ICAD 11: Alphabet Stamps + Extra Art

Hey everyone! Sorry about the lateness of today’s post, but I had a bit of a situation with the internet, and it really didn’t turn out the way that I had hoped. I was actually beginning today’s post at about 7 o’ clock, trying to get it on here early for you guys. But it got to be later and later, and the internet still wasn’t working. So I had to work with what I had. Which was no internet. But still.

I’ve got quite a few things to share with you today, as I managed to block out quite the spread of time to work on my art. Quite a bit of time it was too. I got to work on a bunch of different challenges, and simply let myself be inspired by all of the amazing artists that are to be found on the internet. That’s a good way to think of it, at least it is in my opinion.

So the first thing that I want to share with you guys today is my ICAD. I have really enjoyed working on these things, and the prompts have been super inspiring. Which I highly, highly appreciate. Sometimes I just get stuck. Even though I like to think that I’m just this never ending pot of ideas, never having to think about what comes next because I just KNOW; that just isn’t the truth. I run out of ideas constantly, and find myself brainstorming all of the time, and simply dreaming up things to do with my art. That way I won’t run dry. Other artists are also extremely inspiring to me. Although I think all artists work that way, sometimes I can get just the tiniest bit self – conscious. I shouldn’t though. The very thing that I “preach” is to be confident in your work and in yourself. Maybe I should take my own advice.

Anyways. Back to the ICAD. The prompt that I used for today’s card was simply “alphabet stamps”. Now. When I first saw this prompt, I thought that it was going to be the easiest thing ever. I love alphabet stamps, so I thought that it would be as simple as throwing some collage elements down on a card, then randomly stamping the letters all over the background. Well, let’s just say that one didn’t turn out good. At all. I hated it. With all of my soul. So I tossed it. It just wasn’t me. Which was the one guideline that I had for these cards when I started them.

I really like the way that my final card turned out though. I crossed out all, and then most, before finally settling on ‘some’. Art doesn’t give me all my joy. Just some of it. God gives me all of my joy. And he gives me art as a way to give me joy. So technically that’s through him as well. I’m just saying.

I really like the way that the card turned out. It just seems to scream everything that I am. I don’t know. That’s just my opinion.

The second thing that I have to share with you today is some painted paper. Now these papers are kind of special. These are the first papers that I have done in this manner since I got out my rut. I haven’t truly sat down and made a batch of crafting papers. Which is something that I truly love. A lot. And I just realized today, once again, how much I love it. These papers are one of the many things that really get my inspiration flowing. The first few will be difficult. In fact, they might be beyond difficult. I’ll struggle through a few of them, before the ideas really start flowing.

Then I might mess one up. Or two. I might mess two up. And then I get stuck again. But one of the things that I have learned from this type of project is that you really just have to push through. The two papers that I’m showing you above are my two favorites. And they are the two last ones that I did. Because the creative juices had really started flowing. Sometimes though, the hardest part is just starting. Where do you begin? How to you begin to create/paint a batch of papers?

Well. I’ll tell you how I started this little batch. I started with a prompt. Yeah. I know. Another prompt. Or challenge. Whatever it is you want to call it. But I really feel like they get my juices flowing, and have a really nice feel to them. They allow me to have a plan before starting, which I like. The prompt that I used for these was a color prompt. The prompt was “rainbow sherbet”. Yellows, oranges, bright pinks, and a touch of white. So from that, I created these papers.

I think that I might make batches of papers for all of these prompts. It’ll give me a nice thing to do with the prompts themselves, and I enjoyed the process. A lot.

After I had completed the above papers, I still had a bunch of paint leftover in my pallet. So, instead of letting all of that perfectly good paint go to waste, I decided to use it to make my 30–30–30 page of the day. I’ve been doing these in a 5x5 format, which I will then bind into a book when I’m done. Let me tell you something. The small size, in combination with the square shape, is kind of different.

Actually, it’s very different.

And a little bit difficult. But that’s okay. Difficult is good. It gives you a challenge to complete; a goal to reach.

On this page, I used a whole lot of stamping, with ink and paint. I love the way the textures really combine together and add interest and variation. I don’t know if you can see it in this picture, but it’s most definitely there. I can see it. The pink colored border around the edges is a Portfolio oil pastel smeared around. I really like the effect that has been giving me, you have probably noticed. So I keep using it. Again. And again. And again. And I’m okay with that.

The final thing that I would like to share with you guys today is the beginning of a new journal. This journal is going to go along with a new challenge. And that challenge is the 2012 In the Sun Challenge! I did some of this last year, before going off on a rampage in another direction. But this time I am devoted to the cause. And I’m not going anywhere. Trust me. I don’t have anywhere to go.