let's admire our handiwork, first....*sigh* Isn't she lovely?! Ok, back to business!

I'm using an old phone book as my "inking plate". Roll out some water-soluble, block printing ink. The consistency should be very smooth. This basic stamp carving kit has everything you need.

The ink is distributed evenly across the entire surface of the stamp. Does yours look like this? If not, take your brayer and roll off the excess paint, then apply excess paint to a piece of scrap paper.

Time for a test print! Burnish (or gently apply pressure) to the back of the stamp.

My rubber stamp is pretty thick in size (half an inch), so, I'm able to lift it and stamp it onto a piece of scrap paper with a fair amount of ease. Another option is to mount the stamp onto a block of wood, for easier handling.

What a beautiful impression! This test print is helpful when determining what areas I need to carve away. I think the center area needs a little more attention...carve more hairy lines and it's a wrap!

So, there you have it! Not too bad, right?

Now, I'll need to figure out what projects to create with my *brand new* large flower stamp.

Comment below to leave me your suggestions!

SHOP THIS TUTORIAL:

** BASIC STAMP CARVING KIT **

** PRINTMAKING PAPER **