Balzer Designs

A New Purposeful Print

I don't think I will ever tire of monoprinting. There are so many interesting possibilities and complexities and challenges. It's an art form that you can enjoy as a beginner, but that becomes even more fascinating as you gain skills. Here is a new monoprint I made last week and I loooooove it. It's very minimalistic for me. Not a ton of pattern everywhere and the color palette is pretty strictly primary. I'm trying to push myself to find restraint. It's a real struggle. But what's the point of doing the same thing over and over again? I always want... Read more →

I {Heart} Surface Design: Persistent Failure

As you might guess from the title of this post, today's heart was a problem from the beginning. I failed at almost every turn, and yet I think it might be my favorite of the hearts! Isn't that amazing? This tutorial is less of a tutorial and more of a tale of persistence. I had an idea. I wanted to use Color Burst Powder through a stencil. It didn't really work (you can see a video clip of the failure on my vlog), so I decided to make lemons out of lemonade and just smush the color around for a... Read more →

I {Heart} Surface Design: Collaged & Stitched Heart

We are collaging and stitching today! The first step is to pick out some papers that you like or make some new ones. This project is also great for leftover scraps. I sun printed some book pages. (Indoor sun printing is fun and easy and I've got an online class all about it!) I cut the papers into strips and taped them together (on the back): By collaging the papers in strips and keeping them relatively monochromatic, a unified appearance is easily achieved. Then once I had an arrangement I liked... ...I glued the heart to the back of the... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: Into March 2019

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. Here are two very different art journal spreads from March 2019: I love... Read more →

#CarveDecember 2019: Days 10-17

Hey guys! I'm so pleased and proud to say that I've got another round of daily stamps to share with you. Here are days 10-17: A few thoughts: I've been concerned that I'm "only" doing rotating repeat stamps. I kept asking myself: Do I need to branch out? But then I decided it was adding more stress to think about branching out. By having limited parameters -- a small rotating repeat stamp every day -- the design time is quick and the stamp gets done. This is one of the reasons I love challenges and kits and other things that... Read more →

I Want to Try This: Mat Board Collograph

I was poking around the internet looking for information on creating fine art collograph prints without a press. During that research, I stumbled across a video that has me **obsessed** and looking around my studio for stray pieces of mat board. Watch the video and see if you're not keen to give this technique a try: Isn't that so cool?! It combines so many things I like: monoprinting, carving/hand cutting, and drawing. Definitely on my to do list! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

#Printinktober 29-31 & a Wrap-Up

I'm spectacularly happy that #PrintInktober is over. It was a tough slog this year. Some projects are like that. And that's okay. But before I get into lessons learned and things I'm thinking about, let's take a look at the last three days of prints. Below, I'm posting the process video, embedded from instagram (if you get this blog via e-mail you may need to click on the title of the post to view the videos online) and a photo of the finished fabric: And now, here is a look back at all 31 days of fat quarters: When you... Read more →

#Printinktober: Days 22-28

Can you believe that #Printinktober is almost over?! I don't know where October has disappeared to...? Well...maybe I do know. October has disappeared into a mist of packing, moving, and unpacking. It was probably a terrible idea to attempt to do this project this year, but you know me. I love terrible ideas! I'm extremely proud that I've managed to post not only a completed fat quarter, but a process video every day so far! I haven't always wanted to or thought that I was going to make it, but boy does it feel good to have done it. Below,... Read more →

#PrintInktober: Days #16-21

This is week three of #Printinktober! As you know, I've been moving. Even though I prepped this project out by packing a little printing kit, this has been a super stressful week. But I've managed to continue with my printing on fat-quarter sized fabric. I've even managed to post a process video every day so far -- even with the move. Wow! What you'll see is the process video, embedded from instagram (if you get this blog via e-mail you may need to click on the title of the post to view the videos online) and a photo of the... Read more →

#PrintInktober: Days 1-7

We're about a week into #Printinktober! As I mentioned in my last post, I've been printing on fabric. Most of what I've been printing on is fat-quarter sized fabric. I've managed to post a process video every day so far. Yay! What you'll see is the process video, embedded from instagram (if you get this blog via e-mail you may need to click on the title of the post to view the videos online) and a photo of the finished fabric: I love that I'm beefing up my collection of hand printed fabric. I don't have any specific plans for... Read more →