brought to you in living colour by Quietfire Design
 June/July 2006 - Issue 55

 

Gentle Thoughts

 

 

 

This piece was done for an exhibition here in Port Alberni "Sea Sightings".
Each artist was given a photo from the museum archives and
asked to interpret the photo in the medium of their choice.
The exhibition is on at the Maritime Discover Centre in Port Alberni
from June to September 2006.

 

 

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Here is what's in this month's newsletter:

Books to Inspire

The New Acrylics
 by Rheni Tauchid

I am a watercolour girl. I love watercolours, I love their transparency, I love how they flow on the page and the smell of a wash as it cover the paper. I know the names of lots of the paints, which ones stain and remain, which ones are opaque, which ones are pigments and which ones are grainier than others.

I know a bit about acrylic paint. Thanks to this book, I know a whole bunch more! If you're looking for a book on how to paint with acrylics, this is not it. But it tells me just what I want to know.

The author talks about acrylic paint in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2 when she talks about materials and equipment, she wastes no time in talking about improvisation. My favourite chapters are 5 and 6 which deals with basic applicatons and the ta da! alternative approaches. She makes acrylic lace, as well as embeds wire mesh in acrylic self-leveling gel medium to make reinforced acrylic sheets. One of her projects later in the book is to create mosaics by pouring sheets of acrylic in different colours and cutting the sheets with scissors to create your tiles. These tiles, of course, are much more flexible than ceramic. Do I hear your little idea bells chiming?

The photos in this book are nothing short of spectacular. Some of them crack me up, they're so clever!

If you're looking for something a little different for your acrylic paint, check this out! I'm glad I found it.

When you click on this link and go to the full page information, check out the "Search Inside" and you can see what I mean about the photographs. There is also a link to Amazon.ca on the full page of information. All Amazon purchases made through links on my site benefit the production of this newsletter. Thanks!

To see all the
new byhand Products for July, click here!

You may view the new June Products here!

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If you wish to contact me, my email address is:
suzanne@quietfiredesign.com
Quietfire Design, Box 1231, Port Alberni, BC
V9Y 7M1  Canada

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The Sale continues!

The Scor-it Board

Don't miss out on this great opportunity! Click the link to read about it.

 

 

 

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Artist Jeri Aaron collected together a group of artists for a tip in swap. If you'd like to see my contributions, please click here!


If you know someone who would like to receive notice of byhand, just have them email me and I will put them on the list. Bye for now and thanks for visiting!

suzanne@quietfiredesign.com
(250) 723-0321 Quietfire Design

 

Please drop into my other website: It changes every month!
http://nourishment.usana.com

While you nourish your creative spirit by reading this newsletter, don't forget your creative body needs nourishment inside and out!

 

Suzanne is a member of the

Visit my little gallery page on the ISABA website!


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Quietfire 2006 Retreat

Westcoast Whisperings

Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday, July 21-23, 2006

Last minute space available!

This year's project will be a book in a box, but not just any box. Read on......

We will be going on beach and forest walks to collect treasures to decorate a locally-made finely crafted cedar box. The same gentleman who creates my cedar book covers will create the boxes sized just for us. Not only will the box contain our collected treasures of twigs, shells, sea-glass and rocks, but it will also be home to a very special handbound leather journal!
Each participant will receive a goody bag. I'll see what I can do about lining up some massages! The workshop and the accommodation are both at the Best Western Barclay which will make it really convenient and relaxing. There is a special conference room rate and you are responsible for booking your own accommodation. Mention you're part of the Quietfire Retreat!

Continental Breakfast, all day coffee, tea and treats and lunches are included in the cost of the Retreat.
All class instruction and project materials are included in the price of the Retreat. There will be some supplies students will be required to bring. The cost for this weekend is $220.

Please check with me for availability at the retreat before you book your room!

To register email suzanne@quietfiredesign.com

Here is a sample of the book in its basic form. You can do more decoration! This is a split strap binding. You will be copy transferring onto leather, copy transferring onto wood, decorating the text pages, setting copper rivets, just to name a few fun things. I'm collecting up ocean and seaside quotations - and bring yours to share, too!

 


Stolen Moments

My Thermal Embossing

By Yogi Grunwald
yogihg@hotmail.com
Rheostat, Low Watt Iron & Embossing Powder

May 10, 2006

A rheostat is a gadget that controls the output of a tool, in this case my low watt iron (or a craft wood burning iron you can get @ Michael's). I use the pointed tip and set my rheostat @ 50%, so the amount of heat on the tip is only half full power. You can use the iron without the rheostat, but you have to constantly clean your tip because it melts the embossing powder too quickly.

The rheostats are available onLine and through stained glass stores They're about $40.00

May 11, 2006

Pretend you're writing or doing some calligraphy. Think of the nib in a pen holder (the fine tip on a low watt iron) being dipped into a bottle of ink the (the jar of embossing powder) and then writing with it. You are constantly dipping your pen nib into the ink to get a nice fluid line, the same way I'm dipping the tip on my iron into the embossing powder. The only thing the rheostat is for is so that I'm not melting soooo much embossing powder at one time on my tip. I suppose, if I kept my tip inside the jar of embossing powder for a long time it would start to melt the surrounding powder, but I don't have any problems with just dipping my tip into it and removing it almost immediately. It picks up just the right amount of powder and melts it and when tip hits the paper or substrate the bead of melted powder flows onto the paper. While you are moving the tip along your outlined drawing the melted powder is flowing along with it. I'm barely touching the paper. I'm like a 1000th of a hair's breadth away from the paper. It does take a little practice to get it as fine, it's the amount of melted powder on the tip, a fast type of slow speed of moving the tip along your line. With each dip into the powder you can do about a 2 to 3" length and then have to dip into the powder again.

June 11, 2006

PS I use Detail Embossing Powder which I find works best . The brand I use is by Stampendous, but I would imagine any detail or fine embossing powder would be OK. I have a lot of trouble getting regular and glitter embossing powders to flow properly to give a nice even line. Maybe I just need more practice…

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Recently the byhandartist were discussing their feelings of inadequacy about their art, which prompted Nettonya to write the following:

"Thank you for sharing"
Notes on banishing your Inner Critic
by Nettonya Ryane

Worrying about whether or not you will create anything worthy of the people in your swap is something you must STOP, immediately! %^)

To be sure, self-doubt is rampant in women. We have so many demands we place on ourselves, which help to foster that self-doubt. We must STOMP IT OUT!

STAMPING, DANCING, PAINTING, SCULPTING, KNITTING, DRAWING, LETTERING, and many other creative ways of being, can help us to be truly more ourselves.

I offer this to you and any others who may doubt their artistic ability - I'm using
"Thank you for sharing",
when my inner critic (I.C. for short) rears its ugly little head. It seems to help me get past the negatives when I do things "creative". Somehow, just immersing myself in the project also helps.

It's in the process of getting started where "thank you for sharing" does its best work for me.

I.C:"You have so much housework to do."
N:"Thank you for sharing."

I.C.:"You can't do THAT!"
N:"Thank you for sharing."

I.C.:"Who do you think you are, doing ART?"
N:"Thank you for sharing."

I.C."That's a BIG project. It's going to take SO MUCH time."
N: "Thank you for sharing."

I.C.:"You have paper work to do."
N:"Thank you for sharing."

I.C.:"Who said YOU were an artist?"
N:"Thank you for sharing."

And many more that I'm sure you all could volunteer....

That particular phrase - "Thank you for sharing." - may not work for you, but if you could find something similar that does, perhaps the self-doubt you have can slowly dissipate and have less influence on your decisions and creativity.
As I was working on my background paper for the Alphabet Swap yesterday, I realized that the critical voices had stopped. Every time one had come up, I found an answer to the objection to my doing any artwork. - "Thank you for sharing." That phrase seems to answer any objection that my I.C. seems to bring up for me and eventually quietens it.

I.C.:"Right! YOU can create 29 pages of ANY art?!"
Answer? N:"Thank you for sharing."

Fun, Flowers, Freedom, Fantasy/Fantastic, Football, Fever, Ferocious, Funny, Fabulous, Fresh, Firm, Flab, Fish, Fat, Full, Fasten, Feral, Fly, Forward, Free-flowing, Float(ing), Freesia, Freeze, Fur, Full-figured, Fancy, Funnel, Fumes, Furtive, and many more. (These 29 were just off the top of my head, without consulting a dictionary, so with one I can likely come up with more that I can use even better.) I will practice with some techniques that I would like to use on the pages, so that I can have a variety of them to choose from.

I.C.: "Who cares what techniques YOU use? You aren't even an artist. Besides, you do lousy work." N.:"Thank you for sharing."

Embossing, dry embossing, stencilling using inks, stencilling using molding paste, lettering using Yogi's rheostat/woodburning tool technique or various pens, transferring, collaging, painting, beading, sewing - just to name a few - are possible techniques that I use WELL.

I'm becoming more confident as I say "Thank you for sharing" to my inner critic.

Hugs, Nettonya - Surrey, BC

A little bit more from Nettonya on this subject

There are many "voices"/parts of ourselves that make themselves known in various ways - by our being unassertive, being outrageous, having self-doubt, and many other kinds of things that are part of the human psyche. When we acknowledge them, that's the first step in changing them so that we can become more fully ourselves.

I'm currently reading a book called "Core Transformation", by Connirae and Tamara Andreas, which deals with this very process. It's much simpler than therapy and much more effective, I believe. Since I have been working on this for myself, off and on for several years and resuming about three months ago, I have been much more peaceful about my life. I react less to "button pushers" and seem to be coming into my own on a very deep, personal level.

The phrase, "Thank you for sharing," is a variation of a quote from "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind", by T. Harv Eker. When I read it, it seemed to be the perfect comment to make to my Inner Critic (IC). Since we all tend to have ICs, I thought the phrase would be helpful for the ByHandArtists group. This very creative group of women has so much talent that I wish to foster it.

 

Suzanne's Schedule

2006 Current Schedule

June 17 Victoria, BC The Altered Book Island Blue Print
June 18 Victoria, BC Coptic Bound Journal Island Blue Print
July 21-23 Port Alberni BC Quietfire Retreat  
August 26/27 Denman Island BC The Altered Book Denman Island Arts Centre
Sept 20 North Vancouver BC Calligraphy Then and Now Art in Living Memory - see below
Sept 27 North Vancouver BC Showing Off: Designing the Exhibition and the Memory Book Art in Living Memory - see below
Sept 30 -
October 1		 North Vancouver BC The Copper Book This is a private class, but if you're interested, please contact me, suzanne@quietfiredesign.com and I will send you in the right direction!
October 14 Burnaby BC The Unfolding Adventures Book Burnaby Community Ed.
October 28 Surrey BC Over and Under the Covers & Mini Mica Memories Bookmakers of Vancouver
October 29 Surrey BC The Unfolding Adventures Book Bookmakers of Vancouver
November 4 Port Alberni BC Artisan's Craft Fair Hansen Hall, Port Alberni
November 18 Victoria BC The Unfolding Adventures Book Island Blue Print
November 19 Victoria BC Belgian Eyelet Journal Island Blue Print

 

To see a complete list (more or less!) of the classes Suzanne teaches, click here!

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The Altered Book Project

On beautiful Denman Island - Register Now!

Art in Living Memory: Creative Workshops for Seniors

A Free Memory-based workshop program for seniors
led by Professional artists.
 Refreshments are included
16 workshops July 5- October 27
Location: North Shore Neighbourhood House/John Braithwaite Community Centre
145 West 1st St, North Vancouver, BC

Drop-ins are welcome at every workshop
Registerd participants are guaranteed a place when space is limited.
To Register or to receive a series brochure call
 604-982-8300
604-987-8138

Here are the classes I will be teaching:

Calligraphy Then and Now. Bring your favourite text with you to this workshop and our guest artists will show you how to celebrate your text in beautiful or captivating text. The variety of techniques taught means there’s a way for anyone to make text come alive. Workshop participants will choose some of the works created to include in the Art in Living Memory Book and exhibition. GUEST ARTIST: SUZANNE CANNON Wednesday, September 20th Noon - 3:00pm JWorkshop#163820 BCC Artist Studio

Showing Off: Designing the Exhibition and the Memory Book This workshop involves the design and creation of the Art in Living Memory exhibition. Workshop participants and guest artists will create a dynamic and compelling exhibition from the work done by the participants of all the workshops in this series. The exhibition will be in the John Braithwaite Community Centre. GUEST ARTISTS: DWIGHT KOSS, SUZANNE CANNON Wednesday, September 27th Noon - 3:00pm Workshop#163823 JBCC Artist Studio

Indigo ATC swap

Beth Ann continues to hostess a 3 for 3 swap of Artist's Trading Cards! Our recent challenges were Red, Orange and Yellow, Green and Blue (and you can see those ATC in the previous issues of byhand). Beth Ann says she is going to put us through the whole rainbow of colours!

Thanks Beth Ann for being a wonderful hostess - and thanks to everyone who played.

(ATCs are Artist's Trading Cards which measure 3 1/2" x 2 1/2")

Click on each on to see the larger version.


Linda T

Anne

Anne

Beth Ann

Dee

Donna C

Donna K

Jacey

Jane S

Joanne

Wendy

Judy B

Julie B

Kathy L

Marg

Mary-Beth

Pat

Rose

Suzanne

Vicky

Yogi

 

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Artists whose work is shown in this newsletter retain the copyright on their own work.

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© 2006 Suzanne Cannon
This newsletter is for the personal use of the subscriber and may not be reproduced without written permission from Suzanne. You are welcome to email or print it in its entirety to share with friends, but ask that you include this copyright. Thank you for your help and your understanding.