Balzer Designs

Robert Rauschenberg: Among Friends at MoMA

I was lucky enough to be in the New York City area for the opening of the Robert Rauschenberg: Among Friends exhibit at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).  It was epic (the entire 4th floor of the museum) and inspiring (so much good art and excellent signage) and I know that I will be back to visit the exhibit at least one or two more times!  If you are anywhere near NYC, you absolutely must go and see it.  Until then, here are some photos:

I hope you enjoyed that peek at the exhibit. It's so much more than these photos could ever convey.

Thanks for stopping by!

ScanNCut Freezer Paper Techniques

I'm sure that freezer paper is useful in the kitchen, but I love it in the craft room!  Today I've got two freezer paper techniques for you.  

In case you don't know what freezer paper is, it's a "thick paper with a plastic or wax coating on one side. It differs from parchment, which has no coating, and wax paper, which has a coating on both sides." (from the kitchn blog).  I know freezer paper from the quilting world where it is often used to create stencils.  You can melt the wax coating with a hot iron to create a temporary (and non-damaging) bond with fabric.

I've cut many freezer paper stencils by hand over the years and I wasn't sure if the ScanNCut would have a delicate enough touch with this thin paper, but it did!  Check out how easy it is to create a freezer paper stencil using your ScanNCut:

And now a super cool technique that makes cutting fabric without a high tack fabric support sheet or a fabric blade possible!  Seriously.  It's like magic! (And perfect for the casual fabric cutter.)

Check it out:

What do you do with freezer paper in your craft life?  I'd love to know!

Thanks for stopping by!

---

P.S. I am a paid spokesperson for the Brother ScanNCut.  It is a machine that I love and use.  All projects and opinions are my own.

Around Here: May 2017

Hello out there!  Here's a little bit about life right now:

This is me right now:


My current art obsession is: Everything Rauschenberg.  I went to his exhibit at MoMA and now I can't stop reading everything about what he made and what he said.

"People ask me, 'Don't you ever run out of ideas?' Well, on the first place, I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea, it's too limiting and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity."    -- Robert Rauschenberg

I will be sharing lots of photos from the exhibit very soon.

My current life obsession is: Sleep.  Is that wrong?

I'm loving: Free cappuccino in the United Club.

Plus, a comfy chair, a plug, wifi, and not having to drag my laptop to the ladies room.  Really makes travel delays so much easier to smile through!

I'm hating: The pressure (external and internal) to get everything "right."  Most of the time I feel like I'm failing at almost everything I'm juggling.


The good news is that I'm not alone.  I think we all struggle in different ways.  I am determined to be kinder to myself.  To extend myself the same empathy I would give to a stranger or a friend.  

My home is: Full of suitcases.  Three unpacked suitcases downstairs:

And two half unpacked suitcases upstairs:

My life is: All about travel.  Four trips this month.  The good news is that it has given me a lot of time to work on the hand embellishment for this quilt:

My favorite art project I made this month but haven't shown on the blog yet: This paper clay jewelry I made for Make It Artsy.

I don't think that the photo does them justice!  

These paper clay tiles are so shiny and full of depth and yet paper light.  I love them!

Thanks for stopping by!

---

P.S. If you'd like to see more behind-the-scenes life stuff, check out my vlog -- I post a new art and life filled vlog to YouTube every single Wednesday.  This is last week's vlog:

Art Journal Every Day: Bullet Journaling - Part 1

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. 

I have fallen in love with Bullet Journaling.  I am obsessed.  Obsessed!

What is Bullet Journaling?  I'm so glad that you asked!  A while ago I posted a link to the article that got me excited about it.  

I thought Bullet Journaling and all those fancy planners were incredibly stupid:

• Why would I do that when I use Google Calendar?!  Well, I still use Google Calendar, but I use my BuJo (Bullet Journal) for nitty gritty planning.  This will become more clear later in this post.
• Why would I spend all that time making a pretty planner? Isn't it supposed to be practical?!  My bad, it is practical and the pretty comes later!  (Or not at all.)
• Would I ever really use a paper planner?!  As it turns out, absolutely yes!  Every single day!  I have always written notes and to dos down on pieces of paper that litter my life.  My Bullet Journal is the perfect receptacle for all those lists and notes.  I no longer have to search high and low for, "that piece of paper I just had in my hand."

Today I'm going to share the basic concept behind the way I do my weekly spread -- the heart of my Bullet Journal:

• I use a dot grid notebook.
• I use my own version of a "time ladder" organizational system.  A time ladder is usually a vertical organization of your day, broken down by hours.  That concept doesn't quite work for me, so I use a ladder broken up into morning, afternoon, evening, and notable.  As a freelancer, this really helps me organize my work day.  This has been quite a revelation and really made me more productive.
• I draw out the grid for each week:

• To make my life easier, I have a little tag where I wrote down the formula for my weekly spread:

All I need to do is count the dots (that's what the numbers represent) and then draw a line.

• After drawing the grid, I fill in the basics (dates and appointments) for the week with a black pen:

• I use a red pen for to-dos:

• I don't necessarily fill in all the to-dos for the week at once.  I put "big picture" to-dos in the area at the top of the page.  And then often, the night before, I fill in the to-dos for the next day.  
• The time ladder allows me to see what "free time" I have in a given day to get stuff done.
• I use the classic Bullet Journaling system for marking to-dos:
  • All tasks are marked with a bullet.
  • Migrated tasks -- tasks that did not get accomplished -- are marked with an arrow (with the original bullet point incorporated as the arrow) indicating that they have been moved to another day.
  • Completed tasks are "x-ed" out, with the with original bullet point incorporated into the center of the "x."

• As the week goes on, I'll use a blue pen to write in any personal notes or reflections.  In this way, my Bullet Journal becomes a memory tool.

• Once the week is over, I'll add in quotes and decorations.  Not right away.  Instead, I treat the empty spaces in my Bullet Journal Weekly Spread as doodle opportunities.  I simply add bits of color and pattern as I have time.

A Bullet Journal is so much more than a Weekly Spread (and I will share more soon), but the Weekly Spread is definitely my favorite part of it.

Do you Bullet Journal?

Thanks for stopping by!

Watertown Art Association Annual Show 2017

As I mentioned in the most recent podcast, my painting won first prize for oil/acrylic in the Watertown Art Association Annual Show (you can see a cute photo of me being...well, me, with my painting on their webpage).  In the meantime, I thought I'd share some select photos from the show:

Do you have a local art association near you?  You might be surprised to discover a whole lot of people who like art as much as you do!  Even if they create different kinds of art, I think it's always interesting to talk to other art makers!

Thanks for stopping by!