Balzer Designs

A New Mixed Media Collage

If you've been following this blog for a while, you know that my interests are far and wide when it comes to art making. I tend to create in phases or bursts or binges or whatever you call it. At the moment, I'm in a mixed media collage phase. That's the thing that's holding my attention at the moment, and so here is a new one. This piece is 8x8. It's a long way from where it started. Take a peek at this fast forward video of the process: If you're a member, you can see the real time version... Read more →

Two Gelatin Printed Zines

On Friday, Jackie Jimerson and I did an instagram live together where we each made a simple zine using stencils and gelatin printing. They ended up being very different, which is one of my favorite things about art making: We can all use the same supplies and techniques and end up with wildly different results! Here is mine: Here is Jackie's: As you can see from the photo, Jackie is offering her zine as a free download! You can go HERE to get it. She even has included instructions on how to fold it. You can see that it becomes... Read more →

Art Journal Page with Two Hamsa Hands

I've rediscovered colored pencils. It might be because of all the Zoom calls and webinars. I've discovered that colored pencils are a nice quiet way to make art while listening to the conversation. I don't know about you, but I listen a lot better when my hands are doing something. Doodling and coloring somehow frees up space in my brain. Odd, isn't it? As you know if you've followed this blog for a while, I like to work on my art journal pages in stages over time. This page was one I started during a Member Livestream. Here's a screenshot... Read more →

**NEW** Balzer Designs Membership

As you know, I've been hosting a members only livestream once/month on YouTube. This project has morphed and grown over the past eleven months (hard to believe it has been almost a year). In the beginning, I planned for it to be a very simple experience: a short art demo followed by my answering a few questions and just sort of chatting. Over time, it has evolved into an intensive live art workshop! This is the mixed media collage art journal demo -- focusing on design decisions -- I did during February's livestream (just one of several demos during that... Read more →