Balzer Designs

Rodin Museum in Paris

The Rodin Museum in Paris is dedicated to the famed sculptor (and one of my personal faves): Auguste Rodin.  In the museum (a "hotel" he shared with other artists as a home and workshop space) you can see his sculpture, practice bits and pieces, and his personal collection of art by other artists (including Monet, who stayed there for some time).  The building is beautiful.  The grounds are filled with his sculpture and the outdoor setting is magical.  Rodin's most famous works are The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell -- all on view at The Rodin Museum.  Take a peek:

Rodin's sculpture is so lifelike that it's difficult not to want to engage with the statues -- to ape the body positions and otherwise interact with them.




I'm fleeing from the gates of hell! 😜

It was a wonderful visit.  Not my first time at the Rodin Museum and not my last.  It's a Paris favorite!

As a side note, if you're interested in trying your hand at sculpture, Cheryl Boglioli shows how easy it is to make a sculpture (starting with tinfoil!) in this video from Make It Artsy:

Thanks for stopping by!

Make It Artsy: Looking Back at Seasons 1-4

I have just gotten home from filming season 5 of Make It Artsy. 

In case you don't know, Make It Artsy is a how-to TV show that you can find lots of different ways:

• Tune in on your local PBS Station.
• Tune in on your local PBS Create Station.
• Stream a new episode every two weeks on the Make It Artsy website.
• Watch individual clips on YouTube.
• Purchase DVD collections of seasons 1-4!

Since we just wrapped season 5, I thought I'd share a clip from each of the previous seasons to whet your appetite:

Season 1: Making Postcards with Roxanne Coble.

Season 2: Make a Clipboard Journal with Rae Missigman.

Season 3: Cold Connections for Jewelry with Mary Hettmansperger.

Season 4: A lesson on composition with Tori Weyers aka DrawRiot.

I'm super excited to share Season 5 with you very soon!  It will premiere on TV in September.  In the meantime, you can see photos of all the guests we had for Season 5 here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Make It Artsy: On TV Every Friday!

As you know, I host the PBS TV Show, Make It Artsy. 

(I'm actually in Ohio at the moment, filming season #4 of the show!  Season 4 guests include Dina Wakley, Ardith Goodwin, May Flaum, Michael deMeng, and many other talented artist-teachers!  But more on that another day or check out my instagram or Facebook page for photos!)

I am super excited to share that starting TOMORROW (November 17), Make It Artsy will air nationally on every single PBS Create Channel on Fridays at 11:30am, and 5:30pm.  That's right!  Twice a day every single Friday!  So, set your DVRs!

If you don't get the PBS Create Channel, don't worry. 

You can still watch the show online for free -- a new episode airs every week online.  This week is episode 207: Books. (Watch it now!)

Artist and writer Andrew Thornton sculpts a beautiful book cover.  Julie Fei-Fan Balzer creates a whole book out of a single piece of paper.  Tool expert Joe Rotella (pictured above) binds books inspired by ancient techniques from the Far East.  Jane Dunnewold shares another artsy idea.

You can also watch some individual segments for free on YouTube! For example: Learn special masking techniques on segment 203-3 on the Make It Artsy YouTube channel (or watch below):

You can also buy DVDs of each season:

• It's just $39.99 for an entire season: ones season is 4 DVDs of art techniques. 
• Each season contains 13 shows -- and each show is divided into 3-4 segments.
• In essentials, that's 40+ art techniques/ideas for $39.99!  Better pricing than almost any online class out there!

I hope you will join in the artsy fun! -- online, via DVD, or on your TV!

Thanks for stopping by!

Behind the Scenes of Make it Artsy: Season Three (Part 3)

This is a long overdue follow-up on my previous two posts about filming Season 3 of Make It Artsy (part one and part two).  Today I'm sharing some of the projects that I made for the show.  

You saw this Bullet Journal spread back in May when I shared my burgeoning Bullet Journal obsession.  After it are two worksheets giving step-by-step directions for creating some decorative designs in your Bullet Journal.  They will be downloadable from the Make It Artsy website once the show goes live.

Next up, you can see some jewelry I made using paper clay and Art Foamies.

This next project is one from the archives; September 2010 to be exact.

And a companion piece from November 2010:

The tutorial I share on Make It Artsy is all about how to make the painted and stuffed heart in both pieces.  It's easy to do and provides great impact.

I know that you shouldn't pick favorites, but this next duo of projects might be my favorites from the bunch!  On the show I show the double embossing techniques -- one technique for embossing the metal and another for creating the highly textured background.  I love the way it turned out!

First, a journal cover:

And then a home decor piece:

Screenprinting on fabric with stencils is the focus of this pillow cover, which features my Bird Gathering stencil.

Last, but not least, is this epic partyscape I put together using only Sakura pens and markers:

It's amazing what you can do with scissors, paper, and something to color and draw with!



I'm looking forward to the new season of Make It Artsy.  Until it debuts, you can watch season one and two online, on your TV (PBS and/or CREATE), or via DVD!  And don't forget that you can always download free project instruction sheets for most projects on the Make It Artsy website!

Thanks for stopping by!

BEHIND THE SCENES OF MAKE IT ARTSY: SEASON THREE (Part 2)

More guests!  More fun!  More art making instruction on Make It Artsy.  You can watch it online for free, on your TV on your local PBS or Create channel, or purchase a set of season DVDs.  

Take a peek at more of what went on when we filmed season 3 of the show.  

Cheryl Boglioli shared some unbelievably cool sculpture-making techniques.

Debbi Simon shared easy encaustic techniques with stencils and lots of ideas for casting!

Rebekah Meier brought her shabby chic mixed media style to set!

Sandra Evertson shared how to make some super cool assemblage pieces!  And gifted me with the cutest eye ring.



I made paper from junk mail with Lynne Suprock and she also shared lots of ideas for jewelry making (including using old shotgun casings)!

But it was her little books with gorgeously textured covers that stole my heart!

And then, there's me!  Each day on set is packed with guests and a few of my own projects.  I'll share some more about my own projects tomorrow, but here's a peek at everything on set:





Finally, I have to say that the behind-the-scenes crew does such a great job of making life on set easy and comfortable!

I'll be back tomorrow with a few more photos and some wrap-up thoughts!

Thanks for stopping by!