Balzer Designs

Art Journal Every Day: The Notorious RBG

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, the concept is simple: It's a commitment to take ten minutes each day to do something in your art journal. No need to finish anything or even like it. It's about making the time to nourish your creativity every day! If you have the time to flip through your phone, you have the time to Art Journal Every Day. If you'd like to share what you make, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →

Adventures in Arting Podcast: Sandy McTier

It was my great pleasure to spend an hour chatting with Sandy McTier recently. We discussed how she built her business and her core beliefs about people and business relationships. Sandy is smart and passionate and I think you're going to love today's podcast. Give it a listen: If you do not see the podcast player above, please click on this link. On the off chance that you've never listened to a podcast or don't get why anybody would want to, here are some facts: (1) Podcasts are convenient. It's a recording that is available to you whenever and wherever... Read more →

Two New Mixed Media Collages

Art is a practice. Emphasis on the word, "PRACTICE." I practice, practice, practice as much as humanly possible. Yesterday, I sat down for a practice session (using one of the exercises I'll be sharing in the upcoming Design Boot Camp class) and created these two mixed media collages: I had a particular goal in mind when creating each piece. For one of them, I wanted to create as much cohesive diversity as possible. For the other, I wanted to have a clear sense of dominance. Can you guess which is which? If you're curious about terms like "cohesive diversity" and... Read more →

Creativity is Self-Care

I know you've heard it a million times, but it's so vital to take care of yourself. Especially in these socially isolated times. A self-care routine is integral to mental well being. I wholeheartedly believe that acts of creativity are self-care. In this video I share 3 tips for protecting your creative self-care routine. Remember, it's your time, money, and space. So take care of yourself and get out there and make something! Read more →

VOMA is Now Open

VOMA is now open. What is VOMA? I'm glad you asked. I had to look it up. VOMA stands for Virtual Online Museum of Art. It is the world’s first fully interactive virtual museum. Work has been pulled from prestigious museums across the globe and it's all FREE. I downloaded VOMA (what a weird thing to say) this weekend and went for a virtual visit. It's a big download and takes a while. You also have to create a (free) user account in order to access the museum. I would describe the experience as slow and buggy. It's a super... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: Developing a Daily Art Habit

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, the concept is simple: It's a commitment to take ten minutes each day to do something in your art journal. No need to finish anything or even like it. It's about making the time to nourish your creativity every day! If you have the time to flip through your phone, you have the time to Art Journal Every Day. If you'd like to share what you make, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →

Reduction Printing

If you've ever wondered what goes into creating an online class, know that there are tons of videos and projects that never make it to the classroom. I've been working on a #CarveDecember class since 2019 (it's going to be packed with stamp carving/printing/design info). This week, I decided to tackle a lesson on reduction printing, which really should be its own class. Yesterday, I made an irrevocable process mistake and only realized it part way through filming the lesson. Alas. No matter, I've started a new lesson. And it's going to be GREAT. But in the meantime, I thought... Read more →

Super Easy Watercolor Masking

I stumbled across a fabulous YouTube video last week. It's by a woman named CeeCee: Her style is not necessarily my style, but I loved her easy watercolor masking with washi tape. A very simple idea with seriously cool results. And so, I gave it a try myself. Rather than cards, I made small works of abstract art. First some very simple brush strokes: This is probably the most minimalistic artwork I've ever made. And I like it. And now, some more dense pieces: I love how these turned out! The big thing that I hope you take away from... Read more →

ScanNCut: Curving Text

Several months ago, I created a video all about how to curve text in CanvasWorkspace for Mac. You may remember it. After I posted that video, I got one question over and over again: But how do I make the text on the bottom face the other way? Good news! It's easy to do and I show you exactly how to do it in this video: Here's the original project, where the date is upside down: And here is some text using the technique I share in today's video: You can see that all the text is "right-side-up." One quick... Read more →

Design Boot Camp - Evening Section Added!

Design Boot Camp -- my 5-week live online class -- sold out last week. But I'm delighted to share that due to popular demand, I am opening an evening section of the class. You can read all about the class and sign up HERE. You can also watch the half-hour webinar I did about whether or not the class is a good fit for you: Design Boot Camp Informational Webinar from Julie Balzer on Vimeo. Here's a peek at a few of the pieces I did several years ago, when I was putting myself through the design boot camp process.... Read more →