Balzer Designs

October Livestream Recap

Each month I host a one-hour livestream for members of my YouTube channel.  I put together lots of art tips and tricks and tutorials based on questions that members post both before and during the livestream.  Replays of all livestreams are available to members at any time they wish!  Membership is just $4.99/month.  It's a super fun hour of art and conversation.

In October, we kicked off the livestream with a face painting demo, at the request of several members.  Here's the demo face I painted:

We also covered how deColourant works, organizing paper scraps and ephemera, Gelli Printing with watercolor, and lots more!

The November livestream is tomorrow (November 19) at 2pm EST.  Some of the topics we will cover tomorrow (based on member's questions so far) are:

• How to work in a Junque Journal
• Plans for my art life post-baby
• Stencil Care
• Developing a distinct artistic style
• Plans for #CarveDecember
• And more!

I hope to see you there!

Art Journal Every Day: Junque Journal Process

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here.  All of the previous posts can be found archived here.  Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day!  No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek.  Even if you're not on social media, you can see everything (from twitter, pinterest, instagram, and facebook) that uses that hashtag here. 

It has been a while since I've shared an art journal page-in-progress.  So, today I thought I'd share a few photos of how one of my junque journal pages transforms into a journal page for me to use.  I hope you find it useful and inspiring!

I usually work on the "backgrounds" a few pages ahead in my journal.  That way when I don't have time to do any decorative work, I can just do my daily journaling and move on.  If I don't work ahead, then time becomes a barrier to journaling.  And, personally, I need the daily brain dump!

Here is what this page looked like:

The very nature of the junque journal is that sometimes there is more to respond to and sometimes there is less, but there is almost never a blank white page.  I love that.  On this particular day -- and I do think your impulses change from day-to-day -- I decided that the stenciled flower was the most interesting thing on the page to me.  I grabbed that same stencil and built out the grouping.

Then I decided to paint the background black.

This was more painstaking that I thought it would be when I started, so I ended up stopping half way through and then picking it up again the next day.

I finished the black painting, added lots of white dots, filled in some of the open areas of stenciling, and shadowed the text.

In a week or so when I get to this page, all I'll need to do is simply add my daily journaling and it will be done!

Personally, I never would have gone spelunking for this stencil if it hadn't already been on the page.  One of the things I love about my junque journal is that it pushes me to use supplies I might have forgotten about, try compositions that aren't natural to me, and generally pushes me out of my comfort zone!

If you'd like to learn more about my process of working in my junque journal, you can sign up for my online class on the topic.  Hope you have a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Make Art Because You Can!

I loooove art supplies. I keep buying art supplies. I hoard art supplies. I covet art supplies, But the truth is, you don't need anything fancy to make art.

This is a sketch I did in a hotel room back in 2012. All I used was a ballpoint pen and a piece of paper. Nothing fancy.

I 100% believe that whatever you think is limiting your creativity -- supplies, time, inspiration, talent -- is an excuse.

• Supplies don't have to be fancy.  You can use any paper, any cardboard, any pen, any paint, anything you want!
• Lack of time is a myth.  No, you probably don't have several free hours every day, but you can do a lot in just 10 minutes.  Seriously.  I have taught many classes on this topic.  Everyone has 10 minutes to spare.
• Inspiration is a luxury.  It comes and goes.  Showing up even when you don't feel inspired is the key. Just show up and do something. Eventually, inspiration will find you again!
• Talent makes things easier, but making art is a skill that anyone and everyone can develop!!  I am not a natural draw-er.  I have had to practice and practice and practice and practice some more.  And it's still not easy.  But I can see my progress!

I encourage you to take just a few minutes today to make some art -- even if it's just 1-minute of doodling on a post-it. You can do it!  And just like any exercise, it will get easier each time! 

Do it!

Thanks for stopping by!